IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOLTS AND NUTS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lako, of the "International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Con-
sulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOLTS AND NUTS."-A communi-
cation from abroad by Orin Clark Burdict, of Providence, Rhode
Island, United States of America.
Sealed the 16th July 1869, and dated the 28th May 1869.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 28th May 1869, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOLTS AND NUTS," and have
petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,

page_text: and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made
solemn Declaration that it has been communicated to me from abroad
by Orin Clark Burdict, of Providence, Rhode Island, United States of
America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
scal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings forming
a part of this Specification :-
These improvements may be classified as follows:-First, improve-
ments in machines for heading bolts; and, second, improvements in
machines for making nuts. The principles of the two macbines are
similar, and one may be properly regarded as a modification of the
other.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Sheet 1 relates to the bolt heading machine, of which Figure 1 is a
side view, Figure 2 a top view, Figure 3 a central longitudinal sec-
tional view; Figures 4 and 5 represent the heading dies; Figures 6
and 7 represent the blank holders.
Sheets 2 and 3 relate to the nut making machine, of which Figure 1
is a side view, Figure 2 a top view, Figure 3 a longitudinal central
sectional view; Figure 4 is a like section with the parts in a different
position for the purpose of operating the machine; Figure 5 is a sectional
view on the line x, x, Figure 2, looking toward the dies.
Referring to Sheet 1, A is the bed plate supported upon legs B or
otherwise, and on which the operative mechanism is placed; C is the
driving shaft supported so as to revolve freely in bearings D by the
application of power thereto in any convenient or well-known manner;
E and E' are the two parts of a holding die, the one E' firmly fixed to
the bed plate, the other part E fixed to a slide F, which is operated to
move to or from the part E by connection with a lever G, as seen in
Figure 2, which said lever G has its fulcrum at g, and is operated by a
cam I on the driving shaft C; I is a slide moving in guides J by the
action of an eccentric K on the shaft C through a connecting rod L, and
has fixed in its forward end an upsetting die M (see Figure 3), which
upsets the metal from which the head is formed. a, a, and b, b, are the

page_text: four heading dies fixed each to its respective slide, which slides move
freely in guides c by the action thereon of levers N, N, N, N, having
their fulcra at n, and operated by a slide P moving in guides R by the
action of cam or cams S on the driving shaft C, the forward end of tho
said slide being inclined, so that when forced between the longer arms
of the four levers N it will simultaneously close the four dics a, a, and
b, b, from the position seen in Figure 4 to that seen in Figure 5, and
when withdrawn the said levers will permit the opening of the said dies
by the employment of springs or otherwise. I prefer to form the head
of the bolt by inserting the blank into a holder T, seen in Figure 6, through
which passes a rod t of smaller diameter than the blank to be headed..
The inner end of the holder is hored out the size and depth of the bolt to
be formed, and into the hole bored out the blank, when properly heated,
is set and placed between the dies E and E', and when so set, power
being applied to the driving shaft, the cam H forces the die E upon the
holder T, and holds it securely fixed in the required position, the blank
being central between the four dies and directly in front of the upsetting
die, as seen in Figure 3. The continued movement of the driving shaft
forces the upsetting die against the end of the blank, upsetting the
blank sufficiently to form the head; then the four dies a, a, and b, b, are
forced down upon the upset portion of the blank and compress it into
a regular four-sided form. For the perfect finishing of the head it is
better to permit two full revolutions and consequent operations upon
the head, between which operations it would be advisable to turn the
holder one-quarter over, but yet it is not necessary. When the holder
is not used the holding. dies E and E' will clasp the blank in like
manner as it does the holder, and the head in that case be formed
directly against the dies E and E', in like manner as when the holder is
used. The upsetting die M, it will be seen in Figure 3, is formed with
a recess in its face of the size and form of the head, which tends to form
and preserve the angles of the head. When the bolt has been headed in
the holder, as seen in Figure 6, the holder is removed from the machine,
when by a blow upon the end of the rod t the bolt will be forced from
the holder, as seen in Figure 7, then another heated blank cau be
inserted to be similarly operated on.
The advantages of the die holder are, first, there being no joint,.
as when two-part dies are used the under side of the head is formed per-
fectly smooth. Another advantage is, that by the use of a holder the

