IMPROVED METHODS OF CUTTING OUT, STAMPING, OR FORMING AND PIERCING BUTTONS, SHELLS AND BACKS FOR BUTTONS, WASHERS, OR OTHER ARTICLES FROM METAL PLATE, WITH IMPROVED MACHINERY AND TOOLS POR THOSE PURPOSES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
ROWLEY, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Stamper and Piercer,
for myself, and for BENJAMIN WAKEFIELD, of Bordesley, in the Parish of
Aston, in the County of Warwick, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS we, the said Charles Rowley and Benjamin Wakefield, did,
by petition, humbly represent unto Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen
Victoria, that after considerable application and expence we had invented
"IMPROVED METHODS OF CUTTING OUT, STAMPING, OR FORMING AND PIERCING
BUTTONS, SHELLS AND BACKS FOR BUTTONS, WASHERS, OR OTHER ARTICLES FROM
METAL PLATE, WITH IMPROVED MACHINERY AND TOOLS POR THOSE PURPOSES;" and
Her said Majesty, being willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions
which may be for the public good, was graciously pleased by Her Letters Patent
under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of January, One thousand
eight hundred and forty, in the third year of Her reign, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, to give and grant unto us, the said Charles Rowley and
Benjamin Wakefield, our executors, administrators, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we or they, by ourselves
or themselves, or by our or their deputies, servants, or agents, or such others
as we or they should agree with, and no others, during the term of fourteen
years from the date of the said Letters Patent, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend our said Invention, within that part of Her

page_text: said Majesty's Dominions called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, in such manner as to us, our executors, administrators, or
assigns, shall seem meet, and as that we or they shall enjoy the whole profit and
advantage arising by reason of the said Invention during the said term of four-
teen years; and for that end Her said Majesty requires and strictly commands
all Her subjects whatsoever within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed,
and the Colonies and Plantations aforesaid, that they shall not, neither directly
nor indirectly, make, use, or put in practice our said Invention, or any part
thereof, nor in anywise counterfeit, imitate, or resemble the same, nor make
any addition thereto or subtraction therefrom, whereby to pretend himself or
themselves to be the inventor or inventors thereof. And whereas the said
Letters Patent contain a proviso for obliging us, the said Charles Rowley and
Benjamin Wakefield, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of one of us, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles Rowley, for myself, and for the said Benjamin Wakefield, do hereby
declare that our said Invention is described and ascertained in manner
following, and by aid of the five sheets of Drawing hereunto annexed
(that is to say)-
Part of our said improved methods of cutting out, stamping or forming and
piercing articles from metal plate is performed by improved machinery and
tools, represented in the Drawings, Sheet I. and II., hereunto annexed.
The improved machinery there represented is applied to and incorporated with
what is commonly called a fly press, see Figure 1, and which operates by a
perpendicular screw A, and slider B, to the lower end of which slider a
moveable tool a is fixed, and by turning the screw A by its handle D that
tool a is forced down upon the metal plate which is laid upon the lower or
fixed tool b, which fixed tool is firmly held and supported by four screws d, d,
on the base F of the press; and that tool 6 has a hollow in it exactly
beneath the moveable tool a, and adapted to receive that tool, which must
be truly fitted to the hollow, and which tool, on being forced down through
the metal plate, will cut out a piece therefrom of the same shape and
size as the tool; and as the hollow in the fixed tool 6 and the said piece

page_text: so cut out will be carried down into the said hollow.
Such fly press
being a common and well-known machine, requires no farther explanation..
Our improved machinery which is applied thereto consists in the following.
parts, see Sheet I., Figure 1-An additional perpendicular screw 1 is.
applied at the lower part of the base F of the press; the central line of the.
additional screw 1 corresponding with the central line of the ordinary upper
screw A. The lower screw 1 has its spiral threads formed with a contrary
direction of obliquity to the spiral threads of the upper screw A, and the
handle D of the upper screw A is prolonged downwards at 2 in a perpen-
dicular direction in order to reach to the handle 3 of the lower screw 1,.
which handle 3 has a hole through the end to receive the perpendicular
prolongation 2 of the upper handle D; wherefore, when the upper screw A
is turned by its handle D in the usual manner of working a fly press, the
additional screw 1 will be turned with a corresponding motion by the con-
nection at 2 of the handles D and 3 of the two screws A and 1 respectively;
and owing to the contrary obliquity of the threads of the two screws, it
follows that when the upper screw A forces its slider B and the upper
moveable tool a downwards, the lower screw 1 will force upwards an additional
lower moveable tool which is fitted into the hollow of the lower fixed tool b,
so as to slide up and down therein action of the additional lower screw 1
when the same is turned and returned back again; and the operation of the
said additional lower moveable tool is to press upwards beneath the under
surface of the piece of metal plate which has been cut out by the descent of.
the upper moveable tool a and carried down into the hollow of the fixed
tool in the usual manner of fly presses, as already stated; but according to our
improved method the upward motion of the lower moveable tool causes it to
meet the said piece of metal in order to act with pressure against the under
surface thereof, at the same time that its upper surface receives corre-.
sponding pressure from the lower end of the upper moveable tool a, and also:
at the same time that the said piece of metal is thus subject to pressure between
the two moveable tools, it is lodged within the hollow of the fixed tool b, and
may, if required, be thereby returned laterally and surrounded at its edges, and
by giving suitable forms to the ends of the said two moveable tools, the
pressure wherewith they act as aforesaid against the upper and under surfaces.
of the piece of metal is caused to stamp or give form to the said piece of:
metal; or, if required, the said tools may also be adapted for piercing the
same, as will be more fully explained; or our improved machinery may be
constructed and applied to a fly press in the manner represented in Sheet II..
by means of levers instead of an additional perpendicular screw.
6 is an

page_text: upright slider, the upper end of which acts within the fixed tool b in the same
manner as the lower moveable tool before mentioned, that slider 6 being
raised up when the screw A and slider B is forced down, and vice versa, by
means of an under lever 8, upright link 2, and upper lever 4, which last is
connected with the usual slider B of the press at one end, and with the link 2
at the other end of the lever. The fulcrum or centre of motion of the lever 4
is at the middle of its length or nearly so, being a centre pin passing
horizontally through the upright standard of the press, and the lever 4 may
be double, that is, two such levers (though appearing as one in the Drawing)
to go.one on each side of the slider B, those levers passing through suitable
mortice openings in the upright standard of the press; or the lever 4 may
be single to pass through one such mortice opening, in which case the end of
the lever 4, which is connected by its joint pin to the slider B, must be forked
at that end to receive the slider between the two prongs of its fork, with holes
for the joint pin in the two prongs. In either case the opposite end or ends
of the lever or levers 4 is or are jointed to the upper end of the upright link 2,
and the lower end of that link is jointed to the under lever 3, whereof the fulcrum
or fixed centre of motion is at the extreme end, and is supported by the work-
bench whereon the whole machine is fixed. The operation of the said lever 3
is to raise up the slider 6 and lower moveable tool within the hollow of the
fixed tool b, in order to act with upward pressure in the same manner as
would be done by an additional lower screw, already described in respect to
Sheet I. But the additional screw, as in Sheet I., is capable of giving
a stronger upward pressure than the levers, as in Sheet II., which aro
And our
most adapted for articles requiring a small upward pressure.
improved tools to be used along with the said improved machinery are
represented in full size at Figure 3, Sheet I., as being adapted to cut
out, stamp, or form and pierce a four-hole button, shewn at G, that
article being chosen by way of example for explaining our said improved
method of cutting out, stamping, or forming and piercing, and the tools.
for those purposes; but it is to be understood that by giving a suitable
form to those ends of the tools which are to exert the pressure, other articles
may be cut out, formed, and pierced. b, Figure 3, is the lower or fixed tool,
which is to be fixed in the usual manner of what is called a bolster between
the ends of four screws d, d, Figure 1, the flat bottom of the tool 6 being
supported on the base F of the press, as therein shewn, so that the said tool
will stand with its interior hollow exactly beneath the punch or upper tool a,
which is fixed to the lower end of the upright slider B in the usual manner of
a fly press, in order to be moved up and down therewith by action of the

