IMPROVED MACHINERY POR MANUFACTURING NAILS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for atents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY POR
MANUFACTURING NAILS." -A communication from abroad by William
Wickersham, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts and United States
of America.
Sealed the 17th January 1865, and dated the 5th September:1864..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th September 1864.
I, ALFRED. VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for, Patents, 66, Chancery
5 Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical. Draughtsman, do, hereby
declare the,nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MANU--
PACTURING NAILS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improved machinery for cutting nails from sheet
metal in an efficient and expeditious manner.
The moving cutters are mounted on a rotating, cylinder and the fixed
cutters on the bed, of the machine, and by, preference two sets of cutters are
employed, which cutters come into operation alternately... On the axle.of. the
cutter cylinder is a cam which, through a stud-carried by an arm ofa.rock
shaft, imparts an endway motion to a pair of feed rollers which feed the sheet
or shaft of metal to be converted into nails up to the cutters.. These rollers;>
are made to slide endways in their bearings for the purpose of moving the

page_text: sheet or strip of metal laterally as well as forwards, so that it may be pre-
sented alternately to the two sets of cutters; a sliding transverse plate is
also used to support the metal in its movements. The feed rollers are geared
together, and on the axle of the upper roller a ratchet wheel, into the teeth
of which spring plates-take, and from their formation they serve to impart the
requisite intermittent axial motion to the rollers for feeding up the strip of
metal at every end way movement of the rollers. At every half revolution of
the cutter cylinder two nails are cut off transversely of the strip of metal, the
cutters being set on the incline to enable them to give a taper form to the
nails.
When the machine is extended so as to admit a sheet wide enough for the
length of many nails, each alternate cutter in the cylinder is extended so that
the cutting edge is farther from the centre of said cylinder than the inter-
mediate cutters, and the cutters thus extended.cut off. the metal forming the
ends of all the nails which the machine cuts, except the out ends of those at
the edge of the sheet; in this manner a broad sheet of metal may be cut
into, nails.without first being cut into strips. Instead of the moving cutters
being fixed in a revolving cylinder, they may be placed in the end of a lever
having a vibratory movement, which motion it may receive from a crank
through a connecting rod or any other suitable means..
In combination with this modified arrangement of cutter a traversing
carriage for feeding forward the plate of metal may be used, the forward
motion of the carriage being given through pinions on the feed shaft gearing
into racks on the carriage. The lateral motion of the carriage, corresponding
to the endway motion of the feed rolls, is obtained in a similar manner through
a rock shaft connected with a lateral shifting frame, over which it moves.
The fixed cutters in this arrangement are placed nearly in a perpendicular
position, and sofarranged that the cutting is done with the edge on the ends of
the cutters instead of that on their sides, and the sheet of metal rests on the
ends of the bed cutters, and the moving cutters come on to the sheet end fore-
most, cutting off nails by a pressure of their end surfaces on to the metal, and
the proper form for cutting the heads and points is worked on the front
surface of each cutter, from the top to the bottom. There are two pairs of
tongs or pincers attached to the carriage to hold the sheet of metal, which
secure one edge of the sheet while the opposite edge éxtends on to the upper
ends of the bed cutters. One side of the shifting frame projects upwards a
little to serve as a guide for the sheet as it passes forwards, it being guided
at the opposite edge by a spring attached to the shifting frame.

page_text: .
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office-
on the 4th March 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County.
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my 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 Channel Islands; and Isle of Man, an
Invention for.. "IMPROVED. MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING NAILS," being a
communication to him from abroad by William Wickersham, of Boston,
in the.. State. of Massachussets, and United States of America; upon the
condition (amongst others, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improved machinery for cutting nails from sheet.
metal in an efficient and expeditious manner.
The moving cutters are mounted on a rotating cylinder-and the fixed'cutters
on the bed of the machine, and by preference two sets of cutters are employed,
which cutters come into operation alternately. On the axle of. the. cutter

