IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DOVETAIL JOINTS PROALS USED IN METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF LIKE MANUFACTURE
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Benjamin Whitfield, of the Firm of Samuel
Whitfield and Sons, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DOVETAIL JOINTS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Benjamin Whit-
field at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,.
on the 10th December 1862.
I, SAMUEL BENJAMIN WHITFIELD, of the Firm of Samuel Whitfield and
Sons, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DOVETAIL
JOINTS USED IN METALLIC BEDSTEADS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF LIKE MANUFACTURE,"
to be as follows:-.
The dovetail joints of metallic bedsteads and other articles of like manu-
facture are usually made of common cast iron, and the taper piece of the joint
called the he-dovetail, and which fits in the hollow dovetail in the corner block
readily breaks off and destroys the joint.
My Invention consists in making the taper piece or he-dovetail of the said
dovetail joints either of ordinary wrought iron or of the annealed cast iron
called malleable iron. In making the said he-dovetails of wrought iron, I shape.
them by the stamping or forging process, and in making them of annealed

page_text: cast iron, I cast and anneal them in the ordinary way; in either case I make
a connecting piece on the said he-dovetail by which to connect it to the block
of the joint. The said connecting piece may either be of a conical figure, its
axis being parallel to that of the he-dovetail, but tapering in an opposite
direction, or it may be of an angular or other figure. The he-dovetail of
wrought or malleable iron may be connected to the cast-iron block on the end
of the rail by the said block being cast on the end of the rail and on the con-
necting piece of the he-dovetail at the same time; or the said block may have
a recess cast in it into which the connecting piece of the he-dovetail may be
placed and fixed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Benjamin Whitfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th June 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
BENJAMIN WHITFIELD, of the Firm of Samuel Whitfield and Sons, of Bir-
mingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel Benjamin Whitfield, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel
Benjamin Whitfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Samuel Benjamin Whitfield, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DOVETAIL JOINTS USED IN METALLIC
BEDSTEADS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF LIKE MANUFACTURE," upon, the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Benjamin Whitfield, 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 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Benjamin Whitfield, 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 :--
The dovetail joints of metallic bedsteads and other articles of like manu-
facture are usually made of common cast iron, and the taper piece of the joint
called the he-dovetail, and which fits in the hollow dovetail in the corner block,
readily breaks off and destroys the joint.
My Invention consists in making the taper piece or he-dovetail of the said
dovetail joints either of ordinary wrought iron or of the annealed cast iron
called malleable iron. In making the said he-dovetails of wrought iron, I
shape them by the stamping or forging process, and in making them of
annealed cast iron, I cast and anneal them in the ordinary way; in either
case I make a connecting piece on the said he-dovetail by which to connect
it to the block of, the joint. The said connecting piece may either be of a
conical figure, its axis being parallel to that of the he-dovetail but tapering in
an opposite direction, or it may be of an angular or other figure. The he-
dovetail of wrought or malleable iron may be connected to the cast iron block
on the end of the rail by the said block being cast on the end of the rail and
on the connecting piece of the he-dovetail at the same time; or the said
block may have a recess cast in it into which the connecting piece of the he-
dovetail may be placed and fixed.
.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan a dovetail joint made according to one of my
improvements, and Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same.
a is the angle iron or rail of the bedstead or other article, to the end of
which rail the cast-iron block b is connected, the said block 6 being provided
with a be-dovetail c of wrought iron. The wrought iron he-dovetail c has a
connecting piece d of a dovetail form by which the said he-dovetail is connected
to the block 6; or the connecting piece d may be of a conical figure. or of
any other figure which will cause it to be retained or fixed in the block b. In
making the dovetail joint, Figures 1 and 2, I first shape the wrought-iron
he-dovetail c and connecting piece d by stamping or by forging, and I place
them with the end of the rail of angle iron a in their proper relative positions
in the mould; I then pour melted cast iron into the said mould, and cast the
block b.upon the end of the rail a and upon the connecting piece d, and thus
connect the he-dovetail c to the said, cast-iron block b, and thereby complete

page_text: the dovetail joint; or the cast-iron block 6 only may be cast on the
end of the rail a, a dovetail or other shaped recess being left in the said block,
in which recess the connecting piece d or other shaped piece is fitted and fixed
therein in any convenient manner. Instead of making the wrought iron he-
dovetail and connecting piece solid, as in Figures 1 and 2, the said he-dovetail
and connecting piece may be made hollow and be filled with cast iron during
the casting of the block on the end of the rail.
This modification of my Invention is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, Figure 3
representing a plan of a dovetail joint made in the way last described, and
Figure 4 representing a side elevation of the same. The wrought-iron he-
dovetail is marked e, the connecting piece f, the cast-iron block 9, and the rail h
in the said Figures 3 and 4. I fashion the hollow he-dovetail e and con-
necting piece f by preference by stamping. In making the dovetail joint,
Figures 3 and 4, I place the he-dovetail e and piece f with the end of the
rail h in their proper relative positions in the mould; I then pour the melted
cast iron into the said mould, and cast the block g on the end of the rail h, and
at the same time fill up the hollow he-dovetail e and connecting piece of with
the said cast iron, and connect the said he-dovetail and piece to the said block.
A dovetail joint is thus made, the he-dovetail of which is made of wrought
iron supported and strengthened by a core of cast iron cast within it.
When I carry my Invention into effect by the use of malleable or
annealed cast iron, I cast the he-dovetail and connecting piece hollow by the
process called core casting, and I afterwards anneal them in the ordinary way.
I connect the he-dovetail of malleable cast iron to the cast-iron block on the
end of the rail during the casting of the said block in the manner described
with respect to the he-dovetail, Figures 3 and 4. Figures 5 and 6 represent
in plan and vertical section respectively a dovetail joint, the he-dovetail of
which is made of malleable or annealed cast iron according to my Invention.
The he-dovetail and connecting piece of malleable iron are marked i, k, the
cast-iron block l, and the rail m in the said Figures 5 and 6. The he-dovetail
of malleable iron may be made solid instead of hollow, but I prefer to make it
hollow as it is more economical. When I make the malleable iron he-dovetail
solid, the said he-dovetail may be connected to the cast-iron block during the
casting of the said block or after the said block has been cast, as herein-before
described with reference to the wrought-iron he-dovetail, Figures 1 and 2.
The moulds which I employ in carrying my Invention into effect differ in no
essential respect from those commonly used for like purposes, I therefore do
not think it necessary either to describe or to represent the said moulds. I am
aware that metallic bedsteads are manufactured in which the side rails are

page_text: made of cylindrical iron rods, the ends of the said rods being put down at right
angles and slightly tapered at the bent part. The said bent part enters a
conical hole in the corner block of the bedstead, and thus forms a joint some-
what resembling the ordinary dovetail joint.
My Invention consists in making ordinary cast-iron dovetail joints with
wrought-iron or malleable cast-iron dovetails, the said dovetails being connected
to the cast-iron blocks on the rails in the ways described.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details berein described, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I claim as my
Invention, the improvements in the dovetail joints used in metallic bedsteads
and other articles of like manufacture, herein-before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, making the taper pieces or he-
dovetails of the said dovetail joints of wrought iron or of malleable or annealed
cast-iron, the said taper pieces or he-dovetails being connected to the cast iron
blocks on the rails of the said bedsteads or other articles in the ways her-in-
before described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Benjamin Whitfield, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of June, in the year
of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
SAMUEL BENJAMIN WHITFIELD. (L.S.)