IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW WRENCHES OR SCREW SPANNERS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Asbury, of Balsall Heath, in the County
of Worcester, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SCREW WRENCHES OR SCREW SPANNERS."
Sealed the 15th March 1870, and dated the 22nd December 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Asbury at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd December 1869.
I, JOSEPH ASBURY, of Balsall Heath, in the County of Worcester,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW WRENCHES OR SCREW SPANNERS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in
screw wrenches or screw spanners.
According to one of my improvements I use a fixed screw at the back
edge of the bar of the wrench or spanner and a screw box or screw nut

page_text: working thereon for actuating the moveable jaw of the wrench or
spanner. The fixed jaw of the wrench at the top of the bar projects
beyond the back edge of the bar and forms a bearing for the upper end
of the fixed screw. The bottom end of the fixed screw is turned at
right angles, and the said turned part is provided with a lip, which lip
takes into a cross slot in the back edge of the bar; the screw is thereby
prevented from rotating. The lip part described of the screw is fixed
in its recess by means of a collar or band passed from the handle end of
the bar, and made to cover the lip part and the junction of the screw
with the bar. Or a narrow band may be used for covering only the lip
part of the turned end of the screw. The collar or band is fixed in its
place by a cross cotter or rivet. The moveable jaw projects beyond the
back edge of the bar, and is made hollow for the fixed screw to pass
through. The projecting part of the moveable jaw is forked, and between
the branches of the fork a screw box or scrow nut made in the form of a
milled wheel is situated, the said milled wheel working upon the fixed
"screw. By turning the milled wheel in one or other direction the
moveable jaw may be made to approach to or recede from the fixed jaw,
and the distance between the two jaws thus adjusted. The acting faces
of the moveable and fixed jaws may either be situated at right angles to
the bar of the wrench or be inclined thereto.
In putting together the parts of the wrench or spanner the screw is
first passed through the hollow part of the moveable jaw, and also
through the milled wheel situated in the fork of the said jaw, and the
said jaw carrying the screw and milled wheel is placed on the bar of the
wrench from the handle end and passed towards the top of the said bar.
The top of the screw being engaged in its bearing in the fixed jaw the lip
at the bottom of the screw is turned into its slot at the back edge of the
bar; the said screw is thus fixed and is incapable of rotating. By now
sliding the band or collar on the bar, so as to cover and prevent the lip
rising out of its slot, and rivetting the said band or collar the wrench
or spanner is complete. Instead of fixing the bent part and lip of the
screw by a band or collar they may be fixed by a screw pin; or the said
bent part and lip may be made of a dovetail form and take into a
dovetail seat in the bar. In the latter case no fastening is required.
By my improvements the parts of the wrench are put together with
great ease, and economy of manufacture thereby secured.

page_text: The improvements described in putting together the parts of wrenches
are applicable generally to wrenches provided with a fixed screw at the
back edge of the bar for adjusting the moveable jaw.
My Invention consists further in arranging the mechanism for
actuating the moveable jaws of screw wrenches or screw spanners in
the following manner :-Instead of placing the said mechanism at the
back edge of the bar, as before described, I place it in the middle of the
bar a slot being cut in the bar for that purpose. I either use a fixed
screw or a screw capable of rotating. When I use a fixed screw in the
middle of the bar I employ a screw box or milled wheel situated in a
slot in the middle of the moveable jaw, the said screw box or wheel
working on the said fixed screw. By moving the screw box or wheel in
one or other direction the moveable jaw is made to slide on the bar, so
as to adjust the distance between the two jaws. The fixed screw may
be fastened in the slot in the bar by a bearing at top and a lip at bottom,
as described in the first part of my Invention. When I use a screw
capable of rotating I form a screw box through the middle of the
moveable jaw, which screw box when the screw is turned by a head or
wheel at one end is made to advance or retire on the said screw, and
carry the moveable jaw to or from the fixed jaw. The head for turning
the screw may either be situated at or near the fixed jaw or below the
moveable jaw. Instead of a fixed screw placed in the slot in the middle
of the bar, as before described, the said screw may be dispensed with,
and in place thereof the sides of the said slot may have a screw thread
cut upon them, into which a wheel screwed on its periphery situated in
a slot in the moveable jaw may be made to take. By turning this
screwed wheel it advances in the screw thread cut on the sides of the
slot and adjusts the moveable jaw.
30
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Asbury in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th June 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
ASBURY, of Balsall Heath, in the County of Worcester, Manufacturer,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Asbury, Her special licence that
I, the said Joseph Asbury, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Joseph Asbury, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agrec 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 SCREW
WRENCHES OR SCREW SPANNERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Joseph Asbury, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Asbury, 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 :-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in
screw wrenches or screw spanners.
According to one of my improvements I use a fixed screw at the
back edge of the bar of the wrench or spanner and a screw box or screw
nut working thereon for actuating the moveable jaw of the wrench or
spanner. The fixed jaw of the wrench at the top of the bar projects
beyond the back edge of the bar and forms a bearing for the upper
end of the fixed screw. The bottom end of the fixed screw is turned
at right angles, and the said turned part is provided with a lip, which
lip takes into a cross slot in the back edge of the bar. The screw is
thereby prevented from rotating. The lip part described of the screw
is fixed in its recess by means of a collar or band passed from the
handle end of the bar and made to cover the lip part and the junction
of the screw with the bar. Or a narrow band may be used for covering

