IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING SCREW THREADS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING SCREW THREADS."—A
communication.
Sealed the 24th July 1857, and dated the 9th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th March, 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County. of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do' hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING SCREW THREADS,"
to be as follows:―.
This Invention consists in certain ineans of opening and closing the dies and
of adjusting one set of dies to cut screws of different sizes, and will be best
understood by explaining the construction of the die chuck.
The principal portion of the die chuck consists of a circular metal box, on the
exterior of which there are two journals, diametrically opposite each other, and
fitted to bearings in a metal ring which encircles the box, the said ring being
also provided with two journals, which stand at right angles to the journals of
the metal box, and are received in bearings in the carriage, which consists
of a semicircular casting, so fitted to the slides in the bed piece that the axis of
the metal box may be brought into line with the axis of the mandril.
The interior of the metal box contains radial grooves, into which tho
cutting dics are fitted to slide freely.

page_text: The front faces of one of the sides of the grooves, and small pieces forming
continuations thereof at the ends next to the centre of the box, are flush with
the face of the external rim of the box, but the front faces of the other sides of
the grooves are so far behind the corresponding faces of the first-mentioned
sides, as to leave room for the movement of a set of links, one of which is con-
nected with each die by a stud on the back sido of its outer end entering
a hole in the dic. The chuck is completed by two front plates which close the
metal box; the interior plate of the box is of circular form, with a rebate
turned all round the outer or front edge of its periphery; and the exterior
plato is of the same thickness as the other, and has a circular opening in tho
centre to receive the interior plate, the said circular opening having a rebate
turned in its back or inner edge to fit to tho rebate in the inner plate, so that
when the outer plate is bolted to the mouth of the metal box, and kept in
place by a steady pin, tho interior plate is secured. by it; but not prevented from
turning. The inner plate has an opening in the centre. large enough for tho
largest sized bolt or screw blank that is to be cut in the machino to pass
through it; and around this opening it has on the inner side a projecting rim,
of such depth as to fit up against the dies to confine them in their
grooves in
the box without preventing them from sliding. Outside of the said rim the
inner plate contains three holes in its inner face, to receive studs on the front:
side of the inner ends of the links. The inner plate has secured to its face by
a clamp and screw a bar, which has attached to it by a pin a lever, which is
formed with a catch to catch on the end of an arc-shaped plate that is bolted
by two screw bolts to the front of the outer plate; the scrow bolts pass through
an arc-formed slot in the outer plate, which provides for the adjustment of thos
arc-formed plate in a circle described from the axis of the chuck. A screw is
fitted to a swivel nut which is attached to the front of the outer plates, for tho
purpose of adjusting the arc-formed plate. The dies are held in position to
cut a scrow thread by the catch on the lever resting against the end of the arc-
formed plate. During the cutting operation produced by the rotary motion of
the bolt or scrow blank with the mandril, the chuck carriage moves along the
guides to allow the dies to move along the screw thread they are cutting.
The universal movement of the dio chuck that is permitted by the two sets
of journals, allows the dies to accommodate themselves to any irregularities in
the scrow blank. When the thread is cut as far as desired, and the cut bolt or 3
sorew requires to be taken from the machine, the links which work the dies
are moved towards radial positions, by which means the dies are caused to
move from the centre of their chuck.
Whenever it is necessary to change the dies, it is necessary to move the arc-

page_text: formed plate as far as possible to the right, then to take out the bolts and
remove the inner and outer front plates of the chuck, take out the links and
the dies and put in the dies required, then insert the links, taking care to leavo
them in a radial position, when the inner and outer plates will go on easily;
the same set of links is used for all the dies belonging to the machine. In this
machine no backing motion is required, and in consequence the dies are less
liable to injury, and wear much longer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING SCREW THREADS," being a communication from abroad.
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 Edward Newton, 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 Drawing hereunto, annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-

page_text: This Invention of "improved machinery for cutting.screw threads" consists
in certain means of opening and closing the dies, and of adjusting one set of
dies to cut screws of different sizes, and will be best understood by explaining
the construction of the dio chuck.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1
is a longitudinal vertical section of a screw-cutting machine constructed ac-
cording to the present improvements; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Fig. 3 is
a front end elevation of the same; Fig. 4 is a front view of the die chuck,
with its front plates removed; Fig. 5 is a back or inside view of the internal
front plate of the die chuck. Similar letters of reference indicate correspond-
ing parts in the several Figures.
A is a cast-iron bed piece, supported at its rear end by a standard B, and at
its front end by a pillar C. This bed piece has cast on its interior two straight
horizontal slides a, a, to which is fitted the sliding carriago Y, in which is
supported the chuck J, M, L, which contains the cutting dies, and has bolted
to it at one end two head stocks I, I, which contain two bearings to receive
the journals of the hollow mandril D, to the front end of which is secured the
chuck F which contains the pair of holding dies F*, F*, whereby the bolt or
screw blank is held during the operation of cutting the screw. The same head
stocks I, I, contain two bearings for the driving shaft G, whereby rotary
motion is imparted to the hollow mandril and to the bolt or screw blank
by means of a pinion E on the rear end of the said shaft, gearing with a spur
wheel E on the rear end of the mandril, the said shaft receiving its rotary
motion through a belt running on one of a cone of pulleys G* fast upon it.
The holding dies F*, F*, are tightened upon the bolt or screw blank by means
of two screws f*f*, in the chuck. A bolt undergoing the screw-cutting
operation is shewn in the machine in Figures 1 and 2 in red outline. The
principal portion of the dic chuck consists of a circular metal box J, of which
Fig. 4 is a front or interior view, and which is also shown in section in Fig. 1.
On the exterior of this box J there are two journals j, j, (see Figures 1 and 4,)
opposite to each other, and fitted to bearings in a metal ring X which encircles
the box, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2. The ring X is provided with two
journals a, a, (see Figures 2 and 3,) which stand at right angles to the journals
j, j, and are received in bearings in the carriage Y, before referred to; this
carriage consists of a semicircular casting, fully shewn in Fig. 3, and is so
fitted to the slides a, a, in the bed piece that the axis of the box J may
be brought into line with the axis of the mandril D. The interior of the box J.
contains radial grooves, into which the cutting dies K, K, K, are fitted
to slide freely. The front faces of the sides b, b, b, of the grooves, and small

