IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL HORSE-SHOE NAILS, AND IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR."-A communication from abroad by
Henry Mulholland, of Montreal, in the Dominion of Canada,
Merchant.
Sealed the 13th January 1871, and dated the 17th November 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th November 1870.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the International Patent Office South-
ampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL HORSE-SHOE
a communication, to be as
NAILS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOB,"
follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of horse-
`shoe nails from steel, and has reference to the rolling of the plates from

page_text: which the nails are cut to the cutting of the plates into nails, and
the machinery by which the same is accomplished.
The material heretofore employed in the construction of horse-shoe
nails is that quality of iron commonly known as " Norway" or "Swedes,"
which is rolled into plates or strips, and when arranged for the cutting
or punching of the nails with suitable machinery the grain of the iron is
in all cases lengthwise of the nail, it having been ascertained that were
iron of this description treated or cut across the grain in the process of
manufacturing the nails the grain or fibrous texture of the nail would
not be of sufficient strength for the production of a suitable horse-shoe
nail.
It has however been ascertained that by the use of steel as the
material for the nail, owing to its greater homogeneity the bars of this
material can be rolled into the desired form of plates by rolls specially
adapted for the purpose, and afterwards cut in any direction with greater
economy and facility, and will yield a superior description of horse nails
in much greater quantities in the same time than can be obtained from
the iron above mentioned.
The rolling of iron in plates for nails as heretofore practised has been
effected by a series of indentations or corrugations of equal length
formed completely around the roll, so as to retain the grain or fibre of
the iron; the rolling must therefore be finished and the iron reduced
from the thickness of the head to the thickness of the point of the nail
in one operation; on the other hand steel being so much more firm
could not be thus reduced, there not being sufficient strength in ordinary:
machinery for the purpose.
To simplify the machinery, and also to roll steel to the desired shape, I
form a groove the other way of the rolls, and by frequent passes between
the rolls reduce the steel to any desired thickness, and as steel is homo-
geneous the plates can be cut in any or every direction; this being the
case instead of cutting in sections as when iron is used I make strips of
indefinite length from the steel with the heads on both sides of the strips
which are therefore entirely unlike the corrugated iron heretofore rolled
for the manufacture of ordinary iron horse-shoe nails.
The frame of the press or machine made of cast iron and of a size com-
mensurate with the scale of the machinery required is supported on
legs. A pulley is placed on the end of a shaft for communicating
motion to the same. The said shaft carries an eccentric which actuates

page_text: a pitman for elevating or depressing a gate moving in guides attached
to the framework. In the lower part of this gate are placed punches in
a shoe fitting into a slot arranged in the gate and held in place by keys..
These punches are held in place or supported by holders bolted together..
The two punches, are arranged to work at the same time, but when it is
desired to use the machine with one punch the parts are formed for
holding but one punch in a similar manner to that described above for
two punches. A cast-iron bed is bolted to the frame and provided with an
opening through its centre by which the nails pass after being cut. On the
upper side of this block is. a dovetail recess for the reception of the dies
which are held firmly in place by a key. The configuration of the head
of the nail; in, the dies may be graduated; by guides. so as to produce any
desired length of head..
I will now describe the rollers by which the plates are formed. The
frame for holding these rollers in place is of the ordinary description;
the lower roll is divided into a convenient number of recesses or grooves
with a configuration similar to the section of the plates to be rolled.
The upper roll is. also, divided into projections and recesses.
sectional area, between. the rolls.is of such form that the two opposite
edges are of suitable shape and thickness to form the heads of the horse-
shoe nails when the. same are punched out with the plate, gradually
diminishing in thickness towards the centre..
The
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Haseltine in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th May 1871..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE; of the " International Patent Office," Southampton Buildings,
London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said George Haseltine, Her special licence that I, the
said George Haseltine, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such

page_text: others as I, the said George Haseltine, 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 THE MANUFACTURE
OF STEEL HORSE-SHOE NAILS AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREFOR," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Henry Mulholland, of Montreal, in
the Dominion of Canada, Merchant, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said George Haseltine, 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 George Haseltine, 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 accompanying
Drawing, forming a part of this Specification.
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of horse-
shoe nails from steel, and has reference to the rolling of the plates from
which the nails are cut to the cutting of the plates into nails, and to the
machinery by which the same is accomplished. The plan now in use
for manufacturing horse-shoe nails will be briefly described and afterwards
the modus operandi I have adopted.
«
The material heretofore employed in the construction of horse-shoe
Swedes"
nails is that quality of iron commonly known as "Norway" or
which is rolled into plates or strips, and when arranged for the cutting
or punching of the nails with suitable machinery, the grain of the iron
is in all cases lengthwise of the nail, it having been ascertained that
were iron of this description treated or cut across the grain in the
process of manufacturing the nails, the grain or fibrous texture of the
nail would not be of sufficient strength for the production of a suitable
horse-shoe nail.
It has however been ascertained that by the use of steel as the
material for the nail owing to its greater homogeneity, the bars of this

