IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLOUGHS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Howard, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford,
Agricultural Implement Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF PLOUGHS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Howard at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th December 1879.
JAMES HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricultural Implement
Maker. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLOUGHS."
This Invention relates to the manufacture of ploughs from wrought iron, the
object being to obtain great rigidity and compactness with the use of a minimum
weight of metal, and to facilitate the manufacture.
For this purpose I form the beam of bar iron or steel, having a flange or flanges
to give lateral stiffness.
The hinder part of the beam, instead of being continued rearwards or running
through in the ordinary way to join the handles, I curve downwards on reaching
what is termed the frame or body in the direction of or towards the share, in order
to provide a surface of attachment for and to give stiffness to the frame. This
frame or body portion I make of a pair of curved steel or iron cheeks, which are by
preference flanged on their inner faces, the total depth of such flanges corresponding
to the thickness of the beam. The space between the two cheeks forms a recess for
the reception of the curved end of the beam, the cheeks and beam being united by
bolts and nuts or rivets. These curved cheeks are secured to an angle iron sole
piece which is to receive the "slade" as usual. The neck for carrying the share is
inserted between the pair of cheeks, and suitable provision is made for varying the
inclination of the share point and attaching the breast and "slade."
The handles I attach to the upper part of the beam in advance of the pair of
curved cheeks, the upper edge of each handle abutting upon the under side of the
beam flanges.
An obvious modification of the above described arrangement is, instead of
inserting a beam between a pair of flanged cheeks, to construct a double or hollow
beam, and to continue it down to the sole piece to form the frame or body.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Howard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th
June 1880.
JAMES HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricultural Implement
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLOUGHS."
Maker.
This Invention relates to the manufacture of ploughs from wrought iron or steel,
the object being to obtain great rigidity and compactness with the use of a
minimum weight of metal, and to facilitate the manufacture.
For this purpose I form the beam of bar iron or steel, having a flange or flanges
to give lateral stiffness.
The hinder part of the beam, instead of being continued rearwards or running
through in the ordinary way to join the handles, I curve downwards on reaching
what is termed the frame or body in the direction of or towards the share, in order
to provide a surface of attachment for, and to give stiffness to the frame. The
handles I form by rivetting or welding a pair of suitably shaped bars to the beam.
The frame is composed of a pair of flanged cheeks or a single flanged cheek secured
by welding or rivetting to the sole piece which forms the base of the frame.
When two cheeks are used, which I prefer, the frame takes somewhat the form of a
sheath, and receives within it the extremity of the beam to which it is attached by
bolts or rivets, and also the lever neck (when that instrument is used) for carrying
the share in the usual manner.
This construction of plough admits of various modifications, as will be hereafter
explained, but in all cases it will take substantially the same form as that shewn
in the side elevation, Fig. 1, Sheet I., of the Drawings.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the plough represented at Fig. 1. This plough has a
wrought iron swan-necked beam A, T-shaped in cross section, to which is secured
by bolts or rivets a hollow or sheath frame B.
This frame is composed of two curved plates of wrought iron b, (see the detached
views, Figures 3, Sheet II.,) flanged on one of their edges so as to enclose the web of
the beam, which web is at this part uppermost.
The checks are made of such a breadth and thickness as to lie against the sides
of the web, and form a flush surface with the flange of the beam, so far as that
flange extends downwards from the swan neck.
cis the sole piece secured to the side plates b at front by welding directly thereto,
and at the rear by welding through the interposition of vertical connecting pieces d.
The piece d on the furrow side of the plough has welded to it a lug e for receiving
the stay rod or coupling of the mould board.
C is the lever neck carrying at its forward end trunnions which rest in sockets
formed for them in the front end of the hollow frame.
D is the share fitted to the nose of the lever C as usual, its dip being regulated
by the shifting of a notched washer on the threaded end of the lever neck into
notches formed in the back edge of the connecting pieces d, such washer being held
firmly in place by a binding nut as usual, according to the Patent granted to me
the 3rd July One thousand eight hundred and fifty one, No. 13,678.
The flanges of the beam A are cut away for the whole of that part of the beam
which is inserted within the sheath portion of the frame, and the web of the beam
is thus closely embraced by the frame which it serves materially to stiffen, while at
the same time it takes the direct thrust of the advancing plough. E is the slade
attached in the usual manner to the underside of the sole piece; F are the handles
attached to opposite sides of the beam A, and stiffened by cross rods as usual, G is
the ordinary coulter; H is the land wheel, and H' the furrow wheel connected
adjustably as usual to the front part of the beam A. The head of the beam
terminates in a horizontal fork A¹, the prongs of which embrace an angle iron race,
to which is fitted a travelling draught block I

page_text: This block is tapped to receive a traversing screw 1' which turns in bearings in
the prongs of the fork A³, and receives rotary motion from a handle or hand wheel
1 for the purpose of shifting the draught block to suit the angle of draught
desired.
