CERTAIN" IMPROVEMENTS ON AUGERS AND BITS FOR BORING, AND IN THE APPARATUS FOR. MAKING THE SAME
Year: 1824

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CHURCH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of November, in the fifth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Church, His special licence that I, the said William Church, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the. said William Church,
my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN"
IMPROVEMENTS ON AUGERS AND BITS FOR BORING, AND IN THE APPARATUS FOR.
MAKING THE SAME;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said William Church, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner. the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next, and immediately after the date of the said in part,
recited Letters Patent, (as in and by the same) reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Church, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained by the following description thereof (that is to say)-

page_text: This auger or boring bit (for it may be employed as either) is of a helical
figure, and may be formed by winding a bar of steel of a peculiar shape
several times round a cylindrical mandrel, having a helical groove in an
obliquo direction, leaving spaces between the turns or threads. The lower
end of the auger is to be shaped into two sharp cutting edges, the one a gouge
edge cutting nearly horizontally, the other a knife edge cutting vertically.
These cutting edges are formed and kept sharp by grinding upon an ordinary
grindstone; it has also a centre pin introduced up the middle of the helical
pod, and there fixed by screwing into the shank; the lower end of the center
pin is formed into a conical wood screw, and projects some distance below the
cutting edges, for the purpose of drawing the auger into the wood as it is
turned round in the operation of boring. In order to explain the shape of tho
bar of which this helical pod is formed it is necessary to state that a cross
section or end view of it would present the figure of a mixtelinear trapezoid,
having two concave equal sides, and its two parallel sides unequal in the pro-
portion of about four to one, the curved lines forming equal and very acute
angles with the longest right line. The width of the bar on that side which
presents the broadest surface should be about two thirds the diameter of the
intended auger when finished, and the thickness of the bar between the two
parallel sides should be about half the width of the broadest side. The exact
form and proportions, however, above stated, need not be strictly adhered
to; I have mentioned them as being eligible for the purpose. A piece of
steel bar of the above description, long enough to form the helical pod of the
auger, after having been welded to the shank, is to be wound round a cylin-
drical mandrel, the broad flat side of the bar being outward, and the spaces
between the turns something less than the width of the bar itself. The
cylindrical mandrel upon which the bar is wound to form the pod should be a
little less in diameter than one third the diameter of the auger, and by means
of this mandrel a straight cylindrical passage is preserved in the centre or
axis throughout the whole extent of the pod, which terminates in a hole in the
centre of the shank. Into this passage a centre pin is inserted of sufficient
thickness to fill it, and which is fixed as aforesaid by screwing into the hole in the
shank, the lower part of the centre pin terminating in a conical wood screw,
which projects below the cutting edges for the purpose of guiding the rotation
of the auger and drawing it into the wood. It will be seen from the descrip-
tion given of a transverse section of the bar of which the pod of the auger is
to be made, that the said bar has one broad and one narrow flat side, which
are parellel to each other, and that the other two sides are grooved or
concave, and equal to each other in breadth, & that they form very acute

