IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nahum Salamon and William John Lawrence
Davids, both of Ludgate Street, in the City of London, for the Invention
of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES.'
-Partly a communication from abroad by Joseph Thorne, of New York
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nahum Salamon and
William John Lawrence Davids at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 6th December 1865.
W, NAHUM SALAMON and WILLIAM JOHN LAWRENCE DAVIDS, both of
Ludgate Street, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING SEWING MACHINE
NEEDLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the use of a series of machines of novel con-
struction for the manufacture of sewing machine needles in an expeditious
and economical manner.
In carrying out the manufacture of needles according to this Invention we
first introduce the wire into a machine where the several operations of
Pine 8d1

page_text: stamping, straightening, pointing, and cutting the wire into suitable lengths
to form needles are consecutively carried out. As the wire is fed to the
machine it is passed under the action of a die mounted on a rock lever and
operated by means of a rotary cam and pressure spring. This die strikes
upon that part of the wire which is to form the shank the name of the
manufacturer, or the device which indicates the size or quality of the needle,
or any other desired mark; and a second die, similarly mounted and
operated and set a needle's length in advance of the engraved die, serves by
its action to remove the burr caused by the first die. The wire then passes
forward through the trunnions of a hollow rotary frame, which is fitted with
adjustable screws arranged in lines running transversely of the frame. These
screws are brought into close contact with the wire, and put a lateral strain
upon it, so that the wire in being drawn through the hollow frame while the
same is rotating will be effectually and efficiently straightened. When passing
from the straightener the wire is taken hold of by a pair of reciprocating
clamps which serve to give it the required progressive notion through the
machine. The lower clamp is made to slide in a fixed bed, and it is con-
nected by a pin which passes through the upper clamp to a reciprocating
rocking lever, which receives both a vertical and a horizontal motion from a
rotating cam. By ineans of this clamp the wire is fed forward into and past
the jaws of a clip up to a rotating cutter which tapers the end of the wire, it
being for that purpose pressed up to the wire by the action of a cam upon a
lever that bears against the end of the shaft carrying the cutter, and the
wire being held steady in a guide that rotates with the cutter. This being
done a reciprocating cutter mounted on a rock lever between the rotary cutter
and the clip above mentioned descends and cuts off the length of wire
requisite for making a needle. The blank thus formed we next subject to
the action of the reducing machine, by which the metal is turned down to the
diameter requisite for forming the stem of the needle. The needle blank is
fitted into the end of a split mandril which fits into a mandril shaft on which
a belt pulley for driving the machine is keyed. This mandril shaft is
mounted in fixed bearings on the bed of the reducing machine. The end
of the mandril is made slightly conical, and upon it fits a conical collar
for causing the split mandril to grip the blank tightly. This collar is
operated like an ordinary clutch by a hand lever. The bed is also fitted with
a slide or tool carriage which extends from end to end of the machine, and to
which a tool holder is attached. From the under side of this slide depends a
guide in which is fitted a nut or brass having a thread cut on its face for the pur-
pose of gearing into a horizontal traversing screw. This screw is driven con-

page_text: tinuously by a worm and worm wheel, which may receive their motion
through suitable gearing from the mandril shaft. At the side of the
machine is mounted a "former," against which a short slide which carries
the cutting tool is caused to bear for the purpose of moving the tool endwise
to suit the irregular form of the needle shaft. This short slide fits into a
slot formed to receive it in the tool carriage, and a back motion (away from
the work) is given to it by the pressure of a spring. When a needle blank
is fitted into the mandril and clamped the cutting tool is brought into action
by lifting the tapped brass (by means of a hand lever) into gear with the
traversing screw, and the handle being secured in its raised position by a
latch the tool carriage is caused to traverse the tool over the needle shaft, first
forming the taper point, then the parallel portion of the shaft, and lastly a
rounded shoulder. When this is done the handle is disengaged from the
catch and the brass falls out of gear with the traversing screw. The
carriage may then be rapidly returned to its starting point by hand.
The needle blank is kept steady under the action of the reducing tool by
means of a guide formed on the carriage.
As a modification of the above we propose to mount the cutting tool in a
rest carried by a sliding rod, which is actuated by keying to it an arm, the
lower end of which carries a brass, the face of which is tapped to fit a
continuously rotating traversing screw. The arm is held down by a latch,
and when the traverse of the cutting tool is completed the arm is disengaged
from the latch and lifted out of contact with the screw, when it may be
shifted back to the starting position. The tool is adjustable end wise in its
rest by means of a screw.
The next operation is to groove the needle, that is to form a long groove
on one side and a short groove on the opposite side of the needle for receiving
and protecting the thread when the needle is in use. This we effect by the
use of a pair of rotary cutters which act alternately on the needle shaft while
it is held firmly between a pair of grippers. The grippers are mounted on a
traversing bed, which is operated as described with respect to the tool slide
or carriage of the reducing machine. The lower jaw of the gripper is
immoveable on the bed, but the upper jaw is carried at one end of a rock
lever pivotted on the bed, and the other end of the lever is fitted with a hand
screw, which by putting a strain upon that end of the lever presses down the
jaw and causes it firmly to grip the needle. The jaws are, however, so
formed as to expose the sides of the needle shaft to the action of a pair of
horizontal rotary cutters. These cutters are clamped to vertical spindles
mounted on a vertical plate, which is carried by and is adjustable vertically

