IMPROVE- MENTS IN SCREWS AND SCREWDRIVERS AND IN MACHINERY "FOR THE MANU- PACTURE OF SCREWS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Frearson, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SCREWS AND SCREWDRIVERS AND IN MACHINERY "FOR THE MANU-
PACTURE OF SCREWS."
Sealed the 10th September 1870, and dated the 12th July 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Frearson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th July 1870.
I, JOHN FREARSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREWS AND SCREWDRIVERS AND IN MACHINERY FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF SCREWS," to be as follows:-
-
My improvements in screws consist, first, in making the slit or groove
in the head of the screw, commonly called the nick, of a curve of short
radius, so that the said nick may be of great depth at the centre of the
head and terminate within the edge of the head; or the deep nick ter-
minating within the edge of the head may be made of other figure than

page_text: a circular one. By thus making the nick so that it does not extend all
across the head, the tendency of the head of the screw to burst under
the action of the screwdriver is prevented or diminished, and the injury
to which an article is exposed during the driving of the screw by the
screwdriver protruding from the end of the nick is avoid. I make the
said nicks in the heads of screws in various ways. They may be made
by circular saws of small diameter, or by cutters, or by means of a
suitably shaped punch or pressing tool worked in the machine by which
the heading of the blanks is effected. In screws made by casting the
said nicks may be made by the casting process.
My improvements in screws consist, secondly, in making two or
more nicks of the kind described in the head of the screw. When
two nicks are made they cross each other at right angles at the centre
of the head. When three nicks are made they cross each other at the
centre of the head, each nick making with the adjacent one an angle
of about 60 degrees. I prefer in all cases where more than one nick
is made that the nicks cross each other, so that the circle shall be
equally divided by the said nicks. These crossing nicks may be made
by sawing, cutting, pressing, or casting.
My improvements in screwdrivers consist in making the end or
acting part of the screwdriver of the form of the nick or nicks herein-
before described in the head of the screw. For screws with two or
more nicks crossing one another, I prefer to make the screwdriver from
iron or steel, grooved or fluted, so as to have the figure proper to make
it fit into the said crossing nicks.
Screwdrivers made according to my Invention used with screws made
according to my Invention have the advantage that when introduced
into the nick or nicks of the screw and pressure is applied to them
the end or acting part takes at once its proper axial position with
regard to the screw, and the force used for screwing and unscrewing
the said screw is applied in the most advantageous manner.
My improvements in machinery consist of the following arrangements
or combinations of parts for forming the nicks herein-before described
in the heads of the screws. When I form the said nicks by circular
saws I employ a compound bearing for supporting and steadying the
shaft on which the small circular saw works. I make that part of the
said shaft which carries the saw of a hexagonal or other angular

page_text: figure, the central hole of the saw having a similar figure. The saw
being slipped on to the angular portion of the shaft; the compound
steel bearing is brought against the upper side of the shaft, one half
of the bearing being on one side and the other half on the other side
of the saw. The said compound bearing thereby supports the shaft
and fixes the saw in its proper place on the shaft. By removing the
said bearing the saw can be immediately removed from and replaced on
the shaft. I prefer to make the circular saws by cutting them out at
a press, every alternate tooth being cut out at one blow and the inter-
mediate teeth being cut out by a second blow, the blank being turned
over before receiving the second blow. The required set is thus given
to the alternate teeth. When the nicks are made of an angular figure
instead of a circular figure I make them by cutting tools worked
alternately, one tool forming one half the nick and the other tool the
other half; these tools are alternately advanced and withdrawn by
the rocking of a three-arm lever, two of the arms engaging with the
two cutting tools respectively, and the third arm receiving an oscillating
motion through a connecting rod from a crank or excentric. Instead
of the three-arm lever other equivalent mechanism may be employed.
The cutters and appliances are depressed as the formation of the nick
proceeds by means of a suitably formed cam.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Frearson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th January 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FREARSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Mechanical
Engineer, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Frearson, Her special licence that I;
the said John Frearson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Frearson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,

