AN IMPROVED TURNING AND SCREW-CUTTING LATHE.”
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Owen Jones, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United
States of America, now of 8, Southampton Buildings, London, for an
Invention of "AN IMPROVED TURNING AND SCREW-CUTTING LATHE.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Owen Jones at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th March 1881.
OWEN JONES, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, now
"AN IMPROVED TURNING AND SCREW-
of 8, Southampton Buildings, London.
CUTTING LATHE."
This Invention relates to turret lathes or screw cutting machines, in which a
revolving circular head turret or tool-holder supported upon a longitudinally,
reciprocating carriage or slide is employed in combination with a transversely.
moving slide or cross-slide provided with a tool, whereby the screws are cut,
successively from a metal bar or rod.
In these machines, as heretofore constructed, provision has been made for making
screws from square, hexagonal, round, or other shaped bars, in such a manner that;
the head of such screws when completed or cut off from the rod or bar of iron, steel,.
brass, or other material, will retain the original shape in transverse section of the
said rod or bar, such for instance as round, square, or hexagonal, and in some cases:
an extra tool has been placed upon the cross slide on the side of the rod or bar
opposite to that upon which the cutting off tool is placed to produce screws with a
In these machines however it has been:
round conical pan shaped or similar head.
found impracticable to produce screws with heads having a series of concave, convex,
and flat or milled surfaces, such as temper or set screws, micrometer screws, or the,
like, for the reason that only one shaping tool could be advantageously mounted
upon the cross slide in addition to the cutting off tool, and as this shaping tool is.
insufficient to perform the various operations on the bar or rod requisite to produce
a finished head of the class above described, means have been devised according to,
this Invention, whereby such heads may be automatically and with great rapidity
formed upon the said screws.

page_text: To this end the said Invention comprises in a turning and screw-cutting lathe,
such as ordinarily termed a turret lathe, the combination with the revolving turret
or tool holder provided with any desired number of tools or cutters, and mounted
upon a longitudinally reciprocating slide or carriage of an intermittently revolving
turret mounted upon the transversely moving slide, which turret is provided with a
series of stationary or adjustable cutters, adapted to be alternately brought into
contact with the surface of the bar or rod from which the screw or stud is to be
formed. The said turret is moved laterally to and from the work by suitable
levers acting upon the carriage or slide supporting the said turret, and operated by
cam projections arranged upon a disc on the shaft of the machine which carries the
cams for imparting the requisite movements to the longitudinally sliding turret
carriage or slide, and the sleeves for feeding the bar, or rod forward. The said
laterally moving turret is also provided with mechanism, such as a ratchet wheel
and pawl, so that in its backward or retrograde movement from the metal bar or
rod it also receives a rotary movement, whereby on its again travelling forward
into contact with the said bar or rod a fresh cutter or tool will be presented to the
same. These cutters or tools upon the said laterally sliding turret are so shaped
and arranged as to act successively or otherwise upon the bar or rod, and impart to
the same the requisite shape, and cut off the finished screw or stud from the said
rod or bar. In some cases the said turret is also provided with a nurling or milling
tool, to mill the periphery of the head of the screw or stud. In some cases also two
turrets can be arranged upon the said transverse slide; the tools on these turrets
are adapted to be brought into contact with the rod or bar on opposite sides of the
latter, the motion of the said rod being reversed after the tool or tools on one
turret have acted upon the same, and prior to the tool or tools on the other turret
being brought into action.
The said Invention also comprises the combination with the said longitudinally
and transversely moving tool carrying turrets of driving mechanism, such as that
described in the Specification of former Letters Patent, dated January 6th, 1880,
No. 44, whereby the sliding carriages supporting the said turrets are moved forward
to operate upon the bar or rod at a slow speed, and are drawn backward at a much
higher or increased rate of speed than that at which they were moved forward,
whereby the productiveness of the said machine is greatly enhanced.
The said Invention also comprises the combination with the said longitudinally
and transversely moving turrets or tool holders, the carriages or slides supporting
the same, and their operating mechanism of devices, substantially the same as those
described in the Specification of former Letters Patent, dated 19th November 1873,
No. 3757, for clamping and feeding forward the bar or rod from which the screws
or studs are formed, and belt shipping mechanism for changing the direction of
motion of the said bar or rod, and the sleeves or clamp carrying the same, to permit
the screw die to recede after cutting the screw thread upon the rod or bar, and
to reverse the motion of the latter when two turrets are placed upon the transverse
slide.
By the combination of an intermittently rotating turret provided with a series of
tools, and supported upon a transversely moving slide as above described, with a
turret or tool holder carried by a longitudinally moving slide, screws, or studs, may
be produced, having shanks and heads of any desired shape, and by varying the
number of cutters or tools on the transversely moving turret or turrets, it is possible
to produce as many cuts in the periphery of the bar or rod, or to mill or otherwise
operate upon the same as desired. Moreover, by this Invention, pins, bolts, or
pieces may be formed of any desired shape, and without screw threads upon the
same, by the omission of the screw die and the employment of cutters or tools upon
the transversely and longitudinally sliding turrets suited to the shape of the piece
desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Owen Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
September 1881.