page_text: angles with the broad flat side of the bar, and that when the bar is twiste:l
helically and placed in a vertical position, these groves or concaves will be
immediately above each other, the chords of their arcs tending to a point in
the centre of the auger. Now the upper grooved surface of the bar may be
considered as representing the concave side of a gouge, a cutting edge to
which may be produced by grinding the reverse side of the bar at the end of
the pod into a convex form corresponding to the concavity on the upper side.
This edge stands in the direction of a radius, with its outer extremity bending
a little upwards towards the shank; and care must be taken in grinding this
gouge cutter that the portions of metal behind the edge be sufficiently removed
to allow the gouge to enter the wood at a cutting angle. The knife or
circumscribing edge of the belical pod is formed on the outside lower angle of
the bar by grinding away on the angular edge of a grindstone so much of the
metal between the edge of the lower angle and the center as will leave a thin
sharp cutting lip on the circumference, taking care that the circumscribing
edge shall extend a little below the level of the external angle of the gouge.
From a careful inspection of the above description, the manner of forming
and grinding the auger will be seen; and it is only necessary to add, that in all
subsequent grindings the same rules are to be observed. In this way the
auger, like the chisel or gouge, may be ground repeatedly without changing its
figure. It may also be observed, that the centre pin should be removed when-
ever it is to be ground, and replaced when it is to be used.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 exhibits the auger complete; Fig.
is a transverse section of the steel bar, of which the belical pod is formed;
Fig. 3, a view of the bar, shewing the two curved sides and the narrow flat
side; Fig. 4 is an end view of the auger, for the purpose of exhibiting the
cutting parts; and Fig. 5 is the center pin as it would appear removed from
the belical pod.
I now proceed to describe the means which I employ for forming the above
anger. Fig. 6 is a side view of the machine; Fig. 7, a view taken at the left
end; and Fig. 8; a view taken at the reverse end; the head or outer plate
,being here removed for the purpose of displaying the mandrel and rollers; the
respective letters referring to the same parts in each of these three and the
following Figures. A is the frame or standard, upon which are fixed the arms
and heads that support the rollers. B is the mandrel round, which the steel
bar is to be wound. To produce the cylindrical part or pod of the auger the
end of the mandrel is formed into a long screw working through the screw
box C, which causes it to slide backward and forward in the barrel D. At

page_text: the end of the axle of the barrel is the toothed wheel E, actuated by a pinion
F, which is turned by a winch, or otherwise. Fig. 9 is a section of the barrel,
and also of the screw box, shewing tho mandrel complete. G 1, G, are
three rollers supported in slots with adjusting screws in the heads or ends H, H.
To theso rollers three shafts I, I, I, are attached by universal joints. The
reverso onds of these shafts are supported in slots in the arms K, K, K, and
have toothed wheels aflixed to their extremeties, which take into a pinion on
tho axle of the barrel D. A bar of steel, formed into the figure abovo
described by swaging, rolling, or otherwise, is now to bo provided, and having
roduced the end of the bar by cutting a notch and tapering. it, as seen in Fig. 8,
for the purpose of rendering it capable of being held fast by the chop a,
it is then introduced to the groove of the mandril, and is there confined by the
chop on bringing down the other roller G 1. The barrel is now made to
revolvo by the means before described, and the mandril being locked to the
barrel by the tooth L, which slides in a groove within (see Fig. 9), revolves
with it; but as the screw box O which embraces the mandril is stationary, the
thread taken into the screw causes the mandril to slide along within the
'barrel, the effect of which is, that the bar is gradually pressed into the recess
or spiral groovo round the mandril by the rollers G 1, G, and G, and the pod
of auger is thereby formed, that is, the bar is wound into the helical figuro
before described, when (as the mandril continues revolving) the chap a, with
the end of the auger, has passed under the pall M, the pall drops into the
notch of the bar, and prevents it from advancing further, by which means the
mandril is allowed to proceed and wind itself out of the auger, observing that
when tho pall takes hold, that the upper roller G 1 is to be drawn up so as to
take off the pressure.
In making my improved augers I do not intend to confine myself to the
precise form of bar above described, which is susceptable of variations, but
that form. I have described I prefer in most cases; neither do I consider it
necessary under every modification of the auger to give to it a circumscbing
edge, as that may be dispensed with by so shaping the gouge or chisel edge
that it may be enabled to cut the side of the hole as well as to scoop it. And
further, I do not mean in every instance to employ a center pin as described,
or indeed to form the pod of the auger of a bar wound round a mandril, as the
nuger may be made by cutting away certain portions of a solid cylinder of
steel. In short, my Invention principally consists in so forming the auger
that it may be conveniently ground to a cutting edge as it becomes dull. It
is therefore to be understood that I claim,-

page_text: First, the form of the auger, subject to modification above stated; and,
Secondly, the machinery for giving that form to the pod or cylindrical part
of the anger as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Church, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
WILLIAM (L.B.) CHURCH.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourth day of May, in the
year of our Lord 1825, the aforesaid William Church came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-five.