MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING STAVES AND HEADS FOR CASKS, AND FOR LETT LORAC
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Christ, of Beanley Crescent, Old Ford in the
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING STAVES AND HEADS FOR CASKS, AND FOR
LETT
LO
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING STAVES AND HEADS FOR CASKS, AND FOR
TUD MANIRACTURE OF CASKS,
Sealed the 12th July 1859, and dated the 13th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Grist at the Office
of the Conimissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th January
1859.
1, JOHN GRIST, of Beazley Crescent, Old Ford, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING STAVES AND HEADS FOR CASKS,
AND FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CASKS." to be as follows:-
In sawing the rough staves into doublets or tonguers, I employ ordinary
sawing machinery, either saw frames, band saws, or web saws, but for the
purpose of cutting "doublets" or "longuers "I employ a plate, on which the
stave is placed, and cause it by mechanical arrangements to move by means of
guides in the required direction against the saw, so as to cut the required
doublet or tonguer. In some cases the guides may be used without the plate.
I also cause a fence or fence roller to move (by screw, lever, &c.,) and press
the stave to or from the saw as the case may require. In jointing or shaping
staves, I employ rotary cutters of the ordinary kind, but place them one in
advance of the other, one to take off the rough, and the other to finish or
smooth the cut. 1 cause the spindles carrying the cutters to oscillate or move

page_text: to and from the stave while the cutters are acting upon it; the stave, either
bent or straight, is secured upon a plate, which is moved forwards and back-
wards between guides by suitable gearing, and the oscillation of the spindle
and cutters while operating upon the stave will impart to it the necessary
shape.
This last arrangement of machinery will answer the purpose of hollowing
out the inside of a stave, the stave in such case being caused to travel on its
edge instead of flat, whereby the inside of the stave instead of the edge will be
presented to properly curved cutters.
In backing staves 1 employ two sets of rotary cutters, and pass it under a
large wheel or roller, the back of the stave being presented to the action of two
revolving cutters, the spindles of which are caused to oscillate; or while one
cutter moves to the right, the other moves to the left, and vice versa, as the
staves are passing over them; thus a different curve will be given to the middle
of the stave to that at the ends, and in accordance with the shape of the cask
to be produced.
In raising or setting up a cask, I employ an expanding or contracting table
with a telescope jointed pillar to allow of the table being set to the height of
the cask to be made. The staves are placed against the table, the head hoop,
overrunner," and pitch hoop, are then put on, and the table is contracted to
allow the staves to be brought tight together; the table is then pressed down
in the telescope joint, and the partially formed cask removed ready for further
operations.
In making the heads of casks, it has been always necessary to make them
wider across the grain of the wood to allow for shrinkage or compression by
hooping to obviate this, I employ two heated plates, and place the heads,
after being steamed, between them, and compress the heads by means of screw
(or otherwise), in order that no more shrinkage may afterwards take place.
I turn the heads in a lathe.
For chiming and creuzing I first cut the ends of the staves to a bevil to
case the chime, and employ a tool fitted with a curvilinear plane iron to suit
the curve and bevil of the chime, also a "jaggell" or cross-cutting iron to cut
the creuze, and a hollowing plane iron for cutting the hollow; this tool is also
fitted with a roller to work round the outside of the cask, so that the creuze,
hollow, and chime may be cut to an uniform and equal depth from the back of
the staves or outside of the cask. The tool is placed across the top and the
roller outside of the cask, and is worked round by hand.

page_text: SPECIFICATION
in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Grist in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GRIST, of Beazley Crescent, Old Ford, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Grist, Her special licence that I. the said John
Grist, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Grist, 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 "IMPROVI⭑
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING STAVES AND HEADS FOR CASKS
AND FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES." upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Grist, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 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 John Grist, do hereby declare
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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
In sawing the rough staves into doublets or tonguers, I employ ordinary
sawing machinery, either saw frames. band saws, or web saws, but for the
purpose of cutting "doublets" or "tonguers" employ a plate, on which the
stave is placed, and cause it by mechanical arrangements to move by means of
guides in the required direction against the saw, so as to cut the required
doublet or tonguer. In some cases the guides may be used without the plate.
I also cause a fence or fence roller to move (by screw, lever, &c.,) and press

page_text: the stave to or from the saw as the case may require. In jointing or shaping
staves I employ rotary cutters of the ordinary kind, but place them one in
advance of the other, one to take off the rough, and the other to finish or
smooth the cut. I cause the spindles carrying the cutters to oscillate or move
to and from the stave while the cutters are acting upon it; the stave, either
bent or straight, is secured upon a plate, which is moved forwards and
backwards between guides by suitable gearing, and the oscillation of the
spindle and cutters, while operating upon the stave, will impart to it the
necessary shape.
This last arrangement of machinery will answer the purpose of hollowing
out the inside of a stave, the stave in such case being caused to travel on its
edge instead of flat, whereby the inside of the stave instead of the edge will be
presented to properly curved cutters.
In backing staves I employ two sets of rotary cutters, and pass the staves
under a large wheel or roller, the back of the stave being presented to the
action of two revolving cutters, the spindles of which are caused to oscillate,
or while one cutter moves to the right, the other moves to the left, and vice
versa, as the staves are passing over them, thus a different curve will be
given to the middle of the stave to that at the ends, and in accordance with
the shape of the cask to be produced.
In raising or setting up a cask, I employ an expanding or contracting table
with a telescope jointed pillar, to allow of the table being set to the height of
the cask to be made. The staves are placed against the table, the head hoop,
"overrunner," and pitch hoop, are then put on, and the table is contracted to
allow the staves to be brought tight together; the table is then pressed down
in the telescope joint, and the partially formed cask removed ready for further
operations.
In making the heads of casks, it has been always necessary to make them
wider across the grain of the wood, to allow for shrinkage of compression by
hooping; to obviate this, I employ two heated plates, and place the heads,
after being steamed between them, and compress the heads by means of screws
(or otherwise), in order that no more shrinkage may afterwards take place.
I turn the heads in a lathe.
For chiming and creuzing, I first cut the ends of the staves to a bevil, to
ease the chime, and employ a tool fitted with a curvelinear plane iron to suit
the curve and bevil of the chime; also a "jaggell or cross-cutting iron to cut
the creuze, and a hollowing plane iron for cutting the hollow this tool is also
fitted with a roller to work round the outside of the cask, so that the creuze,

page_text: hollow, and chime may be cut to an uniform and equal depth from the back of
the staves or outside of the cask. The tool is placed across the top and the
roller outside of the cask, and is worked round by hand.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a stave sawing machine; Figure 2 is a plan
through the line A, B. of Figure 1: Figure 3 is a plan of the guides for the
purpose of guiding the plate for carrying the stave, or for guiding under
certain circumstances the stave itself. The plate for carrying the stave is
shewn in plan at Figure 4, elevation at Figure 5, and end view Figure 6. In
cutting tonguers and doublets. I employ the arrangements shown at Figures 1
and 2, but I do not limit myself to the sawing machinery shewn at Figure 1,
as band saws may be substituted for the saw frames there shewn. In Figure 2
I only shew tonguers as being cut, but doublets may also be produced; C. C.
are feeding and binding rollers of the ordinary construction; D, D, are fence
rollers which are pressed against or from the saw by means of a lever a.
shewn in dotted lines and traveller on the end of the lever; the traveller is
driven by a worm b on a shaft E, on which the ratchet wheels F and Gare
keyed; the teeth on these wheels are cut in the reverse direction, in order that
the paul which is worked by a rocking shaft not shewn in the Drawings, on
being shifted from one wheel to the other, shall drive the shaft in the reverse
direction, and of course the fence roller through the lever a, traveller and
worm. On the inner end of the shaft E is a clutch c, for the purpose of
throwing the worm in or out of gear; when out of gear the machine is
adapted to sawing straight cuts in the ordinary manner. The machinery is
shewn double in Figures 1 and 2. but a single machine may be used.
I claim with respect to this first part of my Invention, causing the fence or
fence roller to move to and from the saw while working, in order to cut the
stave in the required shape.
Another means of cutting tonguers and doublets is shewn in Figures 3, 4.
5, and 6, before alluded to. A band saw will be found most convenient in
this arrangement, but other saws may be used. A. A, Figure 4, are guide
plates, which fit upon studs on the bed plate of a saw machine; B represents
the position of the saw; C is a plate for carrying the stave to be cut; D, D;
are two studs affixed to the under part of the plate C, and at or near the
ends thereof; these studs are placed in the groove or space between the guide
plates A, A; E, E, are holders for keeping the stave in position while being
cut. On driving the plate C forward, the stave will be cut to the required
shape. The shape of the groove between the guide plates will be varied
according to whether a tonguer or a doublet has to be cut.
I claim with respect to the part of my Invention last described, cutting

