_b_, except that there are no punches, and
that the link which lies in the cavity of the dies is merely
compressed in the lateral direction by the inward motion of the
bed-dies.

My invention further comprises a modification of the above described
process, which has for its object to enable the weldless stayed links
to be made as short and particularly as narrow as may be necessary in
order to adapt the chain to run over the sheaves of pulley blocks and
to suit other purposes for which short-link welded chain has
heretofore only been available.

[Illustration: Figures 5_a-c_, 8_a_, 9_a_, 10-12
MANUFACTURE OF WELDLESS CHAINS.]

In the manufacture of chains by the aforesaid process of punching
there is a practical minimum limit for the dimensions of the punches
which cannot be reduced without compromising their efficiency, and
consequently the width (and therefore the length) of the link must
necessarily bear a certain proportion to the thickness of the web of
metal out of which it is formed, since the breadth of the link depends
on the length of the cross stay, which is determined by the breadth of
the mortises forming the eyes of the link. The present modification
enables these dimensions to be reduced without reducing the
dimensions, and consequently the efficiency, of the punches which form
the eyes of the link. The modification applies to what I have
designated the fifth operation of the above described process; and it
consists in punching out the middle of the cross stay (so as to leave
only two short stumps jutting inward from the side members of the
link), this operation serving to interrupt the continuity of the core,
which was the object of the fifth operation. For this purpose I
substitute for the pair of punches illustrated in Figs. 5_a_ and 5_c_
a single punch, which removes that part of the "core" of the cruciform
bar which is situated at the middle of the strut. This tool is
represented in Fig. 11, and the effect of its operation is shown in
Fig. 12. The subsequent operations, herein designated the sixth,
seventh, eighth, and ninth operations, are performed as hereinbefore
described; but the tenth operation has the effect of closing together
the two stumps, _g g_, until they abut together at the middle of the
link and together constitute a cross strut or stay, which prevents any
further lateral collapse of the link. In the operation of closing up
the gap between the stumps, _g g_, the lin