US1929567A - Fencing tool - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 10, 1933. R. M; SHEPHERD FENCING TOOL Filed Feb. 14, 1931 E-.M- SZTE/ZJZTEI'd nay- Y a Patented Oct. 10, 1933 UNHTED STATES FENCING TOOL Ralph M. Shepherd, Belmont, Ohio, assignor of one-half to Robert D., Shepherd, 7 Scranton,

Application February 14, 1931. Serial No. 515,849

1 Claim.

This invention relates to fencing tools, and

has for an object to provide a tool by means of which a staple may be removed easily and quickly, and by means of which new staples may be driven both in the original construction and in the repair or alteration of wire fences.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fencing tool comprising a hammer having a handle'and a transverse head thereon, the head terminating in a prong which extends in axial prolongation of the head and is terminally curved and pointed to provide a fulcrum which changes its location to the staple at different points to promote easy withdrawal of the staple.

A further object of the invention is to provide a prong which is brought to a point by being tapered equally from four sides, the planes of the side faces lying wholly within the planes of the side faces of the hammer head so that the.

side of the hammer head may be at times used as a fulcrum against the post to dislodge staples which are not accurately driven and extend; ob-

liquely to the fence wire instead of perpendicular thereto.

A still further object is to provide a fencingtool which will be simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture and will be rugged so as to withstand extreme, rough usage.

With the above and other objects in View the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of partshereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure l is a side elevation of the tool,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the tool,

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the initial application of the tool to withdraw a staple, and

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3, showing the tool during a later stage of removing the staple.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, the fencing tool is shown to comprise a hammer having a handle 10 and a head 11, the head .being provided with the usual eye 12 to receive the handle. The head is provided with a prong 12 which extends in axial prolongation of the head on one side of the handle and is terminally curved to provide a fulcrum point 13. The head is connected to the prong at the eye by means of a short, tapered neck as shown, which neck reinforces the eye to resistbreakage and at the same time reinforces the juncture of the prong with the head to resist breakage.

The prong 12 is brought to a point by being tapered equally from the four sides, as best indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. Furthermore, it will be observed by referring particularly. to Fig. 2 that the sides 14. and 15 of the prong lie wholly within theplanes of the corresponding sides 16 and 17 of the hammer head. Consequently, the sides of the hammer head lie in planes spaced outwardly from the sides'l and 15 of the prong.

Ordinarily, to remove a staple 18 driven in the post 19 perpendicular to the fence wire 20,

the curved fulcrum point 13 is driven underneath the staple by a blow directed laterally from the side of the post toward the staple, as indicated in Fig. 3; When the point enters the staple, the outer curvature 21 thereof furnishes a fulcrum which changes its location to the staple at diiferent'points while the tool is being rocked, in a plane perpendicular to the post as indicated in Fig. 4, to withdraw the staple. That is, the fulcrum point of the exterior of the 30 prong, when the point is first inserted within the staple, is adjacent to the staple, but after a the staple has been started the fulcrum point moves from the staple as the latter is withdrawn and thus causes the point 22 to move in an are 5 and withdraw the staple nearly in its line of insertion. I

Frequently, the staple is not accurately driven during the construction of the fence and lies obliquely to the direction of the fence wire.

Obviously,. to withdraw such a staple, the tool may be given a downward blow in a plane paral- 'lel with the post to dispose the point vunderneath the staple and, at the same time, engage the face 1'7 or 16 of the hammerhead with the face of the post simultaneously with the thrust of the point underneath the staple, so that as the tool progresses due to the force of the blow, the face which is spaced outwardly, as above described, from the prong, then acts as a fulcrum for the tool'while the staple is being dislodged.

To drive a new staple while altering or repairing a fence, it is simply necessary to reverse the tool and use the hammer head in the same 105 manner asan ordinary hammer. It will thus be seen that by means of this single tool old staples may be removed and new staples driven without the use of separate tools for these two operations, as is the ordinary practice.

to extend at an oblique angle to the straight portion and presenting a sharp pointed spur adapted to enter a staple, the sides of the head lying in substantially parallel planes Wholly outside of the prong and providing a fulcrum when the tool is manipulated parallel with the staple supporting face of a fence post.

RALPH M. SHEPHERD.

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