IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BARS FOR SECURING AND CARRYING GLASS IN WINDOW PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION S, AND FOR ROOFING AND OTHER GLAZING PURPOSES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Duke Mackenzie, of Glasgow, in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF BARS FOR SECURING AND CARRYING GLASS IN WINDOW
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Duke Mackenzie at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th July 1880.
JOSEPH DUKE MACKENZIE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BARS FOR SECURING AND CARRYING
GLASS IN WINDOW SASHES AND FRAME LIGHTS, AND FOR ROOFING AND OTHER
GLAZING PURPOSES."
The said Invention has reference to improvements in the construction of what is
known as
"sash iron" or bars, heretofore made in a plain L or inverted T (1) or I
shape in cross section, or with an astragal moulding on the inner or lower edge,
and rolled out of malleable or wrought iron, or steel, or other metal, in long bar
lengths ready for being used as the bearing bars or frames in which the sheets of
glass are carried and glazed for the making of windows, glass roofs, or the lighting
parts of railway stations, sheds, conservatories, photographic galleries, and other
such like structures in which glass has to be secured for the admission of light, and
which improvements will make such bars more efficient, useful, and easily glazed
than they have been as heretofore constructed.
And the nature and novelty of the Invention consists mainly or essentially in
the application and use of a strip of lead, copper, or other soft or ductile sheet
metal to these bars under the edge of the glass (when that is inserted over the
lateral feather of the bar) and up the side of the central feather or web quite above
the glass, so as to be folded down, along, and over the edges of the sheets of glass,
and so glaze and hold them firmly to these improved composite bars.
A further improvement consists in forming and rolling the lateral side feathers
with a hollow curved groove or gutter on the upper surface of the bars under the
edge of the glass sheets, which rest on the outer rounded edge thereof, and of the
said new or improved strip of lead or other soft sheet metal, which is rolled close
into the groove to form a gutter to receive and conduct any water which may pass
Posice d

page_text: over the edges of the glass down to a gutter at the lower part of the bars or roofing
And further, in forming a thin groove along the outer edge of the lateral feather, or
in the lower inner part of the gutter groove under the glass for inserting and
securing the outer edge of the glazing strip of lead or other soft sheet metal before
or while rolling it close into the shape of the bar. Instead of this mode of securing
the strip of soft sheet metal, a bulbed edge may be rolled along the edge of the
lateral feathers of the bar, round which the outer edge of the soft sheet metal
would be so firmly rolled as to be perfectly secure; or otherwise, a single strip of
the soft sheet metal may be brought round below the under face of the bar, and
quite up over the two lateral bearing webs and gutters, and rolled so close and
firm as to require no other fixing as the outer edges do when a strip is used on
cach side. And further, when desired, the vertical feather of the bar might be
rolled with a bulb along its upper edge, and have a single strip of the soft sheet
glazing metal rolled tight over this down each side, with a narrow doubled up
edge and thickness ready for being folded down over the top edge surface of the
sheets of glass to hold them when inserted. Angled or dovetailed feathers, or
grooves, or other equivalent would be formed on or secured to the under flat or
ornamental astragal face or edge of the bars so formed for securing them by wedges
or otherwise to the upper face or edges of their cross or long supporting frame bars
of the roof or structure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Joseph Duke Mackenzie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th
January 1881.
JOSEPH DUKE MACKENZIE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BARS FOR SECURING AND CARRYING
GLASS IN WINDOW SASHES AND FRAME LIGHTS, AND FOR ROOFING AND OTHER
GLAZING PURPOSES."
,,
My said Invention has reference to improvements in the construction of what is
known as "sash iron or "sash bars" (heretofore made in a plain L or inverted T (1)
or I shape in cross section, or with an astragal moulding on the inner or lower edge
or face of the transverse web on which the glass rests) for securing and carrying
glass in windows and frame lights, especially in roofs and other parts of railway
stations, sheds, conservatories, photographic galleries, and other such structures in
which glass has to be secured or fastened for the admission of light.
