A NEW MODE OF COMBINING AND APPLYING MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSE OF CUTTING AND PLANING WOOD, SO AS TO PRO- DUCE PLAIN OR MOULD SURFACES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HODGSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS, by grants of Letters Patent of Her present Majesty, under
the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the Third
day of August now last past, Her Majesty was pleased to give and grant unto
me, the said James Hodgson, my heirs, exors, and adñññors, Her especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James
Hodgson, my exors, admors, and assigns, and every of us, by myself, or by
my and our deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the
said James Hodgson, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend my Invention of "A NEW MODE OF COMBINING AND APPLYING
MACHINERY FOR THE PURPOSE OF CUTTING AND PLANING WOOD, SO AS TO PRO-
DUCE PLAIN OR MOULD SURFACES," within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, in such manner as to me, the said James Hodgson, my exórs, adiñors,
or assigns, or any of us, should in my or our discretions seem meet, for the
term of fourteen years from the date of the said grant now in recital next and
immediately ensuing, and fully to be complete and ended, according to the
Statute in such case made and provided, with a proviso that if I, the said
James Hodgson, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature o
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar

page_text: months next and immediately after the date of those Her Majesty's Letters
Patent, then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages what-
soever thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void,
anything therein before contained to the contrary thereof in anywise not-
withstanding.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Hodgson, in compliance with the
said proviso in the said Letters Patent contained, do hereby declare that the
nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, that is to say:
My Invention relates to a mode of combining and applying machinery,
whereby I am enabled to employ a rotatory spiral cutter for cutting and
planing wood, so as to produce plain or moulded surfaces; and in order to
give the best information in my power I will proceed to describe the Drawing
hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a side view of a machine for working with a rota-
tory spiral cutter working in a direction transversely of the grain of the wood.
Figure 2 shows an end view; Figure 3 shows a plan or horizontal representa-
tion of the same; and Figure 4 is a section of the spiral cutter on a larger
scale. In each of these Figures the same letters and figures of reference are
used to denote the same parts whenever they occur.
A, A, represent a cast-iron bed or frame planed perfectly true on its upper
edges, and may be made of any length or breadth required. B, B, represent
the cast-iron legs for supporting the bed or frame A, A, which are to be bolted
down to the floor, so as to keep the frame or bed steady and secure. C, C,
represent a moveable or sliding table made of cast iron, and planed perfectly
true and straight on its under edge, so as to slide smoothly and equally over
the frame A, A. 0, 0, 0, represent a spiral cutter, which is a twisted bar of
steel or of iron with a steel edge, and turns on centres at the point Z, Z, in the
Figures 2 and 3. The cutting edge is formed at only one edge of the plate or
bar of which the spiral cutter is composed, and it will be seen that the cutting
edge proceeds from one end to the other in a spiral direction around its axis of
motion, and in this particular differs materially from the rotatory cutters now in
use, which have their cutting edges straight. The spiral cutter 0, 0, 0, shown
in the Drawing, will produce plain surfaces only, and when moulded surfaces
are to be produced I make the cutting edge of the spiral cutter, with such
indentations as will cut the desired mouldings; and in order to form the proper

page_text: figure of cutting edge to the spiral cutter, one mode is, to affix a steel tool of
the figure of each intended moulding under the spiral cutter, and cause the
spiral cutter to revolve, and thus to cut away the edge of the spiral cutter to
the figure desired, progressively advancing the tool as the indent is produced
in the cutting edge of the spiral cutter, and when the proper figure is obtained,
I, by means of a file applied in the usual way, bring the edge of the indent to
a sufficient sharpness for the purpose required. In using such spiral cutters
for making moulding, there may be many mouldings produced at one time, or
part of the cutting edge may be working to produce mouldings, and the other
part plain surfaces, but in each cases the work performed may, with advantage,
be on different lengths of wood, and of different thicknesses where the mould-
ings are to be deep, such pieces of wood being fixed side by side. The small
pulley or rigger G is affixed to the same driving axis as the large pulley P 1,
and by means of a strap or band motion is communicated to a pulley or rigger
secured to the shaft K of the traverse gearing, which shaft has a worm wheel,
by means of which motion is communicated to the wheel K¹, and consequently
to the axis K, to which the wheel K' is affixed, there being a cog wheel K³
affixed on the axis K', which takes into and drives the toothed rack affixed
under the table C, C, by which means the table having the wood affixed thereto
is moved, and is progressively brought under the spiral revolving cutter.
W represents the handle or winch, by means of which the sliding table C, C,
is brought back again by the hand after it has advanced to its extremity.
E, E, represents a frame or slide, which is supported from behind by two
metallic frames marked F, F, for holding the spiral cutter 0, 0, 0; by means
of the screw E, H, and the handle I, I, the spiral cutter O, O, O, may be
raised or depressed, or adjusted to any convenient height above the sliding
table C, C, according to the depth of cutting which may be required.
R, R, R, represent an apparatus for holding down the wood at the instant it
passes from under the cutters. The iron rods V, V, rest upon a roller or
rollers according to the wood to be cut, and is secured to the frame E, E, at
the points Q and S, and from the point Ta lever K is extended in a horizontal
direction to carry a weight moveable at pleasure, according to the pressure
required. When the machine is in action the spiral cutter 0, 0, 0, is made
to revolve at a very rapid speed by the bands or straps passing around the
riggers, pullies, or drums marked P1, P2, P3, and P 4, as shewn in the
Drawing, but the position of the pullies, as represented in the Plan, is not
essential; they may be fixed at any convenient position or place. These riggers,
pullies, or drums I assume to be set in motion by steam or other prime mover.
L, L, represent a wooden cover of the length and breadth of the sliding

page_text: table C, C, and of an inch and a half in thickness, and which is secured by
screws to the upper surface of the sliding table C, C. The wooden cover L. L,
serves as a block for fastening the wood intended to be cut. M, M, represents
a piece of wood intended to be cut placed upon the wooden cover L, L, and
may be of any length or breadth short of the length and breadth of the
cover L, L, upon which it is to be securely fastened by nails or screws, or by
moveable pinching screws. When the wood M, M, is to be cut, the sliding
table C, C, is set in motion by the traverse gearing K, K, and carries the
wood M, M, to the spiral cutter 0, 0, 0, and when the whole length of the
wood M, M, has passed under the spiral revolving cutter, planeing or mould-
ing will be executed, and the wood M, M, may be removed, and the sliding
table C. C, may be made to return to its former position by the hand being
applied to the handle W, which gives a reverse motion to the gearing K, K.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I make no
claim to any of the parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the precise
arrangement shown, so long as the peculiar property of my Invention be
retained. And I would have it understood that what I claim is, the mode
herein described of combining and applying machinery, whereby I am enabled
to employ a spiral rotatory cutter for the purpose of cutting and plancing
wood, so as to produce plain or moulded surfaces.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Hodgson, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Third day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.