A NEW PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR CUTTING MORTICES AND SLOTS IN TIMBER AND WOODWORK GENERALLY
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Willmer Pocock, of Spencer Road, Wandsworth,
in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "A NEW PORTABLE
APPARATUS FOR CUTTING MORTICES AND SLOTS IN TIMBER AND WOODWORK
GENERALLY."
Sealed the 28th March 1877, and dated the 3rd October 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Willmer Pocock at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd October 1876.
ALFRED WILLMER POCOCK, of Spencer Road, Wandsworth, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer. "A NEW PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR CUTTING MORTICES AND
SLOTS IN TIMBER AND WOODWORK GENERALLY."
This Invention relates to a portable apparatus for cutting mortices and slots, and
is composed of two clamps capable of attaching the apparatus to a door or other
wood to be operated upon. The clamps carry a sliding carriage which has an up-
and-down or a to-and-fro motion imparted to it, by preference by an adjustable link,
one end of which is fixed to one of the clamps, and the other to a pin which can be
alid in a slot cut in a wheel in order that the pin can be "sett" to determine the
length of the mortice or slot to be formed. This wheel has teeth on its edge geared
into by a pinion, the axle of which derives its motion from a worm on a sleeve
through which a sliding and revolving shaft is free to travel endwise. This shaft
carries the cutters at one end by which the mortice has to be cut, and it partakes
of its rotatory motion from a whorl formed on part of the sleeve driven by a gut
band from a hand wheel, also carried by one of the clamps or the frame to which
the clamps are fitted, the gut band being led over the whorl by pullies fitted for
the purpose.
The toothed wheel has a couple of cams on its inner surface, and these act upon
and press inwards a catch on a lever whose tail end is pressed upon in the reverse
direction by a pin encircled by a spring to keep the catch in contact with the wheel
in its rotation, the cams in their turn causing the lever to force down the pin
(which also acts as a spindle and carries a pinion) to keep a pinion out of gear with
the worm on the sleeve, this pinion being on the opposite side of the sliding frame,
whereby an alternate or intermittent end on travel of the cutter shaft takes place.
The pin spindle carries a worm to gear into a pinion on a separate shaft, a portion
of which is threaded and carries a threaded sliding socket piece forked to embrace

page_text: the cutter shaft, to which it is held by a collar fixable by a screw pin at any part
of the shaft to suit the depth of the slot or mortice to be cut.
The cutter shaft is of triangular or other equivalent shape in cross section, and
carries near the inner or cutting end another cutter or set of cutters of larger
diameter for cutting the rebate when cutting a mortice for a lock in the edge of a
door or a piece of wood, the cutter or cutters only coming into actual action while
the mortice cutters are doing their last travel up or down the slot or mortice.
The end-on travel of the rebate cutter or cutters is determined by a plate or strip
of metal being borne against by the collar of the mortice shaft just before it
completes the mortising, the two cutters or sets of cutters then working at the same
time.
The keyhole, when of an elongated shape, is cut by a supplementary cutter
working in a similar manner to the mortising cutter but at right angles to it; or
when of a circular shape by an ordinary or twist centre bit, an adjustable gauge
being secured to the clamping frame to guide it square with the door or panel, a
similar gauge being also provided for cutting the spindle hole.
The end-on movement of the cutter may be continuous, or it may be produced by
the action of an alternate movement of a pawl acting on a long rack, and the main
wheel, instead of being a spur wheel, may be a ratchet wheel, in which case the
pawl for working the ratchet wheel is fastened on a rocking arm worked to and fro
by an excentric or cam.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alfred Willmer Pocock in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd
April 1877.
Alfred WillMER POCOCK, of Spencer Road, Wandsworth, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer. "A NEW PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR CUTTING MORTICES AND
SLOTS IN TIMBER AND WOODWORK GENERALLY."
This Invention relates to a portable apparatus for cutting mortices and slots, and
is composed of two clamps capable of attaching the apparatus to a door or other wood
to be operated upon. The clamps carry a sliding carriage which has an up-and-down
or a to-and-fro motion imparted to it, by preference by an adjustable link, one end of
which is fixed to one of the clamps, and the other to a pin which can be slid in a slot
cut in a wheel in order that the pin can be "sett" to determine the length of the
mortice or slot to be formed. This wheel has teeth on its edge geared into by a pinion,
the axle of which derives its motion from a worm on a sleeve through which a sliding
and revolving shaft is free to travel endwise. This shaft carries the cutters at one
end by which the mortice has to be cut, and it partakes of its rotatory motion from a
whorl formed on part of the sleeve driven by a gut band or chain gearing from a
hand wheel, also carried by one of the clamps or the frame to which the clamps are
fitted, the gut band being led over the whorl by pullies fitted for the purpose.
