IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPADES AND SHOVELS
Year: 1884

page_text: We DAVID WARD, of West Street Sheffield in the County of York, Manufacturer,
and GEORGE HAYWARD, of Malin Bridge Sheffield, aforesaid, Manager do hereby
declare the nature of our said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF SPADES AND SHOVELS to be as follows :-
Our invention of improvements in the manufacture of Spades and Shovels,
consists in the method of forming the blade, shank, socket and straps from one
continuous piece of steel; the object being, to dispense with the welding of the
straps to the shank, thereby not only reducing the cost of manufacture, but
improving the quality of the article.
În carrying out our invention in the manufacture of a spade for example, we
take a piece of steel of a suitable size, and draw out or "plate" one end for the
blade, and the other end of a convenient size from which to form the straps, leaving
a short intermediate piece for the shank.
The plated part next to the shank is then bent and curved so as to form a
socket, and the shank is twisted to bring the parts in their proper relative
positions.
The strap plate is now divided by a suitable tool, or bed and punch, which thus
forms it into two straps, these are now bent over or closed, and the combined
blade, shank, socket and straps, are ground and otherwise finished by the usual
means,
By dispensing with the process of welding the straps upon the shank, we not
only avoid the risk of a faulty weld, but are enabled to reduce the size of the shank
and consequently the weight also.

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Spades and Shovels.
:
We DAVID WARD of West Street Sheffield in the County of York Manufacturer,
and GEORGE HAYWARD of Malin Bridge, Sheffield aforesaid Manager do hereby
declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SPADES AND SHOVELS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement, that is
to say :-
Our invention of improvements in the manufacture of spades and shovels
consists in the method by which the blade, shank, socket and straps are made and
formed from one continuous piece of steel, the object being to dispense with the
'skilled labour required to weld the straps to the shank, thereby reducing the cost;
and improving the quality, as the welds are altogether done away with.
We are aware that shovels have been made from rolled sheet steel, by stamping
them into shape, but such a process of manufacture differs materially from the
method employed by us, and we therefore wish it to be understood that we do not
claim any such method, but disclaim it, as not being capable of producing the class
of work our invention is intended for.
And so that our invention may be clearly understood we annex a sheet of
drawings, showing the various stages of manufacture, and the complete article.
Similar letters of reference indicate the same or similar parts in all the Figures.
Fig. 1, is the front view of a spade and :
Fig. 2, is a side view, the same being made according to our invention.
Fig. 3, represents the form of the piece of steel from which the spade is made.
Fig. 4, the mould with the blade, and the part for the straps when plated out.
Fig. 5, shows the same with the straps shaped or cut out, and the shank twisted
round.
Fig. 6. the same with straps closed and shank bent to shape.
In carrying out our invention in the manufacture of a spade for example, we
take a piece of steel of a suitable size (say three inches broad by one inch thick)
shown in Fig. 3, and draw out or "plate" one end to form the blade A as in Fig. 4,
and the, other end B of a convenient shape from which to form the straps C, leaving
a short intermediate piece D, for the shank.
The part B, nearest to the shank D, is now bent and curved so as to form a short
socket to receive the end of the wood handle E, and the shank is twisted round to
bring the various parts into their proper relative positions.
The strap plate B, is now divided by means of a suitable tool, or bed and punch,
forming it into two straps C, C, Fig. 5, these are now bent over or "closed," as in
Fig. 6, the combined blade, shank, socket and straps being now ready for grinding
and finishing by the usual processes.
The finished spade shown in Figs 1. 2 is provided with a foot step F, but this is
not a part of our invention.
By our improved method of manufacture we dispense with the process of welding
the straps to the shank, and thereby avoid the risk of a faulty weld, and we are

page_text: also enabled to reduce the size of the shank, and consequently the weight of the
article also.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, We declare that what
we claim is
The manufacture of spades and shovels from one continuous piece of steel, sub-
stantially as bereinbefore described and illustrated.