page_text: on a slide supported in standards. This slide is capable of receiving a short
horizontal motion to throw the cutters alternately into action, which
movement is effected by cams set in action by hand or other power. The
cam shaft is connected by suitable gearing with the traversing screw to
ensure the proper correspondence between the advance of the respective
cutters and the advance of the needle.
As a modification of the grooving machine we mount the rotary cutters on
horizontal spindles which turn in bearings on a vertical slide, by the move-
ment of which the cutters are alternately brought into action. The needle
blank is inserted between the jaws of a pair of tongs mounted on and project-
ing somewhat beyond a horizontal slide, which is moved by hand so as to pass
the needle stem between the cutters. The forward motion is arrested by
means of an adjustable stop fixed in the bed of the machine. The upper
cutter will form the long slot and the lower cutter the short slot. The
vertical movement of the cutter slide is also obtained by hand and controlled
by stops, the attendant raising and depressing it by means of a hand lever.
The jaws of the tougs are held close by means of a spring catch, and released
by the attendant to withdraw the grooved needle and refill the tongs. The
needle is now ready for piercing the eye, which may be effected either by
drilling or punching as now ordinarily practised, and when the burr is removed
by riming the manufacture of the needle will be complete.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Nahum Salamon and William John Lawrence Davids in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, NAHUM
SALAMON and WILLIAM JOHN LAWRENCE DAVIDS, both of Ludgate Street, in
the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Nahum Salamon and William John Lawrence Davids, Her special
licence that we, the said Nahum Salamon and William John Lawrence
Davids, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said Nahuin Salamon and William John Lawrence Davids, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,

page_text: 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING
SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES," the result partly of a communication to ine, the
said Nahum Salamon, from abroad by Joseph Thorne, of New York City,
United States of America, and partly of Invention and discovery made by
me, the said William John Lawrence Davids, upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Nahum Salamon and William John Lawrence
Davids, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our, 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 Nahum Salamon, on behalf of myself
and of the said William John Lawrence Davids, 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,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to the use of a series of machines of novel con-
struction for facilitating the manufacture of sewing machine needles, by
carrying the manufacture up to a certain point expeditiously and economi-
cally, from which point the work may be carried to completion in any
well-known and approved manner.
In carrying out the manufacture of needles according to this Invention we
first introduce the wire from which the needles are to be formed into a machine
constructed so as to perform consecutively the several operations of stamping,
straightening, pointing, and cutting the wire into suitable lengths to form
needles. The blanks produced in this machine we next subject to the action
of the reducing machine, which a portion of the metal is turned down to
the diameter requisite for the needle stem. The next operation is to groove
the needle, and this we effect by means of machinery which will form a long
groove on one side of the needle stem or shaft and a short groove on the
opposite side, the grooves being required, as is well known, to afford protec-
tion to the thread during the sewing operation. The needle having arrived
at this stage we propose to pierce the eye and to finish the needle by the
means at present in use.

