CERTAIN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND HEADING OF NAILS AND BRADS OF ALL KINDS AND SIZES FROM STRIPS OR PLATES MADE OF IRON, COPPER, OR ANY OTHER METAL CAPABLE OF BEING ROLLED INTO PLATES
Year: 1810

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
CDYER, of Boston, State of Massachusetts, one of the United States,
late residing in the City of Westminster, but now residing in the City of
London, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth
day of July, in the fiftieth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph CDyer, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, His especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph C- Dyer,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might use, make, use, exercise, and send, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, an Invention, communicated to me by a certain
foreigner rosiding abroad, of "CERTAIN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND HEADING
OF NAILS AND BRADS OF ALL KINDS AND SIZES FROM STRIPS OR PLATES MADE OF
IRON, COPPER, OR ANY OTHER METAL CAPABLE OF BEING ROLLED INTO PLATES;" in
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that if I, the said Joseph
CDyer, shall not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be enrolled in
His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and

page_text: immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, that then the said
Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted,
shall utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and by the said Letters
Patent, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph C-
Dyer, do hereby declare that the said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascertained
in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following description
thereof (that is to say):—
To manufacture nails and brads from iron or other metal rolled into strips
or plates, and to accommodate my said machinery to the various sizes and
kinds of nails, so as to make them to the best advantage, I construct and use
four several machines, all of which partake in a great degree of the same
general principals or leading mechanical powers, motions, and actions; but the
differ considerably from cach other in the combination of their several parts,
and in the mode of obtaining and securing the due performance of the various
motions and actions which are found indispensible to the execution of the
work in this branch of manufacture. Two of my said machines are calculated
to cut and head nails at one operation, that is, to cut into the desired size and
form to head and complete in all its parts one nail at each successive and
respective raising and descending of the main levers, which communicate
motion and determine the action of the several parts of the machines that are
employed in the formation of the nails. One other of my said machines is
calculated to cut brads, and to cut into the proper size and form the several
kinds of nails without heading them; these nails so cut and left without heads
I call nail shives; and with the other of my said machines I form heads
to my said nail shives; and this last machine is equally calculated for and
intended to be used to head nails of every description, whether it be such as
are cut from plates with my aforesaid or any other machine, or those which
are formed from nail rods and shaped under the hammer in the usual way.
I will now proceed to the particular description of my said machines separately,
and first, of the machine to cut and head nails at one operation, as delineated
in the set of Drawings, No. 1. In these Drawings, Figure 1 represents a
direct view of the machine, as seen from the side where the person stands
who holds the nail plates to feed the machine, this I call the front side;
Figure is a direct view of the opposite or back side of the the machine;
Figure 3 represents the upper parts of the machine, being a direct view
as scen from above; Figure Four is a section shewing the forward ends of
the moving cutter and gripping die, the pressing die, and the parts connected

page_text: therewith, as seen from the end of the machine, the part of the machine which
supports the stationary cutter and die being removed); and Figure 5 represents
the ends of the said stationary cutter and griping die, as secured in the said
part of the machine when taken off. The same letters indicate the same parts
in all the Figures to this machine. A, A, denote a piece of timber, which
serves as a frame or support, to which the machine is firmly fixed and secured
by the fasteners a, a, and b, b; the main body or principal support of the
several parts of the machine is denoted at B, B, which is of cast iron, and in the
standing or upright part of it the stationary cutter K, K, and the griping die
M, M, are beded and secured. C, C, is a frame composed of two thick plates
of cast iron, connected at their upper angles or corners by two cross pieces all
cast together, and at their lower edges they repose crosswise on the upper side
of the horizontal part of B, B, and are firmly secured there; this frame C, C,
(which I call the slide bearer,) is open between the lateral sides of its plates,
and at the top, but its external figure is nearly that of a tube; through the
centre of the plates of this slide bearer C, C, there are square holes exactly
similar and opposite to cach other, which are lined or boxed with hard com-
position. D, D, is a slider, having four latteral sides, which are accurately fitted
to go into the said holes or composition boxes of C, C, and made to slide
therein in a backward and forward direction, this slider D, D, is the frame or
carriage in which the moving cutter L, L, and the griping die N, N, are beded
and secured, and by the sliding or backward and forward motion of D, D, the
said cutter and griping die are made to approach to and recede from the
stationary cutter and griping die before mentioned, as fixed in the upright part
of B, B, whereby the said cutters and dies are made to perform their respective
offices of cutting the nails and of griping or holding them in a position to
be headed. E, E, denote a frame, which supports and regulates the motion of
the pressing die e, e, this frame has two arms that embrace the opposite sides
of the slide bearer C, C, and are hung on the slides c, c, which serve as their
axis, the other or forward ends of these arms are attached at the screws d.
through the ends of a piece that crosses the main body of the machine; on this
cross piece the said pressing die e, e, is secured, and so disposed as to pass
directly under the junction of the griping dies, and to be removable at
pleasure (as is more distinctly shewn at E, E, and e, e, in Figure 4), the raising
this cross piece or fore part of the frame E, E, (by a powerful pressure
upwards of the pieces Y, Y, in the great lever against the ends of the regu-
lating screws Z, Z,) will impress or form a head to that part of the nail
which remains below the griping dies when it is held to be headed; and by
means of those regulating screws, the degree of pressure and the thickness of
D

page_text: the heads may be varied at pleasure. G, G, is a branch attached to and
extending from the slider D, D, in an upright direction through the open top
of the slide bearer C, C, this branch G, G, supports the axle on which the
lèver F, F, is hung; J, J, is a small upright frame, fastened by screws at its
lower end to the forward end of the slider D, D, and having a groove in its
front side, which extends lengthwise through its centre down so as to form a
space or box (before the edges of the moving, and on the back side of the
stationary cutters), which I call the "conducting box," to contain the nails as
they are cut, and to guide them thence (as the slider D, D, advances forward)
down between the griping dies and on the pressing die, where they are headed;
II, II, is a piece which I call "the forcing slider," which, with its small end
h, h, is fitted to move up and down in the frame I, I, and its groove or con-
ducting box i, i; at the upper end of II, II, is a cap, through which the rods
ff, pass, these rods are attached at the lower ends by pins to the lever F, F,
and at their upper ends (above the said cap, they are furnished with elastic
spring wires, which, when the the rods are pulled down by the lever F, F,
carry the slide II, H, h, h, downward in the said frame and conducting box;
these clastic wires serve to prevent injury (to any of the parts, by permitting
the lever to move freely its determinate distance), in case any obstruction should
oppose the passage downward of the slider II, II, h, h; this slider is carried
upwards by a pin, against which the lever F, F, pushes in returning; the small
lever p, p, as seen in Figure 3 and in the section Figure 4 intersecting the machine,
is hung on a pin near its centre, and the back side, and forward end of the
greater slider D, D, and passing just under the stationary cutter, communicates
with the frame I, I, and forms a part of the lever end of the conducting box i, i,
whereby that part of the said conducting box is rendered flexible or of different
dimensions, by the alternate opening and shutting of this lever, according to
the pressure of the different sized nails which may occur in passing through
the said box; this lever p, p, is lightly pressed against the conducting box, so
as to keep it shut (to its smallest dimensions, when not resisted by a large nail),
by the action of a wire spring against the back end of it, as is seen on the
rod 9, 7, at Figures 2 and 3; in Figure 2, r, 7, is another small lever, whose
axis g extends from the great slider D, D, this lever being attached at its
lower end to the rod q, q, and acted on at its upper end by the adjuster 8, s,
serves to pull back the end of p, p, by the rod q, q, when the slider D, D,
returns, so that the lever p, p, will turn on its axis, and the said conducting
box will be regularly opened to let the nails fall so soon as the great slider
D, D, returns back when the nails are completed; by means of these con-
trivances it will be seen, that as the lever F, F, is made to rise and fall, the