page_text: cylinder is a cam which, through a stud carried by an arm of a rock shaft,
imparts an endway motion to a pair of feed rollers, which feed the sheet or
strip of metal to be converted into nails up to the cutters. These rollers are
made to slide endways in their bearings for the purpose of moving the sheet
or strip of metal laterally as well as forwards, so that it may be presented
alternately to the two sets of cutters; a sliding transverse plate is also used to
support the metal in its movements. The feed rollers are geared together,
and on the axle of the upper roller is a ratchet wheel, into the teeth of which
spring plates take, and from their formation they serve to impart the requisite
intermittent axial motion to the rollers for feeding up the strip of metal at
every endway movement of the rollers. At every half revolution of the cutter
eylinder two nails are cut off transversely of the strip of metal, the cutters
being set on the ineline to enable them to give a taper form to the nails.
When the machine is extended so as to admit a sheet wide enough for the
length of many nails, each alternate cutter in the cylinder is extended so that
the cutting.edge is farther from the centre from the cylinder than the inter-
mediate cutters, and the cutters thus extended cut off the metal forming the
ends of all the nails which the machine cuts, except the outer ends of those
at the edge of the sheet; in this manner a broad sheet of metal may be cut
into nails without first being cut into strips. Instead of the moving cutters
being fixed in a revolving cylinder, they may be placed in the end of a lever
having a vibratory movement," which motion it may receive from a crank
through a connection rod or any other suitable means.
- 1
In combination with this modified arrangement of cutter a traversing
carriage for feeding forward the plate of metal may be used, the forward
'motion of the carriage being given through pinions on the feed shaft gearing
into racks on the carriage. The lateral motion of the carriage (corresponding
to the endway motion of the feed rolls) is obtained in a similar manner through
a rock shaft connected with a lateral shifting frame, over which it moves.
The fixed cutters in this arrangement are placed nearly in a perpendicular
position, and so arranged that the cutting is done with the edge on the ends of
the cutters instead of that on their sides, and the sheet of metal rests on the ends
of the bed cutters, and the moving cutters come into the sheet end foremost,
cutting off nails by a pressure of their end surfaces on to the metal, and the
proper form for cutting the heads and points is worked on the front surface of
each cutter from the top to the bottom.
Figure,1 in the accompanying Drawings is a top view of a machine for cutting
two nails. at once, showing the cylinder containing the revolving cutters, the

page_text: cam to shift the bar or sheet of metal from one set of cutters to another, the;
bed cutters, and feed motion; Figure 2 is an end view showing several parts;
of the machine, and especially the feed rolls which feed the sheets of metal,
into the machine to be cut into nails; Figure 3 represents the opposite end to
Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perpendicular sectional view taken through the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, showing the bed piece, the cylinder with one of its cutters,
one of the bed cutters, and the two feed rolls; Figure 5 is a sectional view,
of a machine differently arranged; Figure 6 shows the plan of arranging the,
bed cutters relatively to the moving cutters.
When the machine is extended so as to cut a larger number of nails at once,
the cast-iron bed or table to which the machinery is attached is seen at (A);
a cylinder B contains the rotary cutters, and (C) is a cam which moves
the arm (D) on the shaft or axle (E) by means of the pin (a); (F and G).
are the rolls which feed the sheet of metal (H) into the machine as it is
being cut into nails; (I) is a connection of the arm (D) with the feed rolls
(F and G); (J) is a slide moving with the feed rolls, and supporting one
end of the nail bar or sheet (H) so as to keep its position in one place
parallel to its position in other places; (b, c, d, and e,) are four bed cutters
screwed on to the bed of the machine, and so arranged that the rotary cutters
f, g, h, i, will come close to their edges as the cylinder B turns round; K and L
are two plates of metal, having one edge of each bent round so as to fit on to
the rods or studs m and n; the other edge is made to incline at one end-
towards the rod and to fit into the notches of the ratchet gear j; o is a
spring to keep the plate in the notches of
to keep the plate in the ratchet gear j.
one side of the machine to the other over
sixteenths of an inch from them. The object of this is to keep the iron or
sheet of metal in its place and prevent its being carried up with the moving
cutters in their upward motion.
the ratchet gear j; p is a spring
There is a bar extending from
the bed cutters, and about three-
Having designated the different parts of the machine, I will now explain its
operation.
Supposing the different parts of the machine to be in the positions indicated
by the Drawings, the sheet of iron or other metal H is placed between the
feed rolls F and G, as shewn in Fig. 1, where a portion of the sheet between
the feed rolls and the cylinder B is made transparent in the Drawings to
shew the positions of the bed cutters d and-e. When the sheet H is thus
placed, the cylinder B is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow s,.by.
means of which the cutters h and i are brought on to the metallic sheet H in

