IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING OR SHAPING POTTERY WARE
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th June 1863.-A communication from abroad by Robert Marcher,
of New York, in the United States of America, Manufacturer.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING OR SHAPING
POTTERY WARE," a communication from abroad by Robert Marcher, of New
York, in the United States of America, Manufacturer, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and combi-
nation of machinery or apparatus for moulding elliptical dishes of pottery
ware, whereby the operation is effected more expeditiously and in a more.
perfect manner than has been hitherto accomplished by the ordinary methods
of manufacture.
According to this Invention it is proposed to employ an upright eccentric
chuck or lathe in combination with a mould and a yielding "former "
shaping plate of any pattern, according to the sectional form of the dish to
be moulded. One form of machine consists of an upright shaft, the lower
end of which is contained in the lower part of any suitable framing or support,
a horizontal plate being attached to the upper part. Two parallel guide
bars are secured to this plate, and between these guide bars works a slide
having an oval plate secured to its upper surface. To the under side of this
slide are fitted two pendents, which pass down at opposite sides of a circular

page_text: projection fixed permanently to the main framing and in an eccentric position
to the upright shaft or spindle of the machine. These parts constitute what
is well known as the eccentric chuck, and when the shaft is rotated the oval
plate will, in consequence of the pendents acting against the eccentric pro-
jection, be moved laterally, so that every point of its edge will work in contact
with a fixed point. The "former" or shaping plate is curved or shaped to
correspond to the section of the inner surface of the dish to be moulded;
it is attached to a horizontal bar, one end of which has a dovetail slot made
in it, a corresponding projection fitting such slot and allowing of a slight
longitudinal play of the horizontal bar. The projection is secured to an
upright attached to the framing, whilst the opposite end of the horizontal bar
rests in a slot in a second upright, also attached to the framing. A mould of
plaster of Paris or other suitable material is secured to the eccentric chuck or
lathe berein-before referred to, its inner surface corresponding to the outer
surface of the dish to be moulded. A cam and spring impart a vibratory motion
to the horizontal bar and "former," if a fluted dish be required, but for plain
dishes this cam and spring are dispensed with. The clay is placed in the
mould and made to conform to the sides thereof by the "former," which also
smooths and shares the inner side or surface of the clay and gives it a fluted
form (owing to the vibrations which are imparted to it by the cam if the
lathe be employed), or a plain surface if the can be dispensed with. By
using a number of moulds the operation may be carried on very expeditiously,
the newly formed dish with its mould being removed to a drying room, whilst
a.fresh mould is placed in the machine.
A simple modification, suitable for moulding plain dishes, consists of a
vertical slide working in guides and suspended by a counterweight from its
upper end, whilst its lower end carries the shaping plate or "former" which
shapes the clay contained in the mould fitted to the horizontal tables or plate
of an eccentric lathe or chuck beneath, no cam being employed for vibrating
the "former."