page_text: Figure 9 is, a section on the line A,B, Figure 8.
Figure 10 is a plan of a steel plate shewing position of nails as cut.
Figure 11 is an end elevation of the said steel plate.
Figure 12 shows a nail cut and finished.
Figure 13 is a perspective view of a modification of the aforesaid die
in parts.
Figure 14 is a perspective. view of a modification of the punches and
holders in parts. The same letters indicate corresponding parts through-
out the Drawing.
The frame a of the press or machine is made of cast iron and of a
size commensurate with the scale of the machinery required. It is
supported on legs and serves to hold the various parts of the
machinery in proper position; c is a pulley placed on the end of shaft d
for communicating motion to the same. The shaft d carries the
eccentric situated at e, which actuates the pitman e¹ for the purpose
of elevating or depressing the gate e, moving in guides attached to
the framework a. In the lower part of this gate are placed the punches e*
in a shoe e fitting into a slot arranged in the gate and held in place by
keys e. These punches are held in place or supported by holders f
bolted together as shewn in Figure 3 which represents a bottom view,
a side view being shewn in Figure 5..
As above stated two punches are arranged to work at the same time,
but when it is desired to use the machine with one punch e¹ only, the
parts and g¹ are formed as shewn in Figures 13 and 14 for holding
but one punch, and are secured in the press or machine in a similar
manner to that described above for two punches. 9 is a cast-iron bed
bolted to the frame a and provided with an opening through its centre
by which the nails pass after being cut. On the upper side of this block
is a dovetail recess for the reception of the dies g' held firmly in place
by a key g³. These dies are shown in place in Figures 1 and 2, and in
perspective in Figure 6. The configuration of the head of the nail in
the dies may be graduated by guides so as to produce any desired length
of head.
The foregoing description relates to the manufacture of the steel
horse-shoe nails from the rolled plate. I will now describe the rollers

page_text: by which the plates are formed; his the frame for holding these rollers
in place; it is of the ordinary description; i is the lower roll which is
divided into a convenient number of recesses or grooves k with a
configuration similar to the section of the plates to be rolled; is the
upper roll which is also divided into projections and recesses as shewn
in Figure 8. The sectional area between the rolls is of such form
that the two opposite edges are of suitable shape and thickness to form
the heads of the horse-shoe nails when the same are punched out with
the plate, gradually diminishing in thickness towards the centre. The
process of forming steel sheets or plates of various forms by passing
them through rolls is so well understood by mechanics, that any further
description of this part of the process is unnecessary.
The various parts of this Invention having now been identified I will
proceed to describe more particularly the action of the same:-The
machinery having been arranged substantially as described, and motion
given to its various parts, the steel to be used is passed through the
recesses of the rolls i and reduced to the section required by repeatedly
passing the steel sheet from one graduated recess to the other and
producing the plates or strips in any convenient lengths. Strips so
formed are now taken to the nail making machinery introduced from
the side of the machine between the cutters e* and dies g¹, and fed
forward automatically in proportion to the cutting power or velocity
of the machinery, the steel horse-shoe nails being by this one operation
delivered in a finished condition through the aperture in the block g
into a suitable receptacle.
.
The operation of cutting the nails from the long strip, and the
economy of the same are clearly shewn in Figures 10 and 11, the
heads being on alternate sides of the strip and points directed to the
centre of the strip.
In the mode of cutting iron horse-shoe nails at present in use the feed
is effected by cutting the strips into short sections and then cutting a
certain number from one side, afterwards reversing and cutting from
the opposite side, all of which requires to be done by hand and in such
a manner that the nail in its length may run with the grain or fibre of
the iron, whereas by this Invention the long steel strip is fed con-
tinuously by automatic motion, and as the material is steel without
grain the position in which the strip is presented to the die is quite
immaterial.

page_text: Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me from abroad, I wish it to be understood that I claim,—
.
First. The novel manufacture of steel horse-shoe nails substantially
as described.
Second. The apparatus with its novel combination of frame a, legs b,
shaft d, eccentric e, pitman e', gate e³, guides e³, punch or punches e*,
shoe e, keys e, holders f; bed g, dies g¹, and key g², all working together
substantially in the manner and for the
described.
purpose
5
Third. The apparatus with its novel combination of frame h, rolls i
and 1, and recesses k and I, all working together substantially in the 1
manner and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
E. O. JACKSON.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.s.)