page_text: small end h, h, of the forcing slider will be brought in contact with the
points or upper ends of the nails, as soon as they are cut, and that they
will be immediately forced down through the said conducting box, and be
therein directed to the griping and heading dies, where they undergo the act
of heading, and that, as the dies and cutters are again seperated, the said
box will be opened, and the nails permitted to fall and pass off from the
machine as fast as they are made. I will here observe, that it is an essential
point in manufacturing cut nails with my said machinery to insure the con-
veyance of the nails from the place where they are cut to that where they are
to be headed, in the regular and rapid succession which the operation of the said
machines require, without subjecting the machines to be clogged or obstructed,
and especially, as it frequently happens, that from flaws or unequal thickness
in the plates, there occasionally considerable difference occur in nails intended
for the same size and description, I have therefore been the more circumstan-
tial in describing the construction and operation of my said forcing slide and
conducting box, which will be found amply to provide for the object intended.
g, g, in Figure 4, is a screw, in which the frame E, E, rests, and by which
I regulate the distance between the pressing die and the griping dies; this
distance will determine the quantity of material of which the head of the nail
shall be composed, and by turning the said screw 9, g, the same can readily be
varied at pleasure; in the section, Fig. 4, k, k, k, denote a plate (common
sheath iron will answer), bent so as to form a guide and rest to direct the nail
plates between the cutters, which greatly facilitates the feeding of the machine;
this piece is left out in the Drawing, Figure 1, in order to shew the other
parts more distinctly. The cutters K, K, and L, L, together with the griping
dies m, m, and n, n, are beded and firmly secured in the mortices or places
made in the cast iron to receive them, that is, the stationary cutter and die in
the standing or upright part of B, B, and the moving cutter or die in the
forward end of the slider D, D; these cutters and dies are all secured in their
respective situations (as shewn in the Drawings) by screws, wedges, and keys,
whose situation and uses will be seen and readily understood by bare inspection
of the Drawings, or they may be secured by any other fit and convenient
means which will admit their being easily adjusted or taken out to be
ground, repaired, and so forth; and I omit particular reference by charac-
ters to these screws, wedges, and so forth, as they are such as any competent
workman will find no difficulty in providing for. The cutters and dies
should all be made of the best steel, well tempered (I give the pre-
ference to cast steel); the cutters should be ground with a short başil
across the ends that meet and pass each other, so as to form the edges thick

page_text: and not liable to be broke or injured when they meet to cut the nails; (these
edges, when the cutters are in their places) should be set so as to form an
accute angle when brought in contact with each, or, in other words, they
should be set a little shearing, as in passing they cut the nails on the same
principle on which the blades of shears act in cutting. The ends of the griping
dies (between which the nails are pressed and held to be headed) should be
ground so as to leave a hollow or die in each of them, which, when in contact,
will form between the ends of the said dies a hole or space of the shape and
size which the nails are required to possess (just under the heads) after being
headed; the piece N, N, (which is more distinctly seen in Figure 3, is of
hard composition (copper and tin), its ends are made concave or hollowed into
half circles, which are fitted to form joints with and move on the fixed half
cylinders or convex ends t, t; this N, N, is confined in its place by the iron
straps M, M, which are hung at each end on pivots at t, t; by the action of
N, N, against the back end of the slider D, D, the said slider is impelled
forward, and the iron straps M, M, serve to draw it backward, this is what
I call a "toggle joint;" and I will here observe that I sometimes form the said
toggle by making the ends of N, N, convex or round, into projecting half
circles, and fitting them to act in hollows or concave ends, instead of acting on
convex ends, as above; and the said toggle joints answer my purpose made in
either way, but I generally prefer the former, as being the easiest to keep
in repair. The piece Q, O, is sustained by the props v, v, and secured (at the
top of the upright branch P, P, of the main lever by the bolt U, U, which bolt
passing through O, O, and P, P, intersects the circumference of the hoop Q,
and is held firm by its screw and nut; by this means, it will be seen, a rigid
spring is formed, against which the back end of the toggle joint rests; this
contrivance call "a safeguard," it being calculated to spring or give way
sooner than break or materially damage any part of the machine, in case the
slider D, D, should be obstructed in its motion, and it serves too to regulate
the pressure of the griping dies, as it will spring a little whenever a nail
occurs unusually large to be gripped. This safeguard serve likewise as an
adjuster to the toggle joint, the back end of which being fitted to move up
and down in 0, 0, and secured there by the screw W, and by encreasing or
diminishing the size of the props V, V, greater or less advance will be given to
the slider D, D, with its butts and die, the pieces X, X, being attached to
each other, and to the back end of the lever F, F, by pins, serve to give
motion to the said lever F, F, and the several pin holes (as seen in Figures 1
and 2) serve to regulate and determine the distance up and down which the
said lever may be required to move; the great lever, with its upright branch

page_text: before mentioned, is denoted at R, R, and P, P; this lever is forked or divided
(at its forward end) into two branches, which embrace the main body B, B,
and is hung on its fulcrum or gudgeon at S, S, which passes through a hole or
composition box in B, B. From the foregoing description of the construction
and operation of this machine, and from the inspection of its several parts, as
delineated in the Drawings referred to, it will readily be seen that when the
back end or tail of the great lever is made to rise, the branch P, P, will cause
the toggle N, N, to push against the slider D, D, which will impel forward
the cutter L, L, so that its edge acting with that of the cutter K, K,
will cut a shive or nail (the person tending or feeding the machine having
first introduced the end of the nail plate between the edges of the said
cutters, as hereafter described, which nail being thus cut, will find itself in the
conducting box i, i, and as the lever continues to rise, X, X, will cause F, F, to
turn on its axis at G, G, and thereby carry the small slider H, H, downward,
and with h, h, will force the nail through the conducting box i, i, as it advances
forward), so that the nail will pass down between the griping dies and rest on
the top of the pressing die e, c, and at this moment D, D, continuing to advance
as the lever rises, will bring the griping die n, n, forward, so as to hold the
nail fast, and press it between the dies m, m, and n, n. The lever still con-
tinuing to rise, will bring the pieces Y, Y, in contact with the screws Z, Z,
which will carry up the pressing die e, e, and impress a head to that part of
the nail which remains below the griping dies. The great lever being now
made to descend, will pull the straps M, M, which will draw back the
slider D, D, and thereby open the griping dies and lessen the nail; and as
the lever continues to descend, the slider D, D, returning, will draw the
conducting box i, i, (with the finished nail in it) back, so that the nail head
shall no longer continue to repose on the pressing die c, e; at this moment r, r,
will meet s, s, which will pull back q, q, and turn the lever p, p, on its axis,
which will open the lower end of the conducting box, so as to release the nail
and let it fall and pass off from the machine through a hole made in the
body B, B, just under where the nails are released from the conducting box.
To the bottom of this hole a tube is fixed, through which the nails are con-
veyed away as fast as they are made, and thus, as often as the said lever is
made to go up and down, all the active parts of the machine will be put into
successive operation, and made to perform their due and respective offices of
cutting, heading, and discharging one nail at each rising and falling of the
great lever, as described. The pieces a 2, a 2, are two keys which are fitted
to go into grooves made in the branches of the great lever, and pass through
holes in the opposite ends of its gudgeons S, S. These keys are made a little

page_text: wedging, and being curved on their sides next to the lever, they serve, when
driven in, to hold the said branches of the lever firm in their places, and to
prevent the said gudgeon from turning in the holes of the lever, whereby all
the friction of the gudgeon is in the composition through which it passes, and
which is in the upright part of B, B, as before stated.
Secondly, description of the machine to cut and head nails at one operation,
as delineated in the set of Drawings, No. 2. In these Drawings, Figure 6
gives a direct view of the front side of the machine, as seen when in operation
from the place where the man stands who holds the nail plate to feed the
machine. Figure 7 represents the elevation of the opposite or back side of
the machine, with some of the small parts (seen in Figure 6) left out; and
Figure 8 is an upper view, shewing those parts which are the most distinctly
seen from above. The same letters are used in all the Figures to designate
the same parts in this machine. A, A, denote the upper end of a piece of
timber (or cast iron), on which the machine rests at a, a, and b, b, and is firmly
secured there by the screws and nuts c, c, and d, d. This A, A, is fixed to
stand firm in its place, and serves as a frame or support to the machine. The
main supports of the several active parts of this machine consist of two upright
pieces of cast iron, which I call "jaws, they being connected by a joint at
their lower ends, which permits them to open and shut like the jaws of a common
smith's vice. One of these jaws is stationary, and is denoted at B, B, B; the
picces a, a, and b, b, are cast with and form a part of tho jaw, whereby it is
held and secured to the frame A, A, (as above stated; the other, or moving
jaw, is denoted at C, C, C. In the upper end of these jaws the cutters and
griping dies are bedded and firmly secured. D, D, denote the stationary
cutter, and e, e, the stationary griping die, and the moving cutter and griping
die are denoted at E, E, and f. f. The branches b, b, at the bottom, and g, g,
at the top of the stationary jaw, embrace the opposite sides of the moving jaw,
and serve to guide and keep it steady as it is carried backward and forward.
The screws h in the upper branches serve to direct the edges of the cutters, to
adjust their pressure against each other in passing, and to prevent any side-
wise motion of the moving jaw, and the screws Y, Y, in the lower branches,
serve to keep the joint tight. The end of a nail plate being introduced and
held between their ends, edges of the cutters and the moving jaw being
impelled forward, so as to bring the edges of the cutters in contact, they will cut
a shive or nail in passing. The upright piece I, I, extends down just before
the edge of the moving and on the back side of the stationary cutter, so as to
form a groove or space in which the nails are held the moment they are cut
(in like manner as in the machine before described), and are therein conducted

