AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MAKING HORSE-SHOE NAILS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Snell, of 13, Clement's Inn, Strand, in the
County of Middlesex, Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR MAKING HORSE-SHOE NAILS."-A communication from abroad by Amos
Whittemore, of Cambridge Port, in the County of Middlesex, State of
Massachusetts and United States of America.
ealed the 2nd April 1861, and dated the 9th October 1860.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Snell at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration, on
the 9th October 1860, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SNELL, of 13, Clement's Inn, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR MAKING HORSE-SHOE NAILS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant
unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent
for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that the same is a com-
munication to me from Amos Whittemore, of Cambridge Port, in the County
of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts and United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Snell, do hereby declare the
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully

page_text: what
describes and ascertains the nature of the said invention, and in
manner the same is to be performed, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say:-
In which Fig. 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2, a front view; Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, &
7, are views of the various cams employed, and are represented in the Drawings
as standing in the same relative position to each other that they should when
placed upon the shaft; Fig. 8 represents an end view of the knives showing
the mode in which they are bevelled; 'Fig. 9, an end view of the anvil showing
the recess in the dies.
The nature of my Invention consists in the employment and arrangement of
certain devices for the purpose of making horse-shoe nails, substantially in the
manner herein-after described.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my machine, I will now
describe its construction and operation; D represents a sliding frame in which
'the spools or rollers 'A, A¹, are placed; x is the main or driving shaft, which
is provided in its centre and immediately between the two rollers A, A¹, with a
cam for the purpose of giving to the frame D'a reciprocating motion; J, J, are
miter wheels placed upon the ends of the two shafts a and K; B'is'a drum
on the opposite end of shaft æ; F is a connecting lever pivoted at 'one end
between the uprights e, e, on frame D; G is also a connecting lever, and is
pivoted on the top of frame D, as fully represented in Fig. 1; H, H', are the
two hammers or beaters, which are constructed in the form shown in the
Drawing His the up-and-down beater, and is pivoted between the uprights
1 and 2 near its top, while its lower end is pivoted to connecting rod F; H' is
the side beater through which the vertical rocking shaft 3 passes, said beater
is connected to frame D by means of connecting lever G, thus an alternating
motion is imparted to both beaters; I represents a vibrating anvil through
which passes the pin K, the anvil is stationary upon this pin and is designed
"to move with it, said pin protrudes through division' r in front, and the leg of
the platform behind, and is operated in a manner which will 'be "hereafter
fully explained; f, g, represent the two knives or shears, which are bevelled
reversely or in opposite directions, as fully shown in Fig. 8, and pivoted together
near the end at which they cut. The knife g is also pivoted below the divi-
sion r, thus they will be allowed to play backward and forward when 'operated
upon for the purpose 'herein-after set forth; 'h is a 'ród which connects knife g
'to lever i, said lever is pivoted near' its centre to a piece which extends out
from the division r, thus allowing it a free oscillating motion. To the bottom
of lever i is attached two spiral springs at right angles with each other, the
opposite end of spring o is then secured to the unider side of 'division r, as fully

