IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNOTTER PLATES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Watson, of High Bridge Works, Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
KNOTTER PLATES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER."
Scaled the 28th June 1859, and dated the 28th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Watson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th January 1859.
I, HENRY WATSON, of High Bridge Works, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF KNOTTER PLATES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER," to be as
follows:-
The improvement consists in applying by the aid of machinery a circular
saw on the reverse side to that on which the plate has been by other
machinery first cut or grooved, so deep as to leave sufficient thickness of
plate uncut to form a good edge for wear. A plate having been cut on one
side with grooves as heretofore, the cutting through to complete the slits is
then performed by a circular saw which cuts through from the reverse or
smooth side of the plate, and the saw by the actuating mechanism is caused to
cut at the exact point or angle of the groove on the other side. I would state

page_text: that I am aware that circular saws have been used before for cutting the
grooves in knotter plates, but only from the grooved or open side.
The peculiarity of my method of employing a circular saw is the arranging
the same to cut from the reverse or smooth side of the plate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Watson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WATSON, of High Bridge Works, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, 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 Henry Watson, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Watson,
'my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Watson, 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
THE MANUFACTURE OF KNOTTER PLATES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Watson, 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 Henry Watson, 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:-
The improvements consist in applying by the aid of machinery a circular
saw on the reverse side to that on which the plate has been by other
'machinery first cut or grooved so deep as to leave sufficient thickness of
plate uncut to form a good edge for wear. The plate having been cut on one

page_text: side with grooves as heretofore, the cutting through to complete the slits is
then performed by a circular saw, which cuts through from the reverse or
smooth side of the plate, and the saw by the actuating mechanism is caused
to cut at the exact point or angle of the groove on the other side. I would
state that I am aware that circular saws have been used before for cutting the
grooves in knotter plates, but only from the grooved or open side.
The peculiarity of my method of employing a circular saw is the arranging
the same to cut from the reverse or smooth side of the plate.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe more fully the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
b
Figure 1 shews a side view, Figure 2 an end view, and Figure 3 a plan of the
machine I prefer to employ for carrying out my Invention. a, a, is the framing
of the machine; bis a bed plate, which slides on projections on the framing a;
on the under side of this bed plate there is a toothed rack into which a toothed
wheel c gears, and on the axis of this toothed wheel there is a crank handle c',
by turning which the bed plate & may be moved backwards or forwards; d, d,
are circular saws on the spindle e; one end of this spindle is supported by the
slide f, which is capable of sliding up and down in the cross slide f¹; the
spindle is also supported by passing through the centre of the pulley g, which drives
the spindle e; the pulley g is supported by the strap h, the lower end of which
is capable of sliding up and down in a hole in the projection a' on the framing
a, and the other end of the strap h is attached to the arm i on the axis ; on
the axis there is also a similar arm 2, which is connected to the slide f, and "
there is also on the axis a lever handle 7, by which the arms i, 2, may be
raised or depressed, and so cause the spindle e, carrying the circular saws d, to
be raised or depressed also; the cross slide f' is supported by and is capable of
sliding along the cross bar m, which is supported by the uprights m³, m²,
bolted to the framing a; one end of the axis is supported by the cross
slide f', and the other passes through a hole in a projection from the upright
m², and is capable of sliding endwise through this hole; n is a screw which
works in a female screw in the cross slide f'; on the axis of the screw n there
is a crank handle, by turning which the cross slide f¹ can be moved backwards
or forwards across the bed plate b. The cross slide f¹ can be retained in any
position by means of a toothed wheel n¹ on the axis of the screw n working
into a toothed wheel o, on the axis of which there is a wheel o¹, in the
periphery of which there is a notch into which a click j is forced by a spring;
this click, unless held out of the notch in the wheel o', prevents the toothed

page_text: wheel o from rotating, and so keeps the cross. slide f¹ stationary. Upon one
side of the bed plate b is attached a bar'p, upon which there are sliding stops q,
which, can be fixed by set screws at any distance apart from each other; these
stops correspond with the. position of the ribs upon the knotter plate, and act
as stops to prevent the saws cutting into the ribs; this is effected by the stops
as the bed plate 6 is moved forwards coming in contact with a projection /¹ on
the strap h; this prevents the bed plate 6 being moved beyond a stop q until
the spindle e is lifted by the lever handle 1. The knotter plate having been
previously grooved on one side to the proper depth as heretofore, is fixed to
the bed plate with the smooth surface uppermost, and then by the aid of the
circular saw or saws acting on the smooth surface, the slits are cut through
into the angles of the grooves formed on the other side of the plate.
b
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Watson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
HENRY WATSON. (L.S.)