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Smiths door closer repaired.

7/31/2019

Our old Smithy's (Joseph Smith and Turner) have been returned. From smashed, seized, broken and missing parts to fully functional, snapping to centre with no play whats so ever, usable door closer mechanisms. This design was a hundred years old at the beginning of the First World War, now over two hundred years old, they will live to fight on, With my bespoke springs at their heart it will be a long time before these need any more attention.

Cast iron plate, machined from bar stock.

Bespoke springs manufactured for this traditional door closer.

The decor plates were only cleaned, leaving the rich caramel brown patina.

I wonder what Joseph would make of it, I wonder if while lying their listening to his bedroom door banging he would ever have thought his design would last so long?

Please leave comment if you happen to pass by and take an interest in this bi-centennial beauty.

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After further research...

7/23/2019

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Whilst continuing on with research for this blog I came across what I now believe to be the first pneumatic device to check or retard the speed at which a door shuts. Long before our American cousins and long before the Ovendens 1864 patent I would like to introduce you to William Bullock, of Newman Street, in the county of Middlesex, Locksmith and Brass-founder, and James BOAZ, of Glasgow, Scotland, Engineer.

The Anglo - Scottish team in 1813 were noted for their mechanical contrivance designed to stop doors (and windows) from being blown in by the wind (a somewhat similar problem that Mr Norton faced) hinted at in a snippet from their patent, below.

"A pneumatic apparatus for preventing the sudden closing of a door. Air is received into a cylinder or collapsible receptacle, and the door cannot be completely shut until the air is expelled or squeezed out."

Here is a link to their patent in its entirety AD 1813 No - 3695 Securing Doors and Shutters found in English Patents of Inventions, Specifications, Volumes 3666-3744.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qlrlE-6wJisC&pg=PA21-IA33&dq=william+bullock+james+boaz+patent+1813&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjzkY6UkcrjAhVIecAKHerXAycQuwUISzAG#v=onepage&q=william%20bullock%20james%20boaz%20patent%201813&f=false

As always please feel free to comment.

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Floor springs, door springs and more springs...

7/16/2019

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A quick post to say I have the twin of the Hill and Hodges to convert to the new piston design, some Earls from the Belgrade Theatre to service and repair along with some 600's and some single action Gibbons I have serviced, repaired and converted to hold open for the Crucible Theatre.

Please feel free to make positive comment.

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Robert Adams "Queen Victor" Patent (Single action)

7/16/2019

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The single action version of the "King Victor" is known as the "Queen Victor" using only a single action volute spring.

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Robert Adams "King Victor" Patent

7/16/2019

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The "King Victor" Patent Floor Spring Hinge interestingly uses two volute springs in its design and is one of Robert Adams larger floor springs.

Volute springs are conical in shape and are designed to compress in a shorter distance than perhaps a conventional coil spring would.

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The Dawn of the door closer...

7/6/2019

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The door closer may be far older than you first thought and have had more of an impact on our daily lives than ever could have been imagined, when looking back to prehistory devices to close all manner of "doors" have probably been around since the very first doors were "invented." They may have been developed from devices and simple spring mechanisms to close access to a trap of some sort. A little later perhaps when our nomadic life style came to an end and we began to trap and rear animals for food, labour and transport these mechanisms may have been scaled up to automatically close gates once animals had been driven into a fenced area for instance, closing off their route of escape.

We simply may never know the exact route by which the very earliest or first door closing devices were invented and I suspect the door closer in some way shape or form has been invented and reinvented over and over throughout history.

Arguably not as an important a discovery as fire, when fully considered you may agree however they deserve far more recognition than they have ever previously received and could well be in the top 100 of all time most important mechanical devices ever invented, behind the wheel or the lever but nearly equal of the lock, affecting our daily lives in ways you may have never even thought, achieving the rare position of being practically indispensable and yet to all intents and purpose invisible to all but the most inquisitive of us.

Whilst not exactly a door closer the reference below shows that we were inventing machinery and devices to control doors long before any patents were issued for such devices, below is the earliest reference I have been able to find of a "machine" or device to control a door. Monsieur Delanois displayed his Mathematical Statue, at the White Swan in Stamford 1736. It is reported to open and close his door himself among bringing sugar, coffee and all sorts of spices to I expect the delighted on lookers who came to view the spectacle of the "Merchant Grocer."

Stamford Mercury Thursday 21st December 1738

The Works of Jonathan Swift Dean of St Patricks D.D., Dublin Volume 12, 1755.

As you can read above Jonathan Swift discusses a simple door closer as early as 1755 almost identical to the one first patented.

The 'modern' door closer industry can be said to have begun officially in England on a Tuesday in the summer of 1786, for it was on Tuesday June 13th in 1786, that a linen draper named Francis Moore living in Cheapside, London, was awarded the first English patent for a device to close doors, which consisted of weights, a line and pulleys. This was followed four years later by Henry Downers 1790 patent that used a spring to overcome the weight of the door to return it to the closed position.

Patents are of course important they do not however reflect the entire door closer story as not all inventions are patented. Along with Jonathan Swifts description of a door closer, it can be shown through advertisement ironmongers were selling door spring/door closers up and down the country before and around the time Moore and Downers patents were granted.

Salisbury and Winchester Journal - Monday 19 June 1775

Chester Chronicle - Thursday 07 March 1776

Edward Morris Ironmonger Northampton Mercury 1794

John Sibbald Smith and Ironmonger Caledonian Mercury 1794

Adding to the confusion for those wanting to trace the history of the door spring door closer is the fact a spring when used on its own to close a door is known as a door spring as are the various components when combined together into one device.

In whatever form the various component parts are combined for most of their 250 plus year history they have been known as door springs.

To be continued...

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"THE WINDSOR" Hill and Hodges

7/6/2019

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Just a quick post about another of Hill and Hodges fantastic range of "hinges." I recently worked on Hill & Hodges Patent Hydraulic Check Action Floor Spring Hinge for the Quaker House in Bournville (I am please to say they want another modifying) and tonight I will introduce you to its brother The Windsor.

As you can see there are slight differences to the one I worked on, the circular collar for one, it being at the pivot end rather than at the furthest point away from the pivot, also appearing slightly smaller but no less robust in its design and construction. You will also note they made a heel spring The "WONDER" which I have yet to come across.

As always please leave a comment.

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Smiths door closer repaired.

After further research...

Floor springs, door springs and more springs...

Robert Adams "Queen Victor" Patent (Single action)

Robert Adams "King Victor" Patent

The Dawn of the door closer...

"THE WINDSOR" Hill and Hodges

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