IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING TYPE, AND CARVING, MOULDING, AND ORNAMENTING WOOD, METAL, STONE, AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William John Cunningham, of the Firm of
Messrs. Cunningham & Co., of 480, New Oxford Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineers, and Alphonso Dabb, of the same.
Place, Engineer, for the Invention of “IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND
APPARATUS FOR CUTTING TYPE, AND CARVING, MOULDING, AND ORNAMENTING
WOOD, METAL, STONE, AND OTHER MATERIALS."
Sealed the 20th December 1870, and dated the 22nd June 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William John Cun-
ningham and Alphonso Dabb at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 22nd June 1870.
We, WILLIAM JOHN CUNNINGHAM, of the Firm of Messrs. Cunning-
ham & Co., of 480, New Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineers, and ALPHONSO DABB, of the same Place, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS
AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING TYPE, AND CARVING, MOULDING, AND ORNAMENTING
WOOD, METAL, STONE, AND OTHER MATERIALS," to be as follows:―
This Invention consists in cutting type, and carving, moulding,
and ornamenting wood, metal, stone, and other materials by means of

page_text: On a suitable bed we fix an upright standard having grooves or slides
in which work two projecting bearings; between these said bearings and
supported therein by means of studs or pivots is a vertical frame capable
of swinging freely on the said studs or pivots, and suspended from the
said frame by similar means are two horizontal frames running parallel
with and above the bed of the machine. At the other or outer end of
these two parallel frames is another vertical frame, similar in construc-
tion and adaptation to the vertical frame already described, so that by
the combination of these three frames a parallel motion is obtained with
scarcely any appreciable friction, of which a duplicate motion can be
readily obtained, as hereafter explained. Affixed to one side of the outer
vertical frame are two or more vertical bearings in which is placed a
stationary pointer or tracer, and affixed to the other side of the same
frame are other bearings, in which runs the cutting, carving, or
ornamenting drill or tool. The frame to which these bearings are
attached is suspended from a suitable support by means of an india-
rubber or other spring, so that an easy vertical motion of the frame is
attained, the parallel or horizontal motion being secured by means of
the bearing or pivotting studs before described.
A model or template of the carving or ornamenting required to be
done is first fixed firmly on to a sliding bed or table placed on the bed of
the machine and sliding in a parallel line therewith. This said model or
template must be placed immediately under the stationary points or
tracer, and the wood, stone, or other material required to be cut is placed
under the rotary cutter or drill, so that on moving the stationary tracer
over the model the cutting tool exactly follows its course, and an object
is cut or carved similar in every respect to the model or template.
If desired, instead of having the horizontal frames to swing vertically
on the standards or supports we place in the outer vertical frame a
sliding headstock supported by the india-rubber or other spring, as
aforesaid, by which means the same purpose is attained. We may place
two or more cutters on the outer frame if desired so that several blocks
may be cut at the same time. This machine or apparatus may be placed
on a lathe bed or circular saw bench, or in any other position where
rotary motion is obtained, as it is only necessary to drive the cutting

page_text: spindles from any suitable existing wheel or pulley, it can also be driven
by hand or foot power with the greatest ease, in all of which particulars
it differs from and is preferable to all machines at present in use.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William John Cunningham and Alphonso Dabb in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
JOHN CUNNINGHAM, of the Firm of Messrs. Cunningham & Co., of
480, New Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, and
ALPHONSO DABB, of the same Place, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said William John Cunninghain and
Alphonso Dabb, Her special licence that we, the said William John
Cunningham and Alphonso Dabb, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William John Cunningham
and Alphonso Dabb, 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 MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING TYPE,
AND CARVING, MOULDING, AND ORNAMENTING WOOD, METAL, STONE, AND OTHER
MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that wc, the said
William John Cunningham and Alphonso Dabb, our executors, or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said William John Cunningham and
Alphonso Dabb, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and

