Improvements in Grips for Golf, Polo, and other Clubs, Cricket and other Bats, Tennis Racquets, Hockey Sticks, Lances, and other Articles, and in the Mode of and Apparatus for Applying the same.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 24th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Grips for Golf, Polo, and other Clubs, Cricket and
other Bats, Tennis Racquets, Hockey Sticks, Lances, and other
Articles, and in the Mode of and Apparatus for Applying the
same.
I, HENRY BERNOULLI BARLOW, of 17 St. Ann's Square, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in grips for golf polo and other clubs,
cricket and other bats, tennis racquets, hockey sticks, lances and other articles,
my chief object being to obtain a durable and efficient grip which will be less
liable to injury or to work loose than the various forms of grips now in use.
I am aware that rubber sheaths have been used as grips but these sheaths have
been necessarily very thin to allow of their being put on to the shaft by hand and
consequently have soon torn or worn loose and so become ineffective.
Now according to my improvements I take a piece of rubber or other elastic
tubing of substantial thickness and of suitable length and with an internal
diameter rather smaller than the shaft or handle on which it is to be drawn.
A convenient apparatus for placing such a tube upon a shaft or handle consists
of a cylinder made preferably of sheet, steel to which are brazed or otherwise
secured any suitable number of narrow strips say of sheet brass the free ends of
which approach one another and form a conical spring; the rubber or other
elastic tube is placed upon and drawn over the smaller end of the conical spring
and the hollow base of the spring may then be attached to a suitably mounted bar
on which rack teeth are formed. The shaft or handle to which the grip is to be
applied is held in a clamp below the spring or otherwise so that by turning a
handle a pinion gearing into the rack draws down the bar with the conical
spring and tube over the shaft or handle and when the tube is in its right
position the spring can be readily withdrawn and removed leaving the tube on
the shaft or handle.
Instead of the base of the conical spring being cylindrical it may be of any
other suitable form and made in more than one piece arranged to open and close
in order to facilitate its application to and release from the shaft or handle on which
the grip is to be placed.
In place of using an open tubular grip one end of the grip could be closed to
improve the appearance of the handle and the external surface of the grip could
be corrugated or roughened if desired.
The shaft or handle might be corrugated or otherwise shaped and further
the shaft or handle might be slightly recessed near one end (or both ends) of the
grip in order to protect the ends of the latter which would lie in such recess or
recesses.
Any suitable lining might be placed between the handle and the tube and the
lining alone or the lining and grip could be secured in position by glue or cement
r the like.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1896.
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
Agents for Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Grips for Golf, Polo, and other Clubs, Cricket and
other Bats, Tennis Racquets, Hockey Sticks, Lances, and other
Articles, and in the Mode of and Apparatus for Applying the
same.
I, HENRY BERNOULLI BARLOW, of 17 St. Ann's Square, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in grips for golf polo and other clubs,
cricket and other bats, tennis racquets, hockey sticks, lances and other articles,
my chief object being to obtain a durable and efficient grip which will be
less liable to injury or to work loose than the various forms of grips now in use.
I am aware that rubber sheaths have been used as grips but these sheaths have
been necessarily very thin to allow of their being put on to the shaft by hand and
consequently have soon torn or worn loose and so become ineffective.
Now according to my improvements I take a piece of rubber or other elastic
tubing of substantial thickness and of suitable length and with an internal diameter
rather smaller than the shaft or handle ou which it is to be drawn.
A convenient apparatus for placing such a tube upon a shaft or handle consists
of a cylinder made preferably of sheet steel to which are brazed or otherwise
secured any suitable number of narrow strips say of sheet brass the free ends of
which approach one another and form a conical spring; the rubber or other elastic
tube is placed upon and drawn over the smaller end of the conical spring and the
hollow base of the spring may then be attached to a suitably mounted bar on
which rack teeth are formed. The shaft or handle to which the grip is to be
applied is held in a clamp below the spring or otherwise so that by turning a
handle a pinion gearing into the rack draws down the bar with the conical
spring and tube over the shaft or handle and when the tube is in its right
position the spring can be readily withdrawn and removed leaving the tube on the
shaft or handle.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus made according to my invention for
applying grips of the type indicated, to golf clubs and other articles. Fig. 2 is a
plan view of one portion of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1 omitting
the portion shown in Fig. 2.
