IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHAPING WOOD
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Wilson, Engineer, in the Employment of
Powis and James, of Watling Street, in the City of London, Engineers,
Sealed the 11th September 1863, and dated the 11th March 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Wilson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th March
1863.
I, HENRY WILSON, Engineer, in the Employment of Powis and James, of
Watling Street, in the City of London, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHAPING
WOOD," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in constructing machinery arranged and acting in
manner hereafter stated, whereby wood is shaped, either one piece or several
pieces at one time, to the form of a metal or other suitable hard template or
guide by means of rotating cutters, which act upon the wood in the direction
of the grain thereof, whereby a smooth and even surface is obtained.
I proceed to describe my improvements in machinery adapted, by way of
example, to the shaping of, say, four spokes at one and the same time. A bed
somewhat similar to that of a planing machine is set upon a frame, so as to

page_text: be capable of to-and-fro motion thereon. At the further end of this bed are
fixed five blocks or puppets, which carry spindles free to revolve simul-
taneously, and at the same speed upon motion being communicated to them by
toothed gear. The bed is slotted, and carries at the opposite end a frame,
having formed in a piece with it five puppets in a line with those before
mentioned. Each carries a spindle free to revolve. The slots enable the
movable puppets to be approached to or receded from those which are fixed;
the central spindles have fixed between them the metal spoke serving as the
pattern, to which the blanks mounted between the remaining spindles are to
be cut and shaped. The bed is made to travel to and fro under the cutters,
to be presently described, by means of a threaded shaft running the length of
the frame, and engaging into a nut under the table. The table is capable of
being put out of gear with the shaft by turning a wheel or lever at the front
of the table connected to the nut, so as to disengage it. A rack is fixed
under the table at one side, to enable it to be moved to and fro by a
hand wheel, on the shaft of which a toothed wheel gearing into the rack is
fixed. Two standards carried up from the sides and near the centre if the
frame carry the axis of levers, the arms of which carry a steel shaft provided
with four cutlery tools or chisels. These tools are set to act upon the four
wood blanks fixed between the puppet spindles; when at work this cutter shaft
is driven by belt or other suitable gearing at great speed. A tracer shaft is
fixed above the cutter shaft, it carries a guide or tracer, which rests upon and
is acted on by the metal pattern spoke. These shafts and the arms of the
levers are connected through the opposite arms with levers carried under the
frame, to which shifting balance, weights are adapted to counterbalance the
weight of the cutter shaft, tracer shaft, and parts connected with them. The
blanks and the metal pattern spoke being properly fixed between the puppet
spindles, and all the parts being in gear, the bed moves to and fro under the
rapidly rotating cutters, the pattern spoke and the blanks all revolving, say, at
thirty revolutions per minute, the tracer guides the cutter shaft so as to cause its
cutters revolving, say, at from 3,000 to 3,500 times per minute, to cut, produce,
and shape the blanks to precisely the same shape as that of the metal pattern.
I have merely instanced spokes as being shaped, but various other articles
may be shaped in the machine to the shape of the metal template or pattern
fixed on the bed, and on and over which the guide tracer is made to travel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILSON, Engineer, in the Employment of Powis and James, of Watling
Street, in the City of London, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Wilson, Her special licence, that I, the said Henry Wilson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Wilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during tho
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR SHAPING WOOD," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Henry Wilson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Wilson, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
My Invention consists in constructing machinery arranged and acting in
manner hereafter stated, whereby wood is shaped, either one piece or several
pieces at one time, to the form of a metal or other suitable hard template or
guide by means of rotating cutters, which act upon the wood in the direction
of the grain thereof, whereby a smooth and even surface is obtained.
I proceed to describe my improvements in machinery adapted, by way of
example, to the shaping of, say, four spokes at one and the same time. A bed
somewhat similar to that of a planing machine is set upon a frame, so as to
be capable of to-and-fro motion thercon. At the further end of this bed aro

