Fastener manufacturing apparatus and method

A method of making a continuous strip of pierce nuts from a metal rod having a constant width and spaced parallel grooves, comprising the following steps:

• providing an articulating die having a piercing station for piercing bores though said rod and a cutting station for cutting individual pierce nuts from said rod;
• advancing the rod though said articulating die piercing a plurality of equally spaced bores though said rod;
• further advancing said rod though said articulating die to said cutting station, said cutting station including a reciprocating cutting member;
• spacing said rod form said reciprocating cutting member a distance equal to a width of said pierce nut between said bores;
• driving said reciprocating cutting member against said rod, simultaneously cutting two pierce nuts from said rod, including a first pierce nut at said distal end of said rod and a second pierce nut beneath said reciprocating cutting member;
• said reciprocating cutting member driving said second pierce nut from a plane of said rod;
• said cutting station resiliently supporting said second pierce nut beneath said reciprocating cutting member, then returning said second pierce nut to said plane of said rod;
• then transferring said first and second pierce nuts in a common plane in a track to a tapper;
• simultaneously inserting tappers in said bores of said first and second pierce nuts forming an internal thread in said bores;
• and
• disposing frangible wires in said parallel grooves and affixing said pierce nuts to said wires in a continuous line through said track.