MAKING HORSE-SHOES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Townsend Walker, of Albany, Albany
County, State of New York, United States of America, for the
Invention of "MAKING HORSE-SHOES."
Sealed the 10th May 1870, and dated the 16th March 1870.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said James Townsend Walker
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 16th March 1870, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
TOWNSEND WALKER, of Albany, Albany County, State of New York,
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "MAKING HORSE-
SHOES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same,
and have made solemn Declaration that I am the true and first Inventor
thereof.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Townsend Walker, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement:
The nature of my Invention consists,-
First. In so constructing a horse-shoe machine that horse-shoes may
be pressed from a blank cut for that purpose.
Second. In the construction of a horse-shoe machine so as to form the
blanks the exact shape of the outside of the shoo.
Third. In the construction of a horse-shoe machine so as to keep the
heels of the shoe outward while the dies operate to press the shoc.
Fourth. In the construction of the dies in a horse-shoe machine for
pressing the shoes.
And, fifth. In the construction and general arrangement of the entire 1
machine, all of which will be herein-after fully set forth.
In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my Invention
appertains to make and use the same I will now proceed to describe its
construction and operation, referring to the annexed Drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my machine; Figure 2 is a
horizontal section, and Figure 3 a front view of the same; Figure 4 is a
section of my machine, showing the manner of opening and closing the
bottom dies; Figure 5 is another section of my machine, showing the
manner of cutting and feeding the blank; Figures 6, 7, and 8 are views
of the eccentrically grooved wheels or cams which operate the mechanism
for dropping the shoe blank into the bottom dies; Figures 9, 10, and 11
are views of the eccentrically grooved wheels or cams which operate the
mechanism for bending the heels of the shoe blank inward close to the
tongue or former; Figure 12 is a side view of one of the bottom dies;
Figure 13 is a vertical section of one of the bottom dies taken through
the line x, x, Fig. 12; Figure 14 is a bottom view of the upper
die;
and Figure 15 is a vertical section of the same taken through line y, y,
Fig. 14.
A represents the bed of my machine, at the front end of which are
two standards B, B, supporting at their upper ends, in suitable journal
boxes, a shaft C. On the shaft C is placed a cam D, which operates the
plunger E, moving vertically up and down in a cross head G secured

page_text: between the two standards B, B. At the upper end of the plunger E,
in suitable bearings, is placed a roller H against which the cam D bears
to press the plunger downward. This roller is placed slightly back of the
centre of the shaft C upon which the cam D is secured, for the reason
that if it was directly beneath the centre of said shaft the cam would,
when pressing upon the roller, cause the upper end of the plunger to be
drawn towards the front, throwing the lower end rearward, and con-
sequently the dies would not fit, as the motion of the plunger would not
be perfectly perpendicular. This could not be obviated by making the
cross head G so tight as to prevent any inclination of the plunger,
because I have found by practical experience that the pressure necessary
to be exerted upon the plunger to press the shoe is so strong that this
forward action of the cam upon the upper end of the plunger will break
the cross head; it does not matter how strong it is made, unless there
is room to allow the plunger to incline. But if the plunger was allowed
to incline the top die I secured to the lower end of the plunger would
not come level on the bottom dies. All these difficulties are entirely
overcome by placing the roller HI a short distance back of the centre, as
then the tendency of the cam will be to throw the upper end of the
plunger backward, but the friction counterbalances this tendency, and
thus the plunger is moved with perfect ease perpendicularly through
the cross head. On each side of the plunger E on top of the cross
head G is a spring J for throwing the plunger up again as soon as the
cam D ceases to exert the downward pressure upon the same. Upon
each side of the cam D on the shaft C is placed a wheel K, the outer
periphery of which is grooved in the following manner:-For one half
the circumference it is grooved near the outer edge, and for the other
half near the inner edge, the two grooves a and a¹ being connected at
their ends by means of inclined passages b, b', the passage 6 being of the
same depth as the grooves, while the passage 6¹ is provided with pro-
jecting flanges, and so constructed that its bottom is on the same curve
as the circumference of the wheel. The ends of the passage b¹ are
inclined so as to allow a fine moving in the grooves a, a', as will be herein-
after described, to slide freely up and down through said passage from one
groove to the other. In suitable bearings, upon the front side of the cross
head G and on each side of the plunger, is a vertical rod L held upwards
by means of a spring c, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Each of these rods is
at its upper end provided with a handle or lever M having a pin d placed
in the groove upon the periphery of the wheel K and held there by the

