IMPROVEMENTS IN BRUSHES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Sheldon, of New Haven, Connecticut, United
States of America, now of 3, Rue Scribe, Paris, in the Empire of France,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BRUSHES, AND IN APPARATUS
FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME."-A communication from Barnard'
Lavery, of the City, County, and State of New York,-United States of
America.
Sealed the 20th December 1867, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord
Chancellor, and dated the 7th June 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Sheldon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th June 1867.
I, JOSEPH SHELDON, of New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America,
now of 3, Rue Scribe, Paris, in the Empire of France, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BRUSHES, AND IN APPARATUS.
FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME," a communication, to be as follows:-
The said improvements relate to the manufacture of all brushes which are
formed by inserting bristles or other fibres into a back or stock of wood,
metal, or other hard substance, and consist chiefly in securing each tuft or
bunch of fibres by a separate wire staple whose points are bevelled or inclined
on the outside in such a manner that when driven into a hole or perforation
Dvice
1

page_text: in the stock its points have a tendency to spread crosswise and take a firm
hold of the same. By means of these wire staples each tuft of fibres is held
independantly of the others, and without the use of glue or other adhesive
substance.
The said improvements consist also in the peculiar construction of the
tools or apparatus employed in perforating the stock and inserting the fibres.
When the said stock is formed of wood a spiral or twist drill is employed
whose nose or extremity is rounded to produce the required shape at the
bottom of the perforations which do not extend through the stock, and the
said nose is also provided with a central perforation to allow the material
removed in boring to pass away and clear the drill. When the stock is of
metal an expanding drill is used which forms a recess at the bottom of the
holes to allow the wire staples to spread. The punch or driver for inserting
the bristles or other fibres is made concave to correspond with the bow or
loop of the wire staples, and this concave portion is grooved or channelled to
fit the wire and prevent its slipping laterally therefrom when placed upon one
of the said staples.. The wood, metal, or other material for the back or stock
is,made of the required shape and size, and is then placed in a drilling machine
provided with a suitable feed motion for regulating the distance between the
holes or perforations; the latter are then drilled to the required depth, the
size of the drill being adapted to suit the quality and description of the brush
being manufactured. When the holes have all been drilled the stock is
removed from the drilling machine, and the bristles or other fibres are inserted
by means of the concave punch or driver, which may be operated by hand or
by a suitable machine. The bristles are previously sorted and divided into
bunches or tufts, and a wire staple is placed over the centre of each tuft and
The
arranged over the hole or perforation into which it is to be secured.
staples are arranged over the holes with their points downward, and the
punch or driver is placed upon the loop or bow of the staple; pressure is
then applied to the said punch, and the staple with the central portion of the
tuft of bristles is forced down to the bottom of the hole, which being formed
by a round nosed drill is of the proper shape to receive the said tuft; the
latter is doubled or folded in entering the hole, its two ends coming together
at the surface of the brush. The points of the wire staples are crossed below
the tufts by the pressure exerted in forcing them into the holes, and the
peculiar form of the said points causes them to spread and penetrate or bind
against the sides of the said holes. When all the fibres have been inserted
into the stock the brush is subjected to the action of a machine which cuts
the ends of the fibres and renders the surface of the same smooth and uniform.

page_text: The expanding drill employed when the back or stock is formed of metal,
ivory, or other equally hard substance which the points of the wire staples
could not penetrate is constructed to enlarge the holes at the bottom so as to
form a shoulder by which the points of the wire staples are extended and
firmly held.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Joseph Sheldon in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th December 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
SHELDON, of New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, now of
No. 3, Rue Scribe, Paris, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph Sheldon, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph Sheldon, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
Sheldon, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, 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 BRUSHES, AND IN
APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Joseph Sheldon, my executors 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 on or before the Twenty-fourth day
of December, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said Joseph Sheldon, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
forming a part of this Specification:-
The said improvements relate to the manufacture of all kinds of brushes
which are formed by inserting bristles or other fibres into a back or stock of

