IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SADDLE-TREES, AND IN THE SPRING BARS OF SADDLE-TREES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Southall, the younger, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Engineer and Machinist, and Henry Southall, of
Birmingham aforesaid, Saddler, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Southall and Henry
Southall at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 27th January 1865.
We, JOHN SOUTHALL, the younger, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer and Machinist, and HENRY SOUTHALL, of Birmingham,
aforesaid, Saddler, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SADDLE-TREES, AND IN THE SPRING BARS
OF SADDLE-TREES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, firstly, in manufacturing saddle-trees of papier mâché
or other vegetable fibrous substance, combined with horsehair or other hair,
instead of making the saddle-trees of wood as is usual.
In making the saddle-trees of papier mâché combined with hair we make a
pulp of papier mâché, and add thereto a quantity of hair, and we press this
mixture into moulds of the figure of the saddle-tree to be made, the moulding
process being conducted in the manner commonly practised in making papier
mâché goods. During the moulding of the mixture we introduce into the
mould, where necessary, the plates of iron which are ordinarily fixed to the

page_text: saddle-tree for increasing its strength. The saddle-trees are afterwards
hardened and dried in the manner commonly practised in making papier mâché
goods. We have found in practice that a quantity of hair equal in weight to
about one-third the weight of the pulp answers very well, but we do not limit
ourselves to these proportions.
Our Invention consists, secondly, of the following improvement in the spring
bars which are situated on opposite sides of the saddle-tree, and to which the
straps of the stirrups are connected. Spring bars as ordinarily constructed
consist of forked plates fixed to the saddle-tree, the opening between the fork
being closed by a lever or tongue on the bottom arm of the fork, the said
tongue being raised and maintained in a vertical position by a strong spring
acting on its jointed end. The tongue being pressed down into a line with the
bottom fork of the plate, the strap of the stirrup can be introduced into the
fork, and retained therein by the spring tongue. When it is required to detach
the stirrup from the saddle, as in case of accident in riding or otherwise,
pressure on the stirrup strap causes it to force open the spring tongue and
release the strap from the forked plate. The spring tongue when depressed to
allow the stirrup strap to escape constitutes a prolongation of the lower fork
of the spring bar, and forms with the flaps of the saddle an obstacle to the
ready detachment of the stirrup strap.
The object of the second part of our Invention is to remedy this defect by
permitting the stirrup strap to be immediately detached from the spring
bar when sufficient pressure has been exerted on the strap to force open
the spring tongue. We effect this by jointing the spring tongue to and
making it work on the top fork of the spring plate instead of on the bottom
fork as is usual. The said spring tongue is constructed in the same way as
the ordinary spring tongue, but being jointed to the upper fork it moves
upwards in a vertical plane instead of downwards when it is pressed outwards.
When the spring tongue is raised from the opening in the forked plate tho
end of the bottom fork is left clear, and the stirrup strap immediately it leaves
the opening in the forked plate is detached therefrom, and the stirrup separated
from the saddle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Southall and Henry Southall in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd July 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
SOUTHALL, the younger, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer

page_text: and Machinist, and HENRY SOUTHALL, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Saddler, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eightli
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said John Southall and Henry Southall, Her special licence
that we the said John Southall and Henry Southall, our executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Southall and Henry
Southall, 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 MANUFACTURE OF
SADDLE-TREES, AND IN THE SPRING BARS OF SADDLE-TREES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said John Southall and Henry Southall, our
executors 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 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.
T
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Southall, on behalf of myself and
the said Henry Southall, 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: -
Our Invention consists, firstly, in manufacturing saddle-trees of papier mâché
or other vegetable fibrous substance combined with horsehair or other hair,
instead of making the saddle-trees of wood, as is usual.
In making the saddle-trees of papier mâché combined with hair we make a
pulp of papier mâchè, and add thereto a quantity of hair, and we press this mix-
ture into moulds of the figure of the saddle-tree to be made, the moulding process
being conducted in the manner commonly practised in making papier mâché
goods. During the moulding of the mixture we introduce into the mould where
necessary, the plates of iron which are ordinarily fixed to the saddle-tree for in-
creasing its strength. The saddle-trees are afterwards hardened and dried in the
manner commonly practised in making papier mâché goods. We have found in
practice that a quantity of hair equal in weight to about one-third the weight
of the pulp answers very well, but we do not limit ourselves to these propor-

