IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NAILS COMMONLY CALLED SCREW RIVETS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER NAILS AND SPIKES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Cornforth, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, and Alfred Andrews, of Birmingham aforesaid,
Shoemaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NAILS COMMONLY
CALLED SCREW RIVETS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER
NAILS AND SPIKES."
Sealed the 2nd October 1863, and dated the 12th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Cornforth and
Alfred Andrews at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 12th August 1863.
We, JOHN CORNFORTH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, and ALFRED ANDREWS, of Birmingham aforesaid, Shoemaker, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
NAILS COMMONLY CALLED SCREW RIVETS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE
TO OTHER NAILS AND SPIKES," to be as follows:-
Our improvements in screw rivets and other nails and spikes consist, firstly,
in making the points of the said screw rivets, nails, and spikes oblique to the
axes of the bodies or shanks of the screw rivets, nails, or spikes, so that when
the screw rivets, nails, or spikes are driven into wood, leather, or other sub-
stance, the points will, in coming into contact with a hard body (as, for
example, the iron last on which shoes are made), turn and clinch themselves,
or re-enter the leather, or wood, or other substance in a direction contrary to
that in which the head is being driven. In making screw rivets, nails, and

page_text: spikes, according to our Invention, we prefer to form the points by a plane
making a small angle with the axis of the body or shank, and cutting off the
body or shank of the screw rivet, nail, or spike obliquely, the said plane
forming, with a portion of the cylindrical body, a nearly wedge-shaped point,
which is inclined to the axis of the screw rivet, nail, or spike; we do not
however, confine ourselves to any particular figure in the point, as the figure
is not important so long as the axis of the point is inclined to the axis of
the body.
Our Invention consists, secondly, in making on the body or shank and point
of the before-described screw rivets, nails, or spikes a series of cuts or depres-
sions in planes at right angles to the axis of the shank, tho said cuts or
lepressions being made on the side of the screw rivet, nail, or spike in which
the oblique point terminates. The said cuts or depressions weaken that side
of the screw rivet, nail, or spike, which becomes concave in the process of
clinching, and thereby facilitate the bending of the point and shank in the
direction required to clinch the screw rivet, nail, or spike.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Cornforth and Alfred Andrews in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 8th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, Jonn
CORNFORTH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, and
ALFRED ANDREWS, of Birmingham aforesaid, Shoemaker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said John Cornforth and Alfred Andrews, Her special licence that we,
the said John Cornforth and Alfred Andrews, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Cornforth and Alfred Andrews,
our 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 NAILS COMMONLY CALLED SCREW
RIVETS, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER NAILS AND SPIKES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Cornforth and

page_text: Alfred Andrews, our exccutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 John Cornforth, on behalf of myself
and the said Alfred Andrews, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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:-
Our improvements in screw rivets and other nails and spikes consist, firstly,
in making the points of the said screw rivets, nails, and spikes oblique to the
axes of the bodies or shanks of the screw rivets, nails, or spikes, so that when
the screw rivets, nails, or spikes are driven into wood, leather, or other sub-
stance, the points will, in coming into contact with a hard body (as, for example,
the iron last on which shoes are made) turn or clinch themselves, or re-enter
the leather, or wood, or other substance in a direction contrary to that in
which the head is being driven. In making screw rivets, nails, and spikes,
according to our Invention, we prefer to form the points by a plane making a
Sinall angle with the axis of the body or shank, and cutting off the body or
shank of the screw rivet, nail, or spike obliquely, the said plane forming,
with a portion of the cylindrical body, a nearly wedge-shaped point, which is
inclined to the axis of the screw rivet, nail, or spike. We do not, however,
confine ourselves to any particular figure in the point, as the figure is not
important, so long as the axis of the point is inclined to the axis of the body.
Our Invention consists, secondly, in making on the body or shank and point
of the before-described screw rivets, nails, or spikes a series of cuts or depres-
sions in planes at right angles to the axis of the shank, the said cuts or
depressions being made on the side of the screw rivet, nail, or spike in which
the oblique point terminates. The said cuts or depressions weaken that side
of the screw rivet, nail, or spike, which becomes concave in the process of
clinching, and thereby facilitate the bending of the point and shank in the
direction required to clinch the screw rivet, nail, or spike.
Having explained the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in which the same
s to be performed.
Figure 1 represents a clinching screw rivet, made according to our Inven-
ion, and Figures 2, 3, and 3^ represent clinching nails or spikes mado

