IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Sharrow, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford,
Machinist, and Thomas King, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Butcher, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Sharrow and Thomas
King at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th September
1880.
HENRY SHARROW, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Machinist, and
" IMPROVE-
THOMAS KING, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Butcher.
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES."
Our Invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of machinery for
the manufacture of nails and spikes in the manner hereinafter described.
Our Invention is especially applicable to the manufacture of nails and spikes
from heated rods of iron, but is also applicable to the manufacture of copper and
other nails and spikes.
We will describo our Invention in connection with the manufacture of nails from
heated iron rods.
At the front of the machine is a pair of rolls of the same diameter and geared
together. The axes of these rolls are horizontal; the lower roll of the pair has a
continuous cylindrical surface, the upper roll has its cylindrical surface cut away
at opposite points, each cut away part extending over about one sixth of the
circumference of the roll. The upper roll has rotary motion only, the lower rail
besides having a rotary motion is capable of rising and falling so as to approach to
and recede from the upper roll. Beneath the pair of rolls described is a third roll of
the same diameter as the said pair. This third roll has cut away portions similar to
those on the top roll of the pair described, and the said third roll is so geared to the
others that its cut away parts are always in the same positions as the cut away
parts in the top roll, that is, when the cut away parts of the top roll are opposite to
each other horizontally, the cut away parts of the third roll are opposite to each
other horizontally, and when the cut away parts of the top roll are over one
another the cut away portions of the third roll are over one another.

page_text: The end of the heated rod of iron from which nails are to be made is introduced
between the pair of rolls described, and being gripped by them is advanced into the
machine. The tapering and pointing of the rod is effected during its advance
motion by the rising of the lower roll, the said lower roll being made to rise by the
action of the third roll as herein after described. When one of the cut away parts
of the upper roll comes opposite the rod, the rolls no longer grip the rod, and it
remains at rest till the uncut away part of the roll advancing grips it between
itself and the lower roll and again carries the rod forward. During each rotation of
the pair of rolls the nail rod is twice advanced and twice comes to rest.
In advance of the pair of rolls is a pair of gripping and shaping dies, the bottom
one fixed, and the top one rising and falling. During the advancing motion of the
rod the upper die is raised and the rod enters the said dies; the rod coming to rest,
the upper die descends and grips and perfects the shape of the body of the nail
which had entered the dies, at the same time cutting it off from the rod at its rear.
The fore part of the partially formed nail protrudes from the dies, and a heading
tool advancing compresses the said fore part and forms therefrom the head. On
the retiring of the heading tool and rising of the upper die, the nail formed is
pushed out of the lower die by the advancing rod which is set in motion
simultaneously with the rising of the upper die; or the nail may be removed from
-tho-dies-by a lever passing between them on the rising of the upper die, the said
lever being actuated by a cam. The raising of the lower roll to give the required.
taper to the body of the nail is effected by the third roll in the following manner :-
Underneath thio gripping-and-shaping-dies.is.a.sliding block capable of advancing
-to-and-receding from the third roll. To the upper face of this block a taper-arm-
is fixed; the lower face of this arm is horizontal, the upper-making-an-angle_
with the lower face equal to the taper to be given to the body of the nail.
When
the sliding block makes its advance motion, the narrow end of the taper arm passes
between the third roll and the bottom roll of the pair of rolls, and as it advances
gradually raises the bottom roll and gives the required taper to the nail. The
advance of the slide carrying the taper arm is thus effected:-A disc on the axis of
the third roll rotating with tho third roll has studs at opposite points on its face.
Jointed to the sliding block carrying the taper arm is a curved arm, having at its
free end a fork the branches of which are vertical. As the disc on the third
roll revolves one of its studs engages in the said fork and draws it forward, thereby
producing the advance motion of the slide. After the stud which has engaged with
the fork has performed half a revolution it disengages itself from the fork, when
the slide is suddenly drawn back by the action of a spring and resumes its normal
position, when the other stud engaging in it, again advances the slido. The
advance of the taper arm takes place at each semi-rotation of the rolls and
simultaneously with the gripping of the nail rod by the rolls.
Instead of producing the advance motion of the slide by means of the studs and
fork described, a crank and connecting rod may be employed to produce both the
advancing and retiring motions of the slide.
The raising of the moveable die and the advance of the heading tool are effected
by cams or excentrics and their return motion by means of springs.
