MAKING AND PRE- PARING BOLTS USED FOR FASTNING THE TIMBERS OF SHIPS TOGETHER, WHICH BOLTS WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE DECAY THAT HAS PROVED SO FATAL TO THOSE NOW IN USE
Year: 1783

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
COLLINS, of Birmingham, Manufacturer,.sends greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Third,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Second day of October, in the Twenty-third year of His
reign, did give and grant unto me, the said William Collins, His special
licence, that I, the said William Collins, during the term of years therein
expressed, should and might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part
of His Kingdom of Great Britain called England, His Dominion of Wales
and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "MAKING AND PRE-
PARING BOLTS USED FOR FASTNING THE TIMBERS OF SHIPS TOGETHER, WHICH
BOLTS WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE DECAY THAT HAS PROVED SO FATAL TO THOSE
NOW IN USE;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said William Collins, under my hand and seal, to cause a
particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within four calendar months after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, (as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had) will more at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Collins, do hereby declare that my said Invention for making and

page_text: preparing the said bolts used for fastning the timbers of ships together, is
performed in the following manner (viz'):-
The said bolts are made either of iron or pure copper, prepared and manu-
factured after the manner hereafter described. And first of the iron bolts;
Take the finest iron, in square or other formed barrs, and make them round,
when hot, by means of dies and punches, commonly called swages, of which
Drawings are annexed. Then draw or force them cold through smooth steel
holes of different sizes (properly graduated), by means of two cylinders, which
have groves in them, and are made rough, in order to take hold of the iron,
and, being both turned one way, drag the iron after them. This operation is
to be repeated till the iron has acquired as much hardness as possible. It is
then cut into proper lengths, and in order to prevent its decay by salt water,
the surface is covered or plated with sheet copper or metal, which is fixed to
the iron either with brass or spelter, tin or lead, alone, or such mixtures of
them as the hardness or softness of the work may require. Care must be
taken that the surfaces of the iron and metal are perfectly clean, or the plateing
will be unsound.
For the copper bolts, let the copper be purified to the greatest degree pos-
sible, and last in as large ingots or pigs as they can be worked. Then draw
them out by the common means of hammering or rolling hot till they are
reduced to a size in proportion to what you intend your bolts when finished,
which ought to be about twice the substance in small, and one and half the
substance in large bolts. Being first perfectly annealed and gradually cooled,
they are from that size to be extended or lengthened cold to the sizes wanted,
in the same manner and by the same machines as before described for hardening
iron bolts for plateing.
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS HERETO ANNEXED.
No. 1 is a swaging machine, the upper punch of which is guided by two
uprights, whose edges are received by niches in the punch, and during the
intermission of the blow with a tilt hammer or other force, is suspended by
springs, to give room to move the barr between the swage dies, which dies
are grooved according to the size of the barr intended to be swaged, and are
made more or less obtuse as it is wanted to be extended, and using the dies at
last almost straight, in order to level the work. For the convenience of
changing the forms and sizes of the swages, they are fitted to the punch and
anvil by means of square tenants. These may be used both before and after the
other machine, as the work requires.
No. 2 is a drawing machine, with the grooved cylinders, which, by turning

page_text: both one way, force the bar through steel holes, which are fixed to a very
strong iron piece placed before the cylinders. The holes must be regularly
graduated, and the end of the bar is swaged for a few inches by the former
machine till it will pass the hole, and the groove will take hold of it.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto sett my hand and seal, this
Twenty-ninth day of January, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign
of His Majesty King George the Third, and in the year of our Lord
One thousand seven hundred and eighty-four