Clench Ring (13A141, 13A126a, 13A132b)
A Clench or Clinch ring, found in shallow water from a wreck near Jennycliff. Clinch rings were generally made of the same metal as their parent fastenings. Originally constructed of iron the rise in popularity of copper and copper alloy bolts saw a change in the material (1).
They are formed by either being punched out of plates or constructed from a malleable form of the parent metal. Over time the rings came to have a chamfered or countersunk hole. A description by Charles Davis, in The Building of a Wooden Ship, ably describes the process:
"the holes in clinch rings should be chamfered or countersunk, at about 10-12 degrees from the vertical, so that the bolt end, which should extend about one-half its diameter above the ring when ready to clinch may be swelled out by hitting it smartly several blows on the end with a round-faced top maul and finishing it up snugly in the countersink with a round or ball-pein heavy machinist's hammer. This expands the bolt end and upsets it as it is termed, so that the bolt swells out and fills the countersunk hole in the clinch ring" pg59 (2)
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Images
Sample of Clench Rings |
References
(1) McCarthy, M. (2005) Ships' Fastenings: From Sewn Boat to Steamship. Texas; A&M University Press
(2) Davis, W G (1918) The Building of a Wooden Ship. Industrial Service Section, United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation
