IMPROVEMENTS IN WETT FORKS AND IN THE TOOLS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hugh Schofield, Weft Fork Manufacturer, of
Colne, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN WETT FORKS AND IN THE TOOLS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF."
Sealed the 13th November 1866, and dated the 30th May 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hugh Schofield at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th May 1866.
1, HUGH SCHOFIELD, Weft Fork Manufacturer, of Colne, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WEPT FORKS AND IN THE TOOLS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE
THEREOF," to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention consists in the application of dies or swages
fitted to or in connection with the ordinary or any other forging machine, one
part of the said dies or swages being of the shape required for rough drawing
the iron into blanks of the proper size and thickness to make a weft fork, and
for leaving the metal where the prongs join the socket V-shaped or with a
partly circular swell; other dies or swages having other part of the shapes
required for forging the prong plate or web to the requisite taper and for
finishing the tail end of the fork to the proper breadth and thickness.

page_text: Secondly, in the application of taper cutters which are moved up and down
and partly round for cutting the prongs of the weft fork. When the prongs
have been formed by the cutters they are acted upon by a set of dies or
swages acting simultaneously on all the prongs to bring them to the proper
shape and taper.
Thirdly, in the application of an improved revolving cutting tool for
finishing the centre part of the weft fork, whereby the root of the prongs and
tail piece are left semicircular and consequently stronger than heretofore.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Hugh Schofield in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
80th November 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HUGH
SCHOFIELD, of Colne, in the County of Lancaster, Weft Fork Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Hugh Schofield, Her special license that I, the said
Hugh Schofield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Hugh Schofield, 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN WEPT FORKS AND IN THE TOOLS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE
THEREOF," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Hugh Schofield,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Hugh Schofield, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: 4
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The first part of my Invention consists in the application of dies or swages
fitted to or in connection with the ordinary or any other forging machine, one
part of the said dies or swages being of the shape required for rough drawing
the iron into blanks of the proper size and thickness to make a weft fork and-
for leaving the metal where the prongs join the socket V-shaped or with a
partly circular swell; other dies or swages having other parts of the shapes
required for forging the prong plate or web to the requisite taper and for
finishing the tail end of the fork to the proper breadth and thickness.
Secondly, in the application of taper cutters which are moved up and down
and partly round for cutting the prongs of the weft fork.
When the prongs
have been formed by the cutters they are acted upon by a set of dies or
swages acting simultaneously on all the prongs to bring them to the proper
shape and taper.
Thirdly, in the application of an improved revolving cutting tool for
finishing the centre part of the weft fork, whereby the root of the prongs and
tail piece are left semicircular and consequently stronger than heretofore.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheets of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon, similar letters
of reference being marked upon similar parts.
Figures 1 and 2 on Sheet I are side and end views of the dies or swages
used in the commencement of making a weft fork according to my improve-
ments; the bottom die or swage is fixed in a swage block or in other con-
.venient place, and the top die or swage is actuated either by a trip hammer,
forge hammer, or in any othe manner to suit the convenience of the
operator; the parts marked a and a¹ are shaped liko a fuller as shewn, and
are for the purpose of roughing out, whilst the parts marked a³, and a³, and a*,
and a³, are suitable for flattening the sides and edges of the fork; these swages
may be so formed that the required width and thickness may have been attained
when the parts marked a and a' meet. Figure 3 is a side elevation partly in
section, and Figure 4 is a plan shewing part of a machine used in performing
my Invention; the parts not shewn here are shewn in detached views or
will be described hereafter in reference to a subsequent part of my Invention
shewn in Figures 8 and 9. 6 is the framing of the machine in which the
shaft c is mounted in the steps d; on the shaft c is fixed the eccentric c¹
which acts upon the lever whose fulcrum is at
; to the end of this
lever is attached a weight c' to bring it up after being depressed by the

