IM- PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING HORSE-SHOES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Mearns, of Jarrow, in the County of Durham,
Foreman Engineer, William Wandless, of the same Place, Smith, and Thomas
Charlton, of Hebburn, in the said County, Joiner, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING HORSE-SHOES."
ed the 27th February 1877, and dated the 16th October 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Mearns, William
Wandless, and Thomas Charlton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents
on the 16th October 1876.
JAMES MEARNS, of Jarrow, in the County of Durham, Foreman Engineer,
WILLIAM WANDLESS, of the same Place, Smith, and THOMAS CHARLTON, of
Hebburn, in the said County, Joiner. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND
APPARATUS FOR MAKING HORSE-SHOES."
The object of our Invention is to simplify the means of manufacturing horso-
shoes.
To carry out our Invention we employ for the horse-shoe straight bars of iron
of a suitable length and width and heated to a sufficient temperature. Each bar is
placed on the anvil or table of a press and acted upon by the downward pressure of
a stamp or die called a creasing tool. The bar after receiving the impression of the
die is taken to a bender and bent to the required form.
The before-mentioned die or stamp is mounted in a vertical holder to which it is
secured by adjustable bolts, and receives an upward and downward motion by means
of a cam, eccentric, or other suitable means acting upon the upper extremity of the
said holder and which forms part of the press. The press being of ordinary con-
struction requires no special description.
The creasing tool or die is straight and of the form to produce the groove or crease
suitable for horse-shoes in the iron bar, the usual curve to the crease or groove may
be afterwards given by bending the iron in the ordinary way. The lower part of
the holder is adapted to receive or hold creasing tools or dies of various shapes and
sizes to meet the requirements of the trade.
In some instances a knife or cutter may be attached to the creasing tool or to the

page_text: holder. The iron bar from which the shoes are to be made would then be of an
indefinite length and cut into sections of the proper size by the descent of the
creasing tool.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Mearns, William Wandless, and Thomas Charlton in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 16th April 1877.
JAMES MEARNS, of Jarrow, in the County of Durham, Foreman Engineer,
WILLIAM WANDLESS, of the same Place, Smith, and THOMAS CHARLTON, of
Hebburn, in the said County, Joiner.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND
APPARATUS FOR MAKING HORSE-SHOES."
The object of our Invention is to simplify the meaus of manufacturing horse-
shoes.
To carry out our Invention we employ for the horse-shoes straight bars of
iron of a suitable size heated to a sufficient temperature. Each bar on being placed
on the anvil or table of a press and acted upon by the downward pressure of a stamp
or die called a creasing tool, properly secured in and worked by the said press,
receives upon its surface the impression of the creasing tool, and thus the nail
grooves of the horse-shoe are formed. The bar may now be taken to a bending
machine of any approved construction and bent to the required form, or this
operation may be performed by manual labour.
The above-mentioned press may be of any suitable kind, worked by steam or
other power, but I prefer for the purpose of my Invention a machine having a quick
return motion. This feature in the machine may be gained by causing the holder
of the die or stamp to be in connection with the short arm of a powerful horizontal
lever the fulcrum being supported by the framework of the press. The long arm of
this lever may be raised by a crank pin or suitable cam to the required height and
then left to fall freely by its own weight, thus quickly raising the short arm of the
said lever and returning the die or stamp for another operation.
The die or creasing tool is straight and of the form to produce in the iron bar the
nail groove or crease suitable for horse-shoes, the proper curve being afterwards
given to the said crease by bending the said bar in a manner above mentioned.
We will now proceed to describe our Invention more fully by aid of the accom-
panying Drawing, reference being had to the letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation (with the screw ix (Figure 3) and support removed) of a
machine or press adapted for making horse-shoes according to our improved method;
Figure 2 being a plan, and Figure 3 an end view of the same.
The remaining
Figures are various details drawn to an enlarged scale, Figure 4 being a section on
line 1-2 (Figure 3), and Figure 5 a section on line 3-4 (Figure 3), both of which
show the means we adopt to adjust and regulate the position of the creasing tool or
tools.
