IMPROVEMENTS IN LEATHER-SPLITTING MACHINES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
and Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LEATHER-SPLITTING MACHINES."-A communication
from abroad by Amzi Hancen Van Gieson, of Newark, State of New
Jersey, United States of America.
Sealed the 25th September 1866, and dated the 81st March 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 31st March 1866.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LEATHER-SPLITTING MACHINES," a
communication to me from abroad by Amzi lancen Van Gieson, of Newark,
State of New Jersey, United States of America, to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is the splitting of leather into sheets of even
thickness, or the cutting from the flesh side of a skin the inequalities thereon,
and in doing this to obviate one of the principal difficulties which attach to
machines in ordinary use, and arising from the fact that in these machines
reliance is placed on compression applied immediately in front of the knife
and in close proximity to it, or just over it, to prepare the leather for splitting.
By thus compressing the leather to render it flat, and capable of having a

page_text: thin sheet of it removed by a straight knife, the softer and the thicker
portions are both unduly compressed, and tho split when removed from the
machine will be found to be of uneven thickness. To obviate this difficulty
I prepare the leather for splitting before it reaches the knife, relying on
tension instead of pressure to reduce the side of the leather from which the
cut is to be taken to a perfect or nearly perfect plane. When it is desired
to cut from the skin the thick and projecting portions on the flesh side,
leaving the remainder of even thickness, I am enabled to do so very perfectly
by a proper arrangemement of the parts of the machine. After these unequal
portions have been removed from the flesh side, sheets or pieces of even
thickness may be cut from either side of the skin at will.
The devices for accomplishing this result are illustrated in the accompany-
ing Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine, Fig. 2, an
clevation of the end which is towards the left in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a vertical
section showing the parts to the right of the line x, x, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 an
elevation of the end which is towards the right in Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a detail
view of a sectional roller used to apply additional drawing force on portions
of the skin; Fig. 6, a vertical section showing the parts to the left of the
line x, x, Fig. 1, the gauges being arranged in the proper position for cutting
off the inequalities from the flesh side of the skin; and Fig. 7, a vertical
section showing the parts to the left of the line x, x, Fig. 1, the gauges being
arranged in the proper position for cutting off sheets of even thickness.
A is the bed of the machine; B, the knife with a backing or carriage C;
this carriage is very heavy and strong, giving to the knife great rigidity and
firmness, and thus preventing its yielding or vibrating, which would if it
occurred injure if not destroy the leather which was being cut by the machine.
The carriage slides on the way or bearing D, and is driven by the screw E,
which obtains its motion from power applied to the pulley II by means of a
cross and a direct belt, each of which act on it alternately. F and G are
loose pulleys on the same shaft with II, and they carry either the cross or the
direct belt, while the other is driving the screw E. Motion is imparted to
the rollers which draw the leather through in order to allow of its being cut,
by the train of gearing 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, or 1, 21, 8, 4, and 5, in the following
manner: The carrier or hanger I is pivoted at a point about equally distant
from the centres of 2 and 2¹, so that by raising the lever J the pinion 21
meshes into the pinion 1 and also into the wheel 3, while at the same time
the pinion 2 is released from the pinion 1, thus reversing the motion; but at
the instant that this change is effected the direct belt which has been acting
on the pulley II is slipped over so as to work on one of the loose pulleys, and

