Horseshoe shaping apparatus
United States Patent Dawson 5] Apr. 1, 1975 [54] HORSESHOE SHAPING APPARATUS 572,870 1241896 Crow 6l4,527 ll 1898 Allwood 2 [76] Inventor: wllllam Dawsml, 1888 Catalpa 960,910 6/1910 Hazen 72/519 Trall, Vegas, 89108 l,269,8l3 6/1918 Hindley 59/56 [22] Filed, AP 15 1974 3,400,532 9/1968 Smith 59/36 [2]] Appl- N04 460,761 Primary E.\&#39;aminerC. W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Gene P. Crosby 52 us. (:1 59/56, 59/61, 72/319, Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward J. Quirk 72/458 [51] hit. Cl. B21k 15/02 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 59/56, 36, 52, 54, 56, I  
 59 0 1 4 70 2; 72 5 79 3 297 A devlce for shapmg prefabrlcated horseshoes to f1t a 310, 319, 218 5 horses foot comprises a base, a toe clamp attached to the base for holding the shoe in place, and bending el- 5 References Cited ements eccentrically mountable in the base on the in- UNITED STATES PATENTS side and outside of the shoe.  
 306,285 10/1884 Ri by 59/56 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 6 3 l 26 l4 l2 8 32 l Q 151111111!!!&#34; WK l HORSESHOE SHAPING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many types of apparatus for the manufacture of horseshoes from bar stock are well-known and are used for the rapid manufacture of different standard sizes of shoes. Most of these machines involve devices for bending a straightpiece of steel bar around a fixed die. For example, Hindley et al., US. Pat. No. 1,269,813, issued June 18, 1918, shows a machine having a springmounted sawtooth clamp for holding one end of heated bar stock to a horseshoe-shaped die, and a manually operated roller which urges against the outside of the steel bar as the roller is turned around the periphery of the die, thereby conforming the bar to the shape of the die. Similar devices for bending a steel bar around a horseshoe-shaped die are shown in Crow, US. Pat. No. 572,870, issued Dec. 8, 1896, and Barton, US. Pat. No. 163,841, issued June 1, 1875.  
  A more modern apparatus is shown in Smith, US. Pat. No. 3,400,532, issued Sept. 10, 1968, wherein the die for shaping the bar stock is mounted on a track. The die is moved along the track past a series of forming rollers which bend the bar to the elliptical shape of the die. All of these machines described in the art have as their purpose the manufacture of a reproducible, uniform-sized horseshoe.  
  As shown in the art, the manufacture of horseshoes of standard shapes and sizes is a reasonably simply task. Fitting the standard shoe to the horses hoof is the job of the farrier, and is a more difficult and timeconsuming art. Because of growth of the horses foot, the old shoes must be removed every 4-6 weeks and refitted to the foot; in general, the old shoes must be replaced every two or three refittings because of wear. After the old shoe is removed, the farrier trims the inside part of the bottom of the foot with a knife, and clips the edges of the foot with hoof clippers and smoothes the bottom of the foot with a hoof rasp. An excellent summary of the proper care of horses feet, including the best methods of preparing a horses foot for shoeing and the best known methods of fitting the shoe to the foot, is found in a booklet entitled Horseslwing and Hoof Care, published by The Western Horseman, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1960.  
  After preparing the hoof for shoeing, if a new shoe is needed, the farrier selects a shoe of the proper style, size, and weight. He then must fit the shoe to the horse&#39;s foot. For a proper fit of a normal shoe, the outer edge of the shoe should closely follow the outline of the trimmed hoof at the toe to the bend of the quarter, or midsection of the foot. From this point back to the rear of the shoe, the shoe should become gradually wider than the foot, extending laterally a maximum of about one-eighth inch beyond the foot wall at the rear of the heel of the shoe. This extension allows for growth of the hoof, which spreads laterally at the heel, and provides room for expansion of the hoof when weight is placed on the foot.  