page_text: exterior of the holder still remaining the same; whereas when the blank
is held directly by the dies E different dies must be inserted for different
sized bolts.
Referring to Sheets 2 and 3, A is the bed of the machine supported
upon legs B or otherwise, and upon which is placed the operative
mechanism of the said machine. The driving shaft C is supported so as
to revolve freely in bearings D, and is driven by power applied thereto
in any convenient or well-known manner. E is a slide carrying a
punch F of the size required for the nut to be produced), and moving
freely in slides G by the action of an eccentric H on the driving shaft,
connected to the said slide by a rod I or otherwise, so that as the driving
shaft revolves the slide with its punch is moved from the position in
Figure 3 to that in Figure 4 and returned. L, L, L, L, are levers corre-
sponding to the number of sides to the nut hung in a head M upon
pivots a, so that the shorter arm of the levers operates upon slides d,
each of the said slides carrying one side e or f of the dic, and operating
so that as the levers L are moved in the manner hereafter described
from the position in Figure 3 to that in Figure 4 the sides of the die e
and are closed together, as seen in Figures 4 and 5, together forming
the die in which the nut is formed. i is the crowner or bottom of the
die, its end being concave so as to give to the upper face of the nut the
proper convex or crowned form. The said crowner i is attached to or
inade a part of a mandrel N (see Figures 3 and 4), which moves freely
back and forth in the head M, its rear end supported in the tail block P.
The said mandrel N is operated by a lever R pivotted and forked, as seen
in Figures 2 and 3, so that one leg of the fork lies upon either side of
the mandrel N, and upon the said fork projections are formed to set into
an annular groove h on the said mandrel, as denoted by broken lines,
Figure 3. The said lever R is actuated by the cam S through a lever T
hung at (see Figures 3 and 4) connected to the lever R by a rod U
attached at u, so that when the said cam S is in the position, seen in
Figure 3, the mandrel with its crowner is forced forward; but when the
cam has been revolved to the position in Figure 4, the reaction of a
spring V attached to the lever T, as seen in Figures 3 and 4, or an
equivalent therefor, forces the mandrel and crowner back to the position
seen in Figure 4, which is to the full depth required for the nut. The

page_text: mandrel is formed with an enlargement or inclined surface r, and the
longer arm of the levers is brought down to bear upon the mandrel, as
seen in Figures 3 and 4, so that when standing in the position seen in
Figure 3 the said longer arm rests upon the smaller portion of the
mandrel; but when the mandrel is forced back, as before described, the
longer arm of the levers is forced up by the enlargement of the mandrel
depressing the sides e and f closely together.
The object of this arrangement will be more fully understood by tho
operation of the machine, which is as follows:-When the parts are
in the position shewn in Figure 3 I place the heated bar of metal
between the crowner i and the punch F; the driving shaft is then
revolved from the position in Figure 3 to that shewn in Figure 4, the
punch F advances, holding the metal firmly against the crowner and
forces the crowner with the metal into the die, cutting off the piece
required for the nut by being forced against one of the sides f, and
when within the die by the continued movement of the punch the
blank and the mandrel the levers L operated by the enlargement of the
mandrel force the sides of the die together, as seen in Figure 4, and press
the several sides perfectly smooth. Through the mandrel and crowner
passes a punch n, Figure 5, held in the tail piece P and adjusted by a
set screw m, so that as the mandrel, the blank, and the punch F advance
into the dic, the punch forces the central portion of the nut into the
punch F, which is made hollow to receive it. The punch and tho
corresponding hole in the punch F are of the size required for the
piercing of the nut, the piercings passing through the punch F and
cach succeeding piercing pressing the previous piercings forward until
they fall out at the rear, or they may be otherwise removed from the
punch F. The said punch is central in the crowner, and the sides of
the die being properly adjusted a positive central perforation of the nut
is ensured. On the return of the shaft from the position in Figure 4
to that in Figure 3 the mandrel N advances, releasing the sides of the
die, so that the nut is freely moved therefrom, and the punch n being
fixed the mandrel or crowner carrics the nut freely and entirely from
the die, when another nut may be formed as before.
One great advantage of this arrangement over a fixed dic (that is,
over a die formed of the exact size of the nut or blank required). is
that in such fixed dies the nut is moved within the dic after it is formed,
and this movement gives to the edges of the nut a scratched and

