TS 2025 .L97 Copy 1 ^H^T^apo*,^ Registered trade mark, FEa 2"2> J892. Instructions for its Application —TO— CARRIAGES. Copyright 1892. by Henry A. Luttgens. H. A. LUTTGENS, PATERSON, Box 131. NEW JERSEY. United States of America MAY 4 1 892 \ PATERSON, N. J. : PRESS PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1892. 0*° INDEX AND RECAPITULATION. V Before ordering the J.#teW coupling examine Page 5-6. Page 1. Table with directions for fitting 5 2. Average height at end of pole 40 in. and for shafts 44 in. at harness stirrup or tugs 7 3. Springs 7 4. Spring caps 7 5. Tools for fitting 8 6. Template... 8 7. How to file the coupling S 8. Measure for width of axle 9 9. How to prace coupling on axle 9 10. Bed pieces on Carriage axle and axles without bed pieces. 10 11. Bracket foot of spring rigging 10 13. Bed pieces when made of soft wood 11 13. A xles rounded at bottom 11 14. Length of thread on clips 11 15. How to bring clip into position 11 16. Trimming off top of coupling box 11 17 Shorten to within }£ in. of nuts and round off end of clip bolts. In removing coupling strike square blows at end of bolt 12 18. Drive in wood wedge before placing coupling on axle 12 19. Where to place the couplings 12 20 It requires a monkey wrench to insert and move the pole or shaft irons in coupling, before they are welded to irons; use oil 12-13 21. See if spring caps vibrate in coupling box with movement of shafts 13 22. Cut end of each shaft to give clearance at bottom 13 23. Never bend irons unless they are first heated to a bright red 13 24. Proper methods for bending the irons 14 25. Harden hook and pole irons, heating them to a bright red and immerse them into clean cold water before they are secured to shafts and pole. 14 2§ Use straight edge and take twist out of hook irons 15 The Axtell Coupling FOR CARRIAGES Is constructed upon the general principle of the Stand- ard Car coupling of the Master Car Builders' Association of the United States of America. It has many points to commend it to public attention. As simple as any other coupling, its wearing faces are carefully shaped and case hardened; it is secured by a single bolt with double nuts, which with ordinary care in fitting, secures it so that it will not get loose or wear the bed piece. To change from shaft to pole it is only necessary to raise both to a high position, press downward and push the irons in or out of the coupling; so that a Carriage can be changed from shaft to pole in a few moments. To facilitate this operation it is convenient to place a crotched stick about 40 in. long, under one side to hold it in its nearly vertical position while the other side is attended to. After being entered intoirhe coupling, it is impossible to detach the shafts or pole, except in this one special man- ner, and with no part liable to get loose and drop out, which makes it the safest and simplest coupling in use. A projection at the end of the spring cap and a corres- ponding shoulder formed on the irons, hold the shafts or pole in position, while one side or the other is attended to. The inner surfaces in contact with the springs are raised and rounded, which imparts a rocking movement to the spring cap, while the Carriage is in motion, so that there is no friction between the hook iron and spring cap, ex- <\ / ¥?% — 4 — cept when the Carriage passes through depressions in the roadbed ; this together with the hardened wearing surfaces accounts for its good wearing qualities. The spiral springs which supply the requisite tension, are made of the finest quality of spring steel, and will of- ten last for years. By raising the shafts when not in use to a nearly verti- cal position, the springs are relieved of pressure. Sizes in stock are for |-, 1 and lg- in. axles. We find a disposition on the part of a few of our customers to follow opinions of their own, in place of the instructions contained herein. To avoid any difficulty send post-.il to H. A. Luttgens, Box 131, Paterson, N. J., and in- quire about any change you propose to make in fitting. Mr. L. will be pleased to advise you in the matter. Axtell Coupling. Instructions for its Application. To insure permanent good results with the Axtell Coup- ling it is necessary that the following instructions are read and carried out in practice. Nothing will answer or be good enough in fitting that does not correspond with these instructions. Though fitted easily, the coupling must yet be fitted just right, by a mechanic, who has experience in the use of a file and who can make a good weld. 6 — £*L >\ — 4 J.T-. not correspond with these instructions, xnougn ntieu easily, the coupling must yet be fitted just right, by a mechanic, who has experience in the use of a file and who can make a good weld. 6 — This table refers