An Improvement in French or Wire Nails.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 30th July, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 29th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 15th July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in French or Wire Nails.
I, JOHN SMITH, of Tighnalister, Venner Road, Sydenham, in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to nails and comprises an improvement in nails of the class
or kind generally known as "French or wire nails.
Such nails as heretofore made are provided with a point formed by reducing or
tapering the wire on four sides for a short distance from its point end.
A nail
with such a point on being driven into a picce of wood frequently causes the wood
to split, the action of the nail upon the wood being to bruise and push aside the
fibres as the nail is driven in, no clean cutting being possible owing to the shape
of the point, the wood being merely pushed aside and injured all around the nail.
To obviate these objections and inconveniences I provide, according to my said
invention, a French or wire nail with a brad-awl shaped point which has a cutting
surface equal in width to the section of the nail, or of slightly greater width.
My improved nail is intended to be driven into the wood with the brad-awl
point placed across the grain and can then be more easily driven into wood than
French or wire nails as heretofore made, because having a cutting surface at its
point, it cuts clean through the fibre of the wood thus making an opening of
sufficient width to permit the nail to be driven in, as far as required, without
splitting the wood, the fibres of the wood being simply compressed by the nail on
both sides thereof in the direction of the grain without otherwise bruising,
disturbing, or fracturing the fibre, and a firm hold in the wood is obtained.
I form the brad-awl point upon my improved nails in any convenient manner
either during the manufacture of the nail or later.
One convenient method of forming the brad-awl point upon my improved nails
is to subject the wire rod to the action of a suitable cutting tool or tools to cut the
wire in the desired shape, or I pass the wire rod between dies and squeeze or
press the wire to form the brad-awl point.
I can, if desired, operate with one pair of rolls or dies upon a piece of wire of
sufficient length to form two nails, the wire being divided into two nails by means
of the rolls or dies. I prefer, however, to make the nails from a continuous
length of wire fed into and through the machine by any convenient means.
ليوم
1000
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in French or Wire Nails.
1, JOHN SMITH, of Tighnalister, Venner Road, Sydenham, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to nails, and comprises an improvement in nails of the kind
or class generally known as "French
or wire nails. In the manufacture of
such nails, as heretofore practised, the point of the nail is usually formed by
reducing or swaging the wire for a short distance from its extremity, in such a
manner as to produce a pyramidal or four-sided taper point. A nail with such

page_text: a point, on being driven into a piece of wood, frequently causes the wood to split,
the action of the nail upon the wood being such as to bruise and push aside the
fibres as the nail is driven in, no clean cutting of the fibres being possible owing
to the shape of the point; and the fibres consequently being merely pushed aside
and injured all around the nail.
To obviate these objections and inconveniences, I provide, according to my said
invention, a "French "
or wire nail with a brad-awl shaped point having a
cutting-surface approximately equal in width to the shank of the nail or it may
be of slightly greater width.
My improved nail is intended to be driven into the wood with the brad-awl
point placed across the grain, and can then be more easily driven into wood than
"French" or wire nails as heretofore made, because having a sharp cutting edge
across its extremity, it cuts clean through the fibres of the wood, thus making an
opening of sufficient width to permit the nail to be driven in as far as required,
without splitting the wood, or otherwise injuring the same; the fibres of the
wood being simply cut by the nail and compressed on both sides thereof in the
direction of the grain, without otherwise bruising, disturbing or fracturing
the fibres. A firm hold of the nail in the wood is, therefore, obtained.
I can form the brad-awl point upon my improved nails in any convenient
manner either during the manufacture of the nail or subsequently thereto.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a side view, and
Figure 2 an edge view of one of my improved wire-nails,
Figure 3 is a sectional plau showing a headed nail-blank and a pair of squeezing
or pressing dies adapted for forming the brad-awl point as hereinafter described.
Figure 4 is a similar view illustrating a further stage in the production of the
brad-awl point by means of such dies, and
Figure 5 is a sectional plan illustrating the severing of the nail from the
remainder of the wire by a pair of pressing or cutting dies hereinafter referred to.
Figures 6 and 7 are sectional plans, illustrating a method of forming simul-
taneously the points of two nails by means of two-sided dies hereinafter referred to.
I prefer to form my brad-awl point by squeezing or pressing the wire between
dies, such as are shown at a, a in Figures 3 and 4, to which dies the requisite
pressure is applied in any convenient manner. These dies are shaped as shown,
so that they first form indentations in the wire at opposite sides thereof as
indicated in Figure 3, and then commence to draw the metal, and at the same
time forcibly move the body or shank of the nail through a short distance away
from the remainder of the wire, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 3,
until the dies occupy the position shown in Figure 4 relatively to each other and
to the nail.
I find it advantageous, after the wire has thus been squeezed or pressed between
the dies a, to remove it from these dies, and then to sever the nail from the
remainder of the wire by means of bevel-edged pressing or cutting dies b as shown
in Figure 5, thereby finishing the brad-awl point in such a manner as to ensure its
having a sharp cutting-edge.
By squeezing or pressing the wire between dies as above described, I compress
and consolidate the metal and at the same time form a very efficient brad-awl point
which, instead of having straight inclined sides, is more or less concave on each
side, as shown at c in Figure 2. Moreover, by making the squeezing-dies of the
shape shown in Figures 3 and 4 so that they draw the metal as above described,
I am enabled to form the brad-awl point without spreading the metal of the unil
laterally, or with but a slight lateral displacement of the metal.
I can, if desired, take a piece of wire of sufficient length to form two nails, and
operate upon the same in such a manner as to form the brad-awl points of two
nails simultaneously. For this purpose I first subject the piece of wire to the
action of double or two-sided squeezing or pressing dies such as are shown at d, d
in Figure 6, the piece of wire being subsequently divided into two nails by means

page_text: of double or two-sided pressing or cutting dies such as are shown at e, e in
Figure 7. I prefer, however, to make the nails from a continuous length of wire
fed into and through a suitable machine by any convenient means and operated
upon repeatedly by dies such as are shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5.
I find it advantageous to make my improved nail with a narrow flat surface
along each side thereof, as at in Figure 1, to more effectually prevent turning of
the nail in the wood, and to enable the user to know by the sense of touch when
the nail is in the proper position relatively to the grain of the wood.
In this
manner, moreover, I reduce the thickness of the nail and thus diminish the liability
to splitting of the wood when the nail is driven into the same with the sharp edge
of the brad-awl point parallel with the grain of the wood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is ;-
First. A wire-nail formed with a brad-awl point, substantially as herein before
described.
Second. In the manufacture of a nail with a brad-awl point, the method of
forming such point by squeezing or pressing the wire between suitable dies,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
JOHN SMITH.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.