Improvements in Tools for Inserting Screwed Trenails into Railway Sleepers.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Mar., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Dec., 1897-Accepted, 12th Feb., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Tools for Inserting Screwed Trenails into Railway
Sleepers.
I, ALBERT COLLET, of 2, Rue de Berne, Paris, in the Republic of France,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in tools of the kind referred to in the
Specification of a Patent granted to me bearing date the 23rd day of November 1895
No. 22410, for inserting screwed hard-wood or composition trenails into railway.
sleepers, and the tools to which the improvements are applied are:--firstly, the
tool or auger for enlarging the holes into which the trenails are to be inserted,
secondly, the tool or tap for tapping or cutting the screw-threads in the holes thus
enlarged, thirdly, the tool for screwing the trenails into the sleepers, and fourthly,
the tool or cutter for cutting off the heads of the trenails after the latter are
inserted into the sleepers.
The improved auger comprises three principal parts, namely, a screw of small
diameter having a triangular thread, placed at the lower part of the tool, a cutter
situated immediately above the said screw, and the body of the auger formed of a
part twisted into the shape of a helix and of a stem on which the operating lever
is placed.
The helical part of the auger has at its lower end a screwed stem on to which is
first threaded the aforesaid cutter, which is preferably in the form of a spherical
cap suitably notched and of a diameter equal to that of the helical part. This
cutter fits on to the lower end of the threads of the said helical part, and has two
cutting edges. Below the cutter the aforesaid screw is fixed on the screwed stem
by a corresponding internal screw-thread, and is held in place by a nut.
cutter is easily removed and replaced, and is preferably made of fine tool steel,
whilst the general body of the auger may be made of ordinary iron or steel.
The
The improved tap is also made with a movable cutter. The body of the tap may
be of cast steel, and the cutter, which is of comparatively small size and weight,
is preferably made of fine tool steel. This cutter is fitted by a dovetail into the
body of the tap and its projecting cutting edge is placed exactly in the prolonga-
tion of the V-shaped screw thread of the tap. Opposite the cutter is a hole in the
tap which opens into a central hollow in the latter and serves for the escape of the
chips made by the cutter. The tap being hollow throughout its length these chips
can be readily forced out from the upper end. The cutter is fixed in place by one
or more screws, and if necessary by means of a ring placed at the end of the tap
and fixed thereto and to the cutter by means of a screw.
The screwing-in tool is designed to grasp firmly the head of the trenail to enable ¨
the latter to be screwed into the sleeper, and is formed of a brake strap wound on
itself and furnished with teeth or vertical furrows on the internal face of the first
convolution. This strap has in it openings or slots, those through the internal
Into these
convolution being much longer than those through the outer one.
openings or slots take the ends or arms of a lever or crosspiece furnished at the
Ex

page_text: middle of its upper face with a boss of square or other suitable section on which
fits the operating key; and at the middle of its lower face with a vertical stem
which enters the hole in the trenail and serves to centre the screwing-in tool on
the head of the latter.
By communicating to the key, and consequently to the aforesaid lever or cross-
piece, a rotatory motion in one direction the toothed or furrowed strap first grasps
firmly the head of the trenail, then carries the trenail round with it and forces the
trenail to screw itself into the sleeper. By turning the key and lever or cross-
piece in the reverse direction the strap is expanded and ceases to grasp the head
of the trenail, and the screwing-in tool is then free to turn loosely on the trenail.
The tool or cutter for cutting off the heads of the trenails level with the sleeper
consists of a sort of circular plane formed of a cast block of metal with a circular
flange projecting downwards from the lower face and fitting over the head of the
trenail. The block of metal has on its upper face a square or other suitably shaped
boss on which fits the operating key, and on its lower face it has a dovetailed
groove adapted to receive a piece of fine tool steel formed into cutters at its two
ends. The cutters thus formed are in one piece with a guide stem adapted to enter
the central hole in the trenail, and they are fixed when in use to the aforesaid
block of metal by means of a screw the end of which passes through the said block
and takes into a corresponding hole in the cutter piece.
The said piece forming the cutters is made movable to enable the cutting edges
to be readily sharpened whenever necessary.
Dated this 23rd day of March 1897
Improvements in Tools for Inserting Screwed Trenails into Railway
Sleepers.