to two kinds of spring caps as shown; which one of tbese is to be used, depends upon the dis- tance B from Whifnetree to Dashboard when the shafts are raised 44 inches above the ground at the tugs or harness stirrup, and the pole 40 in. at its end, which is an average height for Carriage horses. Measure distance A ns indicated and note in the table in which column the figure below B is found under- neath the drawing of the spring caps. If foi the distance A the least distance B is found to be less than that given in the table, an extension must be usad; this extension is shown below to be 5 inches long and adds about 3 inches to the distance A and distance B. One half of this or H inches will be added to the distance B as measured when compared with A after the extension is put on, so that if the original distance A is 20 in. and B 8^ in. or U in. short of 10 inches, then the extension wi.l make A "23 in. and B lH hi. adding 3 inches to both A and B which is right for B as it must not be less than one half of A. If the shafts are new the wood may be straightened in the bend to give the re- quired distance for B with- out the extension ; this may- also be done with old shafts if they are made of good hickory wood. j<_ S** » Table with Directions I . £ntl6 Ct/^ < -/g . jLx>n> > *-% axle, its size is to be ixl^ ; it may be reduced on the bottom edge, as shown, and the centre slightly bent over so that the axle will hold it in position. — 10 — This looseness of the box is sometimes caused by a dif- ference of width in the two sides of the same axle, so that for instance, one side of the axle is 15-16 in. and the other 1 inch wide; this should be noticed before the couplings are being fitted. Before fitting, clean off any dirt or paint with a file, in front and rear of axle and in every case be sure to make a good fit, as this is a most important point about this coup- ling. 10. Some Carriages are made without bedpiece on axles, except short bedpieces where the Couplings or Jack clips fasten to the axle ; in that case the coupling secures the^bedpiece, as well as itself to the axle; be sure that these short bedpieces are made of good hickory and if long enough add a common clip near the coupling box. These short bedpieces if made of ash or soft wood will not answer. On axles where the common shaft coupling is secured to the square iron axle without any bedpiece, short bed- pieces as described above must be provided for the Axtell Coupling. The total height of bedpiece and axle, with spring bracket foot, if there is one, should be for 1^ in. axle : 1|- in. ; for 1 in. axle: If in. ; and for f- in. axle : If in. 11. It will be noticed that in some cases a bracket extends below that part of the axle, where the coupling is fitted ; this bracket holds a bolt of the eliptic spring fixtures. The foot of this bracket requires filing to make its bot- tom face parallel or straight with the bottom of the axle. In this case the coupling boxes should be fitted with spec- ial care, as its rear projections must be made a good fit to the rear of the axle, which in this case they cover only about g- of an inch, on account of the bracket here placed below the axle. This bracket may be easily removed after the jack clip is taken off, by unscrewing a small nut which holds it in position, then it may be filed. — 11 — 12. On cheap Carriages the axle bedpieces are some- times made of wood nearly as soft as white pine, which yields easily to pressure ; in such a case it is desirable to cover the top of the bedpiece with thin sheet iron say 2 inches wide, fastened with 2 small screws, before the Axle 11 Couplings are secured to the axle. 13. On many Carriages the axles are rounded under- neath with the ends on each side left square or straight at bottom, where to fasten the shaft couplings, but some shafts are made so narrow, that the Couplings do not get the benefit of this straight part ; in that case longer cross- bars must be fitted to the shafts, to widen the shafts. It is necessary that at least one half of each of the Axtell Couplings should cover this bottom straight part of the axle. 14. The clips of the Axtell Coupling are made with a long thread, sufficiently long to allow the nuts to be tight- ened up. If iu any case there is no surplus thread when the nuts are secured at first, place a thick washer above the nuts, but for any other reason the washer is not wanted. 15. After fitting turn down the clip over top of axle and screw up tight, occasionally using the mallet at/, see 9 on page 9, until the box is fully up into its place; then use a medium size hammer upon top and back of clip to make it conform to shape of bedpiece and axle, while screwing up strike light blows at/. If the box is well fitted at b, the clip will not get loose or wear into the top of the be dpiece. Bee page 9. 