OWEN JONES, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, now
"AN IMPROVED TURNING AND SCREW-
of 8, Southampton Buildings, London.
CUTTING LATHE."
This Invention relates to improvements in that class of screw-cutting machines
or lathes in which a revolving circular head, turret, or tool-holder supported upon a
longitudinally reciprocating carriage or slide is employed in combination with a
transversely moving or cross slide, which slides are provided with tools whereby
successive portions of a metal rod or bar are turned, screw-threaded, and cut off,
each of such portions forming a finished screw.
In these machines as heretofore constructed provision has been made for making
screws from square, hexagonal, round, or other shaped bars in such a manner that
when the screws are completed or cut off from the rod or bar of iron, steel, brass,
or other material, their heads will retain the original shape in transverse section
of the said rod or bar, and in some cases an extra tool has been placed upon the
cross slide on the side of the rod or bar opposite to that upon which the cutting off
tool is placed to produce screws with a conical, pan-shaped, or similar head, that
is to say, a head which can be produced by the action of one transversely moving
tool upon the exterior surface or circumference of the said bar or rod. In these
machines however, it has been found impracticable to produce screws with heads
having a series of concave, convex, and flat or milled surfaces, such as set or
binding screws, micrometer screws, terminal screws for electrical apparatus, or the
like, for the reason that only one shaping tool could be advantageously mounted
upon the cross slide in addition to the cutting-off tool, and this shaping tool is
insufficient to perform the various operations on the bar or rod requisite to
produce a finished head of the class above described,
But my present improvements afford the means whereby such heads may be
automatically and with great rapidity formed upon the said screws or upon pins
or bolts.
My Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which,―
Figure 1 is a plan of my improved screw cutting and turning lathe or machine,
and
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is a transverse section drawn to an enlarged scale of the said machine
on the line x, x, Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a plan also drawn to an enlarged scale of my improved transversely
moving turret or tool-holder provided with a series of tools or cutters for shaping
the head of a screw as hereinafter described.
Figure 5 is a front view of the adjustable cam and cylinder hereinafter described.
Figure 6 is an exterior view of one form of screw which my improved machine
is capable of cutting, and represents the configuration of the head of the same as
produced by the action of the tools or cutters shewn in Figure 4 upon the rod or
bar fed to the machine.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
a is the frame of the machine, and 6 is the cam-shaft supported in suitable
bearings in the said frame; c is a cylinder carrying a series of cams d, which through
the medium of the stud or roller fimpart the requisite longitudinal movements to
the slide g¹ carrying the reciprocating turret or tool holder g so as to cause the.

page_text: tools carried thereby to act during the forward movement of the said turret upon
the end of the rod or bar h to reduce its end, and if desired cut a screw-thread
upon the same. i is a cylinder, upon which a series of cams 1, 2, are fixed to
alternately move the griping or friction device j and the sleeve k, which ensure
the feeding of the rod or bar forward so that it projects the required distance
beyond the revolving chuck to permit the proper action of the cutters or tools
thereon. m is a fast pulley- on the hollow spindle n to which the chuck is
attached, and m³, m², are loose pulleys thereon. A straight belt runs over one of
these loose pulleys, and a crossed belt over the other loose pulley, so that the rod h
may be rotated in opposite directions, the rotation of the said rod being reversed
as often as may be required for the work to be performed. m* is the belt shipping
lever, whose lower end is acted upon at suitable intervals by the adjustable cams 6'
upon a disc fixed to the shaft b so as to shift the said belts alternately to the fast
pulley m to reverse the rotation of the rod k, and thereby permit the threading
die g³ carried by the turret g to cut the thread on the said rod and then to recede
from the same. p* represents the transversely moving slide whereon the turret or
tool holder p is fixed. o represents driving mechanism constructed in substantially
the same manner as that described in the Specification of former Letters Patent,
dated January 6th, A.D. 1880, No. 44, whereby the sliding carriages g', p*, and the
tools carried thereby are moved forward quickly up to the work, then operate
upon the bar or rod h at a slow speed, and are then drawn backward at a much
higher or increased rate of speed than that at which they moved when operating
upon the rod or bar, so that the productiveness of the machine is greatly enhanced.
The remaining parts are hereinafter described.
The turret or tool-holder p when adapted for forming the head of a screw of the
shape shewn in Figure 6, is provided with a series of tools or cutters p', p², p³, p³,
as shewn in Figure 4, that is to say, a cutter p¹, which makes a rough cut upon the
rod h to reduce a portion of the same approximately to the form of the head of the
screw, a finishing cutter p² to perfect this reduction, a nurling or milling tool 20³ to
nurl or mill the head of the screw, and a tool p to sever the finished screw from
the rod h. The tools p¹, p², preferably consist of rollers having a portion cut away
from the same, so as to form a cutting edge from p³ to ps, and the periphery of the
said rollers are of the same contour as that of the head of the screw to be
produced.