The machinery is capable of the adjustments necessary to fit it to make nails and
spikes of different sizes and kinds.
The several motions are taken from one principal or driving shaft by means of
gearing of the ordinary kind.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Sharrow and Thomas King in the Great Seal Patent Offico
on the 11th March 1881.
HENRY SHARROW, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Machinist, and
THOMAS KING, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Butcher.
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND SPIKES."
"IMPROVE-
Our Invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of machinery for
the manufacture of nails and spikes in the manner herein after described.
Our Invention is especially applicable to the manufacture of nails and spikes
from heated rods of iron, but is also applicable to the manufacture of copper and
other nails and spikes.
We will describe our Invention in connection with the manufacture of nails from
heated iron rods.
At the front of the machine is a pair of rolls of the same diameter. The axes of
these rolls are horizontal. The lower roll of the pair has a continuous cylindrical
surface; the upper roll has its cylindrical surface cut away at opposite points, each
cut away part extending over about one sixth of the circumference of the roll.
The upper roll has rotary motion only; the lower roll besides having a rotary
motion is capable of rising and falling so as to approach to and recede from the
upper roll. Beneath the pair of rolls described is a third roll of the same diameter
as the said pair. This third roll has cut away portions similar to those on the top
roll of the pair described, and the said third roll is so geared to the others that its
cut away parts are always in the same positions as the cut away parts in the top
roll; that is, when the cut away parts of the top roll are opposite to each other
horizontally the cut away parts of the third roll are opposite to each other hori-
zontally, and when the cut away parts of the top roll are over one another tho
cut away portions of the third roll are over one another.
The end of the heated rod of iron from which nails are to be made is introduced
between the pair of rolls described, and being gripped by them is advanced into
the machine.
The tapering and pointing of the rod is effected during its advance motion by
the rising of the lower roll, the said lower roll being made to rise by the action of
the third roll, as herein after described. When one of the cut away parts of the
upper roll comes opposite the rod the rolls no longer grip the rod, and it remains
at rest till the uncut away part of the roll advancing grips it between itself and
the lower roll, and again carries the rod forward. During each rotation of the
pair of rolls the nail rod is twice advanced and twice comes to rest.
In advance of the pair of rolls is a pair of gripping and shaping dies, the bottom
one fixed and the top one rising and falling. During the advancing motion of the
rod the upper die is raised and the rod enters the said dies. The rod coming to
rest the upper die descends and grips and perfects the shape of the body of the
nail which had entered the dies, at the same time cutting it off from the rod at
its rear. The fore part of the partially formed nail protrudes from the dies, and a
heading tool advancing compresses the said fore part and forms therefrom the
head.
.
On the retiring of the heading tool and rising of the upper die the nail formed
is pushed out of the lower die by the advancing rod, which is set in motion simul-
taneously with the rising of the upper dio.
Or the nail may be removed from the dies by a lever passing between them on

page_text: the rising of the upper die, the said lever being actuated by a cam. The raising
of the lower roll to give the required taper to the body of the nail is effected by
the third roll in the following manner-Underneath the gripping and shaping
dies is a sliding block capable of advancing to and receding from the third roll.
To the upper face of this block a taper arm is fixed. The lower face of this arm is
horizontal, the upper face making an angle with the lower face equal to the taper
to be given to the body of the nail.
When the sliding block makes its advance motion the narrow end of the taper
arm passes between the third roll and the bottom roll of the pair of rolls, and
as it advances gradually raises the bottom roll and gives the required taper to
the nail.
The advance of the slide carrying the taper arm is thus effected. A disc on the
axis of the third roll rotating with the third roll has studs at opposite points on
its face.
Jointed to the sliding block carrying the taper arm is curved arm having at its
free end a hook or fork, the branches of which are vertical. As the disc on the
third roll revolves, one of its studs engages in the said hook or fork and draws it
forward, thereby producing the advance motion of the slide. After the stud which
has engaged with the hook or fork has performed half a revolution, it disengages
itself from the hook or fork, when the slide is suddenly drawn back by the action
of a spring, and resumes its normal position when the other stud engaging in.it
_again advances the slide. The advance of the taper arm takes place at each semi-
rotation of the rolls, and simultaneously-with-the-gripping of the nail rod by the
Tölls. Instead-of-producing the advance motion of the slide by means of the studs
and hook or fork described a crank and connecting rod may be employed-to produce-
both the advancing and retiring motions of the slide.
