CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PLANES;
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
SILCOCK, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Thirty-first day of January, in the seventh year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James
Silcock, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said James Silcock, my exors, adñiors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said James Silcock, my exors, adñiors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of Her Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion
of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN PLANES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that I, the said James Silcock, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Silcock, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully set forth and ascertained
in and by the following Specification thereof, reference being had to the Sheets
of Drawings hereunto annexed, marked A and B, that is to say:-
The first of my said improvements consists of a double fillister plane, which
is so constructed that it is capable of filletting boards of all sizes from about
three-eighths of an inch to about three inches, and may be adapted to the
several purposes of a filleting plane, a side fillister, a sash or back fillister,
and a skewed rabbet plane.
Figure 1 is a top view of the right-side plane of this double fillister, and
Figure 2 a similar view of the left-side plane; Figure 3 is a side elevation of
Figure 1, and Figure 4 a side elevation of Figure 2. These two planes, when
joined together by the chase or frame P, in manner afterwards explained, form
the entire tool in its most complete state. A¹, A', are the fore parts of the
body of each plane, and A2, A3, the back parts; H, H, are the pieces which
connect the front and back parts; Y', Y', are the stocks, and Y, Y, the
handles; B, B, are the vertical cutters, attached to the fore ends of the planes.
A front view of one of these cutters is given in Figure 5; it is fixed in its
place partly by means of a screw C passed through a cleft in the upper end of
the cutter into the fore end of the body of the plane, and partly by a pin D,
which projects from the said fore end and fits into the cleft, the addition of the
pin D being requisite to keep the cutter perpendicular to the side of the plane,
and also to prevent it from being driven aside when in the course of use.
E, E, are the horizontal cutters, or what are ordinarily called "the irons,"
which, instead of being fixed, as usual, by means of wedges, are secured to their
beds by screws F, F, passed through clefts G, G, in the top ends of the irons
into the stock; L is the mouth of the plane; P is a chase or frame which
projects from and is attached at the inner end to the top of the fore part A' of
the body of the right-hand plane, and slides into a recess R, R, on the top of
the fore part A', of the body of the left-hand plane; the outer edges of the
chase P being bevilled inwards, and the inner edges of the recess R bevilled
outwards to correspond with the former. According to the length to which this
chase P is slid into the recess R, will necessarily be the distance preserved
between the two planes, and that distance may be varied to suit (as before
mentioned) boards of all sizes, from three-eighths of an inch to three inches.
To fix the planes at any required distance from each other there is a traversing
male screw T attached to the chase P, which takes into a female screw U in
the recess R; this screw T having a sliding cushion S, by which it can be moved

page_text: to and fro to any part of the frame P, and the sides of the cushion S being
bevilled to correspond with the bevilled inner edges of the chase P. I is a fence
by which the distance between the check or fillet and the front of the deal is
regulated; L is the inner edge plate of the fence; K is a chase or frame
(similar to P) which projects from and is attached at the inner end to the
bottom of the fore part of the left-handplane; and M (a separate view of
which is given in Figure 6) is a third chase which projects from and is
attached to the outer edge of the fence I; the chase M sliding within the
case K, and the two chases having for this purpose corresponding bevils at the
parts where they come in contact. The lower chase M carries a fixed screw N,
and the upper one a sliding nut O, similar to the sliding cushion S, so that
when the fence is being adjusted to any required position it can be secured
there by bringing the nut O over the screw N, and screwing up the one into.
the other. To regulate the height to be given to the fillet, a stop, of which side
and top views are given separately in Figures 7 and 8, is made use of; the
stem V of this stop fits into a recess W in the fore end of the body of the plane,.
and by passing a screw X through a slot in the stem V and the hole Z, the
stop is fixed at any required degree of elevation, and the depth of the cut thus
determined. When this tool is intended to be used as a filleting plane both
the right and left side planes are required to be employed, combined together
in the manner before represented, and fixed at a distance from each other cor-
responding to the breadth of the fillet; to use it as a side fillister the left side
plane only (represented in Figures 2 and 4) is required with the stop inscrte !
into the recess W; when it is to be used as a sash or back fillister the right side
plane only (represented in Figures 1 and 3) is employed, but with a slight
modification in the figure of the fence, which is made as represented in the
side and top views, Figures 9 and 10. To use the tool as a skewed rabbet
plane, the right-hand plane with its chase P and the fence F are laid aside and
the left-hand plane only employed.
All the parts of the tool are made of cast iron, protected by tinning or
zinking from corrosion, with the exception of the stock, the handle, and body
of the fence which are of wood; and with the exception also of the screws F, F,
the cushion of the travelling screw T, and the sliding nut O, which are all of
brass. The fore and back parts, A' and A³, are cast in one piece. The wood
of the handle is not cut across the grain, as usual, but with the fibres running
in a direction at right angles with the body of the planes, whereby a consider-
able encrease of strength is gained.
The second of my said improvements consists of a fluting or grooving
plough, constructed in the manner represented in Figures 1 and 2, Sheet B of

