It will be seen this point (t) of contact is some distance back of the angle u which terminates the inner face of the prong E’; consequently, it will be seen the prongs E E’ of the fork can with safety be shortened enough to afford a safe ingress or egress to the jewel pin to the slot in the fork.  As regards the length of the outer face of the prong of the fork, a good rule is to make it one and a half times the diameter of the jewel pin.  The depth of the slot need be no more than to free the jewel in its passage across the ten degrees of fork action.  A convenient rule as to the depth of the slot in a fork is to draw the line k, which, it will be seen, coincides with the circle which defines the jewel pin.

HOW TO DELINEATE THE SAFETY ACTION.

[Illustration:  Fig. 60]

We will next consider a safety action of the single roller type.  The active or necessary parts of such safety action consist of a roller or disk of metal, usually steel, shaped as shown in plan at A, Fig. 60.  In the edge of this disk is cut in front of the jewel pin a circular recess shown at a called the passing hollow.  The remaining part of the safety action is the guard pin shown at N Figs. 61 and 62, which is placed in the lever.  Now it is to be understood that the sole function performed by the guard pin is to strike the edge of the roller A at any time when the fork starts to unlock the engaged pallet, except when the jewel pin is in the slot of the fork.  To avoid extreme care in fitting up the passing hollow, the horns of the fork are arranged to strike the jewel pin and prevent unlocking in case the passing hollow is made too wide.  To delineate the safety action we first draw the fork and jewel pin as previously directed and as shown at Fig. 63.  The position of the guard pin should be as close to the bottom of the slot of the fork as possible and be safe.  As to the size of the guard pin, it is usual to make it about one-third or half the diameter of the jewel pin.  The size and position of the guard pin decided on and the small circle N drawn, to define the size and position of the roller we set our dividers so that a circle drawn from the center A will just touch the edge of the small circle N, and thus define the outer boundary of our roller, or roller table, as it is frequently called.

[Illustration:  Fig. 61]

[Illustration:  Fig. 62]

For deciding the angular extent of the passing hollow we have no fixed rule, but if we make it to occupy about half more angular extent on the circle y than will coincide with the angular extent of the jewel pin, it will be perfectly safe and effectual.  We previously stated that the jewel pin should occupy about twelve degrees of angular extent on the circle c, and if we make the passing hollow occupy eighteen degrees (which is one and a half the angular extent of the jewel pin) it will do nicely.  But if we should extend the width of the passing hollow to twenty-four degrees it would do no harm, as the jewel pin would be well inside the horn of the fork before the guard pin could enter the passing hollow.