WOOD TURNING MACHINERY
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Mar., 1888
Specification Accepted, 19th Oct., 1888
I, DANIEL HARWOOD BACON, of the City, County and State of New York, U.S.A.,
gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "WOOD TURNING
MACHINERY and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to that class of wood turning machinery in which regular and
irregular forms of wood such as balusters, chair-legs, knobs, buttons, &c., are produced
by means of revolving cutting-plates or knives cutting upon the revolving wood stock,
and more particularly to such turning machines as are provided with reciprocating
bed-plates, and consists in the introduction of certain new and useful devices to be
hereafter more particularly described, into such machinery.
These devices are
First, a mechanism for permitting the reciprocation of the bed-plate which
holds the wood without interfering with the continuous revolution of the wood,
and the devices turning the same.
Second, a device by which the cutter-head spindle may be removed and replaced to
permit the sharpening of the cutters in the most convenient and speedy manner
possible, thus avoiding all unnecessary delay or stoppage of machinery.
Third, an improved device for securing the proportionate reciprocation of the
wood-plate and lastly, a new and improved wood turning machine provided with
these devices.
One embodiment of my said invention is shown in the accompanying drawing
in which-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the wood turning machine.
Figure 2 is a detail of the mechanism for permitting the continuous rotation of
the wood without interfering with the reciprocating motion of the wood-plate.
Figure 3 is a detail in section of the device for permitting the rapid removal
of the cutter-head spindle.
The same letters indicate similar parts in the different figures.

page_text: A is the frame of the machine. B is a reciprocating bed-plate which carries the
cutter-head. C is the reciprocating bed-plate which carries the wood and which
will be more briefly referred to as the wood-plate.
The bed-plate B travels on the three tracks b, and has a series of racks on its under
side which are engaged and moved to and fro thus of course moving the bed B by
geared wheels or other toothed surfaces rigidly secured on the shaft which carries the
large wheel D. The wheel D is keyed to this shaft and any motion given to
this wheel in either direction is at once communicated to the shaft and to
the bed.
The worm wheel F is fitted loosely on the hub of the wheel D, preferably bevelled,
and receives its motion from the worm screw G when turned by the wheel E. Motion
received by the wheel F however does not affect the shaft and bed B unless the said
worm wheel F is caused to bind on the hub of wheel D and this is accomplished by
the friction.cluich D' which is threaded through the said hub into the socket D on the
framework of the machine." By turning this clutch the wheel D is drawn toward the
worm wheel F and by the pressure of its hub upon the inner side of the hub of said
worm-wheel binds the same so that when it is turned by the wheel E and screw G the
wheel also is turned and with it the bed B. This pressure is of course removed
by turning the friction clutch D₁ the other way.
The larger wheel D is used to give a large amount of motion to the plate, and the
smaller wheel E for delicate handling of the bed-plate, while the machine is in actual
operation in other words, the larger wheel is used chiefly to throw the cutters into
a position sufficiently near to act upon the wood, and the smaller wheel, E, always
under the control of the operator, is used to determine the depth of the cut.
"
The revolution of the cutting-plates or knives is secured as follows: The cutter-head
spindle is provided with two handles h, by which it can be easily lifted when it is
desirable to put it in or take it out of the machine. This spindle is supported by three
standards a, rising from the bed-plate B, and is journaled in boxes securely fitted to
said spindle and held in the jointed journal-box frames J, as hereafter described, so
that the journal-boxes themselves are removed with the spindle when it is desired to
remove the cutter-head for the purpose of sharpening the dulled knives. This cutter-
head spindle carries the pulley I rigidly secured thereto and driven by the belt from
a source of power not shown in the drawing, and hence rotates the spindle and the
cutter-heads. The cutter-head K is mounted upon the spindle at such a position as
would bring the cutting knives which are held in the small slots d, opposite the portion
of the wood which they are to cut. This cutter-head consists of any desired number
of disks to each of which one or more knives may be secured. These disks may be of
the same or different diameter as desired and may be separated or not by dummy-
disks, that is, disks without any cutting blades if desired; all of them being pressed
firmly toward the shoulder near the end of the spindle by the spring L. As is well
known to those acquainted with the art of wood turning, the character of the baluster,
chair-leg, &c., which is cut, the number of projections and depressions given to it, and
so on, will correspond largely to the pattern which is made by the fanciful arrange-
ment of these cutter carrying disks and dummies.
In this part of the mechanism my invention relates more particularly as before
stated, to the jointed journal-box frame J, which I will now proceed to describe.
It has been found in running this machinery upon hard wood that the cutters
become so dulled as to require renewing two or three times a day, and the stopping
of the machinery for the purpose of removing these cutters from the cutter-head, or
removing the cutter-head from the spindle, has been found a very serious drawback,
as this process generally takes from a half to three-quarters of an hour, and some
times longer. The object of this part of my invention is, as before stated, not
only to avoid all interruption of this character, but to take away also whatever
interruption would otherwise arise from packing or oiling the journal-boxes
themselves.