page_text: down, so that their lower or head ends pass between the junction of the
griping dies, and repose on the top of the pressing die, where, as the moving
jaw continues to advance, the griping dies, which are just under the cutters,
are made to approach and to gripe or hold the nails to be headed. (In
Figure 6), G, G, are two pieces secured together at right angles, the horizontal
parts of which is screwed on the top of the moving jaw, and the standing part
supports a pivot at its top, on which the lever F, F, is hung; K, K, is a
piece bent at right angles, with its upright part standing and secured on the
stationary jaw, and having in the end of its horizontal arm a small roller 1, 1,
which is made to turn and move over the curved top of the lever F, F. This
roller being held firm in its place will press down the forward end of the
lever F, F, as the moving jaw advances, and brings forward under the roller
the higher part of the said lever; n, n, n, denote the forcing slider, which
being screwed through a hole in the forward end of the lever F, F, and fitted
to slide up and down in the conducting box i, i, its lower end is impelled
down against the outer ends or points of the nails, and by the continued
advance of the said jaw and lever F, F, forward, the nails are forced down by
the said slider through the conducting box to the dies, where they are to be
headed. This forcing slider n, n; n, has two joints, which permit the lever to
move down its determinate distance, though the end of the slider may be
opposed by the stoppage of a nail, or any other obstruction, in the conducting
box; H, I, denote an elastic wire spring, secured at its upper end to any.
fixture, and its lower end to the lever F, F. This spring will pull the said
lever upwards, and keep it all the time bearing against the roller 1, 1, so that
when the jaw returns back, and the lower part of the lever is brought against
the said roller, the slider will be drawn up in the conducting box, this conduct-
ing box is held in its place, and its size regulated by the spring K, K, (as seen
in Figure 7, which being screwed to the back side of the moving jaw, extends
forward and is bent in right angles, so as to pass thro' a hole in the projecting
piece (c2, c2, which is fixed to the said jaw (and seen also in Figure 7), and the
said conducting is fastened to the end of this spring, which holds it in its place,
and is calculated to press the said box lightly against the back side of the sta-
tionary cutter, and (by its elasticity, to permit the box to give way a little when
a large nail occurs, by which means the dimensions of the said conducting box is
accommodated to by the pressure of the different sized nails which may occur in
passing through it down to be headed; p, p, (Fig. 7) is another spring screwed
to the moving jaw at one end, and at the other end it is bent and fitted to slide
over the projecting surface of the regulator 9,7. This surface is (to that of the side
of the jaw on which the regulator is screwe:) an incline! plane, which permits

page_text: the spring to approach nearer to the stationary jaw as the other advances,
and to recede from it a little as moving jaw returns back. From about the
centre of this spring a branch proceeds (in right angles from it) towards the
lower end of the conducting box. The forward end of this branch is made to
perforate the back side, and form a part of the lower end of the conducting
box; and as this is the part of the said box which presses against and
holds the nails after they are headed, the return of the moving jaw will raiso
the spring p, p, on its regulator q, q, which will draw back its said branch
from, and consequently open or enlarge the lower part of the conducting
box, so as to let the nails fall and pass off from the machine suc-
cessively, as soon as they are completed. The standard I., L, (in Figure 7) is
a rod of iron, made round, and fitted to move freely in holes through the
ends of the supports m and m, which supports are secured to any kind of
fixture (erected outside of the great lever), suitable to hold them firm in
their places. This standard L, L, is held up and regulated (in the distance it
is required to move up and down), by a screw, with a nut which reposes in one
of the said supports, or by any other convenient means. 1, 2, denote a bar or
cross piece of iron, which is firmly secured at the upper end of the said
standard, and extends thence between the cutters crosswise, so as to intersect
the machine, and pass under and a little back of the junction of the gripping
dies. On this cross piece are two raised and projecting parts (one on each
side of the griping dies, and made smooth on their upper surfaces), on which
the pressing dies s, s, reposes, and is permitted to slide or move backward and
forward thereon, so as to be brought directly under the junction of the gripping
dies. The back end of the pressing die 8, 8, passes through a hole in the square
piece or block t, t, and is secured there. This block is hung (at the upper end
of the said standard L, L,) on points or pivots in its upper and under sides, so
as to allow the other or front end of the said pressing die to slide edgeways, or
in a backward and forward direction, as on a binge. The bar or cross piece
1, 1, is so secured in the standard L, L, as to be maintained by it in its hori-
zontal position. M, M, (Fig. 6) denote a piece of iron, bent at right angles,
and hung so as to turn on its axis or pivot in the block at u, u, which is a fixed
position. The lower end of the piece O is attached by a pivot or pin to the
end of the horizontal branch of M, M; and the upper end of O is hung on
another pin which is fixed in the great lever. The upright branch of M, M,
is attached by a pin at its top to the back end of N, N; this N, N, I call the
spring slider," its forward end being made to embrace and hold the small
straight end of the slider P, P, so as to carry the same backward and forwar
its determinate distance, and to slide over the said small end when the said
66

page_text: slider P, P, is stopped. In the forward end of the slider P, P, there is a notch
with perpendicular sides, between which the front end of the pressing die 8, s,
is placed, whereby the said die is carried backward and forward by the slider.
Q, Q. is a piece of iron (screwed to A, A, with a groove lengthwise on its
upper side, and the forward end of P, P, rests on and is kept steady by this
groove, in which it is made to slide. V, V, is a stop, whose upright end arrests
the progress of the pressing die s, &, when the slider has brought it just under
the junction of the griping dies, so that the said pressing die shall remain
stationary in its proper situation to impress the heads to the nails whilst the
spring slider N, N, continues to recede and slide on the small end of P, P. It
will readily be seen that as the great lever rises, O, O, will draw up the branchi
to which it is attached, and cause M, M, to turn on its axis, and that the upper
end of M, M, will draw back the spring slider N, N, which will carry with it
the slider P, P, and, consequently, the pressing die will instantly be brought
to its place (where it will receive the nail the moment it is cut and forced
down between the griping dies), and remain there until the nail is headed,
when, as the great lever begins to descend, 0, 0, will push down M, M, which,
turning again on its axis, will push forward the said sliders, and instantly
carry the pressing die away from under the nail, so as to permit it to fall and
pass off from the machine. On the branches of the great lever, and just under
the raised parts of r, r, (on which the pressing die rests), are two pieces of
steel, as denoted at w, w. These pieces are fixed (so as to be easily adjusted
or taken off), and serve to force up the said cross piece r, r, and the pressing
die when the lever is raised, whereby the head is impressed to that part of the
nail which remains below the griping dies when it is griped or held to be
headed. x, x, x, denote a cylinder or roller, which is hung on its axis Z, Z,
between the raised pieces S, S. These pieces are fitted and secured (by dovetail
or otherwise), on the upper sides of the branches of the great lever, so as to
permit the said roller to turn between them, and to confine it in its place.
T, T, is a piece fitted into the back part of the moving jaw, and projecting
thence forms an inclined surface, against which the roller a, a, a, is made to
act, and by the inclination given to the back side of this piece it will be seen
that the said jaw will be pressed or impelled forward by the roller whenever
the tail of the great lever is made to rise. v, v, is a spring, one end of which
is fixed in a piece fastened in the top of the stationary jaw, and the other (in
like manner) to the top of the moving jaw, whereby the said jaws are pressed
apart or opened when the great lever is made to descend, so as to permit the
said moving jaw to recede from the other. The great lever is denoted at R, R,
and is hung on its axis or gudgeon at 62, 62; this lever (as in the one to the

