AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MORTISING, DRILLING, AND BORING
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Theodore Dethier, of Pimlico, in the County
of Middlesex, Cabinet Maker, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Theodore Dethier
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th July 1853.
I, THEODORE DETIER, of Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex,
Cabinet Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MORTISING, DRILLING, AND BORING" to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists of a machine which is constructed with an
upright frame, at the head of which is mounted a drum or wheel
driven by a band or otherwise; on the same shaft with this drum or
wheel is fixed a disc crank, the crank pin of which carries a vertical
beam or rod, at the bottom of which there is a socket to hold the
mortise tool; the stroke is given thereto by the motion of the drum or
wheel before mentioned. In the disc crank there are a number
of holes for the crank pin at different distances from the centre, 50 that
the stroke of the mortise tool can be increased or diminished.

page_text: Under the vertical beam or rod is a rest, on which the wood or other
material to be mortised, drilled, or bored (as the case may be) is
placed; the rest is movable on a slide in the upright frame, and is
secured thereto at any height required. The slide in the upright frame
carries the rest up and down (to receive the stroke of the tool) by a
treadle and eccentric lever attached thereto, so that while the mortise
chisel has an uniform stroke, according to the crank motion in the disc,
the hole in the wood is cut to any depth within the range of the stroke
that the crank gives by simply raising the sliding frame by the foot on
the treadle without altering the rest upon the sliding frame. On the
socket which carries the chisel or mortise tool there is a small wheel
or pulley fitted with cords for turning the same; in the side of this
pulley there is a feather pin which fits into a groove in the sides of a
box through which the socket moves. By the action of the cords and
pulley the chisel is reversed so as to cut with the face right or left at
pleasure without stopping the machine; the chisel is held in the
required position by the groove in the sides of the box last mentioned,
and which slides a little to the right or left for that purpose. In front
of the upright frame there is a drill socket, on which there is a pulley
driven by a band or cord upon another, wheel or pulley on the shaft at
the head of the machine.
In drilling or boring the drill remains in the same vertical position,
while the hole is drilled or bored any required depth, at pleasure, by
the action of the foot upon the treadle, which raises and lowers the rest
upon which the wood or other material to be drilled is placed. The
rest has a horizontal as well as vertical motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Theodore Dethier in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 28th January 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, S
THEODORE DETHIER, of Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, Cabinet
Maker, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Theodore Dethier, Her special
licence that I, the said Theodore Dethier, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as T, the said Theodore Dethier, 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, usc, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR MORTICING, DRILLING AND BORING," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Theodore Dethier, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and scal, 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 immic-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Theodore Dethier, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement and description thereof, and in and
by the accompanying Drawings, together with the explanation apply-
ing thereto herein contained:
My Invention consists of "An Improved Machine for Morticing,
Drilling, and Boring," in which machine I form the socket into which
the mortice tool or chisel is inserted at the bottom of a small shaft,
the top or head of which shaft fits into a socket or swivel at the bottoni
of a vertical beam or rod, to which beam or rod a vertical motion is
given by a pulley and disc crank at the head of the machine in the
manner herein-after described. Upon the small shaft above mentioned
I fix a small pulley, in one side of which there is a cog or tooth;
round this pulley 1 pass a strong cord, the two ends of which are
carried, the one to the right, and the other to the left, round two

page_text: other pullies fixed in the ends of two arms which project right and left
in front of the main vertical frame of the machine; the two ends of the
cord are then brought to the front, and are joined together, sufficient
length of cord being allowed to admit of the pulley and shaft working
up or down as the depth of the mortice hole imay require.
I denominate the adjusting cord.
This cord
The pulley and shaft last mentioned work up and down in a box, nt
each side of which there is a vertical slot or groove into which the cog
or tooth on the pulley fits, and thereby keeps the shaft and tool or
chisel in the required position for cutting right or left until it is
required to be reversed. This box I denominate the adjusting box.
The adjusting box has a slight lateral or side motion for the purpose
of allowing the cog or tooth to be reversed from one groove to the
other, as may be required; this is effected by first moving the adjust-
ing box so as to relieve the cog or tooth from the groove on one side,
and then by pulling the reversing cord to the left or right it turns
the pulley and tool till the cog arrives at the opposite groove, when a
slight further motion of the adjusting box causes the slot or groove
to catch the cog or tooth, and keeps the chisel in the reversed position,
the whole operation not requiring more than two or three seconds, and
which may be performed while the machine is in full motion.
Immediately under the mortice tool or chisel, and in front of the
main vertical frame of the machine, I construct a moveable centre
frame, which has a vertical motion between the said vertical main
frames. This movable centre frame I denominate the sliding centre
frame, and which is worked up and down by a treadle lever in the
manner herein-after described. To this sliding centre frame a movable
adjusting rest is secured so as to rise and fall therewith by the action
of the foot on the said treadle, so that the depth of the cut can be
regulated to any depth within the range of the machine instantaneously,
and can be varied from an eighth or even a sixteenth of an inch up to
the full stroke of thic chisel by varying the rise and fall of the adjusting
rest the bed of this rest is in two parts, the upper portion being fitted
so as to slide forwards or backwards, according as the dimensions of
the material. and the position of the mortice hole may require; the