16. After the box is secured to the axle, file off any projecting edges at top of coupling as shown by lines g and h. — 12 — 1 7. Put both nuts on bolt and saw off or cut end of bolt to within ^ in. of nuts; take down couplings and round off the end of bolts. The end of the bolts must never be riveted over. In removing the coupling strike square blows from the bottom and always upon the end of the bolt, so as not to bend the bolt. 18. The boxes are now ready to be finally secured to the axle : First put in springs and spring caps and drive in a small hard wood wedge as shown, to press down the springs. 19. In placing boxes on axles, be careful to secure them in the right place for width of shafts, and it is of impor- tance that the position of the boxes and width of shaft and pole irons should correspond exactly. Carelessness in this particular will cause the box to wear badly, as side pressure is already provided for in the coupling itself. 20. To insert shaft or pole irons into the coupling be- fore welding, it is necessary to use a monkey wrench to in- crease the leverage of the irons ; put oil on the hooks — 13 — These couplings may be oiled occasionally together with the wheels ; a little axle grease put on the bottom flat place of the hook will make the shafts work very easy. Please inform parties of this, who have the Axtell coupling applied to their carriages. 21 . A slight up and down movement such as is imparted to the end of pole or shafts by the horses when in motion, must cause the spring cap to rock or move ; if there is no motion to the spring cap, again remove the coupling and slightly file the cap where too tight. 22. The shaft and pole irons are now ready to be welded. The end of the shafts should rest in bend of thill iron, as shown, but it will be necessary to re- duce the wood to 5-16 in. thick at the end ; reduce the wood on the front or straight side so that the shaft can be put in and taken out of the coupling box without the wood strik- ing the top of the coupling box. Al- so see cut on page 5, with figures. 23. Never bend shaft or pole irons at the place pro- vided for bending, without being properly heated to a bright red : it is a dangerous practice to gald the iron at this point by hammering when below a good red heat. — 14 — 24. Clamp the irons to shafts and pole and when the shafts are raised 44 in. at harness stirrup or tugs and the pole 40 in. at its front end, the hooks must show 1-4 in. at CJ as shown on page 5 : examine carefully when in this posi- tion whether they need bending or straightening. The amount is just what they show more or less than 1-4 in. at the point indicated ; loosen the iron, lay sideways upon a smooth board and mark outline as shown in this figure with a pencil or scri- ber ; then mark up- on the board the dif- ference in the bend as required by shift- ing the iron into the proper position and alter the bend to this mark ; the op- posite iron may then be bent to correspond with the first exactly. To give more bend lay the heated iron upon an anvil, rest the weight of a sledge hammer upon it aud strike a light blow upon the back of Hhe projecting cooled end of the iron so as to increase the bend. If it is necessary to give less bend place the heated hook iron sideways and with the end cooled off, into a bench vice about 1^ in. open and straighten the iron by pulling at the end of the iron with the right hand. 25. Harden the hook and pole ends; heat them to a bright red heat and cool off in clean cold water. The irons are now ready to be bolted to the shafts. — 15 — 26. The bottom and back surfaces of the hooks must be bent to correspond with a straight edge, so that they will not bind in the coupling. If the axle at coupling is not straight but somewhat in- clined as shown in the annexed cut at e and^ * f then the bottom face of the hook irons must be placed at the same inclination; be careful not to reverse the angle in bending or twisting; the twisting maybe done as a last operation after the irons are secured to shafts or pole by fastening one hook in a bench vice and by bearing down on the opposite side of the shafts or pole or it may be done with a strong monkey wrench, secured to the end of the iron which has to be bent or twisted. Never be satisfied until the back of the hook and also its narrow bottom face conforms to a straight edge, or else its bottom face to angle of axle, if there is any inclination to the axle where the couplings are fitted. The operation of squaring the irons, must be attended to as explained above in No. 26. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 470 346 i H. A. LUTTGENS, Box .131, PATERSON, - NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.