IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OP SHEEP SHEARS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Ball, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
Scythe Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OP SHEEP SHEARS,"
Sealed the 18th July 1865, and dated the 2nd February 1865.."
...
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Ball at the
Office of the Commissioners, of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
February 1865.
I, JAMES BALL, of Sheffield, in the County of York, Scythe Maker, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF SHEEP SHEARS," to be as follows:-
In the ordinary manufacture of sheep shears they are wrought or forged by
the hammer entirely of iron with the exception of a slight lining of the blades :
with steel. In this improved manufacture the shears are made entirely of
the best cast steel, which is rolled to the required form and thickness; all that
is requisite then is to bend up the edge of the steel so as to form a back to
the blades, and also give the required shape to the handles, which may be
done with the hammer in a few minutes and at a low heat. If required I.
rivet or screw'a spring of suitable form inside the handles so as to give them
an increased tendency to expand. By this improved method of manufacturing
sheep shears a much superior article than that hitherto produced is obtained
and at a greatly reduced price.'

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said James Ball, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES BALL
of Sheffield, in the County of York, Scythe Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing-date the Second day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Ball, Her special licence that I, the said James Ball, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as 1, the said James Ball,
my executors, adininistrators, 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 SHEEP SHEARS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Ball,
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 per-
formed, 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 James Ball, do hereby declare the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing,
and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, that is to say:-
In this improved manufacture the shears are made entirely of the best cast
or shear steel which is rolled into sheets of suitable thickness and rolled to the
required form; all that is requisite then is to bend up the edge of the steel
so as to form a back to the blades, and also give the required shape to the
handles, which may be done with the hammer in a few minutes and at a low
heat, or it may be bent up into the requisite form by machinery without the
use of the hammer. The shears being then ground up and polished are ready
for use. If required I rivet or screw a spring of suitable form inside the
handles so as to give them an increased tendency to expand. By this improved
method of manufacturing sheep shears a nuch superior article than hitherto
produced is obtained, and at a greatly reduced price.

page_text: Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improvements
in the Manufacture of Sheep Shears," I will now proceed to describe more in
detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried
into practical effect. And in order that the same may be distinctly understood
I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have
marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with
those in the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 is a diagram showing the form in which
the blanks for the shears are first cut out of the flat plate of cast steel rolled
to a uniform thickness of about from seventeen to fourteen gauge, more or
less, as required. This diagram is drawn half size. The cutting out of these
blanks from the plate is performed by means of any ordinary cutting or
punching apparatus.
Figure 2 is a view (drawn full size) of a pair of shears made from a blank
of the above form, all that is requisite being to bend up the back edge of the
blades as shown at Figure 3 (which is a section across the line A, B,) to bend
the handle a, a, into a semi-tubular form as shown at Figure 4 (which is a
section through the line C, D,) and to bend the central portion of the blank
into the form of a spring, as at b, b. The proper spring or curve being given
to the blades the shears then only require grinding and polishing and they are
ready for the market or for use. If an additional spring is required I rivet
or screw inside the handle a spring of the ordinary form, as seen at c, c.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for "Im-
provements in the Manufacture of Sheep Shears," together with the manner
in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect, I would remark in conclusion that I claim as my Invention the manu-
facture of sheep shears from steel plates of uniform thickness substantially
as above described and illustrated in the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ball, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Signed, sealed, & delivered by the
said James Ball in my presence
WM. BARLOW,
13, New Porter Street, Sheffield.
JAMES BALL. (L.S.)