page_text: the cross belt acting on the pulley II drives the screw E in the reverse
direction, while by the reversing of the train of gearing the roller L which
draws the leather through continues to act in the same direction. By means of
these devices the leather is instantly stopped when the knife changes its motion,
which prevents the tearing or marking of the leather at the edge of the knife.
The lever J is operated to change the motion produced by the train of
gearing by the lever M, which has its fulcrum at N, and has slots at each
end. In one end the lever J works, and in the other the weighted bar or
lever O, which is pushed just past the perpendicular by dogs on the carriage C
operating against the inner or right-hand end of the rod Q, after which the
weight R. completes the motion and prevents any stopping of the machinery.
The knife B is ground and kept sharp by the wheels S and T, which are
faced with any suitable grinding substance, as crocus cloth, for example.
Motion is imparted to them by a belt which acts on the pulley U. The
motion of the knife should be sufficiently extended to allow the grinding
wheels on each side to act beyond that point on the knife where the wheels
on the other side left it. The grinding wheels are made adjustable as to
their proximity to the knife, and also as to the augle at which they cut or
grind by means of the slots V, V, and screws W, W. 6, 6, are weighted
levers, the outer end 7 of each lever being held down by a weight 8; this
causes the leather to be held up against the groove 30 by the ends 9 of the
levers 6, 6, and at the same time the said levers 6, 6, are capable of yielding
so as to allow the thicker portions of the leather to pass through and thus
prevent the injuring of it by jambing. The table 10 is for the purpose of
receiving the leather previous to its being operated upon, and it also assists
in flattening it out by means of corrugations or ridges thereon; this table
and with it the weighted levers 6, 6, can be set nearer to or farther from the
knife by means of set screws. 11 is a rigid straight gauge over which the
leather is drawn in passing to the knife; it is made adjustable by the screws
12, 12, and when it is used the sections 15 are thrown up out of the way, as
seen in Fig. 7. This gauge (11) and the levers 6, 6, are, together with the
gauge 80, used for the purpose of flattening out the grain surface of the
leather preparatory to the grain or a portion of it being cut off in a thin and
perfect sheet by the knife. When it is desired to cut off from the leather
the inequalities of the flesh side, leaving a sheet of even thickness, on which
the grain may be left, I provide another gauge made in sections, and capable
of being made wider or narrower at the will of the operator by removing the
sections upward, so that they shall not be in contact with the leather. This
is done by unhooking and raising the levers 14, 14, which are attached to

page_text: the upper ends of the sections 15, 15. Tho lower ends of these sections
form, when hooked down, the gauge under which the leather passes. The
object of reducing the width of this gauge is to reduce the liability of the
leather to become torn or cut. The outer sections of the gauge are successively
raised until the whole gauge is a little less in width than the leather immc-
diately under it, and as the wider portions of the leather pass under, tho
width of the gauge should be increased by successively forcing down and
hooking the sections nearest those already hooked down. 16, 16, are spring
hooks under which the levers 14, 14, are fastened when down. 17 is the
carrier or bed in which the sections 15 slide; it slides in the ways 23 and
may be raised when desired by unhooking the stop 20 from its bearing, and
forcing over the lover 21, the slides 22 sliding in the ways 23. This gauge
is adjusted as to its position in relation to the knife by the slots 24 and
screws 25, and also by the screws 26, which fix the distance to which tho
I use the weighted
gauge descends when the lever 21 is drawn outward.
levers 6, 6, in connection with this gauge in the same mauner as with the
gauge 11.
27 is a roller having a surface of rubber or other suitable
material, and is used with the rollers 28 and 29 to draw the leather through
the machine; it has rotary motion imparted to it by the train of gearing 1, 2,
3, 4, and 5. The roller 28 holds the leather in close contact with the
roller 27, and prevents slipping, except when too heavy a strain would come
upon portions of the leather in consequence of such portions being less baggy
or full than the rest, when the portions which are under the greatest tension
.ship upon the roller 27, and the loose or baggy portions are drawn through.
By means of the sectional roller 29, the sections of which may be applied by
pressure to such baggy portions, an additional drawing force may be applied
to them if required. This roller 29 is made in sections in such a manner
that any portion of the leather which is passing over and being drawn through
the machine by the roller 27 may be pressed upon by a portion of the said
roller 29, and thus the drawing force being increased the slack portions of
the leather may be drawn through. The rollers 27 and 28 are connected
by matched gearing of such relative size that the surfaces of the said rollers
shall travel with equal speed and always move together. By the above-
described devices I am enabled to cut off from a side or other piece of
leather a greater number of sheets, or, in other words, to divide the leather
Such sheets
into a greater number of sheets than has heretofore been done.
may be cut from either the grain or the flesh side, as may be desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Thomas IIughes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th September 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent Agents, 123,
Chancery Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special licence that I, the
said Edward Thomas IIughes, my executors, adininistrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
timo to time and at all times thereafter during the 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 LEATHER-SPLITTING MACHINES,"
A communication to me from abroad by Amzi Hancen Van Gieson, of Newark,
State of New Jersey, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of tho 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
mouths next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is the splitting of leather into sheets of even
thickness, or the cutting from the flesh side of a skin the inequalities thereon,
and in doing this to obviato one of the principal difficulties which attach to
machines in ordinary use, and which arises from the fact that in these
machines reliance is placed on compression applied immediately in front of
the knife and in close proximity to it, or just over it, to prepare the leather
for splitting. By thus compressing the leather to render it flat, and capable
of having a thin sheet of it removed by a straight knife, the softer and the

