IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINE FOR FLESHING HIDES AND SKINS KNOWN AS 'MOLINIER'S' SYSTEM
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Edward Gedge at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th January 1877. A communi-
cation from abroad by Valery Gallien, of 34, Faubourg St. Martin, Paris,
France.
WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINE FOR FLESHING HIDES
AND SKINS KNOWN AS 'MOLINIER'S' SYSTEM." A communication from abroad by
Valery Gallien, of 34, Faubourg St. Martin, Paris, France.
Amongst the many operations which hides or skins undergo in their trans-
formation into leather and to give them the qualities required for various uses,
there is a preliminary one of great importance, namely, that termed fleshing.
The skins whether to be tanned, tawed, or otherwise treated, must all undergo the
operation of fleshing, which consists in freeing them from all the sinewy or fleshy
particles still adhering to them, and which would be an obstacle to the operations
which are to follow. Fleshing has long been done by hand and consisted in placing
the hide or skin upon a wooden horse or beam, and then by means of a cutting
knife removing all the impurities. Thus practised, this operation is very long.
In the year 1874 Mr. Molinier invented a fleshing machine, but suitable only for
tawing work, inasmuch as the manual strength required from the workman to guide
his skin only permitted him to operate upon small sheep skins, but he could
not have, except with great difficulty, worked goat or calf skins, and consequently
still less the stronger hides, such as horse, cow, ox, and similar hides.
This machine is composed of a cylinder, armed with helicoidal blades or knives
enveloping this cylinder; these knives are not cutting but only possess a thread
upon one of the edges.
A cylinder, covered with india-rubber, is placed under the knife cylinder; it may
be raised or lowered by means of a treadle, so that directly the skin is placed
between them, a pressure is produced which permits the action of the knives on the
skin. The skin is placed between two sliding pieces forming jaws so as to be firmly
held.
The working is as follows:-The skin is thrown upon the india-rubber covered
cylinder, well stretched, then the workman acts on the treadle, the pressure takes
place, and the knive cylinder receiving a somewhat rapid rotary motion, the skin is
immediately drawn along; it is thon that in order to do the work the workman
[Price 6d.1

page_text: grasps with one hand a guard or hand rail fixed to the jaws, and still pressing on
the treadle, pulls the skin towards him, thus submitting it in all its parts to the
action of the knives which execute the fleshing.
It will be evident that in this way the workman must exercise a very powerful
traction, the entire breadth of the skin being submitted at the same time to the
action of the knives. And this is precisely the reason which prevented the treating
of large hides or skins.
The modifications in the "Molinier" machine which form the subject of this
Invention, and the importance of which will not escape any competent person,
bear;-
Firstly. Upon this important question of the power required for the treatment of
large hides and skins, as well for operating the traction, which requires from one
to three horse power, as to to hold the hide, by means of self-closing jaws, which must
be of sufficient power to bear the same effort of traction as the knive cylinder
developes on the hide.
Secondly. Upon the transformation of the india-rubber roller, the elasticity of
which was not always sufficient, into a sort of elastic cushion or pad.
Thirdly. Upon the possibility of multiplying the operations which may be
performed by the machine, a possibility which results from the power at my disposal,
the advantages of the substitution of my elastic cushion or pad, in lieu of the india-
rubber roller; these operations are, in the lime working, the unhairing, the
fleshing, the freeing from lime; in the currying, the "dérayage" or smoothing,
the paring or "écharnage," the equalizing "égalisage," the "mise au vent" striking.
For these various operations I arrange my fluted or grooved cylinder according to
requirement and particularly for the "mise au vent " striking," I replace it by a
cylinder, the flutings of which are of bronze or gun metal.
I will now proceed to describe the machine the subject of this Invention, reference
being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawing and to the letters of reference
placed thereon.
The machine is composed of a cylinder armed with metal blades or knives
arranged helically; it is set on two bearings and driven from the pulley P.
The india-rubber cylinder B or the cushion or pad above mentioned, and which is
herein-after described, is set on a frame carrying at its end two bearings in which
the spindle of the cylinder B may turn. This frame upon which is fixed the spindle of
the india-rubber cylinder or the cushion or pad may have an up or down movement
under the action of the treadle C which lifts it. When the hide is placed the counter-
weight D on the extension of the treadle brings down this frame; it further serves
to counterpoise the pressure of the workman, and, in short, to regulate the pressure
between the two cylinders by the sliding of the counterweight upon the lever,
which permits an increase or decrease of pressure at will. The pressure between
the two cylinders may be further regulated by the aid of the screws Z which set
them more or less apart. In the "Molinier" machine the pressure is modified by
putting the wedges a, a¹, under the treadle.
The sliding jaws E are composed of two pieces of wood, which may be brought
nearer to each other by the aid of a bolt which causes them to nip the hide between
them. Directly the bolt leaves its holes or staples the two jaws are driven apart by
a spring placed at each end of the jaw, and which expands suddenly, thereby
permitting the easy introduction of the hide to be worked. This mode of nipping
or clamping is very important; it completes the power necessary to the working of
large hides or skins. These two pieces may slide upon horizontal bars F of equal
length with the hides to be worked.
To obtain the traction of the jaws E by the motive-power engine the following
arrangement is adopted. These jaws carry at each end a hook in which are fixed
the ends G passing to the end of the slide bars over the horizontal pulley H, the
ends then wind on the drums I, I', which are one with the pulley J. This pulley is a
in communication with a second, K, by the aid of a distended band or strip m,
which in its turn is keyed on to the shaft which receives the power and turns.

page_text: constantly; consequently to produce the traction of the jaws and consequently of the
hide, it is only necessary by means of the friction roller L to stretch the band m,
which actuates the pulley J and consequently the drums I, I', upon which the
cords G wind and pull upon the jaws.
The traction may be regulated at will by varying the pressure of the friction
roller which may balance the traction power on the skin or even not reach it,
allowing the band m to slide over its pulleys, so as to submit every part of the hide
to the action of the knives, resting longer at one point, returning if necessary on to
a part already treated, and that by the aid of the lever M which the workman
works by a handle n. When the work is finished a counterweight O retires the
friction roller and permits the unwinding of the cords G; this counterweight
passing over a rim pulley fixed on the same shaft as the pulleys J actuates them
when the workman no longer presses upon the lever of the friction roller.
The cushion or pad above mentioned as a substitute for the india-rubber cylinder
is composed of a sheet iron trough A (Fig. 3), having at each end a pipe with cock.
The top of the trough is covered by a band or strip of india-rubber which hermeti-
cally closes it. In this state, by means of a pump, water is driven into the trough,
the effect of which is to swell out and stretch the india-rubber and thereby produce a
sort of mattress or pad of variable degree of elasticity, accordingly to the more or less
compression within it.