IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR UNTWISTING, SEPARATING, AND COMBING TARRed: ROPES FOR OAKUM, AND FOR DRESSING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA, JUTE, OR OTHER. LIKE MATERIAL
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hunter, of Liverpool; in the County of
Lancaster, Mechanical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR UNTWISTING, SEPARATING, AND COMBING TARRed:
ROPES FOR OAKUM, AND FOR DRESSING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA, JUTE, OR OTHER.
LIKE MATERIAL."
Sealed the 22nd March 1867, and dated the 25th September 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hunter at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th:
September 1866.
I, WILLIAM HUNTER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical
Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "I-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR UNTWISTING, SEPARATING, AND COMBING TARRED
ROPES FOR OAKUM, AND FOR DRESSING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA, JUTE, OR OTHER
LIKE MATERIAL," to be as follows:-
To effect the purposes named in the above "title" I will first describe the
machine in position for making oakum, and afterwards how the same machine
is brought into requisition for the latter purposes.
To construct a machine for the above purposes. I first make a hollow shaft
or cylinder turned on the outside and bored out within; on this shaft I place
a series of saw plates of the thinest description or any required thickness of
saw plates, say, from 1 to 3 feet in diameter, having teeth formed in them to
an angle of about 45 degrees to the circle of the plates, but having no "set"

page_text: in them, being perfectly flat, and between each saw plate I place a plate of
the same thickness, or any desired thickness, but of less diameter, also having
teeth formed in them, but of a finer pitch; or these plates may be plain or
without teeth, the object of these plates being to separate the saw plates to
any required degree of fineness, when the required number of plates are
placed on the above named shaft, which can be made to any convenient length;
the whole are then screwed up fast by means of a thread cut on the end of the
shaft and a corresponding nut; this part constitutes the main cylinder or
barrel of the machine. Above this cylinder or barrel on the vertical centre
line I place in every respect a similar cylinder or barrel only half the size of
the main one already described; and on the horizontal centre line I place a
second and like one, also half the size of the main one; these two cylinders
are arranged with adjustable bearings and screws, so that the teeth of each
cylinder touches the teeth of the main cylinder as near as possible, and can
be regulated to operate on any coarse material. These two small cylinders
or shafts have cut on one end one thread of a screw of half inch pitch, working
into a fixed stud attached to the framing, to give them a lateral or end
motion in the direction of their axis, and crossing the teeth of the main
cylinder transversely for the space of one inch during their revolutions, the
action of which is very similar to opening oakum by hand. The three hollow
shafts or cylinders are bored out as described above a little taper to receive a
turned iron mandril or heater to be heated to about 120 or 150 degrees of
heat for the purpose of warming the saw plates during their operations on the
tarred material; or steam may, be introduced into the hollow shafts similar
to the trunnions of an oscillating steam cylinder or other means used.
Beneath the main cylinder and saw plates I place a small cistern or vessel of
tar, also heated by heaters or steam to 120 or 150 degrees, so that the teeth
of the main cylinder dip into the heated tar the depth of themselves, which
has the effect of lubricating the saw plates during their operation, and leaves
the oakum in a soft pliable state. Above this cistern or tar vessel is placed a
brush, through which the teeth of the saw plates pass, and are cleared of any
superfluous quantity of tar, which returns to the vessel. Below the, centre
line of each of the above-named cylinders, at a certain angle, I place a. steel
comb, so that the teeth of each saw plate fit into the slits of the comb closely,
and are thereby cleared of any tarry substance which may adhere to the teeth
or plates. Above the main cylinder, and on each side of the top. smaller
cylinder, I place a series of plates of a corresponding circle to the main
cylinder, also with teeth formed in them, and hinged at one end so as to be
turned up for examination and cleaned, and so arranged by a screw for

page_text: adjusting as to bring their teeth nearly in contact with those of the main
cylinder.
The feed apparatus for the above machine consists of a number of travelling
bars secured to a flat-linked endless chain passing over pulleys at each end in
the same manner as a travelling apron made of canvas, and below these bars.
and gearing into the above, exactly as if they were a pair of toothed wheels.
another set of bars precisely the same are placed. The upper or the lower set
of feed bars are driven from the main cylinder in towards the teeth of the
main cylinder, and the material to be operated upon is introduced at the outer
end, and is drawn into the machine in a "kinked" or zig-zag line over one.
bar and under the next, and so on for as many bars as may be deemed suf-,
ficient. The object of "kinking" the strands or material in this way is to
prevent them from being drawn into the machine without being operated.
upon, which is the case in all machines where the ordinary or common feed
rolls are used; and another object in arranging this kind of feed is to accom-
modate the various thicknesses of strands, the difficulty hitherto being that
the thick strands lift the upper feed roller, and the machine draws the smaller
strands through without being operated upon in the least. The upper pair of
feed bars are fitted with adjustable bearings, so as to be regulated by screw
gear to suit any particular material required. In between each pair of feed
bars I place a flat iron box heated by iron heaters, and the bars travelling and
touching this box become warm and sufficiently heated to prevent any adhesion
of the material to the bars'; these bars are also divided into a series of slots.
of about in. wide, both in the upper and lower ones, and straight bars are
introduced, half in the upper ones and half in the lower ones; thus forming a
number of square cells or tubes, so as to keep each strand separate. In front
of the feed bars, and a few feet distant, I place the untwisting plate or wheel,
having arranged around its diameter a series of bobbins with the strands or
material wound upon them; each of these bobbins are separately driven, and
can be changed at pleasure without stopping any of the others or in any way
interfering with the machine, so that there would be one continued and
unceasing action.
The above describes the machine for the manufacture of oakum. I will
now explain the further parts of the machine for operating upon the material
named in the latter part of the "title." In the first place, all the heaters, tar
cistern, and brush are removed, and the number of saw plates are set to suit
the particular material to be operated upon. On the delivery side of the
machine I place an inverted blowing fan, and under this there is a set of
chain or wood flails or threshers; below these threshers is placed, at an angle.

