AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE of STAMPED BUTT Hinges
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Wassall, of the Firm of William Wassall and
Son, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE of
STAMPED BUTT Hinges.”
Sealed the 7th October 1876, and dated the 20th April 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Wassall at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th April 1876.
CHARLES WASSALL, of the Firm of William Wassall and Son, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF STAMPED BUTT HINGES."
In brass stamped butt hinges as ordinarily manufactured the two flaps of the
hinge when shut upon one another or in their abutting position do not lie parallel
to one another, the inner faces of the flaps touching each other only at their extreme
edges, those portions of the flaps near the joint being separated a short distance
from one another. This want of parallelism or close fitting or bearing of the
abutting flaps of the hinge diminishes the strength and durability of the said
hinge.
My Invention has for its object to remedy the defect referred to, and this I effect
by manufacturing the said butt hinges in the following manner:-I cut out flap
blanks from sheet brass in the ordinary way, but the thickness of the metal which
I employ is nearly double that ordinarily employed. The said flap blanks have
along one of the longer sides the usual ears or projecting pieces from which the
knuckles of the flaps are made. I take a flap blank thus made, and by preference
by means of a circular file or cutter against which the blank is carried I reduce the
thickness of the metal of the ears or projecting pieces to about one half that of the
other part of the flap blank. There is thus produced on one of the longer sides of
the blank a series of ears or projecting pieces of about half the thickness of the
metal from which they were made, a shoulder running along the bases of the said
ears at the front face of the partly made flap. By means of press tools the ears or
projecting pieces are fashioned into knuckles, the free ends of the knuckles bearing
upon the shoulder described at the front face of the flap. By this construction the
knuckles of the flap are of about one half the thickness of the plate of the flap, so
that when two flaps are connected together by a joint pin passed through their
[Price 6d1

page_text: engaged knuckles in the ordinary way and the said flaps are closed or shut upon
one another, they are situated parallel, and their abutting faces bear closely upon
one another meeting in a plane passing through the axis of the joint pin. By this
means the flaps abut upon or bear closely against one another throughout the whole
of their meeting or bearing faces. The mutual support which the flaps thus receive
prevents the rupture or breaking of the knuckles which commonly happens in butt
hinges as ordinarily made.
Although my Invention is principally applicable to brass butt hinges, yet butt
hinges of copper or other metal or alloy may be manufactured in the manner
described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Wassall in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th October
1876.
CHARLES WASSALL, of the Firm of William Wassall and Son, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF STAMPED BUTT HINGES."
In brass stamped butt hinges, as ordinarily manufactured, the two flaps of the
hinge, when shut upon one another or in their abutting position do not lie parallel
to one another, the inner faces of the flaps touching each other only at their extreme
edges, those portions of the flaps near the joint being separated a short distance from
one another. This want of parallelism or close fitting or bearing of the abutting
flaps of the hinge diminishes the strength and durability of the said hinge.
My Invention has for its object to remedy the defect referred to, and this I effect
by manufacturing the said butt hinges in the following manner :-
I cut out flap blanks from sheet brass in the ordinary way, but the thickness of
the metal which I employ is nearly double that ordinarily employed. The said flap
blanks have along one of the longer sides the usual ears or projecting pieces from
which the knuckles of the flaps are made. I take a flap blank thus made, and by
preference, by means of a circular file or cutter against which the blank is carried,
I reduce the thickness of the metal of the ears or projecting pieces to about one half
that of the other part of the flap blank. There is thus produced on one of the
longer sides of the blank a series of cars or projecting pieces of about half the
thickness of the metal from which they were made, a shoulder running along the
bases of the said ears at the front face of the partly made flap. By means of press
tools, the ears or projecting pieces are fashioned into knuckles, the free ends of the
knuckles bearing upon the shoulder described at the front face of the flap.
By this construction the knuckles of the flap are of about one half the thickness
of the plate of the flap, so that when two flaps are connected together by a joint
pin passed through their engaged knuckles in the ordinary way, and the said flaps
are closed or shut upon one another, they are situated parallel and their abutting
faces bear closely upon one another throughout the whole of their meeting or
bearing parts. The mutual support which the flaps thus receive prevents the
rupture or breaking of the knuckles which commonly happens in butt hinges as
ordinarily made.
I will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the
manner in which my Invention is performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan, and Figure 2 in edge view, a pair of flap blanks from
which I manufacture a stamped butt hinge according to my Invention. The said
flap blanks are cut out from sheet brass, having the thickness represented in the
edge view, Figure 2, the said thickness of metal being about double that ordinarily
used. The flaps of the blanks are marked a, a, and the ears or projections from
which the knuckles of the flaps are made, are inarked b, b. Having cut out the flaps,
their ears b, b, are next operated upon by means of a circular file or cutter or other-
wise so as to reduce their thickness to about one half that of the flap parts a, a. A

page_text: pair of flap blanks after they have been operated upon as described, is represented in
plan in Figure 3, and edge view in Figure 4, where the reduced ears are marked be, b²·
The thickness of metal which is removed by the filing or cutting process from the
ears of the flap blanks, is indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2. By an examination
of the Drawing it will be seen that this reduction of the metal of the ears be, b²,
produces at the bases of the several ears a shoulder c. By means of press tools the
reduced ears or projecting pieces b² are bent or fashioned into knuckles as represented
in Figure 5 where the said knuckles are marked b, b, the free ends of the said
knuckles bearing against the shoulders c, c, of the flaps a, a, as represented.. The
screw holes having been made in the flaps a, a, and the spaces between the
knuckles b, b, having been brought to the required size by the use of a circular
cutter, the knuckles of the two flaps are engaged together, and the engaged flaps
are then connected together by a joint pin & passed through them and secured in
the ordinary way, as illustrated in pian in Figure 6; and edge view in Figure 7.
The hinge is then complete.
Figure 8 represents the flaps of the hinge closed upon one another.
By an examination of Figures 6 and 7 it will be seen that by the construction
described and represented the knuckles 2, 62, of the flaps a, a, are about one half
the thickness of the said flaps, and when the said flaps are closed or shut upon one
another as illustrated in Figure 8, the said flaps are situated parallel and bear
closely against one another throughout their meeting or bearing faces.
Although my Invention is principally applicable to brass butt hinges, yet butt
hinges of copper or other metal or alloy may be manufactured in the manner
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 of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention-
The improvement or improvements in the manufacture of stamped butt hinges
hercin-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to
say, effecting the close fitting or bearing or parallelism of the flaps of the hinge by
making the said flaps from blanks having about double the thickness of ordinary
blanks and reducing the thickness of the metal of the ears of the flap blanks from
which the knuckles are to be made to one half or nearly one half that of the other
parts of the flap blanks, so that when the flaps of the hinge so made are closed upon
one another they are situated parallel, and their abutting faces bear closely upon
one another throughout, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Wassall, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
aight hundred and coventy-six
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
CHARLES WASSALL. (L.S.)'