IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND ORNAMENTING OF THIMBLES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles- Iles; of Balsall Heath, in the County
of Worcester, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE AND ORNAMENTING OF THIMBLES."
Sealed the 3rd November 1868;. and dated.the 18th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles. Iles at the
Office of the Commissioners. of Patents,, with his Petition, on the
13th May 1868..
I, CHARLES ILES,. of Balsall Heath, in the County of Worcester,.
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for:
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE. MANUFACTURE AND ORNAMENTING OF THIMBLES," to be.
as follows:-
My Invention consist, firstly, in making thimbles; and the linings:
of thimbles of soft or ductile metal. In carrying this part of my
Invention into effect I take by preference sheet lead coated with tin. ;
such as is commonly employed in the manufacture of capsules, and'
from the said compound sheet metal I cut out discs and by means.:
of properly shaped dies and pressure I raise or fashion the said disks
at one operation into thimbles or into the linings of thimbles. When.
the body of the thimble is made of soft metal the top of the said.

page_text: body may be provided if thought desirable with a cap of harder metal
alloy to strengthen it. The soft metal linings made according to my
Invention are fixed in the bodies of the thimbles by being turned over
the rims of the said bodies, or in any other convenient way.
Instead of using a compound sheet of lead coated with tin other
soft or ductile metal may be employed.
My Invention consists, secondly, in making thimbles and the linings
of thimbles in the following manner :-I take metal tubes of the
required diameter and thickness of metal and I cut the said tubes
into short pieces, and by means of dies and pressure I give to the
said short pieces of tubes a taper figure, and thereby forth open ended
thimbles or linings of thimbles. In order to form thimbles having
closed tops from pieces of tubes treated in the manner described, metal
caps are fixed on the narrow ends of the said tubes. The thimbles
are finished and the linings are attached to the bodies in the ordinary
way.
This part of my Invention is particularly suited to the manufacture
of open ended thimbles.
My Invention consists, thirdly, in manufacturing thimbles of cast
iron or malleable cast iron, that is, that kind of cast iron capable of
being annealed in contact with oxide of iron; I cast the said thimbles
by preference in chilled moulds. The cast thimbles are polished and
finished in any desired manner.
My Invention consists, fourthly, making the bodies of thimbles
wholly of porcelain or other vitreous material or of a koalin (clay), or
partly of porcelain or koalin and partly of metal, that is, I make the
thimbles of porcelain or koalin, and where desirable I strengthen them
by means of metal rims.
My Invention consists, fifthly, in ornamenting thimbles in the
following manner:-I take strips or bands of paper or other flexible
material, the said strips or bands being ornamented with devices, in-
scriptions, or ornamental designs or patterns, and I attach them to the
rims or outsides of the thimbles. The ornamented parts of the thimbles
may be protected by varnishing. Or the rims or outsides of the thimbles
may be ornamented by taking a roller or rollers having upon its
surface the ornament it is wished to apply to the thimble, charging
the said roller with colour and causing the said roller to revolve round

page_text: the thimble in contact therewith. The ornamental pattern or design
on the roller is thereby transferred in color to the surface of the
thimble. Or the inscription, design, or pattern may be first indented
or impressed upon the rim or outside of the thimble, and the pattern
5 so formed afterwards filled in with colour.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Iles in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th November 1868.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
ILES, of Balsall Heath, in the County of Worcester, Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Charles Iles, Her special licence that I,
the said Charles Iles, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Charles Iles, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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
THE MANUFACTURE AND OF FAMENTING OF THIMBLES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Iles, my executors or ad-
ministrators, 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 Charles Iles, 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 thereof, that is to say :-.

