IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MORTISING WOOD
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson of 47 Lincolns Inn- Fields in the
County of Middlesex Gentleman for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR MORTISING WOOD" communicated to him from Jean Baptistę
Alexandre a person resident of Paris in the Republic of France
፡
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st February 1883.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MORTISING WOOD a communi-
cation from Jean Baptiste Alexandre a person resident at Paris in the Republic of
France
This Invention relates to machines for mortising wood and consists essentially in
the addition to such machines of mechanical arrangements or means for the
penetration of the wood by the tool which effects the mortising in an automatic
manner without liability to breakage
In carrying out this Invention which is applicable to mortising machines in
which a rotating tool is employed capable of moving longitudinally or in the
direction of its axis for the purpose of enabling it to be advanced as required the
arm which effects the longitudinal motion of the shaft carrying the rotating tool is
operated automatically by the machine in place of being worked by hand as
heretofore practised-For this purpose the said arm is hinged to a sliding bar and is
provided at its extremity with a steel plate which engages with a screw thread
formed on a shaft working in bearings and carrying a cone pulley at one
extremity.
By means of this pulley a relatively slow motion is imparted to the screw shaft
and transmitted to the arm which is thus caused to move forward the shaft
carrying the rotating tool with great regularity without the assistance of the
workman who is thus enabled to attend to and work the carrier continuously and
without waste of time.
The traversing motion of the carrier is limited by means of two projections one
of which is immoveably fixed to the carrier whilst the other is capable of being

page_text: adjusted according to the length of the mortice-To the bed of the carrier are
bolted two supports carrying a rock shaft capable of being secured in any desired
position by means of a hand lever keyed on the said shaft and engaging in a
notched segment—This shaft carries two sleeves provided with stops corresponding
to the projections on the carrier and connected with counterweights which sleeves 5
are capable of describing an arc the length of which is limited by recesses working
over fixed stops or projections formed on the shaft.
The distance between the two stops on the sleeves is exactly the same as that
between the centre of the rotating tool carrying shaft and the centre of a recipro-
cating tool hereinafter described which is employed to cut the angles of the 1
mortice The counterweight connected to one of the stops is also connected by a
chain to a sliding bar carrying the arm hereinbefore referred to for advancing the
rotating tool and the counterweight on the other stop is similarly connected to the
shaft of the reciprocating tool.
The counterweights cause the stops on the sleeves to have a constant tendency to 1
turn in one direction but when the tools do not move forward the stops are held
back by the chains and clear the projections on the carrier.
Suppose for example that it is desired to cut a certain quantity of mortices of
the same dimensions-A register mark is made upon the carrier in a given position
and the piece of wood to be mortised being provided with a corresponding mark is a
placed upon the carrier and secured in the proper position-A stop placed upon the
carrier is adjusted in such a manner that when this stop is brought in contact
with a projection on the bed the place for the mortice is placed exactly in the
required position relatively to the rotating tool so that by simply moving the
carrier to the end of its stroke the proper position of the first hole is ensured
without any further adjustment. The rotating tool is then brought into action
and caused to form the two ends of the mortice, the length of the mortice corre-
sponding to the position of the adjustable stop on the carrier.
When this preliminary operation is concluded the plate on the end of the lever
is caused to engage with the screw and the shaft carrying the rotating tool is then
moved forwards by the action of this screw so that the workman is simply required
to move the carrier to and fro to an extent controlled by the stop on one of the
sleeves herein before described which stop comes in contact with the opposite sides
of the projections on the carrier alternately.
When the mortice is thus formed the jointed arm is disconnected from the screw
shaft and the shaft carrying the rotating tool is then enabled to be moved back by
means of the said arm and by means of the chain causes the stop to describe an arc
of a circle and move out of the path of the projections on the carrier.
The carrier is then moved into such a position as to bring the mortice opposite
the reciprocating tool-The corners or angles of the mortice are then cut out with
precision by working the reciprocating tool by means of a lever and moving
the carrier to and fro to an extent controlled by the position of the projections
thereon which now come in contact with opposite sides of the other stop.
When it is desired to form mortices of different sizes in the same piece of wood.
the adjustable projection on the carrier is provided with an adjusting screw the
extremity of which is placed at the desired distance from the fixed projection and
in this case the shaft carrying the stops is caused to rotate by means of a small
hand lever which is then caused to engage in the lower notch in the segment so as
to bring the stop in the path of the end of the adjusting screw on the carrier-
The operation then proceeds as herein before described.
