Abstract: A dowel driving machine arranged such that a single head is provided with a single shaft hole and a plurality of receiving holes, for individually receiving different kinds of dowels, arranged side by side in parallel, and that selection is made out of the different kinds of dowels of different diameters and lengths supplied from chutes to respective receiving holes. As a result, different kinds of dowels can be driven easily without requiring extra work of changing a setup in spite of reducing the size of the device.

Abstract: A dowel transfer station in a dowel driving device which includes a dowel separating and conveying unit and a manually operated driving gun to which dowels are supplied through a hose line. The dowel transfer station is arranged between the dowel separating and conveying unit and the hose line conducted to the driving gun. The dowel transfer station includes a reciprocating dowel holder which receives a dowel emerging from the dowel separating and conveying unit and supplies the dowel to the opening of the hose line conducted to the driving gun. For eliminating dowels which do not have the appropriate size, the dowel holder has a bore for receiving a dowel, wherein the depth of the bore is adjustable and the inner end of the bore is connected to a compressed air line which can be switched on and off by a valve.

Abstract: A magnetic riveting stem and a novel vertically fixed pocket mechanism is provided for a stationary riveting machine which permits such machines to be used for riveting applications which were impossible or impractical with prior art riveting stem and pocket mechanisms. The vertically fixed pocket receives ferrous rivets from a rivet feed mechanism and aligns them in a head-up orientation to be picked up by the stem for setting through registered holes in the work. A stationary riveting machine equipped in accordance with the invention is capable of setting a ferrous rivet in practically any location on a work piece where the head of the rivet can pass. This offers an advantage over traditionally equipped stationary riveting machines which require vertically displaceable pockets for guiding a rivet to the pilot pin of a rivet anvil.

Abstract: A connector housing (10) with projecting terminal pins (11) is moved through a set of blades (41-45) which act to align the columns of terminal pins. At an assembly area (38), a group of aligning pins (111) are advanced through openings in the blades to align the rows of terminal pins (11). A jaw device (62) advances an apertured block (13) into the position above the terminal pins, whereafter a pusher (103) advances an apertured retainer card (24) onto the block (13). A multi-fingered insertion tool (121) is moved to push the retainer card (24) and the block (13) onto the coordinately aligned terminal pins.

Abstract: A building press for joining building components including building trusses, which consists of a frame having a fixed portion and at least one movable hammer, which frame is designed to receive a predetermined number of building components and to join the components with selected fasteners by means of fluid pressure such as air. The frame is equipped with at least one expandable conduit or several fluid actuated cylinders positioned between a fixed member of the frame and the hammer or hammers, and in a preferred embodiment, a multiplicity of fasteners are magnetically positioned on segments of the hammer to be driven into the building components. When a fluid such as air, oil or water is forced through the conduit, the conduit expands and the hammer or hammers force the nail plates into the building components to securely join the components in a selected configuration.

Abstract: An automated apparatus for joining a set of a plurality of wood plates in a side-by-side relation to form, for instance, a heading for a barrel, comprises a nail driving means for driving a different given number of nails in different positions into a wood plate, depending on the position the wooden plate assumes relative to an intended end plate, the nail driving means including in combination a hopper, sliding plate and nail guide means having slits and channels, respectively.