page_text: eccentric c; in the lever c is inserted the cutter e, and in the framing b are
fixed the two cutters f and f¹ by means of the screws f and f³ for the
purpose of shearing the outsides of the web of the weft fork to the required
width and taper; the eccentric c¹ may be put in motion by a weighted handle
or lever on one end of the shaft c, or in any other convenient manner; the
cutters and may be set up as they wear, and to accommodate the taper of
the top cutter e by means of the set screws f³ as will be more fully shewn and
described in reference to Figures 8 and 9; the cutter e, face and edge views,
is shewn full size in Figures 5 and 6, and the weft fork in course of formation
is shewn in position for the action of the cutters e, f, and f' in Figure 4. The
boss of the weft fork is formed by inserting it between the swages 9 and g¹ as
shewn in Figure 7; these swages being in a suitable swage block, which may
be of the form shewn in Figures 12 and 13 on Sheet 2. I wish to remark
here that two cutters may be placed in the lever c* and one cutter fixed in
the bed or framing b, by which arrangement a similar effect would be pro-
duced. On Sheet 2, Figure 3 represents an elevation, partly in section,
and Figure 9 a plan view (with the top shaft and cutters removed for the
purpose of shewing the bottom cutters) of a machine for cutting out a portion
of the web end of the weft fork so as to form the prongs; this machine is
somewhat similar to the one described in reference to Figures 3 and 4.
Figure 10 is a portion of the machine shewn in Figures 8 and 9 drawn full
size, and Figure 11 is a full-sized view of one of the cutters; h is the body
or framing of the machine in which are the steps h¹ carrying the shaft h³ on
which are secured the cutters by means of the nut i, see Figure 10. In
the centre of the machine are three cutters, j, j', and j³, so placed that the
top cutters i can pass between them when motion is given to the shaft h*;
these cutters j, j¹, and j' are held between two slides and k¹ placed and
sliding in the body or framing hat each end of the machine as shewn, and
the position of the cutters j, j', and is, can be regulated in the direction of
their length and tightened up by means of the set screws and k; the
-screws are for the purpose of setting up the cutters; and ¹ sideways to
accommodate the taper of the top cutters i, or as they wear the top cutters i
may be placed loose on the shaft h³, in which case the heels of the
cutters i, marked, must be formed so as always to remain between the back
portions of the bottom cutters j, j', and , to act as guides; the arrange-
ment here shewn and described for setting and holding the bottom cutters
may be applied to the machine described in reference to Figures 3 and 4 on
Sheet 1; between the slide k and the ends of the bottom cutters is placed
another slide piece m hollowed out on its top surface to accommodate the

page_text: boss of the weft fork under operation, and allow it to lie flat on the bottom
cutters when placed in the machine between the guides n and n', which guides
are held securely in the required taper position to fit. the sides of the weft
fork under operation by the screws n' after being set up by the set screws n³.
Figures 12 and 13 illustrate the next part of my Invention, being an out-
side view and section of swage block and dies or swages for straightening and
slightly drawing out the prongs of the weft fork; the dies or swages are
shewn full size in Figure 14, and other dies also used in this part of the
process are also shewn full size in Figure 15; the swage block is marked p,
and the dies or swages are four in number, o, o', 0%, and o³, and are made
slightly taper from back to front, see Figure 13. By means of the machine
described in reference to Figures 8, 9, and 10 in connection with the arrange,
ment of swages shewn in Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15, the operation of bend-
ing back and drawing out by hand is entirely dispensed with, the straightening
of the prongs being effected by inserting them between the working surfaces
of the four dies or swages o, o', o³, and o³, as shewn in Figure 13.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The iron of the right size for making
weft forks having been heated is placed upon that part of the swage marked a
in Figures 1 and 2, and after being roughed out by the action of the part
marked a (which action may be communicated to it in any convenient
manner and by any suitable means whatever at the disposal of the operator)
is placed under different parts of the swages to form the web and other parts
of the weft fork, after which it is inserted between the dies or swages shewn
in Figure 7, where the boss is rounded up and assumes the form of the dies,
which causes the weft fork when finished to be much stronger than those now
made; the power required to forge the blank in this part of the process is
applied to the top of the swage 9 in any convenient manner and by any suit-
able means. The weft fork in course of formation is now placed in the
machine as shewn in Figure 4, and by the combination of the cutters e, f,
and f, is sheared on its outer edges to the breadth and taper required, which
is determined by the width and taper of the cutter e and position of the
cutters and f; the web end of the partially formed weft fork is now inserted
between the guides marked n and n', shewn in Figure 9 on Sheet 2; the
boss of the fork resting in the slide piece m and by the combined action of
5 the cutters i, j, j', and j' is made to assume somewhat of the shape shewn in
Figure 16, after which it is inserted as shewn in Figure 13 between the four
dies or swages marked o, o', o³, and o³; suitable power either by hand or
otherwise being applied to the top of the swage o causes all the swages to act
simultaneously on all the prongs; here the straightening and slightly drawing

page_text: out of the prongs is finished, and it is evident from the arrangement of the dies
or swages that the thicker portions of the prongs only will be acted on until all
the prongs are reduced to the required size, shape, and taper; circular or
cylindrical cutters are now used to finish the roots of the prongs of the weft
fork, which though not shewn in the Drawing will be readily comprehended
and understood by any skilled mechanic; the weft fork thus far completed is
shewn in Figures 17 and 18; the other processes required to completely finish
the weft fork, such as boring the boss, grinding, polishing, &c., are conducted
in the ordinary manner, and need not be described. I would here observe
that the same effects as regards the power employed may be obtained by the
use of a screw press or any other known means, also, that although I have
only shewn two cutters on the shaft more could be used by another
arrangement.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I declare that I claim as of my Invention,-
Firstly, the arrangement, construction, and shape of the dies or swages
shewn and described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 12, 13, 14, and 15, in the
manner and for the purposes herein shewn and described.
And lastly, the taper shape and arrangement of the cutters shewn and
described in reference to Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11, whereby the
process of bending back the prongs of weft forks and drawing them out by
band is entirely dispensed with.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hugh Schofield, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of November, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-six.
HUGH SCHOFIELD. (L.S.)