IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS. RAILWAY SPIKES OR PINS. AND GAS-TUBE FASTENINGS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Brown, of Smethwick, in
Stafford, Iron Manufacturer, and Noah Fellows, of Selly Oak, in the
County of Worcester, Iron Manufacturer, and Edward Jones, of
Deepfields, Sedgley, in the County of Stafford, Iron Manufacturer,
and William Brown, of Smethwick, aforesaid, Iron Manufacturer, for
the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS. RAILWAY
SPIKES OR PINS. AND GAS-TUBE FASTENINGS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED
IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE."
Sealed the 28th June 1861, and dated the 5th April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Brown, Noah
Fellows, Edward Jones, and William Brown, at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 5th April 1861.
We, DAVID BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Iron
Manufacturer, and NOAH FELLOWS, of Selly Oak, in the County of
Worcester, Iron Manufacturer, and EDWARD JONES, of Deepfields,
Sedgley, in the County of Stafford, Iron Manufacturer, and WILLIAM
BROWN, of Smethwick aforesaid, Iron Manufacturer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
NAILS, RAILWAY SPIKES OR PINS, AND GAS-TUBE FASTENINGS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED
IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
In making nails, railway spikes or pins, and gas tube fastenings, we
roll bars of iron of such figure, that when cut transversely, they have
in the section the figure of headed nails, railway spikes or pins, or gas-

page_text: tube fastenings. In rolling iron for making nails, we prefer to roll the
bars of such a figure that when cut transversely two nails are produced
joined together at the summits of their heads, the junction being so
slight that the two nails formed by each cutting generally separate in
the act of cutting, or if they do not, they may be readily separated after-
wards. In rolling bars of the kind last described, it is convenient to roll
the bars first, with the two halves inclined to one another at a nearly
right angle, that is, of such a form that in cross section they have the
figure of two-headed nails joined together by the summits of their heads
but inclined at a nearly right angle to one another. Before cutting the
iron so formed into nails, we so far flatten it as to bring the two halves
into the same plane. We also roll iron for making headed nails of such
a form as to resemble in cross section only one headed nail. We cut the
bars of iron rolled as herein-before described, by means of machines,
similar to those commonly employed for like purposes, excepting that we
make a groove in the shears to correspond in figure with the section of
the nail, spike, or pin, or gas-tube fastening. The cutters or shearing
machines may either be fed by hand or by a mechanical feeder, so as to
cut the rods into the required lengths to form nails, railway spikes or
pins, or gas-tube fastenings of the desired thickness; the nails, railway
spikes, or pins, and gas-tube fastenings may either be cut from the bars,
while the said bars are hot from the rolls, or after the said bars have
cooled. We also make headed nails by rolling broad bars of iron of such
a figure that they have in longitudinal section the figure of a series of
headed nails joined together, either head to head, and point to point, or
head to point. We slit the said bars while hot by means of slitters, and
thereby produce a series of headed nails joined together, which said
nails may be readily separated or broken off from one another.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said David Brown, Noah Fellows, Edward Jones, and William
Brown, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th September
1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME we, DAVID
BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Iron Manufacturer, and
NOAH FELLOWS, of Selly Oak, in the County of Worcester, Iron Manufac-
turer, and EDWARD JONES, of Deepfields, Sedgley, in the County of
Stafford, Iron Manufacturer, and WILLIAM BROWN, of Smethwick afore-
said, Iron Manufacturer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said David Brown, Noah Fellows, Edward Jones, and
William Brown, Her special licence that we, the said David
Brown, Noah Fellows, Edward Jones, and William Brown, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said David Brown,
Noah Fellows, Edward Jones, and William Brown, our 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 Mau, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF NAILS, RAILWAY SPIKES OR PINS, AND GAS-TUBE FASTENINGS, AND
IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said David Brown, Noah Fellows, Edward
Jones, and William Brown, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us or them, 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 David Brown, on behalf of myself and
the said Noah Fellows, Edward Jones, and William Brown, 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, that is to say:-
Our Invention consists in the improvements in the manufacture of nails,
railway spikes or pins, and gas-tube fastenings, and in machinery
employed in the said manufacture, herein-after particularly explained
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In making nails, railway spikes or pins, and gas-tube fastenings,
according to our Invention, we roll bars of iron of such figures that when
cut transversely they have in section the figures of headed nails, railway
spikes or pins, and gas-tube fastenings.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents the figure of the
cross section of a bar for making nails according to our Invention;
Figure 2 represents the cross section of a bar for making railway spikes
or pins, according to our Invention; and Figure 3 represents the cross

