An Improved Horse-shoe Nail and Method of Making same.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Nov., 1889-Accepted, 14th Dec., 1885
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Horse-shoe Nail and Method of Making same.
I CHARLES DAKE ROGERS of 21 Stevens Street Providence in the State of Rhode
Island United States of America Works Superintendent 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 :-
In making nails by my process I use as the stock or raw material a wire or bar,
or metal of the form and size transversely of the body of the finished nail near its
head. This metal may be soft or low carbon steel. I produce the head of a nail by
upsetting or forging an end of the wire in a die of the proper size and shape, in a
manner similar to that which I have employed in forging the heads of screws.
I produce at the other end of the wire the tapering or pointed portion of a nail by
shearing from the sides of the wire triangular portions, and then rolling the shank
between rolls which compress and elongato the metal and bring it to the required
shape, and bevel the end in the manner required to make it take the proper course
through the hoof.
This series of operations forms a new way or process of making horseshoe-nails.
I have provided and herein describe machines for performing these operations. In
the first of these machines the heads are upset on the end of wire before the portion
required for a nail is separated from the coil of which it forms a part. Three
heading hammers are successively brought into action to effect this operation. This
and all the other operations are performed on cold metal. The same machine is
provided with the devices or mechanism which cut-off after the head is formed the
portions of wire required for the nails, and at the same time shear the sides of the
wire to provide for the tapering of the nail. It is not essential that the heads shall be
formed before the successive portions of wire are cut off, nor that the cutting off
and shearing shall be simultaneous. With suitable machines the wire might be first
cut into blanks and the heads be subsequently formed.
These three operations performed upon a wire or bar of the size and shape sub-
stantially of the body of a nail near its head, viz. the upsetting of one end to form a
head, the shearing at the other end to provide for the proper tapering of the nail; and
the rolling of the shank to clongate and compress the metal and give it the final form
required, produce a nail having a smooth surface, a compressed and hardened head, a
tenacious body and a stiff and hardened point properly beveled and sharpened. Such
nails can be produced with proper machinery from soft steel at moderate cost and with
but small waste or loss of material..
In order to properly represent my improved method of producing horseshoe-nails,
I have prepared the appended six sheets of drawings, in which Fig. 1, sheet 1,
represents a combined heading and cutting-off machine, arranged to receive and hold
in position an end of a coil of wire, then to swage a head upon the end of the wire,
then to feed the wire ahead the desired distance and to cut off the blank and at the
same time to point it. The drawings represent a vertical longitudinal sectional view
taken mainly through the centre portion of the machine.
Fig. 2, sheet 2, is a horizontal sectional view, enlarged, taken through the die and
die-holder and the cutting-off dies; a headed blank also represented in the act of
being severed. Fig. 3 is a side view of the blank before rolling. Fig. 4 is a cross-
sectional view of it, taken on line of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a partial plan view, the
dark portion showing the amount of waste stock removed by the cutting-off dies.
Fig.
shows a preliminary head formed on the end of the wire by the action of the
first heading hammer. Fig. 7 shows the head still further finished, by the second
hammer, and Fig. 8 is the completed head lying in the die, as finished by the third
hammer.

page_text: Fig. 9, sheet 3, is a side elevation of a machine adapted to receive the blanks singly
and present them flatwise to and between back-rolling dies, to reduce the shank to
the requisite taper-form and finish.
Fig. 10, sheet 4, is a plan view of the rolling machine.
Fig. 11, sheet 5, is an enlarged transverse sectional view of a portion of the back-
rolling.dies having a blank held in position between them; the dies just commencing
to act upon the blank. Fig. 12 is a similar view, the dies having completed their
work, thereby tapering and shearing or trimming and finishing the nail shank; the
nail meanwhile mechanically travelling rearwardly away from the dies at substantially
the same rate of motion as the dies. Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the dies,
taken on line of Fig. 11, showing the die-cavity and trimming edges. Fig. 14 is
a plan view of the lower die-cavity or mould. Fig. 15 represents side and edge views
of the finished nail.
Fig. 16, sheot 6, is a partial vertical central sectional view, showing the rolling-dies,
blank-holder, &c. Fig. 17 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 18 is a transverse
sectional view taken on line o o of Fig. 17.
In the machine represented in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the wire w having the
desired form transversely is first passed between straightening rolls, then through
intermittingly operated feeding devices m m, then through the guide m' and the
adjustably mounted die D (Fig. 2), an end of the wire projecting therefrom to be
upset into the die-cavity d to produce the nail head 2. A mechanically actuated
griping clamp mo at the rear of the die seizes the wire and firmly retains it in position
during the head-forming operation. A cross-head C, carrying a holder d² in which
the several progressive heading hammers e, e¹, e² are mounted is made to reciprocate
back and forth, the hammers meanwhile being brought successively by suitable
mechanism into position to engage the wire and finish the head. After the last
hammer e, has completed its work the now finished head 2 is forced from the die D
and the wire fed ahead through the medium of the feed-blocks m the desired distance
to produce a blank, when finally the cutting-off dies c are forced ahead from opposite
sides of the machine to engage the wire; the joint action of the dies c severs the
blank from the wire, at the same time producing a point a on the blank and rounding
the end c' of the standing wire to be more readily acted upon by the first hammer e
in producing the next head. In Fig. 5 the dark portions indicate substantially the
amount of waste stock produced in forming each blank. The shank of the blank thus
far in the process is uniform in thickness throughout, as shown at a¹, Fig. 3, and
equal to the thickness of the wire w. The general arrangement of the heading
machine shown and before referred to and the manner of its operation, is substantially
the same as set forth in the Specification of British Letters patent No. 10,039 dated
July 10th 1888.
The blanks are next transferred to a machine which feeds them singly from a hopper
to a suitable carrier which in turn presents them to the action of oppositely revolving
back-rolling dies, see sheets 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings. This combined rolling
and finishing machine is provided with a hopper or receptacle / into which the
headed blanks are indiscriminately deposited. A reciprocating rack operates a
small gear-wheel 22 which in turn reciprocates a vertical rack forming a part of the
guided flat rod p²; to the upper portion of which is secured a suitable "pick-up"
blade, the device automatically acting to deliver the blanks by gravity to the track
or runway projecting from one side, as commonly employed in screw-making
machinery. The runway extends downwardly in a spiral manner so as to present
the blanks horizontally to the gripping fingers, see Figs. 16, 17. The lower end of
the runway is provided with an adjustable stop-gauge g. The gauge not only serves
to limit the distance the head extends from the face of the runway but it also serves
to prevent the blank from accidental displacement upon its seizure by the spring
fingers or jaws j of the carrier B. The latter is made to revolve in a horizontal plane
by means of a star-wheel t and pawl p. The carrier as drawn, is provided with four
sets of fingers j which successively seize the blanks. Findicates a cross-lead
mounted to reciprocate in ways formed in the bed of the machine. The to and fro

page_text: movement is attained by means of a link or connection e jointed at one end to a
stud fixed to the cross-head, the other end being slotted and provided, with a roll r
working in a cam-groove et formed in the disk E secured to the, lower main roll
shaft T. The form of the cam-groove is such that the blank is first carried rearwardly
see (Fig. 16) substantially in unison with the action of the revolving back-rolls. R;
and as the rolled blank emerges from the rolls a tooth of the star-wheel engages the
normally stationary pawl and forces the carrier around on its axis 90° in the arrow
direction, thus bringing a new blank in position to engage the rolls upon the
return of the cross head. The latter continues to advance on its rearward move-
ment thereby near the end of its stroke forcing a set of the spring-fingers ; over
the head of a blank lying in position at the lower end of the runway. The cam
in its revolution acts to withdraw the blank from the runway and quickly. returns
the carrier past the spring-pawl p₁ to the extreme of its stroke, shown in Figs. 16
and 17, the second preceding blank now being in position to be immediately acted
upon by the two main rolls R which are so timed that that they present the dies i
thereof to the blank at the same instant. The fingers are secured each to a
cylindrical block or holder which in turn is mounted to move end wise in the carrier
head, but prevented from turning on its axis, and is backed by a spring s; this
arrangement permits of a certain amount of elasticity or self-adjustment in the
relation of the blank to the dies. Each of the lugs or teeth t of the star-wheel is
flattened on its face and is brought successively into engagement with a guided
block 2 having a spring så at its back (see Fig. 16) thereby preventing the carrier
from accidental movement axially. After the blank has been fully rolled and while
the carrier in its rearward stroke is being revolved to carry the said blank or nail
away from the rolls and at the same time presenting a new blank in position to be
acted upon by the dies on the return of the cross-head, the stationary clearer ut
adjustably secured to the frame passes between the jaws j and forces the preceding
finished nail from the carrier, from whence it drops into a suitable receptacle. It is
evident that the carrier upon completing its quarter-movement will have brought the
now empty set of jaws into position to again receive a blank from the runway, as
before described, at the termination of the cross-head's stroke.
