IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINES FOR MAKING CUT NAILS FROM BAR OR STRIP PLATE METAL
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Southwood, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Engineer, for the Invention of “IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINES FOR MAKING CUT NAILS FROM BAR OR
STRIP PLATE METAL."
Sealed the 14th March 1876, and dated the 4th October 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Southwood at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th October 1875.
I, WILLIAM SOUTHWOOD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MACHINES FOR MAKING CUT NAILS FROM BAR
OB STRIP PLATE METAL," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus or machines for
making cut nails from bar or strip plate metal.
The bar or plate is guided in a suspended frame, whose upper part
partakes of an oscillatory motion from an excentric or other appliance

page_text: driven from the main driver or other part, and is timed to so travel that
the severing cutter takes off sufficient metal to make a nail in each
travel, the holder or jaw then discharging the nails.
The appliances give a to-and-fro motion to an upright feeding of
several strips of metal at one time into or between three cutters for
making what are called shoe bills or sprigs. I fix two cutters, one
opposite to the other, in an iron framo, and immediately underneath
these two I fix in a moveable joggle a third cutter, which cuts upon both
edges. The joggle is caused to move to and fro by means of a crank.
When I make what are called brad nails with a bill, or head, at one
end I fix a bill cutter at each end or side of the stationary cutter.
When these bill brads, called carpenters', joiners', and flooring brads, are
made I cause to move only one bar of metal to and fro uprightly between
or into these cutters, but by which method two brads are made in one
revolution of the crank. By this method the necessity of turning over
the strips of metal by hand is avoided; one person may feed several
machines at one time, and the same kind of nails are produced as those
turned over by hand.
By my Invention any thickness of nail and any taper can be
determined by the angle at which the bar or plate (strip) is moved
over from the central vertical line, the swinging point of which is made
adjustable.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Southwood in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SOUTHWOOD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, send
greeting.
8
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of g
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty.
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Southwood, Her special license
that I, the said William Southwood, my executors, administrators, and

page_text: assigns, or such others as I, the said William Southwood, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
OB MACHINES FOR MAKING CUT NAILS FROM BAR OR STRIP PLATE METAL,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Southwood, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
¡ Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Southwood, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :—
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus or machines for
making cut nails from bar or strip plate metal.
The bar or plate is guided in a suspended frame, whose upper part
partakes of an oscillatory motion from an excentric or other appliance
driven from the main driver or other part, and is timed to so travel that
the severing cutter takes off sufficient metal to make a nail in each
travel, the holder or jaw then discharging the nails.
The appliances give a to-and-fro motion to an upright feeding of several
strips of metal at one time into or between three cutters for making what
are called shoe bills or sprigs. I fix two cutters, one opposite to the
other, in an iron frame, and immediately underneath these two I fix
in a moveable joggle a third cutter, which cuts upon both edges. The
joggle is caused to move to and fro by means of a crank. When I
make what are called brad nails with a bill (or head) at one end I fix a
bill cutter at each end or side of the stationary cutter. When these bill
brads, called carpenters', joiners', and flooring brads," are made I cause
to move only one bar of metal to and fro uprightly between or into

page_text: three cutters, but by which method two brads are made in one revolution
of the crank. By this method the necessity of turning over the strips
of metal by hand is avoided; one person may feed several machines
at one time, and the same kind of nails are produced as those turned
over by hand.
By my Invention any thickness of nail and any taper can bo
determined by the angle at which the bar or plate (strip) is moved over
from the central vertical line, the swinging point of which is made
adjustable.
5
Figure 1 is a front view or elevation of my machine; Figure 2 is a side 1
view cut through the main part of the machine to show its particular
construction and working parts; Figure 3 is a plan (with the upper
parts removed) showing its general construction with top cutter box;
Figures 4 are various parts of the machine shown in detail.
The letters indicating the various parts of the machine correspond in 1
the various views of it.
a represents the bed or body of the machine, to which, or upon which,
the whole of the other parts are fixed; a¹ is a stand for the body of the
machine; a³ are brackets to carry a side shaft; a³ are standards fixed to
or upon the top part of the bed, which supports and carries a moveable 2
bari; this moveable bar i holds and carries in its openings i³ several
partially formed tubes of metal, the number of which tubes may be
increased or diminished at will; they are kept in their position by
arrangements indicated at. The upper part of each tube is opened
and made flat, so as to pass freely to and fro between the bar 2
and . These tubes carry in them what is known as a mouse k³,
which has a small screw at its end; this screw is for the purpose
of
holding or fastening the strip of iron from which the nails are made.
In the mouth of the mouse a slot is cut for the purpose of introducing
the iron or metal. The weight of the mouse is made sufficiently heavy
to cause the strip of metal (which is always made the width of the nail
required) for either shoe bills or brads to pass freely down the tube and
into and between the cutters. h is a lever mounted upon the end of
the bracket a'; this lever is actuated by arrangements shown at ƒ,
which is an adjustable excentric. 9 shows the stud and plate; g¹ shows
the screws for adjusting. In the plate or wheelf there is a slot. h¹is
the connecting link; e is a small shaft, upon the end of which the

