US381858A - Fence - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 1 J. Z. STANLEY.

FENCE.

No. 381,858. atented Apr. 24-, 1888.

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J. Z. STANLEY.

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FENCE.

Patented Apr. 24, 1888.

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$231 a ike mac and exact description of the invention, which UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

JAMES z. STANLEY, or SPRINGDALE, MICHIGAN.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,858, dated April 24, 1888.

Application filed January 23, 1888.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMEs'Z. STANLEY, of Springdale, in the county of Wexfordand'State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,

will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of my improvement is to make a rail fence having wire binds? inwhich the crossing stakes shall be firmly held, with no tendency to spread at their bottom ends, and therefore having no need of cross wires or other stays connecting them at the bottom to prevent such spreading, and also to facilitate theinserting and fastening of horizontal rails in pendent wires by a peculiar double twist of the wire, and which also prevents the rails being lifted or pushed up by small animals, and to economize the construction and accommodate it to the making of picket fences.

The nature of the invention will readily appear from the following description.

Figure 1 is an enlarged transverse section on the line a: w of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of my improved rail fence. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, in which wires instead of lower rails are used. Fig. 4. is a view similar to Fig. 2, in which pickets instead of lower rails are used. Fig. 5 is a view of a portion of my rail fence, showing a top and side brace; Fig. 6, a view showing the manner of completing and tightening the binds for the upper and lower top rails, which are placed in the crotches of the crossing stakes. Fig. I shows my mode of anchoring on irregular ground. A

I employ the well-known crossing stakes A B, which cross each other near their upper ends, but which by my mode of wire binding do not require to be permanently nailed or bolted together, nor do they need to be embedded in the ground. A short endless uncrossed loop, d, of strong wire, is first placed around the under top rail, E, and around the stakes A B, and upon inserting rail F aslant in said loop, and then pulling down the rail (see Serial No. 261,681. (No model.)

Fig. 6) from its inclined to a horizontal position, a great purchase power is obtained, similar to that in binding a load of logs or lumber with a pole and chain. It will 'be evident that a bind formed by merely twisting a wire around these stakes and rails could not bind strong enough to hold a fence from going down, because it would lack the requisite stability; but by the purchase power obtained by my using a loop of large wire and then using the rail as a long lever I can embed this wire into the stakes and rails as the rail tightens down. Thus I form what I call bind No. 1 as far as I wish to go with the fence--say for twenty rods-puttingin the rails in the lower crotches or angles, 2, clear across the lot, and as fast as a rail is brought down another pair of crossing stakes is placed over said rail, and so on, and after reaching the terminus of the fence I cease to bind the line of rails E F G, &c., and

next I go back with the top rails, C D, &c.,

traversed before, and in forcing down the upper top rails to place after their insertions in the top loops, d, the leverage of these rails on these loops is in a direction the reverse or oppositeof that employed in tightening the other lower set of similar loops, d. The stakes, upper rails, and tightened loops are thus so powerfully held together that even if the struct ure were not further strengthened the fence would be self-sustaining. The fence is selfbinding-that is, the insertion and forcing to place of the rails accomplish the binding. It should be borne in mind that the end posts are only used at the starting-place and terminus of the fence, all the rest of the fence being composed of stakes, rails, and wire.

It will be seen that the construction thus far described may be used either for a rail fence, at picket fence, or for one in which the lower portion below the angle 2 may be closed by horizontal wires, either barbed or plain, to keep animals from passing. My preferred way of effecting this is to use a wire support, pecu: liarly made for sustaining afew horizontal rails, it being understood that in my fence fewer rails than usual are needed. I pass a third inde pendent wire, g, over the rails E F, just beneath the angle 2, and then, bringing the two parts of the wire together, they are twisted together for, say, one or more twists. Then a rail, (or rails,) K, is put loosely into the untwisted partthat is, between the two parts of the wire-and a slight or single twist below the rail will prevent it from dropping; but this does not yet complete it nor properly tighten the rail, (or rails, in case two lapping ends of rails chance to be at this point,) because the rail is yet lying in a loop which is considerably larger than the cross-section of the rail. 1 can now insert a. rod, bar, or any suitable instrument in the space between the parts ij of the wire, and just above the rail, and give the whole wire an extra twist in the same direction of the twist previously given, and both above and below the tightening implement, (or this may be done with pliers or pin chers,) thus tightening both above and below such implement, which is then withdrawn, and this leaves the wire in such condition that at any time a rail may be easily withdrawn for repairs or otherwise by simply using pliers, or by inserting any implement or rod in the opening or loop-space k and turning it in the opposite direction, which will undo the twists i and j and leave the rail loose. It will be seen that any desired degree of tightening ofthe wire and rails can be given by means of the pliers, rod, or bar when inserting these rails, and also any desired degree of looseness when removing them. One advantage of tightening the rails by the extra twist is to prevent the rails being raised or lifted by hogs or other animals passing under them. Nor can the rails slip up and down, as if hung in the ordinary wire loops.