page_text: movable adjusting rest can be fixed at various heights on the sliding
centre frame, so that timber of different sizes can be morticed without
stopping the machine or throwing it out of gear. The treaille is geared
to the sliding centre frame by an eccentric wheel and lever, the peculiar
action of which is hercin-after explained.
At the side of the mortice tool there is a second small shaft, at the
bottom of which there is a socket in which the drilling tool or borer
is fixed; near the bottom of this shaft there is a cone pulley, which is
driven by a band or cord from one of the driving cones or pullies at the
head of the machine. The drill or borer is fixed, while the depth of
the hole is regulated, in the material by clevating the movable adjust-
ing rest on which the material is laid, and thus holes of any required
depth within the range of the machine can also be drilled or bored
without any alteration of the machine beyond the mere action of the
foot on the treadle.
The mode in which these machines are framed together and con-
structed is fully delineated on the Drawings accompanying this Specifi-
cation, and to which Drawings the following explanation applies.
EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The Drawings accompanying this Specification are laid down to a
scale of one inch and a half to the foot, with the exception of Fig. 5,
which is laid down to a scale of three inches to a foot.
Fig. 1, is a front elevation of the machine.
Fig. 2, is the left end elevation thereof.
Fig. 3, is a sectional elevation, showing the sliding centre frame, &c.
Fig. 4, is a sectional elevation through the line C, D, Fig. 2, and
shows the action of the treadle, levers, eccentrics, &c. on the sliding
centre frame.
Fig. 5, is a section through the centre of the adjusting box on the
line L, L, Fig. 1.
Fig. 6, is a section through one of the guide blocks on the line M, M.
Fig. 1.
For convenience of reference similar letters and numbers are applied
to the same parts of the machine in each Fig., so that it will be under-
stood that where the same letter or number appears on the different

page_text: illustrations they always apply to the same parts of the machine, which
are shown from a different point of view for the better explanation of
their form and use.
A, A, A, are the main upright frames of the machine, to which the
head frame B, is attached. C, C, is the horizontal frame, which is
attached to the main upright frame at D, D, D, and carried by the
short upright pieces E, E. On this frame (the horizontal) are mounted
the driving wheel F, and fly wheel G, which are keyed on to the shaft
H. This shaft runs in the bearings I, I, and is turned by the handle K.
In the head frame before mentioned there is a second shaft L, mounted
on the bearings M, M. On this shaft are keyed the pulley N, the
cone pullies 0, 0, and the disc crank P, in which are the crank pin
holes Q, Q, Q, at various distances from the centre. R, is the vertical
beam or rod to which the mortice tool, shaft, pulley, and socket S, S, S,
are attached at the swivel T, at the head of the said shaft. U, U, U,
is the reversing cord. V, V, the two arms, at the ends of which are
fixed the two small pullies X, X, round which the reversing cord is
passed. W, W, W, is the adjusting box; and Y, the cog or tooth in
the pulley, which fits into the grooves in the side of the adjusting box:
these grooves are shown at I, I, Fig. 5. Z, Z, are two guide blocks,
through which the chisel shaft works, a section of which is shown at
Fig. 6., Figs. 1, and 2, is the niortice tool or chisel; b, the drill or
borer, which is fixed in a socket at the bottom of the small shaft c,
which runs in the small plummer blocks d, d, and is driven by a band
or corde, from the cone pullies o, o, at the head of the machine: this
band or cord passes under the small pullies f. f, and round the small
cone pulley g, on the small drill sharft c, before mentioned. 1, Fig. 8,
is the sliding centre frame which carries the adjusting rest i; the small
holes 2, 2, 2, 2, in the centre frame h, receive the clamping screw j
by which the adjusting rest is secured to the sliding centre frame at
the height required. ', ', is the upper bed of the adjusting rest, which
draws forward upon the under bed, and is held in its place by the
two clamp screws, . k, is the lever and treadle which turns the
shaft, on which the pullies m, m³, and eccentric n, are fixed. The
sliding centre frame h, rests upon the pillar o, at the bottom of which
there is a spanner resting upon the eccentric wheel n. Attached to

