IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF FELTING HAT BODIES AND T PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nathaniel Clayton Underwood, Mechanical
Engineer, of West Gorton, Manchester, and William Adshead, Felt
Manufacturer, Eagle Mills, Reddish, near Manchester, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF FELTING HAT BODIES AND
T
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nathaniel Clayton
Underwood and William Adshead at the Office of the Commis-
sioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 28th September 1871.
•
.
We, NATHANIEL CLAYTON UNDERWOOD, Mechanical Engineer, of
West Gorton, Manchester, and WILLIAM ADSHEAD, Felt Manufacturer,
Eagle Mills, Reddish, near Manchester, do hereby declare the nature'
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF FELTING HAT
BODIES AND OTHER FELTED FABRICS, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR," to be as.
follows:-

page_text: and give a uniform blow. We propose to give the blow direct by means
of a cylinder and piston regulated by valves and worked by steam,
compressed air, or other motive power, the stroke being of any desired
length, and the blow tempered as required; the pressure of the steam
or other motor determining the number of strokes per minute, and the
cut-off valve the length of the stroke. The felting block is made of
wood, brass, copper, or other suitable material, and is fixed to the piston
rod;
and when desired we use a cylinder having piston rods working
through both ends, so that two felting blocks can be worked to and fro
alternately.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Nathaniel Clayton Underwood and William
Adshead in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th March
1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, NATHANIEL
CLAYTON UNDERWOOD, Mechanical Engineer, of West Gorton, Man-
chester, and WILLIAM ADSHEAD, Felt Manufacturer, Eagle Mills,
Reddish, near Manchester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of September, in the 1
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Nathaniel Clayton Underwood and
William Adshead, Her special license that we, the said Nathaniel Clayton
Underwood and William Adshead, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Nathaniel Clayton Underwood and
William Adshead, our 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 THE MODE OF FELTING HAT BODIES AND OTHER FELTED
FABRICS AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR," upon the condition, amongst others,
that we, the said Nathaniel Clayton Underwood and William. Adshead,
by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the

page_text: hand and scal of one of us, 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 we, the said Nathaniel Clayton Underwood and
William Adshead do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say) :-
Instead of giving the blows of the hammers or felting blocks by
milling stocks or bumpers similar to tilt hammers worked by tappets or
cranks which give uniform blows, we cause the blow to be given direct
by means of a cylinder and piston regulated by valves and worked by
steam, compressed air, or other motive power, the stroke being of any
desired length, and the blow tempered as required; the pressure of the
steam or other motor determining the number of strokes per minute,
and the cut-off of the valves the length of the stroke. The hammer or
felting block of wood, metal, or other material is fixed to the piston
rod and works in a horizontal or other direction in a trough lined with
wood or other suitable material; and the face of the hammer is inclined
and serrated, its action being to press the fabric to be felted against a.
curved or inclined surface so that it shall be turned over, and thereby
present fresh surfaces of the felt to be acted upon by the hammer.
When desired we use a cylinder having its piston rod working through
both ends, so that two hammers or felting blocks can be worked to and
fro alternately, or we use two or more cylinders combined for working
four or more hammers.
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawings Fig. 1 is a longitudinal
elevation with part in section, and Fig. 2 a plan representing two
horizontal direct-acting steam engines for giving to-and-fro motion to
four hammers or felting blocks.
At the ends of the cylinders a there are two piston rods 6 connected
to the hammers c, which work alternately to and fro in the trough d,
and the piston rods and hammers are maintained in their proper relative
positions by the two-armed lever e. The valves of the engines which
are of the ordinary construction and have sliding motion given to them

page_text: by the levers g, h, the lever ġ working on a pin in the standard i, and
the lever / fixed to a shaft k working in standards / fixed to the sides of
one of the troughs. The lever g is connected by links m to the ends of
the valve rods n, and the lever g is linked by a link o and crank p to the
shaft of the lever h, the bottom of the lever h being connected by a
link q to one of the hammers, so that as the hammer moves to and fro
it gives vibrating motion to the levers, and to-and-fro sliding motion to
the valves, the cut-off and traverse of the valves being regulated by
turning the wheel and screw r, and shifting the links s in order to give
more or less traverse to the lever 9 and the valve rods and valves; and
when the engines and hammers are at work the exhaust steam passes
through the passages under both felting troughs to the escape pipe.
In the sides of the troughs there are slots u for the ends of the levers e
to pass through as it vibrates to and fro, and also other slots v to allow
cross heads from the piston rods or outer hammers to be connected to
powerful pumps for pumping water, and thus provide an efficient steam
fire engine in case of fire.
Having now described the nature and particulars of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we desire it to be
understood that we claim the improved mode of felting hat bodies and
other felted fabrics by direct acting hammers or felting blocks, the blows
of which can be tempered as required.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathaniel Clayton Underwood, for
myself and on behalf of the said William Adshead, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two
NATHANIEL CLAYTON UNDERWOOD. (L.S.)
Witness,
CHA'. WT. COLLINS.