Figure 6 is a plan of a bar of iron that has been operated upon by the creasing
tool and ready to be bent to the required form for right shoes.
In all these Figures a, a, is the die or creasing tool, which for the convenience of
adjustinent is formed as shown of two duplicate portions and secured to the holder b
by bolts passing through the shaped slot c, c, and tightened up by nuts as shewn
in Figures 4 and 5. The creasing tool being thus divided and attached to the
holder allows the spaced between the creases or grooves e, e¹, Figure 6, and (by
introducing a liner, Figure 5) the relative positions of the same being regulated and
adjusted according to the requirements of the trade, and the number of special dies
is thereby reduced to a mininium.
Figure 7 is a back view, and Figure 8 an end view of one of the duplicates. It
is straight and of the form and dimensions suitable for the class or classes of shoes
for which it is intended.

page_text: The press in the Drawing is shewn arranged for making right or near shoes, see
Figure 6, but by removing the liner f (Figure 5) from behind a' and placing the
same behind the creaser a, Figure 4, the machine becomes at once adapted for
making left or off shoes, see Figure 6*.
The mode of working our Invention would be as follows:-The class of shoes to
be manufactured having been determined upon, say rights, a set of tools suitable
for the purpose are selected, one of which a, Figure 3, is firmly secured in the
holder b forming part of the press A, Figures 1 and 2; the other tool however being
intended to form the outer crease of the right shoe is provided with a liner for in-
tervening packing piece of the necessary thickness, and both secured in the holder as
shown in Figure 5. The distance between the extremities of the tools having been
adjusted to suit the size of the shoes, the nuts g, g, are now tightened up and the
adjustable screw i*, Figure 3, regulated to suit the length of the bars to be then
stamped, the hind shoes requiring longer bars than the fore shoes, the machine is
now ready for operating upon the bar or bars of iron which are to be manufactured
into horse-shoes. The bars are straight, of suitable dimensions, and heated to the
required temperature. They are each in succession placed upon the anvil block h,
Figure 3, and directly under the creasing tool. The proper position of the bar is
ensured by guides i, Figures 1, 4, and 5, and by the adjustable screw i* (Figure 3).
Should any mishap however occur at this stage of the manufacture and delay the
operation of placing the iron bar in position, the working of the machine may be
nullified by withdrawing the sliding block (of which k, Figures 1, 2, and 3 is the
handle) inserted between the short arm of the horizontal lever L' and the holder b
(as shewn in Figure 9) thus preventing the latter receiving power from the press.
By reinstating the sliding block the bar will at the next stroke of the press receive
an impression of the creasing tool or tools, and on the bar being removed from the
machine the nail grooves or creases will be indented therein as shewn in Figure 6.
In this form it may be sold for manufacturing purposes or taken and bent to the
required form by manual labour or other approved means.
Power is communicated to the press by means of a horizontal lever, of which L
and L' are respectively the long and short arm. On motion in the direction shown
by the arrow o (Figure 1) being communicated by any suitable means to the spur
wheel M keyed on the crank shaft m, the crank pin m* Figure 2, made to lift at
every revolution of the said shaft, the end of the long arm L to the height shewn in
Figure 1. This act causes the short arm of the said lever to depress the holder b,
Figure 3, and to stamp an iron bar, placed in position, with suitable nail grooves or
creases. The crank shaft completing its revolution disengages the said crank pin
from the end of the lever, and the latter being now unsupported falls of its own
weight upon the wooden cushion N, thus quickly raising the holder and tools and
preparing the press for another operation.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature and object of our
said Invention and in what manner the same may be carried into effect, we wish it
to be understood that we claim as our Invention secured to us by the above in part
recited Letters Patent the use or employment of adjustable creasers or dies a and a¹
of the form and for the purpose above described, together with the means of
working the same as herein specified and illustrated on the accompanying Drawing,
or any mere modifications thereof.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Mearns and William Wandless have
hereunto set our hands and seals, the Fourteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and envanter won
JAMES MEARNS. (L.S.)
W WANDLESS.
(L.S.)