page_text: such manner that the revolving cutter as the cylinder B will cut off a nail
from: the sheet by passing through it, and close by. the edge of the bed cutter
e to cut the side of the nail, and close by the end edge of the cutter d to make
the end of the nail. Immediately after the cutter i cuts the sheet the
cutter h cuts off a nail, by merely cutting, the metal from one end to the
other of the nail as the part of the metal was previously cut off which forms
the end of the nail. By turning the cylinder B half round in the same
direction the edge of the cutter 9 comes down to and passes close by the edge
of the bed cutter c, and also the edge of the cutter f passes close by the bed
cutter. b, but in the meantime the cam C being fastened upon the same shaft
as the cylinder B. has turned half round, and through the medium of the pin a
the arm. D and the connection.I has moved the feed rolls F and G-longitudi-
nally so as, to carry the nail sheet the distance of the width of two cutters,
that is, from its position in the Drawings immediatly over the bed cutters d
and e to a position immediately over the bed cutters b and c, and its position
when moved is kept. parallel with its first position by means of a slide J,
which is moved by the arm Lon the same shaft E with the arm D, so that
when the cutters.ƒ and g 'pass by the bed cutters band c, as above described,
they cut off two nails from the sheet H. But while the nail sheet His
moved from the position d and e to that of b and c, it is also moved towards
the cylinder B by means. of the feed rolls F and G turning or rolling together,
while they are kept sufficiently close on each side of the sheet Has to gripe
it and move it as they turn; these feed rolls are caused to work together by
means of the two wheels. 9 and on their ends working into each other.
Outside of the wheel q.on the feed roll F is a ratchet wheel j. There are
two plates and arranged so that they will freely turn on their studs m
and n by having one edge bent round the stud, and the other edge of each
to work in the teeth of the ratchet gear j.. One of these plates / has the edge
which works in the ratchet teeth inclined towards the stud at the end from
the machine, that is, the end of the plate from the machine is as much
narrower than the end next to it as the width of a tooth in the ratchet wheel
j, so that when the feed rolls are moved from the position shown in the
Drawings so as to carry the nail sheet H over the cutters b and c, one of the
teeth of the ratchet wheel is caused to slip along on the edge of the inclined
plate from the narrowest end to the widest, thereby causing the ratchet
wheel to turn the distance. of one tooth, which causes the feed rolls to feed the
nail sheet in towards the cutters far enough for the width of a nail. In like
manner, after the nail bar has been moved to the position-just described, and

page_text: two nails bave been cut from it, as the cylinder B continues to turn one tooth
of the ratchet wheel j is caused to slip along on the edge of the plate k from the
narrowest to the widest end, thereby causing the ratchet wheel as it moves out
from the machine to turn round one tooth, causing the feed rolls to feed the
nail sheet in towards the cutters far enough for the width of a nail, when two
more nails are cut as above described. The middle of the edges of the cutters c
and e should be the same distance from the cylinder B; also the middle of the
edges of the cutters 6 and d should be the same distance from the cylinder B;
but the cutters and d should be enough farther from the cylinder B than the
cutters cand e to allow the cutters f and h to cut the metal off which forms
one end of the nails cut off by the cutters 9 and i, as shewn in the Drawings
When the sheet of metal is only wide enough for the length of two nails, but
when the machine is extended so as to admit a sheet wide enough for the.
length of many nails, each alternate cutter in the cylinder is extended as seen
at f, h, and v, Fig. 6, so that the cutting edge is farther from the centre of the
cylinder than the intermediate cutters, and the cutters thus extended cut off
the metal forming the ends of all the nails which the machine cuts except the
out ends of those at the edge of the sheet. In this manner a broad sheet of
metal may be cut into nails without first being cut into strips. It will be
seen that each cutter is a little inclined to the axis of the cylinder B; this is,
to make the taper of the nail. The part of the sheet of metal which is cut
off even with the edge of the cutter e is carried to the cutter w, the edge of
which has the same inclination to the cylinder as the cutter e, though a
reverse inclination. Nails are then cut by the revolving cutters, so that one-
half of the taper of the nail is made by the cutter which cuts off each side of it.
At Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a machine arranged in some respects
differently from that shewn at Fig. 1. Instead of the moving cutters being
fixed in a. revolving cylinder, they are placed in the end of a lever N, which
has a vibratory movement and turns on the fulcrum or bearing indicated by
the dotted circular line about the letter N'. This motion is given to the lever.
by the crank O, through the connecting rod P or any other: suitable means.
In this machine the bed. cutters are arranged as shewn at b, c, d, e, t, u,
Fig. 6, and the moving cutters f, g, h, i, v, w, are fastened in the lever N so.
as to match them. The dark or shaded part which covers over the bed
cutters b,.c, d, and e represents the metallic sheet off of which has been cut
a series of four nails by the cutters f, g, h, i. On raising up-the moving
cutters the sheet is moved laterally until it is over the bed cutters d, e, t, u,
and is at the same time pushed towards the moving cutters far enough for