page_text: in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists in cutting type, and carving, moulding, and
ornamenting wood, metal, stone, and other materials by means of
machinery or apparatus of a more simple and efficient construction than
any hitherto used.
The machinery may be placed on framework made for the purpose,
or on a lathe bed, circular saw bench, or other position where rotary
motion is obtained, as it is only necessary to drive the cutting spindle
or spindles from any suitable existing wheel or pulley, worked by motive
power or manual labour.
Our improvements will be clearly understood by the following
particular description thereof, reference being had to the figures and
letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1, 2,
and 3, are side, front, and back elevation, and Fig. 4 a plan of one arrange-
ment of our improved machinery, and Figs. 5 and 6 are side and front
elevation, and Fig. 7 a plan of a modification of the same. In the
machine represented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 we use strong end frames a,
supporting a bed b, to each side of which is fixed an upright standard c
having grooves d, and to these standards is bolted the cross frame e,
which can be raised or lowered as required by means of the grooves. At
each end of the cross frame there is a projecting lug fin which is screwed
a pivot or centre ping for carrying an upright frame in such manner
that it can swing to and fro freely, and in four lugs on this frame
there are four pivots or centre pins i carrying two side frames k above
the bed of the machine. At the other or front end of these two side
frames is another upright frame 7 similar in construction and adaptation
to that at the back, it being pivotted to the side frames by four pivots m,
at the same distances apart as the pivots i, so that by the combination
of these frames pivotted together in this peculiar manner, a transverse
parallel motion is obtained for the upright frame with scarcely any
appreciable friction. At one side of the upright frame there are two
bearings n in which is placed a spindle o to which the pointer or
tracer p is fixed and at the opposite side are two other bearings q, in
which runs the spindler to which the cutting, carving, or ornamenting
drill or tool 8 is fixed, the spindle being caused to revolve at any required
speed by bands and pulleys worked from any driving shaft or pulley.

page_text: The upright frame is suspended from a suitable support by means of
an india-rubber or metal spring t so that the operative can easily
oscillate the combined frames on the horizontal pivots g connected
with the cross frame and thereby give an up-and-down motion to the
upright frame with the pointer p and drill 8 at the same time that
the parallel motion sideways is imparted.
A model or template of the carving or ornamenting required to be
done is fastened on a board u, fixed to a table v placed on the bed of
the machine, and capable of sliding in a parallel line therewith, the
motion being given by means of a rack w fixed to the table and a
pinion worked by the hand wheel y. The model or template is placed
immediately under the pointer or tracer, and the wood, stone, or other
material required to be cut under the cutter or drill, which is made to
revolve as required, and when the tracer or pointer is moved over the
model the cutting tool exactly follows its course, and an object is cut
or carved similar in every respect to the model or template, and instead
of having one cutter or drill we may place two or more on the upright
frame, so that several blocks may be cut at the same time. To the
side frames is fixed a cross bar a' having in the middle a screwed hole
in which is placed a screw ', the lower end of which rests on a support
in order to take the weight of the frame off the spring t when the
machine is not at work, but when the machine is to be set to work the
screw is turned back, and the frames suspended by the spring so that
they can be moved up and down and transversely as required. When
desired instead of having the side frames and parts connected with them
to swing up and down on the horizontal pivots, we make them so that
they can only move transversely and place in the front upright frame
a sliding headstock supported by an india-rubber or other spring, and
worked up and down by hand. Figs. 5, 6; and 7 represent this modifi-
cation adapted for a small machine fixed to a lathe bed, there being
one side standard d' for carrying the side frames e¹ by means of the
lugs and screwed pins or pivots g¹. The front upright frame h¹
held to the side frames by the pivots carries the sliding headstock m¹
having bearings to the spindle n' to which the pointer or tracer. o' is
fixed and other bearings for the spindle p' carrying the drill or cutter q',
the spindle p having revolving motion given to it by means of a band
and pulleys, and for suspending the headstock there is an india-rubber
spring connected to a hook & fastened to the support t'. The pointer

page_text: is moved over the model or template to and fro transversely in parallel
lines, and up and down vertically by means of the sliding headstock,
and as the cutter follows the movements the work is carved, cut, or
ornamented as required.
Having now described the nature and particulars of our said Invention &
we desire it to be understood that we claim the " Improvements in
Means and Apparatus for Cutting Type, and Carving, Moulding, and
Ornamenting Wood, Metal, Stone, and other Materials," as herein
described and illustrated by the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said William John Cunningham and 1
Alphonso Dabb, have hercunto set our hands and scals, this
Twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.
W. J. CUNNINGHAM. (L.S.)
ALPHONSO DABB. (L.S.)