My Invention has for its object the construction of such bars with certain
additional arrangements combined therewith so as to produce composite sash bars
which, while primarily serving for glazing purposes or the carrying of glass, may
also be serviceable as aids to the construction of the roof or other structure, and
which shall, as glass-frames or sash bars, combine the advantages of a maximum of
strength with a minimum of weight, of dispensing with the use of putty or other

page_text: plastic fixing for holding the glass in the frame, of supplying a soft-metal cushion
or couch on or against which the glass may rest, so as to diminish the risk of
fracture by sudden shocks or vibrations, and of forming or containing in themselves
gutters or means of receiving, and collecting, and carrying off water or moisture
which may penetrate from the outside through the fixings of the glass, and other
advantages hereinafter described.
And in order that my said Invention, and the mode of performing the same may
be properly understood, I have hereunto appended for that purpose a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings, to be hereinafter referred to, representing various modifi-
cations of my improved sash bars and fittings, and also showing their application
in a glazed roof. In these Drawings the same reference letters are used to mark
the same or like parts where repeated.
Figures 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 of the Drawings are transverse sections of
various forms of my improved composite sash bars as fitted and prepared ready for
glazing; and Figures 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 are transverse sections of the same
forms of sash bars showing the glass fitted and secured thereto.
The central part or core A, A¹, of my composite sash bars is rolled out of
malleable or wrought iron, or steel, or other solid metal of such a transverse
section as any of those illustrated in the Drawings, with a vertical web A and a
lateral feather or wing A¹ on one side or on each side, according as the sash bar is
used at the end of a row of sash bars, as at the extreme edge of a frame-light in a
roof, or in a position in which the glass requires to rest on each side. The metal is
rolled in long bar lengths ready for being used as the central part or core of the
composite bearing bars or frames in which the sheets of glass C, C³, are to be carried
and glazed, as shown in Figures 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14.
In connection with the said core of solid metal A, I use lead, copper, or other soft
ductile or pliable sheet metal, or any soft ductile and pliable alloy or composition of
two or more metals in sheets or strips B, B', for the double purpose of glazing or
fixing the glass C, C', in its proper place without putty or other plastic fixing on
the outside, and of forming a soft couch or cushion on which the other or inner side
of the glass may rest. For the purpose of effecting this glazing or fixing of the
glass without putty, I fit a strip of the lead or other soft sheet metal or alloy B on
or in connection with the iron bar, either covering the sides at B of the vertical
web A¹, and passing at B¹ entirely or partially round the lateral feathers or wings A¹,
following the contour of the bar, as in Figures 1, 3, 5, 9, and 11, or simply passing
down each side of the vertical web A, as in Figure 7. This cleading B, B', of soft
sheet metal is thus fitted in such a way that it passes at B¹ from the under or
inner side of the glass C upwards or outwards, past or round the edge of the glass
(after that has been inserted in its proper place over the lateral feather A¹ of the
bar), and at B up the side of the central feather or web A, until it rises above or
extends beyond the glass C, C, to such a height as will permit it to be folded down
and over the edges of the sheet of glass, and pressed close to the outer or upper
surface of the same so as to glaze or hold the glass firmly in its place in or
upon the sash, as shown in Figures 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, and thus to serve
instead of putty or other plastic fixing ordinarily employed to fasten glass in its
frame or sash.
A further improvement or advantage consists in forming and rolling each of the
lateral side feathers A' of the sash bar with a hollow curve, groove, channel, or
gutter a on the upper surface thereof under the edge of the glass sheet, and running
along the length of the bar parallel to or having for one of its sides the central
feather A, which channel or groove is lined with the same strip of lead or soft sheet
metal as serves for glazing the glass, and which lead or soft metal is for that
purpose rolled, pressed, or beaten close into the iron or other metal, of which the
core A, A', of the bar is formed, and is made to adhere or stick close to the iron or
metal thereof, and to follow the outline or sinuosities of that part of the transverse
section of the iron bar which lies below or on the inner side of the glass, or at least
such portion of such iron or other metal bar as it may be considered convenient, in

page_text: accordance with the directions hereinafter contained, to cover or line with lead or
other soft metal as aforesaid. This groove or channel a may be formed by rolling
the core A, A¹, with the lateral feathers A' curved upwards, as in Figures 1, 5, 7,
11, and 13, or by forming a bead a¹ at the edge of the lateral feathers, as in the
form shown in Figure 3, or by forming a kneed or bent up edge a¹ on these lateral
feathers, as shown in Figure 9.
