IMPROVEMENTS IN PILLARS OR STANDARDS FOR SIRAINING AND SUPPORTING WIRES FOR FENCES AND OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Christopher Young Michie and
George Wilson Murray at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th July 1869.
We, CHRISTOPHER YOUNG MICHIE, Wood Manager, and GEORGE
WILSON MURRAY, both of Banffshire, Scotland, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PILLARS OR STANDARDS FOR
SIRAINING AND SUPPORTING WIRES FOR FENCES AND OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to pillars or standards for the purpose of fitting up,
straining, or tightening wire for forming wire fences when it is desirable
to have the wires at different heights from the surface of the ground, the
Invention being also applicable for other useful purposes where wire
is required to be strained on supports, such as for overland telegraphs.
The pillars consist of bars or rods of malleable or other iron, which are
inserted into cast-iron sockets and bases buried in the ground (or
otherwise attached to a firm surface), and near the surface of the ground

page_text: the bars pass through an aperture formed in a cross arm, by which
means the pillars are secured in position and are tightened by cotters or
wedges. The straining brackets are formed of two plates of malleable
or other iron bolted together, and leaving spaces for the passage of the
standard, and for one or more rollers which have a projection on each
end going through the plates and form an axis or bearing. One of these
projections terminates in a square head to receive a key for turning the
rollers, which have each a flange perforated with holes bearing against
one of the iron plates, and holes are also made in the plates to enable
a pin to be passed through them and into the holes in the flanges for
the purpose of holding the roller firmly against the stress of the wire
when strained. The rollers also have a transverse hole bored through
them to receive the end of the wire and secure the coils from slipping
round in the process of being tightened. We also use round pillars
having their insertion in the socket base and cross arms; these pillars
carry sheaves and grooved rings in ferrules placed horizontally to suit
the number of wires in the fence for turning at angles; the sheaves
are secured by wedges or tightening screws to the pillars. The square
pillars are also provided with vertical sheaves for securing the fence
and passing over ravines or sharp eminences, and also with corner
straining brackets having two sheaves at or about right angles, so as
to strain or tighten two sides of a fence or other object which is turned
sharply to such angles, and also with single brackets for straining at the
extreme end of a fence or at gates, and when so placed they are used
for hanging and fastening the gate.
Another method of arranging the pillars and sheaves is to place
incasements in two or more divisions on the pillars, and to bind them
with rings also let on the pillars, but from the top downwards on to
the divisions; these divisional sections hold on each side a sheave over
and around which the wire passes. These divisions may be made of
any size or pattern and for any number of wires, and may be placed
any required distance apart. The pillar should be made of malleable
iron, and the incasements or divisional sections of cast iron in any
ornamental from.
The advantages of this Invention are that the straining brackets
can be made to draw from one or both sides or at right angles for corner
pillars, or the pillars may form straining posts and gate pillars combined;

page_text: that the arrangements are suited to a fence of three, five, seven, or any
number of wires, at any distance apart, whereas all other straining
pillars have to be made for the particular number of wires they are
intended for, and can never be altered to suit any other description of
fence.