IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHEARING, PUNCHING, AND RIVETING METALS
Year: 1862

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Hugh Donald at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th August
1862.
I, HUGH DONALD, of the Firm of Craig and Donald, of Johnstone, in the
County of Renfrew, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHEARING, PUNCHING,
AND RIVETING METALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of machinery
adapted for shearing or cutting angle iron and other metal, as well as punching
and rivetting the same, and the improvements are based upon a machine of a
similar kind, for which Provisional Protection was granted to me and dated:
the 11th of April 1858, No. 867.
The improved modification consists of an open cast-iron sole plate forming
three sides of a rectangle, and within which is arranged the main portion of
the driving gear. This sole plate has formed at the end of one of the inwardly
extending arms a vertical bracket piece, which extends upwards from the base
of the sole plate. To this bracket piece is bolted a second sole plate of a
rectangular figure, and within which is arranged the mechanism for shearing,
punching, and rivetting. The base of the second sole plate is arranged at some
distance above that of the firstone, and at one of the angles a strong bracket
piece is formed to admit of its being bolted to the primary sole plate. This
bracket piece extends in a downward direction to the base line of the first sole
plate, and upwards to the top of its bracket piece, the area of the contiguous

page_text: parts affording a very strong and steady junction of the two portions of the
framing. At the end of the first sole plate is arranged a horizontal shaft fitted
with a fast and loose pulley and carrying at its inner end a bevel pinion which
gears with a bevel wheel on a transverse shaft. On the transverse shaft is a
pinion which gives motion to a spur wheel arranged on a second transverse
shaft parallel to the first. The spur wheel runs loosely on the shaft, but is
readily put into and out of gear with the shaft by means of a coupling, which
is actuated by a vertical hand lever. On the extremity of the spur wheel shaft
is a crank, which is in a line with the longitudinal centre of the shearing and
punching machine. The crank is connected by a rod to the lower end of the
shears or vertical pendent lever, to which the steel cutters are fixed. This
pendent lever is centred on a transverse axle carried in the upper part of the
parallel check plates which spring from the sole plate. The upper part of the
pendent lever forms a T-shaped head, to one face of which are fixed two
rectangular cutters. A right-angled recess is formed in the check plates to
admit of the angle iron being passed through on either side of the opening.
Two L-shaped cutters are bolted to the inner face of the recess in one of the
check plates; these cutters acting in conjunction with those on the pendent
lever form the shears for dividing the angle iron, which is inserted in the
opening on either side of the central lever. Below the cutters longitudinal
openings are formed in the solid metal forming the end of faces the check
plates, and in these apertures rams are fitted, which are operated by pads or
laterally projecting parts formed on the vibrating lever. The outer ends of
the rams are fitted either with punches or riveting dies, which in their outward
movement are brought up to suitable steel plates fitted in the inwardly pro-
jecting parts of the vertical end pieces of the sole plate. A metal block is
inserted between the end of each ram, and its actuating pad on the pendent-
lever; these blocks are slotted and connected. by studs to weighted bell-crank'
levers, which bring the rams back to their normal position after being operated
by the oscillator movement of the pendent lever. In this way iron or other
metal may be eut, punched, or rivetted with great ease and rapidity, the moving
parts of the machine being at all times under the control of the operator by a
simple movement of the hand lever, which throws the spur wheel out of gear
and stops the motion of the pendent lever.