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09 Dec.,2024

 

The History Of The Chain Link Fence - Resources Hub

The History Of The Chain Link Fence

Whether you call it wire netting, chain-wire fence, or cyclone fence, chain link fencing has a long and rich history of emboldening the Industrial Age and setting forth a new way of creating a fence. Before the invention of chain link, farmers and gardeners used various materials to create a fence, whether this included wood, stone, or any other material available to enclose a garden, home, or grazing land.

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Going back to the earliest time in the American colonies, when English Common Law was in place, the Virginia House Of Burgesses decreed, "every man shall enclose his ground with a sufficient fence," in . However, fences have been around way before that. Some sources document that the fence began in B.C.E. Imagine how far fencing has come from that time!


How Did Chain Link Fence Get Its Start?

While the original creator of the mesh in a chain link fence is disputed and inconclusive, Charles Barnard hailing from Market Place, Norwich, is said to have designed the first patented wire-netting machine in the s.


Even though Europe started the trend with mesh fencing, America fell into the chain link rat race when the American Chain Link Fence Company from Medford, Massachusetts, in the s, started producing commercial chain link fences. It was advertised as a new way to claim property rights and ensure unwanted individuals would keep out of your home.


Elaborate advertising calling for "a friendly fence which does not offend your neighbors" and that "establishes boundaries with trim and permanent beauty" was the marketing the American Chain Link Fence Company focused on, hoping to encourage property owners to purchase the new fencing method. However, as with any new invention, improvements needed to be made to create today's chain link fence.


Chain Link Fencing Becomes Safer

While past chain link fencing may look similar to the chain link used today, many patents have improved the mesh and durability of the fence. In the United States, the idea for reinventing a more safe and robust chain link mesh came from a patent initially applied to the wire used in spring beds made by Guy Mafera in . A new wire patent designed by the brother of Mafera, Frank J. Mafera, in allowed this fence to be used in more residential areas with an improved selvage that would not catch on clothing or skin.


After this, The Cyclone Fence Company in created a new way of making wire mesh fabric that cost less and improved machinery using an oscillating shuttle for weaving. This is just one of the many improvement patents chain link fencing has gone through.


Chain Link Fencing Today

Even today, many manufacturers are submitting patents for new features to add to chain link, such as improved selvage, universal retaining locks, and new chain link fence slats. Because of chain link fencing's weather resistance and economical cost, it remains one of the most popular fences in the United States for closing in livestock, pets, or keeping kids safe in your yard.


Therefore, when choosing the right fence for your property, chain link fence is a versatile and long-lasting choice with many years of history.



Chain-link fencing

Type of woven metal fencing

Chain-link fencing showing the diamond patterning A chain-link fence bordering a residential property

A chain-link fence (also referred to as wire netting, wire-mesh fence, chain-wire fence, cyclone fence, hurricane fence, or diamond-mesh fence) is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized or linear low-density polyethylene-coated steel wire. The wires run vertically and are bent into a zigzag pattern so that each "zig" hooks with the wire immediately on one side and each "zag" with the wire immediately on the other. This forms the characteristic diamond pattern seen in this type of fence.

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A chain-link privacy fence topped with razor wire protecting a utility power substation

In the United Kingdom, the firm of Barnard, Bishop & Barnards was established in Norwich to produce chain-link fencing by machine. The process was developed by Charles Barnard in based on cloth weaving machines (up until that time, Norwich had a long history of cloth manufacture).[1]

A New Hampshire Historical Marker in Raymond, New Hampshire commemorating Mafera&#;s innovation. While living in Raymond, Mafera patented the method for making residential chain-link fencing.

