US617132A - Wire-stretcher - Google Patents

Description

No. 6l7,l32.

(No Model.)

Patented Jan. 3, 1899. A. B. THORN.

WIRE STRETCHER.

(Application filed Aug. 10, 1898.]

Iinnlllllllllllllllllllll I- llwrrnn TATES ATENT ric ARTHUR BOREMAN TIIORN, OF REEDY, VEST VIRGINIA.

WlRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 617,132, dated January 3, 1899.

Application filed August 10, 1898. Serial No. 688,321. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR BOREMAN THoRN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Reedy, in the county of Roane and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and useful Wire-Stretcher, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in wire-stretchers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of wire-stretchers and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device capable of readily engaging either a smooth or barbed wire and adapted to stretch the same to the desired tension and hold it while it is being stapled or otherwise fastened to a fence-post or other support.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire-stretcher adapted to serve as a combination-tool and capable of cutting wire and extracting staples and nails.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of a wire-stretcher constructed in accordance with this invention, the clamp being open. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the clamp being closed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the manner of clamping a fence-wire. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View, the section being taken through the catch for holding the lever of the clamp.

Like numerals of reference desi nate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a main bar or lever constructed of metal and provided at one end with a claw 2, which is slightly curved, as shown, and adapted for extracting a nail or staple; and the claw is also adapted to receive a piece of barbed wire in its crotch, so that the lever or bar may be employed for stretching the wire by using the point of the claw as a fulcrum. This will enable the wire-stretcher to be substituted for a pair of pliers in many instances. The other end 3 of the main bar or lever is curved, as shown, and is provided at the concave side with parallel ears 4: and 5, forming a wire-receiving recess and constituting one of the jaws of the clamp. The ear 4, at one side of the bar or lever l, is perforated to receive a journal 6 of a movable L-shaped jaw 7, which operates in the space between the ears and which has its transverse engaging portion arranged in a slot or recess 8 of the ear 5 when in engagement with a fence-wire, whereby it is supported in such engagement.

An operating handle or lever 9 is secured to the journal of the movable jaw 7 by .a nut 10, and it is adapted to swing the jaw into and out of engagement with a fence-wire. The handle or lever 9 of the clamp has one end curved to conform to the configuration of thebar or lever 1, and its other end is provided with a laterally-disposed grip 11, and the latter is swung in the direction of the main bar or lever when it is desired to clamp a fence-wire. The clamp is maintained in engagement with a fence-wire by means of a catch 12, having an L-shaped shank, secured to one of the faces of the main bar or lever 1 by a bolt or other suitable fastening device. The engaging arm of the catch is spaced from the adjacent side of the lever or bar 1 and has a shoulder for engaging the lever or handie of the clamp. The outer end of the en gaging arm of the clamp is beveled to enable the handle or lever to engage it readily. The bar or lever l is provided adjacent to the handie of the clamp with a longitudinal rib or flange 13, adapted to increase its strength and forming a bearing for the handle or lever of the clamp. The longitudinal rib or flange is provided adjacent to the clamp with a recess 14:, and the handle or lever 9 is provided with a cutting edge which cooperates with the recess to form a wire-cutter. By this construction wire may be quickly and conveniently cut.

WVhen it is desired to stretch a fence-wire in building a fence, the wire is placed between the ears of the bar or lever l and is engaged by the clamp, which securely holds it. The bar orlever 1 is then fulcrumed on a fencepost adjacent to its curved end, and sufficient leverage is afforded to enable the fence-wire to be stretched to the desired tension. The clamp will securely hold the fence-wire while it is being stapled or otherwise secured to a fence-post, and there is no liability of the fence wire slipping in the clamp.

The invention has the following advantages: The Wire-stretcher, which is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, possesses great strength and durability, and it greatly facilitates the construction of fences by enabling a fence-wire to be quickly stretched to the desired tension and firmly held while it is being stapled or otherwise secured to a fence-post or other support. It

forms an efficient wire-cutter, and its claw is adapted for extracting staples and nails, and is also capable of engaging a barbed wire. The device is also adapted for use as a pair of liers and maybe employed either for twisting the ends of wire together to connect them or for twisting two or more strands to form a cable. The Wire to be twisted is placed in the clamp, which is then closed, as before described, and the clamp is then twisted to effect the desired result.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is 1. A wire-stretcher comprising a main bar provided at one end with a pair of ears formin g a wire-receiving recess, a clam ping jaw or member operating in the space between the ears and adapted to engage a fence-wire, a handle connected with the clamping jaw or member and located at one side of the main bar, and a catch mounted on the main bar and arranged to engage the handle, whereby the clamping member is maintained in engagement with a fence-wire, substantially as described.

2. A wire-stretcher comprising a main bar or member provided at one end with a pair of ears, one of the ears being perforated and the other being provided with a slot, an L-shaped clamping-jaw journaled in the perforation of one of the ears and operating in the space between the ears, and in the slotof the other, a handle extending longitudinally of the bar at one edge thereof and connected with the clamping-jaw, and means for holding the clamping-jaw in engagement with a fence- Wire, substantially as described.

3. A wire-stretcher comprising a main bar provided at one end with a pair of ears, a substantially L-shaped clamping-jaw journaled on one of the ears, a handle connected with the journal of the clamping-jaw and located at one side of the bar, and an L-shaped catch mounted on the bar and having an engaging arm spaced from the same and arranged to engage the handle,substantially as described.

t. A wire-stretcher comprising a main bar having one end curved and provided thereat with a pair of ears, one of the ears being perforated and the other slotted, an L-shaped clamping-jaw operating in the space between the ears and journaled in the perforated ear and having one end arranged in the slot of the other car, a rib extending along one side of the main bar, a handle secured to the journal of the clamping-jaw, and an L-shaped catch mounted on the barand having one arm arranged to be engaged by the handle, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR BOREMAN TIIORN.

\Vitnesses:

A. S. CHEMRONT, L. D. RADER.

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