IMPROVE- MENTS IN TUBE CUTTERS AND SCREW STOCKS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry James Taylor Piercy, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TUBE CUTTERS AND SCREW STOCKS."
Sealed the 24th September 1870, and dated the 2nd April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry James Taylor
Piercy at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd April 1870.
I, HENRY JAMES TAYLOR PIERCY, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TUBE CUTTERS AND SCREW STOCKS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations herein-
after described of the parts of tube cutters and screw stocks.
In making a tube cutter according to my Invention I take an ordinary
screw stock frame provided with an adjusting screw at one end, and in
the opening in the said frame I fit two steel or iron blocks capable of
sliding in the said opening after the manner of the screwing dies of

page_text: a screw stock. One of these blocks constitutes the adjustable claw or
holder by which the tube or rod is supported while being cut, and the
other block carries a rotating or fixed cutter by which the tube or rod is
cut. The face of the claw or holder by which the tube or rod being cut
is supported is made of a V shape or other angular or suitably curved
figure, and the opposite face is made flat. The adjusting screw bears
upon the said flat face, and thereby holds the tube or rod to its bearing
against the cutter and advances the said claw or holder as the cutting
proceeds. In order to lubricate the rotating cutter I make a recess
cither in the end of the frame at which the cutter carrier is situated
when in use or in the said cutter carrier, and I place in the said recess a
piece of sponge or other absorbent material. Oil is supplied to the
sponge by a hole in the face of the frame or top of the cutter carrier.
As the cutter revolves it takes up oil from the sponge, and is thereby
effectually lubricated. To enable the tube cutter to operate upon a tube
or rod which cannot be introduced into the opening in the closed frame.
I make the said frame in two parts, and connect them together by a
joint or by screw, bolts. By separating the two parts of the frame an
open frame is made, into which a fixed rod or tube may be introduced.
Or an opening may be made in the side of the frame at that end at
which the adjusting screw works, the said opening being of sufficient
size to permit of the frame to be passed on to a tube or rod of the largest
size the cutter is suited to cut.
In using a tube cutter made according to my Invention the block or
cutter carrier is placed and supported at that end of the opening in the
frame opposite that at which the adjusting screw is situated, and the
tube or rod to be cut is introduced into the opening in the frame and
between the claw or holder and cutter carrier. The claw or holder is
then advanced by the adjusting screw until the tube or rod is pressed
against the cutter. The tube cutter is then rotated upon the tube or rod
in the ordinary way. As the cutting proceeds the claw or holder is
advanced from time to time to maintain the pressure of the tube or rod
against the cutter. By substituting for the cutter carrier and claw or
holder described the ordinary screwing dies the tube cutter is converted
into a screw stock. The same frame may thus be used at pleasure either
as a tube cutter or as a screw stock. When however a combined tube
cutter and screw stock is required I prefer to make the same blocks or
dies serve both for screwing and cutting. In this case I make one face

page_text: of the cutter carrier into a screwing die, and the flat face of the claw or
holder also into a screwing die. When a screw is to be cut those faces
of the blocks forming the screwing dies are presented to each other, and
when a tube cutter is required the said blocks or dies are reversed, so as
to present the cutter and claw to one another.
The parts for cutting and holding the tube or rod herein first described
may be modified as follows:-Instead of making the claw or holder of
a separate sliding block, the end of the opening in the frame opposite
that at which the adjusting screw is situated may be so shaped as to
form a claw for holding the tube or rod. In this arrangement the
adjusting screw is made to bear upon and advance the cutter carrier.
Or in place of the adjusting cutter carrier the cutter may be fixed in the
end of the frame, or turn in bearings in the end of the frame.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry James Taylor Piercy in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 27th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
JAMES TAYLOR PIERCY, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry James Taylor Piercy, Her
special licence that I, the said Henry James Taylor Piercy, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
James Taylor Piercy, 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, 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 TUBE CUTTERS AND SCREW STOCKS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry James Taylor
Piercy, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly

