IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL AND OTHER MINERALS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Grafton Jones, of No. 12, Gloucester
Terrace, Amherst Road, in the County of Middlesex, Engincer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL AND
OTHER MINERALS."
Sealed the 21st April 1874, and dated the 8th November 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Grafton Jones
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 8th November 1873.
I, JAMES GRAFTON JONES, of No. 12, Gloucester Terrace, Amherst
Road, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object to facilitate the holcing or cutting of
grooves into coal and other minerals. For this purpose I employ
revolving cutters constructed in the following manner:-The cutter is
formed from a flat bar of steel with saw teeth cut along both of its

page_text: edges and twisted, so that the edges of saw teeth are formed into spirals;
the end of the bar is also formed into cutting teeth, the points of such
teeth being at the side edges of the bar; the opposite end of the bar is
welded or secured to a spindle, by which it can be caused to revolve.
Such a cutter when caused to revolve and moved against coal or mineral
will rapidly cut a groove into it, and the cutter will readily clear itself
from the slack which is cut away by it. A revolving cutter of this
description may either be caused to sweep in the arc of a circle into and
out of the coal so as to cut a groove therein, the spindle of the cutter
being for that purpose carried by a frame, which can be turned round
upon an axis, and means also being provided for causing such axis to be
traversed forward from time to time in a line parallel with the face of
the coal, into which the groove is being formed. Or the frame which
carries the spindle of the cutter may simply be caused to move forward
continuously in a line parallel with the face of the coal. In this case a
groove will be produced of a depth equal to the length of the cutter,
but if the cutter is caused to sweep round in the arc of a circle a groove
of any desired donth may be out inmuncative of the lanath of the author
edges and twisted, so that the edges of saw teeth are formed into spirals;
the end of the bar is also formed into cutting teeth, the points of such
teeth being at the side edges of the bar; the opposite end of the bar is
welded or secured to a spindle, by which it can be caused to revolve.
Such a cutter when caused to revolve and moved against coal or mineral
will rapidly cut a groove into it, and the cutter will readily clear itself
from the slack which is cut away by it. A revolving cutter of this
description may either be caused to sweep in the arc of a circle into and
out of the coal so as to cut a groove therein, the spindle of the cutter
being for that purpose carried by a frame, which can be turned round
upon an axis, and means also being provided for causing such axis to be
traversed forward from time to time in a line parallel with the face of
the coal, into which the groove is being formed. Or the frame which
carries the spindle of the cutter may simply be caused to move forward
continuously in a line parallel with the face of the coal. In this case a
groove will be produced of a depth equal to the length of the cutter,
but if the cutter is caused to sweep round in the arc of a circle a groove
Lof any desired depth may be out irrespective of the length of the cutter
itself.
In place of forming the cutter of a plate with teeth at its edges and
twisted, as above described, I in some cases form it of a number of discs
with teeth cut around their periphery, and with a hole bored through
the centre of each disc to allow of its being slipped on to a rod.
The discs are set inclined obliquely to the rod, and distance pieces
with their ends cut to the desired angle are placed between them so as
to keep the discs at equal distances apart and at a uniform angle to the
rod; and to ensure their being kept at the same angle each distance
piece or tube has a stud projecting from it internally to enter a keyway
cut longitudinally in the rod. The end of the rod has a screw thread
cut upon it, and is screwed into a socket on a spindlo mounted in
bearings, so that it may be caused to revolve, and in screwing up the
end of the rod into this socket the several disc saws and distance pieces
upon it are drawn up tightly towards a collar at the opposite end of the
rod and are thus securely held.
Revolving cutters, such as above described, may with great advantage
have motion given to them by hand power as the power required to
revolve them whilst cutting and to traverse them to and fro is com-

