The patent by James C. Jones of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, describes a Portable Drill-Frame designed for drilling holes, primarily in railroad rails. The machine is intended to be simple, cheap, and easily clamped to the rail to hold the drill firm while drilling is performed.
Invention and Mechanism
The device is a specialized, adjustable mounting frame that provides the necessary stability and positioning for a manual or powered drill.
1. Clamping and Securing to the Rail
- Base Frame (A, B, C): A base plate (A) with rising uprights (B) and a top plate (C) forms the main, rigid structure.
- Adjustable Rods (E): These rods are fitted to slide horizontally in socket plates (D) located on the underside of the base plate. Pins or bolts (F) passing through aligned holes (d and e) hold the rods in their adjusted position.
- Clamps (G): These are fitted to slide onto the rods (E) and are shaped to fit and embrace the tread and web of a railroad rail.
- Function: The frame is positioned next to the rail, the clamps (G) are moved to the rail, and the entire assembly is secured by tightening set screws (g) on the clamps and inserting the pins (F) in the rods (E). This firmly clamps the frame to the rail, ensuring stability during drilling.
2. Drill Support and Adjustment
- Slotted Rails (H): Vertical rails with elongated slots are secured to one side of the uprights (B) using blocks (I) that space the rails away from the uprights.
- Adjustable Bar (J): A bar upon which the drill is mounted is fitted to slide vertically between the slotted rails (H) and the uprights (B).
- Thumb Screws (K): These screws pass through the slots of the rails (H) and thread into the ends of the bar (J).
- Function: By moving the bar (J) up or down and then tightening the thumb screws (K), the position of the drill relative to the rail’s web (where holes are typically drilled for joint bars or signaling bonds) can be adjusted vertically in a convenient manner.
3. Operation
The device is positioned next to the rail, the clamps are adjusted and secured around the lower flange of the rail, and the adjustable bar is positioned so the drill bit will hit the rail at the desired height. This creates a secure, precise drilling platform for railway maintenance.
Historical Significance and the Inventor
James C. Jones’s 1895 patent is part of the extensive innovation focused on railroad maintenance and safety during the peak era of railway expansion.
- Railway Maintenance: The late 19th century saw massive growth in rail networks, requiring constant maintenance, particularly drilling holes for joint bars (fishplates) to connect rail segments or for installing signaling bonds. Performing this work manually in the field with large, unwieldy tools was difficult.
- The Need for Portability and Precision: Jones’s invention addressed the critical need for a tool that was both portable (simple and cheap) and precise (capable of securely positioning the drill). By locking the frame directly to the rail via adjustable clamps, the device eliminated the errors and instability associated with free-standing or crudely secured frames.
- Mechanical Simplicity: The use of sliding rods, pins, and thumb screws ensured the machine could be quickly set up, adjusted, and disassembled by a small track crew using minimal tools, maximizing efficiency on the track.
- The Inventor (James C. Jones): Jones, residing in Philadelphia, was located in a major industrial hub with extensive rail networks, providing him direct exposure to the practical challenges of railway maintenance that his invention sought to solve.
Relation to Current Items
Jones’s drill frame utilizes principles that are fundamental to modern track-working tools:
- Rail-Mounted Tools: The concept of using a dedicated clamp system to mount power tools directly to the rail for drilling or cutting is the standard for modern rail drilling machines and rail saw clamps used by track maintenance crews today.
- Adjustable Clamping: The use of sliding bars and set screws to achieve an adjustable, high-security clamp is a common design for any tool that must temporarily but rigidly anchor itself to a uniform structure, such as pipe fitting clamps or certain types of machine jigs.
- Sliding Way Adjustment: The vertically slotted rails (H) and bar (J) with thumb screws (K) are a simple form of linear slide assembly still used in lower-cost or manual machinery where the position of a tool needs to be precisely but manually adjusted along a single axis.
