AN IMPROVED TOOL FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, &
Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED TOOL FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD." A communication
from abroad by Freeman Hanson, of Hollis, Maine, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th February 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
"AN IMPROVED TOOL FOR CUTTING AND
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London.
SHAPING WOOD." [A communication from abroad by Freeman Hanson, of Hollis,
Maine, United States of America.]
The object of this Invention is to provide a tool for cutting wood by machinery
into buttons, blocks, or ovals, or into any other desired shape of regular or irregular
surface, and with curved, scalloped, or pointed edges, such work having always
been done heretofore by hand.
P
My improved tool may be used in any wood turning or scalloping machine which
has a rotating knife.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a tool whose head is made
by twisting the metal when soft round to a right angle with the shank; the head is
provided with a cutting lip, knife edge, and two cutting plates of different lengths,
between which runs a groove. This groove extends from the rear edge of the tool
to the extreme forward edge of the cutting lip, and is curved like the arc of a
circle, thus making the bottom of the groove at the forward edge of the cutting lip
somewhat lower, and at the rear edge of the tool somewhat higher than at the
middle of the tool; this curve serves to prevent too great a tearing of the wood in
cutting. The longer cutting plate has a double row of cutting points or teeth upon.
its upper edge, and between these rows runs a channel through which the wood cut
away by the teeth can escape without clogging them. The teeth on the outer side
of the cutting plate (that is to say, the side farthest from the wood to be cut) are
somewhat larger and higher than those on the inner side of the plate. This
prevents the oval breaking off before wholly cut-away, and carrying with it a
rough projection which would have to be cut off by hand. This cutting plate has

page_text: upon its forward edge the aforesaid knife-edge, and is also provided with a notchi
which is designed to make the knife-cdge cut smoothly when entering the wood.
To accomplish this the notch is made with a cutting edge at its rear end which
clears the path for the double row of teeth to enter, and the notch tapers forward
to a point in the knife-edge, of which it thus becomes a part. The length of this
longer cutting plate may be varied at pleasure to conform to the size of the button
or oval to be cut, the rule being that the distance from the bottom of the groove to
the top of the teeth shall be half the width of the shape to be cut. The length of
the oval or button to be cut is practically independent of the length of the longer
cutting plate and may be much greater than the width. The width of this cutting
plate may be varied at will, as also its thickness.
The shorter cutting plate has upon its forward edge the side of the cutting lip,
and upon its upper edge a single row of teeth which are prolonged down the side
of the cutting plate and form ridges which serve to smooth the wood when shaping,
without them it would have a rough surface. The exact shape of this cutting
plate, the size of the ridges, and the amount of curvature given to the lip may vary
according to the particular work required of the tool. It is desirable to have the
cutting plate project laterally over the side of the shank to allow the arbor in
which the tool is fastened to approach nearer to the wood to be cut and yet not
interfere with the operation of the tool, but this may be accomplished by cutting
away the shank below the cutting plate.
The cutting plates are not parallel but slightly divergent to prevent binding or
tearing of the wood.
The operation of the tool in the formation of ovals is as follows, that is to
say:
The saw
The shank is held by a rotating arbor upon a cutter head which slides backward
and forward in front of the wood to be cut. In its forward motion the cutter-head
brings the front edge of the tool in contact with the wood which is in constant
rotation. The cutting lip first strikes the wood and then the groove, knife-edge,
and cutting plates shape and smooth the edges of the oval to be cut.
teeth upon the shorter cutting plate make a cut in the wood which becomes the
line of separation between that oval and the next. The first oval having been
shaped and smoothed the tool is drawn back by the sliding cutter-head, and when
again brought forward the wood has advanced enough to have the longer cutting
plate enter the cut made by the shorter plate and cut the oval completely off,
which it does smoothly by means of the difference in the size of the teeth, as
hereinbefore explained. At the same time the shorter cutting plato and ridges cut
and smooth a new line of separation, and the shaping and smoothing of the oval
goes on as before, after which the tool is again drawn back. Thus each movement
of the cutter-head forward cuts off one oval and forms the next.
This tool can be used equally well in turning shapes with scalloped edges or with
outlines of many points, blocks, crescents, and the like, by varying the motion
given to the wood to be cut. This motion may be sliding, rocking, intermittently
rotating, or a plain up and down movement, the operation of the cutting tool and
its rotating arbor and cutter-head being substantially the same as in cutting
⚫ovals.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th
August 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED TOOL FOR CUTTING AND
SHAPING WOOD." A communication from abroad by Freeman Hanson, of Hollis,
Maine, United States of America.