The first object of the said channel or gutter a is to receive and conduct away water or
condensed moisture, which may pass over or penetrate past the edges of the glass C, C',
down to a gutter or rone at the lower part of the bars or roofing, into which the
gutter, groove, or channel in the sash bar is allowed to empty itself; but I also use the
outer rounded edge a', bounding such channel or gutter a, and lined with such lead or
other soft sheet metal as a soft couch or cushion on which the under or inner side C
of the sheet of glass is to rest, such cushion of soft metal being adapted to break the
force of vibrations or other sudden shocks which would otherwise tend to fracture
the glass. In lining the gutter and outer edge thereof I apply the sheet lead or
other soft metal or alloy, which lines the malleable iron or other metallic core of
the sash bar, to that bar, either in such a way as to make the soft metal cover, or
line only the outer edge of the gutter on each side of the central feather, together
with the gutter itself and the side of the central feather, to such an extent as is
required to leave a flap at B that can be folded down over the outer surface C¹ of
the glass in place of putty; or I cause a single strip of lead or soft metal to line the
whole portion of the bar on both sides of its central feather A either to the top or
edge of that feather, or so far as it is below the upper surface of the glass, and also
both sides of each of the transverse or lateral wings A¹, so that the whole of the
bar below the upper surface of the glass is enveloped or coated with a close fitting
casing of lead or other soft metal, as shown in Figures 1, 3, 9, and 11. In the
former case, where I line only portions of the central core on each side, as shown in
Figures 5 and 7, I form a thin groove b in the substance of the core, which groove
runs along the core below the outer edge or lip of the lateral feather, as in Figure 5,
or in any other convenient place for gripping or securing the edge of the strip of lead
or other soft sheet metal or alloy before or while rolling, pressing, or beating it close
into the shape of the bar. The groove b should generally be made at such a place
as will allow the sheet metal to pass over and line the outer edge or lip of the
gutter in order to form the couch or cushion before mentioned. But this groove b
may be made at the angle formed by the vertical web A and the lateral feathers A¹,
as in Figure 7, in which case the soft sheet metal cleading B may be either
simply carried up the vertical sides of the web A, or it may be doubled in the
groove band also continued along to or over the edge of the lateral feathers A¹ to
form a cushion for the glass.
If it is not thought of importance to secure a soft metal couch or cushion for the
underside of the glass, it will not be necessary to line the gutters or outer lip
thereof with soft lead or metal at all, and in this case the vertical feather of the bar
may be rolled with a bulb or bulbed protuberance, or projecting beading or double
wing or flanges along the uppermost edge, and may have a single strip of the soft
sheet glazing metal or alloy rolled tight over this beading and extending down each
side of the central feather to the level of the upper surface of the glass with a
further portion, which can be doubled up and made to act as a substitute for
putty by being pressed close over the top edge surface of the sheet of glass to hold
it in its place.
Figures 13 and 14 show a modification of my improved composite sash bars in
which the cleading B of lead or other soft sheet metal completely envelopes the
core A, A', to protect it from the effects of the weather, whilst also serving as a
cushion for the glass; and sufficient lead is provided to admit of its being folded
down at B¹, as shown in Figure 14, to serve the purpose of putty. The core A, A',
may be thus covered by a sheet of lead of sufficient breadth to meet in a butt joint
or overlap on the lower side of the sash bar, or it may be covered by a tube of
lead or other soft sheet metal of a size sufficient to cover the surface of the section

page_text: of bar it is used for, and also leave a double strip to be folded down for glazing.
The tube is rolled, pressed, or beaten close on to the surface of the lateral
feathers A', and up the sides of the central web A, to project upwards in loop form,
as shown at B in Figure 13. And when the bar is erected and the glass has been
fitted, the loop B2 is pressed down over the central web by a roller or other tool
close into the angle formed by the vertical web A and the surface of the glass C¹,
as shown in Figure 14.