The toothed wheel has a couple of cams or pins on its inner surface, and these
act upon and press inwards a catch on a lever whose tail end is pressed upon in the
reverse direction by a pin encircled by a spring to keep the catch in contact with
the wheel in its rotation, the cams in their turn causing the lever to force down the
pin (which also acts as a spindle and carries a pinion) to keep a pinion out of gear
with the worm on the sleeve, this pinion being on the opposite side of the sliding
frame, whereby an alternate or intermittent end on travel of the cutter shaft takes
· place.
The pin spindle carries a worm to gear into a pinion on a separate shaft, a portion
of which is threaded and carries a threaded sliding socket piece forked to embrace
the cutter shaft to which it is held by a collar fixable by a screw pin at any part
of the shaft to suit the depth of the slot or mortice to be cut.

page_text: The cutter shaft is of triangular or other equivalent shape in cross section, and
carries near the inner or cutting end another cutter or set of cutters of larger
diameter for cutting the rebate when cutting a mortise for a lock in the edge of a
door or a piece of of wood, the cutter or cutters only coming into actual action while
the mortice cutters are doing their last travel up or down the slot or mortice.
The end-on travel of the rebate cutter or cutters is determined by a plate or strip
of metal being borne against by the collar of the mortice shaft just before it
completes the morticing, the two cutters or sets of cutters then working at the
same time.
The end-on movement of the cutter may be continuous, or it may be produced
by the action of an alternate movement of a paul acting on a rack, and the main
wheel, instead of being a spur wheel, may be a ratchet wheel, in which case the
paul for working the ratchet wheel is fastened on a rocking arm worked to and fro
by an eccentric or.cam.
One detailed construction is clearly shown in the anmexed Drawings, of which
the following is a description:-
1
A is the frame or body casting consisting of two jaws with set screws for holding
the machine to the door or wood to be operated upon, which are joined by a
stretcher piece cast with them.
B, B, are two turned bars fitted into the frame casting and held in it by pins
passing through the frame or bosses cast on to the frame and the turned bars."
C is the carriage casting which carries the tool bar D and also the cog wheel E,
the pinion F, the bevel wheels G and H, the feeding screw J.
K is the driving wheel which runs on a pin fastened in the frame casting.
L is a socket which can be fixed at any part of the tool bar D by the set screw.
M is a forked nut working on the feeding screw J, in the fork of which the
socket L runs loosely.
N is a ratchet wheel fastened to the screw J.
O is a small tooth wheel fastened to the spindle which carries the bevel wheel G.
P is a tube which carries the tool bar, and which is driven by the bevel wheel H.
This tube has an enlarged head which carries the cutters for producing the recess
for the front plate of the lock.
Q is a small fly wheel fastened to the spindle which carries the toothed wheel O
and bevel wheel G.
R is a worm fastened by a screw to the tube P.
S is a toothed wheel attached to the spindle of the pinion F, and gears into and
is driven by the worm R.
T, T, are two pins projecting from the under side of the wheel E.
U is a lever to which is attached a small endless chain attached to the paul plate
and passing over two pullies to hold it taut. To this lever which moves on a pin
attached to the carriage C is fastened one end of a spiral spring, the other end of
which is attached to the carriage C. One of the pullies over which this chain
passes runs loosely on the screw shank J, the other runs on a screw pin in the
carriage C.
loosely on the screw shank J
V is the paul plate carrying the paul, and runs
and between the pulley over which the endless chain runs and the ratchet
wheel N.
W is a connecting rod pivotted to the frame at one end and the cranked lever X,
which is attached to the wheel E at the other end.
Figure 1 is a side elevation shewing the machine as attached to a door ready for
commencing to work, part of the driving wheel K and the whole of the fly wheel Q
being removed.
Figure 4 is an elevation of the machine turned over.
Figure 6 is an end view of the machine looking from Z.
Figure 5 is an end view looking from Y.
Figure 2 is a part section through dotted lines on Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a view of carriage with wheel E removed.

page_text: Figures 7 and 8 are enlarged views of end of carriage C to show the feeding
apparatus more distinctly.
Figure 10 is a section of tool bar for showing method of holding mortice cutter.
Figure 9 is an end elevation of tool for showing method of holding mortice cutter.
Figure 11 is an end view of mortice cutter ; Figure 12 is a side view of mortice cutter.
The arrows indicate the movement of the parts.
The action is as follows:-The driving wheel is turned by the handle in the
direction indicated by the arrow, and being geared by the driving chain to the
wheel drives this wheel, and with it the fly wheel Q and the bevil wheel G,
which in its turn drives the bevil wheel H. This wheel H is attached to the tube P
by a screw screwed into H and passing through a longitudinal slot in the tube P.
