IN FLOORING CRAMPS."
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Neil at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th June 1879.
CHARLES NEIL, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Engineer.
IN FLOORING CRAMPS."
"IMPROVEMENTS
My Invention refers to cramps used in laying floor-boards, and is as follows:——
The ram is made in the form of a screw, and obtains a direct action against the
edge of the boards by means of a nut working on the screw; this nut is threaded
on the outside so as to form a worm or skew wheel, into which gears another worm
or skew wheel fastened on an upright spindle fitted in the cramp frame; the spindle
has a head with winch handle passing through it, serving to turn it by; the outer
or ram end of the screw has a flat head, which is forced against the edge of the
boards.
The cramp is fastened to a joist by a clamp arrangement consisting of a jaw pro-
jection formed on the cramp frame and a stud arranged opposite the jaw projection,
and carrying a cam grip lever, between which latter and the jaw projection the joist
is gripped.
The stud is provided with teeth on its collar or shoulder against the cramp frame,
which latter is formed with pawl teeth to suit. The stud is held in position by the
cam when in action on the joist, and the greater the pressure on the cam the firmer
the stud teeth are forced into the rack.
The stud is formed with a head working in a guide slot in the cramp frame, and
may be arranged to have a screw pass through it with a plate or head on end to
clamp the joist.

page_text: :
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Neil in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
December 1879.
CHARLES NEIL, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FLOORING CRAMPS."
My Invention refers to cramps used in laying floor boards.
The ram is made in the form of a screw having a flat head, and obtains a direct
action against the edge of the board by means of a nut working on the screw; this
nut is threaded on the outside so as to form a worm or skew wheel, into which gears
another worm or skew wheel fastened on an upright spindle fitted in the cramp
frame; the spindle has a head with winch handle passing through it, serving to turn
it by, and so applying or withdrawing the pressure as desired.
The cramp is fastened to a joist by a clamp arrangement consisting of a deep
flange or projection formed on the cramp frame, and a sliding stud carrying a cam
grip lever arranged opposite in a frame, between which and the flange or projection
the joist is gripped.
The stud has teeth on its collar or shoulder which bears against the cramp frame,
which latter is formed with a rack or pawl teeth to suit, and when in action on the
joist the greater the pressure on the cam the firmer the stud teeth are forced into
the rack.
The stud is formed with a head working in a guide slot in the cramp frame, and
may be arranged to have a screw pass through it with a plate or head on end to
clamp the joist.
And in order that my said Invention may be more fully understood I will now
proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a flooring cramp tool constructed according to my
Invention; Figure 2, a transverse section through the line A, B, of Figure 1;
Figure 3, a cross section through Figure 1; and Figure 4, a plan of the underside of
the same.
a is a ram having screw threads upon it, and b is the nut through which the
ram passes; this nut 6 has on its periphery worm teeth, into which the other worm
or skew wheel c engages; d is the upright shaft on which this worm c is mounted,
and e is the handle on its upper end for operating same; ƒ is the frame made as
shewn, and of such a form on the one side as to clip a joist, and on the opposite side
of this frame is a projection f', which is chambered out and has pawl shaped teeth
on its underside, which engage with teeth on the head of a stud h which can be
moved along the slotted projection f' to suit the width of the joist to which it is to
be applied, and which carries a cam grip lever i; this lever bas teeth on its peri-
phery, and is mounted eccentrically on the stud h. When a floor board is to be
cramped before being nailed down, the tool or apparatus is put on a joist, and by
the operation of the cam grip lever the tool or apparatus is secured thereto;
handle e is turned to bring the ram a in contact with the boarding, and the further
this is screwed up the tighter the cam grip lever i causes the apparatus to be fixed
to the joist; and in order that this should be more clearly understood I have shewn
at Figure 5 a perspective sketch of the tool or apparatus applied as herein before
described, and as it would appear when in action.
the
Figure 6 shows in side elevation the modified form of tool or apparatus before
referred to, where in the place of the cam grip lever i I sometimes substitute a
screw k, passing through the movable stud h, and at one end of this screw I attach
a face plate to come against a joist, and loosely through the screw at the other end
pass a handle by which the screw may be regulated; but I find the arrangement
of grip lever as hereinhefore described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, pre-

page_text: ferable to this latter arrangement, shewn at Figure 6, as the mode of attaching the
apparatus to a joist is rendered more effective and rapid in adjustment with the
former than with the latter arrangement.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that, without limiting myself to the precise
arrangements shown and described, I claim as my improvements in flooring
crampa,
First. The construction and arrangement of nut b, having worm teeth on its
periphery, and engaging with another worm or skew wheel a mounted on shaft d,
which when actuated imparts motion to a ram arranged and operated substantially
as and for the purposes herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
Second. The arrangement and combination of the toothed headed stud ǹ with the
toothed and chambered projection f¹, substantially as and for the purposes described
and illustrated with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Neil, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
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