IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR FINISHING LEATHERS
Year: 1885

page_text: We, HENRY SCOTT BARROW, 29 Burford Road Nottingham Accountant JOHN
BOSTOCK, 31, Edwin. Street, Nottingham Currier and GEORGE ALBERT HARDY,
Hawthorn Street, Nottingham, Leather-dresser in the county of Nottinghamshire
do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES
FOR FINISHING LEATHERS to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in machines for finishing leathers,
such as roans, goats, buck, doe, white-leather, buffs &c. Our invention consists,
partly in providing a better and easier means for raising and lowering the feeding
rollers, in order to increase the knife surface, and to enable the top roller being
raised; and partly in an arrangement for increasing or diminishing-according to
the nature of the skin or leather operated upon-the rubbing surface of the facing
roller; the said improvements relating principally to that class of finishing
machines described in the specification of G. A. Hardy, No.7530, of 1884. They
are also applicable to finishing machines of other descriptions.
In carrying our invention into effect, a vertical slot is cast on, or fixed to, the
tops of each of the standards; each slot receives two dies; each die is provided
with a hole which form the bearings for the ends of the feeding rollers. The said
dies fit the slots in such a manner, and the slots are of such suitable length, as to
allow the dies, and with them the feeding rollers, to move up or down the said
slots, as may be required. Each of the lower dies are provided with rods, which
rods are fastened thereto; holes are drilled in the upper dies to permit the rods to
pass through and above them. At a convenient distance above the top dies these
rods are braced together by a plate; each plate is provided with a boss, in which
is fixed the lower end of a screw: the said screws are continued clear of the tops of
the slots, and a suitable wheel or handle is fixed thereon to enable the lower roller
being raised or lowered. A cap is fixed to the top of the slots, against which the
face of the lower boss is kept, by suitable means or, the lower end of the screw
may be made to move freely in the plate which braces the rods together, a nut
provided in the cap, and a hand-wheel fixed to the top end of the screw, for the
purpose of raising or lowering the lower feeding roller, to give more or less knife
surface on the skin or leather being dressed or finished.-The upper feeding roller

page_text: is made to move up and down the said slots; by rods, the upper ends of which are
received on pins, provided in the top dies; the opposite ends of these rods are each
connected to a cross rod, which passes underneath the machine, the said cross rod
receives one end of a locking lever, which lever is fulcrumed conveniently in or
about the middle of the machine; the said lever is continued to the front of the
machine, and is provided with a suitable paul or catch, which engages in a ratchet-
toothed quadrant. By raising or lowering this locking lever, the operator is
enabled to raise or lower the upper feeding roller, in order to place a fresh skin or
leather, and by lowering the lever, and locking it in the quadrant, the said roller is
kept firm. In order to move the facing roller so as to give more or less rubbing
surface, to the leather operated upon, the, bearings which carry the said facing
roller are made movable in a vertical direction, in slots provided in the standards,
by screws worked from the underneath of the said bearings.
ALFRED H. DAVIES, M. Inst. M.E.,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Machines for Finishing Leathers.
We, HENRY SCOTT BARROW of Hyson Green, Nottingham, Accountant, JOHN
BOSTOCK of Edwin Street St Anns Well Road, Nottingham Currier and GEORGE
ALBERT HARDY of Lenton Nottingham, Leather Finisher do hereby declare the
nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR FINISHING LEATHERS
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object improvements in machines for finishing leathers
such as roans goats buck doe white leather buffs, etc.
Our Invention consists partly in providing a better and easier means for raising
and lowering the feeding rollers in order to increase the knife surface, and to
enable the top feeding roller to be raised and lowered: and partly in an arrange-
ment for increasing or diminishing (according to the nature of the skin operated
upon) the grinding surface of the facing roller: the said improvements relate
principally to that class of finishing machines described in the specification of
George Albert Hardy No 7,530 of 1884, they are also applicable to finishing
machines of other descriptions.
In carrying our Invention into effect a vertical slot is cast on the top of each of
the standards: each slot receives two dies: each die is provided with a hole which
form the bearings for the ends of the feeding rollers: the said dies fit the slots in
such a manner and the slots are of such suitable length as to allow the dies, and
with them the feeding rollers to move up and down the said slots as may be
required. Each of the lower dies are provided with rods or strips which are
fastened thereto, provision is made in the upper dies to permit these rods to pass
by and above them, at a convenient distance above the top dies they are braced
together by a plate, each plate receives the lower end of a screw: the said screws
are continued clear of the top of the slots and a suitable wheel or handle is fixed
thereon to enable the lower roller being raised or lowered, nuts for the said screws
are provided in the caps which are fixed to the top of the slots.
Each of the lower dies is provided with a finger which point to indices cut on
each outer face of the slots in order to enable the lower feeding roller to be fastened
parallel to the knives.
The upper feeding roller is made to move up and down the said slots by rods,
the upper ends of which are received on the ends of the feeding roller spindle, the
opposite ends of these rods are each connected to a cross rod which passes under-
neath the machine, the said cross rod receives one end of a locking lever which
lever is fulcrumed conveniently to a lug or projection cast on one of the standards
of the machine the said lever is continued to the front of the machine and is
provided with a suitable catch lever which engages in a toothed sector.
By raising or lowering this locking lever the attendant is enabled to raise or
lower the upper feeding roller in order to place a fresh skin or leather, and by
lowering the lever and locking it in the sector the said roller is kept firm.
In order to move the facing roller so as to give more or less grinding surface to
the leather or skin operated upon, the bearings which carry the said facing roller

