US409396A - Fence-post - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

F. L. PAIRCHILD.

FENCE POST.

No. 409,396. Patented Aug. zo, 1889.

NA PETERS, Pim! mr, wnshugmn, D, c.

UNITED VSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK L. FAIROHILD, OF MOUNT VERNON, OHIO.

FENCE-POST.

`SlECIIICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 409,396, dated August 20, 1889.

` Application tiled November 14, 1888. Serial No. 290,855. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FRANK L. FAIRCHILD, of Mount Vernon, in the county of Knox and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvem ents in Fence-Posts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to that kind or" fence-post usually made of wrought metal, which is combined with a burntclay or pottery base.

It has reference to means for centering and securing the stem of the post in its base, and also to means for protecting that portion of it which is buried in the ground from corrosion.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side elevation, partly in section, of my improved post in its simplest form. Fig. 2 is a like View of a post provided with means for centering it at top, and also with a slight modification of the means by which it is secured at the bottom. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3, Fig. 2. j

The steml A of the post, when made ot wrought metal, as it is represented to be in the drawings, can be a channel-bar, or may have a T or other suitable shape in cross-section.

B is a cap made, preferably, of cast metal or other material not easily affected by the corroding influences to which fence-posts are usually subjected. It is provided in Fig. 1 on its under side with a depending flange a, or its equivalent, intended to enter the opening in the pottery or burnt-clay base O, to the top of which the cap is fitted. The stem A passes through the cap down into the base C, and it is secured to the cap by suitable meansas, for example, by a bolt b, or rivet passing through it, and an ear or lugo on Vthe upper side of Ithe cap. It is also preferred to still further assure it in position by a stay rod or brace CZ, bolted or riveted at the bottom to the cap and at the top to the stem. In order to secure these parts to the base C, I make use or what I term a stub end D and a screwcap E.

Wrought metal is readily attacked by moisture and by the other elements which it meets when buried in the ground, so that if it be left thus exposed the life-time of the post will be comparatively short. It is to this end that I have provided the cap E and have combined it with thebase and the stem of the post in the manner illustrated in the drawings. This screw-cap is made ot some non-corrosive materialpreferably cast-iron-Which will resist the action of the elements for an indefinite length of time. For the same reason I much prefer to make the stub end D of cast metal also, although this perhaps is not quite so essential. This stub end forms, in eieci', part of the stem.

The stub end is formed at its upper end, so that it may readily be attached to the stem of the post by bolting or riveting, as shown, and its lower end, which projects through the opening in the bottom of base C, is screwthreaded. Upon this screw-threaded end the internally-screwthreaded cast-metal cap is screwed from below the bottom of the base, thus drawing the parts tightly together and closing the base against entrance of moisture into its interior from the bottom. To more effectually close and seal this joint, I prefer to interpose between the screw-cap and the base a lead or other soft-metal Washer e, or the joint may be sealed with pitch or other water-proof material.` In lieu of the screwcap a cast-metal nut might be used. By the use of the stub end D, I am enabled to make the hole in the base through which it passes of smaller size than that which receives the stem of the post, as seen in Fig. I; but this hole in the base may be of the same diameter throughout, as seen in Fig. 2. In this event I may make the screw cap or nut of sufficient size to cover the hole; but .as there would be some ditiiculty in making a perfectly tight joint under these circumstances directly between the base and the screw-cap I prefer to interpose between the two a castmetal washer f, which covers the hole in the bottom of the base and is provided with a central hole of smaller diameter for the passage of the screwthreaded'stub end. Gaskets of lead or other similar metal are interposed between the base and the cast-metal washer and between the latter and the screw-cap- If desired, pitch or other water-proof material can also be poured into the base C, so as to seal it at the bottom and on the sides also, if desired; but this generally will not be found necessary.

