IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FILES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Aaron Chambers, of North Providence, in the County
of Providence and State of Rhode Island, in the United States of
America, File Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FILES."
Sealed the 21st. April 1868, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Aaron Chambers at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th October 1867.
I, AARON CHAMBERS, of North Providence, in the County of Providence
and State of Rhode Island, in the United States of America, File Manager,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FILES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in novel arrangements and combinations of machinery
for preparing or stripping file blanks and for cutting files.
The operation of preparing file blanks to be made into single cut and fine
files of various descriptions has hitherto been performed by hand by stripping.
or draw-filing the blanks so as to prepare them for being cut.
My Invention relates, first, to self-acting machinery for stripping or draw-
filing file blanks. Fluted or cut rollers of suitable dimensions are mounted

page_text: upon a frame and a rapid rotatory motion is given to them; the file blanks
are then passed over or under the rollers and the surfaces are abraded and
made level and even. The blanks are fixed in suitable carriages to which
self-acting motions are given, or they are passed under or over the rollers by
hand, by preference in a direction opposite to that in which the rollers revolve.
The method of applying the file blanks to the machine for the purpose of
being stripped is not claimed. The rollers are by preference mounted on
spindles revolving in bearings supported by standards fixed on the main frame
of the machine and driven by a pulley connected by a strap with shafting, or
otherwise with the main driving power; these rollers are attached to the
spindles by means of collars fastened by set screws. or otherwise, so that
any roller may be removed and replaced by another when required. Two
or more rollers may be worked at the same time, and being connected
with their spindles form a continuous shaft, all the rollers being driven by
one pulley.
My Invention also relates to machinery for cutting files. In certain
machines heretofore in use the feed motion, whereby the file blank is made to
travel over the bed under the edge of the chisel, is communicated from the
main shaft (or cam shaft) by means of a series of levers, rods, and connecting
joints. This series of levers, rods, and connecting joints is liable to get out of
order and requires constant repair.
To obviate the inconveniences above refered to I employ an improved
mode of actuating the feed motion of the machine; it consists of a rod made
in two parts and connected at its top with the main shaft of the machine, and
at its bottom with a compound horizontal shaft consisting of four separate
pieces. In the first piece a slot is formed in which the second piece is made
to move up and down by a pin passing through the slot, and the third piece is
connected with the second by a socket joint and has formed on its end' a ring
or other means of connecting it, as herein-after described, with the rocking
shaft on the side of the bed of the machine, being held in its place, by pre-
ference by a set screw, or a key may be employed for that purpose. On the
end of this rocking shaft is a; slotted lever in which is placed the upper end of
a finger or catch working on a pivote through the slotted lever, and by the
motion of the rocking shaft the ratchet wheel is propelled; this finger is held
in its position by a spiral or other spring.. Another finger or countercatch
fixed on the side of the natchet: wheel is used. to prevent any retrograde move-
ment. To regulate the various feeds for coarse or fine cuts the first-mentioned
finger or catch is made to slide up and down the slotted lever as. may be
réquisite, the ratchet wheel being, changed to suit the different cuts of blank

