IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES AND RASPS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES AND RASPS."-A communication from
abroad by Alfred Weed, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of
America
Sealed the 21st December 1866, and dated the 3rd October 1866.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 3rd October 1866, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES AND RASPS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to
grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has been
communicated to me from abroad by Alfred Weed, of Boston, Massachusetts,
United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal fully

page_text: the same is to be performed, in and by the following statement, reference
being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings forming a part of this
Specification.
In general terms this Invention may be said to consist, first, in the means
by which a pointed cutter or a series of pointed cutters are given sidewise
movement over the face of the blank to be cut, and, second, in the means by
which an intermittent forward feed movement of the blank is effected.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows in side elevation a file or rasp cutting machine of a now
well-known type in all of its main features, and having incorporated therein
the details in which this Invention consists; Figure 2 shows the said machine
in plan with the striking spring i removed to exhibit the parts immediately
"beneath.
This machine is one in which the blank with its soft metal shield is fed
over a short bed which may be made to rock for the purpose of adjustment of
the face of the blank with reference to the cutter. The blank is firmly held to
the bed by the action of a weighted presser bearing on the blank in close
proximity to. the place where the blow is struck, this being given by a tool
held in the free or vibrating end of a radius arm or bar. Vibrations of this arm
are given by the conjoined action of cams or wipers on a rotating shaft and a
counteracting spring. Amongst these and other well-known features, a is the
main frame of the machine; b, the short bed, over which the soft metal shield c,
and the blank d are fed; e is the tool; f, the tool arm or radius bar; g is
the rotating shaft; h, the cams or wipers thereon, which with the counter-
acting spring v give motion to the arm f which is mounted on the rocker shaft j.
The carriage k is moved on ways on the frame a by the rack and pinion m,
the carriage having a mandril n which can be turned, and which is provided
with a socket and set screw for holding the blank and its shield by the tang
end of each.
: Parts in which this present Invention is found and others intimately con-
nected therewith will now be referred to and described, observing that the
spring and the means for graduating its tension, and shewn in Figure 1, are
removed in Figure 2 to exhibit parts beneath, and which contain matters of
novelty. The arm f is pivotted to the rock shaft j, so that it can be vibrated
laterally as well as vertically. Lateral vibration is imparted to arm by means
of a cam n¹ on shaft o, which has at one end a ratchet p from which shaft o
receives rotary motion; lever q pivoted at r to the upper part of the frame

page_text: bas one end slotted and arranged to embrace, as in jaws, a projection from
arm f, so that it will be seen that when shaft o is made to rotate, the cam n,
in conjunction with the counteracting spring s, will cause side vibrations of f;
so that if the cam n' is properly devised and operated, the cutting tool when
made as a rasp pick will pass over the face of the blank from side to side
during a succession of vertical vibrations of f. The detail of the end of lever q
and of joint of lever f with the rocker shaft j, showing the connection with
lever 9, is clearly seen in Figures 8 and 5, which are respectively vertical and
horizontal sections taken in detail. The end of q near arm f is bored out to
receive a cylinder t, which is slotted' to admit the projection h¹ secured to
arm f¹. In the cylinder t is a cylindrical plug u with its axis at right angles
to the axis of t, and this plug is also slotted to receive projection h¹, this
arrangement in the end of lever q making a universal joint which will
accommodate itself to any slight derangement in the relative adjustments of the
arm f and lever q, insuring the easy working of the parts. The cylinder t is
held in place by the button v pivoted on lever q. On the rock shaft j is a pro-
jection w, which in the turning of the rock shaft strikes against the slide w
and moves it, compressing the spring y, which returns the slide x; this slide.
carries a pawl i which operates the ratchet p to cause the shaft o to turn.
The extent of movement of the slide a, by which the pawl takes one or more
teeth of the ratchet, as may be desired, is regulated by the position of the
check nuts on the spindle of slide x. It will now be seen that at each blow
of the rasp pick e its position will be changed either to the right or left of tho
position it had when giving the preceding blow, and also that each row of
teeth will be cut on arcs of circles described with the distance from the point
of the pick to the centre of rock shaft j for radii. The means by which the
blank is fed forward intermittantly after each row of teeth is completed, so as
to properly space the distances between the rows along the length of the rasp,
will now be described. On the shaft g is fitted a cam a', which works a double.
rocker arm b', one part of which reciprocates the link c' which vibrates a pawl
carrier c on the shaft d', on which is fixed the feed pinion m; on the other
end of said shaft d¹ is fixed the ratchet f worked by the pawl g¹. In Figure 4
is seen, in sectional elevation, this ratchet and pawl arrangement. This
mechanism, as described, would feed the blank forward with each stroke of
the pick, the cams h and a' corresponding in numbers of wipers or throws;
but a mechanism is introduced which witholds the rocker arm 6' from being
forced by the action of its spring j'into a position where cam a¹ can act upon it
until such time as the pick has made the last indent of a row of teeth at either
side of the blank..

