IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-SHOE NAILS AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-SHOE
NAILS AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR." A communication from abroad by
Joseph Michael Laughlin, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of
America
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st October 1880.
A com-
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE
MANUFACTURE OF HORSE-SHOE NAILS AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR."
munication from abroad by Joseph Michael Laughlin, of Boston, Massachusetts,
United States of America.
The first part of this Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of
nail plates from which horse shoe nails are to be made, and comprises, first, the
hardening of that part of the nail plate from which the nail head will be struck by
passing the plate when cold between rolls, which will force the "fin" left upon its
edge by the preparatory process of hot rolling back into the body of the plate;
second, the formation of a nail plate provided with depressions or indentations, so
arranged on the plate that the metal condensed where such depressions are formed
will form the hardened and bevelled point of the nail when the latter is punched
from the plate, and so arranged that the nail when punched out will be surrounded
throughout its entire length by a strip of metal of the same density as the adjacent
parts of the nail; third, the preparation of a nail plate which has been hot rolled
by a graduated process of cold rolling so that all its parts shall have a
finished surface from which a horse shoe nail having a finished surface can be
punched, the said nail being complete and ready for use without scouring, polishing,
or rolling.
The second part of the said Invention relates to improvements in machinery for
making horse-shoe nails, and comprises a guide way through which the nail plates
being operated on pass, and which can be quickly and easily given a uniform lateral.

page_text: motion as the plates pass through it; a clearing finger or bolt so constructed that
it will also act as an adjuster for the stock, worked under the second punch when
the stock has been slightly sprung by the first; a die holder having ears, one or
more of which can be removed and replaced without altering the adjustment of the
set screws which hold the dies in place, and a guide tunnel through which the
plates pass on their way to the punches and dies, the said guide tunnel retaining
the plates in their proper relative position to each other as they pass forward from
the feed rolls to the punching mechanism.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a cross section of a plate
which has been prepared by the ordinary hot rolling process, and which has at its
several parts the proper thickness to permit horse-shoe nails to be cut or punched
therefrom with their heads at the edges of the plate and their points in the thinner,
middle, or central part. This plate as shewn has upon its edge a "fin" or edge g,
which is formed as the plates are rolled into shape by the escape of some portion
of the metal between the ends of the operative parts of the rolls of the rolling
machine, which rolls are formed as shewn in section in Figure 2. After the plates
have been rolled as shewn in Figure 1 they are taken when cold and passed between
rolls (whose form is shown in section in Figure 3), which force the "fin" back into
the plate, and consequently harden that part of the plate marked c in the section
Figure 4, thus forming a plate having a thicker part from which the heads of the
nails are taken, and its outer corner hardened so that when the nails are driven the
blows of the hammer, falling upon a line axial with the shank of the nail, strike a
portion of the head better prepared to sustain the shocks than it would be if not
so hardened. As the axial line of the nail passes much nearer that side of the head
into which the fin was compressed, that side being so hardened prevents the
successive blows of the hammer from battering down the corner and rounding off
the head, and thereafter bending the nail, as would be the case if all parts of the
head were of equal softness and the hammer struck, as it must, on the line of the
axis of the nail.
There will therefore be produced from the plate prepared as above described a
nail which will retain the desired form of head longer, and can be driven more
accurately and easily, than those cut from a plate not so prepared.
Figure 5 represents a plan of a horse-shoe nail-plate of homogeneous iron,
prepared by spotting, as described in the Specification of former Letters Patent,
dated June 28th, A.D. 1877, No. 2497, but having the spots which are placed in
two rows alternately as shewn, far enough apart to enable this Invention to be
carried into practice.
Figure 6 is a plan representing the waste of such a nail plate after the nails have
been cut therefrom according to this Invention.
a², a², are the spots or depressions in the nail plate made by stamping or pressing
to harden those parts of the plate and render them suitable for forming the points
of the nails therefrom. Instead of these spots being placed as near together as
shewn in the Drawing accompanying the Specification of the aforesaid Letters
Patent, and so that the side walls of the depressions shall form the edges of the
nails, which lap by them in part when cut from the plate, these spots are placed far
enough apart with regard to the width of the nails lapping by them to leave a
narrow thread or margin of the soft metal composing the plate between each nail
lapping by a spot, and the latter as it is cut from the prepared plate, as shewn by
the dotted lines, enclosing the portions b', b' of the plate which are to form the
completed nails; c', c¹ represent the portion of the plate which is left in the form
of waste metal after the nails have been cut from the plate.
It will be observed that the depressions for forming the points of the nails are
not only located in two rows, one on each side of the longitudinal centre of the
plate, but that each depression in one row is opposite the space between two
depressions in the other row, and thus the nails cut from the plate are enabled to
be lapped past each other to utilize as much of the metal of the plate as is possible,
and prevent an undue amount of waste in the stock of the plate.

