NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF THE HANDLES OF PENHOLDERS, WHICH MACHINERY, OR A PART OR PARTS THEREOF, MAY ALSO BE EMPLOYED FOR MANUFACTURING OTHER CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Gillott, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, and John Morrison, of Birmingham, aforesaid,
Machinist, for the Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF THE HANDLES OF PENHOLDERS, WHICH MACHINERY, OR A
PART OR PARTS THEREOF, MAY ALSO BE EMPLOYED FOR MANUFACTURING OTHER
CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES."
Sealed the 29th September 1859, and dated the 26th July 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Gillott and John
Morrison at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 26th July 1859.
We, JOSEPH GILLOTT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, and JOHN MORRISON, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Machinist,dohereby
declure the nature of the said Invention for "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF THE HANDLES OF PENHOLDERS, WHICH MACHINERY, OR A
PART OR PARTS THEREOF, MAY ALSO BE EMPLOYED FOR MANUFACTURING OTHER
CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES," to be as follows :-
Our Invention consists of the machinery herein-after described for the
manufacture of the handles of penholders and other cylindrical articles. We
will describe our Invention with reference to the wooden cylindrical handles
of penholders. The machine by which the wood is cut into lengths of a
cylindrical figure is constructed and used as follows:-A steel cutter fixed in
a lathe head is made to rotate rapidly; the said cutter consists of a plate of
Pai 11

page_text: steel, each end of which is so formed that, when rotating, it cuts a piece of wood
subjected to its action by being drawn under it into a series of convex flutes
or semi-cylinders ranged side by side; a suitable platform or support for the
wood to be cut up is made to traverse the bed of the machine immediately
underneath the cutter. In using the machine, pieces of wood of a proper
thickness are passed under the cutter, after one surface has been thus cut, the
piece of wood is turned over, and subjected a second time to the action of the
rotating cutter. The said cutter cuts on the second surface a second series of
semi-cylindrical flutes. The position of the wood under the cutter is such
during the cutting of the second surface, that each flute on the said second
surface is exactly opposite to a flute on the other surface. The wood operated
upon is thus made into a series of cylinders joined together side by side by a
slight eb,or by prolonging the action of the cutter into a series of detached
cylinders; instead of one cutter two cutters may be employed, the said two
cutters operating simultaneously on the opposite sides of the piece of wood.
The machine by which the cylinders of wood made by the last-described
machine, or ma le otherwise, are smoothed or polished, and their cylindrical
figure perfected, is made and used as follows:-A bob or polisher, consisting
of a very obtuse cone, over which sand paper or other polishing material is
stretched, is made to rotate rapidly, the cylinders of wood to be operated upon
being subjected to the action of the polisher by being passed through a tube
or guide lying against the face of the polisher. One side of the tube is cut
away, so as to expose the cylinder of wood to the action of the polisher, the
said cylinder being supported by the ends of the said tube or guide. The
cylinder to be polished is made to pass through the tube or guide with a
rotatory motion by means of a band, which being passed round the cylinder,
causes it both to rotate and to advance. The rods or cylinders are supplied
to the machine by hand, the one entering being pressed close up to the one
being operated upon, so that the coiled band may pass from one to the other
us though they were part of one continuous cylinder. The varnishing of the
cylinders of wood is effected by a machine constructed and used as follows:
A cylindrical metal box, nearly closed by conical ends,isfixed horizontally,and
supplied with spirit varnish from a reservoir situated above it, the supply
being regulated by a stop-cock. The interior of the cylindrical box is filled
with sponge or other porous material, which is charged with the varnish.
The rod to be varnished is passed through the axis of the said cylindrical box,
and becomes varnished by contact with the filled sponge. The ends of the
box are provided with collapsible collars, which compress the sponge uponthe
rods as they are drawn through the said box. The rods are drawn two or