page_text: My Invention consists, firstly, in making thimbles and the linings
of thimbles of soft or ductile metal.
In carrying this part of my Invention into effect I take by preference
sheet lead coated with tin such as is commonly employed in the
manufacture of capsules, and from the said compound sheet metal I
cut out discs, and by means of properly shaped dies and pressure I
raise or fashion the said discs at one operation into thimbles or into
the linings of thimbles, that is to say, I place a disc of the sheet or
ductile metal in a mould or die fixed to the bed of a press, and by
bringing down a plunger or upper die force the disc into the lower
die and give it the required form. When the body of the thimble is
made of soft metal as described the top or that part of the said body
which comes in contact with the needle may be provided if thought
desirable with a cap of harder metal to strengthen it. The soft metal
linings made according to my Invention are fixed in the bodies of
the thimbles by being turned over the rims of the said bodies, or in
any other convenient way.
Instead of using a compound sheet of lead coated with tin other
soft or ductile metal may be employed.
My Invention consists, secondly, in making thimbles and the linings
of thimbles in the following manner I take metal tubes of the
required diameter and thickness of metal and I cut the said tubes
into short pieces and by means of dies and pressure I give to the said
short pieces of tubes a taper figure, and thereby form open ended
thimbles or linings of thimbles. In order to form thimbles having
closed tops from short pieces of tubes treated in the manner described,
metal caps are fixed on the narrow ends of the said tubes. The thimbles
are finished and the linings are attached to the bodies in the ordinary
way.
This part of my Invention is particularly suited to the manufacture
of open ended thimbles.
My Invention consists, thirdly, in manufacturing thimbles of cast
iron, and by preference of that kind of cast iron called malleable
cast iron, that is, cast iron capable of being annealed or made malleable
by heating it in contact with oxide of iron; I cast the said thimbles
by preference in chilled or metal moulds. The cast thimbles are
polished and finished in any desired manner.
My Invention consists, fourthly, in making the bodies of thimbles

page_text: wholly of porcelain, vitreous or semi-vitreous material, or of kaolin
(clay) or partly of porcelain or kaolin or vitreous material and partly
of metal, that is, I make the thimbles of porcelain or kaolin or vitreous
material, and where desirable I strengthen them by means of metal
rims.
In making thimbles of porcelain, clay, or semi-vitreous material I
prepare moulds and shape the thimbles in the following way :-I take
a peg or punch of the size of the thimbles to be made, the said peg
having at its base a flange upon which a metal tube open at both
ends fits. This peg, flange, and tube are represented in vertical section
and plan in Figure 1 of the Drawing. The peg is marked a, the
flange b, and the tube fitting thereon is marked c.
After the parts have been arranged, as represented in Figure 1, I place
on the peg a a metal thimble marked d and press into the tube c, and
around the thimble & gutta percha or other material (Keenc's cement
for example) as represented in Figure 2, where the gutta percha is
marked e. When the gutta percha is cold I remove it from the tube c
and divide it into three parts so as to release the metal thimble there-
from. A mould is thus made. The divided mould is represented in
Figure 3. In using this mould I place the three parts inside a metal
tube similar to the tube first-described, as shewn in Figure 4, I then
place in the mould, Figure 4, a sufficient quantity of porcelain or
clay in a plastic state to form a thimble. I next take a peg similar
to the peg a (Figures 1 and 2) the peg having the size and figure
of the interior of the thimble to be made, and I press the said peg
into the mould so as to force the clay into and make it take the
figure of the mould and peg. The peg last-described may be worked
by the plunger of a press, and the mould may be fixed on the bed
of the said press. The thimble moulded in the manner described is
marked in Figure 4. After the thimble has been formed I prefer
to leave it for a short time in the mould before releasing it from the
said mould.. I release the thimble from the mould by forcing the three
parts of the mould from the tube c, when the said parts may be
separated and the thimble removed. The thimble is now dried and
is then fired in a kiln in the manner commonly practised in firing
articles made of porcelain. The thimbles may be glazed and afterwards
ornamented in any desired manner. I prefer to use a thin coating
only of glaze on that part of the thimble which comes in. contact

