IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Stokes Cressey, of High Street, Homerton,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES."
Sealed the 26th July 1859, and dated the 8th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Stokes Cressey.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 8th February 1859.
I, THOMAS STOKES CRESSEY, of High Street, Homerton, in the County : of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery used in the
manufacture of casks, and consists in a peculiar combination of apparatus
applied to a lathe, in order to facilitate the cutting of the heads of casks of a
suitable oval form; such combined apparatus being put in motion by the
rotation of the wood which is to form the head of a cask. The wood to form
the head of a cask is pressed and held against the face plate of a lathe by
means of a bar, the ends of which are turned at right angles and serrated or
notched. This bar is placed on the back point or centre, which, as is ordinarily
the case, is capable of being set up by a screw towards the face plate.
these means the serrated or notched ends of this bar are pressed against the
wood, and the wood is pressed and held against the face plate, so that the
By

page_text: wood and bar will be carried round as the face plate is caused to revolve. On
the back axis or centre is mounted an oval double excentric or suitable form
for producing the desired shape to the head. On this double excentric or form
there are two projections, which come on opposite sides of the bar, so that as the
bar revolves on the back centre, it causes the double excentric or form to rotate
on such back centre. The cutting tool is either fixed on a slide rest, or is
held by a workman on such rest, and the rest is caused to move to and from
the back centre by means of a connecting rod attached by a pin joint to the
rest, and the other end of such connecting rod is forked, so as partly to
embrace the double excentric, whilst the two ends of the fork are acted on by
coiled or other suitable springs, by which the connecting rod will at all times
be kept in contact with the double excentric.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Stokes Cressey in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, TпомAS
STOKES CRESSEY, of High Street, Homerton, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Stokes Cressey, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Stokes
Cressey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Stokes Cressey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Stokes Cressey, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Stokes Cressey, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say):-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery used in the
manufacture of casks, and consists in a peculiar combination of apparatus
applied to a lathe, in order to facilitate the cutting of the heads of casks of a
suitable oval form, such combined apparatus being put in motion by the
rotation of the wood which is to form the head of a cask. The wood to form
the head of a cask is pressed and held against the face plate of a lathe by
means of a bar, the ends of which are turned at right angles and serrated or
notched. This bar is placed on the back point or centre, which, as is
ordinarily the case, is capable of being set up by a screw towards the face
plate. By these means the serrated or notched ends of this bar are pressed
against the wood, and the wood is pressed and held against the face plate, so
that the wood and bar will be carried round as the face plate is caused to
revolve. On the back axis or centre is mounted an oval double eccentric or
suitable form for producing the desired shape to the head. On this double
eccentric or form there are two projections which come on opposite sides of the
bar, so that as the bar revolves on the back centre, it causes the double
eccentric or form to rotate on such, back centre. The cutting tool is either
fixed on a slide rest or is held by a workman on such rest, and the rest is
caused to move to and from the back centre by means of a connecting rod
attached by a pin joint to the rest, and the other end of such connecting rod
is forked, so as partly to embrace the double eccentric whilst the two ends of
the fork are acted on by coiled or other suitable springs by which the
connecting rod will at all times be kept in contact with the double eccentric.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side view of a machine arranged according to my Invention
for cutting the heads of casks; Figure 2 is a plan; and Figure 3 a transverse
section of the same; a, a, is the frame or bed of the machine; b is a head
like the head of an ordinary lathe; and c is the standard of the back centre.
The parts b and c are both clamped down to the V guides a', a', of the bed.
The head carries in the ordinary manner a spindle & with driving pulleys ê, e,
mounted on it, f is a face plate fixed at the end of the spindle d. The back
centre is capable of being set.up by a screw towards the head, as is usual in

page_text: lathes, and is clamped by a set screw g; h is a bar, the ends of which are
turned at right angles and serrated or notched, it is mounted on the back
centre, so that it can turn freely on it; i is a cam or double eccentric
mounted on the boss ', which is capable of revolving on the back centre; and
,, are pins fixed to the cam or double eccentric i, and projecting one on
each side of the bar h, so that this bar in rotating carries the cam or double
eccentric with it; j is a strap passing half round the piece i, and connected
together at its two ends by a cross piece j', which has holes in it for the
passage of the bolts &; these bolts serve as guides for the strap j, as it is moved
to and fro by the cam or double eccentric, and they also receive another cross
piece ³, between which and the cross piece j³, spiral springs ³, surrounding
the ends of the strap j, are placed; these springs serve to hold the strap con-
stantly in contact with the cam or eccentric i. The bolts k, k, are fixed in a
plate projecting upwards from the standard 2, on which slides are mounted for
carrying the tool, and giving to it the required motions. The strap j has a
socket formed on it, into which a hook j³ is screwed; this hook catches a pin
m' on the slide m; this slide is capable of moving at right angles to the bed
in guides in the lower slide n. And when the machine is in action for cutting
the heads of casks, it receives such a motion from the cam or double
eccentric. The slide n has a dovetailed projection n² beneath it, which fits a
corresponding groove in the piece o, and it can be caused to traverse in this
groove in a direction parallel to the bed by the screw n², which is so mounted in
the slide n, that it can turn freely, but cannot move in a longitudinal direction
independently of the slide; the screw n works with a nut fixed to the piece o,
so that by turning the screw, the slide n' is made to slide on this piece.
In order to cut the head of a cask to a suitable oval form, the boards for
forming the head having been fitted together in the usual manner, are placed
against the face plate f, and the serrated or notched ends of the bar / aro
forced up against it by the screw of the back centre, so as to hold the head
firmly against the face plate; the spindle d is then caused to revolve, and as
soon as the bar h comes in contact with the pins i, ³, it causes the cam or
double eccentric i to revolve with it, and this, by means of the strap j and
hook actuates the slide m, to which the tool p is clamped, and then by
setting up the tool by the screw 22, which carries forward both the slides
n and m, and the tool clamped to the latter, the head is cut to the form
desired, except that the edges of the head have to be afterwards bevilled off
by hand labor. The difference between the longest and shortest diameters of
the cam or double eccentric i, is made the same as the difference between the
longest and shortest diameters of the head. it is desired to cut, and this is

page_text: arranged according to what it is found by experience to be necessary to allow
for the closing of the joints between the different pieces of wood of which the
head is formed; care is to be taken in arranging the wood to form a head in
the machine, in order that the shortest diameter of the head may be made
to fall parallel with the length of the pieces from which the head is cut. The
machine is set to cut larger or smaller heads by making the hook project
more or less beyond its socket, or the hook may be changed for another of
greater or less length, if necessary. It will be seen that the piece o is arranged
to slide on the standard 1, in a direction at right angles to the bed, and
a screw is furnished for traversing it; but this motion is not employed in
cutting cask heads but only when the machine is used for ordinary turning, and
in this case the slide m is in any convenient manner fixed in its place on the
slide n, and the two motions, similar to those of an ordinary slide rest, are
obtained by moving the slide n on the piece o, and this on the standard Z. The
projections m*, m*, on the slide m are to facilitate the fixing a tool or rest on
the slide, as may be required.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Stokes Cressey, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
THO STOKES CRESSEY. (L.S.)