"The raising of the moveable die and the advance of the heading tool are effected
by cams or eccentrics, and their return motion by means of springs.
The machinery is capable of the adjustments necessary to fit it to make nails and
spikes of different sizes and kinds.
The several motions are taken from one principal or driving shaft by means of
gearing of the ordinary kind.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing
the manner in which our Invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in longitudinal section, Figure 2 in front elevation,
Figure 3 in plan, and Figure 4 in side elevation, machinery constructed according
to our Invention for the manufacture of nails and spikes.
In Figure 1 the rolls of the machinery are represented about to feed forward
and shape a length of nail rod to form a nail, a headed nail being represented in
the act of being removed from the lower shaping and gripping die by the length of
rod last shaped by the rolls, the moveable shaping and gripping die and heading
tool being represented in their withdrawn positions.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawing.
a, b, c, is the set of three rolls at the front end of the machine, the said rolls
turning on the horizontal axes a², 6³, c², respectively. The pair of rolls a, b, is used
for feeding forward and tapering and pointing the heated length of nail rod to bo
formed into a nail, and the bottom or third roll c is used for driving the bottom
roll b, and for closing the said bottom roll b upon the upper roll a for giving the
required taper figure to the length of nail rod, as herein after particularly
explained.
The lower roll b of the pair of rolls a, b, has a continuous cylindrical surface (see
Figure 1) but the upper roll a has its cylindrical surface cut away at opposite
points, as represented at d, d, each cut away part extending over about one sixth
of the circumference of the roll. The third or bottom roll c of the set has flat cut
away parts e, e, on its cylindrical surface.

page_text: The upper roll a and the third roll c are so geared together, as herein after
explained, that they rotate in opposite directions, and the cut away parts d, d,
and e, e, of the two rolls a and c are so arranged that the cut away parts d, d, of
the upper roll a are always in the same positions as the cut away parts c, c, of tho
third roll c. The lower shaping roll b forming a pair with the top roll a is not
geared either to the top roll a or the third roll c, but is loose in its bearings and
receives motion from the third roll c through the mechanism herein after described,
the said roll b being also capable of rising and falling so as to approach to and
recede from the upper roll a, the rising of the roll b effecting, in conjunction with
the top roll a, the advance of the nail rod f, and the. tapering and pointing of the
length of nail rod to form the body of the nail.
The raising of the lower roll 6 of the pair of rolls a, b, and its gearing with the
third roll c is effected in the following manner:-g is a slide or sliding block
working on the bed of the machine, and capable of advancing to and receding from
the roll c. To the upper face of the slide g, a taper arm his fixed capable of
adjustment by the set screw i. The lower face of the arm / is horizontal, but the
upper face is inclined, the said upper face making an angle with the lower
horizontal face, equal to the taper to be given to the body of the nail. On the
advance of the slide g, the narrow end of the arm h passes between the third roll c
and the bottom roll b of the pair of rolls a, b, and as the said arm advances it
gradually raises the said bottom roll b, causing the nail rod f to be gripped between
it and the upper roll a, and advanced into the machine, and the required taper to
be given to the length of nail rod to form the body of the nail. The advance of the
slide g carrying the taper arm h, is effected by the arm k, jointed to the slide g and
studs,, situated at opposite points on the disc m, secured on the axis of the third
roll c.
The free end of the jointed arin k is hooked, and the studs , l, alternately
engage with the said hooked end; that is to say, as the disc m rotates one of its
studs engages with the hooked end of the arm k, drawing the slide g forward, and
thereby producing the advanco motion of the said slide and the arm h carried
by it. After the stud, which has engaged with the hooked end of the arm k, has
performed half a revolution it disengages itself from the said hooked end, and the
slide g is suddenly drawn back by the action of the coiled spring g' and resumes
its normal position, when the other stud engaging with the hooked end of the
arm k again advances the slide g and its taper arm h. The advance of the taper
arm h thus takes place at each semi-rotation of the rolls, and simultaneously with
the gripping of the nail rod by the rolls a and b.
A crank on the axis of the third roll c working a connecting rod jointed to the
slide g may be used in place of the arrangement of parts represented for giving
the advancing and retiring motions to the slide g, but we prefer the arrangement
represented.