page_text: Who the needle. I use a series of the mouias nerein-before described
and represented in Figure 4, so that while the thimbles are drying
previous to their removal from the moulds others may be moulded.
When I make the thimbles of glass or vitreous material I employ
apparatus similar to that described and represented for making porcelain
thimbles, but the punches, dies, and moulds in this case are made of
metal as is usual when molten glass is moulded. I prefer to make the
metal moulds of brass and to cast them from a thimble or properly
formed mandril, or from a plain mandril. In the latter case the divided
parts of the mould are afterwards engraved or otherwise formed as may
be required.
Thimbles made in the manner described may be provided with metal
rims for the purpose of strengthening and ornamenting them.
My Invention consists, fifthly, in ornamenting thimbles in the
following manner :-I take strips or bands of paper or other flexible
material, the strips or bands being ornamented with devices, in-
scrip on or ornamental designs or patterns, and I attach them to the
rin
sides of the thimbles. I prefer using for this purpose the
, known as diamond cement, but dextrine or other strong cements
be used and the strips may be afterwards varnished. I prefer that
. strips or bands should be slightly curved to adjust themselves to the
shape of the thimble. In place of attaching ornamented strips or bands
to the thimbles I use strips or bands of thin paper having their surfaces
coated with size and print ornamental patterns or designs thereon. I
apply a coating of copal varnish to the surface of the thimble to be
ornamented, and when so prepared I press upon it the strip of paper
and thereby transfer the printed pattern on the paper to the said thimble.
When sufficiently dry I remove by means of a sponge moistened with
water the transfer paper leaving the pattern or design on the thimble.
Or the rims or other parts of thimbles may be ornamented by taking a
roller (or rollers) having upon its surface the ornament it is wished to
apply to the thimble, charging the said roller with colour and causing
the same to revolve round the thimble in contact therewith. The
ornamental pattern or design on the roller is thereby transferred in
colour to the surface of the thimble. Or the inscription, design, or
pattern may be first indented or impressed upon the rim or outside of the
thimble, and the sunken or raised part of the pattern so formed after-
wards filled in with color mixed with oil or varnish or filled in with

page_text: enamel as is usual in ornamenting jewellery. Or patterns or devices
may be painted on the plain surface of the thimble.
Figures 5 and 6 represent thimbles ornamented according to my
Invention by applying ornamented strips or bands of paper or other
flexible material thereto.
.
The ornamented band or strip is marked g; h, Figure 5 represents the
ornamented strip or band before it is secured to the thimble Figure 5.
Figure 7 represents a thimble ornamented according to my Invention
by transferring a printed pattern or design thereto in the manner herein-
before described. The transferred design is marked 7.
Figure 8 represents the manner in which I ornament thimbles by first
indenting or impressing the pattern or design upon the rim (or outside)
of the thimble, and afterwards filling in with colour or enamel the sunken
or raised part of the pattern or design.
Figuro 8 represents the thimble before the pattern is filled in, and k,
Figure 8, the same after the pattern has been filled in.
Figure 9 represents the roller which I use for ornamenting thimbles.
The roller is marked m and is carried in the frame or holder n. The
pattern or design with which it is wished to ornament the thimble is
sunk on the periphery of the said roller. By charging the roller with
colour and making it revolve in contact with the thimble the pattern
thereon is transferred in colour to the thimble. Two or more of the
rollers described and represented may be used separately or fixed side by
side, each roller having a different pattern upon it. I prefer to make
the surface of the roller (or rollers) of a flexible material, such as the
composition used in making rollers used by printers, the said flexible
surface of the roller being moulded in a suitable die. Instead of trans-
ferring to the thimbles a coloured pattern only by means of the said
rollers the same result may be produced by transferring to the thimbles
by means of the said rollers a thin coating of varnish and afterwards
applying colour in a powdered or dry state to the said pattern in varnislı,
the powdered colour only adhering to those parts moistened by the
varnish or gold or metallic leaf, or metallic powders may be used instead
of powdered colour. The ornamented parts of the thimbles may be
protected by varnishing.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
Thunderbond that I

page_text: do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and represented,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention, but I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly. Making thimbles and the linings of thimbles of soft or ductile
metal and strengthening the said thimbles by a cap of harder metal as
herein-before described.
Secondly. Making thimbles and the linings of thimbles from short
pieces of tubing treated as herein-before described.
Thirdly. Making thimbles of cast iron or malleable or annealed cast
iron, as herein-before described.
Fourthly. Making thimbles wholly or mainly of porcelain, vitreous
or semi-vitreous material as herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawing. Also constructing moulds and apparatus to be
used in moulding the said thimbles as herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
.
Fifthly. Ornamenting the rims or other parts of the thimbles by
attaching thereto ornamented strips or bands of paper or other flexible
material, or transferring printed designs to the said thimbles, as hercin-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Sixthly. Ornamenting the rims or other parts of thimbles by
impressing or indenting the pattern or design on the thimbles and
afterwards filling in the sunken or raised pattern or design with colour
or enamel as herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
Lastly. Ornamenting the rims or other parts of thimbles by the s
use of an ornamented roller or rollers constructed and applied as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Iles, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Ninth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW..
CHARLES ILES: (L:s.)