AN IM- PROVED SELF-ADJUSTING PIPE WRENCH
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gurdon Wadsworth Pitcher, of No. 11, Cullum
Street, in the City of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "AN IM-
PROVED SELF-ADJUSTING PIPE WRENCH."-A communication from abroad by
VTTited Stator of Amorice
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gurdon Wadsworth
Pitcher at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 13th July 1864.
I, GURDON WADSWORTH PITCHER, of No. 11, Cullum Street, in the City of
London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED SELF-ADJUSTING PIPE WRENCH," a communication, to be as
follows:-
The nature of said Invention consists in constructing a wrench in such a
manner that it will accommodate itself to several sizes of pipe, without being
adjusted, while the instrument is inexpensive, durable, and of a most convenient
form..
The body of this improved wrench is curved at the end opposite the handle
to form one jaw for holding the pipe. In place of a second jaw, a toothed
eccentric is employed, which works in a slot cut in the body of the wrench op
an axis permanently fixed in ears or projections constituting a part of said
body. This eccentric has teeth upon a portion of its circumference, and for

page_text: convenience is provided with stops to prevent it coming in immediate contact
with the jaw, and a ring or handle for drawing it back from said jaw to admit
the pipe.
The upper or serrated part of the eccentric is drawn towards the jaw by
means of a chain fixed to the lower part; said chain being attached to a rod
which passes through the body of the wrench and into the handle thereof, the
latter being constructed hollow and open--at- the-end-next-the body. A spiral
spring is wound around this rod; the latter being provided with a shoulder,
against which one end of the spring presses, the other end pressing against a
shoulder formed in the body of the wrench. The handle may be easily
detached from the body, the former being simply screwed into the latter.
The object of the employment of the spring and chain is to keep the eccentric
pressed against the pipe, and the jaw and eccentric are so formed and arranged
that it is impossible for the wrench to slip on the pipe whatever pressure may
be applied to the handle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Gurdon Wadsworth Pitcher in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 31st December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GURDON
WADSWORTH PITCHER, of No.: 11; Cullum Street, in the City of London,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight.hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Gurdon Wadsworth Pitcher, Her special licence that I, the Gurdon Wadsworth
Pitcher, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Gurdon Wadsworth Pitcher, my 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 "AN
IMPROVED SELF-ADJUSTING PIPE WRENCH," a communication, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Gurdon Wadsworth Pitcher, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of

page_text: 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 Gurdon Wadsworth Pitcher, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings making a part of this Specification.
The nature of said Invention consists in constructing a wrench in such a
manner that it will accommodate itself to several sizes of pipe without being
adjusted, while the instrument is inexpensive, durable, and of a most.con-

page_text: said handle being hollow for this purpose, as well as for the purpose of com-
bining strength with lightness in its construction. The handle B is open at
the end adjacent to the body A, and closed at the opposite end. A spiral
spring G is wound around the rod F, one end of which spring is fastened to
said rod by means of a pin f, or may act against a boss formed on the end at
the same point, and the opposite end acts against the shoulders g formed on
the interior of the body A, as shown in Figure 2. The handle B is screwed
into the body A, so that it may be easily detached and replaced when required.
The excentric C forming one jaw having been withdrawn from the curved
portion of the body A, forming the other jaw, sufficiently to admit the pipe or
other article, the spring G acting upon the rod F to which the chain E is
attached, draws back the lower part of the excentric C, and forces the upper
or serrated portion towards the curved end of the body A, thereby holding the
pipe or other article securely between the jaws. The jaw or excentric C is so
arranged with reference to the curved part of the body A, and operated that
the pipe placed between the two jaws is immovably held by the wrench,
however much pressure may be applied to the handle B.
.
It will be found convenient in practice to construct the wrenches of different
sizes and strength for different classes of work, each being adapted to pipes of
any size within such limits as may be found most desirable.
Having thus fully described the nature of my improvements, and shown how
the same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I wish
it understood that I do not confine myself to the exact form illustrated or to
the details as described, for these may be considerably varied without departing
from the spirit of my Invention; but I claim in combination with the body A
the hollow handle B, the excentric C, the spring G, the chain E, and the
rod F, constructed and arranged substantially in the manner and for the
purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Gurdon Wadsworth Pitcher, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
: GEORGE HASELTINE.
G. W. PITCHER. (LS.)