Improvements in Machinery for use in Making Heads of Casks and the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 12th June, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 12th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 26th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for use in Making Heads of Casks
and the like.
I, ALEXANDER DUNBAR, of 105 Newsham Drive, Newsham Park, West Derby,
Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Barrister-at-Law, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to improvements in machinery of the kind described in the
Specification of a former Patent granted to me No. 580 A.D. 1887, for use in making
heads of casks and the like.
According to my former invention the cutter heads rotated in vertical planes,
having horizontal spindles which were moved towards or away from each other by
operating a hand lever, and the clamping arrangement was actuated by a foot lever
worked by the machine attendant.
In practice I find that with some classes of heads the before mentioned arrango.
ment would be inconvenient or inapplicable as for example for cutting large heads
circular or oval when formed of several boards or pieces.
My present invention relates to arrangements that will overcome this difficulty;
instead of the cutter head spindles working horizontally as described in the specifica-
tion of my said former patent (No. 580 A.D. 1887) now arrange them with their
axles vertical and provide for automatically imparting to them motion in a vertical
sense and to the clamping device the necessary movement for clamping the wood to
be cut after the joints of the boards a repressed up and centred between the retaining
or clamping discs. The machine comprises a base plate carrying two pillars grooved
on their inner sides to form guides in which slide an upper and a lower framework
formed with pedestals in which suitable hollow spindles revolve directly over each
other in a common vertical line. They are provided with driving pulleys also with
suitable cutter heads and sliding tool holders to which the various cutting tools are
fixed. The tool holders may be moved inwards or outwards by screwed spindles
to suit various diameters of heads.
Concentric with the hollow spindles other central spindles are provided for carrying
the discs between which the heads are clamped. The lower central spindle is secured
to the base plate at its bottom end, and projects through the hollow cutter spindle
sufficiently to allow of a disc being fixed thereto forming a table on which the wood
to be cut rests. This disc or table may have rubber on its face to allow of any
inequalities in the thickness of boards to form the head. The upper central spindle
projects downwards through the other hollow cutter spindle and is attached by a
swivel joint to another clamping disc provided with spikes to press into and hold the
wood when clamped after the joints in the boards are pressed tightly together.
The other end of this spindle is connected by a cross head to weighted levers for
giving the requisite pressure to hold the boards between the discs whilst being
cut.
This spindle and its disc are lowered and raised automatically by a rod moved by an
eccentric or cam secured to a slowly rotating shaft which is also provided with two
pairs of cams so shaped as to give a uniform motion to the sliding frames carrying
the cutter heads whilst the tools are in operation and a quick return stroke until the
frames have travelled to the full extent, thus allowing time for the cut head being
released, taken out and another substituted.
By these means a circular cut head if moved a little on the lower clamping disc
or table and again clamped and cut can be made an oval head.
The cam or eccentric shaft may be driven slowly in any convenient manner such as
by a worm wheel rotated by a worm secured to the vertical shaft provided for driving

page_text: the two cutter head spindles the distance between them being sufficient to allow
for suitable driving pulleys. The vertical shaft may be driven from a cross shaft by
toothed bevel gear.
To the main side frames, or pillars of the machine suitable brackets are provided
for carrying two clamping levers and a right and left hand screwed spindle for
bringing the edges of boards forming the head tightly together and centreing same
on the clamping discs...
I would have it understood that I may vary, the details of the machine to suit
different classes of heads to be, cut without departure from, the essential features of my
invention..
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements-in-Machinery-for use in-Making Heads of, Casks, and,
the like.
I, ALEXANDER DUNBAR, late. of 105 Newsham Drive, Newsham Park, but now of
65 South John Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Barrister-at-Law,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to improvements in machinery of the kind described in the
Specification of a former Patent granted to me No. 580. A.D. 1887. for use in making
heads of casks and the like.