page_text: 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 SCREWS
AND SCREWDRIVERS AND IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SCREWS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Frearson, my execu-
tors 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 John Frearson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in screws consist, first, in making the slit or groove
in the head of the screw, commonly called the nick, of a curve of short
radius so that the said nick may be of great depth at the centre of the
head and terminate within the edge of the head; or the deep nick
terminating within the edge of the head may be made of other figure
than a circular one. By thus making the nick so that it does not extend
all across the head the tendency of the head of the screw to burst under
the action of the screwdriver is prevented or diminished, and the injury
to which an article is exposed during the driving of the screw by the
screwdriver protruding from the end of the nick is avoided. I make
the said nicks in the heads of screws in various ways. They may be
made by circular saws of small diameter, or by cutters, or by means of a
suitably shaped punch or pressing tool worked in the machine by which
the heading of the blanks is effected. In screws made by casting the
said nicks may be made by the casting process.
My improvements in screws consist, secondly, in making two or more
nicks of the kind described in the head of the screw. When two nicks
are made they cross each other at right angles at the centre of the head.
When three nicks are made they cross each other at the centre of the
head, each níck making with the adjacent one an angle of about 60
degrees. I prefer in all cases where more than one nick is made that
the nicks cross each other so that the circle shall be equally divided by

page_text: the said nicks. These crossing nicks may be made by sawing, cutting,
pressing, or casting.
My improvements in screwdrivers consist in making the end or acting
part of the screwdriver of the form of the nick or nicks herein-before
described in the head of the screw. For screws with two or more nicks
crossing one another I prefer to make the screwdriver from iron or steel,
grooved or fluted, so as to have the figure proper to make it fit into the
said crossing nicks.
Screwdrivers made according to my Invention used with screws made
according to my Invention have the advantage that when introduced
into the nick or nicks of the screw and pressure is applied to them the
end or acting part takes at once its proper axial position with regard
to the screw, and the force used for screwing and unscrewing the said
screw is applied in the most advantageous manner.
My improvements in machinery consist of the following arrangements
or combinations of parts for forming the nicks herein-before described
in the heads of the screws. When I form the said nicks by circular.
saws I employ a compound bearing for supporting and steadying the
shaft on which the small circular saw works. I make that part of the
said shaft which carries the saw of a hexagonal or other angular figure
the central hole of the saw having a similar figure. The saw being
slipped on to the angular portion of the shaft the compound steel bearing
is brought against the upper side of the shaft, one half of the bearing
being on one side, and the other half on the other side of the saw. The
said compound bearing thereby supports the shaft and fixes the saw in
its proper place on the shaft. By removing the said bearing the saw
can be immediately removed from and replaced on the shaft. I prefer
to make the circular saws by cutting them out at a press, every alternate.
tooth being cut out at one blow and the intermediate teeth being cut out
by a second blow, the blank being turned over before receiving the
second blow. The required set is thus given to the alternate teeth.
When the nicks are made of an angular figure instead of a circular
figure I make them by cutting tools worked alternately, one tool forming
one half the nick, and the other tool the other half. These tools are
alternately advanced and withdrawn by the rocking of a three-arm lever,
two of the arms engaging with the two cutting tools respectively, and
the third arm receiving an oscillating motion through a connecting rod
from a crank or eccentric. Instead of the three-arm lever other equ

page_text: valent mechanism may be employed. The cutters and appliances are
depressed as the formation of the nick proceeds by means of a suitably
formed cam.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in
which the same is to be performed..
Figure 1 represents in plan, and Figure 2 in vertical section, the head
of a screw provided with a curved nick according to my Invention.
The said nick is made of a curve of short radius, the greatest depth of
the said nick being in the centre of the head, the ends of the nick
terminating within the edge of the head.
Figure 3 represents in plan, and Figure 4 in section, the head of a
screw in which two nicks of the kind represented in Figures 1 and 2 are
employed, the said nicks being situated at right angles and crossing one
another at the centre of the head.
Figure 5 represents in plan, and Figure 6 in section, the head of a
screw provided with a single nick of the kind represented in Figures 1
and 2 in combination with a conical-shaped central recess marked 3.
Figure 7 represents in plan, and Figure 8 in section, the head of a
screw provided with a double nick in combination with a conical-shaped
central recess 3. By means of this central recess 3 great facility in the
use of the screwdriver is obtained, as the said recess conducts the said
screwdriver at once to the centre of the screw head and from thence to
the nick. The said recess also facilitates the manufacture of the nick
or nicks.
Figures 9, 10, and 10*, represent in plan, elevation, and section
respectively the head of a screw in which the single cross nick is made
of an angular figure instead of the curved figure represented in Figures
1 and 2, the said angular shaped nick being represented in combination
with a conical central recess 3.
Figures 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 represent other forms of nicks
made according to my Invention. In these forms of my Invention the
single or compound nicks in the heads besides being angular have their
sides inclined to one another or of a V shape, the narrowest part of
the V nicks being in the centre of the head where the several nicks
meet, as will be understood by an examination of the Drawing. In
Figures 11 and 12 a central recess is represented combined with a