page_text: -
spring c, as before mentioned. The lower ends of the rods L, L, are provided
with feet N, N, the use and operation of which will be herein-after described.
At the rear end of the bed A, in suitable journal boxes, is placed a shaft O
provided with a cam P which operates the horizontal plunger R moving
in guides upon the bed A. At the front end of the plunger R is secured
the tongue S for bending the shoe blank. This plunger and tongue are
moved back as soon as the cam ceases to operate by means of the
spring e, as seen in Fig 1. On cach side of the cam P upon the
shaft O is placed a wheel T, grooved upon its periphery in the following
manner For one half the circumference the groove fis at or near the
centre, while, for the other half the circumference, there is a groove ƒ¹
near the inner edge of the wheel. The two grooves f, f¹, are connected
by means of two passages 9 and g¹, the passage 9 being straight, as
shown in Fig. 11, while the passage 'is curved, as shown in Fig. 10,
coming near the outer edge of the wheel. Upon the bed A, at each
side of the plunger R, is pivoted a lever V, the rear ends of which
extend over and rest upon the wheels T, T, and are provided with a
pink moving in the grooves on the periphery of said wheels. The front
ends of the levers V, V, extend to near the heel of the bottom die, and
are on their under sides provided with guides or hooks i turned towards
the rear, as shown in Fig. 1. On top of the guide through which
the horizontal plunger R passes are ears or projections, between which
a lever W is pivoted, the rear end of said lever being of the shape
shown in Fig. 1, so as to be operated upon by means of a cam-shaped
projection X on the shaft O between the cam P and one of the wheels T.
The front end of the lever W is provided with a metal cross bar or
foot m resting under the rear edge of the upper die when the lever is
not in contact with the cam X. The front end of said lever is held up
in this position either by the excess in weight of its rear end.or by a
spring k attached to its rear end, as shown in Fig. 1. The heated
iron bar from which the shoes are to be pressed is introduced through
a suitable aperture and groove in the side of the machine until it rests in
the hooks i, i, of the lovers V, V,. when it is cut off by a knife or
cutter A¹ the desired length.
The mechanism for cutting the blank is common, and I will only
briefly refer to the same.
Upon the shaft C is another cam B' which operates a plunger C¹, to

