IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ACTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF DRILLING MACHINES, TURNING LATHES, AND OTHER MACHINE " INABLEEED ISQUI
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Combe, of Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ACTION AND
ARRANGEMENT OF DRILLING MACHINES, TURNING LATHES, AND OTHER MACHINE
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Combe at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
January 1865.
I, JOHN COMBE, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ACTION
AND ARRANGEMENT OF DRILLING MACHINES, TURNING LATHES, AND OTHER MACHINE
TOOLS IN WHICH, A VARIABLE SPEED IS REQUIRED," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in making drilling machines of an upright cast-iron
hollow pillar, firmly bolted to a cast-iron bottom plate, with four feet pro-
jecting diagonally from the four corners sufficiently wide to give stability to
the upright pillar. The centre of the bottom plate is made to carry a step,
which receives the pivot end of an upright shaft, which passes down the
hollow of the pillar and revolves freely in a socket at the top end of the
pillar. Immediately above a horizontal disc is keyed fast on the upright shaft,
the upper surface of which disc is turned true and level, and above this disc
another disc is also keyed fast on the shaft, the lower surface of which is also

page_text: turned true and level, so that the two surfaces of the discs facing each other
revolve in parallel planes. The portion of the upright shaft immediately
above the upper disc is screwed and provided with a nut, by which the two
discs can be brought into closer proximity to each other as required, and
above this nut are placed the usual loose and fast pullies, by which motion is
communicated from the driving strap to the machine. A projecting bracket
cast on the top end of the upright pillar carries a socket, also a portion of the
pillar casting, which is bored out in a direction parallel to the axis of the
upright shaft, through which socket the drill spindle revolves freely, retained
by two collars, which fit against the upper and lower ends of the drill-spindle
socket. The upper end of the drill spindle carries a horizontal disc turned
true and level on both sides, and placed midway between the two discs on the
driving shaft. These three discs being of such diameter respectively that
their circumferences intersect one another to about one-third of their diameter.
A pair of friction rollers, with solid leather surfaces, suspended in a parallel
motion working on two studs.carried on a projecting arm fixed to the bracket
cast on the upright pillar, are so placed respectively between the three discs
described, that the friction of the two discs carried by the driving shaft
transmits motion in an opposite direction to the intermediate disc carried by
the drill spindle, the parallel motion which carries the friction rollers being
so arranged that these rollers traverse sideways to and fro between the axes
of the driving shaft and the drill spindle, so that the nearer the friction rollers
are brought to the driving shaft the slower will be the speed of the drill spindle,
and vice versa. On the lower part of the upright pillar a bracket is also cast
carrying a short socket or boss, the axis of which coincides with the axis of
the drill spindle, which socket or boss is-bored out to receive a brass nut,
through which an upright screw is passed, on which the table rests which
carries the article to be drilled, by which screw the table is raised while the
drill is in action, and lowered as required; such table being provided with
four sockets, which slide freely on two upright parallel round bars, so as to
cause the table to rise and fall in a vertical direction under the action of the
screw. For the sake of securing a perfect balance, as well as economy in
the construction of these machines, I prefer to make them double casting
the pillar with two sets of brackets on opposite sides carrying two tables and
two drill spindles, to which motion is given by one pair of discs and upright
shaft.
In applying the differential motion described to turning lathes, I place the
intermediate disc on the back end of the spindle of the fixed head, and to
overhang the bearing, so that the circumference of the disc may extend below

page_text: the level of the gauntry. Two arms projecting from the cheeks of the fixed
head carry bushes, in which revolves a short shaft carrying the belt pulley
and the two driving discs, the studs carrying the parallel motion for traversing
the friction rollers being fixed to brackets below and at the back of the
gauntry.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Combe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th July 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
COMBE, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
nie, the said John Combe, Her special licence that I; the said John'
Combe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; the
said John Combe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
THE ACTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF DRILLING MACHINES, TURNING LATHES, AND
OTHER MACHINE TOOLS IN WHICH A VARIABLE SPEED IS REQUIRED," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Combe, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Combe, 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:-
My Invention has for its object improvements in the action and arrange-
ment of drilling machines, turning lathes, and other machine tools in which
the capability of obtaining a variable speed is required.

