IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Llewellyn Dawson, of Southwark Bridgo
Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD."
Sealed the 20th October 1854, and dated the 10th June 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Llewellyn Dawson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th June 1854.
I, ARTHUR LLEWELLYN DAWSON, of Southwark Bridge Road, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD" to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists in certain arrangements of machinery whereby gun-
stocks and other articles in wood may be cut and shaped from a pattern of the
article to be produced. I employ as my cutting tool a wheel, placed vertically,
with a series of blades or cutters projecting from the periphery thereof. This
cutting wheel is mounted in a swinging frame, which also carries a guide or
guides kept in contact with the pattern of the article of which a similar shape
is to be produced. The cutter wheel has rotary motion communicated to it,
and is made to partake of the movement of the guide or guides. The rough
block to be shaped is mounted on axes in front of the wheel. The pattern is

page_text: also mounted on axes, and both the pattern and block to be shaped are caused
to rotate simultaneously. Lateral motion is communicated to both block and
pattern, so that the block may be properly shaped from end to end.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Arthur Llewellyn Dawson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th December 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
LLEWELLYN DAWSON, of Southwark Bridge Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Arthur Llewellyn Dawson, Her special licence that 1, the said Arthur
Llewellyn Dawson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Arthur Llewellyn Dawson, 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 MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Arthur Llowellyn
Dawson, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Arthur Llewellyn Dawson, do hereby
declaro the nature of my 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 Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say
My Invention consists in certain arrangements of machinery whereby gun-
stocks and other articles in wood may be cut and shaped from a pattern of the
article to be produced. I employ as my cutting tool a wheel, placed vertically,
with a series of blades or cutters projecting from the periphery thereof. This

page_text: cutting wheel is mounted in a swinging frame, which.also carries a guide or
guides kept in contact with the pattern of the article of which a similar shape
is to be produced. The cutter wheel has rotary motion communicated to it,
and is made to partake of the movement of the guide or guides. The rough
block to be shaped is mounted on axes in front of the wheel. The pattern is
also mounted on axes, and both the pattern and block to be shaped are caused
to rotate simultaneously. Lateral. motion is communicated to both. block and
pattern, so that the block may be properly shaped from end to end.
.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a side clevation; Figure 2, a
longitudinal section; Figure 3, an end elevation; Figure 4, a cross section;
and Figure 5, a plan, of a machine constructed according to my Invention;
Figure 6 is a side view of the cutter frame detached; and Figures 7 and 8
are respectively an end and side view of a rest or frame, which is em-
ployed for fixing in position the block or blocks of wood to be operated on.
A, A, is a strong rectangular framework of iron, which supports the different
parts of the machine; B, B, is a smaller frame, also of iron, which is bolted to
the upper surface of the framework A, A; C, C, is a swinging frame, which is
suspended from axes C', C', in the cross rails of the frame B, B; D, D, are two
cutter holders, which are mounted on axes D', D', in the swinging.frame C, C.
The cutter holders D, D, are fitted with cutters D2, D3; which may be formed
either with chisel or gouge edges, according to the nature of the work: they are
to perform, and which are adjusted in the cutter holders by means of bolts and
nuts, as shown in the detached view, Figure 6. E is a guide, mounted in the
swinging frame C, C, and fitted with a friction roller E', which is kept in
contact with the pattern of the article to be produced, for the purpose of giving
to the swinging frame and the cutters carried: by it the necessary motion for
effecting the shaping of the article. F, F, are screwed rods, by means of which
the parts composing the swinging frame.C, C, can be adjusted with respect to
each other, so as to bring the cutter' holders D, D, and the guide E, nearer
together, or move them farther apart, and thus enable articles of different sizes
to be produced from the same pattern. C, C, are guide blocks, bolted to the
cross rail A' in the frame A, A, and having grooves in their upper surfaces,
which receive the studs, C, C, projecting from the lower part of the swinging
frame C, C, so as to cause the swinging frame to move steadily while in action,
and prevent it from having any motion endways. C' is a spring, by which the
swinging frame is acted on, so as to keep the guide E always in contact with
the pattern, and the cutters, consequently, always up to their work. G is a
carriage or travelling frame, which is mounted, on wheels G'; G', which run on
rails G; G supported in a horizontal position by the standards GJ, G³, which

page_text: are bolted to the framework A,. A. The frame G is capable of being
lengthened or shortened to suit different kinds of work by means of the nuts
G, G, which work on the screwed rods G, G, forming the side parts of the
frame G. H, H, are dogs, and I, I, axes or centres, between which the blocks
of wood to be operated on are supported; J, K, are axes or centres between
which the pattern is held; H', H', are sockets, turning in the front of the
frame G, in which the dogs H, H, are fitted; the dogs being formed with
grooves on their upper sides, into which take ribs or feathers, projecting from
the interior of the sockets, for the purpose of causing the dogs and sockets to
revolve together. H, H2, are screws provided with hand wheels H, H³, and
working through nuts formed in the back of the sockets H', H', for the
purpose of tightening up the dogs H, H, against the blocks of wood introduced
between them and the axes or centres I, I, so as to hold the blocks firmly to
be operated on. I', I', are sockets, fitted to the back of the frame G, and in
which the axes or centres I, I, are supported; the axes or centres being formed
with collars I, I', which abut against the sockets 1', I', and work in contact
with them. J is a socket, fitted to the front of the framo G, and in which the
centro J works; and J is a nut, which works on the screwed part of the centre
J, for the purpose of holding the pattern firmly between-tho-centres. J.and.K.
L, L, are bevil wheels, keyed on the sockets H', H', for the purpose of enabling
rotary motion to be given to the blocks of wood supported between the dogs
HI, H, and axes or centres I, I; and M is a similar bevil wheel, keyed on the
axis or centre J, for the purpose of enabling rotary motion to be given to the
pattern held between the axes or centres J, K. N is a bevil wheel, keyed on
the short transverse shaft N', which gears into a bevil wheel O, attached to a
collar O', which is mounted on the shaft P, and communicates motion, thereto;
the collar being formed with a projecting rib or feather, which takes into a
corresponding groove in the shaft P, for the purpose of allowing that shaft to
slide freely in the collar of the bevil wheel O, at the same time that it is caused
to revolve with it. N³, N, are bearings for the short transverse shaft N.
0, 0%, are shoulders or bearings, between which the collar O', carrying the
.bevil wheel O revolves; and P1, P1, are bearings attached to the carriage G,
which support the shaft P. P' is a bevil wheel, mounted on, the end of the
shaft P, which gears into a bevil wheel Q, mounted on the short shaft Q',
which has its bearings Q, Q', attached to the carriage G. Q³ is another bevil
wheel, mounted on the same shaft, which gears into the bevil wheel M, on the
axis or centre J, and thereby gives rotary motion to the pattern, supported
between that axis or centro and the centre K.. Q, Q, is a train of bevil
gearing, by which a like rotary motion is communicated through the bovil