page_text: paratively small; the carriage also for supporting the spindle of the
cutter and the driving gear may be made extremely light.
When hand power is to be used and the machine is to be used only
for holeing or undercutting I prefer to arrange the machine as
follows: The spindle of the cutter is mounted in bearings in a frame
which can turn upon a stud on the bed plato of the machine. On the
under side of this bed plate are sledge runners to run on rails laid upon
the floor of the mine.
On the frame which carries the cutter spindle is a toothed arc, into
which gears a pinnion carried in bearings from the bed plate. The pinion
can be turned by a hand wheel on its spindle, and thus the cutter can
be caused to sweep round to and fro in the arc of a circle. The cutter
spindle has fixed upon it a bevil pinion gearing into a horizontal bevil
wheel which is concentric with the stud upon which the frame which
carries the cutter is mounted.
The horizontal bevil is mounted upon a vertical shaft, which has upon
it a fly wheel and at its upper end a pinion which gears with a bevil
wheel, which can be driven by a crank handle, and thus a quick
revolving motion can be given to the cutter, whilst at the same time the
cutter may freely be swept round to and fro in the arc of a circle.
The bearings of the gearing wheels above described are carried by a
standard from the bed plate, and the lower wheels are enclosed by a box
casing forming part of the frame so as to exclude dirt from them. At
the top of the standard is also mounted a screw, by turning which by a
hand wheel a steadying support can be pressed up against the roof of the
mine, and so hold the machine securely whilst the cutter is in action.
When the machine is to be arranged for cutting either vertical or
horizontal grooves I mount the spindle of the cutter in a frame, which
can rock on horizontal axes, whilst the frame which carries the bearings
of these axes is capable of being turned on a vertical stud or axis, and I
provide gearing for turning either of the frames, so that the cutter can
be moved in either direction desired. In this case I prefer to drive the
spindle of the cutter by a rotary engine driven by compressed air. The
rotary engine I prefer for this purpose is described in a Provisional
Specification lodged by me on the 25th day of August, 1873,
No. 2797.

page_text: The spindle of the rotary cutter of the machine, previously described,
may also in like manner be driven by a rotary engine worked by com-
pressed air, or the cutters might otherwise have a revolving motion
given to them in any suitable manner. The cutters also, as before
stated might be mounted on travelling carriages, to which a continuous
forward motion is imparted in a line with the face of the coal or mineral,
into which a groove is to be cut in place of causing the cutter to sweep
round in the arc of a circle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Grafton Jones in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th May 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
GRAFTON JONES, of No. 12, Gloucester Terrace, Amherst Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said James Grafton Jones, Her
special license that I, the said James Grafton Jones, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Grafton Jones, 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 law-
fully 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 APPARATUS FOR CUTTING COAL AND OTHER
MINERALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Grafton Jones, 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 James Grafton Jones, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object to facilitate the holeing or cutting of
grooves into coal and other minerals. For this purpose I employ
revolving cutters constructed in the following manner :-The cutter is
formed from a flat bar of steel with saw teeth cut along both of its
edges and twisted so that the edges of saw teeth are formed into spirals,
the end of the bar is also formed into cutting teeth, the points of such
teeth being at the side edges of the bar; the opposite end of the bar is
welded or secured to a spindle by which it can be caused to revolve; such
a cutter when caused to revolve and moved against coal or mineral will
rapidly cut a groove into it, and the cutter will readily clear itself from
the slack which is cut away by it; a revolving cutter of this description
may either be caused to sweep in the arc of a circle into and out of the
coal so as to cut a groove therein, the spindle of the cutter being for
that purpose carried by a frame which can be turned round upon an
axis, and means also being provided for causing such axis to be traversed
forward from time to time in a line parallel with the face of the coal
into which the groove is being formed; or the frame which carries the
spindle of the cutter may simply be caused to move forward continuously
in a line parallel with the face of the coal; in this case a groove will be
produced of a depth equal to the length of the cutter, but if the cutter
is caused to sweep round in the arc of a circle a groove of any desired
depth may be cut irrespective of the length of the cutter itself.
In place of forming the cutter of a plate with teeth at its edges, and
twisted as above described, I in some cases form it of a number of discs
with teeth cut around their peripheries, and with a hole bored through
the centre of each disc to allow of its being slipped on to a rod.
The discs are set inclined obliquely to the rod, and distance pieces
with their ends cut to the desired angle are placed between them so as to
keep the discs at equal distances apart and at a uniform angle to the rod,
and ensure their being kept at the same angle; each distance piece or
tube has a stud projecting from it internally to enter a keyway cut
longitudinally in the rod. The end of the rod has a screw thread cut
upon it and is screwed into a socket on a spindle mounted in bearings so

