IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT NAILS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of 8, Sussex Place,
Loughborough Road, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT NAILS."-A
communication.
Sealed the 24th July 1855, and dated the 15th May 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th May 1855.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of 8, Sussex Place, Loughborough Road,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT NAILS" to be
as follows:--
The object of the Invention is to avoid the difficulties heretofore encountered
in the manufacture of wrought nails by machinery, and consists in the employ-
ment of cutters to form several tapered pieces, by cutting from a plate rolled
to the required thickness of the thickest part of the sbank of the nails, and
making the taper alternately from the opposite sides, and so proportioned that
the cross section taken at any part of the shank shall have the same or nearly
the saine amount of metal after the cut as when the nails are completed, when
this is combined with griping or moulding dies, which receive the cut pieces

page_text: from the cutters by some suitable conveying means, and which mould them by
causing the metal to spread instead of elongating, and retain the sanie or
nearly the same amount of metal in any and all parts of the length. In this
way I am enabled to make wrought nails with economy and of a good
quality, having, if desired, the taper on all four faces, and, if necessary, as in
the case of horse-shoe nails, with a slight swell near the head.
In working with the machine for making wrought nails according to this
method, the rod or plate of heated metal is fed in through a space between
two stationary cutters, below which vibrates a double-edge cutter, by which
a piece to form a nail is cut off at each motion, the rod or plate being vibrated
after each cut, so as to give the taper alternately on opposite sides.
With each of the stationary cutters is combined a griping die, and with the
moveable cutter are combined two dies, one on each side, and inclined to the
cutting edges in opposite directions, so that as the moveable cutter moves in
one direction, a piece is cut off from the rod or plate, carried along, and finally
griped on two faces, between one face of the moveable cutter and one of those
attached to one of the stationary cutters, and on the other two faces between
the under face of the stationary cutter and one of the dies attached to the
moveable cutter, and thero compressed so as to give the required form to the
shank. The head is then formed on the thick end by a punch the moment
the griping takes place. On the return motion of the moveable cutter the
nail is discharged, and another nail is formed in the same way on the other
side, the rod or plate of iron having been vibrated in the meantime to make
the taper on the opposite side.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th November 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of 8, Sussex Place, Loughborough Road, Brixton, in
the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and graut unto me, the said
George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special licence that I, the said George

page_text: Tomlinson Bousfield, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT NAILS," a
communication, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof (that is to say) :-
The means heretofore employed for making wrought-iron nails by machinery
have been, first, to draw out the form of a nail from a rod in the direction of
the length thereof; secondly, to cut the pieces from the breadth of a plate,
the cut being made parallel, and then rolling out these pieces on all four sides;
and, third, to cut by dies the required form for two faces from a plate so
rolled as to give the form required to the other two faces. The first of these
modes has not been found to answer in practise; the second mode is objec-
tionable, for the reason that the piece of metal after it has been cut from the
plate must be rolled on all four sides, which renders the operation too costly;
and the third mode is objectionable, for the reason that after the plate has been
rolled of the required form for two faces, to give the required form to the other
two faces by cutting requires two cuts, producing a waste of metal between
every two nails. It has been found very objectionable, if not impracticable, to
make wrought nails by giving the required form to two faces, and then to draw
out the other two faces whilst the two first faces are gripped and firmly held
between checks or gripping dies, for the reason that the metal cannot be drawn
out effectually whilst thus gripped; and, besides, if it could, such mode would
only be applicable to nails that have the two faces gripped parallel, for if not
made tapering the rolling dies could not work between the gripping dies.
Attempts have also been made to make nails by rolling out between grooved
rollers wedge-formed blanks, and afterwards giving the required form to the
nail by moulding the same between four faces; but this plan is not practicable.