page_text: V-shaped nick.
The advantage of the V-shaped angular nicks over
curved nicks is that one screwdriver will suit all sizes of screws.
It is well known to persons who use screws that if the nicks are
narrow and shallow it is difficult to drive the screw without the screw-
driver slipping out of the nick, and if the nicks are wide and deep to
afford a good grip the head of the screw is weakened and the screwdriver
is liable to slip out sideways and deface the finished surface of the work,
and if the screwdriver is the same width as or wider than the head of
the screw the countersunk work is liable to be defaced and the angles
of the screwdriver are often broken.
By the use of screws and screwdrivers constructed according to my
Invention these inconveniences are prevented or diminished. The
improved nicks being much deeper in the centre than the ends the
screwdriver takes a firmer grip of the screw than with nicks of the
ordinary kind. The screwdriver is also kept central, and if but slightly
pressed it cannot slip out of the nick or deface the work. As the nicks
of screws made according to my Invention can be made much wider
than those of the ordinary screws without weakening the heads a.
stronger screwdriver may be used and the liability of the screwdrivers
to break thus diminished.
Figure 17 represents in edge view and Figure 18 in front elevation
the acting end of a screwdriver constructed according to my Invention
to be used with screws having nicks of the forms represented in Figures
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Figure 21 represents in edge view and Figure 22 in front elevation
the acting end of a screwdriver constructed according to my Invention
to be used with screws having nicks of the forms represented in Figures
9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.
Figure 19 represents in end elevation and Figure 20 in side elevation
the acting end of a screwdriver constructed according to my Invention,
the said screwdriver having three branches to fit it to be used with
screws having nicks of the kind represented in Figures 15 and 16. The
screwdriver, Figures 19 and 20, may be made from long rods shaped by
rolling, the said rods being cut into suitable lengths and their ends
shaped to fit the nicks of the screw heads.
I will now describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing my
improvements in machinery and tools for forming the several kinds of

page_text: nicks herein-before described, but I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself thereto as the said nicks may be formed in a variety of other
ways.
I make the curved nicks represented in Figures 1 to 8, both inclusive,
by preference by means of a circular saw, but the said curved nicks may
be made by compression by the use of punches having the required.
shape. When I employ a circular saw for this purpose I prefer to
support and steady the saw shaft and saw by the arrangement of parts
represented in side elevation in Figure 23, and end elevation in Figure 24,
parts of the same in Figure 25, and a modification of the same in
Figure 26.
*
A is the circular saw; B the saw shaft. The saw has an octagonal hole
(or other angular hole) in the centre, and that part of the shaft B upon
which the saw is to be fixed has a similar shape, as represented in Figure
25, to receive the said saw. The parts on either side the octagonal part
are cylindrical; or the saw A may have an internal screw in its centre
and the shaft B an external screw as represented in Figure 26. The
shaft B revolves in the bearing E and the compound bearing F, F. The
pulley C is secured to the shaft by the nut D. The saw A is fixed on
the octagonal part of the shaft B, and the end of the shaft steadied by
the compound bearing F, F. The parts marked f³, f2, of the said
compound bearing act as abutments which by bearing on either side
the saw prevent lateral motion of the saw on its shaft during the process
of cutting the nick in the head of the screw. The arms or brackets of
the compound bearing F, F, are open at bottom, one of which is a
fixture and the other is slipped over the top of the cylindrical part of the
shaft B.
The manner in which the compound bearing presses on either side the
saw and steadies the saw and saw shaft will be readily understood by an
examination of the Drawing. The bearings E, F, F, are secured in the
slots of and to the swing frame or lever or slide of the machine by the
nuts D¹, D', D¹. When the arrangement represented in Figure 26 is
used one only of the arms of the bearing F is required; the saw in this
case is held between the shoulder on the shaft B and the single bearing.
I cut the blanks of the saw A from sheet steel, and then cut out half the
teeth and next turn over the blank and cut out the other half, so as to
give the teeth the proper clearance. I also cut out the octagonal and
circular holes in the centre of the saw by the press.

