AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING OR BORING RICKS
Year: 1843

page_text: GILLETT'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GILLETT, of Brailes, in the County of Warwick, Farmer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Gillett, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said John Gillett, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such
others as I, the said John Gillett, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS
FOR CUTTING OR BORING RICKS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso, obliging me, the said John Gillett, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Gillett, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and

page_text: ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
The improved machine or apparatus shewn in the accompanying Drawing
is intended for boring or cutting holes in ricks for the purpose of ascertaining
the quality or state of the produce of which the rick is composed, and, if a
rick is found to be in a heated state, or in a state of incipient spontaneous
combustion, as is often the case when agricultural produce is prematurely
stacked, one or more clean circular holes may be bored or cut by means
of this machine or instrument, whereby the interior of the rick will be ven-
tilated, and any vapour that may be generated therein will be allowed to
escape, and the contents of the rick or a greater portion thereof will be thereby
saved from destruction. This object is now generally effected by pulling the
rick to pieces, or cutting a great portion of it away and exposing its contents
to the air; but, owing to the trouble and expence of this operation, it is not often
resorted to; consequently, if the rick does not ultimately spontaneously ignite,
the greater portion is frequently so damaged as to be utterly valueless. My
improved machine consists of an annular or circular cutter formed on the end
of a cylinder, and attached to the lower end of a forked piece, open at the
sides, together with a screwed rod, which is fastened in a socket at the upper
end of the fork for the purpose of steadying the cutter when in operation.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing, represents a front view of my im-
proved machine complete and ready for use; Fig. 2 is a side view taken at
right angles to the preceding Figure; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of Fig. 2.
a, a, is the forked piece constituting the sides of the apparatus, and at the
lower end thereof the circular or annular cutter b, b, is formed. The edge of
this cutter is made of a peculiar form, it has two points at opposite sides, and
the whole or the greater portion of the edge is inclined to the horizon for the
purpose of acting more favourably upon the produce, and cutting it with greater
facility. The cutting edge is steadied and kept in contact with the hay or
other produce by means of a centre rod c, c, which is pointed at its lower end,
and has a screw formed thereon, as is seen in the Drawing. This rod, which
is shewn detached at Fig. 4, answers the same purpose as the screw and point
at the end of a gimlet or auger, and its upper end is passed through a hole
formed at the upper part of the forked piece a, a, and is firmly held therein by
means of a cottar d, which also retains the centre rod in a socket formed at the
lower end of the handle shaft e, e, and thereby binds the various parts together.
Previous to inserting the point of the centre rod into the rick, a flat board or
plate f. f, is firmly secured thereon, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, by means of

page_text: two or more instruments similar to that shewn at Fig. 5. These instruments
have screws formed on their ends, and when passed through holes made in the
board f, f, for that purpose and screwed into the rick, as seen in the Drawing.
the board is firmly held thereon and made to compress or consolidate the hay
or other substance. This board may, however, be used without these instru-
ments if required, provided it is made sufficiently large to allow the person who
uses the boring or cutting machine to stand thereon, as his weight will produce
the same effect (viz.), consolidating or compressing the surface, as the screws
or rods shewn in the Drawing, although perhaps it will not be always found
so convenient. A circular hole g, of a diameter rather exceeding that of the
cutter, is made in the board for the purpose of guiding the instrument and
allowing it to work freely. The board f being firmly secured, and the hay suf-
ficiently compressed to be operated upon, the point of the rod c is inserted and
forced into the hay or other material as near the centre of the hole as possible,.
and on turning the handle h above, the screw on the rod c brings the cutter in
contact with the hay or other material, and cuts out a circular piece. Upon
continuing to turn the handle, the screw will gradually advance farther and
farther into the rick, the cutter 6 following and cutting its way until the space
between the side pieces a, a, is filled, when the borer must be drawn up again
and the hay or other material removed so as to cut out a fresh quantity.
When the borer has thus made as deep a hole as its length and the length of
the handle rod e will allow, an additional rod i is attached to the end of the
rod e, by inserting the upper end of the latter into a socket made in the lower
end of a rod i, and retaining it therein by means of a cottar d, as in the former
instance. A cross handle h, h, is applied to the upper end of the handle rods
for the convenience of turning, and may be removed therefrom and applied to
the additional rods as they are added and may be required. By continually
adding additional rods as the borer cuts away the hay or other material, a
clean hole of any depth may be made in a rick in a very short space of time.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood, in conclusion, that I lay no claim to any
of the parts that have been before known or in use for similar purposes; but I
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, -
Firstly, the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts constituting an
apparatus or machine for boring ricks or stacks, or any quantity of agricultural
produce collected together, as herein shewn and described.
Secondly, the employment of a circular, annular, or cylindrical cutter,
whereby a clean circular hole may be made.

page_text: And, lastly, the employment of a board or plate, as seen at f, f, in the
Drawing, with its screws, rods, or other fastenings, for the purpose of com-
pressing and consolidating the upper surface of the hay or other agricultural
produce, so as to facilitate and assist the operation of the machine or apparatus,
as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gillett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
Inrolled the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year above written.