page_text: for the reason that blanks of such a form cannot be produced at one rolling,
and if subjected to a series of rollings the metal in the successive rollings
will not elongate so regularly as to fit the sections of the successive sets of
rollers, and if such could be done the thin parts of such blanks would not
retain the heat long enough to undergo the moulding or forming operation
without reheating, to do which would present great practical difficulties.
The object of the Invention is to avoid the difficulties heretofore encountered
in the manufacture of wrought nails by machinery, and consists in the employ-
ment of cutters to form tapered pieces by cutting from a plate rolled to the
required thickness of the thickest part of the shank of the nails, and making
the taper alternately from the opposite sides, and so proportioned that the cross
section, taken at any part of the shank of the nail, when completed, shall
have the same or nearly the same amount of metal as it had when first cut off.
Gripping or moulding dies receive the cut pieces from the cutters, and mould
them by causing the metal to spread instead of elongating, and thus the shanks
of the nails retain the same or nearly the same amount of metal in all parts
of their length as when cut off. In this way wrought nails are made with
economy and of a good quality, having, if desired, the taper on all four faces,
and, if necessary, as in the case of horse-shoe nails, with a slight swell
near the head. In working with the machine for making wrought nails
according to this Invention, the plate of heated metal is fed in through a space
left between two stationary cutters, below which a double-edge cutter moves
to and fro, by which a piece of metal to form a nail is cut off at each move-
ment of the cutter, the plate of metal being rocked or vibrated edgeways after
each cut, so as to place the lever end of the plate at an angle to the cutter
alternately on opposite sides.
The cutters employed are made of cast iron, the cutting edges being chill
cast. Streams of water are conducted by suitable channels upon the dies and
cutters, to keep them cool, and oil is also caused to drop on the working parts
of the cutters and dies.
With each of the stationary cutters is combined a gripping die, and with
the moveable cutters are combined two dies, one on each side, and inclined to
the cutting edges in opposite directions, so that as the moveable cutter moves
in one direction a piece is cut off from the plate, and being carried along is
finally gripped on two faces between one face of the moveable cutter and onc
of the stationary dies, and on the other two faces between the under face of
the stationary cutter and one of the dies m combined with the moveable
cutter, and is there compressed so as to give the required form to the shank.
The head is then formed on the thick end by a punch at the moment the

page_text: Deusfimprovements C
gripping takes place. On the return motion of the moveable cutter, the nail
is discharged, and another nail is formed in the same way on the other
side, the plate of iron having been vibrated edgeways in the mean time, so as
to place the lower end of the plate at the proper angle to make the taper of
the next piece cut off on the opposite side.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front, Figure 2 a back, and Figure 8 a side elevation;
Figure 4 a longitudinal section, and Figure 5 a cross vertical section, of a
machine constructed according to the Invention. The same letters are used
to indicate like parts in all the Figures. The other Figures show separate
views of some of the parts on a larger scale, the nature of which is written
thereon.
In the accompanying Drawings, a, a, represents the framing of the machine
adapted to the purpose, but which may be varied at pleasure; b; b, are two
stationary cutters, placed vertically and at such a distance apart in the frame
as to admit of the free passage of the plate of iron from which the nails aro
to be cut. Just above these cutters is arranged a vibrating frame d, formed
with ways in which slides the heated plate, which is forced downward by a
follower e, to feed forward the plate as the nails are in succession cut from it.
This frame d is attached to two arms which turn on fulcrum pins at f, f.
One of the said arms is extended below the fulcrum, as at g, where it is acted
upon by a cam h on the cam shaft i, so that the said feeding frame is vibrated
backwards and forwards to give a taper form to the pieces cut off alternately
from opposite sides of the plate, a spring ; being employed to keep the said
arm against the cam.
Below the stationary cutters there is a moveable cutter k attached to a
carriage, which is capable of sliding in the framing of the machine. The
carriage and parts connected therewith are shown separately at Figures 6, 7,
and 8. On each side of the cutter ka die m is placed, whose upper face is
laterally inclined to the edge of the stationary cutters, and the two dies m are
inclined in opposite directions. When the plate of iron is forced down by the
follower, its lower edge on one side comes in contact with and rests on the
upper surface of one of the dies m, the other side of the plate resting on
the instrument m*, which is capable of adjustment so as to govern the angle
at which the lower end of the plate is placed at the moment the cut takes
place, so that the distance the plate of metal is allowed to descend, and the
angle given to it by the die m and instrument m*, determines the form to be
given to the two cut faces of the intended nail.

