Machine for Opening Skins.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Jan., 1896-Accepted, 30th May, 1896
Machine for Opening Skins.
1, PATRICK YOUNG, Manufacturer, of Rose Street, Danbury, Connecticut,.
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention has for its object to produce simple and convenient mechanism for
opening the dried skins of fur bearing animals, which have been removed therefrom.
without cutting same open.
It is well understood by those familiar with the art that the skins of fur bearing
animals are stripped off, dried and packed solidly in bales for shipment. It is
furthermore well understood that in order to remove the fur from the skins as for
example for making hats and for similar purposes it is necessary to cut open the
skins and open them out flat. This is true no matter what process may be employed
to separate the fur from the skin. The operation of opening the skins has bereto-.
fore so far as I am aware, been performed by hand, and the cutting open has been
done with a knife, thus making the operation of preparing the skins for the
removal of the fur quite a slow and expensive operation. This operation I now
perform by means of a machine which opens and cuts the skins rapidly thus effecting
a great saving of time and consequently in the cost of preparing the fur for use as
in the manufacture of hats and for other analogous purposes.
With this end in view I have devised the novel machine of which the following
description in connection with the accompanying drawing is a specification, numbers
being used to designate the several parts.
Fig. 1 is a side view of my novel machine, and
Fig. 2 is a rear elevation.
1 denotes a suitable bed or table which is supported by legs 2. 3 denotes a
standard which may be rigidly secured to the bed and has journaled thereon a
shaft 4 carrying a saw 5 and a belt pulley 6 through which rotary movement is
imparted to the shaft and saw by a belt, not shown, passing over the belt pulley.
7 denotes suitable boxes on the standard in which the shaft is journaled. 8 denotes
a suitable horn projecting upward from the bed. This horn I make approximately
in the form of a half cone the face of the horn being flattened as at 9 and provided
with a kerf 10 to receive the edge of the saw, the back of the horn being
preferably a convex curve both longitudinally and transversely and the face of the
cone at the top being beveled as at 11 leaving a dull straight or slightly rounded
edge at the top as at 12. This horn is preferably carried by a plate 13 which is
adapted to slide on the bed for the purpose of adjustment and is locked in position
by a set screw 14 passing through a slot in the plate and engaging the bed.
The operation will be readily understood from the drawing. The horn is properly
adjusted relatively to the saw and rotary movement is imparted to the latter.
The operator takes the skins in both hands, placing an open end of each skin over
the horn, the edge of the horn passing within the skin and then drawing the skin
down over the horn, the saw cutting the skin as it is drawn down. A single quick
movement for each skin is all that is required to open it out and to cut it. The
skins are opened out and cut in this manner with great rapidity, no skilled labor
being required, a single unskilled operator doing with my improved machine the
work of four or five skilled operators and doing it better as the skins are perfectly
opened out by being drawn down over the horn.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
The combination in a machine for opening and cutting dried skins of a semi-
conical horu provided in its flat side with a kerf, its upper end being beveled and
provided with a dull edge by which the skins are opened out and a saw engaging
the kerf by which the skins are cut as they are drawn down.
Dated this 21st day of December 1895.
PATRICK YOUNG.