page_text: 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 I, the said Henry James Taylor Piercy, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
-
My Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations herein-
after described of the parts of tube cutters and screw stocks.
In making a tube cutter according to my Invention I take an ordinary
screw stock frame provided with an adjusting screw at one end, and in
the opening in the said frame I fit two steel or iron blocks capable of
sliding in the said opening, after the manner of the screwing dies of a
screw stock. One of these blocks constitutes the adjustable claw or
holder by which the tube or rod is supported while being cut, and the
other block carries a rotating or fixed cutter by which the tube or rod is
cut. The face of the claw or holder by which the tube or rod being cut
is supported is made of a V shape, or other angular or suitably curved
figure, and the opposite face is made flat. The adjusting screw bears
upon the said flat face, and thereby holds the tube or rod to its bearing
against the cutter, and advances the said claw or holder as the cutting
proceeds. In order to lubricate the rotating cutter I make a recess
either in the end of the frame at which the cutter carrier is situated
when in use, or in the said cutter carrier, and I place in the said recess
a piece of sponge or other absorbent material. Oil is supplied to the
sponge by a hole in the face of the frame or top of the cutter carrier.
As the cutter revolves it takes up oil from the sponge, and is thereby
effectually lubricated. To enable the tube cutter to operate upon a tube
or rod which cannot be introduced into the opening in the closed frame,
I make the said frame in two parts, and connect them together by a
joint or by screw bolts. By separating the two parts of the frame an
open frame is made, which is placed on the fixed rod or tube to be cut,
or an opening may be made in the side of the frame at that end at which
the adjusting screw works, the said opening being of sufficient size to
permit of the frame to be passed on to a tube or rod of the largest size
the cutter is suited to cut.

page_text: In using a tube cutter made according to my Invention the block or
cutter carrier is placed and supported at that end of the opening in the
frame opposite that at which the adjusting screw is situated, and the
tube or rod to be cut is introduced into the opening in the frame and
between the claw or holder and cutter carrier. The claw or holder is
then advanced by the adjusting screw until the tube or rod is pressed
against the cutter. The tube cutter is then rotated upon the tube or
rod in the ordinary way. As the cutting proceeds the claw or holder is
advanced from time to time to maintain the pressure of the tube or rod
against the cutter. By substituting for the cutter carrier and claw or
holder described the ordinary screwing dies the stock is converted into a
screw stock. The same frame may thus be used at pleasure, cither as a
tube cutter or as a screw stock. When, however, a combined tube
cutter and screw stock is required the same dies or blocks may be made
to serve both for screwing and cutting. In this case, I make one face of
the cutter carrier into a screwing die, and the flat face of the claw or
holder also into a screwing die. When a screw is to be cut those faces
of the blocks forming the screwing dies are presented to each other, and
when a tube cutter is required the said blocks or dies are reversed, so as
to present the cutter and claw to one another.
The parts for cutting and holding the tube or rod herein first described
may be modified as follows:-Instead of making the claw or holder of a
separate sliding block the end of the opening in the frame opposite that
at which the adjusting screw is situated may be so shaped as to form a
claw for holding the tube or rod. In this arrangement the adjusting
screw is made to bear upon and advance the cutter carrier; or in place
of the adjusting cutter carrier the cutter may be fixed in the end of the
frame, or turn in bearings in the end of the frame.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan a tube cutter constructed according to my
Invention, and Figures 2 and 3 represent the cutting dies or tools detached.
a is the ordinary screw stock frame, and is the adjusting screw; cis
the opening in the frame, into which the blocks or dies d, e, are fitted,
the said blocks being provided with V-shaped grooves which work upon
V-shaped ribs on the longer sides of the opening c.
The block d con-
stitutes the claw or holder of the tube cutter, and the
block e carries the

