IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING, ROLLING, AND SHEARING BARS OR BEAMS OF METAL FOR MAKING RIVETS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Fletcher, of the Firm of Messieurs William
Collier and Company, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers
and Tool Makers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR
CUTTING, ROLLING, AND SHEARING BARS OR BEAMS OF METAL FOR MAKING
RIVETS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 24th October 1866, and dated the 9th May 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Fletcher at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th May
1866.
I, JAMES FLETCHER, of the Firm of Messieurs William Collier and Company,
of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers and Tool Makers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR
CUTTING, ROLLING, AND SHEARING BARS OR BEAMS OF METAL FOR MAKING RIVETS,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention is particularly applicable in making rivets
or other round articles with heads or shoulders, and it consists in an improved
combination of rollers, one or more of which is or are provided with a cutting
disc for cutting off a portion of the bar of metal to be rolled, and for rolling
it to the proper diameter and with the requisite head or shoulders. In per-
forming my Invention I employ two rollers working in fixed bearings, and one
or. two rollers mounted in a slide or slides or in a swivel arm; the bar of
metal to be rolled when heated is pushed in between the two rollers in fixed

page_text: bearings and the moveable roller, which is then forced forward; by this means
the cutting disc severs the required length of the bar, and the rollers compress
and reduce it to the proper diameter; the head or shoulders are produced by
the shape of the disc or by grooves in the rollers. When two moveable
rollers are employed they act alternately, thus economising time and labor.
The second part of my Invention is particularly applicable for cutting or
shearing T iron or steel bars, but it may be employed in cutting bars or
beams of other sections having two or more ribs or flanges. In performing
my Invention I affix two or more cutters to a disc or plate, and these cutters
are set so as to act on two or more flanges or surfaces of the bar or beam to
be cut.
The requisite motion is given to the disc or plate by an eccentric or
other equivalent, and when the disc or plate is moved the cutters act simul-
taneously on both or all the flanges or ribs of the bar or beam to be cut. By
this arrangement the bar or beam is cut when cold without distorting either
the bar or beam or the piece cut off, thereby economising the labor now
generally required for cutting such bars or beams by heating them and then
cutting them by hand.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Fletcher in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th November 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FLETCHER, of the Firm of Messieurs William Collier and Company, of Salford,
in the County of Lancaster, Engineers and Tool Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Fletcher, Her special license that I, the said James Fletcher,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Fletcher, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR CUTTING, ROLLING, AND SHEARING BARS OR BEAMS OF METAL FOR
MAKING RIVETS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that I, the said James Fletcher, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 James Fletcher, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say :-
The first part of my Invention is particularly applicable in making rivets
or other round articles with heads or shoulders, and it consists in an improved
combination of rollers, one or more of which is or are provided with a cutting
disc for cutting off a portion of the bar of metal to be rolled, and for rolling
it to the proper diameter and with the requisite head or shoulders. In per-
forming my Invention I employ two rollers working in fixed bearings, and one
or two rollers mounted in a slide or slides or in a swivel arm; the bar of
metal to be rolled when heated is pushed in between the two rollers in fixed
bearings and the moveable roller, which is then forced forward; by this means
the cutting disc severs the required length of the bar, and the rollers compress
and reduce it to the proper diameter; the head or shoulders are produced by
the shape of the disc or by grooves in the rollers. When two moveable
rollers are employed they act alternately, thus economising time and labor.
The second part of my Invention is particularly applicable for cutting or
shearing Tiron or steel bars, but it may be employed in cutting bars or
beams of other sections having two or more ribs or flanges. In performing
my Invention Laffix two or more cutters to a disc or plate, and these cutters
are set so as to act on two or more flanges or surfaces of the bar or beam to
be cut. The requisite motion is given to the disc or plate by an eccentric or
other equivalent, and when the disc or plate is moved the cutters act simul-
taneously on both or all the flanges or ribs of the bar or beam to be cut. By
this arrangement the bar or beam is cut when cold without distorting either
the bar or beam, or the piece cut off, thereby economising the labor now
generally required for cutting such bars or beams by heating them and then
cutting them by hand.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the two accompanying Sheets of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 an end view of my