page_text: unfinished appearance, and in order to make the edges sufficiently
smooth it is necessary that they should be hammered after they come
from the machine, whereas in my machine the sides of the die arc
pressed on to the blank to smooth the edges and then released, so that
the nut passes freely out having the appearance of hammered edges.
Another advantage is that the four sides e and fare more easily repaired
and adjusted whenever their edges or faces are worn than solid dies.
As it is impossible to always be sure of the same quantity of metal
in each blank formed a great difficulty arises in the manufacture of
such blanks, for if too little metal then the nut will not be fully formed,
and if too much the machine is proportionately strained. To overcome
this difficulty I form an arm R' upon the lever R, as seen in Figure 4,
and upon that arm suspend a weight W, which weight rests upon the
floor or at some fixed point beneath the machine, so that when the
crowner is forced back the weight will be taken up by the lever R, as
seen in Figure 4. Therefore the pressure upon the nut will be governed
by the weight W. Whether too little or too much metal is forced into
the die a perfect nut or blank will be formed; and if perchance, as is
sometimes donc, the finished blank clings to the crowner, so as to be
returned into the die with the second blank, then the weight W will be
raised still more, and in such case prevent the breakage of the machine.
The advantages of this self-adjustment are too apparent to those
acquainted with the use of such machines to require specification here.
I have shown and described the levers L as operated from the
mandrel. This is very simple and I believe practically the best manner
of operation; yet if preferred they may be arranged to be operated
directly from a separate cam upon the driving shaft, as will be readily
seen by those familiar with this class of machines.
I have also shewn and described the levers as independent of the
sides of the die and cach side fixed to a movable slide, and this con-
struction I prefer; yet the side of the die may be fixed directly to or
form a part of the lever, which arrangement would dispense with the
use of the slides.
As has been before remarked the width of the bar of metal from
which nuts are formed is variable, often being too wide for the dies,
which occasions some difficulty in the manufacture of nuts. To over-
come this difficulty I reduce the iron before it is presented to the die
to the proper width by means of swaging dies 2 (see Figures 1 and 5).

page_text: The said dies being placed upon the slides d and operated by the same
levers L press the iron to the proper width before it is presented to the
forming dies, and it is done at the same time that the nut is pressed,
that is to say, that part of the bar which is to form the second nut is
being swaged while the first nut is being pressed.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and shewn how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I claim, in a
machine for leading bolts the combination of the dies a, a, and b, b,
(Sheet I.) acting simultaneously and moved in guides radially to a
common centre by means of the levers N and cams P in combination
with holding dies E and E' and upsetting die M, all constructed and
arranged to operate, substantially in the manner as herein set forth.
And I further claim in a machine for making nuts (Sheets II. and III.)
the levers L arranged so as to operate the several sides of the die
in combination with the crowner i and the punch F all arranged to
operate substantially in the manner described.
The combination of the weight W with the crowner i arranged so
as to make the said crowner self-adjusting, substantially in the manner
described.
The auxiliary swaging dies 2 when arranged to operate with the two
parts of the die e, e, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have liere-
unto set my hand and scal, the Twenty-eighth day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
WILLIAM RODENT LAKE. (L.S.)