IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,.
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
Scaled the 28th June 1859, and dated the 25th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the'
25th January 1859.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County: of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby. declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD,"
a communication from Peter H. Niles, residing at Boston, in the United
States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery for turning articles of a tapered or irregular form, which, by reason
of their great length, would be apt to bend and .vibrate if attempted to be
turned in an ordinary lathe without suitable intermediate supports between
the ends of the article for steadying the same.
Although it is proposed to apply this machine more especially to the turning

page_text: of masts and tapered spars, it is equally applicable to the turning of other
articles of great length and bulk, such as architectural columns or pillars.
According to this Invention the stick of timber is held stationary, being rigidly
fixed in the machine, whilst the cutters are supported in a carriage which
traverses from end to end of the machine, the cutters revolving at the same
time round the stick. The stick is steadied or supported between its two
extremities by means of "dogs" or props, which are so arranged that they
may be moved out of the way of the cutters as the latter approach, and return
again to their duty after the cutters have passed, their motion being affected
either automatically by the machine itself, by means of suitable grooved cams
or cylinders and eccentrics worked by projections on the cutter carriage, or by
the attendant in charge of the machine. The cutters are fitted in radial slots
in a spur wheel, having a central aperture made therein for the timber to pass
purpose the
through as the cutter carriage and cutters travel along it, for which
cutter wheel is fixed on to the end of a hollow or tubular shaft, of sufficiently
large bore to receive the largest article to be operated upon, and allow it to pass
freely therethrough. Immediately behind the cutter wheel is another wheel of
the same size, but having slots made in an inclined direction, into which inclined
slots the shanks of the cutters enter. Both of these wheels are formed with spur
teeth for the purpose hereafter referred to, and when they are both revolving
together, their cutters will remain at a certain fixed distance from the centre;
but when the hind wheel is made to turn in advance of the other slightly, its
inclined slots will cause the cutters to move outwards or inwards, as the case
may be, and thereby produce the required taper of the mast or spar or other
article. This expanding movement of the cutters is effected by means of three
spur pinions connected with levers and arms, worked by an inclined pattern
slot in such a manner that one of the pinions which gears with the hind cutter
wheel with the inclined slots shall move bodily to and fro when requisite,
thereby turning more or less in one direction or the other the hind cutter
wheel, and expanding or contracting its cutters. The second spur pinion acts
as a carrier wheel, and gears into the first pinion and into the third, which
latter gears into the front cutter wheel, and has a fixed in place of a moveable
centre. The hollow cutter shaft is rotated by means of an endless chain, and
the cutter carriage is made self-traversing by using a spur pinion driven from
a wheel on the cutter shaft, and engaging or not as required, with a rack fixed
into the bed of the machine,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
send greeting.
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth 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 John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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 OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD,"
a communication from Peter H. Niles, residing at Boston, in the United
States of America," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 accompanying Drawings, and;
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery for turning articles of a tapered or irregular form, which, by reason!
of their great length, would be apt to bend and vibrate if attempted to be
turned in an ordinary lathe without suitable intermediate supports between
the ends of the article for steadying the same.
Although it is proposed to apply this machine more especially to the turning
of masts and tapered spars, it is equally applicable to the turning of other
articles of great length and bulk, such as architectural .columns or pillars.i

page_text: According to this Invention the stick of timber is held stationary, being rigidly
fixed in the machine, whilst the cutters are supported. in a carriage which
traverses from end to end of the machine, the cutters revolving at the same"
time round the stick. The stick is steadied or supported between its two
extremities by means of "dogs" or props, which are so arranged that they
may be moved out of the way of the cutters as the latter approach; and return
again to their duty after the cutters have passed, their motion being effected
either automatically by the machine itself, by means of suitable grooved cams
or cylinders and eccentrices worked by projections on the cutter carriage, or by
the attendant in charge of the machine. The cutters are fitted in radial slots
in a spur wheel, having a central aperture made therein for the timber to pass
through as the cutter carriage and cutters travel along it, for which purpose
the cutter wheel is fixed on to the end of a hollow or tubular shaft, of
sufficiently large bore to receive the largest articles to be operated upon, and
allow it to pass freely therethrough. Immediately behind the cutter wheel
is another wheel of the same size, but having slots made in an inclined
direction, into which inclined slots the shanks of the cutters enter. Both of
these wheels are formed with spur teeth for the purpose hereafter referred
to, and when they are. both revolving together their cutters will remain at a
certain fixed distance from the centre; but when the hind wheel is made to
turn in advance of the other slightly, its inclined slots will cause the cutters to
move outwards or inwards, as the case may be, and thereby produce the
required taper of the mast or spar, or other article. This expanding move-
ment of the cutters is effected by means of three spur pinions connected with
levers and arms, worked by an inclined pattern slot in such a manner that one
of the pinions which gears with the hind cutter wheel with the inclined slots
shall move bodily to and fro when requisite, thereby turning more or less in
one direction or the other the hind cutter wheel, and expanding or contracting
its cutters. The second spur pinion acts as a carrier wheel, and gears into
the first pinion and into the third, which latter gears into the front cutter
wheel, and has a fixed in place of a moveable centre. The hollow cutter shaft
is rotated by means of an endless chain, and the cutter carriage is made self-
traversing by using a spur pinion driven from a wheel on the cutter shaft, and
engaging or not as required with a rack fixed into the bed of the machine.
And in order that the said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several Figures upon the explanatory Sheet of
Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of showing certain
modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried out in
practice, that is to say:

