IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND APPLICATION OF DOWELS AND MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH, PARTS TUT BREED MA MI Due
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nathan Dutton, of 31, Great George Street,
Liverpool, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, Cabinet Maker,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND
APPLICATION OF DOWELS AND MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH, PARTS
TUT
BREED MA MI Due "
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Nathan Dutton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 18th February 1853, pursuant to the
9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
NATHAN DUTTON, of 31, Great George Street, Liverpool, in the
County Palatine of Lancaster, Cabinet Maker, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND
APPLICATION OF DOWELS AND MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH, PARTS OF
WHICH MACHINERY ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES," 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:

page_text: Firstly, in a particular construction of lathe for turning dowels
or wooden pins, and which may likewise be constructed for
turning circular rods and other like forms larger than is required
for dowel pins:
Secondly, in a certain mechanical arrangement for drilling two
or more holes, in such manner as to be of equal bore and depth as
well as equi-distant one from another, in the joints and other parts
of woodwork which have to be joined together by dowels: And,
Thirdly, in the mode of joining wood work by means of dowels,
to supersede the tenor and mortices or the dovetailing usually em-
ployed.
of
I shall now proceed to a particular description of the several parts
said Invention, elucidated by reference to the figures and
letters marked on the Drawings hereunto annexed.
my
"SEE DRAWINGS."
Premising that the same figures and letters indicate the same
parts in the several views drawn of each machine.
Fig. 1, a side elevation of a lathe for turning dowel pins. A, A,
the framing of the machine; B, C, the head stock, carrying the re-
volving spindle D, E, having a chuck F tapped with a square hole,
into which the end of the square wooden rod G of which the dowel
pins are to be made is fixed, H, the cutter block, is then entered on
the other end of the wooden rod G, and slid along it guided by the
workman's hand, pressing it onwards towards the chuck F, while
D, E, is in rapid rotation actuated by the band I, and the pulley J,
producing an accurately round wooden spindle, as shown in part at
K. The cutter block H, slides upon and is guided by the upper
part of the framing L, L; and it is provided with a steel cutter M,
fixed by bolts, as also with steel dies N, N, to guide and compress
the wooden rod while rotating against the cutter; the size of these
dies being regulated by the size of the dowel pins or other work
required to be produced.
Fig. 2, a transverse section through A¹, B¹, Fig. 1. A, A, A, the
framing; H, the cutter block, with the wooden rod K, rounded within
it by the action of the cutter M.

page_text: Fig. 3, a ground plan. A, A, the framing;
C, the head stock ;
D, E, the spindle, with a chuck F, carrying the square wooden rod
G, rounded at K by the cutter block H, having a cutter at M, and
being guided in the upper framing L, L, L, L.
The round rods intended for cutting up into dowel pins are thus
formed out of timber rough sawn, and in the square, by the operation
described; and each rod will be turned of the precise guage deter.
mined by the position of the cutter within the cutter block. The
length and diameter of these dowel pins will be regulated by the
depth and diameter of the apertures intended to receive them, which
I therefore recommend to be drilled by the machine and in the
manner next described.
Fig. 4, a front elevation of a machine for drilling the dowel holes:
A, A, A, the framing; B, B, a moveable table, adjustable vertically
to suit timber of any scantling, by means of the screws C, C, worked
by the bevil gear D, D, and hand wheel E; F, F, feathers and back
plates, sliding in slots in the framing, serving to steady the table in
its rise and fall; G, the guage, kept square by a feather sliding in
the groove in the centre of the table, which may be set to suit
timber of any width, and fixed by the T headed bolt; H, the head
stock sliding in the dovetails; I, I, carries, in bushes and end
centres, a row of revolving drill spindles (J, in Figs. 2 & 3);
K, the wood to be drilled, which is pressed and held down by the
foot piece L, adjusted by the screw socket M, and actuated by the
treadle N, and the connections O, O; P, the band, for driving the
pulley and drill spindles, lying horizontally behind the timber K.
Fig. 5, a side elevation. B, the moveable table; H, the head
stock, carrying, in bushes and centres, the row or rows of revolving
drill spindles J, J, which are geared all together by the pinions Q, and
driven by the pulley R, fixed upon the middle spindle. The case S
protects the pinions from splinters or borings and wood dust; T, the
sockets of the spindles, containing conical holes in which the drills
or bits U are fixed.
The piece of timber K to be operated on, being set in correct
position with respect to the drills U, by means of the guage G, and

page_text: by adjusting the table up or down, as required, is held firmly in its
situation by the operator placing his foot on the treadle N, which,
by means of the connections O, O, presses down the foot piece L, on
to the timber K, and it is adjustable to any size of timber by means
of the screw socket M, and when released it recovers its position by
the falling of the weight W.
Fig. 6, a ground plan at the level of the table B. G, the guage
for regulating the situation of the timber K, to be drilled; H, the
headstock sliding in the dovetails I, I; J, J, the drill spindles,
geared all together by pinions Q, Q; S, a protective casing; T, the
sockets of the spindles carrying the drills or bits U, U, the whole
driven by the pulley R, fixed upon the middle spindle and operated
on by the band P.
In using this drilling machine, the wood has first to be properly
adjusted and held down by the action of the foot placed on the
treadle N; the drill head stock H, H, is next to be drawn forward
by the handle V of the lever V¹, by which means the holes will be
drilled;
and the drills may be withdrawn by pushing back the head-
stock, reversing the action of the lever V₁, and the timber removed
on releasing the treadle, when the weight W falling will elevate the
foot piece by means of which the timber had been made steadily to
retain its position during the operation of being drilled.
Having thus described one construction of a dowel turning lathe,
and another of a wood drilling machine, I would here observe, that
the principle of each of these machines may be carried out in
machines of different construction according to the nature of the
work for which they may be intended; I, therefore, do not confine
myself to any particular dimensions, or to any precise number, size,
form, or placement of the drills or the cutter blocks used in either
of these machines, as they may be varied to suit the different classes
of woodwork required in constructing houses, furniture, carriages,
ships, and the like.
I recommend, when the holes have been drilled in the timber to
be joined, that the dowel pins, cut to equal lengths, be driven tightly
half their length into the holes with glue, so as not entirely to fill

page_text: them, but to leave a small cavity at the bottom and top of each pin;
the joint may then be glued and closed up. The joint faces may
generally be finished by the saw-pieces of irregular forms, as in
sweep, and bevil work may be jointed on this system, it being mérely
requisite to support such pieces on the table of the drilling machine
(Fig. 4), in appropriate wooden saddles or seats according to any
required angle.
Fig. 7, a prospective view of a separated joint; A, having 3 dowel
pins inserted in the holes drilled into it; and B, having 3. holes to
receive the protruding ends of the 3 dowel pins.
.
Fig. 8, is a similar but wider joint, made secure by 4 dowel pins
in A', and B', having 4 corresponding drilled holes to receive them
in the manner already described.
I am aware that cask heads are put together in a manner ana-
logous to that now recommended, and that the same has also been
applied in some cases to inferior kinds of woodwork; but all such
examples of dowelling are extremely rude, inaccurate, and wanting
in strength, being only done by hand, so that even cask heads are
easily separated when out of the cask. But my improved method
of dowelling is suitable for the finest cabinet work, possessing all
the strength with greater advantages than bèlong even to the best
tenor and mortice work. I, therefore, do not claim the making
of joints by dowels, where that principle of making joints has been
hitherto practised, the dowels used and the holes drilled being inade
by hand.
The principle of my Invention of a dowel turning lathe before
described is applicable to rounding wood for other work, by em-
ploying enlarged cutter blocks, by which means ordinary posts,
pillars, rails, and the like, may be advantageously turned.
Having now particularly and fully described the nature of my
Invention, and the machinery by which the same is to be effected,
I do especially claim, namely,―
First, the peculiar construction of a lathe for turning dowel pin
rods:

page_text: Second, the application of such peculiarly constructed lathe for
other purposes of wood turning:
Third, the arrangement of the wood drilling machine: And,
Fourth, the method described of accurately uniting or joining
all kinds of wood-work by means of dowel pins.
In witness whereof, I; the said Nathan Dutton, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of February 1853.
NATHAN DUTTON. (L.S.)