  Because the contour of the horses foot rarely conforms to the standard shoe shape, the shoe must be reshaped to fit the foot. After selecting the proper shoe, the farrier places the shoe adjacent to the foot to see where changes must be made in the shape of the shoe. He then carries the shoe to an anvil, and hammers the shoe until the shape is modified. He then returns to the horse and again places the shoe adjacent to the foot to see if further changes are needed. The reshaping/fitting process is repeated until the proper fit is obtained. It is not uncommon for a farrier to make 25-50 trips from the horse to the anvil and back again before the correct shoe fit is obtained. Ultimately, most fittings are a compromise, being finished by filing the shoe to fit the foot, or the foot to fit the shoe. Typically, fitting one shoe to a horses foot requires about 15 minutes, and also necessitates multiple lifting of the horses foot, resulting in some danger to the farrier of being kicked by a recalcitrant horse. Repeated hammering of the metal weakens the shoe, and often creates a torque in one of the branches of the shoe, causing a twisting of the metal which is difficult to completely remove by further hammering. This problem is particularly acute with Nature Plates, which are a shoe design wherein the angle and contour of the hoof are continued to the shoe. The shoe is thin and lighweight, and is also slightly concave on the inside of the bottom, giving the shoe a tendency to flex when hammered.  
  It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for shaping horseshoes to fit a horses foot quickly and without protracted hammermg.  
  Another object is to provide a method of contouring a horseshoe to a particular foot without repeated lifting of the horses foot.  
  Another object is to provide an inexpensive apparatus which is easily adjustable to hold any size or style of horseshoe, and which can shape the shoe to fit any horses foot.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides an apparatus for shaping horseshoes to fit a horses foot comprising a solid base member, a toe clamp for holding the shoe in a fixed position relative to the base, and eccentrically mounted bending elements mountable in the base such that the bending elements can simultaneously provide bending forces to the inside and outside of one branch of the horseshoe. In operation, a tracing is made of the horses hoof prior to shoeing, and the tracing is placed on the bending apparatus immediately below where the shoe will be clamped in place. The shoe is then fixed to the base, and the bending elements are placed in the base in the suitable location to make the desired adjustments to conform the shoe to the tracing. The inner and outer bending elements are then cooperatively operated to make the appropriate adjustments. With a little practice, the complete operation of shaping the shoe to the foot can be completed in less than five minutes.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bending apparatus with a horseshoe and bending elements in place.  
  FIG. 2 shows a side and top view of one of the bending elements.  
  FIG. 3 is a view of a portion of the apparatus showing normal operation of the bending elements on a horseshoe branch.  
  FIG. 4 is a section view showing details of the clamp locking adjustment mechanism.  
  FIG. 5 shows details of the fixed and movable jaws of the toe clamp.  
  FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of the apparatus with the foot tracing in place, and a sectioned view of the toe clamp locking mechanism.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, the base member 1 of the horseshoe shaping apparatus comprises a rigid platform fabricated from seven-eighths inch thick hot-rolled steel, and is approximately 10 inches square. Horseshoe 2 is shown clamped in place by toe clamps 3 and 4. Front clamp 3 has a fixed position, whereas rear clamp 4 is slidably mounted along track 5 (as shown in FIG. 6), to urge against the inside of the toe portion of the shoe and lock the shoe into place. Rear clamp 4 is operated by locking mechanism 6, which is seen in FIGS. 1 and 6. The locking mechanism is operated manually by lever 7 which, when moved backward from the position shown in FIG. 1, cinches the movable jaw 4 of the shoe clamp firmly into place against the shoe.  
  A plurality of holes are drilled through the base plate around the periphery of the shoe to receive the dowels of bending devices 11 and 12. The holes labelled 8 are located on the outside of the shoe when it is locked in place and are used for making narrowing bends of the shoe, whereas those labelled 9 are on the inside of the shoe and are used to make widening bends of the shoe. In FIG. 1, bending elements 11 and 12 are both located in holes 8 outside the shoe, and would be operated to narrow the width of the shoe by rotating both handles inwardly.  
  The bending elements are shown in detail in FIG. 2. Bending element 11 consists of a central base element 15 adapted to receive threaded handle 13, and two opposing concentrically mounted bending discs 16 and 17. Dowel 10 is fixably mounted through the bending discs and base element, extending axially but eccentrically from the discs. The eccentric positioning of the dowel relative to the bending disc center is important for providing bending force to the shoe when the dowel is inserted in one of the receiving holes and the bending element is rotated. The dowel is slidably mounted in the holes and the bending element can be easily rotated by hand. The bending element is reversible in that either bending disc 16 of smaller diameter or disc 17, of larger diameter, may be used simply by turning the element over and inserting the other end of dowel 10 into the apropriate hole in the base. The thickness of discs 16 and 17 is slightly greater than the thickness of a horseshoe, such that base element 15 will not contact the horseshoe during operation. The diameter of the base element is slightly greater than that of either bending disc, thereby helping to confine the shoe during bending, and to resist any twisting or raising of the shoe. Selection of the proper disc and proper hole around the periphery of the shoe depends on the type and severity of the bend required and is a skill easily learned with a little practice.  