page_text: for
the Drawings hereunto annexed; Figure 1 is a top plan, and Figure 2 a side
elevation of this tool. A¹ is the fore part of the body, and A³ the back part,
which are connected together by a bow-shaped piece B; C is the cutting iron,
shewn separately in Figure 3, which is secured to its bed by a screw D in the
same manner as the irons of the double fillister plane before described, and
made still more secure by the addition to the bed of two side pieces or cheeks
E, E, within which the cleft or upper end of the iron is made to fit tightly;
in the back of this iron, as in ordinary plough irons, there is a V groove
holding this iron to the plough plate K. The cleft in the upper end of the
iron is bevelled towards the back, and the brass washer R, through which
the screw D is passed, is made with a corresponding bevil; by which arrange-
ment the iron is prevented from being drawn out of its place, on the back
stroke of the plane, from any accumulation of chips in the groove. F is the
fence with its edge plate L; it is fixed at any distance required from the cutting
iron, by means of two chases G and H and a traversing nut and screw I¹, I³,
all similar to those employed in the case of the double fillister plane before
described. M is the stop by which the depth to be given to the groove is
determined; it is fixed and shifted by means of the screw N, which is passed
through a nut O into a hole in the bow-shaped connecting piece B; P is the
handle. In this tool the body is wholly of metal, but in all other respects as
regards the materials and mode of putting them together it possesses the same
peculiarities as the double fillister plane first before described.
The third of my said improvements consists of a dado grooving plane, with
which sixteen and more different sizes of work may be executed. Figure 4,
Sheet B, is an elevation, and Figure 5 a plan of this tool. A', A³, are the
front and back parts of the body of the plane, which are connected together
by the bow piece B. D is a plate (cast in the same piece with the body),
the lower edge of which forms the sole, and is about the eighth of an inch
thick. E is the plane iron, which is made at the upper end and secured in its
seat both in the same way as the irons of the double fillister and grooving
planes before described, and terminates at the cutting end in two projecting
edges a, a, which, when the iron is ground and set up, act as side cutters.
A view of a three-quarter-inch iron adapted to this plane is shewn separately in
F.gure 6, but the size may vary from an eighth of an inch to an inch and a quarter.
F is a stop fence for regulating the depth of the groove; it is fixed and shifted
by means of an upright arm F³, which slides in a groove in a projecting part
of the fore body of the plane, and a traversing nut and screw G, H. I is a
side fence, the under edge of which is all but flush with the sole of the plane;
it has two beve!-edged prongs b, b, which pass through a slot in the body of

