IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING NAILS, SPIKES, AND LIKE ARTICLES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Francis Jones, of Middlesborough-on-Tees,
in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR MAKING NAILS, SPIKES, AND LIKE ARTICLES."-A com-
munication from abroad by Frederick Francis Jones, of Gefle, in
the Kingdom of Sweden.
Sealed the 22nd December 1869, and dated the 17th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Francis Jones
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th July 1869.
I, EDWIN FRANCIS JONES, of Middlesborough-on-Tees, in the County
of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING NAILS, SPIKES, AND LIKE ARTICLES," a
communication from abroad by Frederick Francis Jones, of Gefle, in the
Kingdom of Sweden, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in a new combination and arrangement of

page_text: mechanism and mode of action. for making nails and like articles by
self-acting machinery.
By this Invention a rod of suitable length and size is drawn direct
from the furnace by a pair of rollers or their equivalents, which at
each revolution or movement supply the requisite length, which enters a
space or die in a transverse slide that is actuated by a crank giving
movement to a cam plate, or by a cam, the motion being transmitted by
levers and suitable mechanism. The movement of the slide cuts off the
length of metal.required, the slide forming one side of the cutter and
also the lower jaw of a pair of holders, the upper jaw of which is jointed
to the slide, and carries a friction bowl, which passes under the point of
a screw when the slide. is moved forward, this forces down the jaw and
holds the metal, the slide remaining stationary opposite a hammer or its
equivalent moving on a lever, which hammer is made by a cam and
spring to strike three or more blows to form the head of the nail; when
this is done the slide again moves forward until it comes in a line with
a series of rolls upon horizontal and vertical axes, and parts of the
peripheries of these rolls (the other parts being cut away) act to shape
the shank end of the nail. These rolls are actuated by a toothed rack,
which receives a reciprocating motion from a crank pin, the same rack
having teeth on two sides, so as to gear with wheels both upon a
horizontal and vertical axes, the wheels being loose on the shafts to be
driven, so as to turn one way, while the shafts remain stationary, but in
turning the other way they gear with ratchet clutches upon the shafts,
and rotate them and thus the rolls at intervals. The rack frame also
gives movement to a slide upon which tongs are mounted, which are
opened and closed at the proper time by a spring and by inclines; and
these tongs slide forward to take hold of the inside of the head of the
intended nail, which is pushed slightly forward to allow of this, the
tongs or some part from the slide carrying the tongs striking upon a
slide bar, the movement of which is transmitted to the nail to force it
outwards from the transverse slide. The tongs draw the nail through
the series of rolls at the exact surface speed of the peripheries of the
rolls, and then open to allow the finished nail to drop into a box below
them, the operations described being repeated for each nail.
For making small nails the rod may be fed by two pairs of rollers, one
pair on horizontal the other on. vertical axes, each set actuated by a

page_text: ratchet wheel. The upper jaw in the transverse slide may also for this
purpose be dispensed with, and a pair of sliding dies substituted actuated
to and from each other by inclined slots, the dies being withdrawn from
each other to allow the tongs to take hold inside the head of the nail,
the arrangement for pushing out the nail to facilitate this being
dispensed with by this arrangement.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edwin Francis Jones in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
FRANCIS JONES, of Middlesborough-on-Tees, in the County of York, send
greeting,
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Edwin Francis Jones, Her special license
that I, the said Edwin Francis Jones, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin Francis Jones, 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 MACHINERY FOR MAKING NAILS, SPIKES, AND LIKE ARTICLES," (a commu-
nication to him from abroad by Frederick Francis Jones, of Gefle, in the
Kingdom of Sweden,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Edwin Francis Jones, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, at 1, the Salt Law
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the samo
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and the accompanying Drawings (that is to
say) :-
This Invention consists in a new combination and arrangement-of
mechanism and mode of action for making nails, rivets, spikes, and
like articles by self-acting machinery.
By this Invention a rod of suitable length and size is drawn direct
from a heating furnace by a pair of rollers or their equivalents, which at
each movement or revolution supply the requisite length for the
intended nail or other like article, which enters a hole, space, or die in a
transverse slide that is actuated by a cam or other means, the motion
being transmitted by levers and other suitable mechanism. The move-
ment imparted to the slide causes it to cut off the required length of
metal from the bai as the slide forms one side of the cutter, and the
framing or a stationary edge close against which the slide works forms
the other side of the cutter. The outer side of the slide carries two dies,
which slide vertically; these dies when brought in contact form a hole
between them, coming opposite the hole in the slide for the metal, which
passes through the hole in these dies when fed to a sufficient extent to
form the head of the nail or other article. These dies have motion
imparted to them to close firmly upon the nail or other article while it is
being headed, and then open to allow tongs herein-after referred unto to
take hold of the nail or other article behind the head. Each die has a
pin in it, which enters a cam slot in the frame or in a part secured to
the frame, and when the nail is to be held for heading, one end of each
die comes against an antifriction bowl to force the two dies together and
against the metal, one or both of the antifriction bowls being arranged
so as to be adjustable to and from the ends of the dies. When the
transverse slide moves forward after receiving the metal it remains
stationary opposite a slide ram or hammer which forms the head, this
slide or ram being actuated by cams; then the slide again moves forward
until it comes in a line with a series of rolls upon horizontal and vertical
axes. Parts of the peripheries of these rolls are cut away; the other
parts act to form the nail or other article when drawn through them.
The rolls are each secured on the end of a shaft placed in suitable