This screw projects sufficiently into the tube to carry the tool bar with the tube by
catching on the flat side or one of the flat sides of the tool bar which I prefer to
make three-sided to clear itself of the shaving or debris cut. The tube P carries the
worm R round with it, and this in its turn drives the wheel S and the pinion F,
which latter drives the wheel E. The revolution of the wheel E causes the
carriage C to move up and down the bars B, B; this motion gives the vertical cut
and the length of the cut in this direction is determined by the distance of the crank
pin W₁ from the centre of the wheel E.
When either of the pins T, T, come against the tail of the lever U, the lever U is
carried round on its fulcrum against the pull of the spring, which when the tail of
the lever is released draws it back into the position shown. This motion of the
lever carrying the small endless chain with it, which in its turn carries the paul
plate and paul, turns the screw round a certain distance in the fork nut M, and so
pushes the tool bar forward into the work.
The pins T, T, are so arranged that the feed shall be given when the carriage is
at or near the top and bottom of its traverse. It will be seen that by these
means the revolving motion of the tool bar is continuous, its traversing motion is
reciprocating, and its end-on or feed motion is intermittent.
The recess for the front plate of the lock is cut by the cutters fastened in the
head of the tube P, which is pushed forward by the socket L as it comes against
the outer end of the tube P.
The slot in which the screw of the wheel H works in the tube is to allow of this
end-on motion of the tube. The tube is kept in its place by the spiral spring which
encircles it, and which presses at one end against the wheel H in which the tube is
free to slide, and at the other end against the worm R which is attached to the
tube, and which is made sufficiently long to admit of sliding forward without
getting out of gear with the wheel S.
The vertical length of mortise or the traverse of the carriage can be regulated by
shifting the crank arm X which carries the crank pin W₁. This crank arm is
secured in its place by a pin attached to the flat spring at one end, and passing
through the tail of the crank arm drops into one of a series of holes in an index
plate formed on the wheel E, the crank arm being pivoted to the wheel E by a
screw, as shown. The width of the mortise is determined by the diameter of the
cutter. The depth can be determined by setting the socket L at any point of the
tool bar and working the machine until the fork nut is screwed right off the thread
on to the plain part of the screw shank between the ratchet wheel N and the end
of the thread, as shown, or the machine can be worked until the required depth is
arrived at, and there be removed.
The tool bar is brought back to its original position by the paul being thrown
out of gear and the screw being turned backwards by the milled head.
In the machine shown the wheel K has 35 teeth.

page_text: Screw two threads each three turns to one inch, and the lever U causes the screw.
to make about one-third of a revolution at each action; thus, to one turn of the.
driving wheel the tool bar makes 10%, revolutions, and to each revolution of the
wheel E the tool bar makes 300 revolutions, while at each traverse the tool bar
is pushed forward about 1/3 of 1/3rd of an inch equals 1/8th of an inch. Thus for
about 130 revolutions of the driving wheel the tool penetrates 1" into its work.
I have described the machine as worked by a chain, as I find this more satis-
factory than a cat gut band as there is no chance of its slipping. The chain must
be sufficiently loose to admit of the slack being taken up by the traverse of the
carriage without getting tight at the extreme end of the traverse; where a gut
band is used I keep it at the same tension by passing it over pullies attached to the
frame and others attached to the carriage in such a manner that it is always kept
taut; the driving wheel is then a grooved wheel for the gut to work in, and there
is a whorl upon the spindle which carries the wheels O and G or on the tube P if
worked direct.
The driving wheel may be an ordinary cog wheel and gear with the wheel O
direct if it is made to run on the carriage itself, or the spindle carrying the wheel O
may be turned itself, and if greater speed be required it can be given by enlarging
the wheel G.
The traverse may be given in different ways from that shown, for instance by a
screw or a cam, and the feed may be given by a ratchet and pauls.
The keyhole, when of an elongated shape, is cut by a supplementary cutter
working in a similar manner to the mortising cutter but at right angles to it, or
when of a circular shape by an ordinary or twist centre bit an adjustable gauge,
being secured to the clamping frame to guide it square with the door or panel; a
similar gauge being also provided for cutting the spindle hole.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim, the combination of
parts shown and described or their mechanical equivalents forming a portable
apparatus capable of being attached to a door or piece of timber for cutting mortices
or slots in which the cutter revolves, and which travels to and fro whilst the body
of the machine and the wood operated upon remains stationary.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Willmer Pocock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 3rd day of April, One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-seven.
ALF. WILLMER POCOCK. (L.S.)