page_text: screw A. The fixed tool 6 has a large central hole bored up through it, and
into that hole a steel tube 5, 5, is accurately fitted, so as to move up and down
therein, and within the interior of the tube 5 the upright slider 6 is accurately
fitted to move up and down within the tube 5. The slider 6 is formed with a
projecting shoulder upon it for the lower end of the tube 5 to rest upon, and
then the upper end of the tube 5 and the upper end of the slider 6 conform
one with the other like one surface, which surface is convex suitably for the
concavity that is to be given to the under side of the four-hole button G by
pressure against the said surface. The tube 5 is larger than the button, but
the slider 6 is smaller than the button. A steel ring 7, 7, is fitted into a
circular rebate sunk in the upper part of the tool b for its reception, and the
ring is held fast therein by screws; the interior of the ring 7, 7, (which is
truly concentric with the tube 5 and slider 6) is exactly the size of the button;
and so is the upper tool or punch a, which, when it is forced down, enters into
the ring 7 and fits truly thereto, the ring 7 then acting as the bolster, and
the upper tool a as the punch for cutting out the button. The surface of the
lower end of the upper tool a is concave, suitably for the convexity that sto
be given to the upper side of the button by pressure of that surface. The
lower end of the slider 6, below its said projecting shoulder, enters into a
central hollow within the additional screw 1, Figure 1 (if such a screw is
used), and the shoulder of the slider 6 resting on the end of the screw 1, the
action thereof will be able to force the slider 6 upwards, but without turning
the slider round; and when the screw 1 is turned back again, it is enabled to
pull the slider 6 down by means of a nut which is screwed and cross pinned
fast on the lower end of the slider 6, forming a knob head thereon, and that
knob, being lodged within an enlarged part of the central hollow within the
screw 1 at the bottom of that hollow, will not allow the slider 6 to draw out
from that hollow; consequently, when the screw is turned backwards, and
therefore screws downwards in its nut or box, the slider 6 will be pulled
downwards with a corresponding motion; but when the screw 1 is turned
forwards so as to screw upwards in its nut or box, the slider 6 will be raised
upwards, because the shoulder of the slider applies to the end of the screw, or
else the lower end of the slider may rest on the bottom of the central hollow
within the screw. The slider 6 is prevented from turning round by means of
a stud pin fixed fast into it and projecting out laterally from it, so as to enter
into a perpendicular groove which is cut out in one side of the interior of the
tube 5, wherein the slider 6 is fitted; also in like manner the tube 5 is pre-
vented from turning round by a stud projecting out from it, so as to enter into
a perpendicular groove which is cut out in one side of the interior hollow of

page_text: the tool b, wherein the tube 5 is fitted. The said studs can slide freely up
and down in their respective grooves, wherefore the action of the screw 1
is to move the slider 6 up and down, and the tube 5 is moved up and down
along with the slider 6 in consequence of resting on the shoulder thereof;
the tube 5 descends with the slider 6 until the further descent of the
tube 5 is stopped by its stud pin, before mentioned, coming to rest at
the bottom of the perpendicular groove which is cut, as aforesaid, for
the reception of the said stud in the interior hollow of the tool b; and as
the slider 6 continues to descend after the tube 5 thus comes to rest,
the slider 6 then sinks or moves downward within the tube 5. It has
been already stated that the upper end of the slider 6 conforms with the
upper end of the tube 5 so long as that tube rests on the shoulder of the
slider 6, for then the upper ends of both the tube and the slider are as one
surface, and convex, suitably for the concavity that is to be given to the under
side of the button by pressure against the said surface, as already stated; but
when the tube 5 is prevented from descending farther, and the slider 6
descends without the tube 5, then the central part of the said surface sinks
away from the button, leaving the same supported by the outer margin of its
under surface. The use of that sinking of the slider without the tube is to
liberate the button after it has been cut out, formed, and pierced. The
piercing, which in the present case of a four-hole button is four small holes
(but in other articles would be different), is performed by four small punching
pins which are fixed into the upper end of the slider 6, so as to project up
above the upper convex surface of that end in a suitable manner for piercing
the four holes that are required through the button; and also in the end of
the upper tool a four small holes are perforated in the under concave surface
of that end, those four holes being exactly correspondent to the aforesaid four
punching pins of the slider 6, so that the said pins will enter a very little way
into the said holes and fit truly thereto, whereby the said pins and holes will
be qualified for piercing the intended four holes through the button by an
upward motion of the slider 6 and a downward motion of the tool a, which
two motions are produced at the same time, in manner already described, by
action of the two screws with which the fly press may be provided, as repre-
sented in Sheet I., or otherwise by the one screw and set of levers represented
in Sheet II. And note, in the latter case the lowest end of the slider 6 would
be connected by a suitable joint-piece with the end of the other lever 3, and
the slider would be moved up and down by that lever in the same manner as
would be done by the action of the lower screw 1 in case of the machinery
being according to Sheet I.; but whereas a lower screw, as in Sheet I., is

page_text: capable of exerting a strong pressure, it is better suited to four-hole buttons
than the levers Sheet II: would be, the latter being suitable for very light
articles which are made out of thin metal plate. And in order to get rid of
the small round pieces of metal which come out of the four holes when they
are pierced, as above stated, through the button, the upper tool a has a central
hollow within it, and all the four small holes before mentioned in the end of
the tool a go up into the said central hollow in order to permit the said small
pieces of metal, as they force one another upwards in succession through the
said four holes, to go up into that hollow, which will contain a great number
of the said pieces; and when it becomes full by their accumulation, they can
pass away from the upper end of the hollow in the upper tool a, and escape
through a side opening in the socket or holder 8, Figure 3, wherein the upper
tool a is held by a pinching screw, the holder 8 being screwed into the lower
end of the upright slider B of the fly press in the usual manner of fixing the
upper tool therein; and to the said side opening in the holder 8 a curved
spout 9 is fixed in a sloping direction, which is adapted to convey the said
small pieces of metal into any suitable receptacle out of the way of the
working of the machine. The four small punching pins are of steel, which
may be hardened and tempered, and are inserted into holes in the upper end
of the slider 6, being truly fitted therein, and fastened by one cross pin put
horizontally through a hole across the upper end of the slider 6, so as to pass
across between the four punching pins, and the said cross pin, by entering into
a notch cut in the side of each of the four punching pins, fastens them all four
securely in place. In making the four holes in the slider 6, and those in the
upper tool a, a small cap 20 is used to guide the drill by which the holes are
made in the end of the slider or tool. The interior of the cap 20 is made
to fit exactly over the end of the slider 6 and of the tool a; and there
are four holes through the top of the cap, those holes being the exact size
and in the exact position required for the holes through the button. The
same cap being used for guiding the drill to make the four holes in the
upper tool a, and also those in the slider 6, the holes in each will be certain to
correspond one with another; and, therefore, when the four punching pins are
fastened into the end of the slider 6, so as to project up out of that end, the
upper end of those pins will be suitable for entering into the four holes in the
upper tool a, after having pierced four holes through the button, as they are
required to. This mode of applying and fixing small punching pins is an
improvement upon the ordinary mode of piercing four-hole buttons by a punch
formed of one piece of steel, having its end cut out into the form of four
projecting pins, because when one of those four pins is broken, the tool is