In the mid-s, the American Chain Link Fence Company in Medford, Massachusetts,[2] was the first company in the United States to patent an "exclusive manufacturing process of continuous wire fabric"[3] thanks to a patent by founder Guy Mafera which he first used to make spring beds.[4] While sources vary on when Mafera first patented the method of forming chain link fence, his brother, Frank J. Mafera, patented a method of "forming wire fence fabric" in which made chain link fence safe and practical for residential use. It "eliminate[d] each ragged selvage, particularly at the top of the fence, without sacrificing anything of the essential strength and rigidity, of the fence itself, thus to avoid danger of injury to hands or clothing."[5] Frank J. Mafera first sold this type of fencing from his company the Barnyard Fence Company in Raymond, New Hampshire,[6] and his brother sold and produced the fencing at the American Chain Link Fence Company in Medford.[7] Mafera's patent was updated in , but expired in and is now used in the production of most chain link fencing.[8]

Sizes and uses

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A chain-link fence allows light to pass through while protecting windows.

In the United States, fencing usually comes in 20-foot (6.1 m) or 50-foot (15 m) rolls, which can be joined by "unscrewing" one of the end wires and then "screwing" it back in so that it hooks both pieces. Common heights include one-foot increments from 3 feet (0.91 m) to 8 feet (2.4 m), and other heights including 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m), 10 feet (3.0 m), and 12 feet (3.7 m) although almost any height is possible. Mesh is commonly 9, 11, or 11+1&#;2 wire gauge. Mesh length can also vary based on need, with the standard diamond size being 2 inches (5.1 cm).

For tennis courts and ballparks, the most popular height is 10 or 12 feet (3.0 or 3.7 m). Tennis courts often use a diamond size of 1.75 inches (4.4 cm),[9] as measured flat side to flat side, so that power hitters cannot lodge the ball in the fence.

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The popularity of chain-link fence is from its relatively low cost and that the open weave does not obscure sunlight from either side of the fence. A chain-link fence can be made semi-opaque by using fence inserts in the mesh. Allowing ivy to grow up the fence and interweave itself is also popular.

Installation

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The installation of a chain-link fence involves setting posts into the ground and attaching the fence to them. The posts may be steel tubing, timber, or concrete and may be driven into the ground or set in concrete. End, corner, or gate posts, commonly referred to as "terminal posts", must be set on a concrete footing or otherwise anchored to prevent leaning under the tension of a stretched fence. Posts set between the terminal posts are called "line posts" and are set at intervals not to exceed 10 feet. The installer attaches the fence at one end, stretches it, and attaches it at the other, easily removing the excess by "unscrewing" a wire. In many cases, the installer stretches a bottom tension wire, sometimes referred to as "coil wire", between terminal posts to help minimize the in and out movement that occurs at the bottom of the chain-link mesh between posts. Top horizontal rails are used on most chain-link fences, although not necessary if the terminal posts are braced correctly. A top tension wire may be used in this situation. Bottom rails may be added in place of bottom tension wires, and for taller fences, 10 feet or more, intermediate horizontal rails are often added. Finally, the installer ties the fence to the line posts and rails with steel or aluminum wire with a hook on one end called &#;fence ties&#;. The bottom tension wire should be secured to the line posts and the chain-link mesh "hog ringed" to the tension wire 2' on center.

Manufacturing

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The manufacturing of chain-link fencing is called weaving. A metal wire, often galvanized to reduce corrosion, is pulled along a rotating long and flat blade, thus creating a somewhat flattened spiral. The spiral continues to rotate past the blade and winds its way through the previous spiral that is already part of the fence. When the spiral reaches the far end of the fence, the spiral is cut near the blade. Next, the spiral is pressed flat, and the entire fence is moved up, ready for the next cycle. The end of every second spiral overlaps the end of every first spiral. The machine clamps both ends and gives them a few twists. This makes the links permanent.

An improved version of the weaving machine winds two wires around the blade at once to create a double helix. One of the spirals is woven through the last spiral that is already part of the fence. This improvement allows the process to advance twice as fast.[10]

Notable uses

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Chain-link fencing at an American short track Chain-link, steel cage as used in an Impact Wrestling professional wrestling match

See also

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Notes

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