  As illustrated in the drawings, the bending element dowels are round, and fit in round holes in the base. Many modifications are possible, however; for example, the dowels and holes could be square in crosssection, and the bending element could have a built in swivel similar to a rachet-operated wrench.  
  The horseshoe is locked into place prior to bending with clamp members 3 and 4 which are shown in detail in FIG. 5. Fixed jaw 3 can be inserted in place by dropping the jaw into orifice 18 (shown in FIG. 6) and sliding the jaw forward over draw bar 20 toward the locking mechanism 6. The under surface 19 of the jaw rests on the upper surface of base 1 when the jaw is in place. The upper surface of lip 21 slides along the under surface of track 5, thereby preventing upward movement of the jaw when it is in operating position. The front surface 22 of the jaw is slightly concave in shape to adapt to the shape of the outside surface of the horseshoe toe, and has a knurled surface to prevent slippage of the shoe during bending. A slit 23 in the jaw is provided to allow the drawbar 20 to pass through the jaw without engaging it.  
  Movable jaw 4 is the counterpart to jaw 3, and urges against the inside surface of the horseshoe toe. After the fixed jaw is in place, with locking mechanism 6 in the unlocked position, extending the drawbar to the front of orifice 18, the movable jaw is placed in the orifice with convex knurled surface 41 opposing surface 22. The catch 24 on drawbar 20 then engages the rear of walls 25 in the jaw, enabling the movable jaw to be drawn back toward the fixed jaw by operation of locking mechanism 6. The horseshoe is placed on base 1 with the jaws open, and is clamped in place by pushing the handle 7 on the locking mechanism away from the jaws, thereby moving the jaw 4 backward until the toe of the shoe is firmly locked in place between jaws 3 and 4. Thumbscrew 26 is used to adjust the locked position of the movable jaw, which will depend upon the width of the horseshoe at the toe. Ledges 26 and 27 at the top of the knurled surface prevent the shoe from raising up from the jaws when bending force is being applied to the shoe. Jaws 3 and 4, being easily removable, can be quickly replaced with other pairs of jaws of differing sizes to handle different shoe sizes and styles.  
  The clamp locking system, best shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, comprises the drawbar catch 24, which engages the movable jaw, and the drawbar 20 which is pivotally mounted at pin 27 to adjustable link 28. Adjustable link block 29 is slidably mounted inside adjustable link 28 on screw mechanism 30, with screw threads on the inside of the adjustable link block engaging threads on screw 30. Dowel bar 31, which is fixed by press fitting into bearing 32 and 33, is inserted through orifice 34 in the adjustable link block and can freely rotate in said orifice. The dowel bar is eccentrically mounted in the bearings as best shown in phantom in FIGS. 4 and 6.  
  The bearing surfaces and bearing races are made from hardened hot rolled steel, and machined such that a smooth fit is obtained which does not require lubrication after initial application of a dry powered molybdenum lubricant to the surfaces. Accordingly, as thumbscrew 26 is turned, the adjustable link/drawbar assembly moves relative to base 1, thus adjusting the locked position of the movable jaw. The locking assembly and bearings are held in place by fixed braces 39 and 40 which are fastened to base 1 by bolts or welds; these braces are fixed and do not move as the bearings are rotated. As handle 7 is pushed backward from the base, bearings 32 and 33 rotate with the handle. Dowel bar 31 follows a semicircular are caused by its eccentric mounting, lifting and pulling back the adjustable link and adjustable link block, which pivot about pin 27, and accordingly drawing back the drawbar to lock the jaws. The proper locked position of the movable jaw can then be adjusted with thumbscrew 26.  
  Because of the stresses placed on a number of the components of the bending apparatus, it is important that the apparatus be constructed of properly resistant materials. The base is made from hot-rolled hardened steel or other suitable hard metal; fabrication from a softer material may result in stretching of the holes in the plate after continued use. Drawbar is also subjected to substantial tensile stress, and may be made from a very hard material such as aluminum bronze or 4140 steel.  