To do this I make the journal-box proper practically a part of the cutter-head
spindle, that is, it is put on the spindle or removed from it, packed, and oiled when

page_text: not in the machine; two or more cutter-head spindles being provided with each
machine and each cutter-head spindle being provided with its own proper accoutrements
in the way of cutter-heads, knives, and journal-boxes, and the journal-box itself when
on the spindle as put into the machine is fitted into my new journal-box frame, the
bottom, one side, and top of which, as shown in figure 3, are solid, the remaining side
being an open frame which is raised and lowered by means of the cam M, so that it
may be slipped over the teeth or projections on the free end of the top of the frame
when it is desired to remove the journal-box, this open side then falling back
out of the way and allowing the journal-box to be removed with the cutter-head
spindle.
The journal-box of course is provided with an oil cup on top of the frame so that it
oils itself when in operation in the usual manner; but when the packing has to be
renewed of course the whole spindle and box is taken off as before stated. The
operation of this cam M is simple; it being hung in the journal-box frame a, and
turned by the crank the end of which bears a knob which is held under the clamp,
attached to the bed-plate E, and screwed down by hand, as during the operation of
the machine there must not be allowed even the minutest play or wavering of this
journal-box or journal-box frame. It will be readily seen that the box frame may be
opened and the box and spindle removed in a very few minutes, by simply loosening
the screws threaded through the clamp, thus releasing the knob of the cranke, and by
simply raising the crank by hand, the cam M, raises the open side of the box frame,
so that it can clear the projections on the top of the frame and be pulled over out of
the way. This being done to all three of the box frames, the cutter-head spindle with
its three journal-boxes may be at once removed and a new cutter-head spindle and
boxes provided with fresh knives substituted. The workmen may then sharpen the
knives of the removed cutter-head spindle at their leisure during the three or four
hours which the new knives will run without dulling.
The reciprocation of the wood-plate is automatic, the plate travelling upon tracks
not shown in the drawing, but so situated as to allow to the plate C, the desired
amount of motion, which motion is given to it as follows: The belt g, connects the
driving pulley of the machine with a source of power not shown. This pulley N
rotates the shaft, which bears near its other end the bevel-gear 0, which communi-
cates motion to the bevel-gear O', mounted on the shaft, j, and communicating a rotary
motion to the wood. The shaft i, also bears at its outer end a small gear wheel k,
which meshes with the gear wheel 4, and through another gear not shown, with the
large gear 2, on the shaft e, which is mounted in the framework and operates the
cam P, and this cam acting upon the crank rod Q, drives the wood plate with a
reciprocating motion as hereinafter explained.
:
As before stated, the second part of my invention relates to a device by means of
which a continuous revolution is communicated to the wood from the bevel-gear O'
without interfering with this reciprocating motion of the wood-plate. To accomplish
this I employ the device shown in figure 2. The wood is mounted upon a chuck m,
which supports one end thereof, while the other end is held in proper position by the
tail-stock n. fed forward against it in the usual manner by a worm operated by the
hand wheel R. The chuck », is rotated by the worm wheel S, mounted upon its outer
extremity, and this worm-wheel is turned by the worm S¹, which is mounted upon
the shaft, before referred to. As the wood-plate reciprocates under the action of the
cam P, to secure the desired irregularity of shape for the wood, the worm-wheel S is
carried backward and forward with the wood-plate. In order not to bring any strain
upon the worm-screw, or allow it to be left by the worm-wheel during this reciprocating
operation, I provide the shaft j, with a spline o, by means of which the worm S¹ is
keyed to the shaft, so that while never losing any of the rotary movement imparted
to it by the revolution of the shaft, it can slip freely backward and forward along the
shaft as may be made necessary by the alterations in the position of the worm-wheel S ;
in other words, this worm S' is in reality a worm sleeve sliding along the shaft by
means of the spline.
There remains to be described the operation of the cam P in reciprocating the wood-

page_text: plate. This cam may be made of any desired shape, its shape determining to a large
extent the shape which the wood receives from the cutting blade. Those who are
familiar with the turning of irregular forms by lathes and wood turning machinery,
know that the number of sides given to the block which is cut will depend upon the
--proportion which the number of revolutions given to the wood has to the reciprocating
movements of the wood-plate; thus, if the gear wheel, is of such a size with regard
to the gear wheel that the wood-plate vibrates four times while the wood is turned
once, the wood will receive four cuts from the cutting blades during each revolution
and will therefore approximate to a square for its outline. If the wood-plate however,
brings the wood up twice to the cutting knives for each revolution of the wood, the
result will be an oval; if once to once, then it will be round like the ordinary regular
lathe, the loss in one direction being compensated by the gain in the other, the result
being that of a stationary wood-plate. If the wood-plate brings the wood up more
than four times in each revolution of the wood, of course some polygonal outline will
be cut to correspond.