page_text: machine before described) is forked or divided into two branches (at its forward
end), which embrace the opposite sides of the two jaws, and its gudgeon passes
through and is supported by the stationary jaw. From the inspection of the
Drawings, and the foregoing description of the machine, it will be seen
that as the back end or tail of the great lever R, R, is raised, it will
bring the roller X, X, X, against the projecting surface of T, T, which
(as the said roller rises thereon) will force the jaw C, C, C, forward, and
bring the edge of the cutter E, E, in contact with that of the cutter D, D,
and (the end of a nail plate being placed between the said edges, in the
manner hereafter described,) the cutters will be made to cut a shive or nail in
passing, which nail will be held in tho conducting box i, i, the moment it is
cut, and at the same time the said lever will have caused O, O, to pull up and
turn M, M, on its axis, which will draw backwards the sliders N, N, and
P, P, whereby the pressing die s, s, will be brought against the slop V, V,
and repose just under the junction of the griping dies as soon as the
nail is cut; and as P, P, is thus stopped, N, N, will still recede, by
sliding over the small part of P, P, whilst the lever rises; that as the said
jaw advances, it will carry forward G, G, and the lever F, F, whose highest
part will be brought under the roller 1, 1, which will press the said lever
down, together with the slider n, n, n, the lower end of which slider being
brought in contact with the point of the nail, will force it down through
the conducting box i, i, so that the said nail shall pass between the griping
dies f, f, and e, c, and rest on the pressing die s, s, and as the lever continues to
rise, the griping die will now be made to approach each other, so as to press
or hold the nail to be headed, and that, as the said lever still continues to
ascend, it will bring the pieces w, w, up against the cross piece 1, 2, which will
force up the pressing die s, s, and cause it to impress or form a head to the
nail. The nail being now completed, the great lever is made to descend,
when O, O, immediately pushes down M, M, which turning forces forward N,N,
and P, P, this last will instantly push the pressing die away from under tho
nail; the jaw C, C, C, being now permitted to recede will be forced back by V, V,
which will open the griping dies and loosen the nail; and as the said jaw
recedes it will also draw the spring P, P, (in Fig. 7), towards the high part of
the regulator Q, Q, and thereby withdraw the branch of the said spring from
the lower part of the conducting box where the nail is held, so as to open or
enlarge the said box, and pinn'd the nail to fall and pass off from the machine.
Thus it will be manifest that one nail will be cut and headed as often as and
at cach time the great lever is made to rise and fall. The cutters and dies in
this machine, it will be observed, are ground and set so as to cut the nails on

page_text: the same principal, and to gripe them in a similar manner with those described
for the preceding machine. The griping dies in this machine are bedded and
held down in their places by the pressure of the cutters with which they are in
contact, and the cutters are held down and secured by the screws 1, 2, 3, 4, as
seen at the top of the jaws, and on the back side of Fig. 7, by the screws 5
and 9. The cutters are adjusted and kept firm in their places the screw 6.
The frame 7, 7, and the cross bar 8, serve to adjust and keep in its place the
stationary die, and by the screw 10 the moving die is held and regulated. The
other screws, widges, &c., as seen in the Drawing (in this as in the preceding
machine), will have their several uses suggested by their respective situations;
and the said screws and fasteners are all such, botli in this and the other
machine, as may be varied according to the judgment of the workmen without
interfering with the principal of the said machines. A, A, has two branches or
plates, as denoted at a 2 and a 2, which embrace the branches of the great lever,
and thro' which its gudgeons 62, 62, passes; these plates serve to confine the
branches of the lever, and keep it steady as it moves up and down and turns
on its said fulcrum W, W, in Figures 7 and 8) denote a piece which is
fastened to the lever at its back end, and has a square hole through its
other end in which the end of the fulcrum 62, 62, is secured, so as to cause
the said gudgeon to turn only in the box which supports it in the stationary
jaw, whereby friction is prevented in the holes of the lever. To cut and head
nails with my aforesaid described machine (from iron, copper, or any other
imetal capable of being rolled into plates), I take the said iron or other metal,
already rolled (in the usual way) into strips or plates, and the width of these
plates must a little exceed the length which the nales are required to possess
when completed. As the nails are cut off from across the end of the plates,
one edge of the said plate forming the point end of the nail, and the other
edge the end of which the head of the nail is composed, by the thickness of
the nail plates, the size and proportion of the nails are regulated, as the nails
(when cut) have two of their sides parallel through their whole length from
head to point, which sides correspond with and are, in fact, the same as the
lateral planes of the nail plates from which they are cut; two sides of the nails
consist of the terminal planes of the said plates as formed (at their ends) by
the cutters. The said last-mentioned sides of the nails are cut so as to converge
from the head end towards the point, whereby the points of the nails are
flattened or rendered of the chissell form; and in order to regulate the con-
vergence of the said sides, or, in other words, the taper of the nails, when cut,
the nail plate must be held, as it is introduced between the cutters, with its
back end a little inclined downward from the horizontal line; and (by means

page_text: of the plate-holder and stand hereafter described) it will be easy to regulate
and determine the degrees of the angle of the nails as they are cut, whereby
their points may be made more or less sharp at pleasure, by raising or lowering
the back end of the said plates. In feeding the machines, it will be observed
that the nail plates must be turned half a turn, so as to rest alternately on its
opposite edges as the nails are cut, which will leave the thickest or head ends
always at the lower, and the points ends at the upper part of the conducting
box, as before described. In the set of Drawings, No. 2, Fig. 9, shews the
form of a pair of tongs or pincers, which I call the plate-holder. Fig. 10
indicates the construction of a stand, on which the tail or back end of the said
plate-holder rests, and by which it is regulated in feeding the machine. The
rod a, a, in this stand is fixed to move up and down in the holes through the
stationary part b, b, and c, c, and is raised or lowered therein by the screw and
nut d and f; the piece g, g, is hung on pivots in the branches at the top of
a, a, and in the hollow of this g, 9, a screw is cut, to fit that on the tail of the
plate-holder; and the thickness of the thread of the screws must be calculated
to carry the said plate-holder forward by half its revolution, a distance exactly
equal to that of the nail plate is required to advance at each time between
the cutters to finish a sufficient quantity of metal for the nail; and by varying
the size of the said thread the proportion of the different sized nails may be
regulated. It will readily be seen that, when the nail plate is fixed on the
plate-holder, and the screw in the tail of the holder placed to act with
that in the said hollow of g, g, and the nail plate having its forward end
placed between the cutters so as to rest on one of its edges, by turning
the plate-holder half round the said nail plate will be advanced forward the
requisite distance to furnish metal for a nail to be cut from its end, and
so on continue to be advanced at each balf turn of the plate-holder. The
picce g, g, by turning on its pivots, allows the plate-holder to move back-
ward and forward a little without being turned; this permits the nail plate
to be withdrawn, so as to clear the cutter, when it is turned and again
carried forward, and its end placed between the edges of the cutter in time
to have the nails regularly out as the cutters are brought in contact; but
in feeding my said machines I frequently use, and for the first-described
machine I generally give the preference to a plate-holder and standard or
rest made without the said screws, as in the above-described feeders; and,
instead of the screws, I make the said plate-holder with a round smooth
tail, and in the top of the standard a groove with perpendicular sides and
a friction roller at its bottom; in this groove the said plate-holder is placed,
and reposing on the said roller it is allow'd to slide freely ba kwarl and