page_text: according to our Invention; Figures 4, 5, and 6 illustrate the manner in
which the screw rivets, nails, or spikes clinch themselves in the wood, leather,
or other material when they are driven therein in the way herein-after
described. The body or shank of the screw rivets, nails, and spikes is
marked a, and the oblique point is marked b in the several Figures of the
Drawing. The said point b is formed by a plane making a small angle with
the axis of the body or shank a, and cutting off the said body or shank
obliquely, the oblique plane forming with the opposite cylindrical portion of
the body a a nearly wedge-shaped point, as represented in the Drawing. We
do not limit ourselves to the figure of the point represented in the Drawing,
as the figure is not important, so long as the axis of the point is inclined to
the body, but we have found that the figure of the point represented answers
satisfactorily. The oblique points of the screw rivets or nails may be formed
in the same way as the points of screw rivets or nails of the ordinary kind,
excepting that the pointing tools have the required figure to produce an
oblique point instead of an ordinary point. Or the oblique points of the nails
and spikes may be formed by cutting, grinding, filing, forging or otherwise.
Or where the nails or spikes are cast they may be formed by the casting
process.
b
In fastening together the pieces of leather, Figure 4, or the pieces of wood,
or other material, Figures 5 and 6, by means of the oblique-pointed screw
rivets or nails, or spikes a, b, a plate of iron or other hard substance is placed
against the surface of the bottom piece of leather, wood, or other material.
When the screw rivets, nails, or spikes have been driven through the two
pieces of leather, wood, or other material, the points will, on coming in
contact with the iron plate or other hard substance, turn and clinch themselves,
or re-enter the leather, wood, or other material nearly in a direction contrary
to that in which the heads are being driven. The manner in which the points
of the screw rivets, nails, or spikes turn and re-enter the material into which
they are driven will be readily understood by an examination of Figures 4, 5,
and 6.
In order to facilitate the bending of the point and shank of the oblique-
pointed screw rivet or nail or spike when it is driven into the leather, wood,
or other material, we make a series of cuts or depressions on the body or shank
of the screw rivet, nail, or spike in planes at right angles to the axis of the
shank, as represented in the nail or spike, Figure 7. The said cuts or depres-
sions are marked c, and are made on that side of the body or shank in which
the oblique point terminates, as represented. By this means the side of the
screw rivet, pail, or spike, which becomes concave during clinching is weakened,

page_text: and the bending of the point and shank in the direction required to clinch the
screw rivet, nail, or spike is thereby facilitated.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and represented, as
the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our Invention;
but we claim as our Invention,―
Firstly, the improvement in the nails commonly called screw rivets, and in
other nails and spikes, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2,
3, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, making the
points of the said screw rivets, nails, and spikes oblique to the axes of the bodies
or shanks, so as to cause the screw rivets, nails, and spikes to clinch themselves
when they are driven through wood, leather, or other substance against a hard
body.
Secondly, the improvement in the nails commonly called screw rivets, and
in other nails and spikes, herein-before described and illustrated in Figure 7 of
the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, making a series of cuts or depres-
sions across the bodies or shanks of oblique-pointed screw rivets, nails, and
spikes, the said cuts or depressions being on that side of the said bodies or
shanks in which the oblique point terminates.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Cornforth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERBETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOHN CORNFORTH. (LS.)