page_text: Figure 1 on the accompanying Drawing is a longitudinal view or elevation
of one arrangement of the improved machine for turning masts and spars;
Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section of the machine; and Figure 3, a plan
corresponding to Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a perspective elevation of the
apparatus which regulates the action of the cutters; Figure 5 is a corresponding
view of two of the principal wheels; and Figure 6 is a view of one of the
cylinders which actuate the "dogs;" Figure 7 is a view of one of the cutters
and cutter blocks; and Figure 8 is a sectional view of one of the "dogs" for
supporting and steadying the timber whilst it is being turned.
In machinery or apparatus arranged according to this Invention the stick or
spar of timber is held stationary, while the cutters travel from end to end and
revolve round it. The turning machine arranged according to the modification
shown in the accompanying Drawings consists of a strong rectangular framing
A, which carries the operating parts of the apparatus. This framing may be
made of wood or iron, and it forms a bed or platform on which the traversing
headstock or cutter carriage B travels to and fro. Motion is communicated
to the various moving parts of the machine from the horizontal shaft C, which
derives its motion from a steam engine or other convenient prime mover.
Upon one extremity of the shaft C is keyed a chain pinion D, which gives
motion to the endless pitch chain E; this chain is carried towards the opposite
extremity of the machine, and is passed round a chain pulley F. Above the
pulley F are arranged two other guide pulleys G and G¹, which serve to guide
the chain E upwards to the chain pinion E, round which it passes. The
pinion is fast to a short horizontal shaft, which carries a bevel pinion I, that
gears with a wheel J, the boss of which is fast to a hollow or tubular shaft K.
This shaft is carried in bearings fitted in the extremities of the headstock or
cutter carriage B, and its inner extremity projects beyond the carriage to
admit of the cutter wheel L being secured thereto. Parallel with the cutter
wheel is arranged a. corresponding wheel M, which runs loosely upon the
hollow shaft K; this wheel, by means of the mechanical arrangement which
will presently be described, serves to control and regulate the radial traverse of
the cutters. The two wheels L and M are shown separately in Figure 5 of
the accompanying Drawing; each wheel has three slots made through it; the
slots in the wheel L are cut or arranged in a radial direction, whilst those in
the wheel Mare tangential; the object of the arrangement being that as the
wheel M is moved about its axis it causes the cutter blocks which are arranged
in the slots the wheel L to approach or recede from each other. The
cutter blocks N project out from the face of the wheel D, as shown in Figure 4;
these blocks are each made with a stem or shank O, shown in Figure 7, that fits

page_text: the radial slots in the wheel L, so as to slide to and fro therein. The cutter
blocks are secured in the slots of the wheel L by the rings or collars P, which
are fitted tightly to the shanks O.. The prolongation of each shank, or that part
beyond the collar P, enters the slots in the wheel M, by means of which the
position of the cutters is regulated.. The cutters. Q are secured to the cutter
blocks N, so that as the wheel L is rapidly driven by the motion of the shaft
K, the stick of timber, which passes through the hollow shaft, is quickly
reduced. The regulating movement imparted to the cutters by means of the
wheel M is accomplished through the mechanical arrangement shown in the
perspective view, Figure 4, on the accompanying Drawings., This consists of
the forked arm R, which is jointed to a bracket projecting from the headstock
B; the lower part of the arm has fitted to it a tailpiece S, the free extremity.
of which traverses to and fro in a groove or slot T, which forms the pattern,
and is arranged on brackets projecting from the inside of the framing A. The
upward extremities of the arm R has jointed to them the duplex arms U, to
the ends of which are jointed the pendent links V; the lower ends of these arms
are jointed to brackets or supports which are carried by the headstock B.
The arms U and V are connected by the jointed links W, the connecting
spindles of which carry the pinions X, Y, and Z. The pinion X, which is
arranged in the centre of the arms U, gears with the wheel M and the pinion Y
at the lower extremities of the links V, gears with the wheel L, the motion of
the pinion X being communicated to the pinion Y by the intermediate pinion
Z, the spindle of which passes through the duplex links W.. Thus as the
wheel L rotates with the shaft K, its motion is communicated to the wheel M
through the pinions X, Y, Z, and as the headstock B traverses along, the
tail piece
causes the arm R to rise or fall, according to the configuration of
the slot. The motion of the arms R and U alters the position of the pinions X
and Z, and causes the wheel M to move about its axis, and set the cutter.
blocks, N either closer to each other or farther asunder, according to the
inclination or direction given to the slot T. The headstock or cutter carriage.
B is caused to traverse along the bed A, by means of an arrangement which
derives its motion from the shaft K; this shaft carries a sleeve or loose collar a,
to which is connected a pendent shaft b, which is steadied by passing through
a slot made for the purpose in the cross brace of the headstock. The shaft b
has keyed to it a bevel wheel c, which gears with the wheel J, and at its lower
extremity is a pinion d, which may be put into or out of gear with the rack e at
pleasure. A rod f is connected by a loose collar to the shaft b; this rod extends
out beyond the framing A, and has fitted to its extremity a crank g, which is
connected to a short spindle that is carried in a standard h, projecting fromi