According to my former invention the cutter heads rotated in vertical planes,
having horizontal spindles which were moved towards or away from each other by
operating a hand lever, and the clamping, arrangement was actuated by a foot lever
worked by the inachine attendant.
In practice I find that with some classes of heads the before inentioned arrangement
would be inconvenient or inapplicable as for example for cut.ing large heads circular
or oval when formed of several boards or pieces.
My present invention relates to arrangements that will overcome this difficulty ;'
instead of the cutter head spindles working horizontally as described in the specifica-
tion of my said former patent (No. 580 A.D. 1887) I now arrange them with their
axes vertical and provide for automaiteally imparting to them motion in a vertical
sense and to the clamping device the necessary movement for clamping the wood to be
cut after the joints of the boards are pressed up and centred between the retaining
or clamping discs. The machine comprises a base plate carrying two pillars grooved
on their inner sides to form guides in which slide an upper and a lower framework
formed with pedestals in which suitable hollow spindles revolve directly over each
other in a common vertical line.
They are provided with driving pulleys also with suitable cutter heads and
sliding tool holders to which the various cutting tools are fixed. The tool holders
may be moved inwards or outwards by screwed spindles to suit various diameters.
of Heads.
Concentric with the hollow spindles other central spindles are provided for carrying
the discs between which the heads are clamped. The lower central spindle is secured
to the base plate at its bottom end, and projects through the hollow cutter spindle
sufficiently to allow of a disc being fixed thereto forming a table on which the wood
to be cut rests.
This disc or table may have rubber on its face to allow of any inequalities in the
thickness of the boards to form the head.
The upper central spindle projects downwards through the other hollow cutter
spindle and is attached by a swivel joint to another clamping disc provided with spikes

page_text: $
the latter to travel upwards and it terminates with a flange to which the lower
fixed clamping disc H is secured. This disc forms a table on which the wood to
be. cut rests.
The upper movable clamping disc H is connected by a swivel joint.to the clamping
spindle H. to allow the disc to adjust itself to the inequalities of the wood. On the
two sides of the face of the circular clamping disc H nearest the pillars B. B. a few
rows of short spikes h. h. are provided for sinking into the narrow strips of hard
wood forming the cantles ¹¹ of (say) an ordinary palm oil cask head; these cantles
are usually thinner than the soft wood forming the greater portion of the head. The
lower or fixed clamping disc H³ has a flat ring of india rubber or other flexible
material secured on its upper side, also two lining up pieces placed directly beneath
the spikes h. h. for the cantle to rest on, so that the greater amount of pressure
required for clamping the wood to be cut rests on the outer strips or cantles.
The sliding clamping spindle H. is guided in a fixed slide B' and is attached to a
regulating crosshead J. pivotted to two weighted levers J1 J1 Figs. 1. and 3. supported
by links J suspended from the frame B. To the longer arms of the levers J1 J1 a
weight J is attached, sufficiently heavy to give the requisite pressure for clamping
the boards or head.
The levers JJ' are automatically raised and lowered by an eccentric K. rotated by
a cam shaft K¹. This eccentric is connected to the levers by a rod K* having
a slotted hole in its lower end which is pivotted to a cross bar J' between the
levers J¹ J. The eccentric K. has a greater stroke than is requisite to give the full
travel to the clamping disc H consequently it remains idle a sufficient time when a
head is clamped to allow of the head being cut and the knives partially withdrawn
before the clamping disc is raised.
The cutter spindle frames C. and C₁ are also automatically and simultaneously
moved vertically with the before described clamping arrangement; they are actuated
by cams L. I and L L connected by rods F. F. and F F¹ with the projecting
arms E. E. and E' E'.
The cams L. and L' are so shaped that whilst the tools are in operation a uniform
rate of feed is maintained and that as soon as the operation is finished the cutter
frames C. and C₁ quickly recede and remain out of the way whilst the head is being
released. The cams L. L. connected with the cutter spindle frame C. are set a little
in rear of the other two, so that the cutting and chamfering of the lower side of the
head may be about finished before the upper side of the head is cut...