page_text: are made moveable in a vertical direction in slots provided in the standards, by
screws worked from the underneath and from the top of the bearings.
And in order that our improvements may be fully understood we will now
proceed to describe the Drawings annexed hereto.
.
Fig. 3. shows portion of the machine to which part of our improvements parti-
cularly refer.
Fig. 4. is a vertical section through the bearings of the facing roller.
Fig. 5. is a side elevation of one of the bosses for carrying the knives, and
Fig. 6. is a plan of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
A is the standards provided with bearings for the following revolving shafts: for
the first motion shaft C: the knives shaft D and the facing roller shaft E, the said
standards are further provided with brackets F and G with radial slots for the
purpose hereinafter described with the vertical slots H which contain the dies or
bearings for the india rubber covered feeding rollers I and J, and with the vertical
slots K which contain the bearings of the facing roller.
· The said standards are braced together by suitable stretchers or tie rods as
shown at S¹.
The first motion shaft C is provided on left hand side of machine with a fast
and loose pulley L and L' with a spur wheel M which communicates motion to
the wheel N upon the knives shaft, and to the intermediate wheel O which in
turn revolves the wheel P on the shaft of the facing roller.
On the right hand side of machine the shaft C communicates motion through
the wheel R to the intermediate S thense to the spur wheel T which is keyed to
the shaft of the lower feeding roller I.
The knives U consist of a number of thin blades with sharp edges secured in the
grooves in the bosses and coiled in the manner shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 5. & 6. show
more plainly the method of securing the knives in the bosses, the grooves a, are
machined out to the angle it is required the knives should be fixed, and are secured
therein by, the screws b.
The bearings or dies of the lower feeding roller I are provided on the outer faces
by an index finger c¹ which points to the index provided on the face of the slot.
The object of the index is to enable the attendant when raising or lowering the
Baid roller to keep it parallel with the knives and facing roller. The said lower
roller is lowered and raised by the following means-which is shown on a larger
scale at Fig. 3: on each side of the die V is secured rods d and d by the screws e. e.
the rods are produced above the top die W and terminate in the cross piece ✗
which is provided with a hole to receive the end of the screw Y the said screw is
provided with a hand wheel A¹ and a lever lock nut B' a nut is provided for the
screw in the cap Z.
By this arrangement it will be seen that by turning the hand wheels A¹ the
lower roller I will accordingly be raised or lowered, and secured parallel to the
knives by locking the said screws Y when the index fingers point to corresponding
lines on the indices.
The bracket F is provided with a radial slot concentric with the wheel R, and
when the roller is raised or lowered, the axle of the intermediate wheel S is
adjusted up or down the said radial slot in order to keep the wheels S. and T. in
gear.
-
The arrangement for raising or lowering the top feeding roller J is as follows:-
the rod C¹ connects from the end of the roller shaft to a cross rod D¹ which passes
underneath the machine to receive one end of the rod J connected to the other
end of the feeding roller; the said cross rod receives one end of a locking lever E
3

page_text: which is fulcrumed at F1 to a projection cast on one of the standards, the locking
lever E is continued to the front of the machine, and is provided with a catch
lever H¹ which engages in the notches cut in the notched-sector I¹. When it is
required to raise the roller J, the attendant presses in with his hand the catch
lever H¹ which movement relieves the other end of the catch lever from the notch
in the sector I¹ he then moves the lever E¹ downwards which causes the roller J to
lift up, and by allowing the catch lever H¹ to engage in one of lower notches in
the sector the roller J can be kept in this position.
The facing roller M¹ can be raised or lowered in order to give more or less
grinding surface to the skin or leather operated upon by the screws N¹ and O¹
operating upon the die S" and in order to keep the said roller parallel to the
knives an index may be employed on the face of the bearing as shown at d
When the facing roller is raised or lowered provision is made to keep the inter-
mediate wheel O in gear with the wheel P by moving accordingly the axle P¹ of
the wheel up or down the radial slot provided in the bracket G.
The machine is worked as follows:-The attendant on the front side of machine
first raises the upper feeding roller through the medium of the locking lever which
he secures in one of the notches of the sector plate, he then lays the end of the
skin to be dressed over the top of the lower feeding roller and secures it there by
lowering the upper roller on to the lower one so that the skin is gripped between
them, the attendants at the back of the machine take hold of the neck end thus
put through the feeding rollers, the machine is then put into motion, the attendant
on the front holding the skin over the knives while the attendants at the back
conduct it over the facing roller: when the skin has passed through the feeding
rollers it is changed round and the operation repeated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
First. The arrangement for adjusting the lower feeding roller consisting of the
rods d and secured to the sides of the die V and braced at the top end by the
cross piece X of a screw attatched to the said cross piece provided with a hand
wheel at its upper end, and a nut in the cap Z all substantially as set forth and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The arrangement for raising and lowering the upper feeding roller J
consisting of the connecting rods C¹ and J¹ of the cross rod D₁ the locking lever E¹
fulcrumed at F1 and moveable about a notched sector I, all substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Third. The arrangement for adjusting the facing-roller consisting of a die Su
capable of vertical adjustment by the screws N' and O' all substantially as set forth
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
D-11 100e