page_text: In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the
improved arrangement of machinery for carrying out consecutively the several
operations of stamping, straightening, pointing, and cutting off the wire into
lengths; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, and Figures 3, 4, and 5 are
transverse sections taken respectively at the lines 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and
5 and 6, of Fig. 1. A, A, is the bed plate of the machine, upon which is
mounted in suitable bearings a cam shaft B; this can shaft receives rotary
motion from the short driving pulley shaft C, it being connected therewith
by spur gearing D.
The wire as it is fed into the machine first passes under the action of a die Ę
mounted on a rock lever E³, and operated by means of a rotary snail cam E²
and pressure spring E³. The rock lever E' is mounted on a short shaft E4, and
its tail end bears against the snail cam on the shaft B, the lever being kept in
contact with the cam by means of the spring E3, which has always a tendency
to hold the head of the lever carrying the die in contact with the fixed counter
die. The spring E³ is connected with the lever by means of links E5. This
die strikes upon that part of the wire which is to form the shank the name
of the manufacturer, or the device which indicates the size or quality of the
needle, or any other desired mark. A second die E*, mounted in a rock lever
E* on the same shaft E4, and similarly operated by a cam and spring, is set a
needle's length in advance of the engraved die E, and serves by its action to
remove the burr formed by the operation of the first die. The wire next passes
forward through the trunnions of a hollow rotary frame F, which is fitted
with pairs of adjustable screws F arranged in lines running transversely of
the frame. These screws are brought into close contact with the wire by
means of adjusting nuts, and put a lateral strain upon it while the wire is
being drawn through the hollow frame. The rotation of the frame is effected
by a band from the prime mover passing round a band pulley F" keyed on one
of the hollow trunnions of the frame. While, therefore, the frame is rotating
the wire will be effectually and efficiently straightened. As the wire passes
from the straightener it is taken hold of by a reciprocating clamp which serves
to give it the required progressive motion through the machine. The clamp
and the means for working it are best shewn in the sectional view, Fig. 3.
The lower jaw of the clamp G is made to slide in a fixed bed G', and is fitted
with a vertical pin pierced to allow of the passage of the wire through it.
This pin projects through a slot in the upper jaw of the clamp G, which is
carried by a reciprocating rocking lever G. This lever G³ rocks both vertically
and horizontally on a fulcrum p.a G³, and receives its compound motion from
a double-faced rotating cam Gor the cam shaft B, the tail of the lever being

page_text: cutter.
held in contact with the cam by two coiled springs G5 and G, which give it
also its return inotion. By means of this clamp the wire is fed forward under
and past the pressing end of a rock lever H, which, clamps the wire when it
is brought within the reach of a rotating cutter, and is intended to hold it
firmly on the bed H* while a rotating cutter tapers the end, and while the
length of wire sufficient for a needle is being cut off. The rock lever H is
mounted loosely on a short shaft H' carried by standards H2,(see the sectional
view, Fig. 4,) and its tail end bears upon a cam H³ on the cam shaft B, by
which means the lever is caused to maintain its pressure on the wire for the
required period. The wire having been moved forward to the required
distance, determined by the throw of the rock lever G2, and held fast on the
bed H by the clamping lever H, is now submitted to the action-of the rotating
This cutter is mounted in a mandril I which is slotted transversely
to receive a bevil edged cutter i. The bevil edge crosses the centre of a bush
let into the centre of the mandril and forming a steadying piece for the end
of the wire that is now to be pointed. The mandril is free to slide in its
bearings I, and it carries a pulley which receives a band for driving the
mandril. A coiled spring serves to keep the mandril in its backward position,
but it is pressed forward to bring the cutter into action by a rock lever I³,
having its fulcrum at I3 and its tail bearing upon a face cam 14 on the end of
the shaft B. As, therefore, this lever advances the cutter in the sliding mandril
the end of the wire is first secured in the bush, and it is then pointed by
the rotating cutter. The pointing having been effected a reciprocating cutter
mounted on a rock lever K comes into action and cuts off the length of
pointed wire requisite for making a needle. This rock lever is mounted
on the shaft H, which carries the lever H, and it is set in action by a
cam K' on the shaft B (see the sectional view, Fig. 5), which cam carries
the cutter past the edge of the bed H*, and thus severs the wire held thereon
The blank thus formed we next subject to the action of the reducing machine
by which the metal is turned down to the diameter requisite for forming
the stem of the needle.
In Sheet II. one arrangement of the machine for effecting this operation
is shewn. Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section; Fig. 2 is an end
elevation of the reducing machine; Fig. 3 is a plan view of one end thereof.
The needle blank to be operated upon is fitted into the end of a split
mandril A, which is carried by a mandril shaft B mounted in suitable fixed
bearings on the bed of the machine. Keyed to this shaft is a belt pulley for
driving the mandril. The end of the mandril is made slightly conical, and
it fits a conical collar C for causing the split mandril to grip the blank
upon

