IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HARROWS, CULTIVATORS, AND OTHER SIMILAR AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Badger and John Henry
Steff at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 12th September 1865.
We, JOHN BADGER, of Worcester, Ironmonger, and JOHN HENRY STEFF,
of Worcester, Foreman to the said John Badger, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HARROWS,
CULTIVATORS, AND OTHER SIMILAR AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of the several improvements, herein-after described,
in the manufacture of harrows, cultivators, and other similar agricultural
implements, whereby the parts are made without welding, and are very readily
fixed together. We will describe our Invention as applied to a harrow.
In making a harrow, according to one of our improvements, we make the
framing of the harrow of nearly straight diagonal bars of iron, the parts of
the bars where they cross each other being bent at an obtuse angle out of the
line of the other part. These bars are locked together where they cross by
cutting away at one side of each bar a slot or opening equal in width to the
thickness of the bars, and in length equal to half the breadth of the bars.
When the bars are presented edge to edge. the slots or openings come opposite
one another, and by depressing one of the bars upon the other the cut away
half of each of the bars is made to embrace the uncut half of the other bar.
The said bars are thereby locked together at their crossing, and all lateral
.03.

page_text: motion is prevented. The tines are fixed at the locked crossings of the bars,
and the said 'bars at the same time securely fixed together in the following
manner-We make the upper end of each of the tines of a hook or staple
form, the hooked end being somewhat longer than the width of the bars.
The hooked end of the tine is passed over the top of the bars, so as to clip or
embrace three sides of the said bars. A plate having holes in it, through
which the hooked end of the tine passes, is placed against the under side of
the bars, and by passing a pin or key through a hole in the extremity of the
hooked end of the tine the said plate is made to bear very firmly against the
bottom of the bars, and thereby bind or securely fix the whole of the parts
together.
Instead of making the framing of the harrow of nearly straight diagonal
bars, as in the last-described arrangement, bars of iron of a zig-zag form may
be used, the angles of one zig-zag bar being presented to the angles of the
other zig-zag bar, a parallel bar being situated between them. The opposed
angles of the zig-zag bars and the parallel bar are connected together by the
hooked ends of the tines in the manner herein-before described.
In making a harrow, according to another of our improvements, we make
the framing of zig-zag bars, and we put the said zig-zag bars together
by passing them through holes in a series of transverse parallel bars situated
in a vertical plane, the angular parts of the zig-zag bars being held together
by the holes in the transverse bars, two of the said transverse bars being
situated at each cross row of tines. The said zig-zag bars are held together
and fixed in the holes in the transverse bars by the tines being driven between
those portions of the zig-zag bars situated between the transverse bars; the
driving of the tine thus tightens and fixes together the zig-zag bars in the
transverse bars, or the fixing of the parts together may be effected by
driving a key or wedge between the tine and zig-zag bars. For the more
effectual securing of the transverse bars at their proper places on the zig-zag
bars shoulders may be made on those parts of the zig-zag bars situated on
the outer sides of the transverse bars. Instead of fixing the transverse bars
in a vertical plane and making the zig-zag bars pass through them, as last
described, the transverse bars may be situated in a horizontal plane, one bar
of each pair being over and the other bar under the opposed angles of the
zig-zag bars. In this case holes are made in the transverse bars at the points
where they cross the zig-zag bars, through which holes the tines pass. The said
holes are sufficiently large to receive, not only a tine, but a couple of keys
with heads at top and bottom. In putting together the harrow the angles of
the zig-zag bars are presented to each other, and the Keys are passed through

page_text: the holes in the upper and lower transverse bars, the angles of the zig-zag
bar being situated between the said keys. On driving a tine through the
holes in the transverse bars, and between the angles of the zig-zag bars the
said angles and tine are firmly fixed between the keys, and the latter in the
holes in the transverse bars.