page_text: spoiled; but according to our mode, above described, of inserting and fastening
in four punching pins, they can be withdrawn when they require repair by
first taking out the aforesaid cross pin by which they are fastened in place,
and new punching pins being inserted in lieu of those which are damaged
can then be made fast by replacing the cross pin. And note, although
it has been described that the upper tool is a concave at its under end,
and that the slider 6 is convex at its upper end, as represented in
the Drawing, see Figure 3, nevertheless they may each be contrary to that
description and representation, for the under end of the upper tool a may be
convex, and the upper end of the slider 6 concave, in which case the button
which is formed by pressure between them would have its concavity upwards,
whereas in the foregoing description, and according to the Drawings, the
button will have its convexity upwards; but in either case the four punching
pins for the four holes will be fixed into the slider 6, and will pierce the four
holes through the button from below upwards.
It has been already mentioned that by the descent of the slider 6 after the
tube 5 is prevented by its stud pin from descending with that slider, the button
is set at liberty after it has been cut out, pierced, and formed; it is by that
descent that the four punching pins are withdrawn from the four holes which
they have just before made through the button, because the button is detained
from descending in consequence of its outer margin resting on the upper end
of the tube 5. But after the button is thus set at liberty it still requires to be
removed or driven out of the hollow in the lower tool 6 wherein it was formed.
For this purpose a side aperture or mouth is made from the central hollow of
the tool 6 to the outside thereof, as shewn at 10 in the Figures. The bottom
of that aperture 10 leads away from the central hollow of the tool b at the
same level as the upper end of the tube 5 descends to where its stud pin
stops it (as already described) from coming down any lower; therefore, when
the button is set at liberty by the further descent of the slider 6, and left resting
upon the top of the tube 5, it (the button) is ready for removal laterally through
the aperture 10. The button is then removed through that aperture by action
of a horizontal rod, one end of which enters into a hole made from the outside
of the lower tool b, and entering into its central hollow at the opposite side
thereof to the aperture 10. That rod being suddenly pushed endways into
the central hollow of the lower tool 6, drives the button out therefrom through
the aperture 10, and the button descends therefrom by a suitable spout into a
proper receptacle.
The said horizontal rod, with apparatus for giving motion to it, is
shewn by dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2, Sheets I. and II., where

page_text: e, e, is the said horizontal rod, one end thereof being inserted into the said
hole in the lower tool b, and the other end being supported in a guide y,
which stands up from the work bench, so that the rod e is capable of sliding
backwards and forwards endways in the direction of its length, and motion is
given to it by means of an elbow lever f.f; whereof the fulcrum or centre of
motion is sustained by a bracket g which projects out from the frame of the
fly press. The long upright arm of the elbow lever facts at its lower end on
the rod e, e, and the short horizontal arm of the said elbow lever is connected
by a link h with one end of a long lever i, whereof the fulcrum or
centre of motion is sustained by a bracket projecting out from the frame
of the fly press, and the other end is connected with the upright slider B
of the fly press. The consequence of that arrangement is, that when the
slider B is raised up by turning back the screw A, it operates by the
lever i, link h, and elbow lever f to move the rod e endways into the interior
hollow of the tool b, in order to drive out the button therefrom, that action
taking place immediately after the button has been set at liberty, in conse-
quence of the sinking of the slider 6 within the tube 5, as already explained.
But when the screw A is turned forwards and begins to press down the
slider B, then the levers i and f draw the rod e endways away from the tool b,
so as to tako its end out of the interior thereof. The upright arm of the
elbow lever has a joint like the joint of a pocket rule in the middle of its
length, with a spring k, which tends to keep the arm sufficiently firm from
bending at the said joint, unless a button should get wrong and stick fast in
the tool b, so that the rod e, e, cannot drive it out, and in that case the spring k
will allow the lever arm f to bend at the said joint so as to give way without
breaking any of the parts. Note, the said levers i and f and sliding rod e
are only represented by dotted lines in order to explain them, because they
are not really situated according to those dotted lines, but the said levers and
rod are really situated behind or obliquely behind the screw A, slider B, and
tool b, in Figures 1 and 2, and are so much hidden thereby that they could
not be represented in their true place. In using a fly press having our
improved machinery and tools applied thereto, as herein-before described,
Sheets I. and II., there is no material difference from the manipulations
whereby an ordinary fly press is worked. The screw A is turned back by its
ordinary handle and raises the slider B, together with the upper tool a, so as:
to raise the same high enough above the lower tool b to introduce the sheet of
metal plate (from which articles are to be cut out, pierced, and stamped.
or formed) beneath the upper tool a; and that sheet being only placed over

page_text: the hollow of the lower tool b, and under the end of the upper tool a, then
the screw A is turned forwards by its ordinary handle in order to force down
its slider B and press the upper tool upon the plate, which is supported over
the hollow of the lower tool 6 so as to cut out a piece of the metal plate and
carry that piece down into the hollow of the lower tool 6, the end of the upper
tool a following after the said piece down into the said hollow, all in the usual
manner of cutting out by a punch and bolster; and the time that the
piece of metal is so cut out and carried down, the lower slider 6, with its
tube 5, both of which have been rising up together as one (by action of the
lower screw 1, as in Sheet 1, or of the levers 3, 4, as in Sheet II.) all the
time that the upper tool was going down. The said slider 6 and tube 5 will
by that time have risen so much that the punching pins in the end of
the slider 6 will come in contact with the under surface of the piece of metal,
and by acting from below upwards those punching pins will pierce holes
through the piece of metal, bearing the same upwards against the under end
of the upper tool a, which is at the same time moving downward, and which
retains the piece of metal whilst it is being so pierced by the said punching
pins, and the small pieces of metal which come out of the holes so pierced
pass up into the holes in the lower end of the upper tool a, and therefrom
escape out of the way, as already described; and by the time that the
punching pins have completed the piercing through the piece of metal, then
the end of the slider 6, from which the punching pins project up, together
with the end of the tube 5 (those ends conforming as one surface) come
in contact with the under surface of the piece of metal and press up beneath
that surface, at the same time that the under end of the upper tool a
presses downward upon the upper surface thereof, wherefore the metal is
stamped or squeezed with great force between the tools that are above it and
below it respectively, and is thereby formed to the shape which the acting
ends of those tools are adapted to give to the metal. The actions of cutting
out, piercing, and stamping or forming, as above described, follow almost
instantaneously, being performed almost or quite as suddenly as the ordinary
stroke of the fly press, whereby only one of the three operations is performed;
and after the squeeze has been given the screw A returns, or is turned back
by its ordinary handle, and it begins to raise up the slider B and upper tool a,
and also at the same time the slider 6 begins to descend by action of
the under screw 1, Sheet I., or of the levers 3, 4, II.; and owing to
the punching pins of the slider 6 remaining inserted through the piece of
metal, the same will descend along with the slider 6 and its tube 5, until

page_text: the latter gets down as far as it is allowed to descend, and there it stops,
as already explained, but the slider 6 descends still further; and as the piece of
metal cannot follow, because its outer margin rests upon the upper end of the
tube 5, the punching pins withdraw from the holes which they have pierced,
and after that the piece of metal is left loose in the hollow of the under tool b,
and then the slider B and upper tool a continuing to go up, that tool, as with-
drawn from the hollow of the lower tool and from the metal plate, which
is kept down from rising by the usual pulling off piece nut represented; and,
lastly, the sliding rod shewn by dotted lines e, by moving endways in manner
already described, enters into the hollow of the lower tool b, and drives out the
piece of metal laterally through the mouth or side aperture 10. By that time
the upper tool a will have risen high enough, and the metal plate will have
been now placed beneath it, ready to repeat the outer operation of cutting out,
piercing, and stamping or forming another piece of metal. In the ordinary
way of using fly presses and wools three distinct and successive operations
of cutting out, piercing, and stamping or forming would be requisite to do
the same as is thereby done in the manner above described at one operation.
.
Figure 4, Sheet I., is a section to shew another part of our said improved
machinery applied to and incorporated with a fly press. The screw A thereof
is prolonged downwards so as to enter into a central hollow within the
slider B, and the lower end 1 of the screw has spiral threads formed around
it with a contrary obliquity to the ordinary threads of the screw A. Those
lower threads 1 act in a nut or box 3 which is fitted into the central hollow
within the slider B, so as to be able to move up and down therein, and stud
pins 22, which are screwed fast into the box 3 at opposite sides thereof, pass
through upright slits in the slides of the slider B, so as to prevent the box 3.
from turning round within the slider B, but they allow it to move up or
down therein. The upper moveable tool a is screwed fast into the lower end
of the slider B in order to be moved up and down therewith, and that upper
tool a has a central hollow through it, so that it is in fact a tube; and the said
hollow has another interior upper tool 6 fitted into it in order to slide up
and down within the said tube or hollow of the upper tool a, that sliding
motion being produced by action of the lower reverse threads 1 of the
screw A, for the interior upper tool 6 is affixed to the lower part of the
box 3, wherein the lower reverse threads of the screw A are fitted. The
lower fixed tool b is situated with its hollow exactly beneath the upper
moveable tool a, being supported on the base of the press, and held fast
between four screws in the usual manner of fly presses, and as shewn in