The object of this Invention is to provide a tool for cutting wood by machinery
into buttons, blocks, or ovals, or into pieces of any desired shape of regular or
irregular surface, and with curved, scalloped, or pointed edges, such work having
heretofore been performed by hand. This improved tool may be used in any wood
turning or scalloping machine which has a rotating knife.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which―
Figure 1 is a front elevation; Figure 2 is a side elevation; Figure 3 is an end
view; Figure 4 is a section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 5 is a plan illustrating
the manner of using the said tool.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is the shunk or body, and B is the head of the tool. This head is made by
twisting the metal when soft round to a right angle with the shank A. The said
head is provided with a cutting lip a, knife-edge g, and two cutting plates of
different lengths b and c, between which runs the groove d. This groove extends
from the rear edge of the tool to the extreme forward edge of the cutting lip a,
and is curved, thus making the bottom of the groove at the forward edge of tho
cutting lip a somewhat lower, and at the rear edge of the tool somewhat higher than
at the middle of the tool. The curvature is shown in Figure 4, and serves to
prevent too great a tearing of the wood in cutting the same.
The longer cutting plate c has a double row of cutting points or teeth e upon its
upper edge, and between these rows runs the channel (Figure 1), through which
the wood cut away by the teeth can escape without clogging them. The teeth on
the outer side of this cutting plate c (that is to say, the side farthest from the wood
to be cut) are somewhat larger and higher than those on the inner side of the plate.
This prevents the oval breaking off before wholly cut away, and carrying with it a
rough projection which would have to be cut off by hand.
This cutting plate chas upon its forward portion the knife-edge g, and is also
provided with the notchi which is designed to make the knife-edge g cut smoothly
when entering the wood. To accomplish this object the notch i is made with a
cutting edge at its rear end which clears the path for the double row of teeth to
enter, and the notch i tapers forward to a point j in the knife-edge g, of which it
thus becomes a part.
The length of this longer cutting plate c may be varied to conform to the size of
the button or oval to be cut, the rulo being that the distance from the bottom of the
grooved to the top of the teeth e shall be half the width of the shape to be cut.
The length of the oval or button to be cut is practically independent of the length
of the cutting plate c and may be inucli greater than the width. The width of the
cutting plate c may be variod at will, and also its thickness.
The shorter cutting plate b has upon its forward edge the side of the cutting
lip a, and upon its upper edge the single row of teeth h. which are prolonged down
the side of the cutting plate and form the ridges n. These ridges serve to smooth
the wood when shaping it. The exact shape of this cutting plate, the size of
the ridges, and the amount of curvature given to the lip a are not necessarily
precisely as shewn in the Drawing, but vary according to the particular work the
tool may have to perform. It is desirable to have the cutting plate project
laterally over the side of the shank A to allow the arbor in which the tool is

page_text: fastened to approach nearer to the wood to be cut and yet not interfere with the
operation of the tool, but this result may be accomplished by cutting away the
shank below the cutting plate, as shown in Figure 1.
The cutting plates b and c are not parallel but slightly divergent, to prevent the
binding or tearing of the wood.
The operation of the tool in the formation of ovals is as follows, that is to
say:
The shank A is held by a rotating arbor upon a cutter-head which slides
backward and forward in front of the wood to be cut. In its forward motion the
cutter-head brings the front edge of the tool in contact with the wood which is in
constant rotation. The cutting lip a first strikes the wood and then the grooved,
knife-edge g, and cutting plates b, c, shape and smooth the edges of the oval to be
cut. The saw-teeth b upon the plate B make a cut in the wood which becomes the
line of separation between that oval and the next.
The first oval having been shaped and smoothed the tool is drawn back by the
sliding cutter-head, and when again brought forward the wood has advanced enough
for the cutting plate c to enter the cut made by the plate band cut the oval completely
off, which it does smoothly by reason of the difference in the size of the teeth e, as
herein before explained. At the same time the cutting plate b and ridges n cut and
smooth a new line of separation, and the shaping and smoothing of the oval 1
proceeds as before, the tool being then again drawn back. Thus ench forward
inovement of the cutter-head cuts off one oval and forms the next. This tool can
be used equally well in turning objects with scalloped edges or with outlines of
many points, or crescents, and the like, by varying the motion given to the wood to
be cut. It may have a sliding, rocking, intermittently rotating motion, or a plain
up and down movement, the operation of the cutting tool and its rotating arbor
and cutter-head being substantially the same as in cutting ovals.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,—
First. A turning chisel constructed with a head grooved longitudinally, as shown,
and provided with two cutting plates of different lengths, the top and front edges
of which form saw-teeth and knife-edges which join in a projecting cutting lip to
make a continuous cutting edge, substantially as above described.
Second. In a turning chisel, the combination with a suitable shank of two
cutting plates of different lengths provided with knife-edges, a double row of saw-
teeth, and the notch i formed on the top of the longer plate, and the ridges n cut
in the face of the shorter plate and terminating in the saw-teeth, substantially as
shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One