The cross section and longitudinal contour or section of the core or central bar
may be varied in a number of ways to suit the special requirements of any
particular structure of which it is to form part, or for the purpose of obtaining an
ornamental moulded face, or for the purpose of providing a means for connecting
the lower part of the composite sash bar with any other part of the structure as by
wedges inserted in grooves or dovetailed feathers or other equivalents formed on or
secured to the under face or edge of the bars for receiving wedges or other
contrivances for securing them to the upper face or edges of the transverse or long
supporting frame bars of the roof or structure of which they form part, or for
similar purposes, or for the purpose of enabling sheets of glass which overlap each
other to have a flat bearing their whole length on the sash bar.
Figures 15 and 16 are respectively a full sized longitudinal section and a small scale
elevation, showing a stepped form of my improved composite sash bar which may be
covered with the cleading of lead or other soft metal in any of the ways already
described and shown. This forming of the sash bar with steps A³, which are struck
to the required shape by cresses or blocks, allows each overlapping pane of glass in
a roof light to have a flat bearing on the sash bar its whole length, instead of
bearing only partly on the bar and resting on the next pane of glass at one end;
the liability to breakage which occurs in tho latter case being thus avoided. This
form of bar is also particularly applicable for curved roofs. The glass C is laid, as
shown in Figure, on the lead cushion on the lateral feathers, the one pane or
sheet overlapping the edge of that next to it, and the flap of lead is folded down
over the edge of the glass.
Figures 17 and 18 are respectively a transverse vertical section and a side
elevation of part of a simple construction of wooden roof, partly glazed, and shown
fitted with one form of my improved composite sash bars.
The glass C is shown resting on the lateral feathers A¹ of the sash bars, and is
fixed or glazed by the flap B of soft sheet metal folded down over its edges. The
sash bars are supported over the inclined wooden principals D of the roof, by means
of cast-iron or other metallic chairs or retaining brackets E, F, fixed to the top and
bottom purlins G, G', of the frame light. These chairs E, F, which are shown more
particularly in the perspective views, Figures 19 and 20, are made to suit the form
of sash bar used. The chair F, shown in Figure 20, is designed simply for holding
down the bar on the top purlin or any purlin or longitudinal bearing between the top
and bottom purlins; but the chair E, shown in Figure 19, is formed with a bent up
or kneed end piece E', against the inner edge of which the bottom part of the
glass C and of the sash bar bear, and are held to prevent their slipping down. A
portion of the central web A at the ends of the sash is cut away where the chairs are
fitted, and the chair F at the upper end is formed with a groove f to catch the
central web. The contour of the inner surface of the chair is also made to fit the
lateral feathers of the sash bar, and thus keep it steady when fixed down, while
the lower end of the sash bar rests on the upper surface of the lower chair E, which is
rounded out to the form of the under side of the sash bar.
In different constructions of roofs or similar structures, or of frame lights, my
improved composite sash bars may be differently fixed or applied to suit the special
circumstances, the general mode of fitting and applying the improved sash bars not
differing materially from that adopted with sash bars heretofore used.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I desire to explain that I do not claim as a separate Invention
the formation of the core of iron or other solid metal, because sash bars have long

page_text: been made of iron and similar metals, and I further explain that I do not claim
the device of stepping the sash bars as of my Invention, seeing that this device has
been already patented and in use, nor do I claim as an Invention per se the use of
a gutter or channel under the glass, as such contrivances for carrying off the
moisture have been used both in wooden and metallic sash bars; nor do I claim as
a separate Invention per se the use of lead or other soft metal as a substitute for
putty or other plastic fixing; nor do I claim as a separate Invention per se the
use of lead or other soft metal or alloy to form a cushion on or against which the
glass may rest for the purpose of obvitating the effects of sudden shocks or
vibrations, although I am not aware that this contrivance has ever been used before
for that purpose or at all; but what I claim is the formation or construction in the
manner herein described of a sash bar combining in one all the advantages which
I have hereinbefore pointed out, that is, a straight or stepped sash bar formed of a
core of malleable iron or other solid metal in conjunction with sheet lead or other
soft metal, alloy, or composition for the purpose of serving as a substitute for putty,
and carrying a trough, gutter, or channel, and with or without a soft metal cushion
for supporting the glass, all combined in the manner described, or for any
substantially similar combination.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Duke Mackenzie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER, C.E.,
of W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
Patent Agents,
Glasgow.
JOS. D. MACKENZIE. (L.S.)