page_text: Figures 1 and 2. The action of the reverse threads 1 is to force the box 31
down within the slider B (and consequently to force the interior upper tool 6
down within the hollow of the upper tool a) at the same time that the slider B
is itself (together with the upper tool a forced down upon the metal plate, and
into the lower tool 6 by the ordinary action of the upper threads A. The
interior upper tool 6 is retracted within the hollow of the upper tool a, when
the same is raised up, and continues so retracted whilst the upper tool a is
forced down upon the metal plate and through the same, in order to cut out
a piece therefrom, which piece is carried down into the hollow of the lower
tool c, the upper tool following it down therein in the usual manner of fly press
tools called punch and bolster, the only difference being that the lower end of
the punch or upper tool a presents a central hollow to the upper side of the metal
plate, which causes no difference in the effect; but by action of the reverse
threads 1 of the screw A in their box 3, the interior upper tool 6 is kept moving
downwards within the tubular hollow of the upper tool a all the while that the
said tool is descending and cutting out, as aforesaid, wherefore by the time
that the piece of metal has been cut out and carried down, as above mentioned,
into the lower tool b, then the interior tool 6 begins to protrude down below
the lower end of the upper tool a, in order to press upon the central part of
the piece of metal which is then lying at the bottom of the hollow of the
lower tool 6 in a suitable position for receiving the pressure of the end
of the interior tool 6; and according to the shape of that end and of
the said bottom of the hollow, so will the piece of metal be stamped or
formed by the pressure of that end, and the same may be engraved suitably
for stamping an impression at the central part or around the central
part of the said piece of metal or otherwise, if desired; that said lower
end of the interior upper tool 6 may act as a punch to pierce a central
hole through the said piece of metal as it lies at the bottom of the hollow in
the lower tool b, in which case the said bottom must have a like central hole
exactly beneath and corresponding to the said punch which is at the end of
the tool 6, in order to convey away the small piece of metal which will come
out of the central hole when the same is pierced; or the end of the interior
upper tool 6 may, if desired, have one or more punching pins fixed into it, and
projecting downwards from its end in the manner of the slider 6, Figure 3,
already described, if that were inverted, the bottom of the hollow in the
lower tool 6 having holes in it corresponding to and adapted to receive such
punching pins. The spindle of the screw A has two projecting shoulders 4, 4,
upon it, and a collar 5, which may be made in two halves, is applied in the
space between those two shoulders to surround that part of the spindle of the

page_text: screw A, and the said collar 5 is screwed fast into the upper end of the
hollow within the slider B, which is by that means connected with the screw A,
so as to be moved up and down therewith. Note, when the screw A is
returned or screwed up in order to raise up the slider B, the interior upper
tool 6 withdraws up within the upper tool a, so as to withdraw the punch or
punching pins from the hole, it has or the holes they have pierced through the
piece of metal, which piece, as the slider B goes up, is left lying loose in the
hollow of the lower tool b, and may be driven out therefrom by a sliding rod,
and parts actuated in the same manner as already described, and as shewn by
dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2. In all cases the effect of the reverse threads
1 of the screw acting in that box 3, which is within the ordinary slider B,
will be to move that box and the interior tool 6 up or down (as the case may
be) twice as far as the slider B is moved up or down at the same time; that is,
supposing the reverse threads 1 to have the same pitch as the ordinary threads
of the screw A. Circular disks of metal, with impressions or indentations at
their central part, and washers or collets having holes through their centres,
or any other similar articles, may be cut out of metal plate and pierced and
formed at one operation of the improved machinery.
upon
Figure 4, another part of our said improved machinery for cutting out,
piercing, and stamping or forming articles from metal plate, is represented in
Sheet III. of the Drawings hereunto annexed. All its motions are derived
from the continuous rotative motion of one axis A, on which a fly wheel D is
fixed in order to regulate the motion, which motion may be given by the
power of a steam engine or other first mover, or the axis A may be turned
round by a winch handle by manual labour. Figure 5 is a horizontal plan,;
Figure 6, a lateral elevation; Figure 7, a front elevation; and Figure 8, a
vertical section, corresponding to Figure 7. The axis A has a crank formed
it to give motion (by two connecting rods E and G) to the long ends of
two levers H and I, the centres of motion of both levers being sustained in
the same fixed standard which rises up from the base F, one of the levers H
being at the top and the other lever I at the bottom of that standard, and
two standards, which sustain the bearing for the axis A, also rise up from the
same base F, which is one piece of casting with the three standards, and
all are very strong to avoid yielding. The short ends of the levers H and I
give motion to two perpendicular sliders B and 6, which are accurately fitted
into sockets bored out in projecting portions of the main standard. The
sliders B and 6 are .connected with the short ends of the lever H and I by
means of short connecting links, in order to accommodate the perpendicular
motions of the sliders to the motions of the joint pins at the ends of the

page_text: levers H and I, which motions are necessarily performed in circular arches.
The said connecting links are contained within forked pieces m, m, which are
connected with the sliders B and 6 by means of a screw formed on each
of the fork pieces, and screwed into the end of the slider with a binding
nut n, n, to fasten each screw. By these means the limit of the motion
for each slider can be regulated. The two levers H and I are not in
the same vertical plane, or one over the other, for the connecting rods
E and G are disposed side by side in the crank pin of the axis A, and
the sliders B and 6 are side by side, as appears in the front elevation,
Figure 7, and section, Figure 8. The upper tool for cutting out is at
the lower end of the slider B, and is marked a. The lower or fixed
tool, which is a hollow fitted to receive the upper tool a, is bedded in a
flat plate 6, which is lodged upon a strong projecting part of the main
upright standard, and is held fast thereon by two screws d, d, with clamps
thereto which press the plate 6 edgways against one side of a dovetail
groove that is cut in the said projecting part, and the clamps forming the other
side of the said dovetail groove, the plate 6 is thereby secured in place. The
sheet of metal plate from which the articles are to be cut out is applied over.
the lower tool in the plate b, when the the upper tool a is raised up clear above
the same by action of the crank connecting rod E, lever H, and slider B; as
the crank turns round and operates by its connecting rod E and lever H to
press down the slider B and upper tool a, the latter will cut out a piece of the
metal plate, carrying that piece down into the hollow of the lower tool in the
plate b. Then the action of the crank raises up the slider B and tool a again,
withdrawing it from the lower tool and from the metal plate, which is kept
down from rising with the tool a by a pulling-off piece r, which is fixed (as
usual in fly presses) for that purpose. The piercing and forming of the piece
of metal which is thus cut out is cerformed by the other slider 6 with an action
upwards from below; but for this purpose the said piece of metal, as soon as
it is cut out, requires to be removed laterally away from beneath the slider B
and its tool a, in order to bring it over the slider 6 and the tool on the upper
end thereof. That removal is performed by means of a horizontal cross slider
K, which is fitted into a groove beneath the plate b; and the slider K has a hole:
through it, which, when the cutting out is performed, is situated exactly beneath:
the hollow of the lower tool, so that the said hole in the slider K forms a
continuation of the hollow of the lower tool, and the piece of metal which is
cut out by the descent of the upper tool a and carried down into the hollow of
the lower tool is carried quite through that hollow and down into the said hole
in the cross slider K, which is beneath, and that hole is made rather conical

