IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF HORSE NAILS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Albert Huggett, of 12, Ferndale Road, Clapham,
in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF HORSE NAILS AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.'
"
Sealed the 24th July 1877, and dated the 8th May 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Albert Huggett at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th May 1877.
JOHN ALBERT HUGGETT, of 12, Ferndale Road, Clapham, in the County of
Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE NAILS AND IN APPA-
RATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of horse
nails.
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me, No. 4161, in the year 1874,
I have described the manufacture of horse nails by rolling soft steel into a bar of
a transverse section, corresponding to the form of two nails placed end to end and
shearing up the bar transversely into nails by two sets of shears.
Under this Patent, large quantities of nails have been manufactured, and there is
at present a large demand for them. These nails, however, in common with hand-
made horse nails, are open to the objection that they require to be pointed and set or
bent to a proper curve by the shoeing smith before they can be used. By my
present Invention, I obviate these objections by rolling a groove along the centre of
the bar from end to end, the sides of this groove being inclined according to the
bevil or taper it is desired to give to the point of the nail. This groove is produced
at the last passage of the bar between the rolls, and the groove is made as deep as
will render the points as sharp as is desired, still, however, leaving the bar sufficiently
strong to sustain the operation of shearing without parting in the middle before the
nails have been cut from it.
In order to give the desired "set" or curvature to the nails, in place of employing
straight edged bottom cutter and a top cutter with an edge having a form corre-
sponding to that of the face of the bar to be cut, I now give a curvature to both
these parts, and also to the presser, so that they act to bend as well as to shear the

page_text: bar, and the transverse bending of the bar gives the requisite curvature or
the nails.
"set
13
to
The bar may be rolled with the curvature upon it, but this is more troublesome,
and the curvature of the cutting edges and of the pressure will still be necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Albert Huggett in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th November 1877.
JOHN ALBERT HUGGETT, of 12, Ferndale Road, Clapham, in the County of
Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HORSE NAILS AND IN APPA-
RATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.'
"
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of horse
nails.
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me, No. 4161, in the year 1874,
I have described the manufacture of horse nails by rolling soft steel into a bar of
a transverse section, corresponding to the form of two nails placed end to end, and
shearing up the bar transversely into nails by two sets of shears.
Under this Patent, largo quantities of nails have been manufactured, and there is
at present a large demand for them. These nails, however, in common with hand-
made horse nails are open to the objection that they require to be pointed and set
or bent to a proper curve by the shoeing smith before they can be used. By my
present Invention I obviate these objections by rolling a groove along the centre of
the bar from end to end, the sides of this groove being inclined according to the
bevil or taper it is desired to give to the point of the nail. This groove is produced
at the last passage of the bar between the rolls, and the groove is made as deep as
will render the points as sharp as is desired, still, however, leaving the bar sufficiently
strong to sustain the operation of shearing without parting in the middle before the
nails have been cut from it.
In order to give the desired "set" or curvature to the nails, in place of employing
a straight edged bottom cutter and a top cutter with an edge having a form corre-
sponding to that of the face of the bar to be cut, I now give a curvature to both
these parts and also to the presser, so that they act to bend as well as to shear the
bar, and the transverse bending of the bar gives the requisite curvature or
"set" to
the nails.
The bar may be rolled with the curvature upon it, but this is more troublesome,
and the curvature of the cutting edges and of the presser will still be necessary.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows the transverse sectional form to which the steel bar from which
the nails are to be cut is rolled; it is the same form as that described in the Specifi-
cation of my former Patent, with the exception of the groove at a; this groove, as
already stated, is rolled in the bar from end to end, and when the bar is cut up the
sides of the groove form the bevil of the point of the nail. The material should be
a very mild ductile and tenaceous cast steel, made from an iron as free as possible
from sulphur and phosphorus; suitable steel can be produced by the Bessemer and
by the Siemens-Martin processes.
Figure 2 shows a plan of the bar with the lines marked upon it, along which it is
sheared to form horse nails. As described in the Specification of my former Patent,
two pairs of shears are employed; the bar is carried from one to the other, one pair

page_text: of shears removes a waste piece from the end of the bar and shapes its end, and the
other pair then cuts off two nails, and so on alternately.
Figure 3 shows a transverse section of one pair of shear cutters with the parts in
connection therewith. The Figure may be taken to represent either the one pair of
shears or the other, for they are identical in transverse section and differ only in the
contour of the edge, as seen in plan; this difference is sufficiently indicated by the
dotted lines on Figure 2. b is the upper cutter and c is the lower; d, d, are the
holders in which they are carried.
Figure 4 shows a portion of the upper cutter b in face. This cutter has two
peculiarities or features in which it differs from the corresponding cutter shown and
described in the Specification of my former Patent, namely, it has a projection at b¹
corresponding to the groove a rolled in the bar, and the cutting edge has a curvature
throughout, as seen in Figure 4, differing from that of the face of the bar along the
line of the cut, and such, that when this cutter acts with the lower cutter and
presser (which have a corresponding peculiarity of form), the bar is bent by the
tools as well as cut by them.
Figure 5 shows an end view of the bar after being acted upon by the tools.
Figure 6 shows a portion of the lower cutter in face, it differs from the corre-
sponding cutter, shown and described in the Specification of my former Patent, in
being curved on the cutting edge, as seen in this view, for the purpose of setting the
nail, as already described, in place of being straight and corresponding to the flat
under surface of the bar. e is the presser; it is mounted immediately behind the
lower cutter and it serves to support the portion of the bar which overhangs it, so
that the cut may be effected without deforming the metal in other respects. The
presser is supported by a powerful spring, as the Drawing represents, and the lower
cutter is supported upon a screw for the purpose of adjustment. As seen in face,
the top of the presser e is curved to the same form as the cutter c and as shown in
Figure 6.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would have it understood that I claim as my improvements in
the manufacture of horse nails,-
First. The manufacture of pointed nails by forming in the nail bar the longi-
tudinal groove a, and upon the cutter b the corresponding projection b¹, substantially
as described.
Second. The employment of shear cutters b and c having a form such as to cause
the nails to be delivered with the set or curvature upon them which they require for
use.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Albert Huggett, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-coven
JOHN ALBERT HUGGETT. (L.S.)