Any desired length of rails may be used. The wire is used, twisted in the same way, for holding other rails L M (as may be desired) below the rail K. Usually three such rails will be suflicient, making, with the upper and lower top rails, only five rails in all, while ordinarily in this class of fences from six to eight are required. Nor do I need any inclined brace-rails, as the solidity given by my manner'of binding renders them unnecessary.

The bind No. 1 is preferably made before that above it, or No. 2, and the bindingtwist in one of them is made in a direction opposite to that in the other one. The wire 9, as before stated, performs no duty of holding firmly together the cross legs or stakes A 13, nor of preventing their spreading at their feet. I, however, extend its ends from beneath the lowermost rail to thelower ends of these stakes, merely to prevent the under rails from being swung by animals that might thereby pass under them. The effect of the whole of these several binds is that they insure a firm solid structure, which will not sway, turn, or fall down endwise, as too often happens with other fences in use.

To make apicket fence, horizontal rails may be placed at a point near the ground and the pickets nailed or fastened to it and to the rails O D, as shown in Fig. 4; but the intermediate rails may be dispensed with. Two to four inch pickets will be sufficient.

To make a board fence, Iuse thesame stakes and same manner ofbinding the two top boards to them. The boards may be notched at their ends to facilitate the wire-binding and prevent the boards turning over. Strips 0, of wood, may also be placed vertically on the center of the panels and opposite to each other. These help to stiffen the fence, as does also a cap-board, p, secured above the top rail, and which also gives a finish.

Instead of pickets or boards below the two top rails,horizontal wires, barbed or plain, may be used, substantially as shown in Fig. 3. In thus using wire (preferably barbed) I first set posts in the ground as far apart as the ground will permit, and on level ground they may be forty rods apart. Then stretch the wire, (as many strands as desired,) and then proceed to set up the crossing stakes and top rails and binds, as previously stated, first completing the hind No. 1 from one end to the other and next completing the bind No. 2 from one end to the other. \Vith this construction I do not need any wooden rail at the bottom of the fence. The horizontal wires may be any desired distance apart.

In building my fences over an uneven piece of ground say, for instance, from the top of one small hill or elevation to another or over any similar abrupt hollow-I use the following means for preventing a tight pull on the longitudinal wire or barbed wire, and which pull would tend to pull this portion of the structure up into the air. I therefore anchor or stay the fence by burying at a suitable depth in the ground a stone or brick, q, or other material of sufficient weight, durability, and size, and attach to ita wire,r, which at its upper endI fasten to the barbed or other fence wire. This allows of pulling down the fence wire or wires to the desired position relatively to the surface of the ground and securing it in such position. This stay or anchoring wire may be in the same piece with and a continuation of one which hasthedouble twistheretofore described. Such anchoring would of course only be needed occasionally in building a fence, and in fences where no setting-posts are used.

I claim- 1. In a rail fence, the combination,with the crossing stakes A B and with the lower top rails, E F, of short endless uncrossed wire loops placed around said stakes and tightened up to bind the parts firmly together by the lever action of such lower rail in forcing itafter the insertion of its end into theloop from an inclined to a horizontal position, all as shown and described.

2. In a rail fence, the described combination, with the crossing stakes and the upper top rails, O D, of the short endless uncrossed wire loops placed around the tops of the stakes above theirpointof crossing and having within applied and tightened in the opposite directhem the ends of the said rails, the loops betion by the rail, all as set forth. ing forced to bind all these parts firmly to- 4:. In combination, the crossing stakes com- 1 gether by the downward lever action of said bined with the under top rails, E F, the wire 5 rails to bring them to theirhorizontalposition; g, hung thereon and double twisted, as deand the direction of this binding of these upscribed, hanging vertically beneath the crotch per rails being opposite that of the lower top of the stakes, and a series of rails or their derails, all as shown and described. scribed equivalent pendent from such wire. 3. In combination, the crossing stakes, the JAMES Z. STANLEY. [0 lower top rails and their wire loops applied Witnesses:

and tightened by the rail, as set forth, and the W.']?. OGDEN, J r.,

upper top rails and their endless wire loops CHARLES S. MARE.

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