page_text: or smaller below than above; in order that the piece of metal may be certain
to lodge and be held within the hole in the slider K, and to ensure that the
said piece shall not fail to descend low enough to lodge itself securely in the
said hole (which, if left merely to its own small weight, it might sometimes fail
to do), a weight s is applied within the interior of the slider B, which is made
hollow for that purpose, and the said weight is fitted into the hollow to slide
freely up and down therein; in the manner of a slider, to a small extent, which
is limited by a cross pin put through the slider B, and passing through a slit in
the weight s, that weight is thereby allowed to protrude its lower end a little
below the end of the upper tool a, when the same is raised up and the metal
plate is placed beneath it in preparation for cutting out a piece; and when the
upper tool a comes down upon the plate in order to cut out a piece there-
from, the weights will rest on that piece whilst the cutting out is performed,
and when it is cut out the weights will tend to carry the said piece downwards;
but as it takes some force to push the piece down within the hollow of the
lower tool, because the piece fits tight therein, the descent of the upper tool a
into the hollow of the lower tool carries down the piece therein until it gets
quite through the depth of the said hollow, so as to carry the piece down into
the said hole in the slider K, and then the weights, by bearing downwards on
the said piece, carries it down so much lower than the upper tool a has forced
it down as to ensure that the said piece shall become properly lodged within
the hoe in the slider K; and then as soon as the slider B, with the upper tool a,
has been raised up high enough to take the weight s up out of the way, then
the slider K begins to be moved endways with a quick motion in order that
it may carry away the piece of metal which has been cut out and lodged
in the hole in the slider K, as aforesaid. And note, the lower prominent
end of the weight s, is made convex and smooth, whereby it allows
the slider K to begin to move before the weights is raised quite so high
as to take the most prominent and central part of its end altogether
above the top surface of the slider K. The requisite motion for the
slider K is derived from two face camms L, M, which are fixed fast on
the main axis A of the crank, one at each side of the bearing which sus-
tains one end of the axis A; and the action of the two camms L, M, is
transmitted to the slider K by means of a lever N which lies on the flat
surface of a projecting part of the standard for the bearing of the axis, and
which lever is moveable about an upright centre pin fixed firmly into that
projecting part. The long end of the lever N is connected by short links
with the end of the slider K, and the other short end of that lever enters
into a notch in the standard, so as to keep the lever N down on the flat surface

page_text: whereon it lies, and so as to prevent the short end of the lever rising up from
that surface; the said short end of the lever N is included between the two
camms L, M, which are each formed with a prominent border extending
around a portion of about half its circumference, and projecting out from
those flat surfaces of the two camms which are opposite one to the other, and
.between which the short end of the lever N is included. The said prominent
borders of the two camms are not one opposite to the other, but where one
camm L has the prominent border on the circumference, the other camm M
has none of the prominent border at the corresponding part of its circum-
ference, and vice versa of the camm M. In respect of the camm L, the com-
mencement and termination of each portion of the said prominent borders is
sloped away to the flat surface of the camm with an inclined or wedge shape,
which inclined portions are one opposite to the other, as shewn in Figure 5;
wherefore the interval or width of the space left between the two camms and
their prominent borders respectively is of the same width all round, and the
short end of the lever N fills that width exactly. The prominence of the
camm M produces the motion above described of the slider K, whereby it
carries away the piece of metal that has been cut out, and removes it from
beneath the hollow of the lower tool 6 wherein the cutting took place, in
order to convey the said piece over the slider 6; for by the revolving motion
of the axis A the prominence of the camm M is brought upwards into lateral
contract with the short end of the lever N, so that the sloping end of the said
prominence forces the said short end away from the camm M and towards
the other camm L, the prominence of which latter is at the same moment
passing away from the said short end of the lever N, and presenting its sloping
end thereto in order to permit of the motion of that end which it derives from
the camm M as aforesaid; and by the time that the slider K is thus moved,
and has brought the piece of metal exactly over the slider 6, the prominenco
of the camm L will have wholly passed away from the end of the lever N,
and the full prominence of the camm M will have come in contact with the
said end, in which situation of the parts the lever N is kept firm from moving,
and therefore it retains the slider K, with the piece of metal in the hole thereof,
standing exactly over the slider 6, at the upper end of which is one of the
tools a, Figures 8 and 9, .for piercing and stamping or forming the piece of
metal into the article it is intended to make, that one being the moving tool; and
the other of those tools w, Figures 8 and 9, is fixed in the under side of the
plate b, before mentioned, exactly over the slider 6; and as the piece of metal
is between the two tools (that is, between the moving tool x and the fixed
tool w, it will receive pressure from below upwards, as the slider 6 is moved

page_text: upwards by action of the crank connecting rod G and lower lever I, and by
that pressure between the moving tool x at the upper end of the slider. 6 and
the fixed tool w the piece of metal will be pierced and also stamped or formed.
The punch for piercing the hole throngh the centre of the piece of metal is
fixed at to the centre of the upper end of the slider 6 so as to project up
above that end, and the centre of the fixed tool w has a corresponding hole
through it, so that when the slider 6 is moved upwards, its punch a pierces
through the centre of the piece of metal, and the small piece of metal which
comes out of the hole that is so pierced passes up through the central hole of
the fixed tool w, and is instantly removed laterally through a side hole p,
Figure 9, in the thickness of the plate b, to get it out of the way, the
removal being performed as will be described further on. The stamp-
ing or forming is performed by the upper end of the slider 6. around
the punch x, which end is concave to suit the article required, the under
side of the fixed tool w, being correspondingly convex; and by the squeezing
of piece of metal by the motion the moveable tool 6 upwards beneath
the fixed tool w, the metal is bended to the form of those tools,
then after that by the motion of the crank connecting rod G and lower
lever I, the slider 6 begins to descend again, and in so descending it
must retreat from the piece of metal, and ought to leave the same at liberty,
in order that it may be removed laterally in due time through a side hole 9,
Figure 9, in the solid frame; but owing to the punch of the slider 6
remaining inserted through the whole which it has pierced in the centre of
the piece of metel, the same will descend along with the slider. 6. at first, but
after so descending a little way, the further descent of the piece of metal is
stopped, and the punch withdrawn from its hole in a similar manner to that
already described in reference to Figure 3, viz:-A tube 5, Figure 9,
surrounds the punch of the slider 6, the said tube 5 being in this case lodged
within a central hollow in the slider 6, and the upper end of the tube 5
conforms to the concavity that the upper end of the slider 6 requires to have
around the punch. The tube 5, when its upper end so conforms, being as
low down as can go within the central hollow of the slider 6. The punch a
stands up within the centre of the tube 5, being fastened at its lower end firmly
into the slider 6, and the punch x always moves up and down therewith; the
lower end of the tube 5 rests upon a ring o which is lodged in the bottom
of the central hollow of the slider 6 beneath the lower end of the tube 5, and
the ring o forms a firm base for the tube 5 to rest upon at the time when the
upper end of the tube 5 (in common with the upper end of the slider 6) is to
exert the pressure for forming the piece of metal; but the ring o has two small
B