page_text: of 45 degrees to the floor line, a set of travelling bars of square vulcanized
india-rubber, stretched between two endless chains or bands mounted upon
suitable pulleys to receive the material to be operated upon, and also to hold
it in position during the action of the flails or threshers in separating the
"shiv" or other woody substances which are blown by the fan through the
travelling bars along with the finer or silky portions of hemp or other material
on to a wire grating, where the finer silky hemp or flax is stopped and taken
up, and at the same time the "shiv" or other woody substances are blown
through the grating into a hopper or spout and carried away. The hollow
shafts or cylinders described above, with the fan and spindle chain threshers
and feed bars, are all mounted in bearings on a suitable frame, the main
cylinder having fitted on one end a pulley of 18-inch diameter driven at a
speed of 400 revolutions per minute, the smaller cylinders having each a
pulley of 14 inches diameter and driven át a speed of 350 revolutions per
minute, the fan having a pulley of 4 inches diameter and driven at a speed of
1,000 revolutions per minute, and the chain threshers having a pulley of
8 inches diameter fitted on one end and driven at a speed of 800 revolutions.
per minute, the feed bars having fitted on the end of one of the pulley shafts
a worm wheel and driven by a worm from the main cylinder at the rate of
12 feet per minute.
The various parts of the above-described machine, as far as I have prac-
tically ascertained, have answered in every respect all the purposes for which
the machine was designed; and although this Specification sets forth the
construction of the machine one way, the principal feature in the machine is,
viz., the saw-plate cylinders with the action described above, still it would be
the same in whatever' position these saw plates were erected to attain the
same end.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hunter in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HUNTER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Draughtsman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her

page_text: reign; did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Hunter, Her special license that I, the said William Hunter, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Hunter, 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 FOR UNTWISTING, SEPARATING, AND COMBING TARRED ROPES FOR OAKUM,
AND FOR DRESSING HEMP, FLAX, MANILLA, JUTE, OR OTHER LIKE MATERIAL," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Hunter, 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 William Hunter, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
and to the figures and letters of reference thereon, that is to say :-
In the following statement I will, in the first place, describe the machinery
for the manufacture of oakum from tarred ropes, and afterwards I will set
forth how the same machinery and some additional parts are used for dressing
hemp, flax, manilla, jute, or other like material. In the Drawings all the
parts of the machinery are in position for effecting the manufacture of akum
and dressing the fibrous materials mentioned.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation, some of the lower parts being in section;
Fig. 2, au end elevation; Fig. 3, an elevation of the feed end; Fig. 4, a lon-
gitudinal sectional view; Fig. 5, a longitudinal section of the saw plate
cylinders, and Fig. 6, an end view of the feed bars and guides.
views like letters indicate the same parts.
In all theso
a denotes the framework of the machinery, it is secured to overhead
beams 6 by bolts, so as to leave the floor space free; 1 is the driving pulley.
I have found a speed of 200 revolutions per minute to answer well in the
machine shewn; in smaller machines higher speeds may be used. The feed
apparatus on which the tarred ropes or bands are placed consists of two
endless chains resting on pulleys c, c', which can be brought nearer to or