page_text: thicker portions are both unduly compressed, and the split when removed
from the machine will be found to be of uneven thickness. To obviate this
difficulty I prepare the leather for splitting before it reaches the knife, relying
on tension instead of pressure to reduce the side of the leather from which
the cut is to be taken to a perfect or nearly perfect plane. When it is
desired to cut from the skin the thick and projecting portions on the flesh
side, leaving the remainder of even thickness, I am enabled to do so very
perfectly by a proper arrangement of the parts of my machine; after these
unequal portions have been removed from the flesh side, sheets or pieces of
even thickness may be cut from either side of the skin at will.
The devices for accomplishing this result are illustrated in the accompany-
ing Drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine; Figure 2
is an elevation of the end which is towards the left in Figure 1; Figure 3 is
a vertical section showing the parts to the right of the line x, ac, Figure 1;
Figure 4 is an elevation of the end which is towards the right in Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a detail view of a sectional roller used to apply additional drawing
force on portions of the skin; Figure 6 is a vertical section showing the
parts to the left of the line x, x, Figure 1; the guages being arranged in the
proper position for cutting off the inequalities from the flesh side of the skin;
and Figure 7 is a vertical section showing the parts to the left of the line x, x,
Figure 1, the guages being arranged in the proper position for cutting off
sheets of an even thickness.
A is the bed of the machine; B is the knife with a backing or carriage C;
this carriage is very heavy and strong, giving to the knife great rigidity and
firmness, and thus preventing its yielding or vibrating which would if it
occurred injure if not destroy the leather which was being cut by the machine.
The carriage slides on the way or bearing D, and is driven by the screw E,
which obtains its motion from power applied to the pulley H by means of a cross
and a direct belt, each of which act on it alternately. F and G are loose
pulleys on the same shaft with II, and they carry either the cross or the direct
belt while the other is driving the screw E. Motion is imparted to the
rollers which draw the leather through, in order to its being cut, by a train
of gearing 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, or 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, in the following manner :-
The carrier or hanger 1 is pivoted at a point about equally distant from the
centres of 2 and 2¹, so that by raising the lever J, the pinion 2 meshes into
the pinion I and also into the wheel 3, while at the same time, the pinion 2
is released from the pinion 1, thus reversing the motion, but at the instant
that this change is effected, the direct belt which has been acting on the
pulley II is slipped over so as to work on one of the loose pulleys, and the

page_text: cross belt acting on the pulley II drives the screw E in the reverse direction,
while by the reversing of the train of gearing the roller L, which draws the
leather through, continues to act in the same direction. By means of these
devices the leather is instantly stopped when the knife changes its motion,
which prevents the tearing or marking of the leather at the edge of the knife.
The lever J is operated to change the motion produced by the train of
gearing by the lever M which has its fulcrum at N, and has slots at each
end. In one end the lever J works, and in the other the weighted bar or
lever O, which is pushed just past the perpendicular by dogs on the
carriage C, operating against the inner or right-hand end of the rod Q, after
which the weight R completes the motion and prevents any stoppage of the
machinery. The knife B is ground and kept sharp by the wheels S and T,
which are faced with any suitable grinding substance, as crocus cloth, for
example. Motion is imparted to them by a belt which acts on the pulley U.
The motion of the knife should be sufficiently extended to allow the grinding
wheels on each side to act beyond that point on the knife where the wheels
on the other side left it. The grinding wheels are made adjustable as to their
proximity to the knife, and also as to the angle at which they cut or grind by
means of the slots V, V, and screws W, W. 6, 6, are weighted levers, the outer
end 7 of each lever being held down by a weight 8; this causes the leather to be
held up against the gunge 30 by the ends 9 of the levers 6, 6, and at the same
time the said levers 6, 6, are capable of yielding so as to allow the thicker
portions of the leather to pass through, and thus prevent the injuring of it
by jamming. The table 10 is for the purpose of receiving the leather previous
to its being operated upon, and it also assists in flattening it out by means of
the corrugations or ridges shown at a, Figure 1. This table and with it the
weighted levers 6, 6, can be set nearer to or farther from the knife by means
of set screws. 11 is a rigid straight guage over which the leather is drawn
in passing to the knife; it is made adjustable by the screws 12, 12, and when
it is used the sections 15 are thrown up out of the way, as seen in Figure 7.
This guage (11) and the levers 6, 6, are together with the guage 30 used
for the purpose of flattening out the grain surface of the leather preparatory
to the grain or a portion of it being cut off in a thin and perfect sheet by the
knife. When it is desired to cut off from the leather the inequalities of the
flesh side, leaving a sheet of even thickness on which the grain may be left
I provide another guage, made in sections, and capable of being made wider
or narrower at the will of the operator by removing the sections upward so
that they shall not be in contact with the leather; this is done by unhooking
and raising the levers 14, 14, which are attached to the upper ends of the