page_text: moves perpendicularly through the cross head G, and is raised up by a
spring; swinging upon the cross head G is an arm D', to the lower end of
which is attached a roller for bearing upon the bar of iron as it is fed to
the machine for the purpose of keeping it down on the bed. The whole
of this device is fully shown in Fig. 5. After the blank has been cut,
and the shafts C and O revolving in opposite directions, the cam P moves
the plunger R and tongue S forward, bending the blank, the ends of the
blank being held by the hooks i, i. Just before the tongue S bends the
blank the feet N, N, on the rods L, L, have been turned inward by the
pins d, d, passing through the passages b, b, into the grooves a¹, a¹, on
the wheels K, K, and said feet are in such a position that the tongue S
with the shoe blank will pass directly under the same, or rather the
blank alone will come directly under the fect, the plunger R with its
tongue S having been moved forward the required distance to bend the
blank, the front ends of the levers V, V, are moved inwards by means
of the pins h, h, moving through the curved passages g¹, g³, on the
wheels T, T. This inward movement of the levers V, V, is only for an
instant, but sufficient to bend the ends of the shoe blank inwards
along the sides of the tongue S, forming the heel of the shoe. The
pins h, h, passing directly into the grooves f¹, f¹, the front ends of the
levers V, V, are moved outwards sufficiently to clear the dies. At
the same time the pins d, d, passing through the passages b¹, b', on
the wheels K, K, cause the feet N, N, to descend, carrying with
them the shoe blank from the tongue S, and depositing it into
the lower dies y, y; the spring e at the same time carrying the
plunger R with the tongue backward. As soon as the feet N, N,
have cleared the blank from the tongue and deposited it in the
bottom dies, they move outward by the pins d, d, passing into the
outer grooves a, a, after completing the passages b¹, b'. The cam D
now commences to operate upon the roller H forcing the plunger E
with the top die I down upon the blank in the lower or bottom dies.
The top die I in its motion downward carries with it the front end of
the lever W, it being remembered that the foot m on said lever is
directly under the rear edge of the dic. The front end of the lever W
describing the arc of a circle it will be understood that the foot mat
the time when the upper die is near the blank has moved out of the
way of the die and is held down upon the ends of the blank in the
bottom dies by the rear end of the lever resting upon the projection X
of the shaft O. When the upper die moves upward again by means of

page_text: the springs J, J, the foot m remains upon the heel of the shoe, as the
entire projection X has not yet passed the rear end of the lever W, and
thus the shoe will be prevented from adhering to and be carried up by
the upper die. When the upper die has returned to its first position
the pins d, d, pass through the passages b, b, into the inner grooves
a, a', which throws the feet N, N, inwards again to their original
position, and, as soon as the projection X has cleared the rear end of
the lever W throwing the foot m up again, the hooks i, i, are thrown
into their proper position to receive the next blank by the pins h, h,
passing through the passages 9, 9, into the grooves f,f. The bottom
dies Y¹, Y¹, are opened and closed by any suitable mechanism; for
instance, the one represented in Fig. 4, consisting of inclined planes
E' connected by means of the adjustable connections G¹ to eccentrics H³,
which are moved by cams I¹ on the shaft O, whereby the said inclined
planes obtain a reciprocating motion. On the outside of the dies or
die heads Y¹ are inclined planes J', which are acted upon by the inclined
planes E¹ to close the dies; and the dies are opened by suitable springs
as soon as the incline planes E¹ are withdrawn. In Fig. 4 I have
also represented the feeding wheels K' between which the bar is fed
into the machine. When the upper die has pressed the shoe and
moves upward again, the bottom dies separate and allow the completed
shoe to fall down through an aperture in the frame or bed A; and to
prevent the shoe from adhering to either side, I provide clearing rods n, n,
which are secured to the bed A, and as the dies separate said rods
project through grooves at or near the heel of the dies, striking the
shoe and loosening it at once from the die so as to allow it to drop
down. A horse-shoe should invariably be thinner at the toe than at
the heel, and to press the blank so as to produce this incline one of the
dies must be inclined. If the bottom dio is level and the top die
inclined there is no machinery that could withstand the pressure; belts,
pulleys, wheels, and in fact everything, would break. But if the incline
is in the bottom dies and the top die is made to come down level where
it is to press the blank, then the iron will have a chance to spread
inwards and downwards on the incline on which it is placed, and
consequently there will be not the slightest danger of any injury to
the machinery. For this reason I form the sides, or rather the bottom
of the lower dies Y, Y¹, with an incline from the toe o to the heel p,
as shown in Fig. 12. When now the top die I comes down upon the
blank it strikes the blank at the toe first, that is, the main portion of