page_text: tightly. This collar is operated like an ordinary clutch by a hand lever D,
which has its fulcrum on a vertical pin E carried by a bracket attached to
the front of the head stock of the machine; the bed is also fitted with a slide
or tool carriage F, which extends from end to end of the machine, and to
which a tool holder F is attached. From the under side of this slide depends
a forked guide F³, in which is fitted a half nut or brass G, having a thread
cut on its face for the purpose of gearing into a horizontal traversing screw G¹,
which gives the traverse motion to the tool carriage F. This screw is driven
continuously by a worm and worm wheel G³, which receive their motion from
a strap passing round a cone pulley G³, or through a suitable gearing that
connects the screw with the mandril shaft. At the side of the machine is
: mounted a "former" H, against which a short slide H', which carries the
cutting tool H2, is caused to bear for the purpose of moving the tool endwise
to suit the irregular form of the needle shaft. This short slide fits into a slot
formed to receive it in the tool carriage F, and a back motion (away from
the work) is given to it by the pressure of a spring H³. When a needle
blank is inserted in the split mandril and clamped by means of the collar
carried by the hand lever D, the cutting tool is brought into action by
bringing the halfnut or tapped brass G into gear with the traversing screw G.
The raising and lowering of this half nut is effected as follows:-Pendent
from its under side is a bar g, from the face of which project two pins, and
between these pins lies a lever g¹, which is hinged to a bracket arm g² attached
to the under side of the tool carriage. A spring g³ clamped to the bracket
arm bears upon the lever g¹, and tends to depress it, and with it the nut or
brass G. The brass is, however, held up by means of a catch g4 pendent
from the tool carriage. This catch may be thrown into and out of action by
hand or by striking against a fixed stop when the tool carriage has arrived at
the end of its traverse. The half nut having been brought into gear with
the traversing screw and held there by the means described, and rotary
motion having been imparted to the screw and to the mandril shaft, the tool
carriage will be caused to traverse the tool over the needle shaft, first com-
pleting the formation of the taper point, then reducing the parallel portion
of the shaft, and lastly forming the rounded shoulder. When this is done
the lever g' is disengaged from the catch and the brass falls out of gear with
the traversing screw; the carriage may then be rapidly returned to its
starting point by hand. The needle blank is kept steady under the action
of the reducing tool by means of a guide or rest Hattached to the front end
of the carriage.
In Sheet III. we have shown in several views a modification of the above-

page_text: described reducing machine. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved
machine, partly in section; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is
an end elevation; Fig. 4 shews in end view the split mandril with the means
for closing it upon the needle blank; and Fig. 5 is an end view of the tool
holder or rest, shewing the means for adjusting the cutter therein.
a is the cutting tool mounted in a rest A carried by a sliding rod A¹, which
has its bearings in the standards B, B, bolted to the bed C. This rod A¹
receives an endway motion for the purpose of advancing the cutter to its
work through the action of a traversing screw D,which is also mounted in
the same standards B, B. Keyed to the rod A' is an arm E, the lower end
of which carries a brass E¹, the face of which is tapped to fit the continuously
rotating traversing screw D. The arm E is held down by a catch e,which
takes on to an adjustable lip e¹ affixed to the standards B,and is held in contact
therewith by means of a spring e. When, therefore, rotary motion is given to
the screw by means of a band working in the pulley D¹ which it carries, the
lever E will be traversed along the screw D, and it will carry with it the
sliding rod A' and the cutting tool. But so soon as the traverse of the cutting
tool is completed the arm is disengaged from the catch and lifted out of
contact with the screw, when it may be shifted back to the starting position.
The cutter a is secured in its rest or holder by means of a clamping finger a¹,
which drops through a slot cut in the holder,aud is tightened upon it by a nut
at the under side of the holder taking on to the screwed end of the clamping
finger. A nick is made on the under side of the cutter to receive the head of
a regulating screw a², which fits into a tapped hole in the holder, and in
turning will move the cutter endwise. For regulating the height of the
cutter a screw a³ fits into a tapped hole made in the under side of the holder,
and bears against the under side of the cutter. This nice adjustment is
requisite to adapt the cutter to the position of the needle blank. A bush is
fitted in the end of the holder with a central hole in a line with the centre of
the split mandril to receive and support the needle blank while under the
action of the cutting tool. This bush may, if required, have an extension in
rear of the plane in which the cutter acts, in order the more effectually to
prevent the needle springing while undergoing the reducing operation. The
split mandril is shown at F as fitted to or forming part of the shaft F¹, which
has its bearing in the standards G bolted to the bed C. Fitted on the end
of the shaft so as to envelope the mandril is a tubular sliding piece F2, which
carries a set of regulating screws that are intended to act on thesections of the
mandril and press them together, so that they may bind on the needle blank
and hold it fast. This tube F2 is formed with two flanges, the space between

