IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR POLISHING METALLIC RODS AND TUBES
Year: 1884

page_text: •
We, EDWARD FLINT, of Westminster Chambers, Corporation Street, Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, Engineer, and FREDERICK MADELEY, of Oxhill,
Handsworth in the County of Stafford, Merchant do hereby declare the nature
of said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR POLISHING
METALLIC RODS AND TUBES to be as follows:-
33
The ordinary method of polishing iron tubes and rods is by hand or mechanical
rotary grinding stones, the tubes or rods being afterwards finished by emery
wheels. If they are mechanically ground it is necessary to have the tubes or rods
perfectly straight before commencing the operation or parts will be imperfectly
ground.
According to this invention we employ emery, metal, wooden, or felt blocks
(depending upon the finish required) which are placed in a suitable frame that
has imparted to it a reciprocating motion, longitudinally, over the rods or tubes
to be polished. The said tubes or rods are fixed in a suitable head stock at their
respective extremities and if they be round rods or tubes have rotary motion
imparted to them at both ends simultaneously from the respective head-stocks, so
that the cutting or grinding or polishing action upon each tube or rod is the
resultant of two motions.
A machine according to this invention may conveniently be arranged as follows:-
Upon a bed plate similar in construction to such as are used for horizontal engines
are placed pedestals carrying their transverse shafts; The first is the driving shaft
on which is a spur wheel to drive a fly spur-wheel upon the second shaft. On the
extremities of this second shaft are two disc cranks connected by connecting rods
to a reciprocating frame arranged in divisions for receiving cutting or scrubbing
blocks of suitable material such as emery, wood, metal or felt. There are two
compressing plates one above and the other below each set of blocks. These
compressing plates are made to approach or recede from each other simultaneously
by right and left handed screws which can be turned by suitable handles.
Between each block and its plate is a spring or cushion of india rubber.
The tubes or rods to be polished are placed between the blocks to which; he
required frictional pressure is given by the screws the springs or cushions relieving
any undue or extraordinary pressure caused by any irregularity in the tubes under.
treatment.

page_text: The reciprocating frame has to and fro motion imparted to it by the cranks
and connecting rods already mentioned, and is guided by suitable feet cast upon it
and working in prepared slide bars.
'
At each end and between the slide bars are two bead-stocks. Each head stock
is provided with a series of'(say nine) spur wheels. The centre wheel of each
series being driven by a shaft running longitudinally with the bed plate and itself
driven from a cross shaft, on which is a pair of mitre wheels driven by a pinion
from the fly spur-wheel. The pinion just mentioned is provided with a clutch for
throwing in and out of gear. The head-stocks are each provided with a chuck
for securing one end of a tube or rod to be polished. The head-stock furthest from
the driving shaft is provided with screws for adjusting the chucks to the respective
lengths of the tubes or rods and to prevent any longitudinal movement of such
tubes or rods during the polishing operation.
It will be evident that with the above arrangement of head stocks a rotary
movement can be imparted at will to each of the several tubes under operation.
Also that the head stocks are adjustable to take in various lengths of rods
or tubes.
The centre wheel in each head stock has a polygonal hole through its centre
for receiving a corresponding polygonal portion of driving shaft by which it is to
be driven.
Adjustment is provided for tubes of various diameters.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
i
We, EDWARD FLINT, of Westminster Chambers, Corporation Street, Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, Engineer, and FREDERICK MADELEY, of Oxhill,
Handsworth, in the County of Stafford, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of
said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR POLISHING
METALLIC RODS, AND TUBES," and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The ordinary method of polishing iron tubes and rods is by hand or mechanical
.rotary grinding stones, the tubes or rods being afterwards finished by emnery
wheele