page_text: The parts of the machinery with which the arrangements Figures 23,
24, 25, and 26 are combined are similar to those now in use, and therefore
I do not consider it necessary to describe or represent the said parts.
The machinery which I use for cutting the nick in the head of the
screw represented in Figures 9, 10, and 10 is represented in Figures
27, 28, 29, and 30.
Figure 27 is a front elevation; Figure 28 a side elevation; Figure 29
a plan; and Figure 30 a horizontal section showing the lower parts of
the machine. The same letters refer to the same parts.
G, G, are the two stands which support all the parts of the machine;
H, H, H, H, H, H, are bearings of the stands G, G, which support the
shafts I, J, and K. Upon the driving shaft I are the fast and loose
pulleys L, L. the crank M, and the ratchet lever cam N, the form of
which is shown by the dotted lines in Figure 27. On the shaft J aro
the cutter feeding cam O, the counter cutter feeding cam P, the form of
which is shown by the dotted lines in Figure 27, the ratchet wheel Q,
the lever R which fits the shaft J loosely, and the cam S, which last
actuates the moveable grip or die to grip or hold the screw blank while
being cut and releases it when finished. On the shaft K are the feed
lever T and the counter feed lever U. The lever R is kept to the cam N
by means of the india-rubber ring V, one end of which is looped on the
stud fixed to the lever R, and the other end is fixed to the stand G.
The driving pawl W moves freely upon a stud fixed to the lever R, and
is kept to the ratchet wheel by the india-rubber ring X, which is
supported at one end by a stud on the pawl W, and at the other end by
a stud fixed to the lever R. The stop pawl a, the shape of which is
shown by the dotted lines in Figure 27, moves freely on the stud b, and
is kept to the ratchet wheel by the india-rubber spring c, one end of
which is attached to a stud on the stop pawl a, and the other end on a
stud in the stand G. The vertical dovetail slide d which carries two
angle dovetail plates e, e, for holding the oblique dovetail slides f,f,
moves freely upon the dovetail parts g on the stand G. On the slide d
is fixed the stud or centre h, on which the three-branch lever i, j, j,
moves freely. The branch i is connected to the crank M by the con-
necting rod and the lower branches j, j, are connected to the slides ƒ, ƒ;
by blocks on the said slide. The cutting tools m, m, (which are the
thickness of the nicks to be cut) are secured to the slides ff, by means
of set screws against the saddles n, n, which are grooved the width of

page_text: the cutters for the purpose of keeping them firm and straight, and there
are grooves in the slides f,f, also of the width of the cutters made deeper
near the cutting ends for the purpose of giving clearance to the cutters
and the cutters are adjusted by the set screws at the outer ends of the
slides ff, the said screws having centre points which enter the counter-
sunk holes in the blocks o, o, which blocks are slotted to receive the
ends of the cutters. The shaft p which moves freely at each end in
holes in the stands G, G, has on it the grip and release lever 7. The two
jaws r, r, are fixed in grooves in G and secured and adjusted by screws.
The jaw or gript and the knocker off u are secured and adjusted by
screws in the slide Z. The three jaws or grips r, r, and t are for the
purpose of holding the screw blank x while being cut. The slide Z with
the jaw t is made to advance by the wedge piece q at the lower end of
the lever and the cam S, the india-rubber spring y (attached at one
end of the stud y¹ and at the other end to the boss on the slide Z)
causing the lever to keep to the cam S, and to draw out the slide Z
with the jaw t and the knocker off u. The curved plates 20, 20, form a
slotted bar or passage for conducting the screw blanks from the hopper
to the said jaws. The sides of the recess in G, in which the plates w, w,
are placed are of the proper angle to conduct the plates to form the
passage of the width of the thickness of the screws to be cut. As the
said plates advance towards the position of the fixed screw the said
passage narrows, and as they are made to recede the passage widens.
As the parts which compose the hopper and apparatus for feeding screw
blanks to the passage w, w, are similar to those now in use they need
not be described.
The action of this machine is as follows:-The shaft I being put in
motion in the direction indicated by the arrow the cam N raises the
lever R and with it the pawl W, and causes the ratchet wheel Q to
advance the proper distance, the wheel Q being retained by the stop
pawl a. The cam O being advanced the required distance by the motion
of the shaft J causes the lever T, the link s¹, and the slide d, with the
cutter slides f. f, to descend to put on the cut. The counter cam P and
levers U, T, giving the reverse or ascending motion, thus causing the
tools m, m, to ascend. To case the counter cam P a balance weight
equal to the weight of the slide d and its contents may be used. During
this operation the crank M causes the lever i, j, j, to oscillate on the
centre h, and the cutters m, m, arc thereby made alternately to operate