page_text: The instruments m*, m*, slide up and down at one end of each of the dies m,
and are supported by springs m³, fixed to the under side of the carriage which
are acted upon by fixed inclines at each movement of the carriage to or fro, so
as to place the instruments m* in a position to support the point of the nail at
the time it is cut off, and then allow it to descend a little below the edge of the
cutters before being acted upon by the pressing dies.
The carriage is jointed at one end to an arm n of a rock shaft o, which
receives its rocking motion to vibrate the cutter by an arm p on the end, having
a.connecting rod q which takes hold of a crank on the outer end of the cam
shaft As the cutter moves in one direction it cuts off that portion of the
plate of iron below the cutting edge of one of the stationary cutters, and the
piece thus cut off lies between the under face of the stationary cutter. and
the upper face of one of the dies m, and by the continued motion of the cutter
it is carried along until it is gripped between the face of the moveable cutter
and one of two stationary gripping dies, s, s, the other dies, being on the other
side, arranged in the same manner and in the same form, but-reversed.At
the end of the motion of the cutter the space left between its face and the
die is such that the nail is squeezed into the shape required: Simultaneously
with the gripping of the nail between one face of the moveable cutter and one
of the dies s, it is-gripped on the other two faces in the following manner :-
To the under side of the carriage 1, two springs, having inclined planes
a², a², formed thereon, are attached, and below there is a lever *, which moves
at one end on a fulcrum pin c², the other end resting on a cam & on the cam
shaft. The upper part of this lever is provided with two projecting
pieces,, so that when the carriage is moved in one direction to cut one
nail, the prominent part of one of the inclined planes is brought just over
one of the projecting pieces of the lever, so that the cam shall elevate it to
grip the two cut faces of the nail. On the return motion of the carriage
another nail is cut with the taper in the reversed direction, and then the other
inclined plane of the carriage is acted upon by the lever 63, and the same
operations are performed in like manner.
So soon as the nail has been gripped, the head is formed on the large end
by means of a header t, attached to the upper end of a lever u, which turns
on a fulcrum pin at . The header is pushed outward by a spring w, and
pushed inwards to head the nail by a wedge piece x, which is forced up by
lever Y₁ which is acted upon at the proper time by a cam on the cam
shaft i. As soon as the cam has passed, the header is pushed back by the
spring, and the nail is liberated by the back motion of the carriage, and
discharged by a punch a', joined to an arm b', which receives the required

page_text: motion from the carriage of the moveable cutter by a joint link c' attached to
the carriage at c*.
By the Drawings it will be seen that there is a similar arrangement of dies,
header, and discharge punch on the two sides of the machine, and the above
description applies to both sets. When the cutter moves back, it will be seen
that the operations above described are repeated, to cut, form, and head another
nail, and so on from side to side alternately at each time the plate of heated
iron is fed to the required distance and vibrated.
The follower which feeds the plate of iron is operated by a lever d', to which
it is attached by a spring e, which lever, by a spring e*, causes the said follower
to press on the plate to insure its descent. The lever d' moves on a fulcrum
at d*, and to the arm f¹ of this lever is joined another lever 9', having a set
screw h', which is acted upon by the arm f¹ to raise it as the lever d' descends,
and the outer end of the lever 9' has a lip ¹, which, when the lever g' is moved
out to the full extent of its motion, is caught by a spur on an arm k³ of the
rock shaft o (which operates the carriage of the moveable cutter), so that as
this
spur vibrates, it comes in contact with the lip of the lever g', and lifts up
the lever d', and with it the follower, until it is locked by a spring catch l*, and
there held until the attendant has introduced another heated plate. The atten-
dant then liberates the spring catch, and the feed motion proceeds. The plates
from which the nails are to be made should not be made too long, as it is
important that the heat should be retained until each plate is cut up.
In making horse-shoe nails, or nails with a head on one side only, the
enlargement is made by having a recess formed in the dies, as shown in the
Drawings; but when ordinary headed nails are to be made, the piece of metal,
after it is cut off from the plate, is forced outwards endways towards the header
against a suitable stop, so that a proper amount of metal may project outside
the cutters and gripping dies to form the head, and the piece when cut off is
moved endways by spring levers (1) connected to the shaft o, which levers are
acted upon at the proper times by fixed inclines, which come in contact with
the incline (2) on the levers, so as to move it sideways, and thus shift the
nail when cut off before the dies are closed upon it, which will be better
understood on examining Figure 9 of the Drawings.
From the above description it will be seen that each piece when cut off from
the plate is a simple wedge-formed piece of a certain length; and it will be
understood that the dies are arranged so as to act on and by pressure to alter
the transverse sectional form of the different parts, but not to alter the quantity
of metal contained in any portion of the length of the piece of metal which is
within the dies.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details herein shown and described, as the same may be varied
in the details; and I would state that I make no claim of any of the parts
separately; but what I claim is, the combination of the mechanical parts into
a machine as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
B. GOBEY,
4, Old Square, Lincoln's Inn.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)