page_text: bearings, and they are actuated by a toothed rack, which receives
reciprocating motion from a crank pin or other suitable means, the same
rack having teeth on two sides, so as to gear with wheels both upon a
horizontal and vertical axis, these wheels being loose on the shafts to be
driven, so as to turn one way while the shafts remain stationary, but in
turning the other way they gear with ratchet clutches upon the shafts
and rotate them, and thus turn the rolls which are geared with them.
The rack frame also gives movement to a slide upon which tongs are
mounted; which open and close at the proper time by a spring and
inclines. These tongs slide forward while the rolls remain stationary
and take hold of the inside of the head of the intended nail or other
article which has been brought in a line with them and the rolls, the
dies upon the transverse slide having been withdrawn by the cam slots
to permit of this being done. On the back movement of the toothed
rack the rolls begin to rotate, and the tongs to draw the nail through
and between each pair of rolls at the exact surface speed of the peri-
pheries of the rolls, each pair of rolls beginning to operate to shape the
metal to the require form immediately after the head of the nail has
passed the centre of each pair of rolls. When the tongs have arrived
near the end of their backward stroke they come against inclines, which
open them to release the head of the nail, and allow it to drop into a
suitable receptacle placed below.
Fig. 1 is a plan view, Fig. 2 is an end elevation, Fig. 3 a front elevation,
Fig. 4 a section through the line A, B, Fig. 1, Fig. 5 a section through
the line C, D, Fig. 1, Fig. 6 a detached side view of the transverse slide,
dies, and other parts; Fig. 7, a detached edge or plan view of the
transverse slide.
A, base plate of the machine; B, B', and B2, side frames of the
machine, which carry the plate and frame c, in which bearings for the
roll shafts and other parts are formed. a is the first motion shaft of
the machine, upon which the driving pulleys and fly wheel (not shown)
are secured; upon this shaft a pinion a¹ is secured, which gears with a
wheel 6' on the end of the main shaft b, which has its bearings in the
side frames B and B'. In the wheel (6') a crank pin b) is secured, to
which one end of a connecting rod c is attached, the other end being
jointed to a pin c¹ in a rack c², which slides to and fro in two stands B*
and B. The sliding rack has teeth upon its upper edge, which gear

page_text: with a wheel d that is loose on the shaft d, having bearings in the side
frames B' and B. The wheel d' is formed with one-half of a ratchet
clutch on one side, the other half of the ratchet clutch being secured on
the shaft d to slide endways on a fixed key, this sliding half of the
clutch being pressed towards that half of the clutch on the wheel d' by a
helical or other spring (not shown) acting between the side frame or a
collar on the shaft and the clutch. With this arrangement the teeth of
the clutch slip over each other when the wheel turns one way and
the shaft & remains stationary, but the clutch and shaft turn together
when the wheel moves in the other direction. Upon the shaft d there is
another wheel &, which gears with the wheels on each of the two
lower roll shafts d', the wheel d³ gearing with corresponding wheels (3)
upon the two upper roll shafts (d). These roll shafts are placed in
bearings in the frame part c, and the rolls (marked 1 and 3) are fixed on
the overhanging ends of the shafts. Between the pairs of rolls marked 1
and 3 there is a pair of rolls marked 2 on the end of two vertical
shafts e, which have adjustable bearings in the plate c at their upper
ends, and footstep bearings in a bracket B secured to the base plate.
The roll shafts e' are actuated in the same manner as the roll shafts d'
by means of teeth on the rack c, which gear with a wheel c¹ on the
vertical shaft e, which has a wheel e upon it that gears with the
wheels on the vertical shafts e. To the end of the rack slide ce two
vertical bars.c³ are bolted, to the upper ends of which two bars c' and c³ are
attached, one end of the bar c' being connected with the slide f, which
is thus made to move to and fro with the rack c. This slide (f) works
on a bed or slideway f¹ carried by the side frame B, and the slide is
guided and hell down by the rails f. This slide carries the tongs,
which are formed by two levers f, having their fulcrums on the vertical
studs f. The two tong levers are pushed away from cach other by a
spring (not shown), or they are otherwise acted upon by a spring or
springs, which constantly tend to close the nipper end of the tongs, a
bracket (f³) being used at one end of the slide to steady and guide the
ends of the tongs, which are bent outwards. When the slide f moves in
towards the ralls the outer or bent ends of the tongs come in contact
with two inclines fe, which open the nipper ends of the tongs and keep
them open until they have passed over the head of the nail, when they
close upon it, as the bent ends of the tongs have then escaped from the
inclines, which give way as the tongs move back, and allow them to