page_text: forward therein. When I rise this plate-holder and rest, I have a pin piece of
steel fixed in the back side of the conducting box, and secured there by screws,
or otherwise, near the bottom of the cutter, so as to be easily adjusted, and to
form a guage, against which the end of the nail plate is held when the nails
are cut, and which will determine and regulate the quantity of metal to be cut
from the plate to form the nails; the person who feeds the machine with-
drawing the plate a little the moment the plate is cut, and turning it half a
turn as in the former case, immediately pushes it forward again between the
cutters, so that its ends meets the said guage in the back of the conducting
box, as aforesaid; in using this last plate-holder the plate should be turned
first one way and then the other, which causes the nails to be cut more square,
but which cannot be done in the feeder that advances the plate with.a.screw.
In Fig. 11, different sizes of the nails, as made with the aforesaid machines, are
represented, whose shape I have endeavoured to describe. These are the kind
of nails. to the manufacture of which the said machines are more particularly
adopted; but from the mode of cutting and heading. them, and by means of
the several regulators and adjusters connected therewith and already described,
it will be seen that great variety of form, proportion, and size may be given to
the nails with the said machines. I will, however, here observe, that I consider
it among the most important branches of the said Invention, to manufacture
nails possessing the particular form and qualities of those which I have described
and delineated, as I conceive these nails to be far superior, for many uses, to
those which are wrought in the usual way with the hammer, and to be equal
with these last in every respect, except, perhaps, for those kinds of work which
requires the nails to be clenched, and in this respect my said cut nails will be
somewhat more liable to break if they are cut, as before described, from nail
plates that have been rolled down in narrow strips; but in order to provide for
this quality, also, in my said cut nails, when it is intended to make nails that
is required to be clenched, I have the iron or other metal rolled into plates as
wide as they can conveniently be made, and then have these plates slit or
divided transversely into strips or plates, and the nails cut from these strips
or plates will have their strata or fibres of the metal disposed longitudinally or
lengthwise of the nails, which will render them as flexible as those which aro
wrought from nail rods, and equally susceptible of being clenched; and the
superiority of these cut nails over those made in the old way consists in their
flattened or chissel-formed points, and in having two, of their sides parallel,
which, by placing the said flat points crosswise of the grain of the wood,
they may be driven without splitting the wood, in Dost cases, when it would
require to be bored to drive the nails that are made in the old.
way, with

page_text: all four of their sides tapering; and as the principal pressure of these cut
nails in driving will be on their two converging or tapered sides against the
ends of the fibres of the wood, the elasticity of the wood, in the direction of its
fibres, will cause the nails to be held in it more firmly when driven, and a little
roughness, which in cutting is given to the nails, will also cause them to be
held more firmly in the wood. I generally make tlie heads of my said nails
flat on their. tops, which forms a plain or uniform surface with that of the wood
when they are driven, and of course make a better finish, or, at least, require
less putty than is necessary to finish work in which the nails with raised, or as
they are called, rose heads, are used; but when it is required to ntake these
rose or any other formed tops to the heads of the nails, with my said machine,
it is only requisite to cut or sink the figure of the said head, as desired, in the
flat surfaces on the upper side of the pressing die before described, and thereby
form dies which will impress the said rose or other forms to the heads of the
nails, and by carrying the figures of thes dies the heads may be varied at will.
Thirdly, description of the machine to cut brads, and to cut nails without
heading them, as delineated in the set of Drawings No. 3.-In these Drawings,
Figure 12 is a direct view of the front side of the machine, as seen from the
place where the man stands who holds the plate to feed it. In this Figure
A, A, represents a cast-iron frame, which is secured in its place by the pivots
of its top and bottom, as seen at a, a, and b, b, and is hung thercon so as to
permit the machine to turn a little each way, or, in other words, to be vibrated
on them as its axis. C, C, denote a wood frame, which supports the several
parts of the machine, and by which they are held in their respective places. c, c;
is a piece of composition in which the lower pivot b, b, is placed, and the upper
pivot a, a, is screwed through the top of the frame C, C, and serves to confine
the frame A, A, and keep it steady in its place as it is made to vibrate on the
said pivots; the parts of the cast-iron frame A, A, as shewn at B, B, are two
plates with square holes through their centres, which are lined or boxed with
composition; these plates are a part of, being cast with, the said frame A, A,
but their form is more distinctly shewn in the separate Drawing at B, B,
Fig. 13. D, D, is the great slider or carriage for the moving cutter, and is
fitted to slide up and down in the said holes or composition boxes of B, B.
The moving cutter is bedded and secured (with screws or other fit means) in
the lower end of the slider D, D, and is carried up and down by the said slider
D, D; the stationary cutters are denoted at f, f, e, e, and e, e, those cutters aro
bedded in the lower part of the frame A, A, and are secured in their places by
the screws, &c., as seen in the Drawing E, E, and g, g, and represent a toggle
joint, formed with a centre piece of composition hollowed at its ends, to act on

page_text: the cylinders at and k, and to form joints with them; this toggle is furnished
with iron steaps, hung at each of their ends, to turn also on the cylinders h and
k; thus formed, it screws to impel downwards and draw upwards the great
slider D, D, and cause it to slide back and forth, the same as in the machine
first described. F, F, denote a lever, composed of two distinct and exactly
similar branches, one on each side of the frame, which are hung to turn on the
same axis or fulcrum at i, i, and at their lower ends they are also hung to
move on the cylinder or pin at K, so as to turn on the same centre with the
joint at the upper end of the toggle before described. G, G, denotes an arm
which is hung at one end on the pin which goes through the upper end of the
branches of the lever F, F, and the other end of G, G, is hung on the crank or
winch at I, I, and K, this winch turns the axle of the wheel H, H, which is
supported on the raised piece L, L; this wheel H, H, serves to steady the
motion of the machine when in operation; it being calculated as a balance
wheel, may, of course, be varied in size, form, or situation, or perhaps might
be dispensed with altogether. It will readily be seen that as the winch K
and I, I, is turned round, its crank form will carry G, G, and the upper part.
of E, E, backward and forward, in the direction of the right and left hand
sides of the machine, which will turn F, F, on its axis, and thereby cause the
toggle, the lower end of which is fastened to D, D, to push or force the
great slide D, D, downward until the said toggle has passed the perpen-
dicular line, and as the slider D, D, descends it will carry with it the
cutter d, d, and consequently bring its edges in contact with those of the
cutters f, f, e, e, and e, e, so as to cause the said cutters to cut the
brads or nails in passing, in like manner as I have described the act of
cutting nails with the other machines; and that when the said toggle has
passed the perpendicular line (and is carried in a tangent form that line, it will
draw the said slider D, D, upwards, which will separate the cutters and
admit the plate to be again introduced between them, and so on alternately
as F. F, is turned on), its axis by the revolution of the crank I, I, K, (or by
any other means which may be thought preferable,) the said togle will carry
the slider D, D, up and down, and cause the cutters to perform the office of
cutting the brads or nails shives, as aforesaid; the piece forming the section of
a circle, as denoted at M, M, is firmly screwed at its centre to the front
branch of the lever F, F, and is carried backward and forward by the aforesaid
motion of the said lever, whereby its arms are made to rise on and slide
successively over the projecting surface of the springs N, n, and N, n; these
springs are secured and held firm in the frame C, C, at n, and n, and are
made to project from said frame at their ends N, which ends are bent a little
B

page_text: inward, so as to receive on their front, and to press out successively from the
front of C, C, the two arms of M, M, as they are mado to slide over the said
springs successively, as aforesaid, and one of the said arms of M, M, will, of
course, be made to approach nearer as the the other arm is forced by one of
the said springs to recede from the wood frame C, C, whereby it will be seen
that as F, F, is made to turn on its axis or gudgeon at i, i, M, M, will be.
acted on by the springs N, n, and N, n, and cause the said lever, with its axis,
to vibrate backward and forward; and as its said axis i, i, passes through the
top of the frame A, A, and that frame, and consequently the cutters, and all
the active parts of the machine as attached to it, will also be made to vibrate,
to turn alike backward and forward on its pivots a, a, and b, b, as often, and
the slider D, D, is carried up and down to cut the nails or brads as aforesaid;
the pieces P, P, are secured to the frame, C, C, and are calculated to arrest
the vibatory motion of the frame A, A, as its front is brought and held against
these pieces alternately, and against which it is pressed by the action of the
springs N, n, and N, n, and held still during the act of cutting the brads or
nails; the adjustors O, O, and O, O, are wedges, which serve to regulate the
stops P, P, and determine the distance that A, A, shall be allowed to vibrate
between each successive act of cutting the said brads or nails, as aforesaid.
The vibration of this machine, as just described, is for the purpose of making
the edges of the cutters alternately form acute angles, with a line drawn
directly across the ends of the plate, first one way and then the other, so as to
cut the said brads or nails from the plates with such convergence or taper as
may be required. The plates to be cut into brads or nails with this machine
must have one end introduced between the cutters, and its other end held so
that the plate shall lie horizontally on one of its flat sides, and be made to
approach the said cutters in that position, and in right angles to the front sido
of the frame C, C; the plate-holder used to feed this machine should have a
square or flattened rod for its tail end, as it is not required to be turned in
cutting, and this tail should be made to slide through a groove, and repose on
a friction roller at the bottom of the said groove, the same as in that described
for the rest or standard to be used for the first described machine towards the
forward end of the said plate-holder. I have another rest or loop, in which
the plate-holder is placed, and to this I fix one end of a chain or cord, which
is made to pass over a pulley fixed to something above, and to the other end
of it I suspend a weight calculated to sustain that part of the plate-holder
which must otherwise be held by the person feeding the machine; this pulley
being placed a little forward of the plate-holder, the said chain or chord will
draw the plate all the time forward towards the cutters, and by this con-