page_text: excentric is mounted; d, d, are mitre wheels attached to the small
shaft e and main shaft c. It will be readily seen that by this arrangement
when the machine is in operation a to-and-fro motion will be given to
the bar i, which has attached to its under side a stud link 2, in which
the lever h works (if this lever has plenty of room between its studs or
jaws it is preferable) tubes, and the strips of metal held therein. The
bottom end of each tube is loosely but firmly held by a guide o. o¹are
holes made or sunk in this guide, in which the tubes fall, and through
which the bars of metal pass into or between the cutters. These guides
are fixed by means of the screw and nuts at each end immediately
above the cutters m; they are passed through the end or side of the
machine indicated at o³, and may be regulated and adjusted by loosening
and tightening these screws and nuts. It will be observed that there
is a space between each of these holes a' sufficient to admit of the
guides; being so adjusted as to bring and carry the various pieces of
metal into or between the parts of the cutters not used in the first
adjustment. This arrangement is applicable to the cutting of shoe bills
only, and for making which three cutters only are used, indicated by
letters m and n in side view, Figure 2. These cutters run the whole
length of the cutter box, and admit of several bars of metal being
operated upon at one time.
When the readjustment of the guide ; is made a similar distance
should be given to the stud link 1, so that when the bar of metal is
equidistant from the to-and-fro motion it should be quite perpendicular,
so as to make the heads of all the nails from all and each bar of metal
quite square with its angular form.
When I adapt my arrangement of machinery to cutting bill brads,
commonly called carpenters', joiners', or flooring brads, the guideƒª admits
of no removal, as one set of cutters are complete for making one nail.
Each cutter has fixed at its side what is called a bill cutter, as seen at
m² in plan, Figure 3. This plan shows two sets of bill cutters, which
correspond with the guide; this guide has the sides, through which
the strip of iron passes, left higher than the centre, so that when the
to-and-fro motion takes place it shall form or leave the bill upon each
alternate side of the iron as it is alternately cut off. These arrangements
of the three cutters m and n as shown for making shoe bills or sprigs
(two stationary and one moveable), and the same arrangement for
making carpenters', joiners', and flooring brads (with the bill cutters as

page_text: shown) with the under cutter only moveable as aforesaid avoids the
necessity of turning over the bar of iron for making what are called by
the trade turnover nails, the whole used in connection with the to-and-
fro motion for giving the proper or desired angle or point to the nail.
c is the main shaft; c¹ indicates a fly wheel; c³ and c³ tight and loose t
pulleys. m³ are guides, which regulate the width of the nail; m³ are
set pins, which set the guides to their proper position; m* are set pins
for fastening, setting, and regulating the cutters, which any ordinary
workman will readily understand.
Operation. The machine having been put into motion the operator 1
takes a mouse ³ and screws a piece of iron (the width of the nail
required) into its mouth (which should be the exact width of the iron)
by means of the screw ³; the size or width of the iron should be at all
times as wide as the nail is required to be long for shoe bills or sprigs,
and for carpenters', joiners', or flooring brads a little wider, so as to leave 1
a bill upon each nail. When the strip is fast in the mouth of the mouse
it is placed in one of the tubes whilst in motion and let fall, its own
weight being sufficient to cause it to pass between the cutters. This
operation is continued until the whole of the tubes are full of bars or
strips of metal, and the bars of iron are replaced as fast as they are cut 2
up. The mice should work freely up and down the tubes.
. Having now described my Invention, applicable to making cut nails,
such as shoe bills and sprigs, and carpenters', joiners', and flooring brads,
I claim as new, the combination of three or more cutters arranged in
the manner described, the metal from which the nail is cut having a 2
to-and-fro motion for forming, giving, or determining the point of the
same, as herein set forth and substantially as shown in the annexed
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Southwood, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Third day of April. One thousand 3