page_text: II they are mechanicaly ground it is necessary to Dave the tubes or rous
perfectly straight before commencing the operation or parts will be imperfectly
ground.
According to this invention we employ emery, metal, wooden, or felt blocks
(depending upon the finish required) which are placed in a suitable frame that
has imparted to it a reciprocating motion, longitudinally over the rods or tubes
to be polished. The said tubes or rods are fixed in a suitable head-stock at their
respective extremities, and if they be round rods or tubes, have rotary motion
imparted to them at both ends simultaneously from the respective head-stocks so
that the cutting or grinding or polishing action upon each tube or rod is the
resultant of two motions. A machine according to this invention may conveniently
be arranged as follows:-Upon a bed-plato similar in, construction to such as are
used for horizontal engines are placed pedestals carrying three transverse shafts.
The first is the driving shaft on which is a spur wheel to drive a fly spur wheel
upon the second shaft. On the extremities of this second shaft are two disc
cranks connected by connecting rods to a reciprocating frame arranged in divisions
for receiving cutting or scrubbing blocks of suitable material such as emery,, wood,
metal, or felt. There are two compressing plates one above and the other below
each set of blocks. These compressing plates are made to approach or recede from
each other simultaneously by right and left handed screws which can be turned by
suitable handles. Between each block and its plate is a spring or cushion of india
rubber or other elastic material. The tubes or rods to be polished are placed
between the blocks to which the required frictional pressure is given by the
screws, the springs or cushions relieving any undue or extraordinary pressure
caused by any irregularity in the tubes under treatment.
The reciprocating frame has to and fro motion imparted to it by the cranks and
connecting rods already mentioned and is guided by suitable feet cast upon it and
working in prepared slide bars.
At each end and between the slide bars are two head-stocks. Each head stock
is provided with a series of (say nine) spur wheels, the centre wheel of each series
being driven by a shaft running longitudinally with the bed plate and itself driven
from a cross shaft on which is a pair of mitre wheels driven by a pinion from the
fly spur-wheel. The pinion just mentioned is provided with a clutch for throwing
in and out of gear. The head-stocks are each provided with a chuck for securing
one end of a tube or rod to be polished. The head stock furthest from the driving
shaft is provided with screws for adjusting the chucks to the respective lengths of
the tubes or rods and to prevent any longitudinal movement of such tubes or rods
during the polishing operation.
It will be evident that with the above arrangement of head stocks a rotary
movement can be imparted at will to each of the several tubes under operation.
Also that the head-stocks are adjustable to take in various lengths of rods
or tubes.
.
The centre wheel in each head-stock has a polygonal hole through its centre for
receiving a corresponding polygonal portion of driving shaft by which it is to be
driven. Adjustment is provided for tubes of various diameters.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings Fig 1 is an elevation of a
machine according to this invention. Fig 2 is a plan, Fig 3 a longitudinal section
of one of the chucks in line A. B, Fig 2; Fig 4 a front view of one of the chucks,
& Fig 5 a cross section of the polishing frame in line CD, Fig 2. A. A. are the
rods or tubes to be polished. They are held at each end in chucks B, B, each of
which comprises two gripping dies tightened up by screws. The axis of each
chuck carries a toothed wheel C' by which it is rotated. All the wheels of each.
set are in gear, and are driven from a central wheel D upon a longitudinal shaft E.
This shalt is polygonal in cross section so that the wheel can be moved endwise
upon it when the chucks are adjusted in position to suit different lengths of rods
or tubes. It is intended that all the rods or tubes operated upon at one time
should be approximately of the same length, but provision is, nevertheless, made
;

page_text: for small variations. To this end. each chuck of one set, that at the left hand of
Fig 2, is constructed as shewn in section in Fig.3. The driving wheel is keyed
or cast on a sleeve F running in two bearings G. G. Within this sleeve is a short
arbor carrying at one end the clutch dies, and attached at the other end to a
screw H threaded into the sleeve. When this screw is rotated, in relation to the
sleeve, the arbor is moved in or out, as the case may be, and the distance between
the corresponding pair of clutches is varied.
The rods or tubes are polished by friction between blocks I. I. formed of, or
lined with, suitable material to produce the kind of finish desired. The blocks I, I,
are arranged in pairs, between the cross pieces K. K. These cross pieces can be
moved nearer together or farther apart by the right and left handed screw J, to
vary the pressure put upon the rods or tubes. A spring L, one only being shewn,
is interposed between the cross piece and cach block to give a wider range of
pressure. This spring, as illustrated in the drawing, is of steel wire wound in
spiral form, but it may be of india rubber or any other suitable material.
Six sets of polishing blocks, each set containing eight pairs, are shewn in the
figures. They are mounted on a common table M capable of sliding endwise on
the bed-plate N, and receive endwise motion through the two connecting rods Ọ Ọ
from the disc cranks P. P on the shaft Q.
Upon this shaft is a spur wheel R which is rotated by the spur pinion S on the
first motion shaft T. This pinion can be stopped and started by a friction clutch.
The same wheel R serves to transmit motion to the wheels R¹, R³, R³ by which
the longitudinal shaft E is driven. The wheel R¹ can likewise be disconnected
from its shaft, a provision necessary to allow rods or tubes of other than cylindrical
form to be polished.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we
claim is
In machinery for polishing metallic rods or tubes:
1. Rotating a rod or tube, while subject to the action of reciprocating polishing
blocks, by means of a pair of positively driven chucks, applied one at each end,
substantially as described.
2. The use in combination for driving the chucks referred to in the previous
claim, of a longitudinal shaft connecting both head-stocks, and a train of wheels in.
each headstock, substantially as described and illustrated.
3. The use of a reciprocating polishing frame, containing two or more sets of
polishing blocks, each set being provided with a right and left handed screw by
which all the blocks in that set can be tightened simultaneously, substantially as
described and shewn on the drawings.
4. The improved machinery or apparatus for polishing metallic rods or tubes
constructed, arranged and operating substantially as described with reference to the
drawings.