page_text: trivance the feeding the machine is rendered extremely easy, so that it may
be done by boys after a light experience. It will be observed, too, that this
weight and pulley is equally applicable to the feeder last before described,
so far as respects taking part of the weight of the plate and holder off
from the person feeding the machine. In making brads, it is necessary
that the plate-holder should be fitted to slide very free, and without any
sidewise motion, in the said groove or rest, as described, and it should be
allowed to move freely sidewise at its end next to the cutters, as herein-after
described. The cutters, which are delineated in the Drawings, are adapted to
the cutting of brads exclusively, the moving cutter, as seen at d, d, is accu-
rately ground, so as to form cutting edges (at its lower end), on its front end,
on each of its narrow sides, and it is fitted to move up and down between
between the two end cutters e, e, and e, c, and on the back side of the cutter
ff, and the said cages of d, d, on the said three sides of its end, brought in
contact with the edges formed to meet them at the upper ends of the said
stationary cutters e, e, e, e, and f, f, the relative position of all these cutters, as
their said ends are brought together in the act of cutting, is shewn in Fig. 17
at d, d, e, e, e, e, and f, f, and a front view is given of them at the same letters
in Figure 16. Figure 15 is a section of the machine, exhibiting the lower part
of the frame A, A, and all the parts connected therewith, as seen in a direct
view from above, supposing the said frame to be cut off against the lower end
of D, D, and all the parts above mentioned; S, R, r, r, denote a sliding rod,
which crosses the machine just in front and a little below the junction of the
cutters, and passing through holes made in the side of the frame A, A, and
also through the centre of the piece Q, which piece is fixed to the said frame;
it is fitted to slide freely back and forth therein; this rod is furnish with elastic
spring wires, which, in their action, cause the said rod to slide thro' the said
holes towards R, the elbow, as denoted U, U, U, in Fig. 15, is hung so as to
turn freely on a pivot in the top of the fixed standard W, W, one branch of
this elbow extending towards the part, and passing over the rod r, r, is made
to act against the pin x in that rod, the other branch is held by the continued
pressure of all the time against the back end of the regulating screw 7, which
screw goes into the back and at the left-hand side of the frame A, A, so that
when A, A, is made to vibrate as before described, the said regulating screw r will
push against the back branch of the said elbow U, U, U, and cause it to turn on
the pivot W, W, whereby with its other branch it will force the rod S, R, 1, 1,
by means of the pin x, to slide towards S, whenever, in the vibration of A, A,
its sides at S recedes from the front; and as the said frame turns the other
way, the said elbow will again be turned on its pivot, and the rod S, R, 1,

page_text: bo made to slide towards R by means of the continued action of the wire
sprong t, t, as aforesaid, by which contrivance it will be scen that this sliding
rod will be forced to slide regularly back and forth in front of the cutters
whenever the frame A, A, is made to vibrate, and as this vibration takes place
when the slider D, D, is drawn upwards, the sliding rod S, R, 1, 7, will be
made to slide at each time when the cutters are separated. In this sliding
rod there are fixed two pins, as denoted, S, S, between which the end of the
plate is placed when it is introduced between the cutters to make brads, and
those pins (by the sliding of the said rod) will be brought to act alternately
against the narrow sides or edges of the plate, so as to cause it to vibrate, or to
slide back and forth edgewise, at its forward end, and so that its opposite edges
will be carried against the gauge, z, at its right and left hand sides alter-
nately, and as often as the cutters are separated; but, as the frame A, A, is
held against the stops P, P, and the sliding rod S, R, 7, 7, thereby prevented
from moving, the said plate will be held still against tho said gauge during the
act of cutting, as aforesaid. The gauge z, z, is calculated to keep the end of
the plate steady in its place in cutting, as will be seen by its form, and the
parts of this gauge that rest on the top of the end cutters c, e, and c, c, serve to
gauge or determine the size of the heads of the brads, the distance of the said
gauge on each side from the narrow sides of the moving cutters D, D, where
the heads are cut, being the same as the width of the said heads, or rather the
distance towards the points which the heads will occupy on the brads when
cut. The width of the plates used to make brads should correspond exactly
with the lenght of the brads intended to be made; but the distance between
the said ends of the gauge, and consequently the width of the cutters, must
considerably exceed that of the width of the plates, so as to allow the end of
the plate to vibrate in cutting, as aforesaid. The plates being thus vibrated,
and held against the gauge,, (first on one side, and then on the other side,)
it will be seen that tho heal end of the brad will be cut alternately from the
opposite sides of the plate, and that the vibration of A, A, as before described,
will give the cutters a proper angle to form the point ends of the brads, which
will, of course, be also on the opposite sides of the plate, as stated. Hence, it
will be manifest that as often as the slider D, D, is carried up and down, tho
cutters will be vibrated so as to form the point ends of the brads, and that as
the end of the plate is at the same time vibrated, or carried from one side of
the cutters to the other, the head cutters e, e, and e, e, will successively form
the head ends of the brads, and consequently, so often as the edges of the said
cutters are brought in contact as above described, a brad will be cut and com-
pleted. Fig. 18 represents the end of a plate as it is left after it has been cut

page_text: in making brads, and in Fig. 19 the same is exhibited as it is placed on the
top of the cutters f. f, and e, e, to receive the action of the moving cutter.
The lines drawn on the plate in this last position are just over the edges of the
stationary cutters, and exactly where those of the moving cutter will meet the
plate in the act of cutting the brads, and as by the vibration of this end of
the plate, it will be alternately placed on the opposite sides of the cutters,
the operation of cutting brads, as described, will be evident by bare inspection
of these Figures. On the lower end of the slider D, D, and just behind the
cutter d, d, I fix a piece of steel (by screws or otherwise), which projects down
a little below the top of the stationary cutters, and serves to form a gauge,
against which the end of the plate is held when it is introduced between the
cutters, and as this gaage is screwed so as to be easily adjusted, or moved to a
greater or less distance from the cutters; it serves to regulate and determine
the quantity of metal which shall be cut off from the plate at each cutting to
form the brads or nails, And finally, to cut "nail shives," as aforesaid, with
this machine, it is only necessary to leave out the head cutters e, e, and e, e,
together with the contrivance as described, to vibrate the nail plate, all tho
other parts being equally adapted for the cutting of brads or nails. It will be
remarked, however, that the short edges on the sides of the moving cutter (as
described to cut the heads to the brads,) may also be dispensed with in cutting
nails.
Fourthly, description of the machine to head "nail shives," and make
nails of them, as delineated in the Drawings No. 4.-In these Drawings,
Fig. 20 is a direct view of the machine as seen from above, and Fig. 21 is a
direct view of the side of the machine. In this last, the side of the wood
frame nearest to the looker-on is left out of the Figure, in order to shew the
operation of the lever and the parts connected therewith more distinctly. The
same letters indicate the same parts of the machine in each Figure. A, A, A,
denote a wood frame, composed of two strong side pieces of timber, which are
connected by cross picces framed into them. The side picces in these
Drawings are left as broken or unfinished, and only one cross piece is shewn,
because these frames are calculated to support several machines, arranged on
them by extending the lenght of the side pieces, and making each cross piece
serve to support the cylandar of a machine, as shewn at the end of these
Figures. B, B, denote a cylindrical block of cast iron, which is turned and
firmly secured on the top of the said wood frame; A, A, A, represent a steel
hoop, which is made to encircle the cylinder B, B, and is accually fitted on the
circumference of, and made to turn freely round on the said cylindar. Attached
to the bottom of this hoop is the rim of a steel wheel, which also encircles and