page_text: which is intended to receive a pin from a hand lever F3 having its fulcrum
at F4 on a bracket from the standard G. It will now be understood that by
rocking this hand lever the needle blank may be held securely in or released
from the grip of the mandril,and that the mandril will under all circumstances
be free to rotate. The shaft F1 carries fast-and-loose pallies H, H³, for
receiving a driving belt from any first mover, and it is provided at its rear
end with suitable means for setting up the shaft endwise to adjust the
proximity of the mandril to the cutter. At the rear end of the bed C of the
machine is a bracket 0,which carries a pin on which rocks a hand lever H².
The forward end of this lever enters a slot in one end of a sliding plate H³,
which is fitted with two pins, and forms a belt shipper. This plate at its
other end is connected to a pendent weight, the use of which is to give it a
tendency to move in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, and thus shift the
belt from the fast to the loose pulley. The lever H2 is provided to effect this
operation by band, but in order to effect it automatically the sliding plate or
belt shipper is provided with a hook h, which takes into a catch h³ formed on
a bell-crank lever H mounted on the sliding plate, and retains the crank
lever in the position shewn at Fig. 1. The upper end of the crank lever
when in this position is in a line with an adjustable screw top H5 carried by
the arm E keyed to the sliding rod A¹. The advance, therefore, of the arm E
will carry the stop H5 into contact with the bell-crank lever, and cause it to
rock on its fulcrum and raise the lower or catch end out of contact with the
tooth on the sliding plate H³. This action will take place if the stop is
properly adjusted as soon as the reduction of the blank is completed, and the
sliding plate will then advance in the direction of the pull of the weight and
shift the driving belt from the fast to the loose pulley, and thus stop the
rotation of the mandril.
The next operation, which consists in cutting a long groove on one side
and a short groove on the opposite side of the needle, is performed by the
machine shewn in Sheets IV. and V., wherein Fig. 1 is a front view of the
machine; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the right-hand side of the machine;
Fig. 3 is an elevation of the left-hand side of the machine; and Fig. 4 is a
back view of the machine. The grooving is effected by a pair of rotary
cutters a, a, which operate upon the needle shaft as it is firmly held by a
pair of grippers b, 6*; the cutters are carried by vertical spindles which
have their bearings on plates A. The plates are respectively bolted on to
the face of one of a pair of slides B,which are supported on V guides of the
main framing C. The plates A have a vertical adjustment on their respective
slides to bring the cutters to the proper position for grooving the needle

page_text: shaft. The cutter spindles are geared together by spur pinions a', and rotary
motion is given thereto by a band from any prime mover driving a pulley a³
on one of the cutter spindles. The slides B are fitted each with a steel
tooth to receive respectively the pressure of a pair of face cams D, D*, which
are mounted on a cam shaft D'. The object of these cams is to press the slides
inwards (against the outward tendency which the slides receive), and thereby
bring the cutters to act upon the needle shaft. The face cam D is carried
by a cam 1), and the face cam D* is secured to a block D³ on the shaft D¹,
which carries at the same end a winch handle D' for turning the cam shaft.
Fitted in this block D³ is a ring cam 15, which is affixed thereto by screws,
but capable of axial adjustment thereon, screws (see Fig. 1) pass through the
handle to the block D³, one entering the block and the other bearing on it
for the purpose of securing it to and adjusting it on the cam shaft. The
grippers consist of fixed and moveable jaws chamfered at their bearing
surfaces to expose the sides of the needle shaft the better to the action of the
cutters a, a*. The jaw b is fixed on the travelling bed E, which receives
motion from a traversing screw E¹, as in the last-described machine. The
other jaw b is carried by a rock lever 6', which is mounted on the travelling
bed E, and the jaw is held down firmly by means of a hand screw 63, which
works in a tapped hole in the rear end of the lever b¹ and bears against the
bed E. The screw E¹ receives a continous rotary motion from a cone
pulley e through a worm and worm wheel e, e², and its motion is transmitted
to the bed E through a half nut E³, which slides in guides pendent from the
bed plate and is raised into action by a lever E³. The end of this lever rests
in a guide attached to the end of a rod E, which itself slides in a vertical
guide formed on the side of the framing. The upper end of this rod E' is
curved and terminates in a hook which is kept in contact with the ring
cam D³ by means of a coiled spring below. As the cam shaft D' is rotated to
press inward the slides B and bring the cutters up to their work, the cam D5
bears upon the hooked end of the rod E' and maintains that rod at its highest
elevation during nearly the whole of its revolution. The rod thus raised causes
the lever E³ to lift the half nut into contact with the traversing screw, and thus
the progressive motion of the needle shaft under the cutters is effected. So
soon, however, as the required length of groove is cut an arrangement of
mechanism, shewn best at Fig. 3, comes into operation to ensure the stoppage
of the traverse motion of the needle under the action of the cutters if by
carelessness the attendant fails in turning the cam shaft to release the nut
from the traversing screw. On the side of the framing is mounted a radius
rod F, to which is secured an adjustable link rod F¹ affixed to the saddle