page_text: only the lip part of the turned end of the screw.
The collar or band. is
fixed in its place by a cross cotter or rivet. The moveable jaw projects.
beyond the back edge of the bar, and is made hollow for the fixed screw
to pass through. The projecting part of the moveable jaw is forked,
and between the branches of the fork a screw box or screw nut made
in the form of a milled wheel is situated, the said milled wheel working
upon the fixed screw. By turning the milled wheel in one or other
direction the moveable jaw may be made to approach to or recede from
the fixed jaw, and the distance between the two jaws thus adjusted. The
acting faces of the moveable and fixed jaws may either be situated at
right angles to the bar of the wrench or be inclined thereto.
In putting together the parts of the wrench or spanner the screw is
first passed through the hollow part of the moveable jaw, and also
through the milled wheel situated in the fork of the said jaw, and the
said jaw carrying the screw and milled wheel is placed on the bar of the
wrench from the handle end and passed towards the top of the said bar.
The top of the screw being engaged in its bearing in the fixed jaw the
lip at the bottom of the screw is turned into its slot at the back edge- of
the bar; the said screw is thus fixed and is incapable of rotating. By
now sliding the band or collar on the bar, so as to cover and prevent the
lip rising out of its slot, and rivetting the said band or collar the wrench.
or spanner is complete. Instead of fixing the bent part and lip of the
screw by a band or collar they may be fixed by a screw pin, or the
lip part of the screw may be made of a dovetail form, and take into a
dovetail seat in the bar. In the latter case no fastening is required..
By my improvements the parts of the wrench are put together with
great ease, and economy of manufacture thereby secured.
The improvements described in putting together the parts of wrenchcs.
are applicable generally to wrenches provided with a fixed screw at the
back edge of the bar for adjusting the moveable jaw.
My Invention consists further in arranging the mechanism for
actuating the moveable jaws of screw wrenches or screw spanners in
the following manner:-Instead of placing the said mechanism at the
back edge of the bar, as before described, I place it in the middle of
the bar, a slot being cut in the bar for that purpose. I cither use a
fixed screw or a screw capable of rotating. When I use a fixed screw
in the middle of the bar I employ a screw box or milled wheel situated

page_text: in a slot in the middle of the moveable jaw, the said screw box or wheel
working on the said fixed screw. By moving the screw box or wheel
in one or other direction the moveable jaw is made to slide on the bar,
so as to adjust the distance between the two jaws. The fixed screw
may be fastened in the slot in the bar by a bearing at top and a lip at
bottom, as described in the first part of my Invention. When I use a
screw capable of rotating I form a screw box through the middle of the
moveable jaw, which screw box when the screw is turned by a head or
wheel at one end is made to advance or retire on the said screw and carry
the moveable jaw to or from the fixed jaw. The head for turning the screw
may either be situated at or near the fixed jaw or below the moveable
jaw. Instead of a fixed screw placed in the slot in the middle of the
bar, as before explained, the said screw may be dispensed with, and in
place thereof the sides of the said slot may have a screw thread cut
upon them, into which a wheel screwed on its periphery situated in a
slot in the moveable jaw may be made to take. By turning this screwed
wheel it advances in the screw thread cut on the sides of the slot and
adjusts the moveable jaw.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in cross section
taken on the line a, Figure 1, a screw wrench or screw spanner, the
fixed screw of which is secured to the body or bar of the wrench or
spanner according to one of the arrangements of my Invention; Figures
3 and 4 are parts of the same. b is the fixed jaw on the end of the
body or bar c, and d is the moveable jaw capable of sliding on the said
body or bar c; e is the handle of the wrench; f is the fixed screw of the
wrench situated at the back edge of the bar c. The part d' of the
moveable jaw d is made hollow, and the screw f passes through the said
hollow part. The moveable jaw d is advanced towards or removed from
the fixed jaw b by the screw box or screw nut g (the exterior of which
is milled) situated in the forked part of the moveable jaw, the said
screw box working upon the fixed screw f, as represented. The screwf
is fixed to the bar c of the wrench in the following manner:-The top
end of the said screw f is fixed in the projecting part or bearing 6* of
the fixed jaw b, and the bottom end of the said screw is turned at right

