The second operation (illustrated in Fig. 2) is to punch out of the pair of opposite webs, a a, pairs of oblong mortises - two pairs, c c, and one pair, d d. These three pairs of mortises (which might be punched at separate operations, but are preferably punched at one stroke of the press) are situated as close as possible up to the faces of the other pairs of webs, a' a', the pairs of mortises, c c, being so spaced as to correspond in position to the eyes of the links to be formed, to which they correspond approximately in form, while the pair, d, correspond in position to the notches, b, and therefore to the intervals by which the links formed out of the same pair of webs, a a, will be separated when completed. This operation is continued along the whole length of the pair of webs, a. It will be observed that a considerable thickness of metal is left at a* between the notches, b, and the mortises, d. This is of primary importance and is one of the essential features of my method of manufacture, inasmuch as by first punching out the mortises, d, the subsequent removal of the metal from between the outer ends of the links is greatly facilitated, while by leaving the solid metal, a*, the transverse strength of the webs, a a, is not materially diminished, so that when the operation of punching the mortises, c and d, in the other pair of webs, a', is performed the bar will not be bent and crippled, as would inevitably be the case were the whole of the metal opposite the notches, b, which is ultimately to be removed, to be punched out at so early a stage of the manufacture. The operation of punching the pairs of mortises, c' and d, having been repeated along the other pair of webs, a', it will be observed that like the notches, b, the mortises, c d, in the one pair of webs alternate with those, c' d', in the other pair of webs.

The third operation (illustrated in Fig. 3) is to elongate the mortises, c d, and bring the mortises, c c', more nearly to the final form. This is performed by punches similar to but larger (in the direction of the length of the rod) than those used in the second operation.

The third operation, which is repeated upon both pairs of webs, a a a' a', may be considered as a second stage of the second operation, it being preferable to punch out the mortises in two stages in order to remove sufficient metal without unduly straining the bar.

The fourth operation (illustrated in Fig. 4) consists in roughly shaping the ends of the links externally by punching out the portions, a*, of the webs, a, between the links lying in the same plane or formed out of the same pair of webs. This operation is repeated on the other pair of webs, a'. Up to this point a continuous core of metal has been left at the intersection of the two pairs of webs.

The fifth operation (illustrated in Fig. 5) consists in punching out the portions, e, of the core at each side of the cross stay of the link, so as to separate the cross stay from the outer ends of the adjacent links. This operation is performed by removing a portion only of the metal of the core which intervenes between the cross stay and the outer ends of the adjacent links enchained with the link under operation - that is to say, portions, e*, of the core are temporarily left attached to the outer ends of the links in order to avoid crippling or bending the bar, which might occur were the whole of this metal, which is ultimately to be removed, to be punched out at once, these portions, e*, being supported by the bed die in the operation of punching out the spaces, e, as hereinafter described. This operation having been repeated upon both pairs of webs, it will be observed that the rod-like form of the chain is now only maintained by the portion of the core at the points, f, where the inner side of the eye or bow of one link is united with that of the next one. The severing of these intervening portions of the core and the breaking up of the rod into the constituent links of the chain constitute the sixth operation.

The sixth operation (illustrated in Fig. 6) is performed by torsion, and for this purpose one end of the rod is held fixed while the other is twisted once or twice in opposite directions, until by fatigue of the metal at the points, f, the whole of the links are severed almost at the same instant, and a chain of roughly formed stayed links is produced.

The seventh operation (illustrated in Fig. 7) is to remove the superfluous projecting pieces of metal both from the inside and outside of the ends of the links. For this purpose the two ends of each link are operated on at the same time by two pairs of punches corresponding to the outline of the ends of the link.

The eighth operation (illustrated in Fig. 8) is to bring the ends of the links to their finished rounded form. This is performed by stamping both ends of each link at the same time between pairs of shaping dies or swages.

The ninth operation (illustrated in Fig. 9) is to bring the middle portion of each link - that is to say, the side members and the cross stay - to the finished rounded form, which is also performed by means of a pair of dies or swages.

The tenth and last operation (illustrated in Fig. 10) is to contract the link slightly in the lateral direction in order to correct any imperfections at the sides left by the two previous operations and bring the link to a more perfect and stronger form, as shown. This operation has the important result of strengthening the link considerably by contracting or rendering more pointed the arched form of the bow or end of the link, and also by thickening the metal at that part where the wear is greatest, this thickening of the metal at the ends of the link occurring in the direction of the line of strain (as indicated by x in Fig. 10) and being brought about by the compression or "upsetting" of the metal at the end of the link. It may be preferable to perform this operation immediately after the seventh operation, and I reserve the right to do so.