IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRESSING MILLSTONES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Newton Sears, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, now of Fenchurch Strect, in
the City of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR DRESSING MILLSTONES."-A communication from
abroad by Chisholm Brothers, of Ottawa, Illinois, United States
aforesaid, Manufacturers.
Sealed the 22nd May 1874, and dated the 7th March 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Newton Sears
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th March 1874.
I, JOHN NEWTON SEARS, of the City and State of New York, United
States of America, now of Fenchurch Street, in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRESSING MILLSTONES," a communication, to be

page_text: and "furrow" the same. It is perfectly under the control of the
operator, who can dress the stones with great facility and accuracy and
in much less time than is ordinarily required in hand dressing. It will
permit the dressing of high or hard spots and low or soft spots just as
much as may be desired. It obviates the necessity for long practise for
acquiring steadiness and precision. One apparatus will serve for all
sizes of stones, and it will make any required number of cracks to the
inch.
My improved apparatus or machine is constructed as follows:-It has
a main frame of iron secured to a base board; it also has a moveable
iron frame, which is fitted to slide to and fro upon V shaped bearings on
the main frame, and is held thereon by small metal pieces or lags
attached to the lower frame, and turned over upon projections on the
sliding frame. This frame is provided with a shaft, which carries a
double segment excentric for operating the pick, and is geared with a
driving wheel. There is also a wheel which serves the double purpose
of a balance wheel and pick sharpener. The pick handle is kept in its
proper position by a cross bar resting in a grooved bar or piece of the
said frame. The pick rests against a slide at the front of the apparatus,
and is partly held in position by a collar and thumbscrew. The said
slide is adjustable, and is furnished with teeth fitting into grooves in the
front of the head, and is held in place thereon by a bolt in such a
manner that it will not vibrate in striking the stone. A screw bolt is
passed through the arm or handle of the pick with its point projecting
for the aforesaid excentric to act upon the same.
At the back of the apparatus and at the base thereof I secure another
frame for supporting the feeding device, which consists of a feed screw,
a half nut fitted in a socket, and a lever and pawl.
I provide the said apparatus or machine with a heavy furrowing
attachment, which is operated in the same manner as the aforesaid pick
handle. The pick of this attachment is made of cast or malleable iron,
and is similar in shape to an ordinary hand pick. Its ends are milled
for the reception of steel points, which rest against the solid shoulder
formed on the pick, and are securely held in place by a screw.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Newton Scars in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN NEWTON
SEARS, of the City and State of New York, United States of America,
now of Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Newton Sears, Her special
licence that I, the said John Newton Scars, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Newton'
Scars, 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 APPARATUS FOR DRESSING MILLSTONES," a communication
to me from abroad by Chisholm Brothers, of Ottawa, Illinois, United
States aforesaid, Manufacturers, upon the condition (amongst others):
that I, the said John Newton Sears, 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 per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Newton Sears; 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
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
My Invention relates to a novel, simple, cheap, and durable apparatus
or machine for dressing millstones, and which will "crack," "face;">

page_text: 35
and "furrow the same.
It is perfectly under the control of the
operator, who can dress the stone with great facility and accuracy and
in much less time than is ordinarily required in hand dressing. It will
permit the dressing of high or hard spots and low or soft spots just as
much as may be desired. It obviates the necessity for long practise for
acquiring steadiness and precision. One apparatus will serve for all
sizes of stones, and it will make any required number of cracks to the
inch
พ
of the pick mustrating the manner or
supporting, adjusting, and operating the same.
Similar letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
The said apparatus has a main frame a of cast iron or other suitable
metal secured to a base board 6 of hard wood; it also has a moveable
iron frame c, which is fitted to slide to and fro upon guides or bearings a¹
formed or fixed upon the vertical sides of the main frame a, and the
frame c is held on these guides by the small metal pieces or clips d
attached to the lower frame a, and flanged or turned over at the top
upon projections or flanges e on the sliding frame c, as clearly shown in
Figure 2. This frame c carries the parts for supporting and operating
the pick f, as herein-after described.
A peculiar feature of this Invention is the employment of a detached
or loose pick, that is to say, a pick which when working is supported
and operated by the machine while it is controlled and the force of its
blows regulated or partially so by the hand of the operator. The means
for supporting and actuating the said pick are most clearly shewn in
Figure 3. g is a shaft supported in bearings h in the said sliding frame c;
and which carries a double segment excentric or double acting cam i
extending the entire width between the sides of the frame a for operating
the pick f. This shaft g is geared with a driving wheel j turning on a
stud j fixed upon the top of the sliding frame c. The cam shaft or
journal also carries an emery wheel k, which serves 'the double purpose