page_text: upon and effect the nicking of the head of the screw. When the rise of
the cam O ceases to act on the lever T and the slide a comes to rest,
the spring y pulls the jaw or grip from the screw x and the knocker
off u forces the nicked screw from the jaws, and the conducting passage
formed by the plates w, w, being charged with blanks they descend to
the stop v, and the cam S causes the wedge-shaped end q of the lever /
to act against the inclined end of the slide Z and advance the jaw t, and
cause it to grip the screw blank between itself and the two fixed
jaws r, r.
By the alternate action of the cutters m, m, the angular nick in the
head of the screw x is cut, the figure of the cam o causing the slide d
slowly to descend to produce the required depth in the nick.
Figures 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 represent some of the punches
which I use for producing by compression the nicks in the heads of
the screws, represented in Figures 11 to 16, both inclusive, of the
accompanying Drawing. The said Figures 31 to 36 also exhibit the
mode of securing the punches to the slide of the heading and nicking
machine.
Figure 35 is a front elevation and Figure 36 an edge view partly in
section of a punch for preparing the head of the screw before being
nicked by the punch marked 1, in Figures 31 and 32, or before the
conical central recess 3 is formed in the head by the punch 2, Figures
33 and 34.
The V-shaped nicks in the head of the screw, Figures 11 and 12, is
produced by a punch having one half of the acting part of the punch
represented in Figures 31 and 32. The nicks in the heads of the screw,
Figures 13 and 14, are produced by the punch 1, Figures 31 and 32, and
the nicks in the screw, Figures 15 and 16, are produced by a punch
baving the required additional acting part.
The punches 1 and 2, represented in Figures 31, 32, 33, and 34, or
other shapes that may be required, are made of steel stamped between
dies of the shapes required, and the punch, represented in Figures 35
and 36, may be similarly made of steel or of chilled cast iron. The nose
end of the heading or nicking slide is shown by the numeral 4, which
nose has a conical shaped recess in its end to receive the cone of the
punch 1 for the purpose of keeping the punch central. This nose of
the slide is screwed on its outside to fit the internal screw of the
nut or cap 5. This cap is coned to fit the cone of the punch for the
:
;

page_text: purpose of holding the punch firmly to the face of the slide. And for
the purpose of locking the cap it may have a set screw with saddle to
fit the thread of the slide to prevent its getting loose.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illus-
trated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
my Invention; but I claim as my Invention of improvements in serows
and screwdrivers, and in machinery for the manufacture of screws,-
-
Firstly. Making one or more curved nicks in the heads of screws the
said nick or nicks being of greatest depth at the centre of the head, and
terminating within the edge of the head, substantially as and for the
purpose herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 8, both
inclusive, of the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly. Making one or more nicks of an angular figure or of a
combined angular and V figure in the heads of screws, the said nick or
nicks being of greatest depth at the centre of the head, and terminating
within the edge of the head, substantially as and for the purpose
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 9 to 16, both inclusive,
of the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. Making a conical recess in the centre of the heads of
screws, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of the accompanying
Drawing.
Fourthly. Constructing screwdrivers to be used with the screws
enumerated in the previous claims, substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 17 to 22, both inclusive, of the
accompanying Drawing.
Fifthly. The combinations or arrangements of parts herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 23, 24, 25, and 26 of the accom-
panying Drawing for supporting and steadying the saw and saw shaft
of machinery to be employed in cutting curved nicks in the heads of
screws.
Sixthly. The combination or arrangement of the parts of machinery
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 27, 28, 29, and 30 of
the accompanying Drawing for cutting angular nicks in the heads of
screws.

page_text: Lastly. The construction of the punches herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 31 to 36, both inclusive, of the accompanying
Drawing, and similarly constructed punches for punching V-shaped
nicks or other angular nicks in the heads of screws.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Frearson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOHN FREARSON. (L.S.)