IMPROVE- MENTS IN SADDLE TREES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Yuill, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Saddlers' Ironmonger, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SADDLE TREES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Yuill at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th March 1859.
I, JAMES YUILL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain;
Saddlers' Ironmonger, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SADDLE TREES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of what are technically known as
"saddle trees," or the supporting troughs for the chains or back bands of cart
and other harness of malleable or softened cast iron.
Each saddle tree of the improved kind is cast wholly in a solid piece as near
as can be to the ultimate bend required, and it is afterwards bent to the exact
form necessary. The trough has the usual end plate pieces for the play of the
chain or band, and in the same plane with the upper or trough side flanges
there are cast lower parallel flanges, which add strength to the tree, and serve
also for the retention of the wood or other material used for fixing the tree to
the rest of the saddle and its appurtenances. The improved tree may also
be made of ordinary malleable iron or other metal, in all cases dispensing
with the use of wood as a frame, but it is preferred to make it of a malleable.
or soft cast iron.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Yuill in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th September 1859.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
YUILL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Saddlers' Iron-
monger, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her. heirs and .successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Yuill, Her special license that I, the said James
Yuill, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said James Yuill, my executors, administrators, or 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 SADDLE TREES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said James Yuill, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal;
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 Yuill, do hereby declarö
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to tho
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to the manufacture of what are technically known
as "saddle trees," or the supporting troughs or curbs for the chains or back
bands of cart and other-harness of malleable or softened cast iron.
Each saddle tree or curb of the improved kind is cast wholly in a solid
piece, as near as can be to the ultimate bend required, and it is afterwards
bent to the exact form necessary. The trough or curb has the usual end plate
pieces for the play of the chain or band, and in the same plane with the upper
or trough side flanges there are cast, riveted, or screwed on, or otherwise fitted,'
lower parallel flanges, which add strength to the tree, and serve also for the'
retention of the wood or other material used for fixing the tree to the rest of

page_text: the saddle and its appurnances. The improved tree or curb may also bo
made of ordinary malleable iron or other metal put together with rivets or
screws, or forged all in one piece, in all cases dispensing with the use of wood'
as an outside frame for the curb, but it is preferred to make it of a malleable
or soft cast iron.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures on the explanatory Sheet of
Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing certain
modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried out in
practice, that is to say :-
Figure 1 on the accompanying Drawing is an elevation or longitudinal view
of one modification of my improved saddle trees; Figure 2 is a transverse
vertical section of the same, and Figure 3 is a plan corresponding to
Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a transverse section showing another mode'
of manufacturing these saddle trees; Figure 5 represents a transverse
vertical section of a saddle tree, in which the metal work is arranged in a
manner. different from that shown in Figures 1 to 4. According to the
modification shown in Figures 1 and 2 on the accompanying Drawings
the iron work A, which forms the trough or "curb," is made of cast iron,
which is by preference annealed to render it malleable. The casting is, in the
first instance, cast as nearly as practicable to the desired shape, but should
there be any deviation therefrom the malleability of the metal admits of its
being bent exactly to the required figure, or if ordinary cast iron is used the
fitting may be done with the file. The sides of the trough or curb are
strengthened by the raised ridges B, and screw holes are made in one of the
sides to receive the eyes C, to two of which are fitted the hooks D, to which'
the breeching of the harness is attached. The under part of the trough or
curb is filled in with wood, as shown at E, in Figure 2, on the accompanying
Drawings; the wood may be inserted in two or more pieces, which are
fastened to the trough or curb A by rivets or screws which pass through the
wood in a vertical direction. In this way short pieces of wood with the grain
running in different directions may be used for the purpose of filling in the
under sides of the troughs or curbs. An important advantage is gained in this'
mode of construction; if the several pieces of wood are selected with the grain
of each piece running in a longitudinal direction, this part of the trough or curb
is rendered stronger, and will wear a greater length of time, it is also more easily
made and in a shorter time than if in one piece according to the usual mode.
In the modification shown in Figure 4 on my illustrative Drawing the

page_text: J
trough or curb is formed of wrought iron. The central part F. is; a strip of
malleable iron, to which the broad or expanded ends G are welded at the upper
or inner part of the broad ends; the metal is cut inwards to the extent of
about five-eighths of an inch on each side, and these cut parts are turned up at
right angles to the parts G. The part F of the trough or curb is riveted to
the under side wood E, which in this case is made in o
1. one piece. The side
pieces A, which are plain pieces of malleable iron, are riveted through to the
wood E, and likewise to the upwardly turned parts of the ends G. In this
manner the upwardly turned parts serve to protect the inner surfaces of the
side pieces A, as the chain in its lateral action comes in contact only with these
projecting parts, produced by turning up the metal of the broad ends in the
manner herein-before described. The upper edges of the side pieces A are
strengthened by means of the tubular ridges B; these ridges are tubular pieces.
of wrought iron which are split longitudinally, and when bent to the form of
the trough or curb are sprung on to the edges of the side pieces. In making
the troughs or curbs according to this modification, the central part F may, if
preferred, be made in two pieces, the inner ends being made to simply abut
one against the other, and the two parts riveted to the wood E. The external
surfaces of the side pieces are made smooth so as to be easily polished and
kept bright when in use, or; if preferred, they may be japanned.
Figure 5 on the accompanying Drawings illustrates another mode of
arranging and constructing my improved wrought-iron troughs or curbs. In
this modification the trough or curb consists of two side pieces A, which are
riveted near their upper edges at B, to the bent plate of metal C, which is
also riveted to the wood D. The side pieces A have riveted to them the
plates E, which may or not be secured to the wood D; these pieces may,.
if required, be japanned or otherwise blackened so as not to require polishing,
and thus avoid the rubbing of the leather of the saddle when in use, or, if
preferred, the whole surface may be polished. The ends of the bent plates of
metal C are bent over and beaten down at the part G, in order to obtain the
increased strength and thickness required at that part of the trough or curb
as herein-before described, and an increased thickness may in this way be
obtained at the sides of the trough to meet the lateral wear of the chain.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,
.
1

page_text: First, the general arrangement and construction of "saddle trees" suitable
for the saddles of cart horses or other similar purposes, as herein-before
described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the system or mode of arranging and constructing the troughs or
curbs of saddles of malleable cast iron or ordinary cast iron, or of wrought iron,
or partly of both kinds of metal, as herein-before described and shown in the
accompanying Drawings.
Third, the system or mode of forming the wooden portion of saddle trees in
three or other number of pieces, with a view of securing increased durability,
and simplifying the construction as hercin-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of arranging and constructing the troughs or curbs
of saddle trees, in which the wooden part of the trough or curb is wholly covered
or protected from wear or moisture by means of a shell or casing of metal, in
the manner herein-before described and shown in the accompanying Drawings,
or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Yuill, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth day of September, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-nine
JAMES YUILL. (L.S.)