IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR POINTING AND FINISHING NAILS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR POINTING AND FINISHING
NAILS." A communication from abroad by Sebastien Schlesinger,
of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 11th May 1870.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR POINTING
AND FINISHING NAILS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to point or finish nails with a sharp.
end or edge like a joiner's chisel, after the nails have been formed or
forged either by hand or by machinery.
:

page_text: The present Invention may be conveniently applied to a machine for
which I have applied for Letters Patent, April 2nd, 1870, but it may
with advantage be also used separately. The sharpening or pointing
device consists of a removeable adjustable piece of steel or hard metal
of suitable shape to form the point of the nail. This adjustable piece
is adapted by screw bolts or otherwise to a hammer head, which by a
few blows will bring the point of the nail to the proper
form.
For operating on nails already formed, and which may be presented
cold to the action of the hammer, to be pointed, straightened, and
rigidified, it will be convenient to employ a separate machine constructed
specially for the purpose.
This machine will consist of an upper
hammer head with a point-forming piece and an anvil or lower hammer
head. The device for holding the nails consists of compound, pincers
arranged to slide to and fro in a groove made in a turn plate mounted
on a vertical pivot. In order to receive a nail to be operated upon the
pincers are drawn back away from the hammers and turned on one
side, so that they may be opened to receive the head of a nail. The
pincers may then be turned back again to bring the nail into the proper
presentation line, and they may then be pushed forward so as to bring
the point of the nail under the adjustable steel piece fixed to the upper
hammer head. When the point of the nail is finished the pincers are
moved round horizontally and the nail is dropped out and another
inserted in its place. The point forming piece may be adapted to the
anvil or to a lower hammer if preferred.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th November 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM. THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
3

page_text: and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully mihgt
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 POINTING AND FINISHING NAILS," being a
communication to me from abroad by Sebastien Schlesinger, of Boston,
in the State of Massachusetts, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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 William Edward 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 Drawings here-
unto annexed. and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to point or finish nails with a sharp
end or edge like a joiner's chisel after the nails have been formed or
forged either by hand or by machinery..
The present Invention may be conveniently applied to a machine for
which I have applied for Letters Patent, April Second, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy, but it may with advantage be also used
separately, that is to say, it may be used to straighten, sharpen, and
point nails made in other machinery or by hand. The sharpening or
pointing device consists of a removable adjustable piece of steel or hard
metal of suitable shape to form the point of the nail. This adjustable
piece is adapted by screw bolts or otherwise to a hammer head, which
by a few blows will bring the point of the nail to the proper form.
For operating on nails already formed, and which may be presented
cold to the action of the hammer to be pointed, straightened, and

page_text: rigidified, it will be convenient to employ a separate machine con-
structed specially for the purpose. This machine will consist of an
upper hammer head with a point forming piece and an anvil or lower
hammer head.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a plan view, and
Fig. 2 a sectional elevation of the pointing device above-mentioned.
b is the anvil; a, the hammer, to which is adapted the steel pointing
piece 6 by means of screws, so that it can be removed and repaired
whan required..
Figures 3 represent one of the nails before and after pointing.
The device for holding the nails consists of compound pincers a³
arranged to slide to and fro in a groove made in a turn plate a¹ mounted
on a vertical pivot 62. In order to receive a nail to be operated upon
the pincers are drawn back away from the hammers and turned on
one side, so that they may be opened to receive the head of a nail.
The pincers may then be turned back again to bring the nail into the
proper presentation line, and they may then be pushed forward so as to
bring the nail under the hammer, whereby it may be straightened and
rigidified, while the point of the nail will be formed by the adjustable
steel piece b¹ fixed to the upper hammer head a. When the point of
the nail is finished the pincers are moved round horizontally and the
nail is dropped out and another inserted in its place. The point
forming piece may be adapted either to the anvil or to a lower hammer
as may be preferred.
In Sheet II. Fig. 4 is a sectional view, and Fig. 5 a plan view of
the pointing device adapted to the upper hammer head a of the nail-
making machine, for which I have obtained Letters. Patent, dated
April Second, One thousand eight hundred and seventy, as above men-
tioned.
In the Drawing accompanying the Specification of this Patent I
have shewn at Figures 4 and 5 the pointing and straightening device
adapted to the machine described in that Specification, but as such
pointing and straightening device formed no part of that Invention I did
not think it necessary to describe it.
The Figures shewn in Sheet II. of the present Specification are
similar to those shewn in the former Specification, and it will be seen
that the adjustable pointing piece 6' is adapted to the upper hammer a,

page_text: precisely as in the former instance, and it is so located and shaped as to
form the short bevil which is required at the end of the nail as shewn
in Fig. 4. The lower hammer or anvil 6 is to remain stationary, while
the pointing operation is going on. By making the part 6 of the
upper hammer (which forms the bevil) removable, it can be kept in
order by grinding, and as it is adjustable it can be so attached after
each grinding as to bring the ends of the. nails to an edge. It will be
readily understood that if the hammer a should be made without this
removable adjustable piece b', then (to produce the same result) the
entire hammer face would have to be re-wrought whenever that portion
of it which forms the end bevil of the nail point should be injured or
worn.
This operation would of course be exceedingly inconvenient, whereas
the piece b¹ which is the only part which is liable to be worn away
quickly can be removed, repaired, and replaced with facility.
From the above explanation of the Invention it will be understood
that nails already formed in other machinery may be presented cold to
the action of the hammers a and b, in order to be pointed, straightened,
and rigidified by cold hammering.
Having now described the Invention of "Improved Machinery for
Pointing and Finishing Nails," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim, as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent
as aforesaid, pointing, straightening, rigidifying, and finishing nails by
nicans of an anvil and hammer constructed and operating in the manner
herein sct forth.
I also claim, adapting to the hammers or anvils of nail-making
machines the adjustable and removable pointing piece b', as and for the
purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Second day of November One
thousand eight hundred and seventy.