The rolls Rare mounted one above the other, and revolve in opposite directions
by gearing actuated by suitable driving mechanism. The diameters of the rolls aro
such that they make one revolution during each complete reciprocation of the cross-
head F. The rolls have the form of long cylinders and are reduced in diameter
except at the ends which form flanges q. The rolls are so adjusted that these flanges
touch each other in operation. By this arrangement the dies i mounted in the rolls
may be so nicely adjusted that the cutting edges 2 forming the walls of the dies are
prevented from actual contact with each other. The action of the dies upon the blank
is well illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 of the drawings. Figs. 16 and 17 show the
dies about to engage the blank, the shank a¹ being, as stated, uniform in thickness
throughout. The revolving dies at the proper time simultaneously engage the blank
at the junction of the head and shank and reduce the shank to the elongated taper-
form a shown in Fig. 15, the carrier meanwhile travelling rearwardly substantially in
unison with the surface speed of the dies. The dies may be made so that the die-
cavity w³ will lie one-half in each as shown. The edges are made sharp, thereby
forming rotary cutters which act to trim the nail and remove any superfluous stock
developed during the rolling. As drawn, the rolls R operate to "back-roll the
nail; that is, the dies first act upon the upper end of the blank and roll the metal
rearwardly toward the point. At the same time by means of a filling-in piece pl, or
other suitable provision located in one of the dies at its rear end, the point of the nail
is beveled on one side as at a³, Figs. 12 and 15, thus producing horseshoe-nails
having the characteristic taper and point.
21
The whole operation is performed upon metal at ordinary temperatures and
substantially by compression, and the compression to which it is subjected in this
condition hardens and stiffens it and increases its tensile strength. The head especially,
which is subjected in use to the greatest abrasion, is compressed and hardened by

page_text: form.
the repeated blows to which it is subjected in a die which gives it the required
The body of the nail is also subjected to a powerful compression which
elongates its fibres and its mass in the same direction as when the metal was drawn
into wire.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
'claim is-
:—
1. The method herein described of making horseshoe-nails from a wire or bar of
substantially the size and shape of the body or shank of the nail near the head by
upsetting or forging a head upon an end of the wire in a die of the size and shape
required. therefor, and by shearing the sides of the opposite end to provide for the
tapering point, and by rolling the shank to flatten, elongate and bevel its end to
produce the form required and harden the metal:
2. As a new article of manufacture, a. horseshoe-nail formed cold from a wire or
bar of substantially the size and shape of the body or shank of the nail near the head,
having a head forged or upset and compressed upon an end of the wire in a die of the
size and shape required therefor, and having the edges of the opposite end sheared,
and the sides rolled to flatten, elongate and bevel the shank to produce the form
required and harden the metal.
Dated the 5th day of November 1889.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agent for the Applicant.