page_text: And it may here be remarked that this machine, as described, may be
changed from a rasp cutter to a file cutter by substituting for the rocker j and
arm similar devices which are not movable with respect to each other, and
leaving off the projection h¹ (from the rear of f) into the jaws of q, and by
omitting the detainer which operates on the double rocker arm b'; this detainer
I will now describe. It consists of a latch lever k¹ pivoted at I, and kept by
a spring, seen in dotted lines, Figure 2, in such position as to latch against
and hold the rocker 61 in the position in which it is placed by action of cam a',
so that the rocker b¹ cannot return under action of its spring j¹ to be again
operated on by cam a' till relieved from the detention of the latch . To
release the rocker arm 6' at such times as a forward feed is required for the
blank d, pins are placed in the side of ratchet p, so that at suitable intervals
in the rotation of the ratchet p one of said pins will abut against a projection
on one end of lever k¹, and will cause sufficient movement thereof on the
pivot to release 6 from the catch on the other end of k¹. The spring j¹ then
throws the rocker into position where the cam a' will act upon it, and the
feed of the blank will then be effected by means of the mechanism before
described in an obvious manner. For various widths of blanks the lateral
vibration of the tool e can be changed by substituting for the cam n¹ others of
different throws. The times of the feed movement of the blank are determined
by the number and position of the pins in the side of the ratchet p, which
pins can be changed as may be needful for the work to be performed. The
extent of the feed movement of the blank is determined by the check nuts on
the spindle of the pawl slide x, so that the pawl can take one or more teeth
of the ratchet p as may be needed. Though but one pick is shewn in the
Drawings, it is evident that a series of pick tools e may be secured to the arm f
the series being sufficient to extend across the entire width of the blank and
to make one row of teeth with each downward vibration of the arm f; in
this case the feed of the blank should take place after each of such blows as
may be accomplished in a manner before alluded to; but even in using a series
of picks to make a row of teeth quite across the blank at each blow it will be
well to give sufficient lateral vibration, to the arm f to cause the teeth of each
row to be made in line with the spaces between the teeth of each preceding
row; this is easily accomplished by the mechanism shewn in the Drawings,
calling only for a few obvious modifications, such as changing the cam n¹ for
one having the very slight throw needed, and arranged to throw the cutters at
each stroke alternately from right to left and vice versa, the latch k¹ being
dispensed with. Instead of pivoting the arm f to the rock shaft j, these parts
may be made integral with each other, and then both together could be moved

page_text: the slight distance sideways that is needed to interspace the succeeding rows
of teeth, the rocker shaft j being mounted in long bearings instead of on centres,
as shewn in the Drawings, so that the rock shaft j could be slid in such
bearings by the action of cam n'. As the presser m¹ has to be raised from the
blank after cutting a face thereof, and as it is borne down upon the blank
by heavy weights u¹ it is very desirable to be able to relieve the blank
from pressure without employment of the hands of the operative. The
presser weight is therefore combined with a treaded lever o¹ by a continuation
of the rod p', on which the weights u are hung, so that while the operator
easily lifts the presser with his foot his hands are free to run the carriage k
back to its starting place.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First, for cutting rasps with their rows of teeth in the arcs of parallel circles,
so pivoting the cutter helve to its rocker shaft as to admit of lateral as well as
vertical vibrations of the cutter.
Second, the means for giving lateral vibration to the cutter, consisting of
the lever f, when pivoted to its rocker shaft j, the lever q and the cam n' and
springs combined to operate substantially as described.
Third, the compound compensating jaw in lever q formed by the two cylin-
ders t and u slotted and arranged substantially as specified.
Fourth, the means for intermittantly feeding the blanks, consisting of cam a',
rocker b', and latch k¹, arranged to operate the ratchet f¹, and thereby to move
the blank carriage k.
Fifth, the combination with the presser holder of the rod p¹, weight u¹,
or its equivalent spring and treadle o', arranged and operating together as
described.
In witness whereof, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
EDW. W. JOHNSON,
8, Southampton Buildings.