page_text: wood, metal, or other hard substance, and consist chiefly in securing each tuft or
bunch of fibres by a separate wire staple or staple-like piece of wire whose
points are bevelled or inclined on the outside in such a manner that when
driven into a hole or perforation in the stock its points have a tendency to
spread crosswise and take a firm hold of the same. By means of these wire
staples each tuft of fibres is held independently of the others and without the
use of glue or other adhesive substance. The said improvements consist also
in the peculiar construction of the tools or apparatus employed in perforating
the stock and inserting the fibres. When the said stock is formed of ordinarily
soft wood a spiral or twist drill is employed whose nose or extremity is rounded
to produce the required shape at the bottom of the perforations which do not
extend through the stock, and the said drill is also provided with a central
perforation to allow the material removed in boring to pass away and clear the
drill. When the stock is of hard wood, ivory, or metal an expanding drill.is
used which forms a recess at the bottom of the holes to allow the wire staples
to spread. The punch or driver for inserting the bristles or other fibres is
made concave to correspond with the bow or loop of the wire staples, and this
concave portion is grooved or channelled to fit the wire and prevent its
slipping laterally therefrom when placed upon one of the said staples.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan illustrating the manner of forming the perforations in a
brush stock when the same is formed of soft wood; Figure 2 is a section on
the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3 represents one of the wire staples I employ
for securing the tufts of fibre in the stock; Figure 4 illustrates the manner
of adjusting the said staples over the tufts of fibre previous to their insertion
into the stock; Figures 5 and 6 are sections of one of my improved brushes;
Figure 7 is a plan of the back of a brush stock with part removed showing the
mode of forming the holes or perforations when the stock is made of ivory or
other hard material; Figures 8 and 9 are sections on the lines y, y, and z, z,
Figure 7 Figure 10 is the drill I prefer to employ in forming the perforations
shown in Figures I and 2; Figures II and 12 show my improved punch or
driver for inserting the tufts of fibre into the stock. Like letters indicate the
same parts in each Figure.
The wood, metal, or other material for the back or stock a is made of the
required shape and size, and is then placed in a drilling machine provided
with a suitable feed motion for regulating the distance between the holes or
perforations 6; the latter are then drilled to the required depth, the size of
the drill being adapted to suit the quality and description of the brush being

page_text: manufactured.
When the holes b have all been drilled the stock a is removed
from the drilling machine and the bristles or other fibres are inserted by means
of the concave punch or driver c, Figures 11 and 12, which may be operated
by hand or by a suitable machine. The bristles are previously sorted and
divided into bunches or tufts d, and a wire staple e is placed over the centre of
each tuft and arranged over the hole or perforation b, into which it is to be
secured. The staples e are arranged over the holes 6 with their points e¹
downward, and the punch or driver c is placed upon the loop or bow of the
said staple; pressure is then applied to the punch c, and the staple e with the
central portion of the tuft of bristles & is forced down to the bottom of the
hole b, which being formed by a round nosed drill f, Figure 10, is of the proper
shape to receive the tuft d. The central perforation f of the said drill allows
the removed material to pass away, and prevents the choking or clogging of
the drill. The tuft d is doubled or folded in entering the hole, and when the
stock is of soft material the two ends d' of the bristles come together at the
surface a¹ of the brush, forming an even surface as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
The points e¹ of the wire staples e are crossed below the tufts d by the
pressure exerted in forcing them into the holes b, and the peculiar form of the
said points causes them to spread and penetrate the material at the sides and
bottom of the said holes or to bind tightly in the same. When all the tufts of
fibre have been inserted into the stock a the brush is subjected to the action
of a machine, which cuts the ends of the fibres and renders the surface of the
same smooth and uniform. The expanding drill employed when the back or
stock is formed of metal, ivory, or other hard substance which the points of
the wire staples e would not penetrate is constructed to enlarge the holes bat
the bottom so as to form a shoulder by which the points of the said staples
are extended, clinched, and firmly held in the chamber or enlarged portion b',
as shown in Figures 8 and 9.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice, I claim,--
First, securing each tuft or bunch of fibres in the stock or block of a brush
by a separate wire staple or staple like piece of wire.
Second, forming the wire staples or staple-like portions of wire e with
bevelled points e', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Third, forming the holes b with a recess or enlargement b', substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth, the spiral or twist drill ƒ formed with a central perforation f',
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: Fifth, the punch or driver c formed with a grooved concave end substantially
as and for the purposes set forth.
Sixth, a brush for any purpose whose fibres are secured by separate pieces of
wire in perforations formed partly through the stock and without the aid of
glue or other adhesive substance, substantially as set forth.
In witness, whereof, I, the said Joseph Sheldon, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.