Improvements in Nails or Spikes
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Nov., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 24th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 24th Sept., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Nails or Spikes
We, WILLIAM SHOоSMITH, Inventor, and ALFRED JOHN SHOOSMITH, Sanitary
Engineer, both of 42, Chester Terrace, Preston Park, Brighton in the County of
Sussex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
Our invention relates to nails or spikes, and comprises the improvements herein-
after set forth, by which the said nails or spikes, when driven into position in
timber or the like, will be firmly held in place, and can only be withdrawn there-
from by the exertion of a very considerable amount of force.
According to our said invention we form in the shank of our improved nail or
spike a number of taper circumferential grooves, so as to divide a suitable length
of the said shank, as it were, into a series of cones, the apex of the one cone being
attached to the centre of the base of the next one, and so on; the apexes of the
said cones pointing towards the point of the nail or spike, and the bases thereof
towards its head. It will be seen that we are in this manner enabled to produce
ratchet teeth upon the nail or spike, which, upon the latter being driven into
timber or the like, will engage therewith by reason of the said timber, which has
been compressed during the passage of the said nail or spike, swelling or expand-
ing and pentrating the said conical shaped circumferential grooves.
Our improved nail or spike may be either made with a sharp point for driving,
or with a truncated conical, or obtuse one for use where a hole is first bored
therefor with an auger or by a like method.
Our improved nails or spikes can be very advantageously employed for secur-
ing railway chairs to their sleepers, and enables the spikes with trenails, and
other complicated and more or less inefficient arrangements at present in use, to
be dispensed with. When our improved toothed spikes are employed for securing
railway chairs to their sleepers, it is only necessary, moreover, to use two spikes
to each chair instead of three as is now the case.
When an auger or other like hole is bored for the reception of our improved
spike or nail, as in the case of railway chairs and certain other applications, the
said hole should be made a tight fit for the body of the spike. Upon driving
the spike bome it will be forced into the solid wood, which latter by swelling or
expanding into the grooved portions, will hold the said spike immovably in
position, or practically so.
We preferably coat or cover the whole or part of our improved nails or spikes
with a layer of tar or other suitable rust-preventing medium.
Dated this 23rd day of November 1897.
A. F. SPOONER,
323, High Holborn, London, Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Nails or Spikes.
We, WILLIAM SHOOSMITH, Inventor, and ALFRED JOHN SHOOSMITH, Sanitary
Engineer, both of 3 and 4, Eastern Road (late of 42, Chester Terrace, Preston

page_text: "
Park) Brighton, in the County of Sussex, 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:
urnvention relates to nails or spikes, and comprises the improvements herein-
after set forth by which the said nails or spikes, when driven into position in
timber or the like, will be firmly held in place and can only be withdrawn there-
from by the exertion of a very considerable amount of force.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side view showing one of our improved nails or spikes and
Figure is a similar view to Figure 1 showing another form or modification
thereof.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
indicates the nail or spike upon the shank of which we form a number of
taper circumferential grooves a¹, so as to divide a suitable length of the said
shank, as it were, into a series of cones, the apex of the one cone being attache.l
to the centre of the base of the next one, and so on; the apexes of the said cones
pointing towards the point of the nail or spike a, and the bases thereof being
towards its head. It will be seen that we are in this manner enabled to produce
in effect ratchet teeth upon the nail or spike, which, upon the latter being driven
into timber or the like, will engage therewith by reason of the said timber which
has been compressed during the passage of the said nail or spike a, swelling or
expanding and penetrating the said conical-shaped circumferential grooves a
Our improved nail or spike may be either made with a sharp point for driving,
as shown in Figure 1 or with a truncated conical, or obtuse one as shown in
Figure 2, for use where a hole is first bored therefor with an auger or by a like
method.
Our improved nails or spikes can be very advantageously employed for secur-
ing railway chairs to their sleepers, and enables the spikes with trenails, and
other complicated and more or less inefficient arrangements at present in use, to
be dispensed with. When our improved toothed spikes are employed for securing
railway chairs to their sleepers, it is only necessary, moreover, to use two spikes
to each chair instead of three as is now the case.
When an auger or other like hole is bored for the reception of our improved
spike or nail, as in the case of railway chairs and certain other applications, the
said hole should be made a tight fit for the body of the spike. Upon driving
the spike home it will be forced into the solid wood, which latter by swelling or
expanding into the grooved portious, will hold the said spike immovably in
position, or practically so.
We preferably coat or cover the whole or part of our improved nails or spikes
with a layer of tar or other suitable rust-preventing medium.
It will be obvious that our nails or spikes may be adapted for use for a variety
of objects and their shape may be modified in many ways without departing from
the spirit of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
The improved nail or spike constructed substantially as described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
A. F. SPOONER,
323, High Holborn, London, Agent for the Applicants.