page_text: the die does, and spreads the iron inwards to the frog of the upper die,
forming the inner edge of the shoe. It will be observed that by my
machine the blank is formed at first the exact shape of the outside of
the shoe, and then the iron by pressing spreads inwards the entire
length of the shoe; while in all other horse-shoe machines the iron has
been spread by rolling inward from the toe and outward from the heel
and rear portion of the shoe. Along the sides of the bottom dies Y', Y',
are beveled grooves ", as shown in Fig. 13%; the blank when first
placed in the dies does, of course, not fill up these grooves, but occupies
a perpendicular line drawn from the top of the bevel to the bottom of
the dic. When the creasers 8, 8, in the top die strike the blank they
force the iron into this bevel forming the incline or bevel on the
outside of the shoe, usually found in hand-made shoes but never hereto-
fore in machine-made. The creasers 8, 8, in forcing the iron into this
bevel have a tendency to draw the heels of the blank inward, and to
prevent this I provide the frog of the upper die with a projection t,
which fits in the space between the ends of the blank and prevents
them from contracting. The upper die I is so formed that when it
descends the projection t will first come in between the ends of the
blank, then the creasers strike the blank and force the iron into the
grooves r, and lastly, the main portion of the die comes down as
above described and presses the shoc. The tongue S and dies I and
Y, Y; can be readily exchanged for others of different size, and then
other portions of the machine, such as the feet N, N, and m, and pins
d, d, and h, h, must be adjusted to suit.
Having thus fully described my Invention, what I claim as new and
desire to secure. by Letters Patent is,―
1st. Making horse-shoes by pressing the iron between dies, sub-
stantially as herein set forth.
2nd. A horse-shoo machine so constructed as to press the shoes into
any desired shape, substantially as herein set forth.
3rd. In a machine for pressing horse-shoes I claim a male and a female
dic, when said dies are so arranged that the blank will be placed on an
incline from toe to heel in the bottom or female die, and the male die
be horizontal, substantially for the purpose herein set forth.
4th. So constructing and arranging the mechanism of a horse-shoe
machine that the blank after being formed the exact size of the outside

page_text: of the shoe and placed between dies, will be forced to spread inwards
during its entire length, as is herein set forth.
5th. So constructing the mechanism of a machine for making horse-
shoes that the under edges of the shoe will be beveled inward as it is
being pressed into shape, as is herein set forth.
6th. The wheels K, K, provided on their outer periphery with
grooves a, a¹, and passages 6, 61, formed as described for the purpose of
giving the feet or clearers N, N, an inward, downward, and outward
motion, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
7th. The feet or clearers N, N, constructed and operating as described
for the purpose of removing the blanks from the tongue or former S and
drop them in the bottom dies, substantially as herein set forth.
8th. I claim the plunger E provided with the friction roller H,
against which the cam D operates when said roller is placed away from
the centre, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
9th. The wheels T, T, provided on their periphery with grooves f, f³,
and passages g, g¹, formed as described for the purpose of giving the
bending levers V, V, their necessary vibrating motion, substantially as
and for the purposes herein set forth.
10th. The vibrating bending levers V, V, provided with hooks i, i,
constructed and operating substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein set forth.
11th. The lever W provided at its front end with the foot or
clearer m, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
12th. The horizontal plunger R with tongue S operating in connection
with the bending levers V, V, and hooks i, i, for the purpose of forming
the blank for a horse-shoe the exact size or shape of the outside of the
shoe, substantially as herein set forth.
13th. The movable female dies Y₁, Y', provided with an incline o, p,
and bevel r, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
14th. The male die I provided with creasers 8, 8, and projection t,
substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
15th. A vertically reciprocating male die in a machine for pressing
horse-shoes when the frog in said die is provided with a projection
or other suitable device for holding the heel of the shoc apart and
preventing its contraction, substantially as herein set forth.

page_text: 16th. In combination with the bottom dies Y¹, Y¹, I claim the
clearers n, n, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
17th. So constructing and arranging the mechanism of a horse-shoe
machine that the heel of the blank will be held apart to prevent
contraction while it is being pressed into shape, substantially as herein
set forth.
In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, at Baltimore,
State of Maryland, United States of America.
JAMES TOWNSEND WALKER. (L.S.)
Witnesses,
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON MASON.
JAMES MADISON MASON.