page_text: shown in Fig. 2. The other spring is not seen, but is attached to the leg of
the platform; m is a lever one end of which is pivoted to an upright on the
division r, as shown, to the opposite end of lever m is attached the spiral
spring 4, the other end of said spring is secured under the platform. The
object of this lever is to hold the rod of iron while it is being cut and also
while the nail is undergoing its formation; e also represents a lever which is
pivoted near the end of the platform, as said lever is designed to be operated
by a cam it should be provided with a projection. It will be observed that
the end of the lever m rests upon that of lever e, thus by this means is lever m
made to perform its work with regularity and precision; 5 is an upright
provided with a mouth, as seen in Fig. 2.; s is a lever which is pivoted to
upright 5, on the side of its mouth, thus a lower jaw is formed by levers, and
an upper jaw by the upright 5. It should be stated that the portion of the
lever S, which forms the lower jaw is fluted in order that it may take a more
firm hold upon the iron rod; b is a rod extending out from upright 5, to the
end of which is attached spiral spring a, the other end of said spring is
fastened to division 1, as fully shewn in Fig. 1, 6 is also a rod connecting
upright 5 to lever c, said lever extends below the platform or frame and is
allowed to oscillate freely by means of the bolt 6 passing through it ; said bolt
is supported by the two pieces 7 and 8 passing through it, as seen in Fig. 2;
d represent a guage, which is secured at its lower end to lever c, its end
is provided with a projection and is operated upon by a cam, all of which will
be more fully seen hereafter; 8 is a screw by means of which the guage is
regulated; 9 is a lever which is pivoted at one end to the stationary piece 10;
at the other end it is connected to lever S by means of the connecting bart;
J represents a spiral spring, the lower end of which is attached to lever 9, and
the upper end to the rod, as fully shown in Fig. 2; R is a shaft upon which
are the cams M, N, O, and P. The precise shape and construction of the
cams are seen in their respective Figures; on the end of shaft r is the cog
wheel n; T is a perpetual screw on the end of shaft K, and by means of
which motion is communicated to the shaft R; S and T are two cams on
shaft K, the use of which will be fully explained hereafter; x is a pin or lug
on the side cam s, for the purpose of operating knife f. The bottom and side
of the vibrating anvil is provided with recess for the reception of dies of various
5 sizes, thus, if a larger or smaller nail is required, a larger or smaller die is
used accordingly, said dies have a recess or groove across their centre for the
purpose of shielding the end of the nail from the stroke of the hammer until
it is ready to be drawn out to a point. The side beater H and the side die
have also a groove across their faces near their ends for the purpose of forming
upper

page_text: the head of the nail. It will be seen that the anvil J extends back and rests
upon a cam on shaft K by this means a rocking motion is imparted to it;
L represents the furnace which is attached to the machine near its front end,
said furnace may be placed in the machine between the feeder and lever m,
thereby rendering it necessary to use only one rod instead of four, as the rod
in this case can be drawn through the fire until entirely consumed.
The operation of my Invention is as follows:-As the furnace is now shown
I use four rods, two being constantly kept in the machine and two in the furnace,
and changing them as rapidly as necessity requires; the machine being put in
motion I first place one rod in the feeding apparatus, which is taken in through
the holding apparatus composed of lever m and upright 5; a second is again
placed in the feeding apparatus. The length of the nail is determined by a
guage placed behind lever m, as the end of the first rod rests upon the anvil
the beaters or hammers falling in rapid succession lengthen and shape the
nail. It will be observed that the rocking motion imparted to the anvil by
means of the cam or shaft K, is for the purpose of presenting to the beaters
or hammers a square surface as they descend. The shaft R as it revolves
brings the cam O in contact with pin k, which forces the anvil back, thus
causing the nail to be drawn or beaten to a point. On the opposite side of
the anvil is placed a spring for the purpose of throwing it back to its proper
position after the cam has passed the pin k. The object of the recesses in the
dies, which are placed on the face of the anvil is to prevent the beaters from
pounding the end of the nail until it is ready to be drawn out, thus avoiding
the splitting or flaring the end of the nail, which would otherwise occur.
After the pointing of the nail the cam T forces the shears up and cuts the nail
off, the shears falling back in their proper place, the machine is again ready
for the second operation.
Having thus fully described my Invention, what I claim and desire to secure
by Letters Patent is,―
1st, I claim the anvil I, the same having both a rocking and vibrating
motion in combination with adjustable or stationary dies, the faces of which
shall be provided with a recess or groove for the purpose of preventing the
pointing of the nail until its head and shank have been formed, substantially as
set forth.
2nd, I claim the pin G upon which is secured permanently the anvil I,
when the same shall be operated, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
3rd, I claim the mode of operating the shears or cutters, the same being
made to advance at the proper moment to sever the nail from the rod, and

page_text: then to fall back out of the way, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
4th, I claim the various parts which constitute the feeding apparatus,
consisting of upright 5, levers S and e, spiral spring a, and rod b, the whole
being operated in the manner and for the purpose specified.
5th, I claim the levers m and e acting in conjunction to hold the rod while
the nail is undergoing its formation, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
6th, I claim the sliding frame D in combination with the hammers H, H',
each being operated upon substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Snell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and-sixty.
WILLIAM SNELL. (L.S.)