IOO

In order to make a cheap, easily manipulated, and practically available fence-post having amet-al stem anda burnt-clay or pottery base, it is essential that the stem at its lower end shall project through the bottom of the base and shall have applied to this projecting end a fastening device by whichit is held rmly in place and prevented from upward movement in the base. In this construction it is equally essential that there should be between these parts an air-tight and water-tight joint, which will exclude absolutely the entrance of moisture and the like through the bottom into the base. It' this be done, the post is practically indestructible. IVithout it the pottery-base, although in itself unaffected by the action of the elements, is practically of no avail.

In case a wooden stem or upright is desired, this wooden portion can be bolted or otherwise secured to the cap B, while the stub end D can extend down from the latter (to which it may be secured in any convenient manner)v through the base, to a position where its screw-threaded vend can be taken by the screw-cap E, as hcreinbeforc indicated. Obviously the same construction might be availed of if the stem were of metal instead of wood; but where the stem is of metal it is preferred that it shall extend down into the base, as indicated in the drawings.

The upper or exposed part of the post should preferably be galvanized or provided with a non-corrosive coating. The screw-cap E can be made of any desired size and thickness, and in connection with the indestructible pottery-base it serves to make a post which will last in the ground without material deterioration, indefinitely.

Pottery or clay bases when burnt shrink variably, so that it is desirable to provide means by which the cap B and its attached stem can be centered and put in proper position with respect to the base, to be held by the screw-cap at the bottom. One way of effecting this result (typical of a number of ways of getting at the same result) is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The cap B in these figures has a downwardly-depending flange g, which enters the hole in the base on one side, and has a preferably vertical rib t', which is intended to enter a corresponding groove g2 in the interior wall of the base. On the opposite side is a slide B which rests on the top of the base and extends out through a recess in the cap. On its inner end this slide has a depending flange h, corresponding to flange g, and, like the latter, has a rib h', to enter a groove h2 in the interior wall of the base. A bolt fi passes through a lug t" on the top of the slide and thence projects out through the side of the cap B. Upon this screw-threaded projecting end of the bolt is a nut '7'. After the cap is placed upon the base then by tightening the nutj the flanges g 7L will be spread apart against the interior of the base and will then hold the cap and stem firmly in place against lateral movement. In other words, the cap by this means has an adjustable liange which can be expanded and contracted so as to tightly iit and clasp any base. In the drawings this is represented as being attained by pressure against the interior of the base; but manifestly the same result can be arrived at by clasping the base upon its exterior. Vhat is essential is that the cap should have one stationary or fixed bearing-piece answering to the part g, and that there should be connected to it or to the stem a movable and adjustable bearing by means of which the cap shall be held firmly against lateral movement.

Having described my improvement, what I claim herein as new and of my own invention is as follows:

l. A fence-post comprising, in combination, the post-stem, the cap, the pottery or burntclay base, the screw-threaded stub end, and the internally-screW-threaded coveringcap applied to the stub end from the underside of the base, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination of the post-stein, the burnt-clay or pottery base, a separate or removable stub end for the stem, and a fastening device applied to the stub end from the under side of the base, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

3. The combination, with the burnt-clay base, of the post-stem having a screw-threaded lower end, and the internally-screw-threaded covering-cap made of cast-iron or otherpractically non-corrosive metal applied to the said end of the stem from the bottom of the base, and acting to cover the exposed end of the stem and to close the base at the bottom, as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

et. In combination with the base and the post-stem, the cap provided with bearings or projecting pieces adj nstable to and from each other and adapted to take against opposite sides of the base, substantially as hercinbefore set forth.

5. The burntclay or pottery base made hollow and having an opening at its bottom, and the wrought-metal post-stem inserted in the base and projecting at its lower end through the openingin the bottom of the base,

IDO

IIS

in combination with the cap or fastener applied. to the said projecting end from the nnder side of the base, and the soft-metal washer interposed between said fastener and the base, whereby the stem is protected and the bottom is scaled air and water tight, as and for the purposes hcreinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 3d day of November, 1888.

FRANK L. FAIRCHILD. Vitnesses:

A. S. COLE, S. E. FAIRCHILD.

Images