page_text: of a balance wheel and rub stone. The pick or implement consists of
a handle f¹ of wood or other suitable material, a head f² of cast iron,
malleable iron, or other metal, and the tool or pick proper f³ carried by
the head f. In using this apparatus the handle f is supported, guided,
and adjusted in a groove or channel in the bar by a small cross piece.f
which rests in the groove in the bar 2, as clearly shewn in Figure 3.
The cam i when rotated acts upon the point of the screw f³, and thereby
imparts a rapid up-and-down motion to the pick while the handle is
grasped by the operator, who retains and guides it in the grooved bar 7.
The stroke of the pick is regulated by adjusting the screw f³, and its
force is regulated by the hand of the operator. The steel pick or tool f³
is fitted adjustably in a groove in the head f, it is held at its lower
cnd by a small plate and thumbscrew f', f", and at its upper end it is
sustained by a plate f8, whose inner surface is roughened to prevent its
slipping in the said groove. This plate has a longitudinal slot, and is
secured in the groove by a set screw f' passed through the said slot into
the head. This plate fs holds the steel pick or tool f³ firmly and
immovably in the head f2, and prevents any vibration of the same; and
as the said pick wears away the said plate is readily adjusted to suit the
diminished length of the same.
At the rear of the apparatus I arrange and secure upon the bottom
plate of the frame a a small frame or bracket m for supporting the
feeding mechanism, which consists of a feed screw n, a half nut o, a
lever P with a toothed segment p', a 'pawl q, and ratchet 1. The said
screw is supported to turn in bearings m' in the bracket m, and the half
nut which is fitted in the socket o¹ of the sliding frame c fits and rests
upon the said screw, so that by turning the latter in the proper direction
the sliding frame will be moved forward on its guides or bearings. The
turning of the screw is effected by moving the lever p up and down, and
for conveniece of manipulation this lever is provided with a cross bar p².
The toothed segment p' gears with the toothed wheel q'; to which the
spring pawl q is attached, and this pawl taking into the teeth of the
ratchet fixed on the screw effects the rotation of the latter. The half
nut o is kept in contact with the screw by a spring at o². When it is
3 desired to draw back the frame c the half nut o is raised from the screw
by depressing the lever s, and the said frame can then be drawn back by
hand. is a screw for regulating the feed or advance movement of the
frame c

page_text: In using this improved apparatus or machine the operator turns the
handle u on the wheel ; with one hand while grasping the pick handle
with the other to move the said pick laterally across the machine and
regulate the force of the blows thereof, as above described.
I provide the said apparatus or machine with a heavy furrowing
attachment, which is operated in the same manner as the aforesaid pick
handle. The pick of this attachment is made of cast or malleable iron,
and is similar in shape to an ordinary hand pick. Its ends are milled
for the reception of steel points, which rest against the solid shoulder
formed on the pick, and arc securely held in place by a screw.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same,
I wish it understood that I claim,―
1
First. In or in combination with an apparatus or machine for dressing
millstones a detached or disconnected pick operated or actuated by a 1
cam or other part of the apparatus or machine, and controlled and
adjusted by the hand of the operator.
Second. Providing the pick head with a screw or other like device in
combination with its operating cam for regulating the rise and fall of
the pick, as herein specified.
Third. In combination with the pick head the adjustable slide toothed
or roughened on its inner side and secured by a screw, as herein set
forth and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. In combination with the cross piece on the pick handle the
grooved guide bar extending across the machine for supporting and 2
guiding the said pick, as herein set forth.
Fifth. The movable or adjustable frame supporting the pick and its
operative mechanism, and fitted to slide backward and forward upon
guide ways or bearings on the main or under frame, as herein described.
and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. The lever screw, ratchet, and pawl, and toothed wheel in com-
bination with the half nut and screw for effecting the forward adjustment
of the said frame, combined and operating as herein set forth.
Seventh. Providing the said lever with a regulating screw, as herein.
set forth and for the purpose specified.

page_text: Eighth. The spring lever in combination with the said half nut for
raising the same from the screw to permit the backward adjustment of
the said top frame, as herein set forth.
Ninth. An apparatus or machine for dressing millstones provided with
a detachable or loose pick, a cam for actuating the said pick, and an
adjustable frame for supporting the said pick and its operative mechanism
either with or without the wooden base or board and with or without the
emery wheel, all substantially as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Newton Scars, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
faux
Witness,
LEWIS SANDERSON.
JOHN N. SEARS. (L.S.)