page_text: of the tube 5,
tails projecting out of it in opposite directions from its centre, and those tails
pass through upright slits in the sides of the slider 6, as shewn in Figure 8,
and the ends of the said tails project out beyond the slider 6 on each side
thereof to enter into upright slits which are formed in the solid of the frame,
and one of the said tails reaches quite to the outside thereof. When those
two tails get down to rest on the bottoms of their respective slits, they will not
allow the ring o to descend any lower, and consequently the tube 5 which rests
upon the ring o is also prevented from going down any further, although the
slider 6 and its punch a do descend lower; and in so doing the punch is
withdrawn from the hole it has pierced through the piece of metal, which
piece is prevented from following the punch and slider, because it rests on
the tube 5, and then the piece of metal is left loose and at liberty to be
forthwith driven out sideways through the hole q, Figure 9; and note, the
aforesaid action of the tube 5 is exactly the same as that
Figure 3, already described. The difference of the tube 5 being lodged
within the central hollow of the slider 6, as in Figures 8 and 9, or of the
tube 5 wholly surrounding the slider 6, as in Figure 3, makes no difference in
its action. In either case the tube 5 surrounds the central part of the slider 6,
the end of which central part either acts as the punch or else contains the
punching pins by which the piercing is performed; and the tube 5 may be
applied, as in Figure 8 and 9, for the machinery, Sheets I. and II., or the tube
5 may be applied, as in Figure 3, for the machinery, Sheet III., as will best
suit the article which is to be stamped or formed. And note, in case the article,
when formed as above described, should adhere to the upper tool w, instead of
descending with the punch a, a small upright pin t is inserted into a hole
through the said upper tool w, and the upper end of that pin t is suddenly
pushed down by the end of a small lever P at the moment after the slider
6 has begun to descend. The lever P is moveable on a centre pin fixed
into the standard, and a spring presses the tail end of the lever P so as to
raise its end upwards, but the same tail end is occasionally pressed for an
instant in a contrary direction by oblique action of one end of a cross lever Q,
which is poised on a fixed centre pin at the middle of its length, and the
opposite end of that lever Q is lifted up by a tooth fixed to the rim or to
one of the arms of the fly wheel; and which tooth, being brought up by the
motion of that wheel at the proper moment, lifts the said end of the cross
lever Q with a sudden motion, and the other end of the lever Q, in descending,
presses obliquely across the tail end of the lever P, so as to overcome its
spring, and cause the extreme end of the lever P to strike down on the pin t
in order to dislodge the piece of metal, in case it should not have previously

page_text: descended of itself along with the slider 6 and punch x; the said action of
the lever P is only momentary, when the tooth in the fly wheel passes by; the
piece of metal, when set at liberty by the means above described, is then
without delay pushed out sideways through the hole q, Figure 9, in a very
similar manner to that already described in respect to Figures 1 and 2, by
aid of the dotted lines e, f, g, h, i, and k. In Figures 6 and 9 the sliding rod e
has one end inserted into a hole opposite to the side hole q, Figure 9, the
other end being supported in an upright fixed guide y, and a wire spring k is
curled around that end in order to draw the rod endways away from the piece
of metal; the rod e is bended downward to pass beneath the axis A, and a
tooth which projects up from the rod e is caught by a pin h which projects
out horizontally from the side of the camm L, so as to be carried round
therewith in a circular orbit; and at the proper moment, immediately after the
piece of metal has been set at liberty, that is, when the slider 6 has nearly
reached its lowest position, then the pin h pushes the rod e endways with a
sudden motion, so as to drive out the piece of metal through the side hole q,
and then the pin h, passing away from the tooth of the rod e, allows it to
return by action of its pulling spring k. But note, by way of security that the
rod e shall be so drawn back, and in case the spring k should fail to do so, a
small lever is connected with the rode by two pins which project out
sideways from that rod, and the lever fis acted upon near to its centre of
motion by the lower end of another lever i, i, which is poised on a horizontal
fixed centre pin, and the upper end of the lever i stands against the side of
the camm L, and that end is curved to an arch of a circle concentric with
the axis A; another pin g, which projects out a little way from the said cam L
by acting against that curved portion of the lever i, will draw the rod e back
if the spring k has not previously done so. The small piece of metal which
comes out of the hole that is pierced through the piece of metal has been
previously pushed out through the side hole p, Figure 9, by a similar sliding
rod 15, whereof one end is inserted into a hole in the thickness of the plate b,
opposite to the side hole p, and the other end is supported in the aforesaid
fixed upright guide y, and a wire spring 16 is curled round the end of the
rod, acting to push the rod endways contrary to the action of the other
spring k, which is a pulling spring. The rod 15 has a tooth projecting down
from it, which is caught by the aforesaid pin h in the camm L, as the same
goes round in its circular orbit, and thereby the rod is drawn endways in
opposition to its pushing spring 16, a moment, before the slider 6 reaches its
highest position, that is, immediately after the piercing has been performed;
and when the piece of metal which comes out has been pushed up by the

page_text: punch to its very highest, then the pin h, passing away from the tooth of
the rod 15, allows it to be moved suddenly endways by its pushing spring 16,
and the end of the rod 15 drives out the small piece of metal at the side
hole p. Note, the slider K is moved back again to bring the hole in it
beneath the upper tool a by means of the prominence of the camm L, which
prominence comes into operation on the end of the lever N by the time
that the slider 6 has descended rather more than the half way of its whole
extent of motion, for then the upper end of the slider 6 will have got down
out of the hole in the slider K, and also by that time the piece of metal, if it
has not gone down along with the punch x and slider 6, will have been pushed
down by action of the pin t and lever P, so as to have got down out of the
hole in the slider K. The slider K performs its motion very quickly in going
as well as in returning. Its first or going motion, when it goes from the
slider B towards the slider 6, is performed when the slider B has ascended
nearly to the half way of its whole motion.
The machinery, Sheet III., with the tools there represented and above.
described, is adapted for making what are called the backs for buttons of the
kind called Florentine buttons, see Figure Z, when it is used to make the shells
for such buttons which are not pierced with any hole. The tools must be suit-
ably shaped, but without the punch a, and instead of the tube 5 a solid plug is
used of the same sort as that tube would be if it had no central hollow. And
note, the machine, Sheet III., having its tools suitably shaped, is adapted for
making four-hole buttons and other like articles which require cutting out,
piercing, and stamping or forming. And note, a machine very similar to that
represented in Sheet III. may be adapted to work with the tools shewn in
Figure 3, instead of the fly press, Sheets I. and II., for which purpose, as the
slider 6 requires to be immediately beneath the upper tool a, the upper and
lower lever H and I, instead of being side by side, as they appear in Figures 5
and 6, must be both in the same vertical plane, or exactly one under the
other; also, instead of one crank with two connecting rods, which cause
both sliders B and 6 to move up and down together with the two levers
Hand I, may be worked by an oval-shaped camm fixed by its centre on the
axis A in place of the crank, and with the long ends of the two levers
applying to its edge, so that when the longest diameter of the oval camm
is uppermost it will lift up the long end of the upper lever H, and will
pass down the long end of the lower lever I, and the levers must both
be drawn towards the camm by reacting weights or springs, so as to
move them in the contrary direction to that in which the oval shape of the
camm moves them; consequently, when the shortest diameter of the oval is

