Thomas Clifford
of Bristol
1790 Patented a machine for making nails from prepared rod by drawing it between rollers having cavities corresponding to the shape of the nail. In December of the same year he patented a process for drawing bars or plates to a varying thickness and cutting the nails from there by a punch. Machines of this kind were in operation at Messrs French's factory in Wineborne (Messrs Finch, Wombourne?), Staffordshire in 1792.[1]
Clifford was in partnership with Sheffield-born Richard Wells, who had emigrated to America in 1750 and, by 1790 had established a hardware business in Philadelphia. Clifford's 1790 patents were numbered 1762 and 1785.[2]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Practical Dictionary of Mechanics, by Edward H Knight, Vol II, Nail-making machine
- ↑ [1] ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE: THE BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT CUT-NAIL TRADE, c. 1811-1913 by FREDRIK GUY NEVILLE SJӦGREN; PhD Thesis, June 2019. Centre for West Midlands History: School of History and Cultures: College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham