CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN, SHOVELS AND SPADES FOR GENERAL USE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Hunt, trading under the style or firm of
William Hunt and Sons, Iron and Steel Works, of the Brades, in the
County of Stafford, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN,
SHOVELS AND SPADES FOR GENERAL USE."
Sealed the 28th July 1857, and dated the 3rd February 1857..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Hunt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd February
1857.
I, JAMES HUNT, trading under the style or firm of William Hunt and Sons,
Iron and Steel Works, of the Brades, in the County of Stafford, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHOVELS AND SPADES FOR GENERAL USE," to be as follows, that is to say:-
My Invention consists, first, in the mode of cutting out or forming iron or
steel or part iron and part steel blanks for forming spades or shovels; and,
secondly, in the mode of treating such blanks or pieces of iron or steel for
forming them into shovels or spades. And the first process will be understood
by the following description:-I take a flat bar of steel or iron, say, about
5 inches in width, more or less, according to the description of shovel or spade
I may desire to make, and about of of an inch thick, varying as in the width
according to requirement, and from this, with a press and suitable tools, I cut.

page_text: out my spade or shovel blanks, cutting them out one in the other, so as to
make no waste only in the beginning and the ending, each blank being so
formed that it shall be about 2 inches long and 10 inches wide, more or less,
and rising lengthway; in the middle of one end of each is formed a piece
about 2 inches long and 1 inches broad, from which the langet is formed.
And the second part of my Invention consists in taking two of these blanks
and putting them together, either both of steel, or one iron and one steel, or
both iron, heated and partly welded together; and from them so welded I
form my spade or shovel, by rolling them out until the blade is the desired
shape and thickness, the langets. being also lengthened at the same time, by
which the blade is united to the handle by rivets passing through them in the
ordinary way.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd
August 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HUNT, trading, under the style or firm of William Hunt and Sons, Iron and
Steel Works, of the Brades, in the County of Stafford, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me;
the said James Hunt, Her special licence that I; the said James Hunt,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; the said
James Hunt, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree 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 "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOVELS AND SPADES, FOR, GENERAL USE," upon the condition
(ainongst others) that I; the said Jamies Hunt, by an instrument in writing
under. iny hand and seal; should particularly describe, and ascertain, the
nature of the. said Invention, and in what manner the,, same, was to bo
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
witliin six.calendar months, 'next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Paterit.
.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Hunt, do hereby declaro tlio
nature of my said Invention; and in what manner the same is to be per
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say): :-
.:
My.improvements in the manufacture of spades and shovels relate,. firstly,
to the mode or manner, of forming and, cutting up the steel or iron of which
such spades and. shovels are to be manufactured; and, secondly; in the mode
of fórining such kinds. of implements from such pieces or blanks so cut up,
whereby I am.enabled, not only to economize the material, but also to effect
a great saving in the labour, as well as to greatly improve the strength, light-
ness, and general appearance of such implements.
And the manner in which I proceed will be best understood by referring to
'the Drawings hereunto annexed, which are made to a scale of about half size,
and which Drawings I. will now proceed to describe, reference being made to
the letters and figures marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
:
I take a strip of steel or iron, say, of about five inches wide, and of any
convenient length, and. about five-sixteenths of an inch thick, more or less,
according to the size of the shovel, spade, or other such like implement I may
wish to make. Such a bar or strip I have exhibited in a flat view at Figure, 1,
Sheet. 1, and which bar or strip I divide (by means of suitable tools and a
strong fly-press, worked by steam or otherwise; as most convenient,) into pieces
of the shape, as exhibited.detached at B, and in dotted lines at C, D; E, F, &c.,
right through the strip or bar, cutting one out of the other, so that no waste
shall be made excepting a small piece at the beginning and ending, such as
represented at A. The larger part of B is intended to form. the blade, and
the small part, marked 6, the languet, for uniting the blade to the handle or
tree, as will be hereafter seen.
I take two of these blanks, whether formed both of steel or botli of iron, or
0 one of steel and the other of iron, or both of iron, with a thin piece of steel
placed on or between them at the parts forming the blade and weld thein
together, except at the part between the dotted curved line, marked g, g, in
Fig. 2, which exhibits the general form in a flat view. After this welding or
forging operation (of which Figure 3 is a section taken through the dotted line
5 h, h) they are heated and. dusted between the languets (to prevent welding
at that part), and then passed through or between suitable rolls while
hot, until they assume the form exhibited at Figure 4, from which stato
they are clipped to the proper size and shape, as exhibited at Figure 5.