page_text: sections 15, 15. The lower ends of these sections form when hooked down
the guage under which the leather passes. The object of reducing tho
width of this guage is to reduce the liability of the leather to become torn or
cut. The outer sections of the guage are successively raised until the wholo
gunge is a little less in width than the leather immediately under it; and as
the wide portions of the leather pass under, the width of the guage should bo
increased by successively forcing down and hooking the sections nearest to
those already booked down. 16, 16, are spring books under which the levers
14, 14, are fastened when down; 17 is the carrier or bed in which the
sections 15 slide; it slides in the ways 23, and may be raised when desired
by unhooking the stop 20 from its bearing and forcing over the lever 21, the
slides 22 sliding in the ways 23. This guage is adjusted as to its position in
relation to the knife by the slots 24 and scrows 25, and also by the screws 26,
which fix the distance to which the guage descends when the lever 21 is
drawn outward. I use the weighted levers 6, 6, in connection with this
guage in the same manner as with the guage 11. 27 is a roller having a
surface of rubber or other suitable material, and is used with the rollers 28
and 29 to draw the leather through the machine; it has rotatory motion
jinparted to it by the train of gearing 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The roller 28 holds
the leather in close contact with the roller 27 and prevents slipping, except
when too heavy a strain would come upon portions of the leather in con-
sequence of such portions being less baggy or full than the rest, when the
portions which are under the greatest tension slip upon the roller 27, and the
loose or baggy portions are drawn through. By means of the sectional
roller 29, the sections of which may be applied by pressure to such baggy
portions, an additional drawing force may be applied to them if required.
This roller 29 is made in sections in such a manner that any portion of the
leather which is passing over, and being drawn through the machine by the
roller 27 may be pressed upon by a portion of said roller 29, and thus the
drawing force being increased the slack portions of the leather may be drawn
through. The rollers 27 and 28 are connected by matched gearing of such
relative size that the surfaces of said rollers shall travel with equal speed and
always move together. By the above-described devices I am enabled to cut
off from a side or other piece of leather a greater number of sheets, or, iu
other words, to divide the leather into a greater number of sheets than has
heretofore been doue; such sheets may be cut from either the grain or the
flesh side as may be desired.
Having thus fully described this Invention, and the manner of operating it,

page_text: First, the combination of the bed or table 10, lovers 6, 6, and the guage
formed by the ends of the slides 15, 15, or equivalent device, for holding and
flattening out the leather; and knife B, or its equivalent, for splitting the
leather; with the elastic roller 27, roller 28, and sectional roller 29, or
equivalent devices, for drawing the leather through the machine; the
spreading and holding device, the knife and the device for drawing the
leather through the machine being so combined and operated as to draw the
leather through and hold it to the knife by its own tension instead of by
pressure; not confining myself to the particular form or construction of the
various parts so long a these three essential elements are combined sub-
stantially and to the effect set forth.
Second, the combination of the wheels S and T with the knife B, the whole
being constructed and operated substantially as herein set forth.
Third, the combination of the elastic roller 27. and roller 28, geared-
together as described, with the sectional roller 29, constructed and operating
substantially as berein set forth.
Fourth, the combination of the elastic roller 27 and roller 28, constructed
as described, with the knife B, as herein set forth.
Fifth, the combination of the knife B constructed and operating as described,
with the devices for stopping the leather at the instant the motion of the knife
changes, substantially as herein set forth.
Sixth, the combination of the knife B, and rollers 27 and 28, or their
equivalents, with the sectional guage formed by the lower ends of the sections-
15, 15, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
THATOA
E. T. HUGHES. (L.B.)