IMPROVEMENTS IN SPADES, SHOVELS, AND AGRICULTURAL FORKS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David Yardley, of Stamber Mill, Stourbridge, in the
County of Worcester, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SPADES, SHOVELS, AND AGRICULTURAL FORKS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Yardley at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th May 1878.
DAVID YARDLEY, of Stamber Mill, Stourbridge, in the County of Worcester,
Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPADES, SHOVELS, AND AGRICULTURAL FORKS."
In spades, shovels, and agricultural forks, as ordinarily made, the head of the
blade or prongs is furnished with a socket, langet, or centre strap by which the
wooden handle is attached to the implement. The socket, langet, or centre strap is
either made separate from the blade or prongs and afterwards affixed thereto by
welding or rivetting, or the said socket, langet, or centre strap is made by forging
from the same piece of metal as the blade or prongs.
In making spades, shovels, and agricultural forks, according to my Invention,
I make the socket, langet, or centre strap, to which the wooden handle of the
implement is affixed, separate from the blade or fork, and I form on the lower end
of the socket, langet, or centre strap a convex or male screw.
On the head of the blade or prongs I form a short socket, the interior of which
socket is made into a concave or female screw of a size and form for the convex
screw on the bottom of the socket, langet, or centre strap to take or screw into.
The wooden handle is fixed in the socket, langet, or centre strap by rivets,
screws, or otherwise, and the handle is connected to the blade or prongs of the
implement by screwing the convex screw on the bottom of the socket, langet, or
centre strap into the concave screw on the head of the blade or prongs.
A small transverse screw or screws, pin or pins, may be passed through a hole or
holes in the convex and concave screws to prevent the accidental unscrewing of the
handle from the blade or prongs.

page_text: Instead of making the convex screw on the bottom of the socket, langet, or
centre strap and the concave screw on the head of the blade or prongs the positions
of these scrows may be changed, that is, the convex screw may be made on the head
of the blade or prongs and the concave screw in the bottom of the socket, langet, or
centre strap.
Or instead of connecting the detachable handle with the implement by screws,
as described, an unscrewed hole may be made on the head of the blade or prongs
and a peg or stalk on the bottom of the socket, langot, or centre strap, the said peg
or stalk fitting accurately the said unscrewed hole, both peg and hole being angular
or circular in section. After the peg has been inserted in the hole it is fixed in its
place by a cross pin or pins, or cotter or cotters.
The peg may be on the head of the blade or prongs, and the hole in the bottom
of the socket, langet, or contre strap.
Spades, shovels, and agricultural forks made according to my Invention possess
the advantage that in case of injury to the handle or to the blade or prongs of the
implement the handle can be readily separated from the body of the implement,
and a new handle or a new body added as may be required. This can be effected
by the agriculturist or user of the implement without the assistance of a smith or
other workman.
In case of need, as, for example, when a spare handle is not at hand, the handle
of one implement can be removed from it and connected to the body of another
implement which it is required to use,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said David Yardloy in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th
November 1878.
DAVID YARDLEY, of Stamber Mill, Stourbridge, in the County of Worcester,
Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPADES, SHOVELS, AND AGRICULTURAL FORKS."
In spades, shovels, and agricultural forks, as ordinarily made, the head of the
blade or prongs is furnished with a socket, langet, or centro strap, by which the
wooden handle is attached to the implement. The socket, langet, or centro strap is
either made separate from the blade or prongs and afterwards affixed thereto by
welding or rivetting, or the said socket, langet, or contro strap is made by forging
from the same piece of metal as the blade or prongs.
In making spades, shovels, and agricultural forks, according to my Invention, I
make the socket, langet, or centre strap to which the wooden handle of the imple-
ment is affixed separate from the blado or fork, and I form on the lower end of tho
socket, langet, or centro strap a convex or male screw.
On the head of the blade or prongs I form a short socket, the interior of which
socket is made into a concave or female screw of a size and form for the convex
scrow on the bottom of the socket, langet, or centro strap to take or scrow into.
The wooden handle is fixed in the socket, langet, or centre strap by rivets,
scrows, or otherwise, and the handle is connected to the blade or prongs of the
implement by screwing the convex screw on the bottom of the socket, langet, or
centre strap into the concave screw on the head of the blade or prongs.
A small transverse screw or screws, or pin or pins, may be passed through a hole
or holes in the convex and concave screws to prevent the accidental unscrewing of
the handle from the blade or prongs.
Instead of making the convex screw on the bottom of the socket, langet, or centre
strap, and the concave screw on the head of the blade or prongs the positions of
these screws may be changed, that is, the convex screw may be made on the hend
of the blade or prongs and the concave screw in the bottom of the socket, langet,
or centre strap.
Or instead of connecting the detachable handle with the implement by screws,
as described, an unscrewed hole may be made on the head of the blade or prongs
and a peg or stalk on the bottom of the socket, langet, or centre strap, the said peg
or stalk fitting accurately the said unscrewed hole, both peg and hole being angular
or circular in section. After the peg has been inserted in the hole it is fixed in
its place by a cross pin or pins, or cotter or cotters.