page_text: three times through the box, and thereby receive a sufficient coating of
varnish. Although, for convenience of description, we have only described
our Invention in its application to the manufacture of the cylindrical handles
of penholders, yet we wish it to be distinctly understood that our Invention
may be applied to the manufacture of various cylindrical articles of wood
or other material. Either one or more of the machines described may be
used without the remainder, according as we wish to cut, to polish, or to
varnish cylindrical articles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Gillott and John Morrison in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPII
GILLOTT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, and
JOHN MORRISON, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Joseph Gillott and John Morrison, Her special licence that we,
the said Joseph Gillott and John Morrison, our executors, administrators,
aud assigns, or such others as we, the said Joseph Gillott and John Morrison,
our 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 "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF THE HANDLES OF PENHOLDERS, WHICH MACHINERY, OR
A PART OR PARTS THEREOF, MAY ALSO BE EMPLOYED FOR MANUFACTURING OTHER
CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Joseph Gillott and John Morrison, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us or them, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Morrison, on behalf of the said
Joseph Gillott and myself, 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:-
Our Invention consists of the machinery herein-after described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing for manufacturing the handles of
penholders and other cylindrical articles.
For convenience of description we will describe our Invention with reference
to the handles of penholders. The machine by which the wood to be made
into the handles of penholders is cut into lengths of a cylindrical figure is
represented in end elevation in Figure 1, in plan in Figure 2, and in vertical
transverse section in Figure 3 of the Drawings; Figures 4, 5, and 6 represent
detached portions of the same on a larger scale. The same letters are employed
to indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Steel cutters of the
form shewn at a, a, in Figure 4, or four of such cutters placed at right angles
as shown at a, a, a, a, in Figure 5, are fixed on a rotating shaft b. The manner
in which the cutters are fixed by screws will be understood by an examination
of Figure 5. Figure 6 represents in section one of the caps c, c, by which the
cutters are fixed laterally. The wood to be cut, marked d, is carried along the
platform e by the rollers f,f, the said wood being held between the upper and
lower pairs of rollers. The wood is pressed against the edge ofthe platform e
by a roller g on the lever h. Fixed and loose pulleys are situated on the
axis bati, i, and by a band passing over the said pulleys the shaft or axis b
may be made to rotate or be brought to rest. Motion is given to the rollersf.f,
by a band passing over the pulley k on the shaft. The motion of the shaft / is
transmitted to the several rollers by means of the toothed wheels marked
respectively m, m³, m³, m², and m³. As the shaft & carrying the cutters is
fixed, the table e carrying the wood to be cut, together with the rollers, has to
be adjusted to the shaft b; this is effected by making the table and rollers
rise and fall by means of screws at each end of the machine. One of the
said screws is shewn at n in Figure 1. A projection or snug o on the fixed
frame of the machine receives the screw n, by turning which all the moving
parts below the shaft b may be raised or lowered. The upper rollers may
be lifted and turned aside when necessary, the bearings of the said rollers
turning upon centres at p, p.
The piece of wood d to be operated upon by the cutters is placed upon the
table or platform e, and its end introduced between the first pair of rollers, the
rollers and cutters having been previously set in motion. The wood is carried
forward by the rollers, and as it passes under the cutters is cut into the form

page_text: shown in cross section in Figure 7. The wood is turned over and passed
through the machine a second time, when the opposite surface is cut in a like
manner. The semi-cylindrical flutes formed on opposite sides being exactly
opposite to each other, the wood operated upon is made into a series of
cylinders, joined together side by side by a slight web. By making the cutter
cut a little deeper, the wood may be divided into detached cylinders,as repre-
sented in Figure 8. Instead of one rotating cutter operating upon one side of
the wood at a time, two such cutters may be employed, the second cutter being
situated underneath the first, and operating upon the under side of the wood
simultaneously with the action of the cutter on the upper surface. The
machine by which the cylinders of wood made by the last-described machine,
or made otherwise, are smoothed or polished, and their cylindrical surface
perfected, is represented in side elevation in Figure 9, and plan in Figure 10.
The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 9 and 10.
A bob or
polisher a is mounted on a lathe head 6, and made rapidly to rotate by a band
passing over the pulley c. The said bob a consists of a very obtuse cone of
wood or other hard substance, over which sand paper or other polishing material
is stretched. The cylinders of wood to be operated upon are passed through a
horizontal tube or guided, lying against the face of the bob a. The side of
the tube d next the bob is cut away from d³ to d³, so as to expose the
cylinder e to the action of the polisher, the said cylinder being supported by
the ends of the said tube or guide d. The said cylinder e is made to pass
through the tube d with a rotatory motion by means of a band f which is
passed round the cylinder e at g, and causes it both to rotate and advance.
The band is driven by the pulley h on the axis i, the said axis i being driven
by a band passing over the pulley. The cylinders are supplied to the machine
by hand, the one entering being pressed close up to the one being operated
upon, so that the coil band f may pass from one to the other at g, as though
the two cylinders were but one continuous cylinder. The feeding apparatus
may be raised or lowered so as to bring either of the feeding holes l, m, into
use to suit cylinders of diffe: ent diameters. The distance of the two plates n,n²,
of the feeding apparatus may be adjusted by a screw o. A rotating brush p is
driven by a band from the axis i. The said brush clears away the dust
produced by the action of the polisher on the cylinder e. The band f' may
be loosed or tightened by an adjustment represented at q.
The machine by which the cylinders of wood or other material are varnished
is represented in side elevation in Figure 11, and in plan in Figure 12, of the
accompanying Drawings. The same letters indicate the same parts in
Figures 11, 1, 13, and 14. The cylinders to be varnished are passed by

