IMPROVEMENTS IN SURFACING LATHES AND CHUCKS FOR OPERATING UPON SMALL ARTICLES."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Herbert Ford Smith, of Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SURFACING
LATHES AND CHUCKS FOR OPERATING UPON SMALL ARTICLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Herbert Ford Smith at
"IM-
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd April 1879.
HERBERT FORD SMITH, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer.
PROVEMENTS IN 'SURFACING LATHES' AND CHUCKS FOR OPERATING UPON SMALL.
ARTICLES,"
In general arrangement my improved surfacing lathe is similiar to ordinary
lathes, but the object of my improvements is to attain greater accuracy of work
than can be produced in surfacing lathes of ordinary construction.
My Invention consists in placing a spindle in and as the axis of the face plate,
but the spindle does not form the bearings of the face plate which are formed on a
concentric ring at the back of the face plate, which are turned up true and fit and
bed upon a truly turned ring formed upon or secured to the headstock. Either the
ring upon the face plate or that on the headstock is coned, so that one ring keeps
the other central and prevents or allows adjustment in the case of "play" arising
from wear.
The spindle of the face plate extends to a "tail" bearing on the headstock, and
nuts and washers are placed upon the spindle at the outside of the bearing (in
which the spindle is a loose fit), so that the face plate may be drawn and held by
the central spindle close to the ring bearing surfaces upon which it rotates.
The face plate has spur teeth on its periphery which gear with a pinion on a
cone driving pulley shaft in the headstock.
The slide rests and other parts are of ordinary arrangement and construction,

page_text: My improvements in chucks consists in making them by preference of flat discs
with say three hooks on their periphery at equal distances apart.
These hooks are for bolts in the face plate, and allow of the chuck being placed
upon and readily secured to, or of it being released and detached from the face
plate by tightening and slackening the bolts, and giving a partial rotary movement
to the chuck to bring the hooks under or from under the heads or nuts of the bolts.
in the face plate.
These chucks are provided with jaws and screws adapted to hold and secure the
articles to be operated upon, and the chucks being so readily attached and detached
allow of two chucks being used, one being in operation in the lathe while articles
are being removed and replaced in the other.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Herbert Ford Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
October 1879.
HERBERT FORD SMITH, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer. "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SURFACING LATHES' AND CHUCKS FOR OPERATING UPON SMALL
ARTICLES."
In general arrangement my improved surfacing lathe is similar to ordinary
lathes, but the object of my improvements is to obtain greater accuracy of work
than can be produced in surfacing lathes of ordinary construction.
My Invention consists in placing a spindle in and as the axis of the face plate,
but the spindle does not carry or form the bearings of the face plate, these being
formed on a concentric ring at the back of the face plate which are turned up true,
and fit and bed upon a truly turned ring formed upon or secured to the headstock.
The ring upon the face plate and that in the headstock are coned so that one
ring keeps the other central and prevents "play," or allows adjustment in the case
of "play" arising from wear.
The spindle of the face plate extends to a "tail" bearing on the headstock,
and nuts and washers are placed upon the spindle at the outside of the bearing
(in which the spindle is loose), so that the face plate may be drawn and held by
the central spindle close to the ring bearing surfaces upon or against which it
rotates. The face plate has spur teeth on its periphery which gear with a pinion
on a cone driving pulley shaft in the headstock.
The slide rests and other parts are of ordinary arrangement and construction.
My improvements in chucks consist in making them by preference of flat discs
with say three hooks on their periphery at equal distances apart.
These hooks are for bolts in the face plate and allow of the chuck being placed
upon and readily secured to, or of it being released and detached from the face
plate by tightening and slackening the bolts, and giving a partial rotary movement
to the chuck to bring the hooks under or from under the heads or nuts of the bolts
in the face plate.
These chucks are provided with jaws and screws adapted to hold and secure the
articles to be operated upon, and the chucks being so readily attached and detached
allow of two chucks being used, one being in operation in the lathe while articles
are being removed and replaced in the other.
Fig. 1 is a sectional front elevation; Fig. 2 is an end elevation, and Fig. 3, a
plan illustrating my improvements in lathes, and Fig. 4 is a front, and Fig. 5, an
edge sectional view of my improved chuck detached.
a is the bed; a¹³, the feet upon which it is carried. The headstock (a²) is solid
with the bed, but may be made detached and secured to the bed if preferred. The
front face of the headstock is surfaced to receive a dished part b which is truly
turned up and secured to the headstock by screws 6', as shown.
The face plate c is truly turned up with a cone surface at the back to fit the
turned cone surface in the dish part (b), and the face plate (c) is held against the
dish part (b) by a bolt or shaft d, which is screwed at its outer end by lock nuts d¹,
which act against loose steel washers d² that come against a pedestal a³ secured to
the headstock (a²).
The end of the shaft or bolt (d) is free in the pedestal (a³) laterally. If desired
the head of the shaft or bolt (d) may be formed into a partial ball to fit a socket
formed in the boss of the face plate, and this arrangement, or that shown by the
Drawings, will allow the face plate (c) to revolve truly and freely without strain
from any want of true perpendicularity between the shaft d and the plane in
which the face plate rotates.
The face plate (c) has teeth on its edge which gear with a pinion el on a shaft
having bearings in the headstock, which shaft has the "speed pulleys" c² upon it.
fis the slide rest of ordinary construction.

page_text: The improved chuck is formed of a flat disc g with hooks g¹ on the edge, and is
secured on the face plate c by bolts g², as shown.
The chucks have parts g³ secured in the face to carry set screws to secure the
article or articles to be operated upon, a being the articles supposed to be held
upon the chucks as illustrated.
I may here state that if desired the lathe herein before described may be
arranged so that the axis of the face plate will be in a vertical position; the bed or
frame and supports and gearing for driving being modified and arranged to suit
this position of the face plate.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention and the mode
of carrying the same into effect, and claim as my Invention,-
-
Firstly. The combination, arrangement, and construction of surfacing lathes
with the axis of the face plate either horizontal or vertical, substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Secondly. The construction of chucks (g) for surfacing lathes with hooks (g'),
so as to be readily secured to or removed from the face plate, substantially as
herein before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Herbert Ford Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
H. FORD SMITH. (L.S.)