page_text: wheels L, L, to the blocks of wood held between the dogs H, H, and the axes
or centres I, I. R is a chain, one end of which is attached to an arm R',
projecting downwards from the carriage G, and the other end to the shaft S,..
which is caused to revolve, and thereby to draw the carriage G, and the blocks
of wood and pattern mounted in it, past the revolving cutters, so as to effect
the shaping of the blocks of wood from end to end.. T is the principal driving
shaft, which receives, motion by a strap or otherwise from a steam engine or
other prime mover, and from which motion is communicated to the different
parts of the machine; thus, the cutter holders D, D, are driven by cords from
pulleys D, D', which are mounted on shafts D³, D, which turn in bearings
D, D, in the upper part of the frame B; and these shafts receive motion from
pulleys U', U', on the shaft. U, by means of cords passing round the pulleys
D', D', on the opposite ends of the shafts D³, D', the shaft U being driven by
a strap from the pulley T, on the principal shaft T, which passes round the
pulley U on the shaft U.. The cords passing round the pulleys U', U', and
D', D', are kept tight by means of stretching pulleys D³, D³, (one pair only
of which are seen in the Drawings,) which are mounted in arms D', D",
attached to the framework A, A. Again, the short shaft N', which, by means
of the arrangements before described, gives rotary motion to the blocks of
wood under operation and to the pattern, is driven from the shaft U by
means of a strap which passes round the pulley Us, on the shaft U, and
the pulley V on the intermediate shaft V; another pulley V from which
shaft gives motion by a strap to the pulley Won the shaft W, which drives
the cone pulleys W on the same shaft, from which cone pulleys a strap
drives the pulley N³ on the shaft N'. And, finally, the shaft S, by which the
carriage G is moved, is driven from the shaft N' by means of straps passing
from the pulley N' on the shaft N' to the pulley X on the shaft X, and
from the pulley X² on the same shaft to the cone pulleys S' on the shaft S.
Y is a clutch box, and Y' a lever, by means of which the pulley W' can be
put out of gear with the cone pulleys W³, so as to stop the rotary motion of
the blocks and pattern; and Z is a similar clutch box, with a compound lever
Z', by which the cone pulleys S' on the shaft S can be put out of gear, so
as to stop the motion of the carriage G. The operation of the machine will
be readily understood from the foregoing description. But it is necessary
to mention that the carriage G is to be drawn back by hand to its starting
position after each traverse, the cone pulleys W2 and S' being previously put
out of gear to allow the carriage to be thus drawn back. The rest or frame,
shewn in Figures 7 and 8, and herein-before mentioned, is now to be described.
a, a, are two standards, which rest on the upper part of the frame A, A, at x, x,

page_text: when in use; b is a rnd which passes through the standards a, a, and is fixed
by set screws c (one culy of which is seen in the Figures); d, are two
sliding rods, which can be fixed in auy required position on the rod 6 by set
screws e, e; f is one of two other sliding rods, which cau be fixed at any
required height on the rods d, d, by set screws g; and h is one of two other
sliding rods, which are carried by the rods f, and can be fixed in any required
position on them by set screws i. This arrangement enables the blocks of
wood to be exactly adjusted for fixing between the dogs H, H, and centres I, I,
which support and hold them while being operated on by the revolving
cutters.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the samo is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my said
Invention is,
First, the combined arrangements of machinery for cutting and shaping
gun-stocks and other articles in wood from a pattern of the article to be pro-
duced, as represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, of the Drawings annexed
and herein-before described.
Second, the cutting and shaping of gun-stocks and other articles in wood by
means of revolving cutters, mounted in a swinging frame, which is guided by a
pattern of the article to be produced, the block or blocks of wood to be shaped
and the pattern being mounted in a carriage or travelling frame, and receiving
rotary motion about their axes at the same time that they are caused to
traverse laterally past the revolving cutters.
Third, the construction of the swinging frame in which the cutter holders
and guide are mounted, in such manner as to allow of these parts being
adjusted in reference to the axial lines, about which the block or blocks of
wood to be operated on and the pattern rotate, for the purpose of producing
gun-stocks and other articles in wood of different sizes from the same pattern,
as herein-before described.
And, fourth, the employment of the rest or frame, represented in Figures 7
and 8 of the Drawings annexed and herein-before described, for the purpose
herein-before mentioned.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Llewellyn Dawson, have hereunto
set my band and seal, this Eighth day of December, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
NAM
ARTHUR L. DAWSON. (L.S.)