page_text: files. The bed may be made to sling so as to suit the different angles of cut
required to be produced by forming on the end piece of the compound hori-
zontal shaft a ring or opening, through which the rocking shaft is passed and
is held by a set screw, or other suitable means of connection may be employed.
When it is necessary to sling the bed the set screw is loosened and the ring or
other connection is moved as required upon the rocking shaft.
In some machines now in use the spring in connection with the hammer
that regulates the pressure is acted upon by eccentrics and other similar con-
trivances by which the spring is depressed or regulated as may be required,
but the effect of such contrivances is to wear away the spring at the place of
contact, and the spring is consequently weakened and becomes very liable to
break. My Invention in this respect consists in dispensing with the eccentrics
or other similar contrivances, and in substituting an arrangement by which the
wearing away of the spring is as far as possible prevented. In order to act
upon the spring in connection with the hammer and to regulate the pressure
a pillar is made to slide in a box fastened to the side of the machine; the
pillar has ratchet teeth throughout the whole or a sufficient portion of its
length by means of which it is acted on by a pinion wheel which moves the
pillar and thus bears down and regulates the pressure of the spring. If pre-
ferred the pillar and pinion might be placed under the spring if required, and
the spring pulled instead of pushed down.
In consequence of the diversity in size and shape of the various sorts of files
required to be manufactured it is necessary to have the means of varying the
degree of pressure of the spring upon the hammer as occasion. may require,
and hitherto great difficulty has been experienced in arriving at that result.
The difficulty is obviated by part of my Invention next referred to, which
enables the feed motion to be stopped and the pressure of the spring regulated
as required. This is effected by substituting for the finger ordinarily used to
force forward the ratchet wheel that gives the feed motion a catch which is
held in its place by a spring, and has a lever rod attached to it by means of
which the catch may be readily removed from the teeth of the ratchet wheel,
which is thereby thrown out of gear.
It has been found in practice that the contrivances heretofore used for
adjusting the travelling bed so as to receive and level the different descriptions
of files are inadequate for that purpose. The surface of some files is so narrow
that the pressure of the leveller cannot be made to level the file blank perfectly.
My Invention in this respect consists in placing within the travelling bed a
friction bed capable of being removed and adjusted; it is made of the shape
and dimensions adapted to receive and hold the various descriptions of files

page_text: SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Aaron Chambers
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd May 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AARON
CHAMBERS, of North Providence, in the County of Providence and State of
Rhode Island, in the United States of America, File Manager, send
greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Aaron Chambers, Her special licence that I, the said Aaron
Chambers, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Aaron Chambers, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
⚫ exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FILES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Aaron Chambers, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Aaron Chambers, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
....
. This Invention consists in novel arrangements and combinations of machinery
for preparing or stripping.file blanks and for cutting files.
The operation of preparing file blanks to be made into single cut and fine
files of various descriptions has hitherto been performed by hand by stripping
or draw-filing the blanks so as to prepare them for being cut.

page_text: My Invention relates, first, to self-acting machinery for stripping or draw-.
filing file blanks. I use for the purpose of preparing the file blanks steel rollers.
having surfaces which are hardened and cut somewhat after the manner of
the surfaces of files. In some cases fluted rollers may be used, but they are
not so generally advantageous as the cross-cut rollers employed by me. The
rollers are made of suitable dimensions, being from four to six inches in length,
and from 1 to 2 inches in diameter, for operating upon ordinary file blanks;
the rollers are mounted in suitable frames and rapid rotatory motion is given
to them. I usually employ two rollers side by side, as shewn in Fig. 1,
Sheet I., of the annexed Drawings, and I pass the rough file blank over one
of the rollers to clean it, and then I pass it over and under the other roller,.
by which means the surfaces are abraded and made level and even. The.
blanks may be fixed in suitable carriages to which self-acting motions may be.
given, but they are usually passed under and over the rollers by hand. The
method of applying the file blanks to the machine by means of self-acting
carriages is not claimed. Steel rollers having cross-cut surfaces may be
applied for other purposes where a true level surface is required to be given
to the object operated upon. The rollers are by preference mounted on
spindles revolving in bearings supported by standards fixed on the main frame
of the machine and driven by a pulley connected by a strap with shafting. or
otherwise with the main driving power; these rollers are attached to the
spindles by means of collars fastened by set screws or otherwise, so that any
roller may be removed and replaced by another when required.
My Invention also relates to machinery for cutting files. In certain
machines heretofore in use the feed motion, whereby the file blank is made to
travel over the bed under the edge of the chisel, is communicated from, the
main shaft (or cam shaft) by means of a series of levers, rods, and connecting
joints, and is liable to get out of order and requires constant repair.
To obviate the inconveniences above referred to. I employ my improved
mode of actuating the feed motion of the machines; it consists of a rod made
in two parts and connected (as shewn in Fig. 2, Sheet 2) at its top with. the.
main shaft of the machine and at its bottom, with a compound horizontal
shaft consisting of four separate pieces. In the first piece a slot is formed in
which the second piece is made to move up and down by a pin passing through
the slot, and the third piece is connected with the second by a socket joint,
and has formed on its end a ring or other means of connecting it (as berein-
after described) with the rocking shaft on the side of the bed of the machine,
being held in its place by preference by a set screw, or a key may be employed
for that purpose. On the end of the rocking shaft is a slotted lever in which