page_text: the width of a nail, and then the moving cutters come down, and four of them
h, i, v, w, cut off four more nails.
The machine first described makes a nail like the one shewn at 3, Fig. 7,
with a square point and without a head; but by making the cutters as shewn
at Fig. 6 nails are cut, as seen at 2, Fig. 7. Example 4, 5, shews how a
wide sheet is cut into nails of that form.
This arrangement is still further illustrated and developed in detail in
Sheets II. and III., which illustrate this arrangement of the machine.
Fig. 8, Sheet II., shows the side elevation of the machine; Fig. 9, Sheet
II., is a plan view of the machine, shewing the bed piece, the cutter jaw, or
lever, it also shews the shifting cam, the frame which supports the carriage,
also the carriage with its two pairs of tongs or pincers which hold the sheet
of metal in the carriage while it is being fed towards the cutters, it shews
also the feeding apparatus, the shaft which conveys the motion from the
shifting cam to the shifting frame, and its connection.
Fig. 10, Sheet III., is a longitudinal section of the machine; Fig. 11
is a section through one of the bearings, shewing the mode of fastening the
cutters; Fig. 12 gives a front and end view of one of the cutters with the
bolt holding it in its position in the cutter jaw; Figures 13 are front and
edge views of one of the wedges at the back of the cutters in the cutter jaw,
also shewing the manner in which the adjusting screw is connected with the
same..
Q is the feed shaft having two pinions Q; Q', which work in the racks
R, R, attached to the carriage S. This carriage is so fitted on the shifting
frame T that it cannot move sideways relative to the frame, while it can move
freely towards or from, the cutters. On one end of the shaft Q is a ratchet
wheel j, which with the shifting frame and pinion are arranged and connected
together. Just below the ratchet j is a steel plate k¹, having one edge so
formed and inclined from the middle towards each end that it will fit into one
of the notches of the ratchet wheel, and cause this wheel to move round one
tooth each time it is moved from one of the ends of the plate to its middle, and
every time it is moved from the middle to the end the plate will pass into
another notch of the wheel, and each time the wheel is moved one tooth the
pawl w holds it in its position until it is moved forward again. The spring o
keeps the edge of the plate k' against the teeth of the ratchet wheel, rendering
the turning of the ratchet wheel the distance of one tooth certain every time
the shifting frame T moves from one side to the other. As this ratchet jis
on the same shaft Q with the pinions Q, Q, and. as these pinions work in