  In general, when shaping a horseshoe on the apparatus of the invention, it is desirable to have a print of the shape of the shoe at hand. In a preferred method of using the machine, a tracing is first made of the horses hoof after the hoof has been prepared for shoeing. The tracing can be made simply by placing the foot on a solid surface having a piece of paper, cardboard, plastic, or other material which can be easily marked with an instrument such as a pen or pencil, and moving the instrument about the outside periphery of the foot. The outline of the foot is then transferred to the surface of the base by any of a number of means. For example, the paper can be cut to the shape of the outline and taped to the base, or the image can be transferred to the base by means of carbon paper, or by tracing the edge of the cut outline with a felt pen. If the paper or plastic having the outline of the hoof is fixed to the base, it is important that the holes 8 and 9 not be covered, since the holes must be open to receive the bending elements.  
  When the outline of the hoof is transferred to the base, it is important that the outline be correctly placed on the base to coincide with the periphery of the shoe. The image should be placed with the fixed toe clamp jaw in place, and the toe of the image should fit the curve of the fixed jaw as shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, when the shoe is in place above the outline, it will be quite simple to determine what type and degree of bends must be made in the shoe in order to conform to the hoof outline. In FIG. 6, the toe portion of hoof outline 35, which has been traced on the satin finish surface of base 2 with a felt-tip pen, conforms to the knurled surface of fixed jaw 3.  
  After the hoof outline image is placed on the plate, the moveable jaw is inserted, and the horseshoe is clamped in place as shown in FIG. 1. The operator can then easily see what changes in the shape of the shoe are necessary, and can position bending elements 11 and 12 in the appropriate holes for operation. FIG. 3 shows operation of the bending devices to bend shoe 2 to conform to outline 35.  
  When placing the hoof outline and the shoe on the bending apparatus, it is of course essential that the left and right branches of the shoe coincide with the left and right sides, respectively, of the hoof outline. Accordingly, if the outline of the hoof is made while the horse is standing, it will be necessary to invert the outline prior to placing it on the base of the forming device if the top side of the shoe (i.e., the side which is in contact with the ground when in place on the horses hoof) is facing upward when clamped in the bending apparatus. Good results have been obtained by making the hoof tracing with a pen or pencil on a piece of transparent plastic sheet, which can then be inverted on the machine but still visible from above.  
  Although in the preferred embodiment disclosed herein specific types of locking devices and bending mechanisms have been described, many modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. For example, any type of clamping device which will hold the shoe in place while the bending elements exert force on the shoe would be operable. In addition, the bending elements need not be cam-operated and movable from one hole to another on the base, but may be trackmounted and movable continuously around the periphery of the shoe. It is essential however that the elements be locatable at a plurality of locations around the shoe.  
 I claim:  
  1. Apparatus for bending a prefabricated horseshoe to conform to the contour of a horse s hoof comprising:  
 a rigid base,  
 holding means to mount a horseshoe in a fixed position relative to said base, and  
 bending means movable to a plurality of points around the inner and outer periphery of the horseshoe to exert bending force on the horseshoe.  
  2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the bending means comprises at least two bending elements whereby bending forces can be simultaneously applied to at least two points around the peripheral surface of the horseshoe.  
  3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the base contains a plurality of means for removably mounting the bending means, and the bending means comprises at least one manually operated cam which urges against the periphery of the horseshoe during a portion of its rotation.  
  4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the bending means comprises a cam having a mounting pin extending perpendicularly from the cam surface and a radially extending handle, and the rigid base contains a plurality of receiving means for the mounting pin.  
  5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the holding means comprises a clamp having two removable jaws, movable with respect to each other and having opposing concave and convex holding surfaces adapted to receive the toe portion of a horseshoe.  
  6. A method of shaping a prefabricated horseshoe to fit the hoof of a horse which comprises preparing an outline of the hoof to be shod, clamping the shoe to be shaped in a fixed position relative to the outline, and applying sufficient bending force to the shoe to conform the outer periphery of the shoe to the shape of the outline.  
  7. The method of claim 6 wherein bending forces are applied simultaneously to the inside and outside peripheries of the shoe.