A CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING OF NAILS
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
JAMIESON CORDES, of Idol Lane, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Eighth day of October, in the fifth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Jamieson Cordes, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said James Jamieson Cordes, my exors, adñors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Jamieson Cordes, my exors,
adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING OF NAILS," communicated
to me by a certain foreigner formerly resident abroad, but now deceased;
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said James
Jamieson Cordes, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled
in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Jamieson Cordes, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described
and ascertained as follows, that is to say:-
The said Invention and improved machinery is exhibited in four Drawings,
numbered from 1 to 4, annexed to and forming part of this Specification; in
which said Drawings the several parts of the said machinery are noted and are
herein-after further described by means of certain letters and figures placed on
or near the same, those parts which are exhibited in more than one Figure of
the said Drawings being denoted by the same letters and figures in each.
The Drawing numbered 1 is a bird's-eye view of the machine; the Drawings
numbered 2 and 3 are side elevations of it; the Drawing numbered 4 contains
several Figures exhibiting more in detail than in the other Drawings various
parts of the machinery. Two cheeks or upright sides of cast iron (A) are
firmly bolted together by bolts B, forming a frame upon which the principal parts
of the machinery rest. The principal parts are made of cast iron, fitted in the
usual manner of metallic framing. Two moveable caps or castings (D) are
placed directly one above the other in an opening made for the purpose in the
front part of the sides (A), and between the posts (E), which form part of
the frame A. The distance of these caps from each other is regulated by
four screws (F), which pass through the upper cap and rest upon the lower
cap. The lower cap rests upon a wedge or tapering key, which rests upon
a cross bar extending from one cheek to the other of the frame (A); by
means of this wedge the caps may be readily removed and replaced. When
properly adjusted for work, the caps are kept firmly in their place by screws
(G), which press upon the upper cap, passing through cross tightening
bars placed on each side between the upper cap and shoulders projecting
from the top of the posts (E). Each cap has a shaft or spindle (C) fitted
to it, carrying at one extremity a toothed wheel (5), and carrying also
one of the two compressing rollers (H), herein-after described. The com-
pressing rollers (H) are made of steel or other hard metal, and are screwed
to shoulders upon the shafts (C), to facilitate their removal. The com-
pressing rollers are used to shape the nails which are compressed between
them; their circumferences are divided each into the same number of equal
excentric segments. The degree of excentricity depends on the shape of the
nail required. They are placed near the middle of the cap D, one above the
other, and so that when motion is given to them with the spindles (C) by means
of the toothed wheels (), similar diameters of each roller come at the same
instant into the direction of the line joining their centres. The length of the

page_text: or flat
nail made will be the same as that of each excentric segment of the rollers,
and the width of the rollers corresponds to the thickness of the nail. The
toothed wheels (), which I call retarding wheels, also consist of as many
excentric segments as there are excentric segments on the compressing
rollers, so that the pitch line of the teeth or cogs upon them is not concentric
with the centre of motion. The toothed wheels (1) are screwed to flat plates
upon the spindles (C) by screws passing through slots or openings in them, for
the purpose of adjusting them, so that the longest radius of the toothed wheels
may be opposite the longest radius of the compressing rollers. Two sliding
levers I are secured in a clasp or head piece (J), which rests on projections of
the frame (A), by means of screws (K), one of which passes through each
of the sliding levers respectively, and presses the other against a pin (L),
passing vertically through the head piece (J). The guiding slides (M),
picces with square edges, are bolted to the sliding levers opposite each other,
one on each side of the compressing rollers, which work between the them.
The use of these guiding slides is to confine the rod laterally while the
compressing rollers are shaping the nail. Two holders (N), termed by me
stretching holders, are also screwed to the sliding levers (1), immediately beyond
the guiding slides M. The edges of the stretching holders are made to pro-
ject slightly, so that when the sliding levers close upon the nail the stretching
holders may hold the extremity of it and keep the nail straight as it passes.
from under the compressing rollers. The same effect may be produced by
introducing another pair of stretching holders between the guiding slides and
the compressing rollers, and by slightly indenting the stretching holders instead
of forming them with projecting edges. These indentations must be made
in the stretching holders nearest to the compressing rollers on the side nearest
to the compressing rollers, and in the other pair on the side farthest upon them.
In that case the action of the compressing rollers will force the end of the
rod into the indented part of the first pair of stretching holders, so as to
raise on the rod a small pair of pins or wings. The guiding slides then
separating will allow the rod thus winged to pass between them as they move
towards the compressing rollers, and when they close again at the farthest
limit of their motion in that direction the wings will fit the indentations in
the second pair of stretching holders, and thus the necessary hold will be
obtained. The stretching holders may be cast in one piece with the guiding
slides, whether they be made with projecting edges or with indentations, they
are made separate for the convenience of adjusting, which is effected by screws
Two holders (6), termed by me heading
working in the sliding levers.
holders, are also bolted to the slidings levers opposite to each other. The faces

