IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MAKING METAL NUTS, AND IN DIES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Orrin Clarke Burdict, of the City and County of
New Haven, State of Connecticut, United States of America, Machinist,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MAKING METAL NUTS,
AND IN DIES FOR THE SAME."
Sealed the 15th June 1866, and dated the 18th December 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Orrin Clarke Bardict at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Pétition, on thé
18th December 1865.
I, ORRIN CLARKE BURDICT, of the City and County of New Haven, State
of Connecticut, United States of America, Machinist, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MAKING
METAL NUTS, AND IN DIES FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in various improvements upon an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted me, entitled "Improvements in Manu-
facturing Nuts, and the Preparation of the Metal therefor, and in the
Machinery or Apparatus employed therein," dated April 30th, 1864, No. 1089.
The driving shaft of the machine for making nuts is supported in bearings on
a bed plate, and caused to revolve, by the application of power to a pulley, on a
second shaft, which communicates with the first shaft by means of gearing.
The punch which presses the nut into the die held in the die holder is fixed
in a slide, which moves forward in proper guides by the action of a cam on
the first shaft, and back by the action of another cam on the same shaft. A
smaller punch is placed centrally through the die for the purpose of punching

page_text: the hole through the nut, the larger punch which presses the nut into the die
being constructed with a hole in its centre corresponding with the smaller
punch, so that when the larger punch enters the die, carrying before it the hot
metal from which the nut is formed, the smaller punch will force the central
portion of the nut into the hole in the larger punch. Around the smaller
punch is placed a sleeve which forms the bottom of the die, and is moveable
by the action of a cam and levers.
The operation of the machine as thus far described is fully set forth in the
Specification of the before-mentioned Patent.
One of the difficulties which I have experienced in my former machine has
arison from the tendency of the nut after it is finished to cling to the sleeve
when forced from the die by the said sleeve; this difficulty I overcome by
means of a tappet operated by a cam and levers, so that when the nut is forced
from the die by the outward movement of the sleeve the tappet is forced
down against the nut to detach it from the sleeve whenever it clings thereto.
Another difficulty which I have experienced in the operation of my former
machine has arisen from the impossibility of instantaneously stopping its
operation, the momentum being sufficient to continue the movement of the
parts after the power is disengaged, the part which requires to be thus stopped
being the slide carrying the larger punch, which presses the nut into the die.
For overcoming this difficulty I hinge a bar to the said slide, so that when
required a cam will strike the said bar and force the slide forward, but when
raised the cam will revolve without moving the slide. To operate the said
bar in order to connect or disconnect the power I arrange on the slide a cam
to turn upon a pivot by means of a handle or otherwise, and between this
latter cam and the bar I hang a lever upon a pivot, so that when the cam is
turned to one position it will press down the bar to receive the action of the
former cam, or when the latter cam is turned to another position the bar
will be raised either by the action of a spring or by its connection with the
lever and cam. By this arrangement the movement of the slide may be
instantaneously stopped at the will of the operator, the former cam always
returning the slide to its most distant position from the die.
Another improvement relates to the manufacture of hexagonal nuts. If the
said nuts are punched from square bars a large portion of the metal is lost in
forming the angles; to avoid such loss I fix upon the front side of the
machine a die, and in proper guides a slide with a corresponding die attached;
the slide is moved by a crank or eccentric on a shaft through a connecting rod,
so that as the shaft revolves, the said slide will be moved to and from the
fixe die. Between these two dies I place the bot bar of metal, which operating