page_text: improved machinery for cutting and rolling bars of metal suitable for making
rivets; Figures 3 and 4 are detached views of the compressing and cutting
rollers a and b, which revolve in stationary bearings fixed to the framing of
the machine; the circumferences of these rollers are close together without
touching, as shewn in Figure 3, and they revolve in contrary directions at
that part of their circumferences which are nearest each other, as shewn by
the arrows. The roller a is driven by the pulley a' fixed to the end of the
axle of the roller a, and the roller b is driven from the roller a by the pinion a³
gearing into a broad carrier, which also gears into the pinion b¹ on the axle
of the roller b. At the end of the roller a is forged or fixed the cutting disc a³,
shewn best in Figure 4, and at the end of the roller b is the disc 6'; the outer
circumference of these discs are sharp and act as a cutter, while the smaller
diameter of the disc a³ is rounded to shape the head of the rivets. The rollers
c and d revolve in the loose head stocks c¹ and d¹, which are fixed on the
plate e, which slides to and fro on the plate e¹, forming part of the framing of
the machine; the distance between the rollers c and d can be regulated by
bolts and set screws. The plate e, with the head stocks c and d¹ and the
rollers c and d, are moved slowly to and fro by the worm at on the axle of the
roller a;
the worm a gears into the wheel f fixed to the shaft f, to which is
also fixed the mitre wheel f' gearing into the wheel on the side shaft
to which is forged or keyed the crank or eccentric g³, working in a slot in the
bracket projecting from the plate e.
9.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The bar of metal, marked *, to be
converted into rivets or other articles when heated is pushed into the space
between the rollers a, b, and c, the latter roller when the end of the bar is
inserted being at its greatest distance from the rollers a and b; the end of the
heated bar comes against the end of the regulating stop pin i, which is screwed
through the bearing of the rollers a and b, and is provided with a lock, as
shewn in Figure 1; the positoin of this stop pin can be adjusted according to
the length of the rivet or other article under operation. As soon as the end
of the bar is in its place the eccentric g¹ in revolving causes the roller c to
approach the rollers a and b, and the discs a³ and 6 shear off the end of the
bar, as shewn in Figure 4, in proportion as the roller c approaches the rollers
a and b; the head of the rivet is formed by the smaller diameter of the disc a³,
and by the time the roller c has advanced to its determined distance from the
rollers a and b the body or shank of the rivet and the head has been rolled to
their
proper diameters and shape. While the rivet or other article is being
made between the rollers a, b, and c, as above described, the roller d is at its
greatest distance from the rollers a and b, ready to receive the end of the bar

page_text: for making another rivet during the time that the roller c is moving from the
rollers a and b, and the rivet previously made is being removed from the
machine. The two rollers c and d thus act alternately, thereby economising
time and labor. I wish to observe that bolts and studs or other articles with
shoulders or of different diameters may be produced in a similar machine by
making the rollers with suitable grooves and projections. It is also evident
that the machine may be made with only one moveable roller instead of two,
as shewn, and that the moveable roller or rollers may be mounted in a single
or double swivel lever instead of in slides.
Figures 5 and 6 are two views of a portable machine which may be worked
either by hand or power for cutting or shearing bars or beams of metal
constructed according to my improvements.
The Drawing represents a method of working the cutters by means of a
worm and segment, but the same may be effected by hydraulic or any other
power. is the truck or framing supported on the wheels k, k. The driving
shaft is supported in bearings in the framing, and to it is fixed the hand fly
wheel and the fast clutch box 12; the sliding clutch box l³ is connected to
the shaft by a feathered key, and is moved to and fro by the handle m'. To
the shaft is also fixed the worm 1, which gears into the toothed segment n¹
fixed or cast to the drum n, which works in a socket in the framing. The
end of the drum n forms a disc n³, to which the three cutters n³ are secured,
and corresponding cutters o' are fixed to the plate o, which is bolted to the
framing of the machine. In the plate o and disc n³ are rectangular slots to
admit the T-shaped or other shaped bar or beam to be cut. When the fly
wheel is turned round and the clutch box 13 is in gear with 12, the seg-
ment n' moves the drum n partly round in the direction of the arrows in
Figure 5; the cutters n³ then acting partly above and partly below the top
rib of the T iron and along the middle rib, as shewn full size in Figure 10 of
Sheet 2, shear through the said ribs; the portion of metal at the junction
of the ribs, as shewn by a star in Figure 10, being twisted off by the action
of the cutters.
On Sheet 2, Figure 7 is an elevation of an ordinary compound machine
for shearing and punching to which a modification of my improvements in
cutting or shearing is applied, and as mentioned in the Provisional Specifi-
cation accompanying the petition for these Letters Patent hydraulic or other
power may be used, instead of the method shown on the Drawing. In this
machine the cutters n³ are fixed to the lever p, which is cast or fixed to the
shaft p' working in a socket or bearing in the framing. The lever p is made
to oscillate on its fulcrum by the crank 9 and connecting
link q'; and to the

page_text: lever pare fixed the two cutters n³, one of which is broad enough to cut the
whole of the top rib of the T-shaped bar to be cut, and the other is adapted
to cut the middle rib, ás shewn in Figure 5. The stationary cutters o¹ are
fixed to the plate o. When the machine is in operation the descent of the
lever p causes the cutters n³ to shear simultaneously through both ribs of the
T bar, as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 9.
In Figure 8 I have shewn another ordinary shearing and punching machine
to which my improvements are applied; in this instance the lever p is shewn
double, one end being provided with cutters for shearing a T-shaped bar, as
shewn in Figures 7 and 9, and the other end having a cutter for shearing
angle bars.
Figure 11 represents a section of a metal bar with three ribs radiating from
a centre, and Figure 12 represents a section of a metal bar with four
radiating ribs; these bars may be sheared in a machine with cutters fixed to
a disc, as shewn in Figures 5 and 6, and the cutters may be arranged to shear
double T bars or beams of various other sections, and the action of the cutters
being simultaneous on all the ribs or flanges of the bar or beam produces a
clean cut without distorting the metal, which may be sheared cold, whereas it
has heretofore been customary in cutting such bars or beams to heat them
and then cut them by hand.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described several
modes of carrying the same into operation, I declare that I claim the improved
machinery shewn and described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 for
cutting and rolling metal.
And, secondly, I claim the improved machinery shewn and described in
reference to Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 for cutting or shearing bars
or beams of metal.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Fletcher, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of November, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-six.