page_text: uppermost it will allow the long end of the upper lever H to descend by its
weight, and will allow the long end of the lower lever I to rise up by its
reacting spring or weight. The motion thereby given to the tools, Figure 3,
will be the same as would be given by the fly press, Figure 1 or Figure 2,
because with an oval camm the motion given to the slider 6 will always be in
a contrary direction to the motion given at the same time to the upper tool a.
The oval camm will cause two motions of each of the levers at each revolution
of the fly wheel, instead of one motion of each, as with a crank, wherefore the
oval camm will only have to turn round half as many times as the crank to
do the same work.
Another part of our said improved machinery is represented in Sheet IV.,
whereby the improved tools, Figure 3, may be worked in the machine com-
monly called a stamp, which operates by a heavy hammer or ram A fitted to
slide up and down between upright guides B, B, Sheet IV., being drawn up
by the strength of a man pulling a rope which passes over a pulley D, and
then the hammer A is let fall by its own weight for stamping the piece
of metal between the upper tool, which is fixed to the hammer A as at a,
and the under tool b, which is supported on the solid base or anvil F, and is
fastened thereon between four screws, such as d, d, Figure 1, all which is
much the same as the common machinery for stamping; but when constructed
according to our improvements, in order to be used with the tools, Figure 3,
a cylindrical hole is bored perpendicularly down beneath the lower tool 6, and
a cylindrical sliding plug 1 is fitted to move up and down therein. The
lower end of the slider 6, Figure 8, is fixed fast into the plug 1 in the same
manner as it would be in the screw 1, Figure 1, except as to being fixed fast
into the plug 1. The plug 1 is raised up at the proper moment by action of
an elbow lever 3, which is lodged in a suitable opening in the anvil block F,
being moveable about a horizontal center pin put through a hole in the
block. The horizontal arm of the lever 3 reaches to the plug 1 and enters
into an opening therein in order to lift it up, and consequently the slider 6
with it. The upright arm of the elbow lever 3 stands up by the side of the
perpendicular guide B, and the upper end is inclined obliquely in a suitable
manner for being acted upon by a piece of iron 4, which is fixed fast to the
hammer A, and reaches around the sliders B, B, and around the other side of
the hammer A, and fastened thereto at both sides. When the hammer A
is drawn up in preparation for making its blow, as in Figure 12, the
piece of iron 4 rises above the end of the lever 3, which is then drawn
by the reaction of suitable springs 2 towards the slider B, and thereby
pulls down the plug 1 and slider 6; but when the hammer A descends, its

page_text: piece of iron 4 presses laterally against the obliquely inclined upper end of the
lever 3, and by forcing that end away from the slider B, the plug 1 with the
slider 6 is raised up in readiness for action, as is shewn in Figure 11; and
in order to prevent any yielding of the plug 1 downwards, when the blow
is struck by the fall of the hammer A, a wedge 10 is inserted horizontally
beneath the lower end of the plug 1, so as to prop it up firmly, motion being
given to the wedge 10 by a lever 11, whereof the centre pin is near the
middle of its length, and the upper end is inclined obliquely, in order to
be actuated by the opposite end of the same piece of iron 4 that actuates the
lever 3; but the end of the lever 11 does not stand up so high as the end of
the lever 3, and therefore the latter is certain to be moved first by action of
the piece 4, in order to raise up the plug 1, and then immediately afterwards
the piece 4 comes to act against the inclined end of the lever 11, and thereby
inserts the wedge 10 beneath the plug 1, as appears in Figure 11, in which
state the tools stand prepared, as in Figure 3, for cutting out, piercing, and
stamping a piece of the sheet of metal plate which is laid over the lower tool b,
and which receives the action of the upper tool a when the same is forced
down on the plate by the fall of the hammer A. The piece of metal which
is cut out is carried down into the hollow of the lower tool 6 by the descent of
the upper tool a therein, and is there forced down upon the punching pins in
the upper end of the slider 6, so that the piece of metal becomes pierced
by them, and then stamped or formed to the required shape by the force
of pressure between the under end of the upper tool a and the upper
end of the slider 6, all in the same manner as already described in
respect to Figures 1 and 3, but performed by force of the sudden blow where-
with the hammer A falls upon and stamps the metal; instead of by the
pressure whereby a fly-press screw squeezes the metal. The piece of metal
being thus cut out, pierced, and stamped or formed, the hammer A is hoisted up
again in preparation for repeating its aforesaid operation; and as the piece 4
on the hammer A slides up against the upper end of the lever 11, it first
releases the same, and allows the reacting spring 2 to pull that upper end of
the lever 11 so much as thereby to withdraw the wedge 10 out from beneath the
lower end of the plug 1 in readiness for permitting the descent of that plug,
which takes place an instant afterwards, when the piece 4 gets up above the
end of the lever 3, so as to leave the same at liberty to be fitted by the said
spring 2 into the position shewn in Figure 1, and at the same instant, when the
parts assume that position, the piece of metal is removed sideways from the
hollow of the lower tool 6 in the same manner as already explained respecting
the parts shewn by dotted lines e, f, g, h, Figures 1 and 2, viz', by a sliding rod e,

page_text: one end of which is inserted into the side hole of the lower tool b, and the
other end is supported in a guide y, having a pulling spring k curled around
the end of the rod e, and tending to draw it endways. The upper end of the
guide y is the fulcrum for support of the pendulous lever f, the lower end of
which gives motion to the rod e, that lever deriving motion from a piece h,
which is connected with the upper end of the lever 3, so that when that lever
moves by action of its spring 2 into the position of Figure 12, and has let.
down the plug 1 and tool 6, then the piece h moves the lever f, and thereby the
rod e,
in order to remove the piece of metal. When the lever 3 is restored to.
the position, Figure 11, the spring h pulls back the rod e and lever finto the
positions shewn in that Figure. The lever f has a rule joint m, m, and a
spring k, the same as before described, in order that it may be able to give way.
Note, the rod e and lever fare shewn by dotted lines in Sheet IV., because.
they are not really in the place represented by those lines, as was explained
respecting Figures 1 and 2. And note, there are two of the reacting springs
to give more force of reaction, one of them in front of the hammer A, as
represented, and the other in a like position behind the hammer, the ends of
both springs being connected to two horizontal cross pieces i, i, which are
affixed to the upper ends of the levers 3 and 11 respectively, so that the two
springs always concur in pulling those ends one towards the other, but
the two springs leave room between them for the hammer A to go up and
down; and although it has been described as if the sheet of metal plate
is to be presented to the improved machinery represented in Sheet III..
by the hand of the person who attends that machinery, and although the
plate may be so represented and moved every time that a piece has been cut
out therefrom in order to cut out the next piece in a fresh place in the sheet,
nevertheless as that machinery may move very quickly, it would be difficult
for a person to move the plate and place it so correctly as to cut out every
time at a fresh place with the least waste of metal; wherefore it is desirable.
to employ machinery for presenting and guiding the sheet of metal, and such.
machinery is represented: in Sheet 5; Figure 13 therein being a horizontal.
plan answering to Figure 5, Sheet III.; Figure 14 an elevation answering to.
the side elevation, Figure 6; and Figure 15 a front elevation answering to
Figure 7. The said machinery consists of a long horizontal slider 21, to
which the edge of the sheet of metal plate is fixed, and which slider is move-
able in a groove 22 supported on another lower short slider 23, which latter is.
moveable in a groove 24, 24, fixed in front the machine by means of brackets
25, 25, which are screwed fast to the sides of the standard and frame of the
machine, so that the upper long slider 21 will stand horizontally across the

