IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS UPON THE ANCHOR
Year: 1822

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BRUNTON, of the Commercial Road, in the County of Middlesex, Chain Cable
and Anchor Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Fourth, by His Letters
Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing at Westminster, the
Twelfth day of February now last past, did give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Brunton, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Thomas Brunton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Thomas Brunton, my executors, administrators,
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 an
"IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS UPON THE ANCHOR;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas Brunton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the said Letters
Patent, reference being thereunto had, will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Brunton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained by the following description thereof, reference at the same time
being had to the annexed Drawings (that is to say) :-
Figures 1 and 2 are Drawings of my improved anchor, and the various parts
thereof, in each of which Drawings or Figures the same letters of reference are
used to denote the same thing,
Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 an edge view of my said improved
anchor. a; a, &c. denote that part of the anchor usually called the shank; b, b,
and b, the arms; c, c, c, and c, the flukes; d, d, the stock; and g, g, the ring,
similar to those in common use for fastening the cable to the anchor. The said
ring, or a shackle as is sometimes used instead thereof, is appended also in the
same manner to the end of the shank, as is usually practised in making anchors
of the ordinary construction. By these Figures it will be seen that, instead of
applying the stock near the end of the shank where the ring or shackle is, as
is generally done in common anchors, I make it to pass through a hole in the
shank near the other end at i; 'and in order to secure the stock in its place,
and that each end thereof may project to equal distances from the shank of
the anchor, I make a collar fast to the stock at j by welding it or otherwise
to the stock, so that the said collar shall prevent the stock being pushed further.
through the hole in the shank opposite to the said fast collar, or on the other
side of the shank; and upon the stock I put a loose ring or collar at k, with
a key or wedge o behind it, driven through a hole previously made in the
stock for that purpose, which (as is evident from the Figure) produces the
effect of drawing the collar j tight against the side of the shank, and of holding
the stock firmly in its place. e, e, are two braces which are applied for the
purpose of supporting the ends of the stock, and to prevent the stock from being
bent or broken by a blow when the anchor is let go and falls to the ground, or
by any strain which the stock might be exposed to whenever the anchor may
happen to be dragged along the ground. These braces are fastened to the
shank by a pin at p,j, passing through both tho ends of the braces and the
shank of the anchor. At the other end of each of the braces at h I make a
hole of a peculiar shape (which shape I shall herein-after describe), and into these
holes I insert the ends of the stock as I have shewn at h; h, in Figure 2, where
the dotted lines represent that part of the ends of the stock which enters or
passes through the hole in the end of the brace to be reduced in size, so as to
form a shoulder which shall prevent the end of the brace from being driven
further on to the stock. Those parts of the stock between the shoulders and
the ends I make also of a peculiar shape. This peculiarity of shape, and its
use, I will herein-after more particularly describe. The pin at p, f, is held in

page_text: its place by a split key or wedge, as shewn at p, in Figure 2. It is therefore
evident, if the braces are made of a proper length, and the pin and key be
properly adapted at p, f, that in driving in the key through the hole in the end
of the pin at p, the ends of the braces at p and f will be drawn tight against
the shank, and that the other ends at h and he will also be drawn tight against
the shoulders upon the ends of the stock, and thus held fast. Each extremity
of the stock is of an oval shape, as shewn at i, in Figure 1; but from the end
to about midway between the end and the shoulder at m, in Figure 2, the
oval form is tapered down until at the middle, and from thence to the shoulder
at m the shape becomes cylindrical, the diameter of the cylindrical part being
equal to the shorter diameter or axis of the oval. At the extremity, through the
end h of each of the braces, I make an oval hole of a size corresponding to
that of the ends of the stock, so that the latter may pass through the fornier;
I then countersink the holes in the ends of the braces on the outer side, so as to
make them widest towards h, with a conical-shaped tool, the taper or angle of
which corresponds to the taper or angle of the tapered part of the end of the
stock, and I make the tapered part of the holes to correspond also in size to
the tapered parts of the stock; that is, I make the diameter of the hole at h
equal to the longer axis of the eliptical extremity or end of the stock. In
making the oval hole through the ends of the braces, I do it so that the longer
axis of the oval shall (when the braces are attached to the anchor, as
represented in Figures 1 and 2), be at right angles to the shank of the anchor.
or very nearly so, or in the direction of the dotted line n, q, in Figure 1; and
in making the stock, I form that part of it which fits into the hole in the shank
of an oval shape. I also make the hole in the shank in which the stock is to
be fastened of a corresponding size and shape to the last-mentioned oval part
of the stock, so that the said oval part of the stock will go into and fill the
hole in the shank; and I make the said hole so as that the longer axis of the
oval shall be in the direction of the length of the shank. I prefer this,
becase it places the oval part of the stock in the position best calculated to
resist the strains to which it may be exposed, and therefore renders it less
liable to be bent or broken. In forming the oval upou each end of the stock
at h, and as shewn at i, in Figure 1, I make the longer axis of the oval parallel
with or to stand in the same direction with the longer axis of the oval part of
the stock which fits into the hole in the shank of the anchor.
Having thus described the shape of the holes through the ends of the
braces, the shape of the ends of the stock, and the relative positions which
the longer axis of the oval holes of the braces and the oval ends of the stock
must necessarily be placed in when the stock and braces are affixed to the:

page_text: anchor (as is shown in Figure 2) it will be clearly understood that the longer
axes of the oval ends of the stock must cross or be at right angles with the longer
axes of the oval holes in the ends of the braces, and that so long as the braces
remain in this position, viz, lying in the same plane with the shank and stock
of the anchor, the narrowest part of the oval holes in the braces would be
opposed to the widest part of the ends of the stock, so as to effectually prevent
the braces from being drawn or pushed off from the ends of the stock. The same
effect might be produced by making the ends of the stock and the holes in the
braces at cylindrical, and making the ends of the stock longer so as to
protrude through the holes and to admit of a key being driven through each
end of the stock on the outside of the ends of the braces. There are also
several other well-known methods which might be employed for preventing
the braces from being driven off the stock; but I prefer the one which I
have first described, as being both simple and effective.
In making heavy anchors upon my improved plan, herein-before described, I
recommend that the above-mentioned, or some other equally efficacious means;
should always be used for preventing the ends of the stock being forced out of
the holes in the ends of the braces; for if an anchor should by accident be let go
so as to fall with much velocity, and one or both ends of the stock should meet
the ground or a rock before the crown of the anchor did so, there would be great
danger of either one or both ends of the stock being bent upwards by the force
of the blow; and in the event of such bending taking place, the ends of the
braces would be pushed outwards from the shoulders at m; whereas, were the
ends of the stock and braces connected by the kind of dovetail fitting herein-before
described, the ends of the braces could not be driven from the shoulders at m,
and the braces would thus be rendered much more powerful supporters of the
stock whenever the ends of the stock might be exposed to the force of a blow
on letting the anchor fall. In order to put either of the braces upon the end
of the stock, the brace must be held in the position shewn by the dotted lines
at n, r, in Figure 1, in which position the oval hole in the end of the brace
will readily receive the oval end of the stock, and when the end of the brace
has been brought up to the shoulder on the end of the stock at m, shewn in
Figure 2, the brace may then be turned until the hole in the other end of,
the said brace shall be brought opposite to the hole in the shank at p, f, in
Figure 2, and f in Figure 1.
The form or manner in which I make the shank of the anchor, and
which I prefer, is sufficiently described by the Figures in the annexed
Drawings; and any conipetent anchorsmith or mechanic will readily perceive
that it may be either made of two bars of iron with shorter pieces of iron

page_text: interposed between and welded to them, or that the whole shank may be
made of one solid piece, and the two slits or oblong holes above and below
the part at f, in Fig. 1, may be cut out afterwards. The advantage of making
the shank with two pieces or in one piece, and afterwards cutting out the slits
above and below the middle at f, as before described, is, that a greater strength
is given to the shank without increasing the weight of the anchor; for by the
separation of the two pieces, and consequent greater width at and towards the
end where the shank is united to the arms, a greater force will be required to
bend it. But although I have described the manner and form which I
prefer to give to and adopt in making the shank of an anchor, the shank
may be made of the ordinary form and in the ordinary manner as for com-
mon anchors, with this difference only, namely, that where the hole is made
at p. f. for the pin to pass through, which fastens the ends p, f, of the
braces and the shank together, and the other hole at i for the stock to pass
through, the width of the shank on each side of the said holes must be
increased so as to make those parts of the shank equally strong with any other
part of it. I claim no exclusive privilege for any peculiarity of form, nor for
the manner of making the shank which I have herein-before described, neither
do I claim any exclusive privilege for or on account of having made any
improvements in those parts of the anchor usually called the arms, the flukes,
and stock, nor for placing the stock near the crown of the anchor; but I do
declare that my Invention consists in applying braces similar to those herein-
before described and represented in the Drawings hereto annexed for supporting
that part of an anchor usually called the stock, in all cases wherein such braces
are used in conjunction with an anchor having its stock placed near the crown
of
any such anchor.
In the foregoing Specification I have forborne to give any detailed account
of the method of making an anchor, as that is already known to anchorsmiths;
and as wrough iron is the only material of which it is at present expedient to
make ships' anchors, I have only to add that I use wrought iron in the con-
struction of my improved anchor. But I do not claim, as part of my
Invention, the making the whole or any part of the anchor, the shank, the
stock, or the braces, of iron.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Brunton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.
THOS BRUNTON. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twelfth day of August,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid. Thomas Brunton came before our
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing, therein contained, -in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
in that case made and provided..