The peg may be on the head of the blade or prongs and the hole in the bottom
of the socket, langet, or centre strap.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings,
the manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation a spade, the handle of which is connected
to the blade according to one of the arrangements of my Invention; Figure 2
represents the same, partly in section; and Figure 3 represents an edge view of the
same partly in section, the sectional part of Figure 3 being taken in a plano at
right angles to that in which the section of Figure 2 is taken; Figure 4 represents
a cross section of the same taken through the fixing pin.
Figure 5 represents the handle and blade detached from one another.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5.
a is the separate socket, langet, or centre strap, to which the wooden handle b is
affixed by rivets at c, c, in the usual way. The lower part of the said socket is
tubular, and is provided with a concave or female screw at a²; d is the blade of
the spade on the head of which is formed a convex screw d² of a size proper to take
or screw into the concave screw a² in the bottom of the socket, langet, or centro

page_text: strap a.
In the screwed socket a² is a cross hole e, and in the convex screw on
the blade is a similar cross hole f for receiving the taper-fixing pin h.
In order to connect the handle b to the blade d, the convex screw ( on the head
of the blade is screwed into the concave screw or screwed socket a² of the handle b,
until the shoulder of the said screw d² bears against the bottom of the screwed
socket a². A washer is placed by preference on the shoulder d³ to form a tight
joint between the two screws. The said washer also permits the blade on the
screwing home of the screw d³, to be fixed on its handle in the proper relative
position by using a washer of the required thickness. By this screwing home of
the convex screw the cross holes e and fin the two screws a² and d³ coincide,
and by driving the taper pin h through the said holes the handle b is very firmly
secured to the blade d.
To disconnect the handle from the blade it is necessary first to drive out the
fixing cross pin h, when the convex screw & may be unscrewed from the screwed
socket a³ and the two parts of the spade separated, as illustrated in Figure 5.
Figure 6 represents in front elevation, partly in section, the blade of a shovel
connected to its handle, according to this part of my Invention; and Figure 7
represents in front elevation, partly in section, the prongs of an agricultural fork
connected to its handle, according to this part of my Invention.
The construction of the connecting parts of the shovel and fork, represented in a
Figures 6 and 7, is the same as that of the corresponding parts of the spade
represented in Figures 1, 2, 3,.4, and 5, and the same letters of reference indicate
the same parts.
The convex screw may be made on the end of the socket or langet attached to
the handle instead of at the head of the blade, and the concave screw may be made 2
at the head of the blade instead of in the end of the socket or langet, but I prefer
to arrange the attaching parts in the manner illustrated in the Drawings.
Figure 8 represents in front elevation (partly in section) the blade of a spade,
connected to its handle by another arrangement of my Invention, and Figure 9
represents in edge view (partly in section) the blade and handle detached from one 3
another. In this arrangement the hole a³ in the socket, langet, or centro strap a is
plain or unscrewed, and the head of the blade d is provided with a peg or stalk
of a size proper to fit tightly in the unscrewed hole a" in the socket, of the handle.
Cross holes i, i, are made in the plain or unscrewed hole a³ in the socket, and
similar holes h, k, are made in the peg or stalk for receiving the fixing cross pins 3
or cotters l, l.
The peg or stalk of the blade may either be circular or angular in cross
section, the hole in the socket having a corresponding figure. To connect the
detachable handle, Figures 8 and 9, to the blade the peg or stalk d' of the blade is
inserted in the plain hole as in the socket of the handle, and the cross pins l, l, are 4
driven through the coincident holes i, i, and h, k, in the two parts a³, ³, when the
handle is very securely fixed to the blade.
The peg or stalk d may be made on the socket or langet a of the handle, and
the socket or plain hole to receive the said peg or stalk may be made on the head
of the blade with the same effect. In applying this part of my Invention to shovels 4
and agricultural forks I construct the connecting parts of the handle and blade or
prongs in the manner described and represented with respect to the handle and
blade of a spade.
Spades, shovels, and agricultural forks, made according to my Invention, possess
the advantage that in case of injury to the handle or to the blade or prongs of the 5
implement, the handle can be readily separated from the body of the implement
and a new handle or a new body added, as may be required. This can be effected
by the agriculturalist or user of the implement without the assistance of a smith or
other workman.
In case of need, as, for example, when a spare handle is not at hand, the handle 5
of one implement can be removed from it, and connected to the body of another
implement which it is required to use.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention,
the improvements in spades, shovels, and agricultural forks, herein-before described,
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, making the socket
langet, or centre strap to which the wooden handle of the implement is attached
separate from the blade or prongs of the implement, and connecting the detachable
handle to the said blade or prongs by forming in the lower tubular end of the
socket, langet, or centre strap a concave screw, into which a convex screw formed
on the head of the blade or prongs takes or screws, the unscrewing of the handlo
from the blade or prongs being prevented by a cross pin or pins, or a screw or
screws, passed through the two screwed parts, or making the concave screw on the
head of the blade or prongs, and the convox screw on the bottom of the socket,
langet, or centro strap of the handle, substantially as described, and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, also the arrangement herein described, and illustrated
in Figures 8 and 9, in which a plain or unscrewed hole and peg or stalk are substi-
tuted for the convex screw and screwed hole.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Yardley, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
DAVID YARDLEY. (L.S.)