page_text: as described form the angles of the hexagonal nut to be produced; I then place
the part thus formed before the die in the die holder, and when the punch
which presses the nut into the die advances it cuts the formed end from the
bar and carries it into the die, and thus completes the nut without the usua!
loss of metal.
I also employ an improved method of constructing dies for the manufacture
of square nuts. The box in which the dies are placed corresponds with the
die holder in my machine herein-before described. In the box or die holder
I place several blocks of tempered steel constructed so as to form two sides of
the die, and also place similar blocks upon both sides of the first blocks for
forming the other two sides of the die, there being screws inserted through
the box to adjust and secure the blocks in their proper position. The width
of the die depends upon the number and thickness of the first series of blocks,
and if desired to reduce the size of the die, remove any two or more of the
blocks until the remaining blocks shall be of the width required, and then
adjust the blocks by means of the screws. If desired to make the die larger,
any two of the second series of blocks of equal thickness may be removed from
the side of the die and placed upon the first series of blocks to widen the die
as required, thus avoiding the necessity and expense of constructing new dies
for each and every size required, the extent of the variation of the die depending
only upon the number and thickness of the blocks, which may be more or less.
For the manufacture of hexagonal nuts, I construct the die in six pieces or
blocks of the same thickness, and cut both ends of each piece to the angle of
sixty degrees, so that the length of each angular end will be equal to one of the
sides of the nut required to be made. The six pieces are placed in a die holder.
four with their angular ends opposite each other, and the other two pieces in
contact with the sides of the first pieces, and thus placed they are secured
therein by means of set screws. When by use or otherwise either one of the
six parts shall have become worn or broken, it may be changed for one in
another position, or it may be turned over, changing the inside edge for the
outside, or it may be turned end for end; thus each separate piece permits of
four changes; the die thus constructed being much more simple and less
costly than the ordinary solid die, and the cost of renewing it when all the
changes admissible shall have been made is much less, as it is only necessary
to re-form the ends of each piece to produce another die having the same
changes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
. by the said Orrin Clarke Burdict in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ORRIN
CLARKE BURDICT, of the City and County of New Haven, State of Connecticut,
United States of America, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Orrin Clarke Burdict, Her special licence that I, the said Orrin Clarke
Burdict, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,. the
said Orrin Clarke Burdict, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an. Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES. FOR MAKING METAL NUTS, AND IN DIES; FOR THE
SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Orrin Clarke
Burdict, 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. Orrin Clarke Burdict, 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 follow-
ing statement (that is to say):-
This Invention consists in various improvements upon an Invention. for
which Letters Patent were granted me, entitled Improvements in manu-
facturing nuts, and in the preparation of the metal therefor, and in the
machinery or apparatus employed therein, dated April 30th, 1864, No. 1089.
To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my improved machine
I will proceed to fully describe the same as illustrated in the accompanying.
Drawings. A is the bed plate; B, the driving shaft supported and revolving
in bearings C, and is caused to revolve by the application of power to a pulley
D on a shaft E, which communicates with the shaft B through gears F and G;

page_text: His the die holder in which the nut is formed; I, the punch which presses the
nut into the die, and is fixed in a slide K which moves forward in proper guides
L, L, by the action of the cam M on the shaft B, and back by the action of the
cam N on the said shaft B against an arm O extending out from the slide K,
as seen in Fig. 2. Within the die holder Ha die a, see Figs. 4 and 5, is
placed, which may be of any desirable construction. I represent a die con-
structed of several parts invented by me; d is a punch placed centrally
through the die for the purpose of punching the hole through the nut, the
punch I being constructed with a hole in its centre (see Fig. 4) correspond-
ing to the punch d, so that when the punch I enters the die, carrying before
it the hot metal from which the nut is formed, the punch & will force the
central portion of the nut into the hole e in the panch I. Around the said
punch & is placed a sleeve c, which forms the bottom of the die, and is moveable
by the action of the cam P through levers R and S connected by a rod T, in
like manner-as-fully described in the before-mentioned Patent granted to me.
The operation of my machine as thus far described is fully set forth in the
Specification of my before-mentioned Patent.
One of the difficulties which I have experienced in that machine has arisen
from the tendency of the nut after it is finished to cling to the sleeve c when
forced from the die by the said sleeve; this difficulty I overcome by means of
a tappet t, see Fig. 4, operated by a cam U through levers W and Y, see:
Figs. 2 and 5, so that when the nut is forced from the die by the outward:
movement of the sleeve c_ the tappet.t is forced down against the nut to
detach it. from the sleeve whenever it. clings thereto; this constitutes my first.
improvement.
Another difficulty which I have experienced. in the operation of my machine
has arisen. from the impossibility of instantaneously stopping its operation, the
momentum. being sufficient to continue. the movement. of the parts after the
power is: disengaged; the part which, requires to be thus stopped is the slide K
which, carries the punch I. My arrangement for overcoming this difficulty is.
fully shewn in Figs.. 4 and 6. I hinge. a. bar A³ to the slide. K. at d!, so that
when resting in the position seen in Fig. 4 the cam M will strike the said ban
and force the slide forward, but, when raised as seen in Fig. 5. the cam M. will
revolve without moving the slide. To operate the said bar to connect: or dis-.
connect the power I arrange on, the slide K a cam: B¹ to turn upon a pivot w by
means of a handle B² or otherwise, and. between the.cam B and the bar A¹ I.
hang a lever upon a pivot c. so that when the cam B' is turned-as-seen-in-
Fig. 4. it will press; down: the bar A¹ to receive. the action of the cami M, or
when the. cam B³ is turned to. the position seen in Fig. 6 the bar' A' will be