page_text: The third division of the first part of my Invention consists in applying a
uniform graduated cold roll pressure to a nail plate previously reduced to proper
form by hot rolling, and to put such a finish upon the surface of the plate that when
it is cut into horse-shoe nails such nails will be substantially perfect and ready for
the market without applying any other finishing process thereto.
The pressure applied in this process must be very uniform and nicely graduated
to prevent the hardening of the nail plate, which would destroy or injure the
pliability of the nail when cut from such plate.
Figure 7 is a plan or top view of a section of a plate having some of the nails
punched therefrom, and
Figure 8 is a cross section of the same.
Figure 9 is a cross section of a plate of double width.
A', A', represent the ribs on the plate, which ribs form the heads of the nails
when cut therefrom, and B¹ represents the central portion of the plate which
forms the shanks of the nails. This plate is of homogeneous iron, and in order to
produce the finish upon it by my process of cold rolling without injuring the softness
and pliability of the iron, it is necessary to take it, after it has been reduced to
shape by hot rolling, and before it is subjected to a cold rolling process to form
hardened parts, from which the nail points may be struck, and to pass it through
a pair of rolls whose configurations correspond respectively to the opposite sides of
the plate, the pressure of such rolls upon the plate being carefully adjusted to the
degree which will produce a substantially smooth and perfect finish upon both
surfaces of the plate without such pressure being much greater than is absolutely
requisite to produce such finish. Should the pressure upon the finishing rolls be
greater than is necessary it may be readily discovered by testing one or more of the
nails produced from such plate, for in that case the shank of the nail at, say, one-
third of the distance or more from its point will be found to have lost its soft and
pliable condition, which is its chief value in a material degree. If, however, the
pressure of the finishing rolls be adjusted properly the value of the nails, as above
described, will not be perceptibly impaired, and a suitable finish will be at the
same time produced upon the nail plate. From this description the practical
operator can readily determine how to adjust his finishing rolls, and although the
adjustment must be made within somewhat narrow limits by observing due care
it can be accomplished without great difficulty. It is necessary to perform this
finishing process upon the head and shank parts of the nail plate at a separate
operation from the hardening process by cold rolling, or from the hardening process
by cold stamping, as described in the Specification of the said former Letters
Patent, to form the parts of the plate intended for the points of the nails, and the
parts immediately adjacent thereto, because while compressing the metal to harden
it by one part of the roll or by indenting it, it is not practicable to graduate the
pressure of the instrument so as to produce a finish upon the other parts of the
plate without injuring the softness and pliability of the metal materially.
The second part of my Invention is illustrated in Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, and 17. The devices shewn in these Figures are placed and operated in any
suitable stamping machine, or they may be placed in a machine especially designed
for their reception, such as that described in the Specification of the said former
Letters Patent.
Figure 10 is an elevation, with portions broken away, of the punch-holder,
shewing the clearing and automatic adjusting finger, and
Figure 11 is a plan of the same.
Figure 12 is a plan of the pointing and nail dies, guides, and connecting parts.
Figure 13 is a front view of the bed with the dies, guides, and adjusting-
connections upon it.
Figure 14 is a perspective view of the punch and die blocks in their operative
position.
Figure 15 is a plan of the tunnel and

page_text: Figure 17 is a plan of the ends of two plates, shewing the manner of uniting
them as they are fed into the machine.
In Figure 10 D represents the finger, which is forced up when the punch is
depressed upon the plate and the punches C, C', are in use. This finger or bolt D
is placed opposite the end of the second nail-punch, and its points e, e, reach the
bed-die somewhat in advance of it, so that the said points may pass one upon each
side of the strip of metal left by the first punch, from which strip the overlapping
nails are cut by the second punch, and by means of their sloped or curved inner
faces act upon the inetal to move it sidewise, if sprung, and bring its centre opposite
the point of the punch, so that the point of the nail will be cut from the centre of
the strip and spot prepared for the purpose. As it is not designed to have this
bolt or finger act as a presser-foot to hold the metal down upon the dies its bifur-
cation is commenced far enough from the end and its parts ending in the points e, e,
separated, so that if the metal be not sprung or bent by the action of the first punch
so as to require the use of the finger to centre it before the second punch acts
upon it, it may not be pressed upon by the bolt while being so acted upon,
but may lie between the points e, e, while they rest upon the bed-die and
hold up the bolt D. If, however, the stock from which the nail is to be
cut by the second punch is sprung or bent sidewise by the action of the first
punch, one or the other of the parts of the bolt will be brought in contact
with the bent metal before the punch reaches it, and as the spring dis
made strong enough to keep the bolt projected until it meets with a greater
resistance than such a strip of metal can offer in bending, the metal will be sprung
back or straightened by the sloping inner surface of the part bearing upon it. It
will not, however, be pressed against the opposite part or branch of the bolt,
because, before the place where the parts are near enough together so that the
metal might touch both at once is reached, the points e, e, will be brought against
the bed-die F and press up the bolt. When the punch-block A with the punches
is lifted up from the die-blocks the said bolt or finger is forced out by the spring d,
and any waste which may adhere to the punch will be removed or thrown off,
for when the bolt is forced out, if the waste metal clings to the punch C, the strip
which lies between the points e, e, will be brought in contact with the inner sides
of the bifurcated part of the bolt where they approach each other as the bolt is
projected, and the waste will be crowded off the punch. This finger or bolt is not
intended to act as a presser-foot or stock-holder, having its action limited so that
it may extend just far enough to clear the punch of waste metal when the punch-
block A is raised and guide the stock, as above described.
In Figure 12 W represents the bed piece, provided with ears M, M². The ears
M' on the sides of the nail-dies are movable, in order that the latter may be
removed and replaced by taking one of the ears off from the bed without changing
the set-screws 1 which hold the dies laterally. By this construction I am enabled
to remove and replace the dies for repair without being obliged to readjust them.
Through the ear M the set screws I, I, pass and serve to hold the nail-dies F, and
pointing and finishing dies a, a¹, and b in place from back to front, while the set
screws 1 hold only the nail dies F in place and prevent a lateral motion.
The parts G having the lips glare united to the parts S which extend beneath
them (see Figure 13) by the screw bolts T¹, and the parts G' are held in contact
with the parts S by the screw-bolts T passing through slotted holes in both into
the bed W.
The set screws K, K, passing through the parts S, S, act upon the pointing and
finishing dies a, a', and b to adjust them laterally when placed in position before
the set screws I, I, are tightened. When, however, that is done the set screws K, K,
are backed out so that they will not touch the dies, and prevent the free lateral
movement of the sides S.
The set screws N, N, passing through the parts S, S, act upon the guides H, H,
while the bar J uniting the parts S, S, and the parts thereto attached, enables the
operator, by means of the guide-screw P, to produce in the united construction