To impart the requisite movements to the transverse slide p*, carrying the too!
holder p, a disc q is mounted upon the shaft b, and provided with a series of
adjustable cams or cam projections q', and a series of studs q². These cams q¹ act
upon one end of a lever r pivoted at r¹ to the frame of the machine. When the
lower end of this lever is forced outward the upper end of the same acts upon the
carriage or slide p*, and moves the latter forward, that is to say, towards the rod h,
so that the tools upon the turret p are brought at the desired time into contact
with the said rod. To effect the rearward or return movement of the said slide I
employ the lever s, which is pivoted at s¹ to the frame a, and whose lower end is
acted upon by the studs 92 on the disc 9.
To impart a rotary motion during the backward or retrograde movement of the
slide to the turret or tool holder p I make use of the means ordinarily employed,
that is to say, I provide the lower end or shank of the said holder with a toothed
wheel, upon which a pawl pivotted to the bed or tract of the slide acts in such a
manner as to turn the said turret to the extent of a quarter of a revolution, so that
on the said slide again travelling forward a different cutter or tool will be presented
to the bar or rod. Suitable devices are arranged in combination with the said
turret p to lock or prevent the rotation of the same during the action of each of its
tools upon the rod or bar.
The operation of my improved machine is as follows, that is to say--Assuming
that a screw or stud has just been completed and cut off from the rod or bar h by
the action of the cutting tool p, as the shaft 6 continues to rotate the cams i¹, i.

page_text: come into operation and so actuate the sleeves j, k, as to clamp and feed forward
the bar h beyond the face of the chuck the required distance in a similar manner
to that described in the Specification of former Letters Patent dated November 19th,
A.D. 1873, No. 3757. In the continued movement of the shaft b the slide or
carriage g' and the turret g are moved longitudinally so as to bring the cutting
tool g upon the latter into action to cut away or reduce the projecting end of the
rod h sufficiently to permit the proper action thereon of the thread cutting die g³
when the latter is brought into operation. After the said tool g² has completed its
work and retired from the rod h, the slide or carriage p* is moved transversely so
as to bring the tool p' laterally into contact with the rod to give the approximate
shape to that portion of the same which is to form the head of the screw or stud.
The said slide p* is then moved back, and during this backward movement the
turret has imparted to it a quarter turn to bring the finishing tool p² into the proper
position to act upon the rod as the turret is then again moved forward. After the
action of this tool p2 upon the rod or bar, the slide p* is again drawn back, and
the slide g¹ is moved longitudinally forward to bring the threading or screwing
die g³ into action, this die g³ having been by the rotation of the turret g brought to
the position previously occupied by the cutting tool g². As soon as the die g³ has
performed its functions, and is drawn back, the transversely moving slide p* is
again moved forward so as to bring the nurling or milling tool på into operation.
The said slide then moves backward, and in such backward movement it turns the
turret on its axis and brings the cutting off tool p into line with its work. The
said slide then moves forward, bringing the said cutting-off tool into contact with
the rod, and the screw is thereby severed therefrom. The above described operations
are repeated throughout the operation of the machine.
In some cases I employ two turrets upon the aforesaid transverse slide, one upon
one side and the other upon the other side of the rod or bar h, and reverse the
rotation of the said rod or bar as required to suit the cutting edges of the tools on
the said turrets.
To allow the length of the portion of the rod fed forward through the chuck
at each revolution of the shaft b to be varied, one of the cams i¹ upon the cam
cylinder is made adjustable. By the adjustment of this cam the amount of
rearward motion imparted to the griping or friction device; may be varied, and
consequently the feed of the rod regulated.
By the combination of the intermittently rotating turret p, provided with a
series of tools, and supported upon the transversely moving slide p*, as above
described, with the turret or tool holder g carried by the longitudinally moving
slide g¹, screws, bolts, or pins may be produced having shanks and beads of any
desired shape, and the number of cutters or tools on the transversely moving turret
or turrets may be varied so as to apportion the work of cutting to the periphery of
the bar or rod in the most advantageous manner between the said tools, or to mill
or otherwise operate upon the said bar as desired. Moreover by this Invention
pins, bolts, or the like may be formed of any desired shape, and without screw
threads upon the same,' by the omission of the thread cutting die, and the employ-
ment of cutters or tools upon the transversely and longitudinally sliding turrets,
suited to the desired shape of the article or object to be produced.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I make no claim separately or independently of
their combination with the above described transversely moving turret or turrets
to the longitudinally sliding turret or tool-holder, or to the devices for rotating or
feeding forward the rod or bar from which the screws or other articles are formed,
or to the mechanism for producing the reciprocation or rotative movements or
adjustments of the turrets, as some of these parts are described and shewn in the
said foriner Specification, and others of them are old and well known parts of screw
cutting machines or lathes; but I claim,-
In a lathe or machine of the class or kind above specified the combination with

page_text: the devices for supporting, feeding forward, and rotating the metal bar or rod, and
with or without the longitudinally moving turret, of the turret or turrets con--
structed to carry a series of tools or cutters, and mounted on a transversely moving
slide with a capability of rotation thereon, and operating as and for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Owen Jones, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
OWEN JONES. (L.S.)