AN IMPROVED IMPLEMENT FOR DRAWING NAILS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Churchill, of Darnley Crescent, Hackney,
in the County of Middlesex, Merchant, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED IMPLEMENT FOR DRAWING NAILS."-A communication from
abroad by Willis Churchill, of the City and State of New York,.
United States of America.
Sealed the 1st January 1870, and dated the 3rd July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Churchill at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd July 1869.
. I, CHARLES CHURCHILL, of Darnley Crescent, Hackney, in the County,
of Middlesex, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-.
tion for "AN IMPROVED IMPLEMENT POR DRAWING NAILS," a communication,
to be as follows:-
The said Invention relates to an implement whereby nails, spikes,
or brads driven into packing cases, flooring, or other timber or wood-
work may be drawn or extracted therefrom in such a manner that they
will not be broken, bent, or twisted, and unfitted for further use,
and so that the wood will not be split or otherwise injured by their
extraction.

page_text: The said implement consists mainly of two hooks or claws so arranged
together and in combination with a lever and adjustable curved shoe,
which forms the fulcrum that they can be made first to enter the wood
below the head of the nail, and then by a proper movement of the lever
will grip the nail and draw it from the wood, the curved shoe sliding
towards the nail as the same leaves the wood, so that the nail is drawn
out in a direction parallel or nearly so with its axis, and is thereby
extracted without being broken, bent, or twisted. The said hooks or
claws are made of hardened steel; one of them is formed or fixed upon
the end of the lever while the other is formed or fixed upon a link or
strap pivotted to the curved shoe. The first-mentioned claw passes
through this link, and at the back of the latter the lever is provided
with studs or pins which act as stops to prevent the slipping of the
shoe from the lever. The said shoe or fulcrum piece is formed upon
the bottom of a slotted piece which is adjustable upon the lever, the said
lever being constructed of iron, steel, or other suitable metal, and pro-
vided with a handle of wood or other suitable material, and of any
convenient form. The hook or claw on the end of the lever passes
through the link or strap and moves freely therein, and the shoe slides
freely upon the lever, but the parts are guided and restrained laterally
so that though readily adjusted by moving the lever, the two hooks or
claws are not liable to be displaced or disarranged, but when closed to
grip or take hold of the nail will come together fairly or with the points
exactly opposite to each other.
In using my improved implement the same is held by the handle and
the curved shoe is placed upon the surface of the wood from which the
nail is to be extracted, the claws lying with the head of the nail, spike,
or brad between them. By pressing the handle the said claws. are
caused to approach each other, and are at the same time forced into
the wood so as to take hold of the nail or other article under the head;
the lever slides through the slot in the shoe at the same time that
by the pressure the claw on the said link is kept down to its work as the
two claws meet. Then by pressing down the handle the lever turns on
its fulcrum (that is the shoe), the claws being thereby raised with the
nail between them, and as the nail leaves the wood the shoe slips towards
it, so that the claws do not turn around the fulcrum but move in a
straight line vertically to the surface of the wood, or nearly so, and the.
nail is kept straight and fit for future use.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Churchill in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
CHURCHILL, of Darnley Crescent, Hackney, in the County of Middlesex,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Charles Churchill, Her special licence that I, the
said Charles Churchill, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Charles Churchill, 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 "AN IMPROVED IMPLEMENT FOR DRAWING
NAILS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Churchill, 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 Charles Churchill, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing
forming a part of this Specification :-
The said Invention relates to an implement for extracting nails from
woodwork, and is designed to afford the means whereby simple nails
and the varieties thereof, such as spikes or brads used for securing
packing cases, flooring, or other timber or woodwork may be drawn or
extracted therefrom in such a manner that they will not be broken,
bent, or twisted, and unfitted for further use, and so that the wood will
not be split, torn, or otherwise injured by their extraction.
:

page_text: The said implement consists mainly of two hooks or claws so arranged
together and in combination with a lever and adjustable curved shoe
which forms the fulcrum of the said lever, that in drawing a nail they
can be first forced into the wood below the head of the nail, and then
by a proper movement of the lever made to grip the nail and draw
it from the wood, the curved shoe sliding towards the nail as the same
leaves the wood, so that the nail is drawn out in a direction parallel or
nearly so with its axis, and is thereby extracted without being broken,
The said implement consists mainly of two hooks or claws so arranged
together and in combination with a lever and adjustable curved shoe
which forms the fulcrum of the said lever, that in drawing a nail they
can be first forced into the wood below the head of the nail, and then
by a proper movement of the lever made to grip the nail and draw
it from the wood, the curved shoe sliding towards the nail as the same
leaves the wood, so that the nail is drawn out in a direction parallel or
nearly so with its axis, and is thereby extracted without being broken,
bent, or twisted.
In order that the construction and manner of using my improved
implement may be clearly understood I have illustrated the same in the
accompanying Drawing which I will now proceed to describe.
Figure 1 is a side view of my improved implement shewing the
position of the parts with regard to the nail being extracted; Figure 2
is a top view of the said implement. Like letters indicate the same
parts in both Figures.
The hooks or claws a, b, are made of hardened steel. It will be seen
that one of them a is formed or fixed upon the end of the lever a¹ while the
other is formed or fixed upon a link 6' pivotted at c to the curved shoe d,
the said link being for convenience made in the form of a looper strap.
The first-mentioned claw a passes through this link, and at the back of
the latter the lever a¹ is provided with a stud or pin e which prevents
the escape of the shoe d from the lever. The fulcrum piece or curved
shoe d is connected with the lever a¹ in such a manner as to slide freely
thereon by the slotted part d', which is made in one piece with the said
shoe, this part of the implement is formed of malleable iron or other
suitable metal. The lever a' which is constructed of iron, steel, or other
suitable metal and provided with a handle a² of wood or other suitable
material may be curved in the manner shown, or of any other convenient
form. As herein-before stated the hook or claw a on the end of the
lever passes through the link or strap 6' which forms part of the claw b
and moves freely therein, and the shoe d slides freely upon the lever;
but these parts are guided and restrained laterally, so that although they
move freely and are caused to adjust themselves to the nail by moving
the lever a', the two hooks or claws a, b, are not liable to miss
the nail or to be accidentally displaced or disarranged, but when
closed by moving the handle to grip or take hold of the nail, as shown

page_text: in Figure 1, they will come together fairly, that is to say, with their
points exactly opposite to each other upon the nail.
In using my improved implement the same is held by the handle a²,
and the curved shoe d is placed upon the surface of the wood from
which the nail is to be extracted, the claws a, b, enclosing the head of
the nail, spike, or brad between them; then by pressing the handle a*
the said claws are caused to approach each other, and are at the same
time forced into the wood so as to take hold of the nail under the head.
The lever slides or slips towards the nail through the slot in the part d'
of the shoe at the same time that by the pressure the claw 6 by its
link 6 is drawn in the opposite direction, so that the two claws are
caused to approach each other and grasp the nail with the full force
obtained by the application of the power at the handle of the lever.
Then by pressing down the said handle the lever turns on its fulcrum
(that is the shoe d), the claws a, b, being thereby raised with the nail
between them; as the nail leaves the wood the shoe slides and adjusts
itself to its work, so that the claws a, b, do not turn in the arc of a
circle around the fulcrum, but move in a straight line vertically to the
surface of the wood or nearly so, and the nail is kept straight and fit
for future use, and the packing case, flooring, or other woodwork is
uninjured.
Having now fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I wish it understood that I claim,
an implement for drawing nails consisting of the hooks or claws a, b,
the lever a', and shoe d, constructed, combined, and operating together
substantially as hercin set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Churchill, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
CHARLES CHURCHILL. (L.S.)
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE,
8, Southampton Buildings.