page_text: and shaping tonguers and doublets by means of ges and carrier plates in
manner herein-before described.
For jointing or shaping staves, I employ the machinery shewn in side
elevation Figure 7, plan Figure 8, and in transverse section Figure 9. A, A,
is the frame of the machine; B, the revolving cutter, of which two may be
used, but one only is shewn in the Drawing; C is a shaft set in motion from
a steam engine or other prime mover. The opposite end of this shaft carries
a toothed wheel D, which gears into a toothed pinion on the shaft E. On
this shaft is a worm F, which takes into and drives a worm wheel G; H is
a wheel or disc keyed on the worm wheel shaft I; K is a pin fixed in a slot
in the disc, which carries a connecting rod L, the outer end of which is toothed
and drives a pinion M. On the axle of this pinion is a worm N, which gears
into a toothed traveller, not shewn in the Drawing, connected to a frame N',
carrying the cutter "spindle; this frame is free to oscillate about the centre a.
O is a shaft driven by toothed gear from the shaft C. The shafts C and O
are in the form of endless screws to the extent shewn in the plan Figure 8.
Two frames P and Q working in V grooves or guides formed in the table, and
each carrying a stave to be "jointed," are formed with nuts or travellers, which
take into the screws on the shafts C and O. The screws are so set that on
being put in motion one frame shall travel from left to right, and the other in
the reverse direction from right to left. The action of the machine is as
follows: The frames carrying the staves to be jointed are placed upon the
screws in such manner that one shall not start until the other has performed
half its travel, so that while the cutter is acting on the middle of one stave on
one side of it, it is cutting one end of the other stave on its opposite side. The
whole of the gear being so arranged and set that while these parts are being
simultaneously operated upon, the cutter shall be at its extreme travel or end
of its stroke across the machine, and on that side of it where the end of the
stave is being presented to it. In this machine the cutters may be stationary,
and the stave may have a to-and-fro motion imparted to it.
I claim the construction, arrangement of parts, and method of action of the
jointing or shaping machinery last herein-before described and represented in
the accompanying Drawings.
Figure 10 is an elevation, and Figure 11 a plan of a modification of the
jointing machine lastly described, for the purpose of hollowing out the inside
of staves. The arrangements for imparting the transverse motion to the
revolving cutter are the same as in the jointing machine. A, B, are rollers
driven by bevel cone or toothed gear, for the purpose of carrying the staves,
which are placed edgewise through the machine; C, D, are fence rollers; E

page_text: is the revolving cutter; F, F, and G, G, are pressure rollers.
It will be
observed that the centres of the rollers F, F, and G, G, respectively are not
in the same line with the centres of the rollers A and B; H, H, are rollers
revolving loosely on their axes. The rollers F, F, and G, G, are connected
through their bearings to handles I, 1, and K, K, for the purpose of releasing
them from pressing on the staves, should the same become necessary. L, L,
are weighted ropes connected to the handles I, K, for the purpose of keeping
the rollers G, F, against the staves during their progress through the machine.
It will be readily understood that a straight or curved either convex or concave
cut will be obtained by employing straight, convex, or concave cutters as
shewn at Figure 12.
1 claim the general arrangement of the hollowing and shaping machinery
last described and illustrated at Figures 10 and 11 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Figure 13 is a side elevation of the machine 1 employ for backing siaves;
Figure 14 is a similar view partly in section; Figure 15 is an end view; and
Figure 16 is a section through the line a, b, of Figure 13. A, A, are the
rotary cutiers; B, is a wheel or grooved roller; C is the stave which is drawn
or forced between the roller B and cutiers A, by means of ropes or chains D
provided with hooks, to which the stave is hooked; the ends of the stave are
prevented from dropping suddenly upon the cutters by a bridge piece c. The
wheel B is supported on a frame E, and has motion communicated to it
through a worm F and bevil gearing G; G; H is a hollow shaft carrying the
cutters A, A. Through this shaft rods I, I, pass, fitted with a feather piece or
key, which takes into the cutter blocks, as shewn. Springs are fitted to the
inner ends of the spindles I, I. The lateral motion of the cutters A, A, and
spindles I, I, is regulated by levers J, J, placed at both sides of the machine
connected to adjustable eccentrics worked by a worm K, as shewn in Figure 15.
Another form of sliding cutter block is shewn in plan and end view at
Figure 16.
I claim the arrangement of machinery herein-before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings, Figures 13, 14, 15, and 16, for backing
staves, by which the cutters are caused to oscillate or move to or further from
each other, in order to give the necessary shape to the back of the stave.
Figure 17 is a sectional elevation of a table for raising or setting up casks.
A is the expanding table formed in separate parts, as shewn in plan Figure 18.
The centre piece B of this table has holes formed in its periphery; in these
holes slide rods are loosely placed, which carry springs for keeping the felloes
C'extended. From the under part of this centre piece a rod D projects

page_text: which is free to slide up and down in the pillar E. This pillar forms -part
of a foot plate, the outer edge of which has a raised rim, against which the
bottoms of the staves are first set; the upper ends of the staves lean against
the felloes C. The head hoop, overrunner, and pitch hoop are then placed
over them, binding them together; the expanding table is then dropped by
releasing the tightening screw F, and the cask removed.
I claim the construction and arrangement of expanding and contracting
tables for raising and setting up casks, as herein-before .described and illus-
trated in Figures 17 and 18 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
For the purposes of chiming, hollowing, and creuzing by hand, I use a tool
of the form shewn in Figures 19, 20, and 21. A is the stock of the plane
or tool in which plane irons shaped to suit the required curve and bevel
are fitted. Outside of the cask a small roller may be placed, though it is not
essentially necessary, and the operations are effected by running the tool round
the inside of the cask. I do not confine myself to using these irons in one
stock at the same time, as the chiming and hollowing may be effected by
separate tools and at separute operations.
I claim chiming, hollowing, and creuzing of staves or casks by means of
tools constructed in manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Grist, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eleventh day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-nine.
JOHN GRIST. (L.S.)