page_text: angles, and is. provided with a lip h, which takes into a cross slot i in
the back edge of the bar c. The lip part of the screw: f is fixed in tho
slot or recess by the collar or band k, the said collar or band being
made to cover the lip h and the junction of the screw with the bar as
represented in Figure 1.. The part of the collar k is made of a shape
proper to fit upon the shoulder of the lip h. The collar k is fixed in
its place by a cross cotter or rivet l.. A part of the wrench without the
collar is represented in Figure 3, and the collar k is shown separately
in Figure 4. The fixing collar. may be made narrower than that
represented, that is, it may only cover the bent part and lip h of the
screw f
The parts of the wrench, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, are put together
in the following manner:-The screw fis first passed through the-
hollow part d of the moveable jaw d, and also through the milled
wheel or screw box g in the said jaw d. The moveable jaw d carrying
the screw fand wheel or screw box g is next placed on the bar c at the
handle end e and passed to the top of the said bar. The top end of the
screw is thus engaged in the bearing b³ at the back of the fixed jaw b,
and by turning the lip at the bottom of the screw f into the cross slot i.
the said screw fis fixed to the bar c. The band or collar k is next passed
on to the bar c from the handle end e, and made to cover the lip / and
prevent it rising out of the cross slot i; as represented in Figure 1. By
finally fixing the collar by rivetting the pin the wrench or spanner
is complete. The collar or band may be dispensed with. In this
case I form. the lip part of the bent end of the screw f of a dovetail
form, as represented in Figure 5, the said dovetail lip taking into a
dovetail seat made in the bar c;, or the lip part of the screw may be
fixed by a screw or pin..
This arrangement of my Invention is represented in Figures: 6,7;.
and 8 of the Drawings, Figure 6 representing a side elevation, and
Figure 7 an edge view of the wrench, and Figure 8 the screw separately.
In this arrangement the lip part of the screw fis forked, and engages
on either side the bar c of the wrench, as represented. In the back
edge of the bar c is an inclined slot or cut away part i, into which the
inclined solid part h³ of the lip drops. In putting together the parts of
the wrench the screw is fitted to the moveable jaw d and screw box g,
as before explained, and the said jaw d and forked lip are passed on

page_text: to the bar c and moved to the position represented. When the forked
lip h comes over the slot or cut away part i in the bar c the part 3 of
the said lip drops into the said slot i, and by fixing the said lip by a
cross pin or screw at the wrench is complete.
Instead of the last-described arrangement for fixing the lip part of the
screw to the bar of the wrench the arrangement herein-after described
and represented in Figure 11 may be employed.
c is
Figure 9 represents in side elevation, and Figure 10 in edge view a
screw wrench or screw spanner, the mechanism for actuating the
moveable jaw of which is arranged according to my Invention.
the body or bar of the wrench; b, the fixed jaw; and d, the moveable
jaw sliding on the said body or bar c. In the middle of the bar c,
and from side to side thereof, a longitudinal slot e is made, in which
slot a screw f is fixed. In the middle of the moveable jaw d is an
opening d² in which a screw box or milled wheel g is situated and turns,
the said screw box working upon the fixed screw f. By turning the
screw box or wheel in one or other direction the said screw box travels
in one or other direction on the screw f, and the moveable jaw
is thereby made to slide on the bar c, so as to adjust the distance
between it and the fixed jaw b. The screw is fixed in the body or
bar c by being passed through an opening or recess cut through the
jaw band body c, as indicated in dotted lines. After the screw f
has been fixed in its place in the slot e the opening or recess in the
jaw bat which the said screw is introduced may be filled up by a block
being rivetted therein.
9
Instead of fixing the middle adjusting screw of the wrench in the
bar in the manner last described it may be fixed by a lip at bottom, as
described with respect to the fixed side screw herein-before described.
This arrangement is represented in Figure 11. The screw f in this
arrangement is fixed at one end in the bearing at the top of the slot. e,
and at the bottom by the lip h. A cross slot i is cut half through the
bar c, and into the said slot the lip his turned and fastened by the
screw pin k. The screw fis introduced into the slot e and through
the jaw d and milled screw box g from the handle end of the wrench,
an opening being cut in the bar c for that purpose. After the screw f
has been fixed by the lip / the opening is filled up by the block m.