When, as is frequently the case, it is not required to cut the mortice through to
the other side of the wood the depth of the mortice may be adjusted with precision
by means of a slotted plate screwed to the support of the sliding bar and a stud or
bolt working in the slot in the plate and acting as a stop By adjusting the
position of this bolt or stud so that it comes in contact with the extremity of the
guide bar the depth of the mortice can be regulated at pleasure.
When it is desired to cut the mortice through the whole thickness of the wood

page_text: the slotted plate must be turned round on its point of support so as to move the
adjustable stop out of the path of the extremity of the bar-This can be effected
with great celerity and without interfering with the progress of the work.
.In order to avoid the tearing action produced at the sides of the mortice by the
passage of the rectangular chisel or tool during the operation of cutting out the
corners a tool is employed provided with three cutting edges so arranged at
different distances from the axial line that the wood is removed in layers; the
first edge removing one third of the depth of wood to be cut away, the second
removing another third and being followed by the third edge which finishes the
work to the required depth.
The Invention is not limited to the precise mechanical arrangements hereinbefore
described as the means of carrying out the same.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th August 1883. .
i
:
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MORTISING WOOD a communi-
cation to me from Jean Baptiste Alexandre a person resident at Paris in the
Republic of France
This Invention relates to machines for mortising wood and consists essentially in
the addition to such machines of mechanical arrangements or means hereinafter
described for regulating the penetration of the wood by the mortising tool in an
automatic manner that is to say without the help of the workman and without
liability to breakage whatever be the dimensions of the mortice the advance of the
tool being owing to a special arrangement made completely dependent upon the
progress of the work in the mortice.
And in order that the said Invention shall be more fully understood I will now
proceed to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several figures
on the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved morticing machine and figure 2 is a
plan of the same, Figure 3 is a transverse section taken along the line 1-2 figure 2
and figure 4 is a detail drawn to a larger scale of a tool or cutter hereinafter
described.
This improved machine is provided with a rotating tool z carried by a shaft A
actuated by a band passing over a pulley P as in the case of other morticing
machines in which a rotating tool is employed and this tool is capable of moving
longitudinally or in the direction of its axis for the purpose of enabling it to be
advanced as required.
The longitudinal motion of the shaft A carrying the rotating tools is obtained by
means of an arm L operated automatically by the machine in place of being
worked by hand as heretofore practised-For this purpose the said arm is hinged
at v to a bar B sliding in supports t and is provided with a steel plate b capable of
engaging with a screw thread O formed on a shaft C¹ working in bearings c and
driven at variable speeds by means of bands or cords passing over a cone pulley P
so that by this means a relatively slow motion is imparted to the screw shaft ¹
and transmitted to the arm L which is thus caused to automatically move forward
the shaft A and rotating tool with great regularity without the assistance of the
workman who is thus enabled to attend to the wood which is clamped down by a
clamp as shewn at w on a carrier D so that the work proceeds continuously and
without waste of time. It is simply necessary to place the tool in contact with
the wood win the required position for making the mortice which may be either in
the same plane as the other mortices or in a projecting or recessed portion the
arm L is then turned upon its hinge so as to cause the plate b to gear with the
screw shaft and the operation of morticing proceeds automatically.
2
The traversing motion of the carrier D is limited by means of two projections d
and d¹ the projection d being immoveably fixed to the carrier D whilst the
projection is capable of being adjusted and fixed at any required distance from
the projection d by means of a nut d² according to the length of the mortice.
The carrier D slides upon a bed E to which are bolted two supports e carrying a
shaft capable of turning in the said supports and of being secured in any desired
position by means of a hand lever keyed on the said shaft and engaging in a

page_text: notched segment S. This shaft f carries two sleeves capable of turning to a
limited extent upon the said shaft the extent of the angular motion of the said
sleeves being limited by stops on the shaft working in corresponding recesses (not
shown in the drawing) formed in the said sleeves. The sleeves are provided
with weighted arms y y' and stops g g' which when the lever is in the position
shown in the drawing come in contact with the projections dd' on the carrier D.
The distance between the two stops g g¹ is exactly the same as that between the
centre of the rotating tool carrying shaft A and the centre of a reciprocating tool h
hereinafter described which is employed to cut the angles of the mortice. The
counterweight y is connected by a chain i to the sliding bar B. carrying the arm L
and the counterweight y¹ is similarly connected by a chain i¹ to a reciprocating bar
or shaft H carrying the reciprocating tool h.