page_text: the lever , and pulley m, there is a small chain p, p; and by pressing
the foot on the lever this chain turns the pulley m, and with it the
shaft l, and eccentric, and thus raises the pillar o, and sliding centre
frame h, and therewith the moveable rest on which the material receives
the stroke of the mortice tool or the drill or borer. When the foot is
withdrawn from the treadle the adjusting rest and sliding frame will
fall by their own weight; in addition to which, however, there is a
weight q, attached to the pulley m', by a cord; when the pressure is
withdrawn from the treadle this weight brings the slide rest and frame
down to the bottom of the main frame and relieves the eccentric. The
two pins 7, 7, are provided for the purpose of preventing the material
to be morticed from rising with the up stroke of the chisel, and are
adjusted by the two thumb screws shown at Fig. 1. The band S. S,
connects the driving wheel F, with the driving pulley N, and gives the
required motion to the pullies, cones, and disc crank on the shaft I..
The machine may be constructed of wood or metal, or both, and be
the lever k, and pulley m, there is a small chain p. p; and by pressing
the foot on the lever this chain turns the pulley m, and with it the
shaft l, and eccentric, and thus raises the pillar o, and sliding centre
frame h, and therewith the moveable rest on which the material receives
the stroke of the mortice tool or the drill or borer. When the foot is
withdrawn from the treadle the adjusting rest and sliding frame will
fall by their own weight; in addition to which, however, there is a
weight q, attached to the pulley m', by a cord; when the pressure is
withdrawn from the treadle this weight brings the slide rest and frame
down to the bottom of the main frame and relieves the eccentric. The
two pins 7, 7, are provided for the purpose of preventing the material
to be morticed from rising with the up stroke of the chisel, and are
adjusted by the two thumb screws shown at Fig. 1. The band S. S.
connects the driving wheel F, with the driving pulley N, and gives the
required motion to the pullies, cones, and disc crank on the shaft I..
The machine may be constructed of wood or metal, or both, and be
worked by hand or otherwise.
ACTION OF THE MACHINE.
The action of the machine is as follows (viz.)-By the motion of
the disc crank P, which is driven by the bands S, S, from the driving
wheel F, the vertical beam R, riscs and falls and gives the stroke
to the mortice tool; the length of this stroke is regulated by placing
the crank pin a greater or less distance from the centre of the disc,
the crank pin holes Q, Q, Q, being provided for that purpose. Sup-
pose the mortice tool and slide rest to be in the position shown on
the accompanying Drawings at Fig. 1, let t, be a piece of timber
in which it is required to cut a mortice hole from π, to ², the
full depth; now by putting the machine in motion and moving the
piece of wood t, towards the right hand until the chisel has performed
the left cut and arrived at, and has cut one half of the hole. It is
now necessary to reverse the chisel so as to cut the other half with the
right cut. Then lower the rest so that the wood is clear of the chisel,
which is done by simply raising the foot on the treadle; at the same
time move the adjusting box by a slight pressure of the hand at W,
Fig. 1, when the tooth on the pulley will be relieved from the groove

page_text: on the left; pull the reversing cord from the right to the left until the
cog or tooth catches the opposite groove, then push the box home to
the left, and the chisel will be reversed and held in the required posi-
tion without stopping the machine; elevate the rest by lowering the
foot on the treadle, and the chisel will cut the other half of the mortice
hole either the full depth or any depth within the whole stroke required.
In drilling or boring the wood or other material is placed on the bed of
the adjusting rest, which is raised, as above described, till the hole is
made the proper depth, which can be regulated to anything within the
range of the machine.
I have now, to the best of my ability, described and ascertained the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, but I do not confine myself to the precise form and dimen-
sions shown on the Drawings or herein specified, as the same may be
modified. I, therefore, claim all such modifications of the said "Im-
proved Machine for Morticing, Drilling, and Boring" as may be, so
long as the principle of this my said Invention is maintained; and I
claim,―
Firstly, the instantaneous reversing of the mortice tool or chisel so
as to cut right and left without stopping the machine.
Secondly, the movable adjusting rest and rising and falling centre
frame.
Thirdly, drilling and boring with a fixed drill or borer by means of
the above movable adjusting rest on a rising and falling centre frame
while the drill or borer remains at one and the same level.
In witness whereof, I, the said Theodore Dethier, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this 28th day of January 1854.
THEODORE (L.S.) DETHIER.