page_text: pass, as the inclines fe are jointed on a shaft f carried by stands f³, to
turn on the shaft and give way to the backward movement, but to come
against the stands and remain stationary during the forward movement.
The tongs are opened to allow tlie nail to drop when the bent ends come
against the inclines f secured to the edge of the slideway. The metal
rod is fed by means of the rolls g¹ at the upper ends of the two vertical
shafts g, having bearings arranged at their upper ends, so that the rolls
can be adjusted one against the other by set screws g. The lower ends
of the shafts g are in footstep bearings in a part B secured to a cross stay
of the framing. The two shafts (9) are geared together by the wheels g³,
and they are actuated by one side of a double cam h on the main shaft b,
which cam acts upon a bowl in a bar g' that slides in two brackets B',
this slide bar being connected by another bar g with a lever or arm g
working freely upon one of the shafts g, this arm having a pawl g
jointed to it that works upon the teeth of a ratchet wheel gs upon one of
the shafts g. The length of the feed is regulated by means of the screw
nuts on the end of the bar g' by adjusting them to allow more or less
play. The cam is a double cam, and has a cam path upon its inner.
face, which acts upon a bowl carried by a bar / sliding in the brackets B'.
The end of this bar is jointed by means of a sliding die with an arm h³
on a vertical shaft 3, having one bearing in a footstep on the base, and
the other in a bracket B8 secured to the side frame B. The upper end
of the shaft 3 has an arm upon it, which is jointed by means of a
sliding die with the transverse slide h, which has ways in a casting B°
bolted to the cross frames B and B. This transverso slide has a holo in
it for the metal to pass through, and carries two dies.h sliding
vertically, which are arranged as shewn in Figs. 5 and 6. Each die has
a pin in it that enters a cam slot h' formed in the face of the casting Bº,
these slots acting to withdraw the dies from each other as the transverse
slide moves to come in a line with the rolls. The outer ends of the
sliding dies come against bowls (48), so as to cause the dies to grip the
metal when the head is being formed. One of the bowls (78) is arranged
so as to be adjustable by means of the screw °. The heading of the
nail or other article may be performed by a hammer, but in the Drawings
a ram is shown arranged to slide horizontally to and from the
transverse slide (½³) in slideways formed in the plate c. This ram is
acted upon by an excentric or cam & formed upon the end of a shaft l²,
having its upper bearing in the plate c, and its lower bearing on a

page_text: footstep; and upon the shaft there is an arm connected by a rod with
a bar sliding in brackets secured to the frame B, which bar carries a
bowl acted upon by the cam k' upon the main shaft b. The cams may
be shaped to give the following movements:-When the tongs have
withdrawn the nail fully from the transverse slide (h³) the cam is shaped
to cause the transverse slide to move back quickly to bring the hole in
its opposite the feed rollers in about 4/24th of a revolution, and remain
stationary while the metal is fed during about 3/24th of a revolution, and
to move again to bring the end of the metal opposite the heading ram in
about 3/24th of a revolution, where it again remains stationary until this
is effected during about 6/24ths of a revolution; it then moves again to
come opposite the rolls during 3/24ths of a revolution, and again remains
stationary until the nail is withdrawn during about the remaining 5/24
of the revolution. The feeding cam is shaped to give the feeding
movement in about 3/24th of a revolution of the cam, and to take the
remaining ths of the revolution of the cam for the back movement.
The heading cam is shaped to give the heading movement in about this
of its revolution to begin to withdraw immediately and quickly to release
the head of the nail, taking most of the remainder of the ths of the
revolution to fully withdraw, the latter part of the back movement being
slow. As the tongs are actuated by a crank pin on the main or cam
shaft, they take half a revolution in the forward and half a revolution
in the back movement.

page_text: Tor actuating them, substantially as nerein-before described and
illustrated by the Drawings.
I witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Francis Jones, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
EDWIN FRANCIS JONES. (L.S.)