IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING TRENAILS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Pearson, of Bugbrook, near Weedon, in the
County of Northampton, Contractor, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING TRENAILS."
Sealed the 27th October 1859, and dated the 27th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Pearson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
April 1859.
I, GEORGE PEARSON, of Bugbrook, near Weedon, in the County of
Northampton, Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING TRENAILS," to be
as follows:-
My improved apparatus consists in a cylinder or box made of metal, and
bored out internally to the shape and size of the trenails required to be
shaped by it. One end of the bore is enlarged for forming the conical head
of the trenails, and made with a suitable aperture in the side for admitting
the cutting blade, which is adjustable and fixed with screws to a projection on
the outside of the cylinder. This cutting blade is so shaped as to cut the
cylindrical part of the trenail as well as the conical head. A second cutting
blade is fixed to the face of the tail end for cutting the ends of the trenails;
the head end of the cylinder is provided with a guide plate screwed or bolted
to the cylinder flange, while at the tail end a washer or plate with an enlarged.

page_text: hole, and open at one side to allow for the escape of the shavings, is attached
to a similar flange with. bolts, by which the cylinder is also firmly fixed to a
small chuck provided with an internal screw for screwing on to the end of a
revolving spindle. The pieces of wood intended for trenails are made of about
the diameter or a little more than the large end of the heads; they are intro-
duced through the guide plate, and pushed in till the end reaches to and is
shaped by the end blade, the cylinder with its blades revolving rapidly, while
the piece of wood is held fast to prevent it turning round. I prefer to make
the pieces of wood of twice the length of the trenails; when one half is formed
it is withdrawn from the cutting apparatus, and then the other half introduced
and cut. This double trenail is then cut in two by a circular saw, and the
ends of the heads faced.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Pearson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
PEARSON, of Bugbrook, near Weedon, in the County of Northampton,
Contractor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Pearson, Her special licence that I, the said George Pearson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Pearson, 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 FOR
CUTTING AND SHAPING TRENAILS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said George Pearson, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Pearson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My improved apparatus consists in a cylinder or box, bored out to suit the
shape and size of the trenails required to be formed by it. One end of the
bore is enlarged for forming the conical head of the trenails, and made with a
suitable aperture in the side for admitting the cutting blade, which is
adjustable and fixed with screws to a projection on the outside of the cylinder;
this cutting blade is so shaped as to cut the cylindrical part of the trenail as
well as the conical head. A second cutting blade is fixed to the face of the
tail end of the box for cutting the ends of the trenails. The head end of the
cylinder is provided with a guide plate, screwed or bolted to the cylinder
flange, while at the tail end a washer or plate, with an enlarged bore, and
open at one side to allow for the escape of the shavings, is attached to a
similar flange with bolts, by which the cylinder is also firmly fixed to a small
chuck provided with an internal screw for screwing on to the end of a revolving
spindle. The pieces of wood intended for trenails are first cut into lengths
equal to the lengths of two trenails, and as they are of an irregular form,
inostly irregular square, I prefer to form them into cylinders, slightly tapered
at both ends of the diameter of the end of the head, with a separate cutting
box, in order to prevent the unnecessary wear of the finishing blade. These
cylindrical pieces of wood are introduced through the guide plate, and pushed
in till the end reaches to, and is shaped by the end blade, the cylinder with
its blades revolving rapidly, whilst the piece of wood is held fast.
When one
end of the piece of wood is formed it is withdrawn, and the other end intro-
duced and cut; this double trenail is then cut in two by the circular saw,
and the heads faced by a cutter similar to the one for facing the trenail
ends. The blade which performs this last operation is fixed in a separate
cylinder.
In the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my
trenail cutting machine, showing the cutting and facing cylinders with the
circular saw; Fig. 2 is a ground plan of the same. The piece of wood
intended for trenails having first been cut to the length of two trenails, is
introduced into the bore of the cutter box A, which is provided with one or.
more blades set to cut the wood into a cylinder of the diameter of the end
of the trenail head. The ends of the blades are bent so as to taper off the
ends of the piece of wood. After leaving the cutter box A, one end of the
piece of wood is introduced into one of the cutter boxes B through the guide

page_text: plate, and pushed in till it reaches the end blade, when it is withdrawn, and
the other end pushed into the cutter box in the same manner.
The trenails
are next brought to the circular saw C to be cut in two; the trenails are
placed into the box D, and pushed up to the stop D', which is adjusted to
bring the middle of the two trenails opposite the circular saw, after which the
box D, which is supported on the radial arm D³, is moved towards the saw,
and the trenails cut in two. The final operation consists in pushing the head
of the trenail into the box E, and shaping it. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal
elevation of the trenail shaping box B in full size; Fig. 4 is a ground plan of
the same, with the guide plate B₁ and chuck B³ removed, and the washer B
detached. The cutter a for cutting the cylindrical part and the conical head
of the trenail is secured by the set screws a', a', and the cutter 6 for shaping
the end of the trenail, is secured by the screw b¹. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal
section through the box B, showing how the cylinder with the guide plate B',
washer B, and chuck B³, are joined together; Fig. 6 is an end view of
Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a section through the line y, z, of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is an end
view of Fig. 4 with chuck B³ and washer B2 removed; and Fig. 9 is a plan of
the washer B², showing the portion cut out for the escape of the shavings.
Fig. 10 represents two trenails in full size before being cut in two through the
line v, w, by the circular saw, as described.
Having now described the nature of my said improvements, I wish it to be
understood that what I claim as my Invention is the combination of box,
guide plate, knives, washer and chuck, as herein-before described and repre-
sented in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9 in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
and forming my apparatus for cutting or shaping trenails.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Pearson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
GEORGE PEARSON. (L.S.)