page_text: front end of the machine or parallel to its axis A, with the upper surface of
the slider 21 and its groove 22 on a level with the upper surface of the fixed
plate b, whereon the sheet of metal is to be laid. The long slider 21, having
the sheet of metal fixed to it, is moved along in its groove 22 by turning a
winch handle 26 one turn every time that the slider B, with the upper tool a,
is raised up to its highest position, and thereby the sheet is removed the proper
distance sideways for cutting out another piece in a fresh place. The handle
26 has a pinion 28 fixed on its axis 27, and which axis is supported in bearings
fixed to the groove 22. The teeth of the pinion 28 take into the teeth of a
rack 29 formed on the under side of the long slider 21, so as to move the
slider 21 when the pinion 28 is turned. The pinion 28 has only three tecth
left upon its circumference, the rest being wanting. Those three teeth when
they take hold of the teeth of the rack 29 will move the same a proper distance,
and there leave it standing still, until the handle 26, having gone round, brings
the said three teeth into action again for moving the slider again, which the
person who attends the machine must do at the moment when the upper tool a
draws up above the sheet of metal; and by this means a row of pieces are
cut out along all the length of that sheet. The first long row which is thus
cut out may be nearly at the middle of the width of the sheet, and when the
last piece of the row is finished, then the attendant, instead of turning the
handle 28 any further round, presses down a lever handle 30, which pulls
forward the long slider 21, with its groove 22, by a motion of the lower short
slider 23, whereon the long groove 22 is supported, the lower slider 23 moving
in its fixed groove 24, and in a direction away from the slider B. The sheet
of metal plate partakes of the said motion, and is thereby properly placed for
cutting out the first piece for another long row; then by the time that first
piece is cut out, the attendant begins to turn the handle 26 round in a
contrary direction to that in which it was before moved, and thereby its teeth
move the long slider 21 back again step by step just as before, but in a contrary
direction, whereby a second long row of pieces will be cut out; and on arriving
at the last of them, then by another action of the handle 30, without turning
the handle 26 any further, the long slider and sheet of metal plate is drawn
further away from the machine in order to begin another long row, which is
continued by turning the handle 26 round in a contrary direction to that
in which it was just before turned; and when four or five long rows,
according to the width of the sheet, have been thus cut out, one half of the
width of the surface of the sheet will be cut up; and then the sheet is to be
taken off from the long slider 21 and turned the contrary way and refixed
thereto in order to cut out the other half. The lever handle 30 is mounted on

page_text: a centre pin in a socket fixed to the lower fixed groove 24. The upper end
of the lever 30 is a teeth which catches the teeth of a short rack 31 fixed to
the lower short slider 28; and, therefore, when the lever handle 30 is pressed
down, it draws forwards the slider 23 (as already stated), together with
the long groove 22 which is supported thereon. The tooth at the end of
the lever 30 is fitted thereto with a joint and spring, which allows the
said tooth to slip under the teeth of the short rack 31 when the handle
31 is raised up. The sheet of metal plate is placed with its edge bearing
on the long slider 21, its two angles being put beneath guide pieces 32,
which keep those angles down, and have stop pins to lodge the said
angles against, and thereby determine the proper position of the sheet.
upon the long slider 21, and to hold the sheet fast thereto; the middle of
its long edge is placed beneath a pair of holding springs 83, which press that
edge hard down on the slider 21. Those springs 33 have a short thumb
lever 34 applied to them for the purpose of lifting them up by pressing down
that thumb lever 34, when the edge of the plate is to be inserted beneath the
holding springs. Note, a pinion and turning handle, similar to 28 and 26;
may be applied to act in a toothed rack at 31, instead of the lever 30, if
preferred thereto.
Another part of our said improved machinery is represented in Sheet IV., by
Figures 17, 18, and 19. It is for the purpose of forming the circumferences
or border edges of buttons or other circular articles, in order to render those
edges rounded and smooth, by a distinct operation after the articles have been
cut out of metal plate and pierced (if they require piercing) and stamped or
formed by pressure, which pressure, applying chiefly to the flat surfaces, leaves
the extreme edges somewhat unfinished, and the improved machinery, now-
about to be described, as applicable for so performing the edges round and
smooth, as aforesaid, whether the articles have been cut out, pierced, and
stamped or formed according to our improved method at one operation;
as herein-before described, or according to the ordinary methods of first
cutting out at one operation, then piercing (if piercing is required) at
another operation, and then stamping or forming at another operation.
Figure 17 is side elevation; Figure 18, a section corresponding thereto; and
Figure 19, a transverse section. A is a hollow conical box, within which a
revolving grooved roller B is enclosed, being mounted on a horizontal axis D;
which is turned rapidly round by a handle or by power of millwork. The
hollow box A has circular grooves a, a, a, formed around within its interior,
exactly opposite to corresponding grooves b, b, b, around the roller B. The
space between the grooves a and b is. only just sufficient to admit a round
button or other round article to travel round in that space with a rolling.

page_text: motion, as is shewn at h, i, in the transverse section, Figure 19; and the cir-
cumference of the article is so strongly compressed between the moving groove
b and the fixed groove a, that the said circumference becomes formed with a
rounded edge, according to the form of those grooves, and the edges are also
smoothed. The articles are introduced through an opening f at the upper part
of the box A, as is shewn at g, Figure 19, and from the opening f they drop
into the groove 6 of the roller B, and by the revolving motion thereof are
carried round with a rolling motion into the groove a of the fixed box A, the
curve of which groove a is enlarged beyond a circular curve, in order to give
an easy entrance for the article from the opening f to be carried round in the
groove a; and by rolling round in the space between the grooves a and b, in the
manner shewn at h and i, its circumference receives a force and pressure by
which the edge is formed, rounded, and smoothed; and when the article has
been carried round in that manner as far as the opening k, it makes its escape
therefrom, as shewn by 1, into a proper receptacle; and to ensure that the
article shall so escape, and not be carried round beyond the opening k, a small
metal stop m may be fixed in that opening k, so as to reach into the groove in
the roller B, and intercept the article. The articles may be dropped down
one after another into the opening very quickly, and their edges will be formed
in a moment if the roller B is turned quickly. The three sets of grooves
a, a, a, and b, b, b, are adapted for forming articles of three different sizes.
One end of the box A is moveable, in order to get the roller B in and out, and
that end is fastened in place by three screw bolts. The improved machinery
and tools herein-before described may be used for cutting out, piercing, and
stamping or forming a great variety of articles in addition to those articles
herein-before mentioned, and which have been described by way of example
and illustration of the improved methods.
Having now described our said improved methods and improved machinery
and tools, I, the said Charles Rowley, for myself and for the said Benjamin
Wakefield, do hereby declare that the new Invention, whereof the exclusive
use is granted to us by the said Letters Patent, consists in the improved
methods, herein-before described, of cutting out, (piercing, if piercing is required,)
and stamping or forming buttons, shells, and backs for buttons, washers, or
other articles from metal plate, at one operation instead of two or three
distinct operations, as heretofore practised, such cutting out, piercing, and
stamping or forming being performed by our said improved methods with the
improved machinery and tools herein-before described for those purposes, part
of that improved machinery and tools being applied to fly presses, as represented
in Sheets I. and II. of the Drawings hereunto annexed, with the addition of
an under slider to be raised up by action of a reverse screw or of levers, in

page_text: order to perform the piercing (if required) and the forming or stamping by
action from below upwards against the under end of the upper cutting out
tool or punch; and part being applied to a stamping machine, as represented in
Sheet IV., operating by the falling blow of a heavy weight, and with an under
slider moved upwards by levers deriving motion from the falling of the hammer,
in order to place the tools in suitable relative positions for cutting out, piercing,
and stamping by one blow; and part is applied to a fly press with a double
reverse threaded screw, in the manner represented by Figure 4, Sheet I.; and
part is the improved machinery and tools represented in Sheets III. and V.,
which operates by a continuous rotative motion, and, after cutting out a piece of
metal plate by a descending action of a punching tool, transfers the piece so cut
out without delay to another tool, which pierces and stamps or forms the article
by pressure from below upwards, at the same time that the punching tool is
ascending again in preparation for cutting out another piece; and part is the
machinery represented in Sheet V. for presenting the metal plate to the
machinery, Sheet III., in order to be cut out, pierced, and formed thereby;
and part is improved machinery similar to that represented in Sheet III., with
such modifications thereof, herein-before described, as qualifies it for operating
with tools of a similar construction to those represented in Figure 3; and part
is improved machinery or tools, represented in Sheet IV., for forming the edges
of round articles.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Rowley, for myself and for the
said Benjamin Wakefield, have hereunto set my hand and seal, the
Twents first day of Tul. O
L
REMEMBERED,
in
wenty-nrst day of
the Fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
Charles Rowley came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
Fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.