page_text: And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying Drawings, to
describe the means I have found to answer in carrying the same into effect.
Figure 1 is a front view, partly in section, and Figure 2 a plan, with some
of the parts removed, of a drilling machine arranged according to my Invention;
Figures 3 and 4 are side views of some of the parts.
a is an upright cast-iron hollow pillar firmly bolted as shown to a cast-iron
bottom or foundation plate b, having four feet 6', projecting diagonally from
the four corners sufficiently wide to give stability to the upright pillar. In
the centre of the bottom plate b is fixed a step or bearing 63, to receive the
pivot end of an upright shaft c which passes down through the hollow pillar a,
and is capable of revolving freely in a socket a¹ at the top of the pillar a.
Immediately above the socket a¹ on the upright shaft c is keyed fast a hori-
zontal disc d, the upper surface of which is turned true and level; above this
disc d another disc e is also keyed fast on the upright shaft c; the diso e is
turned true and level on its lower surface so that the two surfaces of the
discs d and facing each other revolve in perfectly parallel planes. The
upper portion of the upright shaft c has a screw thread cut thereon, and is
provided with a nut c', by which the two discs d and can be brought into
closer proximity to each other as required; or the requisite adjustment may be
otherwise obtained; above this nut c³, on the shaft c, are placed the usual fast
and loose pullies f, by which motion is communicated from the driving strap
to the machine. The shaft c is capable of being raised or lowered to a slight
extent by turning the screws x, and thereby raising or lowering the bar a, on
which the step or bearing rests. A projecting bracket a' is cast on the upright
pillar a; this bracket a² has a socket a' cast thereon, which is bored out in a
direction parallel to the axis of the upright shaft c; through this socket a³ the
drill spindle 9 is capable of revolving freely, being retained therein by two
collars g, which fit against the upper and lower ends of the socket a³. On
the upper end of the drill spindle g is keyed a horizontal disc h, which is
turned true and level on both sides and is placed between the two discs d, e,
carried by the upright shaft c. The three discs d, e, and h are of such
diameters respectively that their circumferences intersect one another to about
one-third of their diameter. A pair of friction rollers with solid leather
surfaces are suspended on rods or bars k forming a kind of parallel motion
working on two studs ³, carried by the projecting arm a' formed on or affixed
to the bracket a; these friction rollers i are so placed respectively between the
three discs d, e, and h that the friction of the discs d, e, carried by the
driving shaft c transmits motion in an oppositse direction to the intermediate

page_text: disch carried by the drill spindle. It will be seen by reference to the
Drawings that the parallel motion which carries the friction rollers i is so
arranged that the rollers i are capable of being traversed sideways to and fro
between the axes of the driving shaft c and the drill spindle g, so that the
nearer the friction rollers are brought to the driving shaft c the slower will
be the speed of the drill spindle g, and vice versa; the friction rollers i are
capable of being fixed in any required position between the driving shaft c and
the drill spindle g, as shown in the Drawings. On the lower part of the
upright pillar a a bracket 1 is cast carrying a short socket or boss I, the axis
of which is in a line with the axis of the drill spindle g. This socket or boss l¹.
is bored out to receive a brass nut through which an upright screw m is
passed, on which the table n which carries the article to be drilled rests; by
means of the screw m the table n is raised and lowered as required. The
table n is provided with four sockets which slide freely on two upright parallel
bars o so as to cause the table n to rise and fall in a vertical direction when
acted upon by the screw m.
In order to secure a perfect balance, as well as economy in the construction
of these machines, I prefer to make them double by casting on the pillar two
sets of brackets on opposite sides carrying two tables and drill spindles, to which
motion is given by one pair of discs d, e, and one upright shaft c. Some of the
parts are shown in the Drawing repeated on each side of the machine, and are
marked with similar letters of reference. When it is required to drill articles of
a greater length than could be accommodated on the tables n or n*, I then
turn the table n* and the bracket 1* out of the way and rest the article to be
drilled on on the ground. For this purpose the rod o' is removed from the
machine and the table n* is turned upon the rod o³ to one side, whilst the
bracket is turned on the pin out of the way when set at liberty by removing
the set screw. And in order that the drill may be capable of approaching
to and receding from its work I form the upper part of the drill spindle g*
with flat sides passing through a socket 9**, so that the drill spindle is capable
of rising and falling through the socket 9** and yet controlled to rotate there-
with; on the socket 9** is fixed the disc h* as shown; the upper end of the
drill spindle g* is extended through the socket g**, and its upper end is formed
to receive a pin g³ which is capable of revolving therein, but is secured thereto
by a screw cap gas shown. By reference to Figure 4 it will be seen that
the pin g is at its upper end pinjointed to the arm p, which is at one end pin-
jointed to a link p' connected to the bracket q as shown, whilst the other end
is provided with a nut capable of turning therein, through which a screw r
passes; the lower end of this screw is provided with a handle by turning

page_text: which the drill spindle g* is raised and lowered as required. In applying the
differential motion to turning lathes, I place the intermediate disc h on the
back end of the spindle of the fixed head, and to overhang the bearing, so that
the circumference of the disc h may extend below the level of the gauntry.
Arms projecting from the cheeks of the fixed heads carry bushes in which
revolves a shaft c carrying the belt pulley and the two driving discs d, e, for
each fixed head, the studs carrying the parallel motion for traversing the
friction rollers being fixed to brackets below and at the back of the gauntry.
In a similar manner would a like motion be applied to other machine tools
requiring such motion, and a competent workman will readily make such
modifications as will be necessary in adapting it to other machine tools.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the mode I
prefer of carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise details herein shown and described, but what
I do claim is, the combined arrangement of mechanism to drilling machines,
turning lathes, and other machine tools in which the power of readily obtaining
variable speeds is required.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Combe, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JOHN COMDE. (L.S.)