The weighted arms y y¹ tend to cause the stops g or g¹ to place theinselves
between the projections d d on the carrier but when the cutting tools are moved
away from the wood to a certain extent the chains or act upon the levers y or y¹
and cause the sleeves to turn upon the shaft f in such a manner as to move the
stops g g clear of the projections ď ď¹ and enable the carrier to be shifted
longitudinally to any desired extent.
Suppose for example that it is desired to cut a certain quantity of mortices of
the same dimensions. A register mark is made upon the carrier in a given position
and each piece of wood to be morticed being provided with a corresponding mark
is placed upon the carrier in turn and secured in the proper position. A stop (not
shewn in the drawing) placed upon the carrier D is adjusted in such a manner that
when this stop is brought in contact with a corresponding projection on the bed E
the wood is placed exactly in the required position relatively to the rotating tool
so that by simply moving the carrier to the end of its stroke the proper position of
the first hole is ensured without any further adjustment. The parts being now in
the position shewn in the drawing the rotating tool is brought into action and
caused to form the two ends of the mortice the length of which is regulated by the
position of the adjustable projection d' on the carrier D.
When this preliminary operation is concluded the plate b on the end of the
lever L is caused to engage with the screw C and the shaft A carrying the rotating
tool is then moved gradually forward by the action of this screw so that the
workman is simply required to move the carrier D to and fro an extent controlled ⚫
by the distance between the projections & and d in order to cause the tool z to
clear out the wood between the extremities of the mortice.
When the mortice is thus formed the plate b on the arm L is disconnected from
the screw C and the shaft A carrying the rotating tool z is then enabled to be
moved back by means of the said arm L and by means of the chain i the stop g is
also caused to move out of the path of the projections d d' on the carrier.
The carrier is then moved into such a position as to bring the mortice opposite
the reciprocating tool h thereby also placing the projections d d' on opposite sides
of the stop g¹
The corners or angles of the mortice are then cut out with
precision by working the reciprocating tool h by means of a lever L' figure 2 and 3
and moving the carrier D to and fro at the same time to an extent controlled by
the position of the projections d and d' which now come in contact with opposite
sides of the stop g₁ which by the act of drawing forward the tool h and thereby
letting out the chain. is moved into the proper position for acting on the said
projections.
In order to enable mortices of different sizes to be formed in the same piece
of wood the projection d' on the carrier is provided with an adjustable screw j
tigure 2 the extremity of which is placed at the desired distance from the fixed
projection d In this case the shaft f is caused to rotate by means of the hand
lever which is then caused to engage in the lower notch in the segment S thus
enabling the sleeves on the shaft f to turn upon the latter in such a manner as to
bring the stop g or g¹ in the path of the end of the adjustable screw j when
required The operation then proceeds as hereinbefore described.

page_text: When as is frequently the case it is not required to cut the mortice through to
the other side of the wood the depth of the mortice may be adjusted with
precision by means of a slotted plate k screwed to one of the supports t of the
sliding bar B and a stud or bolt fixed in the slot in the plate and acting as a
stop. By adjusting the position of this bolt or stud so that it comes in contact
with the extremity of the guide bar B and limits the forward motion of the latter
the depth of the mortice can be regulated at pleasure.
When it is desired to cut the mortice through the whole thickness of the wood
the slotted plate must be turned round on its point of support so as to move the
adjustable stop k entirely out of the path of the extremity of the bar B. This can be
effected with great celerity and without interfering with the progress of the work.
In order to avoid the tearing action produced at the sides of the mortice by the
passage of a rectangular chisel or tool during the operation of cutting out the
corners a tool of special construction is employed formed as shown in figure 4
being provided with three cutting edges on each side so arranged at different
distances from the axial line that the wood is shaved off in layers the first edge
removing one third of the wood to be cut away the second removing another third
and being followed by the third edge which finishes the work of cutting out the
corners or angles of the mortice.
It is evident that racks or other.equivalent devices may be used in place of the
screw C and chains i and that the details and construction of the subordinate
mechanical arrangements may be modified without affecting the principle of the
Invention:
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and the manner in. which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is.
The improvements in Machines for mortising wood consisting essentially in the
employment of a screw or equivalent device for automatically feeding the cutter
up to its work in combination with means for regulating and controlling the action
of the said cutter substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof I the said John Henry Johnson have to, this my
Specification set my hand and seal this seventeenth day of August One thousand
eight hundred and eighty three
T TTHAY TAHTMINAN