page_text: piece F" that rides upon a stud projecting from the travelling bed. As this
stud moves towards the dotted position of Fig. 3 it will advance the radius
rod towards the vertical position, and this rod coming in contact with the
radial face of the cam D2, which will at this time be brought within reach of
the rod, will bear against it and thus turn it round, and with it the cam shaft
and the other cams thereon, even though the attendant may have neglected
to complete the rotation of the shaft, which is necessary to ensure the release
of the half nut from gear with the continuously rotating traversing screw.
It should be remarked that as the face cams D and D° determine the relative
duration of the action of the cutters upon the needle shaft, they must be so
proportioned as to suit the length of the grooves required to be made; thus
the cam D has a much shorter acting surface than the cam D*, which latter
keeps its cutter in action during nearly the whole length of the traverse of
the needle shaft. When the grooves are formed the hand screw 6 is slackened
and the grooved needle is removed from the gripping jaws.
As a modification of the grooving machine we propose in some cases to
mount the rotary cutters on horizontal spindles, and to bring them alternately
into action by raising and lowering the slide which carries them, so as to
bring the cutters into operation upon the needle shaft, which is held firmly
in the grip of a pair of tongs carried by a sliding table.
In Sheet VI. of the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation
of the grooving machine, and Fig. 2 is an end elevation partly in section;
Figures 3 and 4 show the plyers detached in plan and edge views.
A, A, are the cutter spindles, which are supported in bearings secured to
a vertical slide B, which is free to move in vertical guides attached to the
framing C of the machine, a, a, are circular cutters mounted on the
spindles A, A, and they are driven by means of bands working over pullies
keyed to the spindle. The vertical movement of the slide B is effected by a
hand lever B¹, which has its fulcrum at the back of the machine, and is
connected to the slide by a pin 6; by raising and lowering this lever the
cutters a are alternately brought into and thrown out of action. The cutter
spindles are mounted one considerably in advance of the other, in order that
one cutter may be longer in action than the other, which is requisite to
produce the grooves of different lengths. The needle blank is inserted
between the jaws of a pair of tongs D mounted on and projecting somewhat
beyond a horizontal slide D¹, the movements of which are regulated by an
adjustable stop D³. A crank hand lever D, which is jointed to the slide and
connected by a link d to the fixed bed E of the machine, serves to give the
traverse motion to the slide and to pass the needle stem between the cutters.

page_text: The upper cutter will form the long slot and the lower cutter the short slot
as the upper cutter will remain longer in contact with the needle shaft during
the traverse motion than the lower cutter. The vertical movement of the
cutter slide is also controlled by stops b¹, the attendantraising and depressing
it to the required extent by means of the hand lever. The jaws of the
tongs D are held close by means of a spring catch d', which is to be released
by the attendant in order to withdraw the grooved needle and allow of the
tongs being refilled. The manufacture of the sewing machine needle having
been thus far carried by our improved machinery, we propose to complete the
manufacture in any well-known or approved mode. The needle is now ready
for piercing the eye, which may be effected either by drilling or punching as
now ordinarily practised, and when the burr is removed by riming the
manufacture of the needle will be complete.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of improved machinery
for manufacturing sewing machine needles, and explained the manner of
-carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we claim
the construction and application of the series of machines above described,
and their modifications, for effecting the several operations explained and
illustrated by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nahum Salamon have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
5
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
66, Chancery Lane.
N. SALAMON. (L.S.)