page_text: fixed five blocks or puppets, which carry spindles free to revolve simultaneously,
and at the same speed upon motion being communicated to them by toothed
gear. The bed is slotted, and carries at the opposite end a frame, having
formed in a piece with it five puppets in a line with those before mentioned.
Each carries a spindle. The slots enable the movable puppets to be approached
to or receded from those which are fixed. The central spindles have fixed
between them the metal spoke serving as the pattern, to which the blanks
mounted between the remaining spindles are to be cut and shaped. The bed
is made to travel to and fro under the cutters, to be presently described, by
means of a threaded shaft running the length of the frame, and engaging into
a nut under the table. The table is capable of being put out of gear with
the shaft by turning a wheel or lever at the front of the table connected to the
nut, so as to disengage it. A rack is fixed under the table at one side, to
enable it to be moved to and fro by a hand wheel, on the shaft of which a
toothed wheel gearing into the rack is fixed. Two standards carried up from
the sides and near the centre of the frame carry the axis of levers, the arms
of which carry a steel shaft provided with cutting tools or chisels. These
tools are set to act upon the four wood blanks fixed between the puppet
spindles; when at work this cutter shaft is driven by belt or other suitable
gearing at great speed. A tracer shaft is fixed above the cutter shaft; it
carries a guide or tracer, which rests upon and is acted on by the metal
pattern spoke. These shafts and the arms of the levers are connected through
the opposite arms with levers carried under the frame, to which shifting
balance weights are adapted to counterbalance the weight of the cutter shaft,
tracer shaft, and parts connected with them. The blanks and the metal
pattern spoke being properly fixed between the puppet spindles, and all the
parts being in gear, the bed moves to and fro under the rapidly rotating
cutters, the pattern spoke and the blanks all revolving, say, at thirty revolutions
per minute; the tracer guides the cutter shaft, so as to cause its cutters
revolving, say, at from 3,000 to 3,500 times per minute to cut, producé, and
shape the blanks to precisely the same shape as that of the metal pattern. I
have merely instanced spokes as being shaped, but various other articles may
be shaped in the machine to the shape of the metal template or pattern fixed
on the bed, and on and over which the guide tracer is made to travel.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a side elevation, Figure 2 a
plan, and Figure 3 a transverse section through the line x, x, of Figure 1, of
machinery for shaping wood constructed according to my Invention.
A is a metal frame upon which I set a bed B, somewhat similar to that of
a planing machine, and capable of to-and-fro motion upon the frame. At

page_text: the further end of the bed B I fix five blocks or puppets a, b, b, b, b, which
carry spindles free to revolve simultaneously and at the same speed upon
motion being communicated to them by toothed gear C driven by a toothed
wheel D feathered upon a central shaft E, to which motion is imparted from
the driving shaft F through bevel gearing G, as shewn. The bed B is slotted
at I, I, and carries at its front end a frame H, having formed in a piece with
it five puppets a, b, b', b¹, b', in a line with the puppets a, b, b, b, b; each
carries a threaded spindle. The slots I, I, enable the puppets a', 6', b¹, b', b¹;
to be moved nearer to or further from the puppets a, b, b, b, b. The spindles
of the central puppets a, a', have fixed between them the template or metal
pattern, spoke, or other article K to which the blanks L, L, L, L, mounted
between the remaining spindles are to be cut and shaped. The bed B is made
to travel to and fro under the cutters by means of the threaded shaft E, which
runs the length of the frame, and engages into a nut c under the table B.
The table is capable of being put out of gear with the shaft E by turning a
lever M connected to the nut c, so as to disengage it. Upon returning the
lever M the table is again put into gear, and the lever is held by a spring
catch c. A rack N is fixed under the table, to enable it to be moved to and
fro by a hand wheel O, on the shaft of which a toothed wheel P gearing into
the rack N is fixed. Two standards Q, Q, carry the axis of levers R, R, the
arms of which carry a steel shaft S, provided with four sets of cutting tools or
chisels d, d, d, d. These tools are set to act upon the four wood blanks
L, L, L, L. When at work the shaft S is driven at great speed by a belt
passing over the pulley T, or otherwise. U is a tracer connected to a block
or bearing V, through which the shaft S passes and revolves; the upper part
of the block V passes through a transverse bar W, connecting the arms of the
two levers R, R, and is formed hollow, to receive oil or other lubricant for
lubricating the centre of the shaft S; X, X, are rods connecting the levers R, R.,
with a shaft. Y passing transversely beneath the table, to which shaft one end
of a bar Z is connected, to the other end of which a shifting balance weight e
is adapted to counterbalance the weight of the cutter shaft, tracer, and parts
connected with them. The weight e is made to travel to and fro along the
bar Z by turning the screw f, which passes through a collar on the head of
the weight. By moving the weight as required the depth to which the cutters
descend and cut the blanks is regulated. The bar Z is centred upon a trans-
verse shaft g, to one end of which a lever h with a handle is fixed. This
lever passes through a curved guide j, and is furnished with a screw pin,
which passes through a slot k in the curved guide; upon the screw pin a
key is screwed, by turning which the lever / may be locked in any part of