page_text: 4
+
And next I pierce the. holes out of the languets through which the rivets
pass for securing the blade to the handle, as well as holes for rivets each side
of the coffering, to prevent the two thicknesses parting irregularly at this part,
as will be hereafter referred to.
I will here observe, that after paying the blade blank (as exhibited at
Figure 2) through or between the breaking-down rolls until reduced to the
proper size, and which rolls, as well as the rolls for the subsequent or finishing
processes, will work best if geared together in the ordinary way, one roll being
sufficiently excentric on its periphery to allow of the upper part of the blade
that is united to the languets to be thicker than at any other part, as also that
part of the languet in connection with the blade, in order that more strength
may be obtained at this part, as will be seen at Figure 6, which is a longitudinal
.section of Figure 5, taken through the dotted line marked.m, m. The truc
form of this Figure is laid down. in dotted lines on Figure 4, which shew
with what accuracy I am enabled to adapt my first process to the sub-
sequent requirements, so as to produce but the bare form of the spade or
shovel I desire to make, allowing the least possible amount of waste for
trimming or clipping, the part marked B, Figure 1, being varied according to
the size or shape of the spade, shovel, or implement I may wish to make.
And again, in the operation of welding the blanks together (if they should
be intended for gravel or such like shovels), I hammer them (in the process of
Awelding) into the shape exhibited by the dotted line marked-k, k, Figure 2,
that when subsequently operated on by the rolls they nay assume the form as
exhibited at Figure 7, thus shewing that this mode of manufacture is applicable
to the various shapes and sizes of spades, shovels, or other such like implements
that are usually required.
2.
The holes marked n, n, are for rivets, to prevent the coffering, before referred
and
to, extending beyond the dotted lines o, p, In some instances I may
use a blank, such as exhibited at B, Figure 1, of double thickness, and in that
case the blank would be entirely solid, and would have to be divided at the
languets and coffering by sawing, or other suitable means, and in this case
the blank may be all of steel or all of iron, or part steel and part iron, welded
or rolled together.
The description of rolls necessary for reducing the blanks, as exhibited at
Figure 2, into the forms exhibited at Figures 4 and 7, may be of two kinds;
the one being to reduce the diameter of one of the rolls at certain places,
according to the amount I wish to reduce at each operation, as exhibited at
Figure 8, Sheet 2;. the line G, G, representing the face line of a part of a
roll (say, for distinction, the top one), which I prefer being perfectly cylindrical;

page_text: and H, H, represents the face line (of as much as it is necessary to shew) of
the under roll, shewing the variations of the reduced parts; as, for instance,
the blank, as exhibited at Figure 2, Sheet 1,. is first passed through or
between the sunken part marked I, next through the part J, and, lastly,
through the part K, which reduces it to the proper size and thickness; the
sunken part for the last operation which may be at K, or it may be an
additional operation with one roll, at that part slightly excentric (as before
referred to), for the purpose of giving strength to that part of the languets
that joins the blade, as exhibited in the sectional view, Figure 6, Sheet 1.
My other mode, of rolling is exhibited at Figure 9, which represents 'a
sectional view of a pair of rolls, the under one being broken off for convenience
of space. The top roll has three sunken parts, each being shallower. than the
other, whereby the same result is produced as by the rolls before described; the
blank, as at Figure 2, Sheet 1, being first passed between the lower roll in the
direction of the arrows and the sunken part of the top roll marked L, and in
the same way between the lower roll and the sunken parts of the upper roll,
marked M and N, when the same result will be produced as before described,
with the exception of the last process of rolling, which may be done at a
suitable recess formed in another part of the same rolls, or by separate rolls,
as exhibited in a transverse sectional view at Figure 10; the sunken part for
the last process of rolling being exhibited at O, P, the deep part O being for
the languets, to lie in which are not intended to be further reduced, and the
part P is for lengthening and reducing the blade to the proper thickness,
provision being made for gradually reducing the part where the blade and
languets join.
The description of implements herein described are of the kind known as
coffered; but my improvements are also applicable to the description known
as ribbed shovels, spades, and other such like implements; and the manner in
which I proceed to manufacture such implements will be understood by the
following description:-I take a bar of steel or iron, or part steel and part
iron, welded together in a bar of, say, about 5 inches wide and three-
quarters of an inch thick, more or less, according to the size of implement I
may wish to make, and such bar I pass between a pair of strongly mounted
and geared rolls, one roll being grooved to the depth I may require for the
general thickness of the blade (at this process), and at stated distances around
the sunken part of the grooved roll additional cavities are formed, that when
the bar has been passed between these rolls it shall assume the form exhibited
in a flat view at Figure 11, representing the projections alternately placed on
each side, the form of which is exhibited in the section, Figure 12, which is