page_text: of the heading holders are slightly grooved; their use is to hold the nail firmly
while it is headed. Two light bars P, termed by me holding bars, are joined
by springs and work in grooves at each side made fast to the frame. The
distance of the holding bars from each other is regulated by screws passing
through the upper bar and pressing against the lower bar. The holding bars
are formed each with a projecting holder in the middle, for the purpose of
receiving the nail, which is deposited between them by the stretching holders,
and is held by them till it is carried away by the heading holders. For this
purpose the holding bars are placed between the sliding levers and nearly in
contact with them at right angles. A heading frame Q carries the heading
punch R, which is of steel or other hard metal, and has its face either plain or
otherwise, according to the form of head required; the small ends of the sliding
levers pass freely through the heading frame and are supported by it; the
heading frame itself rests on projections of the frame A, and is so placed that
the centre of the heading punch may be brought up directly to the centre of
the heading holders. Two levers or toggles (S) are placed within the heading
frame Q, for the purpose of forming toggle joints to close the sliding levers I;
the toggles pressing at one end against pins passing through the heading frame,
and at the other end against semicircular projections of the sliding levers. The
toggle joints press the sliding levers together when they are brought towards a
direction at right angles to that of the motion of the sliding levers and heading
frame. The toggles are kept in their place by plates pinnod to them and to
the heading frame, and formed with a slot at the other end, through which pins
rising from the projections of the sliding levers traverse during the motion of
the joints. A pair of shears or chisels of steel or other hard metal T are bolted
each to a shear lever V, and adjusted by screws, so that in their closest position
their cutting edges U may pass each other sufficiently to cut off the nails. The
shear levers are connected by two arms Z with a couple of cranks placed on a
racking shaft Y, which I call the shear shaft, and from which they receive
their motion. A small piece of iron, termed by me a striker, is screwed
in front of the upper shear lever, and descends as the shears close for the pur-
pose of striking down the finished nail in case its own weight should not dis-
engage it from the machine when it is released by the heading holders. A
driving shaft (f) passes across the frame A, carrying a fly wheel (c) and
a pulley (d), which pulley is the first mover of the machine, and may be
driven by a strap or other suitable means from any convenient adjacent
machinery. A rod (a) connects a crank at the end of the shear shaft with
a crank (g) on the driving shaft; a sliding crosshead (h) rests on pro-
jections i of the frame A; two springs e are made fast at one end to the ends

page_text: of the sliding levers (1), by means of a coupling square and key, and at the
other end to the crosshead (h), by means of round eyes made to receive pins
which pass vertically through the crosshead. The tendency of these springs
is to press the sliding levers apart as soon as they are relieved from the action
of the toggle joints. The small end of the heading frame passes freely through
the crosshead, and is connected by a rod and straps (k), with a crank or
cam, which I call the heading crank, on the driving shaft; the sliding cross-
head is connected by two similar sets of a rod and straps working at one end
over pins (1), made fast to the crosshead, and at the other end on two cranks
or cams m, which I call the slide cranks on the driving shaft. The heading
crank travels a little behind the slide cranks, so that the heading punch may
meet the heading holders at the proper time for striking up the head of the
nail. Two racks (n), which I term diminishing racks, are placed one on
each side the frame (A), having unequal teeth or cogs suited to work into
the teeth of the excentric segments of the retarding wheels (); these racks
slide in grooves of small castings (0), bolted to the frame P, herein-after
described, and are connected by arms (9) with cranks (s) upon the driving
shaft. Each revolution of the driving shaft causes the retarding wheels to
advance one excentric segment. When the continued motion of the driving
shaft forces the diminishing racks to return, they are thrown out of gear from
the retarding wheels, and do not fall again into gear until they are again on
the point of moving in their first direction. There are several well-known
ways of producing this effect. That which I have employed, and which is
here represented, is as follows:-A racking shaft (r) passes across the bottom
of the frame (A), immediately under the retarding wheels (5), and is secured
in bearings on each side. The shaft is worked by means of a toothed wheel t,
keyed upon it, and a plane rack (v), which communicates by two rods (w), and
a bell crank (a) with a crank s on the driving shaft. Two cranks (y), one
at each end of the shaft, are connected with two frames (p), which I call
sliding frames, which support the diminishing racks and slide in vertical
grooves in castings screwed one on each side of the frame (A), by means of
rods, fitted with a stirrup and screw for the purpose of adjustment. By means
of these rods and sliding frames the motion of the shaft alternately raises and
depresses the diminishing racks, so as to throw them in and out of with
the retarding wheels. One diminishing rack is placed over and the other
under its retarding wheel; the position of the two cranks on the shaft is
correspondingly reversed, so that by the same motion the two diminishing
racks are thrown in and out of gear at the same time. A cross plate is
bolted to each of the sliding frames, carrying two or more catch teeth (1), for
gear