page_text: rotating cutter
by which the tube or rod is cut.
The cutterfis fixed
in the cutter carrier e by the screw pin or axis. When the tube cutter
is in use the claw or holder d and cutter carrier c occupy the positions
represented in Figure 1, that is to say, the tube g (or rod) to be cut is
placed between the cutter and claw or holder d, and the latter is
advanced and supported against the tube g by the adjusting screw b,
and the tube thereby pressed against the cutter f. The tube cutter is
then rotated upon the tube g in the ordinary way, the claw or holder d
being advanced from time to time as the cutting proceeds by the
screw b. When the stock frame is to be used as a screw stock the
cutting blocks or dies d, e, are removed, and a pair of screwing dies of
the kind represented in Figure 4 is substituted therefore. A portion of
the V-shaped rib of the stock frame at h is made separable from the
stock frame for the purpose of introducing the cutting and screwing dies
into or removing them from the frame a. The length of the frame is
by this means diminished. In place of the moveable claw or holder d
the end of the frame a may have a V or other shaped depression or
claw made in it to receive and support the tube or rod to be cut. In
this case the adjusting screw 6 is made to bear against and advance the
cutter carrier c; or the moveable cutter carrier e may be dispensed
with, and a rotatory cutter similar to the cutter f, or a fixed cutter may
be situated at the end a³ of the frame a, and used in combination with
the claw d. When the same blocks or dies are used both for cutting
and screwing I make the claw or holder d and cutter carrier e longer
than those represented, and I make on their flat ends or faces screwing
dies. When used for cutting the claw part and cutter are presented to
cach other in the frame a, and when used for screwing the screwing
faces are presented to each other in the frame a.
Figure 5 represents in plan another tube cutter provided with an open
frame according to my Invention.
a³ is the lateral opening in the frame a, by means of which opening
the said frame may be passed on to a fixed tube or rod of the largest
size the cutter is suited to cut. The said opening a³ also permits the
dies to be introduced into and removed from the frame; or an open
frame may be made by constructing the frame in two parts and con-
necting the said parts together by a joint or by screw pins.
Figures 6 and 7 represent plans of a combined tube cutter and screw
stock constructed according to my Invention, in which both the cutting

page_text: tools and screwing dies are contained in the same stock frame during the
use of the stock either for screwing or cutting. In Figure G the parts
are arranged as a tube cutter, and in Figure 7 as a screw stock.
Figure S represents a cross section of the stock taken on the line i,
Figure 6, and Figure 9 is a cross section taken on the line k, Figure 6;
7, 1, are the screwing dies; m, the cutter, and n, the claw or holder. The
rotating cutter m is in this arrangement secured at the end of the frame a
by means of the plate p and set screws q, instead of being carried by a
sliding block, as herein-before described. The shape of the plate p and
the manner in which the cutter m is secured in its place by the screw
pin or axis taking into the stock frame will be best seen by referring
to Figure 9. When a screw is to be cut the dies or tools are arranged in
the frame in the manner shown in Figure 7, and when a tube or rod is
to be cut the dies or tools are arranged in the frame in the manner
represented in Figure 6. Thus the cutting and screwing dies or tools
are retained in the stock frame during both operations. The claw or
holder and screwing dies 1, 1, are placed in the stock frame a and
removed therefrom when required by detaching the separable part 8 of
the V-shaped rib.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but I claim as my Invention of improvements in tube
cutters and screw stocks,―
Firstly. Making tube cutters by combining with or adding to an
ordinary screw stock frame a set of cutting and holding dies or tools,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2,
and 3 of the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. Making a combined tube cutter and screw stock by arranging
in the same stock frame a set of cutting and holding dies or tools and a
set of screwing dies, the dies or tools, both cutting and screwing, being
contained in the stock frame during the use of the stock either for
cutting or screwing, substantially as herein-before described and illus-
trated in Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly. Making the stock frame open at one side, or making the
said frame in two parts jointed or bolted together, to permit the said

page_text: frame to be passed on to a fixed tube or rod, substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Lastly. Making the same sliding blocks or dies serve both for cutting
and screwing, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry James Taylor Piercy, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-fourth day of
September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
HENRY JAMES TAYLOR PIERCY. (L.S.)