page_text: the racks R, R, of the carriage S, it follows that the carriage will be moved
towards the cutters every time the shifting frame moves from one side to the
other, and this motion should be equal to the width of a nail. The degree of
nearness to which the end of the carriage approaches the cutters is deter-
mined by the length of the racks R, R. Motion is given to the shifting
frame T by the cam C through the shaft E and the connection rods V, V.
The shifting frame is moved laterally the distance of the length of two
nails, and in order to make this movement inore accurate, four stops W
are fastened on to the frame, which terminate its motion by coming in
contact with the projections X from the bed piece, on which the boxes for
the guides Y and the shaft Q are placed. There are two pair of tongs or
pincers Z attached to the carriage to hold the sheet of metal, which secure
one edge of the sheet, while the opposite edge extends on to the upper ends
of the bed cutters. One side of the shifting frame F1 projects upwards a
little to serve as a guide for the sheet as it passes forwards, it being guided
at the opposite edge by a spring a' attached to the shifting frame.
The bed cutters b, c, d, &c., are fitted into the bed piece and held in their
places bolts having nuts screwed on to the opposite ends, as indicated at b
and these cutters are raised up or let down by means of adjusting screws c¹, c.
The moving cutters f, g, h, are fitted into the cutter jaw N in such a manner
as to correspond to the bed cutters, and they are made adjustable so as to allow
their cutting edges to meet the edges of the bed cutters by means of wedges
d', d', which are operated by screws e¹, e¹. These cutters are held in their
places by screws or bolts with nuts on the back ends, as shewn at ff, they
are adjusted up or down by screws 9', g'. The cutter jaw N is hung on
bearings h', h', which are fitted into tapering composition boxes i, ¹, in each
end of the jaw, and these bearings are passed through ears projecting upwards
from the bed piece. The bearings are held in their places and their tapering
parts pressed into their boxes by caps j³,, they are further made secure by set
screws in the ears through which they pass. The main shaft O has a loose and a
fast pulley and a fly wheel on one end, a crank in the middle, on to which is fitted
the connection rod P; which operates the cutter jaw N, and on the opposite
end of the shaft from the fly wheel is fastened a toothed wheel which is half
the size of the wheel on the cam C which it drives. With this arrangement
it will be seen that the cam which moves the shifting frame turns only once
round, while the main shaft turns twice, and the shifting frame carrying the
carriage and its sheet of iron to one side when the cutters move down and
cut off a series of nails from its edge, and then in like manner the sheet will

page_text: be moved to the other side when the cutters come down again and cut off
another series from its edge, and so, on alternately.
..
These cutters. b, c, d, and f, g, h, are placed nearly in a perpendicular
position, and are so arranged that the cutting is done with the edge on the
ends of the cutters instead of that on their sides, and the sheet of metal rests
on the ends of the bed cutters and the moving cutters come on to the <sheet
end foremost, cutting off..nails by a pressure of their end surfaces on to the
metal, and the proper form for cutting the heads and points is worked on the
front surface of each cutter from the top to the bottom. By this arrange-
ment a great advantage is gained, while the grinding is all done on the lower
ends of the moving cutters and on the upper ends of the bed cutters; the front
surfaces formed as stated are preserved as working surfaces instead of grinding
the front or working surface off, as is done in other nail machines...
2:
Now it is a well known fact that the surface of a piece of tempered steel is
the hardest part of it, the hardness diminishing towards the middle, bence'is
gained by using this arrangement the advantage of using the outside and
hardest surfaces as a working surface, which is found in practice to last
about twice as long as a surface formed by grinding the outside of the hardened
steel off.
It will be seen by examining the Drawings, that half of the cutters of each
series or every alternate one is in recess, the object of this is, that while the
front edge of each cutter is cutting the side of the nail; the side edges of those
which project forward may cut off the ends of the heads, otherwise the
sides, only would be: cut, leaving each series to adhere to each other at their
ends..
!.
After having thus described-the-Invention which has been communicated
to.me, as aforesaid, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,
. First, the within: described mechanism in nail cutting machines for shifting
or moving laterally the sheet of metal, or material to be cut into nails the
distance of the length of two nails or more if desired, for each series of nails
cut from the sheet, as desired.
>>
Second, I. claim feeding the material to be cut into nails far enough
towards the cutters for the width of a nail while it is moving laterally, as
described..
Third, the arrangement of the cutters in nail cutting machines in an
upright position so that the cutting is done by the end surface instead of
having them in a horizontal position cutting with their side surfaces, as herein
described.
.
:

page_text: Fourth, the two pairs of tongs or pincers for holding the sheets to be cut
into nails, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fourth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)