page_text: the headstock B. A bandle i is fitted to the end of the spindle; a half revo-
lution of this handle puts the pinion d either into or out of gear with the rack e.
As the wheel J revolves it imparts its motion to the bevel wheel c and pinion d,
which, if in gear with the rack e, causes the headstock and its connected
mechanism to travel along the bed of the machine. The timber to be turned
is supported at intervals by means of "dogs" to prevent it sagging or bending
downwards; between the ends these "dogs" are caused to move out of the
way as the headstock approaches, and to fall back after it has passed by.
The vertical section, Figure 8, shows the manner of constructing the "dog;"
the shank j slides in the cylinder k, which forms a case for it; the shank bas
an internal screw tapped in it, to which is adapted the screw 7. The screw is
turned by means of the nut or hand wheel m, the turning of which causes the
shank to protrude or recede; the shank is prevented from turning by a fin
cast on it which fits a groove in the cylinder k. The lower part of the cylinder k
has laterally diverging arms, which are formed into rings to fit the eccentrices n
on the ends of the metallic cylinders o, the spindles of which are supported in
brackets that project from the faces of the framing A. Each of the cylinders o
is made with two curved grooves p, q, cut in its periphery, and as the head-
stock travels along, a bent arm r projecting from the front end enters the
groove p, and causes the cylinder to turn partly round. This motion of the
cylinder withdraws the "dog" from the timber, and then raises it into the
position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2 on the accompanying Drawings.
When thus raised a pin s on one of the arms of the cylinder k comes in contact
with a pin t, fixed on the upper part of one of the supporting brackets; this
prevents the "dog" from being thrown back too far; and to prevent its
falling forward when the arm 7 has left the groove p, a pin u in the end of the
cylinder is caught by a spring pawl v, which retains the cylinder o, and holds
the "dog" up out of the way whilst the headstock is passing. The "dog"
is brought back to its position by a bent arm w, which is secured to the rear
end of the headstock; the extremity of this arm w enters the groove q, and
causes the cylinder o to turn towards the framing A, and so restore the "dog"
to its former-position. The inward motion of the "dog" is stopped by the
pins, which comes in contact with the block æ on the supporting bracket, and
prevents its falling too far inwards. But this takes place before the arm w
has left the groove q, so that the cylinder o is turned round a little further, and
the eccentrics thus project the "dog" towards the centre of the spar, and thus
give it the required support. The "dogs" are arranged in pairs at suitable
distances asunder along the sides of the framing A, and in some cases they
may be wholly or in part under the control of the attendant; that is to say.

page_text: they may be actuated entirely by the hand or partly by hand and partly by the
machine itself. In this manner masts, spars, architectural columns, and other
bulky articles of a tapering or irregular form may be turned with ease and
rapidity.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion
to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of the Invention; but what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured.
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters. Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for turning masts, spars, and other generally similar articles, as herein-before
described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the system or mode of turning masts, spars, and other generally
similar articles by means of rotatory cutters actuated by the mechanical
arrangement herein-before described and shown in the accompanying Drawings,
or any mere equivalent therefor.
Third, the system or mode of supporting the mast, spar, or other similar
article by means of "dogs" or mechanical supports, which are caused to move
out of the way automatically as the headstock or cutter carriage advances,
and to fall back after the headstock has passed, as herein-before described and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth, the mechanical arrangement by means of which the cutters are
caused to approach or recede from the centre of the cutter wheel, so as to
admit of turning articles of a tapered or irregular figure, as herein-before
described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto.
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-nine.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)