page_text: taken through the dotted line r, r, of the last Figure; and the further dotted
Jines at S, S, S, &c. shew where the bar so formed or rolled 'is, to be divided,
cach piece by the subsequent processes being formed into a shovel or spade as
required. An end detached view, shewing the projection of the thickened part,
marked t, is represented at Figure .13, but which thickened part may be
altered in: size or shape as required; for in some instances such projections
may partially extend from side to side of such strip, and placed nearer together,
as at w, w, and in.this case the 'bar' must be divided up, as exhibited in dotted
lines in Figure 1, Sheet 1, still appropriating, as before, such pieces for ribbed
shovels, spades, &c.; the sunken cavity, exhibited at Q, Figure 10, being
altered or shaped for receiving such forined blanks, as exhibited by the dotted
lifex, x:
T...
"From this state the so-formed 'blank is passed between the rollers, as
represented at 'Figure 10 (in the manner before described in the coffered
implements), the thickened part, represented at t, Figure 11, falling in to thie
sunken part of the roll, marked Q; thus taking the blade between them in the
direction of the arrows will reduce it to its proper thickness, which at all
times I prefer to be stronger or thicker around the projecting or ribbed part,
somewhat in the form as shewn by the dotted lines 'o, p, q, Figure '7; or,
instead of reducing the blank, as exhibited at Figure 13, by one process, as
last described at Q, Figure 10, the same inay be done by two or more processes,
as most convenient. And again, instead of sinking the parts for receiving the
blades as here represented; the face line of the roll may serve for that purpose,
the thickness of the blade being regulated by placing the two rolls at the
required distance apart. A blade so formed I have exhibited in a flat 'view at
Figure 14, Sheet 2. The parts marked' u, u, are to be cut off and the thickest
or top part of the rib forged into a round pin, either to be subsequently finished
by being welded to langucts or to a socket in the ordinary way.
Figure 15 simply represents, in a sectional view, the last Figure, as taken
through v, v.
Thus we are enabled by using a superior quality of steel or iron to manu-
facture either solid, coffered, or ribbed spades' and shovels wholly of steel, or
the front of steel and the back of iron, as herein before described, or
partly of steel and partly of iron, and in each case I am enabled to produce
a lighter, stronger, and more durable, spade or shovel, or other such like
implements, than can be produced by the common process of plating.
Having this described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same may be carried into effect, I wish it understood that I do not propose
confining myself to the shape, size, proportions, or exact details of any of the

page_text: parts herein exhibited and described, as the whole may be varied according to
requirements without departing from the spirit or quality of my said improve-
ments; but what I do claim as my Invention is,-
Firstly, the mode herein described and exhibited of forming and cutting up
bars or strips of iron or steel, or part iron and part steel, for the purposes of
being subsequently manufactured into spades or shovels of any shape, form, or
description.
Secondly, I claim the application to the manufacturing of spades, shovels,
and other such like implements of the processes herein-described of reducing
such implements by the action of rolls, in counter-distinction to the common
tedious process of plating.
Thirdly, I claim the making of solid coffered steel shovels, whereby great
lightness, strength, and durability is obtained.
Fourthly, I claim the making of solid coffered spades or shovels one side
entirely of steel and the other side entirely of iron.
And, lastly, I claim the making of solid, coffered, and ribbed spades and
shovels, and such like implements generally, as herein described and exhibited.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Hunt, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-seven.
Witness,
JAMES S. COCKINGS,
Patent Agent, Birmingham.
JAMES HUNT. (L.S.)