Improvements in the Manufacture of Fingers for the Knives of Mowing and Reaping Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 21st Sept., 1896-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Fingers for the Knives of
Mowing and Reaping Machines.
:
We, WILLIAM SMITH, of Saltley Mill, Birmingham, Managing Director of
Thomas Smith and Sons of Saltley, Limited, and THOMAS SMITH, of Saltley Mill,.
aforesaid, Manager of the Stamping Department of the said Company, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention has reference to what are known as the iron, steel or other
metal fingers of mowing and reaping machines. Each of these fingers is slotted
for the reciprocating knife to work in and has two steeled cutting edges against
which the knife works. Heretofore the said fingers have commonly been made of
malleable cast iron or they have been made as stampings or forgings, the said slot
in which the knife.works having been sawn out or otherwise suitably machined.
When the said fingers have been made as aforesaid there has been some difficulty
in properly steeling the same to form the cutting edges for the knife as aforesaid.
By our invention we make the said fingers in a better and cheaper manner as we
will now describe which enables us to readily fix the steeling in the slot or all over
the finger as required.
In carrying out this invention we stamp or otherwise form the main portion of
the finger separate from the lip which forms the top side of the said slot. We are
thus enabled very readily to steel those parts which form the bottom and the top
sides of the slot, or either, or both, and may be made of steel and hardened. The
said bottom side we make slightly hollowed or recessed so as to form on each side
a more prominent cutting edge for the knife to work against. The root of the top
lip is made with two side lips or projections which fit into corresponding recesses
which we form on each side of the top of the finger and the said lip is secured by
one or more oval or other shaped pins (preferably oval) stamped or formed solid
in conjunction with the bottom or top part of the finger, and passing through an
oval or other shaped hole in the lip for rivetting. Or we may form the said side
ribs or projections on the fore part of the finger to fit into recesses on each side of
the lip. Or we may form the said oval or other shaped pin or rivet in one with
the lip the said pin to be then passed through a hole in the finger and rivetted so
as to secure the lip and finger together. Or the lip and finger may be secured
together by an oval or other shaped rivet or pin and rivetted to each side of the
finger. The upper edge-of the finger against which the root of the lip fits is also
rivetted over the root of the lip so as to more effectually secure the lip and finger
together.
Dated this 20th day of December 1895
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Fingers for the Knives of
Mowing and Reaping Machines.
:
We, WILLIAM SMITH, of Saltley Mill, Birmingham, Managing Director of
Thomas Smith and Sons of Saltley, Limited, and THOMAS SMITH, of Saltley Mill,
aforesaid, Manager of the Stamping Department of the said Company, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention has reference to what are known as the iron, steel or other metal
fingers of mowing and reaping machines. Each of these fingers is slotted for the
reciprocating knife to work in and has two steeled cutting edges against which
the knife works. Heretofore the said fingers have commonly been made of
malleable cast iron or they have been made up as stampings or forgings, the said
slot in which the knife works having been sawn out or otherwise suitably machined.
When the said fingers have been made as aforesaid there has been some difficulty
in properly steeling the same to form the cutting edge for the knife as aforesaid.
By our invention we make the said fingers in a better and cheaper manner as we
will now describe which enables us to readily fix the steeling in the slot or all over
the finger as required.
We will describe this invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on
which
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a mowing or reaping machine finger constructed
according to our invention; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Fig. 3 shews a cross
.section of the same on line X X of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shews a cross section of the
.same on line Y Y of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a plan of the said finger with the top lip
removed; Fig. 6 shews a plan of the said lip part separately; Fig. 7 is an
inverted view of the said lip;
Fig. 8 is a cross section shewing a modified method of securing the lip and
finger together; Fig. 9 shews the lip part of this modification separately and
Fig. 10 shews a further modified method of securing the lip and finger together.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all
the figures of the drawings.
-
In carrying out this invention we stamp or otherwise form out of steel iron or
other suitable metal, the main portion A of the finger separate from the top lip B
which forms the top side of the slot C in which the reciprocating knife works.
We
We are thus enabled very readily to steel the part a of the finger A forming the
bottom side of the slot C and also the part 6 of the top lip B which forms the top.
side of the slot C in which the reciprocating knife works. We make the said
bottom side a of the finger A slightly hollowed or recessed so as to form on each
side a more prominent cutting edge a¹ a² for the knife to work against. The root
of the top lip B is made with two side lips or projections marked respectively b³ ³
which fit into corresponding recesses at as formed on each side of the top part of
the main portion A of the finger, and the said top lip B is secured in place by
the oval or other shaped pin a (or there may be more than one of the said pins)
stamped or formed solid in conjunction with the bottom part A of the finger and
passing through an oval or other shaped hole corresponding with the pin a® and
rivetted over on the top. The upper edge a' of the finger against which the root
of the lip B fits is also rivetted over the root of the lip so as to more effectually
secure the lip and finger together.
Instead of the lip B being secured to the main portion A. of the finger as above
described and shewn by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 we may, as shewn in Figs. 8

page_text: and 9, form two side ribs or projections as a at the sides of the finger A which
engage in corresponding recesses 66 66 formed on the sides of the root of the lip B.
The pin a which assists in securing the lip B and the main portion A of the
finger together may, instead of being formed in a piece with the main portion of
the finger A as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, be formed in a piece with the lip B.
as shewn in Figures 8 and 9 and pass through a correspondingly shaped hole in the
main portion of the finger A the end being rivetted over. Or as shewn in Fig. 10-
a separate rivet D may be used passing through holes in both the lip B and the
finger A and the ends rivetted over as shewn in Fig. 10.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we-
claim is :-
1. In a mowing or reaping machine finger, making the upper lip B separate-
from the main portion A. of the finger and securing these parts together in any
of the several ways substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the-
accompanying drawings.
2. In a mowing or reaping machine finger made as denoted under Claim 1,
making the main portion A of the finger with a longitudinal groove a between the
cutting edges at a³ for the purpose and substantially as herein before described and
shewn by Figs. 2, 3 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 19th day of September 1896.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,.
Agent for the Applicants.