IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HINGES AND OF HANDLES FOR KNIVES AXD OTHER INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1845

page_text: BOYDELL'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BOYDELL, of Oak Farm Works, near Dudley, Ironmaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Seventeenth day of November, in the ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Boydell, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said James Boydell, my exors, admors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Boydell, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF HINGES AND OF HANDLES FOR KNIVES AXD OTHER INSTRUMENTS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said James Boydell,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and im-
mediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Boydell, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:

page_text: My Invention consists, first, of a mode of casting iron and brass hinges, the
pivots or axes of the knuckles of the hinges being of one piece with one of the
flaps of a hinge.
Secondly, my Invention consists of a mode of casting brass hinges where
separate pivots or axes are applied after the flaps of a hinge are cast.
And, thirdly, my Invention consists of a mode of making cast hinges, casting
the flaps of hinges several at one time and in one piece, and then dividing
them afterwards.
Fourthly, my Invention consists of a mode of annealing hinges.
5
Fifthly, my Invention consists of a mode of making the handles of matchet 1
knives and instruments heretofore having similar handles.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
1
Figure 1 shows one of the flaps of a hinge which is first cast either of iron
(usually malleable cast iron), or brass, by means of a suitable mould, in which
cores have been introduced for producing the cylindrical recesses, shown by
dotted lines a, a, and these are for receiving the pivots or axes on which the
flaps are to move; and having cast the flaps, Figure 1, and removed the cores,
the other flap is to be cast thereon, together with the pivots or axes, and this 2
is done by forming moulds and introducing therein flaps, such as is shown at
Figure 1, and then by running in the metal, the other flaps will be formed,
and at the same time the pivots or axes.
Figure 2 shows a hinge complete, cast in the manner described; and I would
call attention to the peculiar form of the pivots or axes, they being cylindrical, a
or nearly so, rising out of the shoulders of the knuckles b, b, which come close
against the ends of the knuckle part a of the flap, Figure 1. I would remark
that I am aware that hinges have before been cast with short conical points as
pivots or axes; I do not therefore claim the same excepting when made with
cylindrical or long cones, with truncated ends, to act as enlarged bearings for
the ends of the recesses a, shown at Figure 1. I prefer that the pivots should
be cylindrical, or as nearly so as may be.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention.
Figure 3 shows two flaps of a brass hinge which are cast on cones in order
to form the interior of the knuckle joints, in place of casting the same solid.
and then drilling the knuckle joints for receiving a pin through them. The
dotted lines b, b, show how far the interior of the knuckle joints are made
hollow by means of cores. The pin or axis c is introduced at the end d, and

page_text: as there is to be an excess of length at that end when the pin nhas been forced
into its place, then the excess of metal at d is to be be beaten down, and thus
shut in the pin or axis. If in casting the interior of the knuckles any untruth
results, the same is to be removed by a drill before introducing the pin or axis.
I will now describe the third part of my Invention.
In casting flap hinges as heretofore practised, it has been the custom to
make a mould for each flap separate from any other flap, although several flaps
are cast at the same time, by several moulds being made in the same box or
flask. Now the object of this part of the Invention is to cast the flaps long
enough to form proper lengths of flaps for several hinges when the same are
divided, by which the labour of making moulds will be reduced.
Figure 4 shows a long casting suitable to be divided into six hinges. These
hinges are made similar to those shown and described as the first part of my
Invention; but this part of my Invention is equally applicable when making
other cast hinges where axes or pins are introduced, as is well understood, in
place of casting the pivots or axes of one piece with the flaps, as before
explained. In making the moulds, the patterns used may have prominent
parts, so as to produce a groove across the flaps at those parts where the hinges
are to be separated, as shown by dotted lines at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in Figure 4, and
the hinges are to be sawn apart at those points; or when the grooves across
are made deep enough to ensure their being broken correctly, they are to be
broken across at those points, and the ends of the hinges are then finished by
grinding.
I will now describe the fourth part of my Invention, which consists in
annealing malleable cast-iron hinges in coke fires or ovens, whereby the
expense of employing heat prepared in furnaces simply for the purpose of
annealing hinges is saved, and the heat necessarily obtained for manufacturing
coke is employed.
In carrying out this part of my Invention, I pack the hinges to be annealed
in boxes, as heretofore, and then I introduce them amongst the coal to be
made into coke, by which the hinges will be heated as the process of coking
goes on, and they will cool down with the coke and will be drawn in an annealed
state when the coke is drawn or moved.
my
Invention.
I will now describe the fifth part of
Heretofore in making the handles of matchet knives it has been usual to
make the blades with flat tangs, on each side of which the half wood handles
are affixed, by rivetting through the same, and such is the case with some
other instruments. Now this part of my Invention consists of making the
whole handle of each matchet knife of metal by causing the blade to have

page_text: so much metal as will allow of its being forged or rolled out to twice the length
of the handle, and then this metal is to be bent in a suitable tool by hammering
or by pressure, and then the length of metal is to be bent over and the edges
hard soldered or brazed, by which a handle will be formed; or in place of
having the metal in such quantity as to produce the whole handle therefrom,
as explained, it may only be suitable for making half the handle and the other
half thereof made of a separate piece of metal, and the parts joined by brazing
or hard soldering, as is well understood.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the details herein described so long as the peculiar character of either
part of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,-
First, the mode of casting hinges with pivot or axes and recesses in the
knuckle joints, as above described.
Secondly, I claim the mode of casting brass hinges where the axes or pins
are introduced after casting, as herein described.
Thirdly, I claim the mode of making cast hinges, by casting several together
and dividing them, as above described.
Fourthly, I claim the mode of annealing hinges by employing the heat of
coke making, as above described.
And, fifthly, I claim the mode of making the handles of matchet knives and
other instruments as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Boydell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
JAMES (L.s.) BOYDELL.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord 1846, the aforesaid James Boydell came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Sixteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-six.