page_text: further from each other by the set screws d. The endless chains consist of
side links e and transverse bars f; one of these endless chains is made to travel,
and by the projecting of the bars f to propel the other one, and at the same
time to untwist, nip, flatten, and open the said tarred ropes or bands. In the
Drawings one of the under pullies c¹ is the driver, the pullies c and the chain
thereon being driven; the worms and wheels 9 give the required motion.
The feed bars have slots formed on their surfaces, and the straight guide
bars marked h serve to keep the several strands or quantities of material from
overlapping each other, whilst at the same time they induce an equally
effective action of this part of the machinery, both when thick and thin
strands or bands of ropes are passing through the machine in a longitudinal
direction, and when thin and thick strands or bands follow each other. To
heat or warm the travelling bars I sometimes place the box marked h
between them and admit steam or gas, or place heaters therein; or instead of
heating by this box I admit steam or gas to or place heaters in the pullies
c, c. The untwisted, flattened, opened, or spread out material is delivered
from the above-described feed apparatus on to the main cylinder I, which is
composed of the cylinder j, circular saw-like plates k, and separating pieces or
plates ; and are screwed tight together by the bolts m, although by
forming a screw on the shaft and using a nut they might be firmly clamped.
The cylinder j is made hollow that it and the saw plates k may be heated by
steam from a pipe n, as shewn on the Drawings, by an iron heater or other
The temperature of the saw blades at their operating surfaces should
be about 120° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. Part of the periphery of the
main cylinder works in contact with two or more cylinders constructed in
exactly the same manner as the main cylinder, these receive their motion by
geared wheels or other means, but preferably, as shewn on the Drawings, by
frictional contact only. These cylinders are marked respectively A and B, and
in addition to the rotatory motion they have given to them by the screw
threads or cams p and fixed studs q, a lateral motion of about half an inch
during rotation; this causes the saw-plate teeth of A and B to tease and open
the material by a motion similar to that of a person's hands. I would here
mention, however, that A and B, or either of them, might be constructed
without teeth, although I prefer the arrangement shewn. r is a cistern con-
taining heated tar, tar oil, or other suitable liquid to lubricate the saw blades,
soften any material which may adhere to them, and supply tar, tar oil, or
other liquid to the material at the time it is being operated on by the
cylinders; s is a brush to remove any excess of tar or liquid. Between the
saw plates k and against the peripheries of the separating picces or plates 1,
means.

page_text: and this refers to all the cylinders, the teeth of the steel combes now to be
described are placed. These combes are constructed of steel plates t and sepa-
rating pieces u placed alternately, and are secured together at such distances
apart that the ends of the teeth fit properly between the saw blades; the
purpose for which the combes are used is to remove whatever may adhere to
the teeth, whether of oakum fibre, tar, or other material. To keep the combes
against I provide a weighted lever v; springs can be used instead of the
weighted lever. In addition to the small cylinders and the combes, and for
assisting to effect the operations accomplished by these parts, I sometimes use
on all the cylinders, but ordinarily only on the main cylinder, as shewn on the
Drawings, a sequental piece composed of steel blades w and separating
pieces & placed alternately. The sequental piece can be folded back when
required on the binge pin y, and it can be adjusted so as to stand at a greater
or lesser distance from k by the screw z.
The oakum after it leaves the
cylinder is carried away on the travelling chain band a', passing over the
drums b, or is cleared away by hand.
The above explanation describes the machinery for the manufacture of
oakum, I will now explain the manner of and machinery for dressing hemp,
flax, manilla, jute, or other like fibrous material.
All the parts of the machinery herein described are used exactly in the
manner above set forth for the manufacture of oakum, with the exception of
the
cystern r, brush s, which are removed, and the heating of the feed chain
and cylinders are not resorted to. But as means of separating the woody
material "shiv" and waste from the long fibres which are delivered from
between the cylinders in a combed state, I employ the blowing fan c', which
forces a current of air to pass through amongst the fibres, in between the
rotating threshers, thence through the chain band a¹; this current carries the
woody material and "shiv" into the receptacle or hopper c¹. The threshers
are caused to rotate by bands or gearing from the cylinders or other part of
the machine, and in their rotation their wings thresh or beat the combed
fibrous material like flails. Over the top of the "shiv" receptacle or
hopper I place a screen of wire to separate the fine silky portions of fibre
from the woody material or "shiv."
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and particularized
the same by practicable details, I would have it understood that various
modifications may be made without departing from the leading features and
general arrangement of the parts of my machinery; as instances, I mention
that the small saw-plate cylinders A and B may be driven by pullies or gearing
instead of by friction from the main cylinder, and that the threshers may be

page_text: made wholly of wooden arms or of chains, or of chains with transverse bars at
their outer ends; what I claim is,―
First, constructing a feed apparatus of a combination of the transverse bars f
side links e, slots and longitudinal bars b, operating substantially in the
manner and for the purpose set forth.
Second, the employment of circular thin plates or saw plates of steel or
other hardened metal in cylinders constructed and operating substantially as
described and shewn on the Drawings.
Third, giving to cylinders constructed according to the second claim a
lateral or sidewise motion during their rotation, substantially as described and
for the purpose set forth.
Fourth, warming or heating the thin saw or other plates above claimed
by steam, gas, or other means, substantially as herein set forth.
Fifth, combining the tar cistern r and main cylinder I in the manner
described for the purpose set forth.
Sixth, constructing the combs t, u, and segmental plates y, x, substantially
in the manner and for the purpose set forth.
And, seventh, the construction, arrangement, and combination of the whole
of the parts of the machinery herein described for the purposes set forth,
substantially as shewn on the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hunter, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, in the year
of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
In the presence of
JOHN, T. KING,
Of 4, Clayton Square,
Liverpool.
WILLIAM HUNTER. (L.S.)