page_text: hand or by rolls through a cylindrical metal box r (herein.after particularly
described). The said box r is situated horizontally and supplied with spirit
varnish from the reservoirs, the supply being regulated by a stop-cock. The
requisite pressure is given to the varnish in the reservoir s by blowing into the
stop-cock at the top of the said reservoir. The small winch at the top of the
reservoirs is connected with a spatula or stirrer in the reservoir, the axis of
which works in a stuffing box on the top of the said reservoir. The spatula or
stirrer is turned by the winch from time to time, in order to keep the varnish
and coloring matter contained in it properly mixed. The vessels s and 11 are
alike, and can be exchanged as the varnish passes from one to the other. The
cylinders after having been passed through the box r, and receiving thereby a
coat of varnish fall on to the endless web t, passing over pulleys u,u. The said
cylinders fall from the web t on to the lower endless webv, and are carried by
the said web v to the box orreceptacle w,into which they fall from the said web.
During the transit from the varnishing box r to the receptacle w,the varnished
cylinders are sufficiently dried. The varnishing box is represented in section
on a larger scale in Figuro 13,and is thus constructed:-xis a guide containing
a perforated cork through which the cylinder is pushed. The said cylinder
next passes through the chambery, filled with sponge,and having a perforated
diaphragm fixed at its middle. The cylinder z next passes through the
chamber 1 filled with sponge. The varnish is supplied to the chamber 1 by
means of an annular passage 2, provided with radial channels; this supplying
apparatus is shown separately at 3 and 4. The cylinder z passes next to the
chamber 5 filled with sponge, which said sponge is compressed by the spring 6,
shown separately at 7. and consisting of a series of elastic arms which may be
made to compress the sponge more or less by screwing up the chamber 5 more
or less on the chamber 1. The varnished cylinder is finally cleared of the
superfluous varnish by passing through the collar 8 shown separately in
Figure 14; this collar has an inclined or screw-like face, and a leather or
other flexible band 12,lying against the face of the collar 8,is coiled round the
cylinder 2, and wipes the superfluous varnish off as it passes through. The
said superfluous varnish is received by the funnel 10, and conducted to the
reservoir 11. The band 12, which wipes the varnish cylinder at 8,is tightened
in the manner best seeu in Figure 11; the ends of the band 12 are fastened
respectively to levers 13,13, which are weighted as represented, and by shifting
the weights to a greater or less distance from the centres on which the levers
turn, the pressure of the band 12 upon the varnished cylinder may be regulated
at pleasure. The cylinders may be passed two or three times through the
machine, and thereby receive a sufficient coating of varnish. The machine,

page_text: Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14, may also be used for colouring and dyeing
cylindrical articles.
Although for convenience of description we have only described our In-
vention with reference to the manufacture of the cylindrical handles of
penholders, yet we wish it to be distinctly understood that our Invention
may be applied to the manufacture of various cylindrical articles of wood
or other material. Either one or more of the machines described and re-
presented may be used without the remainder, according as we wish to cut,
to polish, or to varnish cylindrical articles.
Having now described the nature of our Invention and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that wo do not
limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and represented, as
the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our Invention;
but we claim as our Invention,―
Firstly, the new or improved machinery herein-before described and repre.
sented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying Drawings,
for cutting out the handles of penholders and other cylindrical articles to
the cutting out of which the said machinery is or may be applicable.
Secondly, the new or improved machinery herein-before described and
represented in Figures 9 and 10 of the accompanying Drawings, for polishing
the handles of penholders and other cylindrical articles, to the polishing of
which the said machinery is or may be applicable.
Thirdly, the new or improved machinery herein-before described and
represented in Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the accompanying Drawings
for varnishing, coloring, or dyeing the handles of penholders and other
cylindrical articles, to the varnishing, colouring, or dyeing of which the said
machinery is or may be applicable.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Morrison, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw.
JOHN MORRISON. (L.S.)