The end of the heated nail rod f introduced between the pair of rolls a, b, is
gripped by them when one of the uncut away parts of the top roll a is brought
opposite the bottom roll b (which is being lifted in its bearings and geared to
the third roll c) and the said nail rod is advanced into the machine, the tapering
and pointing of the length of nail rod to form a nail being effected during its
advance motion by the rising of the lower roll b as herein before explained. The
end of the nail rod thus tapered is marked p in Figure 1. When one of the cut
away parts d of the roll a comes opposite the roll b, the rolls no longer grip the
rod f, and it remains at rest till an uncut away part of the roll a advances and
grips it between itself and the lower roll b, and again carries the rod forward.
Thus, during each rotation of the pair of rolls a, b, the nail rod is twice advanced
and twice comes to rest. As another length of the nail rod is tapered the length
marked p, previously tapered, is carried between the pair of open gripping and
shaping dies q, r, r, being the fixed lower die, and q the rising and falling die.
The nail rod coming to rest, the upper die g descends and grips and perfects the
shape of the nail between the dies, and by means of the cutter or shear blade s on

page_text: the said moveable die q, the partly made nail is cut off from the rod at its rear.
The fore part of the partly made nail protrudes from the closed dies q, r, and a
horizontal heading tool t advancing compresses or upsets the said foro part of the
partly made nail, and forms therefrom a bead, as represented in the finished nail
marked u.
On the retiring of the heading tool t and the rising of the upper die q,
the nail formed is pushed out of the lower die r by the advancing partly made
nail attached to the nail rod f, which is set in motion simultaneously with the
rising of the upper die q.
The several moving parts of the machinery are actuated in the following manner :-
w is the driving shaft carrying a fly wheel and [fast and loose pulleys as usual.
Above the driving shaft is a parallel shaft carrying the cam by which the
advance motion of the heading tool is effected, the return motion of the said
hending tool being produced by the coiled spring t. The cam shaft vis driven
from the driving shaft w through the toothed wheels w³ and w³ (see Figure 4). The
descent of the moveable die 7 is effected by the cam x² on the shaft operating
upon the top of the dovetail slide carrying the said die q, the cam shaft x being
worked from the cam shaft through the pinion ³, spur wheel v, and pinion
(see Figures 3 and 4). The rising or return motion of the slido carrying the
moveable die q is effected by the spring 9, the free end of which is connected to
-the-screw ping, and the latter to the die slide (see Figure 2). The upper roll a of
the pair of rolls a, b, and the third roll caro-driven from the spur wheel v
through the two pinions y and y2, the pinion y gearing with the spur wheel y³ and
y on the axes-of-the-said-rolls-a-and.c, as seen in Figure 4. By thus driving the
rolls-a-and-c-they_are_made to move in opposite directions for the purpose-bercin-
before described.
When copper or other malleable metal or alloy is used instead of iron, the rod is
fed in a cold state into the machinery.
Having now described the nature of our Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, we wish it to bo understood that we do not limit ourselves
to the precise details herein described, as the samo may be varied without departing
from the nature of our Invention.
But we claim as our Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for the
Manufacture of Nails and Spikes,"
First. The construction and combination of the set of three rolls marked a, b,
and C, for feeding forward and tapering, and pointing the lengths of heated or cold
rod to form the bodies of the nails or spikes, herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawing; that is to say, forming the top roll a and the third
roll c with cut away parts of the kinds, and for the purposes described and
represented, and gearing the said rolls a and c together; and making the middle
roll b capable of rising and falling in its bearings, so as to be able to approach
to and recede from the top roll a, for the purposes and substantially as described
and illustrated.
Secondly. The construction of the slide or sliding block g and taper arm h
carried by it, and their combination with the third roll c for producing the rising
and falling motions in the roll b, and for gearing the said roll b with the roll c,
whereby the required taper figure is given to the length of heated or cold rod
fed into the machine.
Thirdly. The combinations of parts described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing for giving the advancing and retiring motions to the slide g carrying
the taper arm h.
Fourthly. The combination of the pair of gripping and shaping dies q, r, and
cutters, and the heading tool t, with the set of rolls a, b, c, for the purposes
and substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
Lastly. The arrangements of the gearing and parts connected therewith for

page_text: working the beading tool, the moveable gripping and shaping dio, and the rolls a
and c, herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Sharrow and Thomas King, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
37, Temple Street,
Birmingham.
-
HENRI HARROW. (L.S.)
THOMAS KING.
(L.S.)