IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BURRS OB NUTS FOR SCREWS
Year: 1837

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
GRIFFITHS, of Smethwick, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Machine Maker, and SAMUEL EVERS, of Cradley Ironworks, in the County of
Stafford, Iron Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His late most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eleventh day of January, in the seventh year, of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Robert Griffiths and Samuel Evers, His especial license, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that we, the said Robert Griffiths and Samuel Evers,
our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Robert Griffiths
and Samuel Evers, our exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BURRS OB NUTS FOR
SCREWS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the
said Robert Griffiths and Samuel Evers, or one of us, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's Court of Chan-
cery 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Robert Griffiths and Samuel Evers, do hereby declare the nature of our
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say):-
Our Invention relates to making bars of iron in such manner that they
may be divided into burrs or nuts, each having six sides, as will be hereafter
fully explained.
According to the usual means now resorted to for making six-sided burrs
or nuts, they are formed by bending iron around a maundril or stamp, and the
ends welded; the iron is then forged into shape of six sides by hand, there
being a hole through the same which is tapped with a screw, as is well under-
stood. And there is another mode resorted to which consists in cutting six-
sided burrs or nuts from plates or bars of iron having parallel sides; through
each of such bars so cut is afterwards formed a hole to be tapped with a screw,
such means requiring a quantity of cutts to produce one burr or cut, and a
considerable waste of iron takes place in cutting off the angles, as is well
understood.
Now when bars of iron are produced according to our Invention their sides
are so formed, by means of suitable dies or apparatus, that in dividing
a bar each cut produces a six-sided piece or blank of iron suitable for a burr
or nut, whereby considerable labour and expence are saved in making burrs
or nuts,
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is an end view of a machine for carrying out our Invention.
Figure 2 is a front view, and Figure 3 shows part of a bar of iron, equal to
the size of two burrs or nuts, and when cut across, as shown by the dotted
lines A, B, will become two blanks for the making of two burrs or nuts, by
forming holes through them, and tapping such holes with screws, which
completing process forms no part of our Invention, and is well known and in
practice, as before stated. The machine shown in the Drawing consists of two
revolving circular plates or rollers a, a, of the width of the intended burrs or
nuts; they are affixed to the axes or shafts b, b, by collars and screw bolts and
nuts, as is clearly shown in the Drawing. The periphery of each plate a, a, is
formed into projecting angular dies, the apex of each die of the lower roller a
being correctly opposite the apex of a die on the upper roller a; hence, in the
passing of a heated bar of iron between the rollers a, a, the bar will have its

page_text: sides formed into a series of angular indentations c, d, c, and in order to
prevent the bar of iron spreading out laterally when being pressed between
the rollers a, a, two guage plates or surfaces e, e, are securely held on each
side of the rollers a, a, such guage plates or surfaces being affixed, and project
from the plates f, f, the plates f, f, being affixed to and are carried by the pro-
jecting brackets of the main framing of the machine, as is clearly shown in the
Drawing or in place of having the surfaces e, e, there may be a circular disc
or plate e¹, e¹, to each roller a, as shown at Figs. 4 and 5, which, revolving
with the rollers a, will assist in drawing the bar of iron forward. On the
shafts or axes b, b, are affixed two sets of cog wheels, the object of which is
that the circular plates or rollers a, a, shall revolve accurately together so as
to cause the dies or angular projecting surfaces to produce the said series of
angles on the two edges of the bar of iron, that in dividing the bar at the
points A, B, the blanks for burrs or nuts shall each offer six equal, or nearly
equal, sides, and the better to ensure such accuracy the cogs of one wheel
on the same shaft 6 is to be set, that where there is an opening on one wheel
the other wheel shall have a cog or tooth, and such is the case with the cog
wheels on the other shaft b. In Figure 1 is shown a bar of iron as having
partly passed through the machine, and is consequently partly formed.
From the foregoing description, aided by the Drawings, the workman will
readily perform the Invention. We would here remark that we lay no claim
to the separate parts of the machinery, and we would observe that we do not
confine ourselves to the precise means of carrying out our Invention. The
machine is to be driven by suitable millwork in a suitable manner to the rollers
for making bar iron, as is well understood. In working the machinery and
producing bars of iron according to our Invention, the bars are to be first
heated to a bright red heat in a reverberatory or other furnace, but where
convenient we prefer taking the bars from the rolls by which they are pro-
duced, and whilst the bars are red hot to pass 'them between the rollers a, a,
by which the expence of reheating will be saved.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, we would have it under-
stood that what we claim as our Invention is the manufacturing or producing
of bars of iron having their sides formed into a series of angles, such bars,
when cut up by transverse cuts, being blanks for six-sided burrs or nuts, as
above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Griffiths, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousend eight hundred and thirter coron
(L.S.) ROBT GRIFFITHS. (L.s.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1837, the aforesaid Robert Griffiths came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
icht hundred and thirty.coron