page_text: is placed the upper end of a finger or catch, shewn in Figure 4, Sheet 2,
working on a pivot through the slotted lever, and by the motion of the rocking
shaft the ratchet wheel is propelled. This finger is held in its position by a
spiral or other spring; another finger or countercatch fixed on the side of
the ratchet wheel is used to prevent any retrograde movement. To regulate
the various feeds for coarse or fine cuts the first-mentioned finger or catch is
made to slide up and down the slotted lever as may be requisite, the ratchet
wheel being changed to suit the different cuts of blank files. The bed may
be made to sling so as to suit the different angles of cut required to be pro-
duced by forming on the end piece of the compound horizontal shaft a ring
or opening through which the rocking shaft is passed and is held by a set
screw, or other suitable means of connection may be employed. When it is
necessary to sling the bed the set screw is loosened and the ring or other
.connection is moved as required upon the rocking shaft.
In some file-cutting machines now in use the spring in connection with the
hammer that regulates the pressure is acted upon by eccentrics and other
similar. contrivances by which the spring is depressed or regulated as may be
required, but the effect of such contrivances is to wear away the spring at the
place of contact, and the spring is consequently weakened and becomes very
liable to break. My Invention in this respect consists in dispensing with the
eccentrics or other similar contrivances and in substituting an arrangement by
which the wearing away of the spring is as far as possible prevented. In
order to act upon the spring in connection with the hammer and to regulate
the pressure a pillar is made to slide in a box fastened to the top of the
machine; the pillar has ratchet teeth throughout the whole or a sufficient
portion of its length by means of which it is acted on by a pinion wheel which
moves the pillar and thus bears down and regulates the pressure on the
spring. If preferred the pillar and pinion might be placed under the spring
and the spring be pulled instead of pushed down, but the arrangement pre-
viously described is found by me to be more beneficial.
In consequence of the diversity in size and shape of the various sorts of files
required to be manufactured it is necessary to have the means of varying the
degree of pressure of the spring upon the hammer as occasion may require,
and hitherto great difficulty has been experienced in arriving at that result.
The difficulty is obviated by the part of my Invention next referred to and
shewn in Figure 2, Sheet II., which enables the feed motion to be stopped
and the pressure of the spring regulated as required. This is effected by
'substituting for the finger ordinarily used to force forward the ratchet wheel
that gives the feed motion a catch which is held in its place by a spring, and