page_text: is fitted to turn round on (and at the bottom of) the cylandar B, B, and as the
said hoop and rim are secured to each other, they will be made to revolve
round the said cylindar. This rim is accurately divided into a certain number
of equal parts on its outer edge, and teeth or ratchets cut therein, as scen at
b, b, b, in Fig. 20: and in this Fig., c, c, denote a slider fitted to slide backward
and forward thro' the groove, as seen in the piece of iron at D and E, which is
sunk a little, and secured in the frame A, A, A; little c denotes a steel catch,
which being hung on a pivot in the slider C, C, and pressed by its spring c
against the ratchets b, b, b, it will pass over one of these ratchets when the
slider C, C, is carried towards D; and then, as the slider is made to return
towards E, the said catch will seize the catch over which it passed, and
cause the rim and hoop a, a, a, to turn on the cylinder B, B, the distance
of one of the said teeth or ratchets; the catch and spring d and d, as seen on the
other side of the cylindar, serve to hold tho said rim and hoop still whilst the
slider C, C, is passing towards D, and its catch sliding over the teeth or
ratchets, as aforesaid, the elbow g, g, (as seen in Fig. 21,) is hung to turn on
a fixed pivot at h, and the end of its horizontal arm is attached to the great
lever by means of the piece J, which is hung to turn on pins at each end; the
top of the upright arm of g, g, passes between the ends of the forked pieces
5, 3, as seen in Fig. 20; this s, s, being screwed at its other end to the slider
C, C, and the elbow g, g, being turned on its pivot (when the lever rises and pulls
upwards the piece J), the piece s, s, and consequently the slider C, C, will be
carried towards D, so as to cause the catch c to pass over one tooth, and as
the great lever again descends, g, g, will also turn the other way and pull the
said slider C, C, so that its said catch c will turn the hoop a, a, a, one tooth round,
as aforesaid. The steel piece denoted at i, i, is the stationary griping die; this
piece is beded in the top of the cylindar B, B, and has its hallowed, or die, and
(against which the nails are placed to be pressed and headed) projecting out a
little beyond the circle of the said cylindar, so as to bring the die just over the
outside of the hoop a, a, a; this griping die is firmly secured in its place by
screws (or other fit means), so as to be easily adjusted and removed.
In Fig.
21, F, F, denote a strong piece of cast iron, which is hung to turn freely on its
axis or pivot at R, the top branch of this F, F, projecting forward, extends towards
the said stationary die i, i, and in the forward end of this branch the moving
die is beded and secured, as seen at e, c, and y, whereby it will be seen that as
the piece F, F, is made to turn on its pivot at h, (the upper branch will move
backward and forward, and cause the end of the said moving die e, e, to
approach to and recede from that of the stationary die i, i, so as to gripe or
press the nails, and hold them to be headed, and to be regularly opened to let

page_text: the nails pass away when completed. The piece denoted at 1, 1, is hung at the
end o, o, to turn on a strong hinge secured on the top of the cylindar B, B, as
seen at Fig. 20,where l, l, is represented as broken off, and only part of it is shown;
and at the other end, in Fig. 21, 1, 1, is forked or divided into 'two branches,
between which the forward end or bill of the great lever is placed, the pressing
die is denoted at m, m; it is a strong screw, made to screw into and pass
thro' 1, 1, just over the junction of the griping dies, whereby, when it is forced
downward by the action of the great lever, it will impress a head to that part
of the nail which may remain above the griping dies when it is pressed or held
to be headed, and by turning the screw m, m, the pressure of the die is easily
regulated, and by cutting (or sinking) in its lower end whatever from the head
of the nail may be required to possess, that form will be impressed on the top of
the nails, when the said die is impelled downward; I, however, in this as in the
heading dies before described, generally give the preference to a flat pressing
surface to my said dies, partly for the reason then-adduced in favour of a flat
head to the nails, and partly because the dies are kept in repair at much less
expence with the flat surface. The pieco F, F, and consequently the griping
die e, e, are impelled forwards to gripe the nails by means of the toggle joint,
as seen at p and G, in Fig. 21. P represents a stout piece of steel (or hard
composition), with its ends rounded into half circles, the circumference of
which are such as to leave the said ends a little thicker than the flat or plate
part of the toggle; these circular ends are fitted to form joints with and turn
freely in the hollows that are made to receive them, that is, one end to act in
the hollow against the back side of the piece F, I, and the other end in that
of the forward side of the branch G of the great lever, and as the end of this
toggle, which acts in the said branch of the lever, is considerably lower than
the end in F, F, (whilst the tail of the great lever is down, as in the Drawing,)
the raising the said lever will cause the toggle to force the piece F, F, forward,
until the said toggle is brought into a horizontal position, which must be calcu-
lated so as to carry the said F, F, with the griping die e, e, the requisite dis-
tance forward to approach the stationary die i, i, and to give the desired degree
of pressure to the nails in griping them. This piece F, F, is forced back when
the great lever descends by the action of the spring 9, 9, against it. The great
lever of this machine is denoted at H, I, and G, and is hung on the axle or
gudgeon n, as its fulcrum. This axle is supported by the standards t, t, t, and
the lever turning between these standards is held firmly in its place by them.
One side of the wood frame being left out in Figure 21, only one of the
standards t, t, t, is seen, and the greater part of that is covered, but their shape is
not essential, so that they furnish a convenient and solid support for the lever.

page_text: In the thick part of the great lever, just under and a little forward of its
fulcrum; a groove is made in it lengthwise, in which the upper end of F, F, is
placed, and fitted to slide a little backward and forward therein; this
calculated to prevent any sidewise motion of, and to keep the said piece F, F
steady as it is forced forward to gripe the said nails.
grove is
It will readily be seen that when the lever has been raised so as to gripe the
nails, the forward end or branch of it will force down the picce 1, 1, 1, together
with the pressing die m, m, as before described, to press or form heads to the
nails. The periphery of the hoop a, a, a, is divided into equal parts, to corre-
spond exactly with the length of the teeth or ratchets at the bottom of b, b, b,
and the picces as denoted at 7, 7, in Fig. 21, are secured thereon in an upright
or perpendicular position.
These pieces should be made a little thicker than the nails intended to be
made, so as to project out from the smooth surface of the said hoop a distance
corresponding with their said thickness, between each of these fixed pieces 1, 2,
there are other upright pieces of the same thickness with r, r, as denoted
at s, s, but these last are secured with pins or pivots near their lower ends, on
which they turn a little in the direction from one to the other of the pieces 7,
between which they are placed. x denotes a small spring to each of these
pieces 8, 8, (parts of watch springs will answer, which lightly press the rounded
or sloped ends of 8, s, all the time towards the pieces r, r.
In heading nails, boys should be employed to place their point ends down-
ward between these pieces r, r, and 8, s, the tops of 8, 8, being sloped, so as to
form a large space to introduce the points of the nails; and as the springs a
will give way a little, and allow 8, s, to turn freely, the nails are very easily
arranged in these places round the said hoop.
,, represents a nail shive as
they are put into these places on the hoop.
The hoop, thus furnished and filled with nail shives, must be placed on the
cylinder B, B, and held by the hook or catch d, d, in a position so that a nail.
shall be brought and placed just against the hollow or die in the end of the
griping die i, i, at each time the said hoop is moved forward one tooth or
racket near the end of the piece 1, 1, where the pressing die passes through it,.
and on that side towards which the nails approach to be headed, I fix a plate,
which serves as a gudge to press down the nails to one uniform height in their
position on the hoop before they arrive at the dies to be headed; this plate is
made to project out, so as to pass over the said hoop and the heads of the nails,
and is bent and set, so that when the-pressing die is carried down-to head one
nail, the said guage will meet the top of the next in succession-on-the-hoop,
and push it down, so as to leave the requisite quantity of metal above the