This part of the apparatus controls the number of sides to be given to the wood,
but not the concavity, convexity, or straightness of those sides, and the introduction
of the cam P, is intended so to equalize and control the harmonious operation of the
wood-plate, the wood and the knives that a concave, convex, or straight side may be
imparted to the wood whatever may be the number of sides to which it is cut. This
is determined by the shape given to the cam and within certain limits we may state
that the depth of the depressions on the cam or the height of the projections will
determine the depth of the hollow to be made by the knife, or the degree of straight-
ness to which the side of the wood is cut. Of course, if the reentrant angles of the
cam are so acute that the revolving cutter could not penetrate the wood with that
degree of sharpness, the cut made upon the wood will only approximate the shape of
that reentrant angle on the cam. This cam is mounted upon the shaft e, and is
rotated by it. Its working surface acts upon the little roller . which is pivoted
loosely upon the crank or elbow arm Q, before referred to. The upper end of this
arm is rigidly attached to the shaft 7. mounted upon the frame A and communicates
motion to the wood-plate under the bed-plate B, by means of the adjustable slotted
crank T, which is the device for determining the amount of motion given to the wood-
plate. When the eccentric e, is secured to this slotted crank Tat is true centre, of
course the wood-plate will get no motion whatever as the slotted crank will simply
run round the eccentric without moving it, and the degree of motion of the wood-
plate will depend upon the distance this eccentric is secured from the centre of said
pin. There is another pin at the end of the shaft, which is hidden by the pulley N,
and is similarly connected with another eccentric attached to the other end of the
wood-plate.
";
The roller prests freely upon the acting surface of the cam P, and is held thereto
by the rope V, which being tied in the lower end of the arm Q, passes around the
pulley, screwed to the floor, and up through the frame of the machine and, passing
over a pulley not shown, but attached to the ceiling, has a weight hanging therefrom
which is made sufficiently heavy to act, not only with sufficient power to hold the
roller always against the cam P, but to steady the machine itself from any plunging
which it might otherwise take up when driven at high speed.
The introduction of a cam of a form more or less allied to the shape to be given
to the wood at this point of the machine, and in this step of the process of manu-
facture, constitutes the third feature of my invention, as before recited.
The operation of the machine is as follows:
Everything being arranged, the cutters being sharpened, the gear wheels k, k', and
the cam P, being adjusted and arranged to get the desired product, whether the same
be a chair-leg, baluster, button, knob, or other device, the machine is started and the
wood at once begins to rotate and the wood-plate to reciprocate at fixed and determined
rates. The operator then standing near the wheels D, E, turns the cutter at will
nearer to or further from the wood and regulates the depth of the cut, until the
desired article of manufacture is produced, whon a new piece of stock is introduced.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare what I
claim is
1st. A device for communicating rotary motion to mechanism carried on a recipro-
cating plate without interfering with such reciprocation, which consists of a worin
threaded sleeve keyed to a shaft by means of a spline or other suitable device, which
allows it to be pushed backwards and forwards upon said shaft by the gear with which
it meshes, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
2nd. A jointed journal-box frame provided with a cam by means of which one of
the sides of said frame is raised or lowered to permit the frame to open and allow the
detachable journal box to be removed therefrom, or to close upon said box and hold
the same immovable, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
3rd. In a turning machine, a cam which determines the outline to be given to the
wood turned on said machine by controlling the motion given to the wood-plate; said
cam being introduced between the driving gear and the wood-plate in such a position
that the free end of the arm which drives said plate is caused to travel along the
acting surface of said cam, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
4th. A wood turning machine which consists of mechanism for holding and rotating
the wood upon a reciprocating bed-plate, and a worm threaded sleeve keyed to a
shaft, or other suitable mechanism for imparting rotation to the wood chuck without
interfering with the reciprocation of the wood-plate; mechanism for imparting when
necessary a reciprocating motion to the wood-plate under the control of a cam which
determines the outline to be given to the wood introduced between the driving gear
and the wood-plate in such a way that the free end of the arm which drives the wood-
plate shall travel over the acting surface of the cam; and mechanism for holding and
rotating the cutting knives upon a bed-plate which can be caused to approach and
recede from the wood-plate under the control of the operator, substantially as described
and for the purposes specified.
5th. A wood turning machine provided with jointed journal box frames for holding
the journal boxes in which the cutter-head spindle is mounted, which are opened and
closed by means of a cam acting upon a movable side of said frames to facilitate the
removal and replacing of the said cutter-head spindle and jurnal-boxes, substantially
as described and for the purposes specified.
Noted this 93rd day of Kebruary 1888
Notad this 23rd day of February 1888
DANIEL HARWOOD BACON.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.