I, ALBERT COLLET, of 2, Rue de Berne, Paris, in the Republic of France,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
In order to effect the perfect and permanent fixture of rails and chairs, to the
wooden sleepers of railways by means of such fastenings as screws, cramps, spikes
and the like, recourse is had with great advantage to screwed trenails of hard wood,
or of composition, which are screwed into the sleepers at appropriate places, and
receive the screws, cramps, or spikes in axial holes made in them.
The present invention relates to improvements in tools of the kind referred to in
the Specification of a Patent granted to me bearing date the 23rd day of November
1895 No. 22,410, for inserting screwed trenails of the kind above-mentioned into
sleepers which are already in use, or into new ones.
These tools are:-firstly, the tool or auger for enlarging the holes into which the
trenails are to be inserted, secondly, the tool or tap for tapping or cutting the screw-
threads in the holes thus enlarged, thirdly, the tool for screwing the trenails into
the sleepers, and fourthly, the tool or cutter for cutting off or levelling the heads
of the trenails after the latter have been inserted into the sleepers.
In the accompanying sheet of Drawings, Figures 1 to 3 relate to the improved
auger for enlarging the holes in the sleepers into which the trenails are to be
inserted, Figure 1 being an elevation of the complete tool, Figure 2 a view of the

page_text: lower end of the auger with its cutter removed, and Figure 3 an elevation and a
plan of the removable cutter.
Figures 4 to 6 relate to the tap for cutting the screw-thread in the holes in the
sleeper, Figure 4 showing the complete tap in elevation and under side view,
Figure 5 a sectional elevation, and Figure 6 un elevation and plan of the remov-
able cutter.
Figure 7 shows in elevation the tool for screwing the trenails into the sleepers,
and Figure 8 a horizontal section of the same with a detail view of the lever con-
nected therewith.
Figures 9 to 12 show the cutting-off tool for cutting-off or levelling the heads of
the trenails after the latter have been inserted into the sleepers, Figure 9 being an
elevation of the complete tool, Figure 10 a sectional elevation, Figure 11 an under
side view, being a projection of Figure 10, and Figure 12 an elevation and plan of
the removable piece forming the cutters of such tool.
A sleeper already in use, but not trenailed, has, as is well known, holes bored in
it where the fastening screws occur. In order to place trenails in these holes the
latter must be enlarged, this I effect with the improved auger shown in Figures 1
to 3. This auger comprises three principal parts, namely, a screw a of small
diameter having a triangular or V-shaped thread, placed at the lower part of the
tool, a cutter b situated immediately above the said screw a, and the body of the
auger formed of a part c, twisted into the shape of a helix and of a stem d on which
the operating lever is placed.
The helical part c of the auger has at its lower end a screwed stem c¹ on to which
is threaded the aforesaid cutter b which is preferably in the form of a spherical cap
suitably notched and of a diameter equal to that of the helical part. This cutter
fits over the lower end of the threads of the said helical part, and has two cutting
edges b. Below the cutter b the aforesaid screw a is fixed on the screwed
stem by a corresponding internal screw-thread. The diameter of the body part
of the screw a is equal to that of the hole already made in the sleeper for the fasten-
ing screw, so that the screw a squeezes into the sides of the hole and serves to guide
the lower part of the tool.
With this arrangement the tool properly so called, that is to say, the cutter b,
is easily removed and replaced; and is preferably made of fine tool steel, whilst the
general body of the auger may be made of ordinary iron or steel, which reduces
considerably the first cost of the tool.
When the hole in the sleeper is thus enlarged to the required diameter, the
tapping of the screw-thread in it is effected by means of the improved tap with a
removable cutter shown in Figures 4 to 6. The body of the tap may be of cast
steel, the cost of which is comparatively low, and the cutter h alone formed of a
piece of fine steel of little weight (Figure 6). The drawing shows a tap with a
triangular or V-shaped thread g. The steel piece h is fitted by a dovetail into the
body of the tap and its angular projecting cutting part is placed exactly in the
prolongation of the triangular or V-shaped thread of the tap. Opposite the cut-
ter his formed in the body of the tap an oblique hole j, which is continued to
the lower part of the tap as shown clearly in Figure 5 and serves for the escape of
the chips made by the cutter. The cutter h is fixed in place by a screw / tapped
into the body of the tapping tool.