page_text: griping dies to form the head, and so on in continued succession. And here it
will be observed that the boys in feeding the machine with nail shivers, as afore-
said, have only to leave them high enough in the hoop, without taking any care
to set them equal in height. v,v, denote a piece which is screwed on the top
of the cylinder B, B, and projecting out a little beyond the hoop in which the
nails are carried round; the nails will meet its end (after they are headed
and carried along past the dies), which will pass them out by its curved or
slanting form, so that they will fall and pass off from the machine when com-
pleated. The nail shives being placed on the said hoop a, a, a, as described, it
will be readily seen (from the the foregoing description of this machine), that
when the back end or tail of the lever I, II, G, is made to rise and turn on its
fulcrum at n, the lower branch at G will carry upward the back end of the
toggle p, and thereby force the piece F, F, with the griping die e, e, forward, so
as to gripe or hold the nail to be beaded, and that at the same time the elbow
9, 9, will have been turned on its pivot at k, and, with its upright branch, force
the branch and the slider C, C, towards D, so as to cause the catch c, c,
to pass over and be pressed down against the teeth or ratchets b, b, b;
and that as the said lever continues to rise, its forward end or upper
branch will press down the picce 1, 1, together with the pressing die m, m, so
as to press or form a head to the nail, and that the guage will at the
same time be brought down on the top of the next nail in succession,
and press it down to a proper height to be carried to the dies to be
headed, and that as the nail in the dies will be now completed, the lever
is made to descend, which will allow the spring to press back F, F, and
open the griping dies, so as to loosen the nail, when, as the said lever
continues to descend, it will again turn the elbow 9, 9, on its axis the
other way, so that its said upright branch will force the slider C, C, towards
E, and cause the catch c, c, to seize one of the said teeth b, b, b, and turn the
hoop a, a, a, forward the distance of one of the said teeth or ratchets, which
will, of course, bring forward the next nail, guaged as aforesaid, in the hoop,
and place it just against the die at the end of i, i, where it will undergo the act
of heading, as before stated; and the nail already headed will have been also
carried forward, so as to meet the piece V, V, which will force it out of its
place on the hoop, and allow it to fall and pass off from the machine. The
Drawings of the machines described as Numbers 1, 2, and 3, are geometrical
plans drawn on the scales as attached respectively to the said numbers in the
Drawings.
These scales designate the proper sizes for the machines to be made to cut
and head nails of the sizes commonly called “eightpenny " and " tenpenny"

page_text: nails; but to make nails or brads of a greater or less size, the said machines
must be encreased or diminished in size and strenth. Accordingly, the
machine described at No. 4 is not drawn on any particular scale, as its size,
strenth, and proport", as adapted to the different sized nails, may be left to the
judgment of the workmen, who will have no difficulty in this or in the other
machine in adjusting and procceding for the same. It will also be readily seen
that my said machine No. 4 is not only calculated to head the said nail shives,
as cut from plates with my afore-described or any other machines, but that it
is equally adapted to head nails that are wrough with the hammer from rods,
or made in any other manner, as the said nails, of whatsoever kind, which are
required to be headed have only to be placed in the situation, as described, on
the periphery of the said hoop a, a, a, and they will be carried round to and
placed in the dies, as aforesaid, and undergo the act of heading. And I will
here also remark that I sometimes dispense with the said hoop altogether, and
in this case the nails to be headed are placed in the said dies with the fingers
or any other fit and convenient means. The machine described as No. 3, in
addition to the cutting of brads and nail shives from plates, as already described,
is calculated to cut from the ends of rods all kinds of nails as they are forged
or wrought with the hammer; and in order to use the said machine for this last
purpose, the guage, as described at the bottom of the slider D, D, should be
set back from the edges of the cutters a distance exactly equal to the length of
the nails intended to be cut off from the end of the said rods, and the machine
being kept in motion, the persons employed to forge the nails from rods, places
the end of it, when the nail is hammered thercon into the desired shape,
between the cutters, so that the point of the said nails will meet and rest
against the said guage whilst the cutter in D, D, descends and cutts of the
nail, and so on in succession, as fast as they are forged and introduced between
the cutter, as aforesaid, for the cutting of the nail shives, and especially for
cutting forged nails, or such as are wrought from nail rods in any manner. I
construct a machine (still different from any of the foregoing), which I some-
times use, and to which I generally give the preference for cutting small sized
nails from the ends of rods when forged thereon, as aforesaid. This machine
is delineated at No. 5, F. 22. The upper side of the machine is represented in
this Figure as seen from above. A, A, denote a lever, which is hung to turn
on its axle or fulcrum a, a, which goes into and is supported by the iron
frame B, B, B. This frame is supported and secured firmly in its place by the
wood frame b, b, or by any orther fit and convenient means. b, b, b, b, b, repre-
sents the cutting ends of five stationary cutters, which are bedded and secured
firmly in its place in their respective situations, as seen in the plan; and in the

page_text: said lever A, A, there are other five cutters.c, c,.c, c,c, which are bedded and
secured, therein just against those in the said frame, so that their..edges will be
brought in contact with and made to act against those of the stationary cutters
in the frame B, B, (when the said lever A, A, is made to turn on its axle.or
fulcrum at a, a, by the raising and descending of its back or tail end, whereby
the nails will be cut off from the rod or plate by the action of the said
cutters is passing, as before described); these cutters should all be secured.in
their respective places by screws or other fit means, so as to be easily adjusted,
or taken out to be ground, repaired, &c., as aforesaid; for the other machines,
and back of each of the moving cutters a guage must be placed to arrest the
nails at proper distance to be cut. It will be seen that several persons may stand
round and within reach of this machine to forge nails, and as the lever is all
the time kept in motion, the nails may be introduced between the cutters.and
cut off by them as fast as they are wrought. And to put my said machines
into operation by the raising & descending of the great lever, as described, I
make use of a water wheel, steam engine, horses, or any other first mover.or
motion adequate to the purpose. With regard to the materials to be used
in the construction of my said machines, I do not confine myself to any par-
ticular metals; but to assist the judgment of the workmen in this particular,
I have represented with a light blue colour in the Drawings those parts of the
machines which are usually made of hardened steel, and of iron case-hardened;
with a yellowish colour thoso made of composition or gun metal; and the
parts made of cast and wrought iron are drawn with India ink, or of an iron
grey colour; and although I have described the particular forms and opera-
tion of the several parts of my said machines, together with their combinations
as delineated in the Drawings, yet I do not confine myself to adhere strictly to
these particulars in the construction of the said macliine, as considerable
diversity in those forms and combinations may bo given in the construction of
them without deviating from the principles of the said Invention; but the
shapes and situations of the parts as described are such as I generally give the
preference to for cutting and heading nails of the most common sizes and kinds.
In the machine described as No. 1; however, I sometimes make use of two
toggle joints instead of one, as therein described; and in that case I also use
two sliders, in one of which the moving cutter is secured and carried back and
forth to cut the nails; and in the other, the moving die to gripe the nails is
fixed, and impelled back and forth, and as this will necessarily place tho situa-
tion of cutting and of griping the nails further apart, all the other parts of the
machine must be varied accordingly, so as to be adapted to the operation of
these two sliders, instead of one, as described; and the two toggles may be madė

page_text: to put the sliders (with the said cutter and die) in motion by means of the great
lever, so as to cut and gripe or hold the nails to be headed in like manner as
with the machine in the form as described; and in all cases when I con-
struct any of my said machines to cut and head nails, so that the situation of
the heading dies or place where the nails are to undergo the act of heading is
removed to a considerable distance (further in such machine than in that
described) from the place where the nails are cut, I make use of a tube or tubes;
through which the nails are made to fall after being cut, and in which they are
guided and conducted from the place where they are cut to the dies where they
are to be headed; and these tubes may be made of any kind of material suitable
for the purpose, and of such shapes and sizes as the situation of the parts of
the machine and of the sized nails to be made may indicate; the inside of the
said tubes should be made smooth, so that the nails will pass frcely through
them, and their shape may be either cylindrical, square, or otherwise. In using
my cutting lever described as No. 5, I sometimes make use of only two cutters,
instead of five, as drawn, and these I place on one side of the said lever, one
cutter on each side of its fulcrum, so as to cut one nail in rising and one in
the descending of the said lever, and this construction I prefer when I attach
heading dies to this machine; but I omit a particular description of the method
of heading the nails as they are cut with this machine, as the heading dies
already described may be easely adapted to this machine, or perhaps to several
varieties in the construction of my other said machine, but which are not.
particularly noticed, as they may-be-left to the judgment of the workmen in
building them. I also use my said cutting lever with only one cutter at its end,
and this I prefer for large sized nails. My said machines are equally calculated
to cut and head nails from the said nail plates whilst cold, or when they are
heated; but as the nails will be tougher when made from hot plates, I gene-
rally prefer heating them previous to cutting, and for this purpose I have a
furnace situated near where the machines are in operation, and made in a con-
venient form to admit the plates to be easily taken out and replaced by others
in cutting; this furnace should be large enough to contain a number of plates
to be headed at once, and should have an iron gate or some other contrivance
to sustain the plates at some distance. from the fire, and so made that the.
degree of heat may be regulated at pleasure. And I further declare that the
application of the lever as described, to put into operation my aforesaid
machinery to cut a
and head-nails; is among the most essential-and important
branches of the said Invention; and I do hereby claim as belonging to the
said Invention the exclusive right to the use of the lever as a mechanical power
in the forms already described, or of any other suitable form when applied