page_text: tions, for example, in the manufacture of saddle-trees of the best quality the
weight of hair may be increased to nearly half that of the pulp employed. By
making saddle-trees of a combination of papier mâché, or other vegetable
fibre and hair, according to our Invention, the said saddle-trees possess great
strength and toughness, and are more fitted to resist breakage or splitting by
pressure or blows than when made of wood or of papier mâché only.
Our Invention consists, secondly, of the following improvement in the spring
bars which are situated on opposite sides of the saddle-tree, and to which the
straps of the stirrups are connected. Spring bars, as ordinarily constructed,
consist of forked plates fixed to the saddle-tree, the opening between the fork
being closed by a lever or tongue on the bottom arm of the fork, the said tongue
being raised and maintained in a vertical position by a strong spring acting on
its jointed end. The tongue being pressed down into a line with the bottom
fork of the plate, the strap of the stirrup can be introduced into the fork and
retained therein by the spring tongue. When it is required to detach the
stirrup from the saddle, as in case of accident, in riding or otherwise, pressure
on the stirrup strap causes it to force open the spring tongue and release the strap
from the forked plate. The spring tongue when depressed to allow the stirrup
strap to escape constitutes a prolongation of the lower fork of the spring bar,
and forms with the flaps of the saddle an obstacle to the ready detachment of
the stirrup strap.
The object of the second part of our Invention is to remedy this defect by
permitting the stirrup strap to be immediately detached from the spring bar
when sufficient pressure has been exerted on the strap to force open the spring
tongue. We effect this by jointing the spring tongue to and making it work
on the top fork of the spring plate, instead of on the bottom fork as is usual.
The said spring tongue is constructed in the same way as the ordinary spring
tongue, but being jointed to the upper fork it moves upwards in a vertical
plane instead of downwards when it is pressed outwards. When the spring
tongue is raised from the opening in the forked plate the end of the botto:n
fork is left clear, and the stirrup strap immediately it leaves the opening in
the forked plate is detached therefrom and the stirrup separated from the
saddle.
Figure 1 of the accon panying Drawing represents in side elevation a saddle-
tree to which one of our improved spring bars is connected; and Figure 2
represents in side elevation, end elevation, and plan, the said spring bar on a
larger scale. a is the forked plate of the spring bar fixed to the side of the
saddle-tree b in the usual manner. In the opening c in the said forked plate a
the stirrup strap d is paced; e is the tongue or lever of the bar turning on a

page_text: joint or centre on the top fork of the plate a. The said tongue e when
depressed into the position represented in Figure 1 closes the opening c in the
forked plate a, and retains the stirrup strap d therein when the said tongue e is
raised into a line with the upper fork of the plate a, as indicated in dotted lines
in Figure 1, the end of the opening c is left clear, and the stirrup strap d is
free to be detached from the forked plate a. The tongue e is maintained
either in its vertical or horizontal position by a spring f of the ordinary kind
acting on the jointed end of the said tongue.
By constructing the spring bars of saddle-trees in the manner described
and represented in the Drawing the spring tongues of the said bars offer no
obstruction to the ready and immediate detachment of the stirrup strap from
the said spring bars in case of accident in riding or otherwise when sufficient
pressure has been exerted to force open the said spring tongues.
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 illustrated in the
Drawing, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our
Invention.
But we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly, manufacturing saddle-trees of a combination of papier mâché
or other vegetable fibre and horsehair, or other hair, as herein-before
described.
Secondly, the improvement in the spring bars of saddle-trees herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing whereby the strap of
the stirrup is readily and immediately detached from the said spring bars on
the opening of the spring tongues thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Southall, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord One
0
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
JOHN SOUTHALL JN. (L.S.)