CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARPENTERS' STOCKS AND BRACES
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
BOTTOM, of Number 6, Saint Phillip's Road, in Sheffield, in the County of.
York, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twentieth day of February, in the eighth year of. Her reign,.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Bottom, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Bottom, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Bottom, my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter, 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
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CARPENTERS' STOCKS AND BRACES;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that I, the said John Bottom, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, under my hand and seal, to be
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months

page_text: 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
John Bottom, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
The first of my said improvements consists in making the neck of the brace
to bear and turn-on a point, instead of a broad flat face as usual, whereby
more freedom is given to the tool, and it requires less labour in using it.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings is an elevation of a brace constructed on
this plan when complete and attached to a part of a stock; and Figure 2 a
section of the brace. A is the head or cap; which is screwed on to the top of
a hollow brass neck e, e, e, e, and bears on the head of a metal stud or pillar p
within the neck, which stud or pillar is surmounted by a separate cap a of
hard metal, as iron or steel, made of a somewhat conical form on the outside,
in order that it may be the more easily inserted and fitted tight into its seat;
b, b, is a grooved flange formed round the pillar p (as more clearly shewn in
the detached view of the pillar given in Figure 4); h, h, are two screws,
which are passed through the shoulder of the neck e, e, e, e, into the groove
of the flange b, b, in order to keep down the neck e, but so as to allow it to
turn freely on the end c of the pillar p (I do not confine myself however
any number of screws, as one, two, or more, may be used for the same pur-
pose); d, d, is a collar interposed between the shoulder of the neck e and the
stock r, and so adjusted to the pillar p as not to allow the neck e to touch or
rub against it; s, is the under end of the pillar p, which is threaded, as shewn
in Figure 2, and firmly screwed into the stock r, as shewn in Figure 1; n, n,
is a nut which is screwed into or upon the top end of the neck piece e, and
thereby increases the hold of the head upon the neck; o is an aperture for
the admission of oil to the top or bearing point of the pillar p. Instead of the
cáp a being fixed on the top of the neck piece e, as in Figure 2, it may be
fixed in the nut n, as shewn in Figure 3. The position of the pillar may be
reversed, if so required; that is to say, the pillar p may form a part of the
head or cap A, and the neck e form a part of the stock r, as shewn in
Figure 5; but I prefer the construction first herein-before described.
Figure 6 shews a method of fixing the neck e, e, e, e, in the head A without
the assistance of the nut n, n, as in Figures 2 and 5.
to
The second of my improvements consists in connecting the head and neck

page_text: of the brace by a joint, whereby its position can be more readily shifted as
required when it is pressed against the breast or body of the person using it.
The details of this improvement are shewn in the sectional view Figure 7.
A is the head, placed in an inclined position, but capable of being moved into
the opposite position indicated by the dotted lines, or into any intermediate
position; b, b, b, is a hollow or recess in the head A, containing a ball f, on
which the head moves; the ball f is retained in the cavity 6 by a plate of
metal m, m, which is affixed to the under part of the head A, and has a hole
in its centre of less diameter than the diameter of the ball f; from this ball a
short neck k projects downwards, by which it is screwed into the neck piece e.
In other respects this brace is the same as that first before described.
b
The third and last of my said improvements consists in a mode of holding
what is technically called the bit, whereby it is more firmly fixed in and more
easily detached from the pad than usual. Figure 8 is an elevation of so
much of the stock of a brace as is necessary to shew this part of my Inven-
tion; and Figures 9, 10, & 11 are sections in different directions of
Figure 8; C is a recess in the pad which receives the shank of the bit f, which
is shewn detached in Figure 12; B is a revolving bolt or catch shewn sepa-
rately in Figure 13, having a cleft e in it to allow the shank to pass up into
the recess C; b is the head by which the bolt is turned; y, a square, on
which a washer x, shewn separately in Figure, 14, is placed, and fixed by the
screw 2, Figure 15. The washer x acts as a keeper to the bolt b, holding it
to its place in the pad, as shewn in Figure 9, and also prevents its being
turned too far by striking against a pin o, fixed in the side of the pad within
the place where the washer turns, as shewn in Figure 16. Figure 10 shews
the bolt in a position for allowing the shank f to pass into the pad. Figure 11
shews the shank f within the pad, and locked by the bolt B, being turned
into the groove d in the shank f. The shank may be afterwards easily
released and withdrawn by restoring the bolt to the position of Figure 10.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not restrict myself
as regards the use of materials to any of those before specified, since others
may be substituted without materially affecting the mode of construction; as,
for example, the neck e and pillar p in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, may be made
partly of wood and partly of metal (instead of wholly of metal), and the ball f
in Figure 7 may be made of hard wood or metal, as preferred. I declare
further that I do not restrict myself to making the upper end or bearing
point of the pillar p, in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, of the particular form there
represented, for that the same may be of either of the forms shewn in