page_text: that it may be caused to revolve, and in screwing up the end of the rod
into this socket the several disc saws and distance pieces upon it are
drawn up tightly towards a collar at the opposite end of the rod and are
thus securely held; or the disc cutters in place of having teeth formed
all around them may each be formed with a single tooth and be placed
upon the rod in such manner that the several teeth form a spiral
around it.
Revolving cutters, such as above described, may with great advantage
have motion given to them by hand power, as the power required to revolve
them whilst cutting and to traverse them to and fro is comparatively
small; the carriage also for supporting the spindle of the cutter and the
driving gear may be made extremely light.
When hand power is to be used and the machine is to be used only
for holeing or under cutting, I prefer to arrange the machine as
follows:-The spindle of the cutter is mounted in bearings in a frame
which can turn upon a stud on the bed plate of the machine. On the
under side of this bed plate are sledge runners to run on rails laid upon
the floor of the mine.
On the frame which carries the cutter spindle is a toothed aro into
which gears a pinion carried in bearings from the bed plate, the pinion
can be turned by a hand wheel on its spindle, and thus the cutter can
be caused to sweep round to and fro in the arc of a circle. The cutter
spindle has fixed upon it a bevil pinion gearing into a horizontal bevil
wheel which is concentric with the stud upon which the frame which
carries the cutter is mounted.
The horizontal bevil wheel is mounted upon a vertical shaft which has
upon it a fly wheel, and at its upper end a pinion which gears with a
bevil wheel which can be driven by a crank handle, and thus a quick
revolving motion can be given to the cutter whilst at the same time the
cutter may freely be swept round to and fro in the arc of a circle.
The bearings of the gearing wheels above described are carried by a
standard from the bed plate, and the lower wheels are enclosed by a box.
casing forming part of the frame so as to exclude dirt from them. At
the top of the standard is also mounted a screw, by turning which by a
hand wheel a steadying support can be pressed up against the roof of

page_text: the mine and so hold the machine securely whilst the cutter is in
action.
When the machine is to be arranged for cutting either vertical or
horizontal grooves I mount the spindle of the cutter in a frame which
can rock on horizontal axes, whilst the frame which carries the bearings
of these axes is capable of being turned on a vertical stud or axis, and I
provide gearing for turning either of the frames so that the cutter can
be moved in either direction desired; in this case I prefer to drive the
spindle of the cutter by a rotary engine driven by compressed air, the
rotary engine I prefer for this purpose is described in a Provisional
Specification lodged by me on the 25th day of August 1873, No. 2797.
The spindle of the rotary cutter of the machine previously described
may also in like manner be driven by a rotary or cylinder engine worked
by compressed air, or the cutters might otherwise have a revolving
motion given to them in any suitable manner. The cutters also as
before stated might be mounted on travelling carriages to which a con-
tinuous forward motion is imparted in a line with the face of the coal or
mineral into which a groove is to be out in place of causing the cutter to
sweep round in the arc of a circle.
In order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
In
Figure 1 shews a side view and Figure 2 a plan view of a hand
machine constructed as herein-before described; Figure 3 shews a
vertical section, and Figure 4 a horizontal section of the same.
these Figures a is the revolving cutter carried at the end of a spindle ỗ;
the inner end of this spindle is stepped into a socket in a frame c capable
of turning upon a stud d which stands up from the bed plate of the
main framing e of the machine; the frame c is formed with a toothed
quadrant c¹ into which gears a pinion f, the axis of which turns in
bearings in the main framing e and can be turned by the hand wheel f¹.
On the cutter spindle 6 is a bevil toothed wheel 6¹ into which gears
another bevil toothed wheel g' on a vertical axis g, which is concentric
with the stud d and turns in bearings in a standard e³ which rises up
from the frame e. On the top of the axis g is a bevil wheel g³ gearing
into a bevil wheel h¹ on a horizontal axis h which is mounted in bearings
at the top of the standard e as shewn. On the axis h are crank handles