In the drawings,-a is the main frame of the apparatus and a¹ the foot of the
apparatus by which it can be bolted to a suitable bench; fitted in a recess in the
frame are two notched clamping jaws bb' of which the jaw b may be secured to
the frame while is loose and wedge shaped so that it can be driven into the
recess to clamp a golf club or other shaft into the vice formed by the jaws bb.
A rack bar d with teeth on one face, not shown, is mounted in a bearing in the
frame a and at the top of this rack is fitted an adjustable stud e which carries a
cylinder e to which pieces e2 of wire or strips of sheet metal are secured in any
convenient manner to form a conical spring. A screw holds the stud e and
cylinder in the desired position so that the latter comes over the centre of the
golf club shaft c. To prevent jarring by contact of metallic surfaces a leather or
elastic washer g may be placed upon the rack d between its collar d' and the top
of the bearing in a and to prevent the rack bar d turning it is slotted on the side
opposite to its rack teeth and the end of a set screw h which passes through the
frame, enters and rests in the slot.
To raise and lower the rack d a short shaft i mounted in a bearing in the
frame a has secured to it a pinion ; which gears into the teeth on the rack d and a

page_text: handle, not shown, is secured to the other end of the shaft i by which the shaft can
be turned. A grip, not shown, which is formed of rubber and canvas or other
suitable material of suitable thickness with an internal diameter rather smaller
than the golf club shaft or other article upon which it is to be drawn, is placed
upon the wires e and pulled as close as it will come to the cylinder e¹ then the
handle on the shaft i is turned so as to raise the rack d as high as required; the
golf club shaft c is then clamped in the vice in the proper position and firmly
secured therein by driving in the wedge 6' and after this has been done the handle
on the shaft i is turned to draw down the rack d the cylinder e¹ and the grip on
the spring wires e are thus brought over the golf club shaft c, the grip is then
drawn as far as required over the shaft c.
If necessary hand pressure may be put on the grip to cause it to travel down
with the rack and to retain it while the wires e are drawn out of it as the handle
on the shaft i is turned further.
To return the cylinder el back over the grip it is only necessary to open out
the ends of the wires e so that all the parts with, the cylinder e¹ will pass back
over the grip on the club shaft c after which the club can be removed by loosening
the wedge b.
Although I have only shown the application of the apparatus for drawing or
pulling on a grip on to the shaft of a golf club it is obvious that a pulling on
machine, modified as required and provided or combined with a vice could be used
for pulling grips on to polo and other clubs, cricket and other bat handles, tennis.
and other racquets and other articles.
-
For example, instead of the base e' of the conical springs e being cylindrical it
may be of any other suitable form and made in more than one piece arranged
to open and close in order to facilitate its application to and release from the
shaft or handle on which the grip is to be placed.
In place of using an open tubular grip one end of the grip could be closed to
improve the appearance of the handle and the external surface of the grip could be
corrugated or roughened if desired.
The shaft or handle might be corrugated or otherwise shaped and further the
shaft or handle might be slightly recessed near one end (or both ends) of the
grip in order to protect the ends of the latter which would lie in such recess or
recesses.
Any suitable lining might be placed between the handle of the club and the grip
or tube and the lining alone or the lining and grip could be secured in position by
glue or cement or the like.
'
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A grip for golf clubs and other articles, said grip being of such thickness and
internal diameter that a mechanical appliance is necessary to stretch and pull it.
on to the shaft or handle of such article substantially as and for the purposes
herein described.
2. A grip for golf clubs and other articles combined and applied by a pulling on
apparatus substantially as and for the purposes herein described.
3. A pulling on apparatus for applying grips to golf clubs and other articles of
the indicated type, said apparatus being composed of a rack bar and pinion or their
mechanical equivalents and a series of wires or the like, forming a conical spring.
connected to the rack bar in combination with a vice for holding the article whilst
the grip is being applied substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
as illustrated by the drawings.
Dotad this 23rd day of October 1896
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
17 St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for Applicant..