page_text: Figure 12 represents in elevation and edge view a screw wrench or
screw spanner in which the adjusting screw is moveable instead of fixed
as in the arrangements last described. f is 'the screw capable of
rotating; e, the slot in the bar c; b, the fixed jaw; and d, the moveable
jaw. Fixed in the moveable jaw d is a screw box d, through which the
screw works. On one end of the screw f is a milled head or collar f
for turning the said screw. By turning the milled head f* in one or
other direction the screw box d is made to advance or retire on the
screw and carry the moveable jaw d to or from the fixed jaw b.
The screw fis introduced into its place through an opening in the
fixed jaw, the said screw being passed through the screw box d³ and into
the milled head f", which head f' has been placed in the wide end of
the slot e. After the introduction of the screw, as described, the milled
head is fixed to the said screw by the pin f³, and the sliding motion
of the screw thus prevented.
Figure 13 represents in elevation and cross section a screw wrench
arranged as last described, excepting that the milled head f* for turning
the screw is situated and works in an opening in the fixed jaw instead
of in an opening in the bar or body of the wrench.
Figure 14 represents another arrangement of my Invention in which
the rotating screw is made to work in screw boxes made in the bar
at either end of the slot. f, f*, is the screw passed through the slot c,
and rotated by the milled head & fixed to the said screw and situated in
an opening in the moveable jaw d. The part f of the screw situated
near the jaw b works in a screw box / made in the bar c and jaw b, and
the part f² of the screw works in the screw box i in the said bar c, as
represented. By turning the milled head d in one or other direction
the part fadvances in its screw box h, while the part f retires from its
screw box i or the reverse, and the moveable jaw d is thereby carried
nearer to or further from the fixed jaw b. The parts f, f, of the screw
are made separately and connected together by the milled head d³, that
is to say, the part f* of the screw is first introduced into its screw box i
and the milled head d fastened thereto, and afterwards the part fis
introduced into its screw box h and fastened to the head c.
Figure 14+ represents in side elevation, and Figure 14* in horizontal
section another arrangement of my Invention in which a right and left
handed screw is used for giving a quicker action. i, k, is the right and

page_text: left handed screw placed in the slot e in the bar c. The right-handed
part of the screw works in a corresponding screw box made in
the fixed jaw b, and the left-handed part k of the screw works in a
corresponding screw box m fixed in the moveable jaw d. The screw is
turned by the milled wheel ", which is capable of traversing the slot e
in the bar c. The back end of the screw is provided with a stem or
plain part p for guiding the said screw, the said stem working in a slot
cut in the handle of the wrench. When the screw i, k, is turned by
the milled wheel n in one direction the part i of the screw advances
in the screw box 1, while at the same time the screw box m of the
moveable jaw d moves in the same direction on the left-handed part k
of the screw. The said moveable jaw d is thereby rapidly carried
towards the fixed jaw b. On turning the screw i, k, in the opposito
direction the reverse action takes place, and the moveable jaw dis
rapidly carried from the fixed jaw b. The milled wheel n for turning the
screw may be situated between the two jaws instead of at the back
of the moveable jaw. The two parts of the screw are made of different
diameters, but of the same pitch for convenience in introducing the
screw into its two screw boxes m, l, through the fixed jaw b.
Figure 15 represents in end elevation, Figure 16 in side clevation,
and Figure 17 in cross section a screw wrench similar to that represented
in Figure 13, excepting that the adjusting screw f has a head fe made
on it for working the screw, the said head f being situated in an
opening at the end of the fixed jaw b. The said head is secured in
its place by a pin f³ working in an annular groove in the said head, as
represented. The parts of this wrench are marked with the same letters
as corresponding parts of the wrench, Figure 13.
Figure 18 represents an arrangement similar to that represented in
Figure 12, excepting that a plain part of the screw f is prolonged down
the handle, and is turned by a milled head or wheel f' working in a g
slot at the end of the said handle. The screw in this arrangement is
introduced into the slot e and screw box d² of the movcable jaw d
through the fixed jaw of the wrench. Or instead of a milled head *
the prolonged end of the screw may be turned by a winch, as represented
in Figure 19. The prolonged plain part of the screw f is kept in the 3
slot in the handle of the wrench by cross bands, as represented.