page_text: has a lever rod attached to it by means of which the catch may be readily
removed from the teeth of the ratchet wheel, which is thereby thrown out
of gear.
It has been found in practice that the contrivances heretofore used for
adjusting the travelling bed so as to receive and level the different descriptions
of files are inadequate for that purpose; the surface of some files is so narrow
that the pressure of the leveller cannot be made to level the file blank per-
fectly. My Invention in this respect consists in placing within the travelling
bed a friction bed, shewn Figure 5, Sheet II., capable of being removed and
adjusted; it is made of the shape and dimensions adapted to receive and hold
the various descriptions of files required to be cut and to secure them in their
proper positions in such friction bed while being acted upon by the edge of
the chisel.
In order that the various parts of my Invention may be more fully
understood they are shewn and illustrated in the accompanying Sheets of
Drawings.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., shews the rotatory cylinders with cross-cut surfaces. A is
a cast-iron frame with standards containing boxes or bearings B in which
spindles C revolve; D, D, are two cross-cut rollers having square tenons at
each end fitting into corresponding sockets in the spindles C, as shewn at E,
thus forming a continuous shaft, the whole being held together by means of
a collar or ring with a set screw at G, motion being given to the whole by
power applied to the pulley H. To change the rollers I slacken the set
screw in the ring G, which allows the spindle to move back and thus disconnects
the continuous shaft. In some cases rollers having fluted surfaces may be
used, but they are not so generally beneficial as those having cross-cut surfaces
as employed by me.
Figure 2, Sheet II., represents the side elevation of the machine for cutting
files; Figure 3 represents a top view of the bed and rocking shaft com-
municating the feed motion of the said machine; Figure 4 is an end view of
the rocking shaft shewing the feed motion of the said machine; Fig. 5 is a
section shewing the friction bed within the travelling bed of the said machine;
Fig. 6, Sheet I., represents a side view of Fig. 2 in Sheet II.; Fig. 7 is a
top view of Fig. 2, Sheet II. The same letters are used to refer to the same
parts in the different Figures.
A and A' in Fig. 2, Sheet II., consist of a rod made in 2 parts and con-
nected at its top with the main shaft of the said machine, and also at its
bottom with a compound horizontal shaft consisting of 4 separate pieces B,
B', B, and B. B is the first piece, in which the second piece B' is made to

page_text: move up and down by a pin passing through the slot, and the 3rd piece (B)
is connected with the second by a socket joint, and has formed on its end the
ring or other means of connecting it, as herein-before described; C, C, C, is
the rocking shaft, shewn in Figures: 2, 3, and 4 in Sheet II., and D, D, is a
slotted lever on the end of this rocking shaft, in which slotted lever is placed
the upper end of a finger E working on a pivot through the slotted lever, and
by the motion of the rocking shaft the ratchet wheel is propelled. E, in
Fig. 2, Sheet II., is a side view of the upper end of the finger, and in Fig. 4
there is a front view of same finger; E¹ is 'the nut on the end of the pivot
passing through the slotted lever D, D; F, in Figures 3 and 4, Sheet II., is
a slotted bar placed under the bed of the machine held in its place by screws,
to which slotted bar is fastened the spiral or other springs to pull the finger E
into the tooth of the ratchet wheel, as shewn. In some cases the spring may
be placed in a different position and be made to act on the other side of E¹.
G, as shewn in Fig. 4, Sheet II., is a slotted bar attached to the end of the
cutting bed; and G' is a finger or countercatch used to prevent any retro-
grade movement of the ratchet wheel. B³, in Figures 2 and 3, Sheet II., is
one end of the compound horizontal shaft formed into a ring through which
the rocking shaft C, C, C, is passed, and B is the set screw which fastens B³
to the rocking shaft C, C, C. K, in Figures 6 and 7, Sheet I., is a pillar
made to slide in a box L fastened on the top of the machine, and J is a pinion
wheel which moves the pillar K, and thus bears down and regulates the
pressure of the spring. I, in Fig. 2, Sheet II., is a catch held in its place by
a spring I, and has attached to it a rod or lever 1. H, in Fig. 5, Sheet II.,
is the friction bed shewn in section within the travelling bed H³.
Having now described my Invention and the manner of performing it,
I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details,
as these may in some cases be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but what I claim is,―
First. The use of the rollers arranged as shewn in Figure 1, Sheet I., for the
purposes herein described.
Second. The use of steel rollers having their peripheries cross cut some-
what like the surface of a file for the purpose of giving a flat surface to the
article operated upon by it.
Third. The improved mode of actuating the feed motion as herein described.
and shewn in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 in Sheet II.
Fourth. The improved mode of varying and regulating the force of the
pressure exerted upon the hammer as herein described and shewn in Figures
6 and 7, Sheet I.

page_text: Fifth. The use and application of the catch I, as described and shewn in
Fig. 2, Sheet II.
Sixth. The use and application of the friction bed H, as described and
shewn in Fig. 5, Sheet II.
In witness whereof, I, the said Aaron Chambers, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
AARON CHAMBERS. (L.S.)