page_text: the purpose of locking the retarding wheels and preventing all motion in them
while the diminishing racks are out of gear. The whole of the apparatus
last described of the shaft, sliding frames, and catch teeth is employed only
for the purpose of communicating an intermitting motion from the diminishing
racks to the retarding wheels, always in the same direction. The rod (2),
intended to be made into nails, is heated in a furnace, and the end of it is
led through a tube (3), fastened on the top of the frame (A), and leading to
the edges of the compressing rollers. When the driving shaft is set in motion
the extremity of the heated rod is caught by the edges of the compressing
rollers and drawn in between them; in its passage it is compressed into the
form of a nail by the excentric segments, the points being formed by the
near approach of the longest radii of the compressing rollers. As soon as the
end of the rod has passed the centres of the compressing rollers, the sliding
levers and clasp, which rest on projections from the inner sides of the frame (A),
begin to move from the rollers, and at the same time the sliding levers close by
the action of the toggle joints. By the closing of the sliding levers the guiding
slides (M) are brought close to the sides of the nail and keep it from spreading
laterally, and at the same time the projecting edges of the stretching holders
clasp it at a short distance from the foremost end, and move forward with it
between them. The continually increasing pressure of the rollers upon the
rod from the neck to the point of the nail lengthens it, and would cause the
nail to turn or crook between the rollers and the stretching holders if their
relative motion continues unaltered, but by the action of the diminishing racks
on the retarding wheels, the motion of the compressing rollers is retarded
relatively to that of the stretching holders, by which means the nail is kept
straight. The stretching holders carry the nail between the holders of the
holding bars, the spring upon the bars allowing them to separate for that
purpose. By the continued motion of the slide cranks (m) on the driving
shaft, the sliding levers begin to return as soon as the compressing rollers have
shaped the nail from neck to point, at the same time the toggle joints cease
to act in closing the sliding levers, which are forced open by the action of the
springs on them. The stretching holders quit their hold of the nail which
they have just brought forward, and begin to return to take up another from
the compressing rollers. The motion of the shaft and sliding frames simul-
taneously throws the diminishing racks out of gear, and the retarding wheels 3
are locked by the catch teeth until the stretching holders close upon another
nail, at which moment the catch teeth are withdrawn, and the diminishing
racks are carried back to their former position; and repeat the same motion.
The same return motion of the sliding levers which carries back the stretching

page_text: holders to the compressing rollers brings the heading holders to the holding
bars, and at the same instant that the stretching holders close upon another
nail the heading holders close upon that which has been just left between the
holding bars, and carry it forward to the heading frame, which is then moving
with the heading punch in an opposite direction by the action of the heading
crank, which, as already mentioned, follows the slide cranks on the driving
shaft; the heading punch forciby meeting the nail, while firmly held by the
heading holder, strikes up the head. The shears then close by the action of
the shear shaft, so as to complete the division of the nail from the rod in case
it should not have been already effected by the close approach of the com-
pressing roller, and the striker, descending with the upper shear, strikes down
the finished nail into a basket or other receptacle placed below the machine.
The size and proportions of the several parts, as represented in the annexed
Drawings, are those which are suitable for making ordinary nails about two
inches and a half in length. If the machinery is required to make nails of
other sizes and kinds, such changes must be made as are evident from the
foregoing description of the machinery and its manner of operation.
I have thus described the several parts and motions of the improved
machinery which I use for the making of nails, I shall now enumerate the
parts and combinations of parts which alone I claim as new, protesting that
I do not claim as new or seek to appropriate, according to the tenor of the
said Letters Patent, any parts or combinations of parts of the said machinery,
or any manner of constructing or working the same, or any parts thereof,
other than is herein-after particularly claimed and specified.
I claim as new and seek to appropriate, by virtue and according to the
tenor of the said Letters Patent, the Invention and use of the combination
of the said compressing rollers combined and used with the said stretching
holders; the Invention and use of the combination of the said compressing
rollers combined and used with the said guiding slides; the Invention and
use of the combination of the said holding bars combined and used with
the said stretching holders; and the Invention and use of the combina-
tion of the said holding bars combined and used with the said guiding slides,
whether the said stretching holders are made separately from the said guiding
slides, or whether the slides are made to act both as guides and stretching
holders in one piece, and whether the hold is obtained by projecting edges
on the stretching holders as aforesaid, or by indentations as aforesaid. And
I declare that it is essential to the due and complete action of the said
stretching holders or of the said slides, when they are made to act as stretching
holders, when used in combination with the said compressing rollers, that the

page_text: velocity of motion of the said stretching holders or slides should be gradually
increased relatively to that of the motion of the said compressing rollers, by
which the bending of the metal rod during the formation of the nail is
prevented.
In witness whereof, 1, the said James Jamieson Cordes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.