page_text: In order to prevent the diminished strength in the bar caused by
cutting the slot in which the middle adjusting screw works the said
middle screw may be situated outside the middle of the bar, as
represented in front elevation and edge view in Figure 20. In this
arrangement the ends of the middle screw f turn in brackets or
bearings , i, made on the fixed jaw band bar c respectively, and tho.
moveable jaw d is provided with a projecting screw box d in which the
screw works. g is the milled head by which the screw f is turned to
adjust the moveable jaw d.
Figure 21 represents in elevation, and Figure 22 in cross section a
screw wrench arranged according to my Invention, in which a screw
thread is made on the sides of the slot with which a screwed wheel
works. is the screw thread cut upon the edges of the slot e, and fis
the wheel screwed and milled externally, the thread of which takes into
the screw thread e² of the slot e. The screwed wheel fis situated in the
opening in the moveable jaw d; an opening at g is cut in the bar of
the wrench for the purpose of engaging the thread of the wheelf with
the screw thread at e, that is to say, the opening in tlie jaw d being
brought opposite the opening g in the bar c, the wheel f is dropped
into the opening in the jaw and that in the bar, and is then turned until
its screw thread engages with the screw thread e². By then securing
the block in the opening g the wheel f is retained in the slot e and
is incapable of being disengaged from the screw thread e². By turning
the screwed wheel fit advances upon the screw thread in the slot e
and adjusts the moveable jaw d.
•
Instead of cutting a complete slot through the bar of the wrench a
semicircular depression may be made in the said bar and a screw thread
be cut therein. This arrangement of my Invention is represented in
sido elevation in Figure 23, and edge view in Figure 24. e is the
semicircular depression in the bar c, and fis the screwed wheel working
in the screw thread cut in the said depression. The wheel f turns
on an axis carried by the moveable jaw d. The action of this wrench
is the same as that last 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 herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature

page_text: of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention of improvements in
screw wrenches or screw spanners,-
Firstly. The several arrangements herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 of the accompanying
Drawings for securing the fixed adjusting screw situated at the back
edge of the bar of the wrench to the said bar, that is to say, by means
of a lip part at the bottom of the said screw and at right angles
thereto taking into a cross slot in the bar, the said lip part being fixed
in the said slot either by a collar or band covering the said lip part or
by a pin or screw, or by making the said lip part of a dovetail figure,
substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The several arrangements herein-before described and
illustrated in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the
accompanying Drawings of the parts of mechanism for actuating or
adjusting the moveable jaws of screw wrenches or screw spanners, that
is to say, placing the fixed or moveable adjusting screw of the wrench or
spanner in a longitudinal slot made in the middle of the bar, and
adjusting the moveable jaw either by a rotating screw box working on
the fixed screw or a fixed screw box carried by the moveable jaw, and
working on the moveable screw, substantially as described and illustrated.
Also the arrangement of parts herein-before described and illustrated
in Figure 14 of the accompanying Drawings in which the rotating screw
is made to work in screw boxes at opposite ends of the slot in which the
screw is situated.
Also the arrangement of parts herein-before described and illustrated
in Figures 14 and 14" of the accompanying Drawings, in which a right
and left handed screw is used.
Also the arrangement of parts herein-before described and represented
in Figure 20 of the accompanying Drawings in which the adjusting screw
is placed outside the bar at the middle thereof.
Thirdly. The arrangements of parts herein-before described and illus-
trated in Figures 21, 22, 23, and 24 of the accompanying Drawings for
adjusting the moveable jaws of screw wrenches or screw spanners, that
is to say, making a wheel screwed on its periphery take into a screw
thread cut on the sides of a slot in the middle of the bar of the wrench a

page_text: or into a screw thread made in a depression in the middle of the bar of
the wrench, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Asbury, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOSEPH ASBURY. (L.s.)