page_text: the guide required. The distance over which the bed B travels is regulated
by a projection m on the side thereof coming against one of the stops n, n',
on a rod o in connection with a bell-crank lever a¹ and rod y' for moving the
band from the fast to the loose pulley, and vice versâ; p is a handle on-the
rod o, by acting on which the attendant can stop the machine when the table
is at any part of its course.
The operation is as follows:-While the blanks L, L, L, L, and the pattern
spoke K are being fixed between the puppet spindles, the cutting tools d, d, d, d,
the shaft S, and the levers R, R, are raised clear of the blanks, owing to the
lever being depressed and locked, and the driving band is upon the loose
pulley. To set the machine to work, the lever M is moved into the position
shewn in the Drawing, where it is held by the spring catch c¹; and the nut c
then comes into gear with the shaft E. The band is now moved from the
loose to the fast pulley by pulling the handle p, and the table B begins to
travel from the front of the machine; the cutting tools d, d, d, d, are then
lowered by unlocking and raising the lever h, and begin to act upon the
blanks L, which, with the template K, revolve, say, at 30 revolutions per
minute; the tracer U rests upon the template K, and guides the cutter
shaft S so as to cause the cutting tools d, d, d, d, revolving at, say, from
3,000 to 3,500 times per minute, to cut, produce, and shape the blanks L to
precisely the same shape as the template K. When the table B has travelled
the necessary distance, that is to say, a distance equal to the length of the
spokes or other articles being shaped, the projection m comes against the
stop n, and through the rod o shifts the driving band from the fast to the
loose pulley; the table is then moved back to the front of the machine by
turning the wheel O, the toothed wheel P on the shaft of which is in gear
with the rack N. The shaped spokes are now removed, and fresh blanks
inserted between the puppet spindles, and the same operations are repeated.
If it is found necessary to pass the same spokes a second time beneath the
cutters, the table B is moved sufficiently far to the front of the machine for
the projection m' to come against the stop n', when the driving band is again
shifted on to the fast pulley, and the table moves along the frame as before.
When it is desired to shape articles, the configuration of which requires the
puppet spindles to be fixed, the toothed gear C is removed, and the spindles
of the puppets a, b, b, b, b, are held fast by thumbscrews; the cutting tools
must correspond to the shape of the articles to be produced, and the table
.travels to and fro, as before described.
I have herein-before more particularly referred to the shaping of spokes, I
now proceed to describe certain machinery whereby I am enabled to shape all

page_text: the other parts of a wheel except the tyre, such machinery being used in
connection with that herein-before described, and forming at the same time
the appliances by which the different motions are imparted to the table, the
puppet spindles, and the cutter shaft. Figure 4 is an elevation, Figure 5 a
plan, and Figure 6 an end view of this machinery.
A, A, are standards supporting a shaft B, on which fast and loose pulleys C, C,
are mounted, to which motion is imparted by a driving band from the engine.
On the shaft B are two other band pulleys D, E; the pulley D communicates
with the driving pulley of the spoke-shaping machinery, and the pulley E
with the pulley T of the cutter shaft S. On one of the standards A, A, is
fitted a frame for carrying a circular saw F, which may be used for cutting
the spoke blanks, and other purposes; this frame is furnished with a movable
guide G, for regulating the thickness to which the spoke blank or other
article is cut. Adjoining the standards A, A, and upon a hollow standard I,
I mount a table H with slots J, in which an apparatus slides for holding, say,
a nave K of a wheel, which is submitted to the action of a boring bit L on
one end of the shaft C; the apparatus is fitted with a plate, with, say, ten,
twelve, or fourteen divisions corresponding to the number of spokes to be
fitted into the nave. As soon as the bit has bored a hole in the nave, and the
apparatus has been pushed back in the slots J, a spring pin a is raised, and
the nave turned until the pin a drops into another division of the plate; the
apparatus is then again pushed forward for the boring of another hole, and
the same operations are repeated till all the holes have been bored. During
the boring the nave is firmly held by a collar 6 and nut c to an upright d,
which is threaded, so that the collar and nut may be screwed up or down
according to the size of the nave. The height of the table is regulated as
required by a rack M in gear with a wheel on a spindle carrying a worm
wheel N in gear with a worm O on a shaft P, to which a handle Q is fitted.
The table is retained at the proper height by a pinching screw R. The table
may be inclined when necessary, and to any extent required by a screw pin
working in the slot e. I also form holes in the ends of felloes after the same
have been shaped in the machinery herein-before described, by fixing them in
a suitable clamp, as shewn in Figure 7, and fitting the clamp to the table H;
the felloe is held in the clamp in such manner that the hole is bored exactly
5 in the centre of the end thereof. For turning the naves I mount upon the
table H a standard S, Figure 8, supporting one end of a spindle T, the other
end of which is fitted to the end of the shaft B; a tool rest is fitted to the
table, and the turning is performed as in ordinary lathes.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my "Improve-
ments in Machinery for Shaping Wood," constructing such machinery arranged
and acting substantially in manner herein-before described and represented in
Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawings, whereby wood is shaped,
either one piece or several pieces at one time, to the form of a metal or other
suitable hard template or guide by means of rotating cutters, which act upon
the wood in the direction of the grain thereof, whereby a smooth and even
surface is obtained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Wilson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three.
HENRY WILSON. (L.S.)