Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
During the nailing of corrugated roofing sheets onto a
roof, nails frequently glance away from the convex ridge,
rather than driving straight through the ridge as is desirable.
When a nail glances in this way, it can even penetrate
the metal in a valley between the ridges where rain will cause
leaking.
A glancing nail can cause the hammer to strike a person's
thumb, resulting in a very badly bruised "black" thumb.
10. Even though corrugated roofing has been popular for the
greater part of a century, no tool to my knowledge, has ever
been marketed for solving this problem. I am aware of a
proposal made in Patent No. 1,688,445, issued to I. N. Williams
on Oct. 23, 1928, titled "NAIL HOLDER". In this patent the
levers were shaped in a curved manner and the jaws were of
one piece with the respective levers, so that the only way
that would be suggested for making the tool would be to make
it by casting the parts. However, cast parts will break quickly
when hit with a hammer as would often occur. In my opinion,
20. this is probably a reason why I have not seen the tool of
this patent on the market.
It is an object of this invention to provide a nail hold-
ing tool, the undersurfaces of which are adapted to snugly
fit corrugation, ridges, but having the features that the
tool is adapted to economical manufacture from materials that
can withstand hammer blows, rather than having the problem of
being cracked by hammer blows as in the case of cast metal.
I conceived, for economical manufacture, that the levers
of a nail holder could be made of steel bar stock which is
30. economically available and that the forward ends of the levers
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could be twisted into horizontal planar positions for effec-
tive pivotal attachment of the levers together, while yet
permitting a bending of the levers transversely of their
width in positions for achieving a desired shape and support-
ing nail holding jaws. Such steel could receive a hammer blow
and the blow would tend to be withstood, because the blow
would hit the steel bar stock edgewise, although I prefer that
the jaws protrude above the levers so that the jaws receive
all normal and accurate hammer blows.
10. I propose that the jaws themselves be made of malleable
material, capable of withstanding hammer blows, and I have
found that lead is a good material for this purpose. Lead can
be cast to a desired shape and yet is malleable, which cannot
be said for cast iron.
A further object of this invention is to provide jaws
which can be easily held in place by metal screws for econom-
ical fabrication.
A further objective is to provide the concept of attach-
ing the jaws to the levers in a manner such that when a ver-
20. tical set of nail receiving notches in the jaws are in uprightnailing position, then the handle ends of the levers will be
spaced from adjacent parts of the roofing for accommodating
the fingers between the levers and the roofing.
A further object is to provide a nail holder that is
suitable for holding nails that are being driven into concrete
because the nails are firmly held by good leverage, and be-
cause the jaws are solid without openings therethrough, whereby
chips of concrete cannot fly up from the point of the nail
through any openings in the jaws endangering the eyes of a
30. workman.
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SU~MARY OF THE INVENTION
The main feature of this invention is to provide a nailholder having right and left elongatecl levers pivotally attach-
ed together at one end for pivoting about an axis r right and
left jaws attached to respective right and left levers and
facing each other and having nail-gripping surfaces respect-
ively disposed in positions for gripping a nail at times when
said levers are in positions for nail-gripping, the undersides
of the jaws having grooves which together form a cavity adapt-
ed to receive a ridge of corrugated roofing, the jaws having
10. notches therein for receiving the opposite sides of a nail for
firmly holding the nail straight and supporting the nail so
that it does not become bent while being driven, the jaws be-
ing disposed near the attached ends of the levers.
A further feature is an economy of construction accom-
plished by using flat pieces of material for the levers with
the levers being twisted so as to have horizontal forward por-
tions for ease of attachment, yet vertical portions for ease
of mounting of the jaws thereon.
~ nother feature is to provide a nail holder, the forward
20. ends of the levers and the jaws of which are formed of material
sufficiently maIleable and non-brittle as to withstand hammer
blows like steel, the jaws preferably being of lead for ease
of application and the ability to withstand hammer blows with-
out cracking and also without damaging the head of the hammer,
since hammer heads can be ch-ipped and are very expensive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the nail holder of this
invention shown in a jaws closed position with handle covering
materials thereof shown with uppermost portions broken away
30. and the remainder shown in section.
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Figure 2 is a side elevation of the nail holder of this
invention shown in nail-gripping position and nail-driving
position with a nail being shown therein.
Figùre 3 is a view of two lapped pieces of corrugated
roofing material shown as seen from an edge and parallel with
the straight parallel ridges thereof, lowermost parts of the
jaws of the nail holder of this invention being shown in posi-
tion above a ridge preparatory to the driving of a nail, other
portions of the nail not being shown.
10. Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the jaws of the nail
holder shown in jaws-closed position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The nail holder of this invention is generally indicated
at 10 in Figure 1, and comprises left and right levers 12, which
are formed of steel bar stock, having planar vertical sides 20
and along most of the length of each lever 12, although adjac-
ent but spaced from the forward end of each lever 12, the lever
~; is bent at 30 toward a pivot axls 40 at obtuse angle inclination
with respect to the respective~straight main portion 34 of the
20. lever, such inclining portions being seen at 40 and having at
their forward ends terminal portions 44, which are disposed in
horizontal planes because the bar stock material of the levers
12 is twisted 90~ at 50~between the flat inclining portions 40
;~ and the forward horizontal portions 44.
The forward horiz ontal portions 44 are secured together
by an suitable security means such as a rivet 50 for pivoting
about the axis 40.
The rearward ends of the levers 12 can be provided with
suitable covering 61, shown in cross-section in Figure 1.
30. Between the forward ends of the straight portions 20 of
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the levers 12 left and right j.aws 60 are aisposed, the jaws
60 having vertical planar flat outer edges 62 abutting inner
sides 64 of the levers and to which they are secured by metal
screws 70 extending through the apertured levers 12 and into
the jaws 60 which are preferably formed of malleable material
such as lead.
The inner edges of the jaws 60 are preferably flat and
are seen at 74, but with the exception that they are provided
with vertical nail-receiving notches 80 which cooperate by be-
10. ing disposed opposite each other to form, in effect, an elong-
ated cylindrical opening to which a nail can be received, as
shown by the nail 90 of Figure 2, preparatory to the driving
of the nail through corrugated roofing materials such as an
upper layer of corrugated roofing 104, and a lower layer of
corrugated roofing 106, shown in Figure 3. The undersurfaces
of the jaws 60 are provided with grooves 140, extending from
right to left completely thereunder, and together forming a
cavity 150 at times when the jaws 60 are substantially against
one another. The cavity 150 is of a concave curved shape, ex~
20. tending from left to right, and is adapted to be snugly received
against a complimentary shaped convex upper surface 160 of a
ridge of the roofing material 104, as best seen in Figure 3,
whereby the nail 9 a of Figure 2 can be driven down through the
opening 80, best seen ~n Figure 1, whil.e the tool is held from
sliding off of the ridge 160 by the cavity 150~ which latter
lapse across suhstantial areas on both sides of the crest of
the ridge 160.
Referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that the elongated
straight lever portions 20 extend at an obtuse angle with re-
30. spect to the horizontal at times when the tool is held in a
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position such that its nail groove 80 is vertical. This isso the fingers of an operator can extend around the handle por-
tion under the covering 61 without engaging adjacent parts
of the corrugated roofing materials.
The jaws, as best seen in Figures 1 and 4, have a hori-
zontal dimension as measured in a direction transverse to the
length of the levers which dimension is more than the corres-
ponding transverse dimension of the respective lever by a
multiple of at least 2, as shown, and even by a multiple of
10. at least 4, as shown.
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