page_text: the plane, and, by means of a traversing nut L inserted between these prongs
and a screw pin K, the fence is fixed in its proper working position, which is
when it is in a right line with the outer edge of the cutting iron, as represented
in Figure 5, Sheet B. M is the handle, which is made in the same way as
the handles of the other tools before described, but is the only part of this tool
which is made of wood. In all other respects, as regards the materials and
the mode of putting them together, the dado plane is the same as the double
fillister and ploughing planes.
The fourth of my said improvements consists of a "trying plane, suitable
for both rough and fine work, and constructed in manner following:-Figure 7
is a side elevation of this plane and Figure 8 an end view. Instead of being
formed of one piece of wood, as usual, it is composed of four or more separate
pieces peculiarly combined together. The part A, A, which forms the centre
or heart of the plane (lengthwise), is made out of a piece of beech with the
grain of the wood running crosswise, as usual; the proper place for the bed
and mouth of the plane having been determined these are cut out, and the two
pieces into which the piece of wood is thus separated are connected together
by two side pieces B, B, also of beech, or of any other suitable sort of wood,
placed with the fibre running longitudinally and tennoned to the central part A
by means of the tongues and grooves a, b; the tongues and grooves should
fit closely the one into the other particularly at top and bottom. The side
pieces B, B, are attached permanently to the fore part of A, either by means
of screws, as represented in the Drawings, or by glueing, or by both screws
and glue. At the back part the sides are secured by screws c, c, to the inside
piece A in such manner that they may be shifted occasionally. W, W, are
two oblong metal washers with oblong slots, w, w, in them, which are let into the
side pieces B, B, to such a depth that, when the screws c, c, are passed through
the slots into the wood, their heads shall be below the surface of the wood.
As the sole of the plane becomes worn down by use and the mouth becomes
consequently wider, by slackening or undoing the screws the back part of the
body A can be pushed forward and readjusted so as to keep the mouth of
the plane always of the best working width. The plane iron and its cover are
united to each other by means of a nut and screw D, the nut being inserted
in a bevil-sided slot so as to be nearly flush with the back of the iron, and.
thus united they are secured to the body of the plane by means of a screw E,
(instead of by wedges as usual), which is passed through the irons into a metal.
seat F let into the back part of the centre piece A. C is the handle, which
is made, like the other handles before described, with the grain of the wood at
right angles to the length of the plane, and let into and secured in the wood

page_text: in the manner represented by the dotted lines in Figure 7; at the front it is
dovetailed off so as to leave a shoulder d, which rests upon the top of the
centre piece A, and at the back there is a sufficient space left to allow of
the insertion of a wedge e, by driving in which the handle is firmly secured
in its place.
And the fifth and last of my said improvements consists of a moulding or
bead plane, constructed in the manner represented in Figure 9, which is a
side elevation, Figure 10, which is an end elevation, and Figure 11, which
is an under view of the same. A, A, A, is the sole of the plane, and B the
bed, which are cast together in one piece; C, C, are totes or pieces of wood
for holding the plane, which are secured to the metal bed B by screws; D is
the cutting iron, which, like those before described, is secured in its place by a
pinching screw E passed through a cleft in the head of the iron.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my.
improvements in planes are,-
First, the making of double fillister planes of the particular combination of
parts before described, whereby they can fillet boards of all sizes, from about
three-eighths of an inch to about three inches, and can also be adapted to the
several purposes of a filleting plane, a side fillister, a sash or back fillister, and
a skewed rabbet plane.
Second, the making fluting or grooving planes of the particular combination
of parts before described.
Third, the making of dado grooving planes of the particular combination of
parts before described.
Fourth, the making of trying planes of a number of pieces connected
together in manner before described
Fifth, the making of moulding or beading planes of parts combined and
secured in the manner before described.
Sixth, the securing of the irons of planes, whether of the preceding or of any s
other sorts, to their beds or seats, by means of screws and nuts as aforesaid,
instead of by wedges as usual.
Seventh, the use of chases with travelling nuts and screws in manner afore-
said, for varying the distance between the fences and cutting irons of planes.
Eighth, the use of stops of any of the sorts before described, or regulating
the height of fillets or depth of grooves.
And, ninth, the casting in one piece of those parts of planes which are of
metal and are before directed to be thus cast.
And such my Invention being to the best of my knowledge and belief

page_text: entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion
of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this
to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my said
Specification doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise,
with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
contained; wherefore I hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege
to my said Invention.
Enrolled the Thirty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.