page_text: pieces c, c, c, forming continuations thereof at the ends next to the centre
of the box, (shown in Fig. 4,) are flush with the face of the external rim. d, d,
of the box; but the front faces of the sides e, e, e, of the grooves are so far
behind the corresponding faces of the sides b, b, b, as to leave room for the
movement of a set of links N, N, N, one of which is connected with each dio
by a stud on the back side of its outer end entering a hole in the die, as
is shewn in Figures 1 and 4. The chuck is completed by two front plates M
and.L which close the box J; the interior plate M is of circular form, with a
rebate turned all round the outer or front edge of its periphery, as shewn at
9, 9, in Figures 1 and 5, and the exterior plate L is of the form shewn in
Fig. 3, and of the same thickness as the plate M, and has a circular opening
in the centre to receive the interior plate M, the said circular opening having
a rebate turned in its back or inner edge to fit to the rebate in the plato M, so
that when the said plate L is bolted to the mouth of the box J by two screw
bolts h, h, Fig. 3, and kept in place by a steady pin t, the interior plate M is
secured by it, but not prevented from turning. The plate M has an opening
in the centre large enough for the largest sized bolt or screw blank that is to
be cut in the machine to pass through it, and around this opening it has on the
inner side a projecting rim i, i, (see Figures 1 and 5,) of such depth as to fit up
against the dies N, N, N, to confine them in their grooves in the box without
preventing them from sliding. Outside of the rim i, i, the plate M contains
three holes k, k, k, in its inner face, to receive studs Z, 1, 1, on the front side of
the inner ends of the links. The interior plate M has secured to its face by a
clamp P and screw m a bar P*, and this bar has attached to it by a pin n
a lever T, (Figures 2 and 3,) which is formed with a catch p to catch on the
end of an arc-shaped plate Q that is bolted by two screw bolts 9, 9, to the front
of the plate L; the bolts 7, 9, pass through an arc-formed slot r in the ontlet
slate L, which provides for the adjustment of the arc-formed plato Qin a circle
described from the axis of the chuck. A screw W is fitted to a swivel nut U,
which is attached to the front of the plate L for the purpose of adjusting the
arc-formed plate Q. The bar P* has a stop s on one side to prevent the lever
T from being raised too high.
P
The dies K, K, K, are held in position to cut a screw thread by the catch
on the lever T resting against the end of the plate Q, as shewn in Fig. 3.
During the cutting operation produced by the rotary motion of the bolt
or screw blank with the mandril D, the chuck carriage Y moves along the
guides a, a, to allow the dies to move along the screw thread they are cutting.
The universal movement of the die chuck J, M, L, that is permitted by the.
two sets of journals j, j, aad x, x, allows the dies to accommodate themselves

page_text: to any irregularities in the screw blank. When the thread is cut as far
as desired, and the cut bolt or screw requires to be taken from the machine,
the lever T is lifted up till it strikes the stops on the bar P, and the lever T
being used as a handle, the bar P* is moved to the right, (reference being still
had to Fig. 3,) and the internal plato M moving with it, moves tho links
N, N, N, of the dies towards radial positions, by which means the dies are
caused to move from the centre of their chuck. The chuck is prevented from
tipping over forward in the journals x, x, when the bolt is removed by a small
spring stop w (see Fig. 3), secured to the ring X so as to meet the front of the
carriage Y. By simply drawing the lever T to the left again till the catch p
falls over the end of the plato Q, the dies are set for the next bolt or screw.
By slackening the bolts q. q, the plate Q is left free to be adjusted by the screw
W to set the dies to any required size. Whenever it is necessary to chango
the dies, it is necessary to move the arc-formed plate Q as far as possible
to the right, then to take out the bolts h, h, and remove the front plates M, L,
of the chuck, take out the links N, N, N, and the dies, and put in the dies
that are required, then insert the links, taking care to leave them in a radial
position, when the plates M, L, will go on easily. The same set of links
is used for all the dies belonging to the machine. In this machine no backing
motion is required, and consequently the dies aro less liable to injury, and wear
much longer than heretofore.
llaving now described the improved machinery for cutting screw threa:ls,
and having explained the means of carrying the same into effect, as commu-
nicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I claim as the Invention secured
to me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid, the mode herein shewn and described,
or any mero modification thereof, of operating and adjusting the cutting dies in
their chuck, and applying the same for cutting screws.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)