Most of the patents prior to 1836 were lost in the Dec. 1836 fire. Only about 2,000 of the almost 10,000 documents were recovered. Little is known about this patent. There are no patent drawings available. This patent is in the database for reference only.

For a Machine for Punching Metals; Levi C. Bunneil, Otsego, Otsego county, New York, October 10.

“The general arrangement of the machine” described in the specification of this patent, constitutes the claim. Its foundation is a block of wood, eight feet long, ten inches wide, and eight thick, and the apparatus for punching is situated at the middle of this block. One end of a lever works upon a pin passed through strong cheeks, and forms a cam, or eccentric, which, when the lever is brought down, acts upon a driver, that descends perpendicularly into the block, and has on its lower end the punch, which extends down to about the middle of the block. The driver is raised by springs when the lever is lifted. The die plate, or. bed piece, is placed on the lower side of a mortise made through the block, and into this mortise the piece to be punched must be passed. This is “the general arrangement of the machine,” which appears not to contain one single thing that is worthy of being patented. It is very much like several of those machines used for gumming mill saws, but is inferior to such of them as have a bed block entirely of cast iron, as much of the power employed will be lost, from the elasticity of the wood.

Journal of the Franklin Institute, Vol. 15, May 1835 pgs. 318-319.

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