NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOLTS, RIVETS, SPIKES, SCREW-BLANKS, SCREWS, NUTS FOR SCREWS, AND WASHERS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Ross, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer, and Thomas Wilkes, of Birmingham aforesaid,
Machinist, for the Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF BOLTS, RIVETS, SPIKES, SCREW-BLANKS, SCREWS, NUTS FOR
SCREWS, AND WASHERS."
Sealed the 10th June 1856, and dated the 19th December 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Ross and Thomas
Wilkes at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 19th December 1855.
We, GEORGE Ross, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer,
and THOMAS WILKES, of Birmingham aforesaid, Machinist, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF BOLTS, RIVETS, SPIKES, SCREW-BLANKS, SCREWS, NOTS FOR SCREWS,
AND WASHERS," to be as follows:-
In making bolts, rivets, spikes, and screw-blanks, we cut off the heated iron
of which the said articles are to be formed by means of circular saws, the said
iron being placed in suitable tools to bring it within the action of the said
The detached piece of iron while still hot is transferred to the heading
machine. The said piece of iron is placed between a pair of dies having a

page_text: sliding horizontal motion, the said sliding being effected between inclined
surfaces, so that as the dies slide into their place in the machine at which the
heading is effected, they are made to grasp the piece of iron tightly; the
heading punch descends and forms the head. After the heading punch rises,
the pair of dies retire and open, and the headed bolt, rivet, or screw-blank
may be removed. We form nuts and washers by cutting off heated iron in a
manner similar to that herein-before described; the pieces of iron cut off are
fashioned by a pair of dies, the lower or fixed one having a central fixed rod
or cylinder, which forms the hole in the nut or washer. The bottom of the
fixed die consists of a plunger, which by rising forces the nut or washer out of
the die. In worming screw-blanks so as to convert the same into screws, we
use the ordinary screw machine, excepting that we make the screwed end of
the screw-blank pass through a fixed plate somewhat similar to the ordinary
screw plate, a cutting tool suitable for forming the thread being placed in
front of the said screw plate. The said tool is set by means of screws. As
the screw-blank advances with a rotatory motion, the thread is first cut by the
cutting-tool, and the form of the thread is afterwards. perfected by passing
through the said screw plate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Ross and Thomas Wilkes in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th June 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
Ross, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, and THOMAS
WILKES, of Birmingham aforesaid, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us;
the said George Ross and Thomas Wilkes, Her special licence that we, the
said George Ross and Thomas Wilkes, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said George Ross and Thomas Wilkes,
our executors,. administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with;
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the

page_text: Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "NEW OR IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOLTS, RIVETS; SPIKES, SCREW-BLANKS,
SCREWS, NUTS FOR SCREWS, AND WASHERS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said George Ross and Thomas Wilkes, our executors or: admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should' particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said George Ross and Thomas Wilkes,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, thereof, that is to say :...
Our machine for the manufacture of bolts, rivets, spikes, and screw-blanks
is représented in elevation in Figure 1; in vertical section in Figure 2, and in
plan in Figure 3, of the accompanying Drawing; a, b, is a die or a pair of
dies attached to the rods c, d; the said rods and dies are made to slide between
the inclined plates e, f, motion being communicated thereto by the arm or
lever g. When the dies a, b, are moved in the direction indicated by the
arrow in Figure 3, the opening of the said dies is effected by means of the
springs h, connected with the dies a, b. When the dies a, b, are moved from
under the plunger i to the wide end k of the dovetail, between e, f, a piece of
heated iron is dropped into the said dies, the said dies readily receiving the
same as they are partially opened. By means of the lever or arm g, the dies
b, are brought under the plunger i; the said dies a, b, are at the same time
closed by the diminishing width between the inclines e, f.. The plunger i
descends and forms the head of the bolt, spike, or screw-blank. After the
plunger i has been raised, the dies a, b, are moved by the lever g to the end k
of the slide, the said dies a, b, open, and the lever 7 (see Figure 2), passing
over the stop m, raises the rod 'n; the said rod raises the bolt, spike, or screw-
blank, which may be removed from the dies by tongs or plyers..
In applying our Invention to the manufacture of nuts and washers, we
substitute the dies represented in Figure 4, in place of the dies shown in
Figures 1, 2, and 3. Pieces of heated iron are placed upon the bottom die o,
and the die p is made to descend and force the said heated iron into the
annular space surrounding: the rod.q; the said rod 9 forms the hole:in the
nut or washer. The bottom of the die o consists of a tubular plunger.r;

page_text: which is raised by the lever s. After the nut or washer has been formed by the
descent of the die p, the plunger r is raised by the lever s, and the nut or
washer is thereby raised out of the die o. The piece cut from the middle of
the washer or nut is forced up the hole in the die p, by the rod q, and falls
down the inclined side p¹ of the die p. The method of cutting off pieces of
heated iron from a bar or rod, to be fashioned by the machines herein-before
described, is illustrated in Figure 5, which represents in plan the machine by
which the said cutting is effected; t, t, t, t, are circular saws mounted upon
the axis u, and driven by the pulley v; w is a table which has a sliding motion
on the fixed table x, the advance motion of the table w being effected by the
.arm or lever y, and the return motion by the counterpoise z; the table w has a
trough-like depression 1, in which the bar of iron 2 to be cut is placed; the
said table w. has also a series of slits marked 3, in which, on the advance of
the table w, the circular saws enter. After the heated iron 2 has been placed
in the trough 1, the table w is made to advance by the arm or lever y; the
saws divide the bar 2; the table w is allowed to retire, and the pieces of
iron are carried to the machines, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. The distance at
which the saws t, t, are placed apart depends upon the length of the bolt,
rivet, spike, or screw-blank, or the thickness of the nut or washer to be made.
In worming screw-blanks so as to convert the same into screws, we use the
ordinary screw machine with the modification or addition represented in eleva-
tion in Figure 6, and in plan in Figure 7.
That end of the screw-blank on which the screw is to be made is passed
through a fixed plate 4, somewhat similar to the ordinary screw plate. A
cutting tool 5, of a form and size suited to form the thread, is placed in front
of the screw plate 4; the said tool 5 is set by means of screws. 6, 6. As
the screw-blank advances with a rotatory motion communicated to it by a
screw lathe, the thread is first cut on the said screw-blank by the tool 5, and
the form of the thread is afterwards perfected by the screw passing through
the screw plate 4.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not
limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of our said Invention;
but we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly, the method of forming. bolts, rivets, spikes, and. screw-blanks, by
machinery constructed as herein described, and. represented in Figures 1, 2,
and 3 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, compressing the piece of

page_text: heated iron in a pair of dies by the descent thereon of a plunger, the said
pair of dies opening and closing by sliding between two inclined surfaces.
Secondly, the manufacture of nuts for screws and washers, by compressing
heated iron by means of dies constructed and worked as herein described, and
represented in Figure 4 of the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly, making the threads of screws as herein described, and represented
in Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, by first
forming the thread by a cutting tool, and perfecting the form of the thread by
a screw plate or stock.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Ross and Thomas Wilkes, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventeenth day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
GEORGE ROSS.
(L.S.)
THOMAS WILKES. (L.S.)