Standing out vertically from the front of the draught block I is a plate Is which
forms a portion thereof, and is pierced with a row of holes for receiving the coupling
of the draught chain and allowing of its vertical adjustment.
I will now describe some modifications in the construction of the wrought iron
or steel frame C, which may be adopted without departing from the nature of my
Invention, some of them being a consequent of a change in the sectional form of
the bar iron constituting the beam. Figures 4, Sheet II., shew the frame constructed
of one brond flanged cheek b, and an unflanged cheek 6*, the upper edge of the
latter being overlaid by the broad flange of the former
The flanged cheek is attached by welding to the sole piece c as before explained,
and the forward end of the frame, before the attachment of the unflanged plate is
formed into a taper box shape with open ends.
The unflanged plate completes the frame, one being attached thereto by transverse
bolts or rivets passing through the beam, as in Fig. 1. The forward end of this
plate laps over the side of the taper box, and is secured thereto by a screw or rivet.
Thus the frame illustrated at Fig. 4 takes precisely the appearance illustrated
at Fig. 1.
Figures 5 shew the frame composed as just explained, but with the difference
that, instead of welding together the flanged cheek and sole pioce, and the part
completing the front hollow portion, rivetting is employed. The unflanged cheek
6* has also rivetted to it the lug e for receiving the stay rod of the inould board.
Figures 6 shew the frame without the unflanged cheek b*, in other respects it
resembles the frame described with reference to Figures 4. Not being so strong
as the double cheeked frame, the use of this frame will be limited to light ploughs.
The lug e is in this case carried by the beam.
Figures 7 shew the frame constructed with two unflanged cheeks secured by
welding to the sole piece, and connected together at their upper edges at the
forward end of the frame. The frame thus formed is adapted for a beam of H-
section, the flange at the underside of the beam being cut away, as in the preceding
examples, and the upper flange serving to overlap the cheeks b of the frame.
In some cases,
instead of stopping the beam at the point marked * in Fig. 1,
Sheet I., I propose to continue the beam to the forward extremity of the frame,
and fit thereto the share, which in such case will, as in the common plough, adinit
of no adjustment to vary its dip independently of the front wheels. An arrange-
ment of this kind is shewn in Figures 8, Sheet III. The frame in these Figures
corresponds substantially with that shewn at Figures 4, that is to say, there is a
deep flanged cheek welded to the sole piece, and an unflanged cheek corresponding
thereto, which fits against the web of the beam, and is secured to the main portion
of the frame by bolts or rivets which pass through the web of the beam and
through the two side cheeks.
Figures 9 shew the same arrangement as Figures 8, the unflanged cheek being
however dispensed with, sufficient strength for a light plough being obtained
without its use.
An obvious modification of the above described arrangement is, instead of
inserting the beam between a pair of flanged cheeks, to construct the swan-neck
portion of the beam of spaced bars, and to continue the same down to the sole
piece to which they are to be welded to form the hollow wrought iron frame for
the reception of the lever neck.
One mode of carrying out this plan is shown at Figures 10, where b, b, are
double flanged parallel extensions of the beam bent to a swan neck form, and
having strips & welded thereto to form the rear connections with the sole plate.
The lower edges of the parts b which now constitute the cheeks of the plough
frame are deprived of their flanges, as explained with reference to the earlier

page_text: examples, and the cheeks are held apart to give stiffness to the frame by means of
distance pieces secured by transverse bolts. The parts b I secure to a solid or
hollow beam by welding.
Figures 11 shew a solid T-headed beam welded to two parallel unflanged
extension pieces, which serve, like the extension pieces of Figures 10, to perform the
duty of the cheeks in the preceding arrangements, and form with the sole piece c
and connecting pieces d, the hollow plough frame.
Figures 12, Sheet I., shew a modification of the mode of attaching the handles to
the beam. In this case, instead of rivetting the handles to the web, as in Fig. 1,
they are welded to the flanges of the beam."
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Construction of Ploughs," and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim, constructing the frames of ploughs as herein before described, and
uniting them with their beams, as illustrated and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Howard, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
JAMES HOWARD.