BILLIARD CUSHION IRON
Year: 1885

page_text: JAMES TUFNAIL 4 Amity Street Reading County of Berkshire Billiard Marker
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for BILLIARD CUSHION IRON, to be as
follows:-
In shape the Iron will fit the Cushions of the Billiard Table, The Iron will be
mounted on a small Carriage, which will run on rollers (The rollers preventing
damage and wear to the Cloth).
The Carriage contains a tray on which the Iron rests, this tray can be moved
forwards and backwards;-by means of a small wheel attached to a screw con-
nected with the tray and Carriage,-carrying the Iron with it so that the Iron can
be regulated as to distance from the Cushion according to the heat it contains,
thus avoiding the Iron touching or burning the Cushion.
Desideratum. By using this Iron once or twice a week the Cushions will be
kept in an elastic and fit condition for play; as well as to relax the Cushions when
hardened through damp and frost.

page_text: JAMES TUFNAIL 4 Amity Street Reading, County of Berkshire, Billiard Marker
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for BILLIARD CUSHION IRON and in
what manner the same. is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this invention is to restore and maintain the elasticity of the 5
rubber cushions of Billiard Tables which from excess of cold, damp and other
atmospheric changes, render the rubber hard and inelastic, while at the same time
it answers the requirements of the ordinary Billiard Iron.
Hitherto it has been the custom to employ the oblong smoothing iron to do this
.work, but the said iron requires constant reheating and renders the operation 1
tedious and in some measure dangerous, either from the friction of the iron or from
excess of heat.
.
By means of the improved iron in conjunction with its moveable carriage these
drawbacks aro obviated, the carriage being made to run on rollers, thus preventing
any injury to the cloth by friction. Both the iron and carriage are so con-
structed that the iron once in proper position on the carriage it cannot by any
possibility come in contact with the cloth, the heat of the iron being sufficient to
produce the desired result; that is to say, the softening of the rubber, and keeping
the Billiard cushions in perfect condition for play.
On each end of the carriage G. G. are handles to move the carriage, these also ?
acting as guards to prevent burning the hands.
The following description of the apparatus with accompanying drawings will
clearly illustrate the nature and intention of the invention.
Fig. 1. Plan of Iron.
Fig. 2. Elevation of Iron.
Fig. 3. End view of Iron.
Fig. 4. Plan of Carriage.
Fig. 5. Elevation of Carriage.
Fig. 6. End view of Carriage with Iron on.
Fig. 7. Cross section of line A. A, A, A.
The Iron Fig. 1. may be solid or hollow and has rounded ends (J. J.) to prevent
catching in the middle pockets when ironing the table. It may be cast with a
longitudinal cavity forming two sides of a triangle or any suitable shape corre-
sponding with the form of the cushion of the table. These sides are sloped in such
a manner that their surface can be brought close up and over the cushion, whilst
neither of them actually touch it.
The Iron is placed upon a sliding tray (L) regulated by means of a milled
wheel (D) and screw (D) the head of the screw is provided with a regulating check-
nut (E) which limits the course of the screw (to which the tray is connected) and
consequently that of the tray bearing the Iron, so that it can only advance a
certain distance previously determined by fixing the check-nut (E) as required.
On each end of the carriage is a roller (B. B) on which the carriage moves this
preventing any injury to the cloth in the way of friction. The tray is advanced

page_text: towards or withdrawn from the cushion by the milled wheel (D) thus gauging the
Iron against the cushion according to the heat it contains.
Although Billard cushions vary slightly in height, this can be easily obviated
by raising or lowering the carriage, by means of turning the set screws (Č. C. C. C.),
these screws acting upon the rollers as shown in Fig. 5.
The Iron may also be made hollow for use where it would be more convenient
to apply heat internally by means of a gas tube with burner when lighted and
placed in Iron (F. F. F. Fig. 1). This Iron is also provided with a loose shoe to fit
the Billiard Iron in order to protect it from dirt when hoated in the fire. This
Iron also has the advantage over the present smoothing irons (Thurstons) in that,
it has rounded corners (J. J.) which prevents the Iron from catching in the middle
pockets when used for smoothing the cloth: (H. H.) are points to show the distance
the Iron is from the cushion, so as to enable the distance to be adjusted according
to the heat of the Iron.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare what
I claim is
1stly The Iron (Fig. 1 & 2.) with rounded ends (J. J.), and hollow or solid, with
longitudinal cavity, forming two sides of a triangle, and for the purposes herein
specified.
2ndly The carriage to support the Iron consisting of the frame, with handles (G. G.)
Rollers (B. B) and sliding tray (L.) regulated by the screw milled-wheel (D. D.)
check-nut (E) and adjusting screws (C. C. C. C.) for raising or lowering the carriage
to suit heights of all Billiard Cushions.