IMPROVEMENTS IN BUNGS AND BUNG INSERTERS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lambert Van Laak and James Gillespie, of San
Francisco, State of California, in the United States of America, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUNGS AND BUNG INSERTERS."
Sealed the 9th May 1873, and dated the 21st March 1873.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Lambert Van Laak and
James Gillespie at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition and Declaration, on the 21st March 1878, pursuant
to the 9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, LAMBERT
Van Laak and James GillesPIE, of San Francisco, State of California,
in the United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS we are in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BUNGS AND BUNG INSERTERS,” and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant
unto us, our executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters

page_text: Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that we really
believe ourselves to be the first and true Inventors thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Lambert Van Laak and James
Gillespie, do hereby declare that the following Complete Specification,
under our hands and seals, fully describes the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, that
is to say:-
.
Our Invention relates to improvements in metallic bungs, such as are
screwed into a metallic bushing previously secured in the barrel stave.
The ordinary metal bung is screwed directly down upon a leather washer
which is first placed upon the seat in the bushing, and if allowed to
remain there any great length of time, the leather becomes hard and
adheres both to the seat in the bushing and to the bung, so that it is
almost impossible to remove the bung. Our Invention is intended in
the first place to remedy this difficulty and also to provide a more con-
venient means for turning the bung, it also consists in providing a novel
tool for the purpose of inserting the metallic ring or bushing into the
barrel stave by the use of which we accomplish several very useful
results. This tool we call a bung inserter.
In order to more fully explain our Invention, reference is had to the
accompanying Drawings forming a part of this Specification, in which
A represents a metallic bung, and B the bushing.
The ring or
bushing B we make slightly conical or tapering, as shown at Fig. 7, and
we make the threads narrow at the base and quite sharp, so that when
the bushing is bored into a hole of the proper size it will cut its own
threads. This we are permitted to do by means of our bung inserter,
which will be herein-after particularly described. The bung is cast with
a square socket 0 on its upper face, the sides of which are slightly
convexed. A wrench shown at Fig. 1 consisting of a square shaped
body d. and having spreading arms e is used for turning the bung into
the bushing. The sides of the body d are made sufficiently concave to
fit the sides of the socket C, so as to prevent the wrench from being
worn by frequent use so as to turn in the socket.
The under side of the bushing is dished with the exception of the
outer-rim, which is turned off smooth so as to provide a bearing surface..
M is a thin metallic disk, having a projecting flange f on its under

page_text: not leak. After the bushing has been finally screwed down the inserter
can be readily removed by turning the standard P in a reverse direction,
which causes the bar u to move to the lowest part of the depression and
relieves the pressure on the screw.
Fig. 6 shows another style of bung inserter in which a key or wedge,
O is employed in the following manner :-Depressions are made opposite
each other in the upper face of the bushing, and when the base of the
standard P has been screwed almost down the wedge is to be driven in
as far as possible with its opposite ends resting in the depressions; and
when the bushing has been inserted the pressure on the threads is
relieved by driving the wedge in the opposite direction. By this means
of inserting the bushing we are enabled to do away with any surplus
metal above the face of the stave, which is ordinarily required to give a
hold for the spanner heretofore used for inserting them, not only
rendering the bung more sightly but doing away with that portion of
the work required for fitting this face into the stave, and by constructing
the bushing so that it will cut its own threads it is rendered perfectly

page_text: the opposite inclined depressions t and bar u substantially as and for the
purpose above described.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Gillespie and Lambert
Van Laak, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-
sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord A.D. One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witnesses,
JOHN L. BOONE,
GEO. H. STRONG.
JAMES GILLESPIE..
(L.S.)
LAMBERT VAN LAAK. (L.S.)