page_text: raised as seen in the said Fig. 6, either by the action of a spring or by its
connection with the lever and cam. By this arrangement the movement of
the slide may be instantaneously stopped at the pleasure of the operator,
the cam M always returning the slide to its most distant position from the die,
and the object of my second improvement is realized.
My third improvement relates to the manufacture of hexagonal nuts and
is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 7. If hexagonal nuts are punched from square
bars a large portion of the metal is lost in forming the angles; to avoid such
loss I fix upon the front side of my machine a die E¹, and in proper guides F¹
a slide G¹ with a corresponding die H attached; the slide G¹ is moved by
a crank or eccentric I' on the shaft B through a connecting rod L³, so that as
the shaft revolves the said slide will be moved to and from the fixed die E'.
Between the two dies E¹ and H I place the hot bar of metal, which operating
as described form the angles of the hexagonal nut to be produced; I then
place the part thus formed before the die a, when the punch I advancing cuts
the formed end from the bar, carries it into the die a, and completes the
nut without the usual loss of metal.
In Figs. 8, 9, 10 I illustrate an improved method of constructing dies
for the manufacture of square nuts. The box in which they are placed in
the illustration corresponds to the die holder in my machine as herein-before
described. A³ is the box or die holder; 1, 1, 2, 2, and 3, 3, (more or less in
number) are blocks of tempered steel constructed so as to form two sides of
the die as seen in Fig. 8, and 4, 4, 5, 5, and 6, 6, (more or less in number)
are similar blocks placed upon either side of the blocks 1, 2, 3, so that two
of the blocks 4 form the other two sides of the die as seen in Fig. 8'; B' are
screws inserted through the box A³ to adjust and secure the blocks in their
proper position. As set in Fig. 8, the width of the die depends upon the
thickness of the blocks 1, 2, 3; if desired to reduce the size of the die remove
any two or more of the blocks 1, 3, until the remaining blocks shall be of the
width required, as seen in Fig. 9, then adjust the blocks by means of the
screws B', Fig. 4. If desired to make the die larger, any two of the blocks 4,
5, 6, of equal thickness, may be removed from the side of the die and placed
in the position, and upon the blocks 1, 2, 3, to widen the die as required,
thus avoiding the necessity and expense of constructing new dies for each
and every size required, the extent of the variation of the die depending only
upon the number and thickness of the blocks, which may be more or less.
For the manufacture of hexagonal nuts I construct the die in six parts, as
seen in Fig. 11. I construct the several parts of a thickness so that when the
end is cut at the angle of sixty degrees the length of the angular side will be

page_text: equal to one of the sides of the nut required to be made, and the several
pieces of the width required for the depth of the die. I form the same angle
upon each end of the several pieces, and place the six pieces 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
in a die holder A³, the pieces 1 and 4 forming two opposite sides, the pieces 2
and 3 two other opposite sides, and the pieces 5 and 6 the other two opposite
sides; thus placed in the die holder they are secured therein by means of set
screws B
When by use or otherwise either one of the six parts shall have
become worn or broken it may be changed for one in another position, as 5 for
6, or for either of the others, or it may be turned over, changing the inside edge
for the outside, which will carry 5 to the position of 8, and 8 to the position of
5, or it may be turned end for end; thus each separate piece would permit of
four changes, and the die thus constructed is much more simple and less costly
than the ordinary solid die, and the cost of renewing the die when all
the changes admissible shall have been made is much less, as it is only
necessary to re-form the ends of each piece to produce another die having the
same changes.
Having therefore thus fully described my Invention, what I claim as new
and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,―
First, the arrangement of the tappet t in combination with the sleeve c,
substantially and for the purpose specified.
Second, the combination of the hinged bar A³ and cam B' for the purpose
of arresting the movement of the slide K without disconnecting the power
from the machine.
Third, the combination of the dies E¹ and H³ with a machine for making
nuts, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Fourth, constructing dies from more than four pieces, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fifth, a hexagonal die constructed in the manner substantially as herein
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Orrin Clarke Burdict, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
ORRIN CLARKE BURDICT. (L.S.)