The hole in the sleeper having been tapped a threaded hardwood or composition
trenail is screwed into it. The trenail is put in place by means of the screwing-in
tool shown in Figures 7 and 8 of the Drawings. This tool is designed to grasp
firmly the head of the trenail to enable the latter to be screwed into the sleeper,
and is formed of a brake strap m wound on itself and furnished with teeth or ver-
tical furrows m¹ on the internal face of its first convolution. This strap has in it
openings or slots n, n, n', n¹, those through the internal convolution being much
longer than those through the outer one. Into these openings or slots take the
ends or arms of a lever or cross-piece p furnished at the middle of its upper face
with a boss of square or other suitable section on which fits the operating key,

page_text: and at the middle of its lower face with a vertical stem q which enters the hole in
the trenail and serves to centre the screwing-in tool on the head of the latter.
By communicating to the key, and consequently to the aforesaid lever or cross-
piece pa rotatory motion in one direction the toothed or furrowed strap m first
grasps firmly the head of the trenail, then carries the trenail round with it
and forces the latter to screw itself into the sleeper. By turning the key and lever
or cross-piece in the reverse direction the strap is expanded and ceases to grasp
the head of the trenail, and 'the screwing-in tool is then free to turn loosely on the
trenail.
When the trenail has been screwed into the sleeper it only remains to cut off
the head level with the latter. For this purpose a sort of circular plane is used,
formed of a cast block of metal r on the circumference of which is fixed by means
of screws a circular flanges which projects downwards two or three millimetres
below the lower face of the block r, so as to form a circular flange which bears on
the sleeper during the action of the cutters and prevents the cutters from cutting
the trenail below the upper surface of the sleeper. The block r is furnished on its
upper face with a square boss 1 on which the operating key is fitted and on its
lower face it has a dovetailed groove y into which is fitted a piece v of fine steel
having horizontal cutting edges near its two ends. These horizontal cutting
edges 1-2 and 3-4 stand slightly beyond the lower face of the block and nearly
level with the lower edge of the flange s.
The piece of steel v which forms the double cutter is fixed to the block r by a
screw which has a large conical head t¹ which takes when the tool is in operation,
into the central hole of the trenail and constitutes a guide stem.
The piece is removable, and in order to separate it from the block r it is only
necessary to remove the screw t and to slide the said piece out of its dovetailed
seat. When the piece v is thus removed its cutting edges 1-2 and 3-4 can be
sharpened as often as may be necessary, or a new cutter inserted in place of a
broken or worn out one. Opposite the cutting edges 1-2 and 3-4 the piece v and
the block are cut out obliquely to allow of the escape of the chips. The block r
may be of cast iron or cast steel, and the piece alone which forms the cutters is
of fine tool steel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
First. An auger for enlarging holes in railway sleepers for the purpose of insert-
ing trenails thereinto, such auger being made in three distinct pieces; namely, a
lower screw with a triangular or V-shaped screw-thread intended to act as a guide,
a removable steel cutter, and a body composed of a part twisted into a helix to
allow the chips to escape, and to guide the tool, and of a stem for actuating the
tool, combined and operating, substantially as described with reference to Figures 1
to 3 of the Drawings.
Second. A tapping tool for tapping holes in railway sleepers for the purpose of
inserting screwed trenails thereinto, such tapping tool having a triangular, tra-
pezoidal, or other screw-thread formed on the body thereof, such body being made
of cast steel, and having a cutter connected therewith made of fine tool steel, the
cutting edge of such cutter being placed opposite an opening which extends to
the lower part of the body of the tap, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 4 to 6 of the Drawings.
Third. A screwing-in tool for screwing trenails into railway sleepers, which con-
sists of a brake strap wound twice on itself and furnished with teeth or furrows on
the internal face of its inner convolution, and with horizontal openings or slots in
which the ends of the operating lever or cross-piece engage, substantially as des-
cribed with reference to Figures 7 and 8 of the Drawings.
Fourth. A cutting-off tool for cutting-off or levelling the heads of trenails after
they have been screwed into railway sleepers, which consists of a circular block

page_text: of cast metal having a square head on its upper side, and a steel double cutter
fitted into its lower face such double cutter having horizontal cutting edges placed
opposite clearance holes or notches made in the cast metal block or body, substan-
tially as described with reference to Figures 9 to 12 of the Drawings."
Fifth. The improved tools for inserting screwed hard-wood or composition tre-
nails into railway sleepers, constructed and operating, substantially as described.
100%
PALAS
way
A. COLLET.
Per. W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, E.C., Agent.