--
The cam shaft K¹ may be slowly revolved in any convenient manner such as by a
worm wheel K and worm K driven by a pair of toothed bevel wheels K* K* from
the vertical driving shaft D. This is driven by another pair of toothed wheels M. M'
from the short horizontal shaft N. which is provided with fast and loose driving
pulleys N¹ N' as distinctly shewn in Figs. 1. 3. and 4.
The speeds of the cam shaft K' and cutter spindles D. D¹ are so proportioned that
sufficient time will be allowed for removing a cut head, substituting another set of
boards, tightly pressing up the joints of the boards and clamping them and afterwards
removing the sideways pressure before the cutting commences.
In making large heads composed of many pieces I find it most important that the
edges of the boards should be squeezed tightly together, and to some extent the wood
compressed and clamped down and held in this form whilst being cut, so that when
the cut head is removed from the machine it will expand in the direction of the width
of the boards and be somewhat oval.
For pressing the joints of the boards tightly together and simultaneously centering
them when in the machine clamping levers P. P. are provided.
Their back ends are pivotted to the double guard bars Q. Q. (secured to the
pillars B. B.) between which the cut head passes; their other ends are provided
respectively with right and left hand screw threaded nuts taking into a, similar screw
threaded spindle P', rotated by the hand wheel P. This screw is supported and held
in position on the machine by a pedestal P' secured to the lower member of the front
guard bar Qas shown in Figs. 2. 3. and 4,
"
'

page_text: The clamping and centering levers P. P. are formed of two bars sufficiently distant
apart to admit of the swivelling clamps P P being pivotted thereto, so as to adjust
themselves to give an even pressure on the edges of the boards. The operation of the
clamping levers is as follows:-as soon as the boards to form a head (which have
been previously dowelled together) are placed on the lower clamping disc, the hand
wheel P* is rotated to bring the clamping levers P. P together. Simultaneously the
upper clamping disc H commences to descend and finally rests on and forces the
spikes into the hard wood cantles h¹ h¹ sufficiently to retain the pressed up joints in
position. The hand wheel Pt is then rotated in the opposite direction and the
swivelling clamps P³ P' withdrawn clear ready for the cutting tools coming into
operation.
With this form of machine oval heads may be cut by simply moving the cut or
finished circular head forward i.e. away from the operator an amount equal to half the
difference between the transverse and conjugate axes; it is then again clamped and
recut.
In a machine constructed according to the present invention heads made of several
boards may be quickly and accurately made, whereas according to the invention
described in my former specification No. 580 of 1887, they could only be made of
single boards or permanently jointed boards, and the motions were not simultaneously
timed, but depended on the operator, thus making it impossible to cut large heads
such as are employed in palm-oil and similar large barrels.
I would have it understood that I may vary the details of the machine
to suit different classes of heads and that by changing the clamp discs and
regulating the position of the cutting tools heads of various sizes may be cut, and
further that tools of various shapes according to the required shape of head may be
substituted, or when heads without chamfered edges are to be cut 1 may dispense with
the lower cutter head and give the upper one a longer stroke without departure from
the essential features of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is: --
1. In a machine for use in making large heads composed of several jointed boards
for casks, barrels and the like side clamping and centering levers in combination with
a spiked clamping disc for compressing and retaining the boards tightly together
whilst being cut.
2. In machinery for use in making heads of casks and the like the combination of
clamping discs and cutter heads with device whereby the discs are closed upon the
cask head and the cutter heads are brought into the operative position automatically.
3. In a machine for use in making heads of casks and the like composed of several
pieces the combination of side clamping devices with revolving cutter heads substan-
tially as described.
4. The improved machine for forming round or oval heads for casks and the like,
constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this 10th day of March 1890.
ALEXANDER DUNBAR.