page_text: formed as above, to wit, the parts G, G¹, H, and J, with their set-screws N, a
movement in a lateral direction as a whole, sliding upon the steel-faced bed W,
and against the lip M². This lateral movement may be produced by a lever, cam,
or other equivalent device without departing from the spirit of my Invention.
I construct the tunnel with its upper leaf R narrow at the back end, so that that
end of the tunnel can be inserted between the side pieces S, S, which are upon and
beside the pointing-dies, and under the lips of the guide-pieces G¹. I prefer to
provide this tunnel with a roller von its under lip and at its end, but this roller
may be dispensed with. By constructing the tunnel, as above described, when the
nail plate passes out from the tunnel it will be already under the lips of the dies
and cannot become disconnected, wedged, or jammed by the oscillations of the
tunnel and forward movement of the plate, as one piece follows another toward
the punches.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. A nail plate, provided on one or both sides with a ridge for the head of
the nail, which plate is made harder near one of its angles than at its other
portions by compressing the metal forming such part by cold rolling, as above set
forth.
Second. The process of cutting horse-shoe nails from a prepared plate while
having their point ends lapping past each other alternately, and leaving a strip or
thread of the metal of the plate of substantially the same thickness and homogeneity
as the adjacent parts of the nail around the edge of the latter as it is cut from the
plate, substantially as above described.
Third. A nail plate, provided on one or both edges with a ridge for the head of
the nail, and a row or rows of bevelled indentations for the points thereof, from
which plate a properly shaped nail may be struck, substantially as above described.
Fourth. A prepared nail plate, having its depressions a sufficient distance apart
with relation to the width of the nail lapping past them as it is cut from the plate,
to leave a margin of metal between the depression and the nail when cut away,
substantially as above described.
Fifth. The process of cutting horse shoe nails from a plate (prepared with the
different degrees of hardness in its several parts to correspond with the required
hardness of the several parts of the nail cut therefrom) in such a manner that as
each nail is punched from the prepared plate there is left in the plate a thread or
margin of its metal all around the nail, of substantially the same thickness and
homogeneity as the adjacent parts of the nail cut therefrom, substantially as above
described.
Sixth. A horse-shoe nail plate of proper form for producing the completed nails
therefrom, and having its parts which are designed to produce the head and
adjacent parts of the nail finished by cold rolling, without material injury to the
softness and pliability of the metal therefor, substantially as above described.
Seventh. The process of finishing horse shoe nail plates by cold rolling the same
uniformly with a pressure graduated to produce a finish upon their surfaces, without
impairing materially the requisite softness and pliability thereof, substantially as
above described.
Eighth. The combination with a fixed bed of pointing dies, side guides connected
together, and a guide screw to give the side guides a uniform lateral movement,
substantially as above described.
Ninth. The combination of the nail-dies, the nail punches, the connected side
guides, and the adjusting guide screw, substantially as above described and for the
purpose specified.
Tenth. The combination of the point-forming indenture dies with smoothing dies
and the laterally adjustable connected side guides, substantially as above described
and for the purpose specified.
Eleventh. The combination of the nail dies and the nail punches with a crotched

page_text: bifurcated spring bolt placed on a line with the punch to automatically centre the
the stock, substantially as herein described.
Twelfth. The combination with a bed and nail dies of ears having set screws
and make-fast screws, so arranged that the dies can be removed by loosening the
make-fast screws without turning the set screws, substantially as above described.
Thirteenth. The combination in a nail-punching machine of nail dies and
punches provided with guides, with an entrance tunnel extending within such
guides, substantially as above described and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.