page_text: section of a bar for making gas-tube fastenings according to our
Invention.
The part a, of Figure 3, is bent or curved into the required form after
..the fastenings have been cut from the bar. By cutting bars of the forms
of Figures 1, 2, and 3, or other like forms transversely, nails, railway
spikes or pins, and gas-tube fastenings may be made therefrom. In
rolling iron for making nails we prefer to roll the bars of the figure
represented in cross section in Figure 4, that is, of such a figure that when
the said bars are cut transversely in very short lengths, two nails are
produced, joined together at the summits of their heads, the junction b
being so slight that the two nails formed by each cutting generally
separate in the act of cutting, or if they do not they may be readily
separated afterwards. In rolling bars of the kind last described, it is
convenient to roll them first with the two halves inclined to one another
at a nearly right angle, as represented in Figure 5, that is, of such a
form that in cross section the bar has the figure of two headed nails
joined together at the summits of their heads, but inclined at a nearly
right angle to one another. Before cutting the iron so formed into nails
we so far flatten it as to bring the two halves into the same plane, that
is, of the form represented in Figure 4.
Although we prefer to roll iron for making nails of the form illustrated
in Figures 4 and 5, yet we also roll iron of such a form as to resemble in
cross section one headed nail only, as represented in Figure 1.
We cut the bars of iron rolled of the shapes herein-before described
and illustrated by means of cutting shears or tools similar to those
commonly employed, excepting that we make the edge of the shears or
cutting tools correspond in figure with the section of the nail, spike, or
gas-tube fastening. The cutters or shearing machines may either be fed
by hand or by a mechanical feeder, so as to cut the bars into the required
lengths to form nails, spikes, or pins, and gas-tube fastenings of the
desired thickness. The nails, spikes, or pins, and gas-tube fastenings
may either be cut from the bars while the said bars are hot from the
rolls, or after the said bars have cooled. We do not think it necessary
to represent the rolls by which bars of the kinds hereinbefore described
and represented in the Drawing are rolled, as the said rolls are of the
ordinary kind, and are furnished with grooves corresponding in figure
to the bars to be rolled.
Our Invention consists further in making headed nails by rolling bars
or plates of iron of such a figure that they have in longitudinal section
the figure of a series of headed nails joined together, either head to head,
and point to point, as represented in Figure 6, or joined head to point,
as represented in Figure 7; or rolling bars or plates, which have in

page_text: longitudinal section the figure of a series of brad nails joined head to
point. The said bars or plates may either be made broad to be slit up
while hot by slitters so as to produce a series of headed nails joined
together, which said nails may be readily separated or broken off from
one another. Or the said bars or plates may be made in the form of
rods having only the width of a single nail, so that when delivered
from the rolls they do not require slitting, but consist of a series of nails
joined together.
Figure 8 represents in elevation a pair of rolls, by which we roll nails
or nail strips of the kinds last described, that is to say, bars or rods in
which the figure of the nail is disposed longitudinally on the said bars
or rods. The acting flanges of the rolls are inclined in the manner repre-
sented in the Drawing, the bars or rods of iron or steel being rolled in
the spaces marked c. A series of inclines are made on the surfaces d
of the top roll, the lengths of the said inclines being proportioned to the
length of the nails to be produced, each of the said inclines being
terminated by a depression, as will be understood by an inspection of
the transverse section, Figure 9, of the part d, of the upper roll, Figure 8.
The said inclines and depressions give to one side of the bar or rod the
figure of a series of brad nails, that is, nails with heads on one side only.
When we wish to produce a head on each side of the nail, those surfaces
of the lower roll opposite to the surfaces d of the upper roll are made
with inclines and depressions similar to those on the surfaces d of the
upper roll, and we gear the rolls together by pinions e, f, so as to preserve
the inclines and depressions on one roll opposite the inclines and depres-
sions on the other roll. We roll nails by these rolls in the same manner
as rolling ordinary rod iron, that is, from billets of iron or steel. The
said billets after being cut to a convenient length are charged into a
heating furnace, and when properly heated are passed through a pair of
ordinary bolting rolls; from the said bolting rolls they are passed through
a pair of oval rolls, and finally are passed through the rolls, Figure 8,
by which they are converted into nails. When we roll nail strips instead
of nails by rolls of the kind represented in Figure 8, we use a pile of the
ordinary kind instead of a billet.
Although in the foregoing description we have generally described
only the plates, bars, or rods as made of iron, yet steel or semi-steel may
be employed in place of iron.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be carried into effect, we wish it to be understood
that we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, as the same may be varied

page_text: without departing from the nature of our Invention; but we claim as our
Invention,―
Firstly, the improvements in the manufacture of nails, railway spikes,
or pins, and gas-tube fastenings, herein-before described and illustrated
in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say,
manufacturing the said nails, railway spikes or pins, and gas-tube fasten-
ings from bars or plates of iron or steel rolled of such figures or sections
that by cutting the said bars or plates transversely, single nails, railway
spikes or pins, and gas-tube fastenings are produced, and rolling nail
bars or plates of such a figure or section that by cutting the said bars
or plates transversely two nails are produced at each cut, which nails
are either separated by the act of cutting or remain joined together at
their heads by a slight junction, and may afterwards be separated.
Secondly, the improvements in the manufacture of nails and brad
nails, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the
accompanying Drawing, that is to say, manufacturing nails from bars,
plates, or rods of iron or steel rolled of such a figure or section that they
have in longitudinal section the figure of a series of headed nails joined
together, either head to head and point to point, or head to point, or
from bars, plates, or rods of iron or steel having in longitudinal section
the form of a series of brad nails joined head to point.
Thirdly, the new or improved machinery herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 of the accompanying Drawing, to be
employed in the manufacture of nails of the kinds herein-before described
and illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawing, and
of the kind of nail commonly known as brad nails, in which the head is
situated on one side only of the nail; the nails or nail strips from which
the said nails are made being rolled in the said machinery by preference
from the billet or pile.
In witness whereof, 1, the said David Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw.
DAVID BROWN. (L.S.)