page_text: by which the axis can be revolved by hand power, and thus a revolving
motion can be given to the toothed wheel g¹ and to the cutter spindle b,
whilst at the same time the cutter spindle can be caused to sweep round
in the arc of a circle by turning the hand wheel fr. The bed of the
framing e rests upon angle iron rails i, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2, and
after the cutter has been caused to sweep in the arc of a circle and to
make a cut into the coal the machine can be slid forward a distance
upon the rails and brought into position for making the next cut, and
can then be locked to the rails by locking or binding screws j so as to
prevent its shifting whilst the cut is being made; I prefer that in
making the cut the cutter should commence to act at the back of the
groove and to sweep outwards to the face of the coal, but it may if
desired be made to cut both when sweeping outwards and inwards.
The manner in which the successive cuts are made into the coal is
shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 2. The framing e forms a box
casing within which the gear wheels are enclosed and serves to exclude
dust and dirt from them; in this framing is a horizontal slot to allow the
spindle b and the boss c² of the frame c to sweep to and fro. The spindle b
passes through this boss and through a tube which projects from it,
as shewn, there being a bearing at the end of the tube to fit around the
spindle as shewn and give it support as near as practicable to the point
at which the cutting takes place.
By employing a cutter as above described, which is not only caused to
revolve on its own axis but also to sweep round in the arc of a circle, I
am enabled to cut deep grooves with but little power applied to the
machine as the cutter is much shorter in length than the depth of the
groove; this also enables me to make deep grooves of but small width
into the coal or mineral, as the cutters need not be made so strong as
has been necessary in other machines, this again reduces the amount of
power required for working the machine.
At Figures 5 and 6 I have shewn a modification of the machine
adapted to cut grooves vertically, horizontally, or at any angle, and with
the cutter spindle driven by a rotary engine to be driven by compressed
air or other fluid under pressure. This modified construction of
machine is also applicable for being worked by hand power. In these
Figures the same letters of reference are used to mark like parts to those
shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. k is the rotary engine which I prefer

page_text: to construct in the manner described in the Provisional Specification
herein-before mentioned'; on the axis of this engine is a pinion k³,
which by an intermediate wheel ³ gives motion to the pinion b' on the
cutter spindle b; the frame which carries the spindles of the wheel A³ and
pinion 6' is free to be turned around the axis k of the rotary engine and
can be fixed in any required position by the set screw , so that the
revolving cutter a can be set to cut at any height desired.
The outer casing of the rotary engine is capable of being rocked on a
horizontal axis m upon which is a worm wheel m¹; into this gears a
worm m which can be turned by a hand wheel m³ upon it, and thus the
cutter spindle 6 can be inclined from the horizontal if desired, or can be
caused to sweep vertically to and fro in the arc of a circle to make a
vertical cut. The frame which carries the bearings of the worm m² and
of the axis of the outer casing of the rotary engine has a vertical pivot n
projecting from it at the bottom, which steps into a socket on the bed
plate o, and on this pivot is a worm wheel n' into which gears a worm n³
carried in bearings on the bed plate o and by turning this worm the
upper part of the machine together with the cutter axis can be caused
to sweep round horizontally in the arc of a circle. The bed plate o is
mounted on a carriage p which is supported on wheels to run upon rails
as shewn, and the bed plate can be slid to either one or other end of the
carriage and be fixed at either end by a set screw.
At Figure 7 I have shown separately a revolving cutter constructed
from a twisted plate of steel as herein-before described; at Figures 8
and 9 I have shewn longitudinal and transverse sections of a portion of
a revolving cutter made up of numerous toothed discs p placed at an
angle on to a bar q and with distance pieces between them, a cutter may
also be similarly composed of discs with but one tooth projecting from
each disc, and the discs may in this case be threaded on to the bar in
such manner that the teeth of the several discs form a spiral around the
bar or rod; a convenient way of keeping them in this position is to make
the rod polygonal and the holes through the discs of a corresponding
form, so that when once placed on to the rod they cannot turn around it,
and they can be so threaded on to the rod that their cutting teeth shall
in turn come opposite to each side of the polygonal rod and so form a
spiral around it.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of

page_text: 1. The employment in machinery for cutting coal and other mineral
of a rotary cutter revolving on its own axis at the same time that it is
caused to sweep round in the arc of a circle.
2. The construction of machinery for cutting coal and other mineral,
substantially as herein described and illustrated at Figures 1, 2, 3, 5
and 4.
3. The construction of machinery for cutting coal and other mineral,
substantially as herein described and illustrated at Figures 5 and 6.
4. The construction of revolving cutters for machinery for cutting
coal and other mineral, substantially as herein described and illustrated 1
at Figure 7.
5. The canstruction of revolving cutters for machinery for cutting
coal and other mineral, of toothed discs threaded on to a rod as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Grafton Jones, have l
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
J. GRAFTON JONES. (T.K.)