IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Turton, of Sheffield, in the County of York,
File Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CUTTING FILES."
Sealed the 6th October 1865, and dated the 8th April. 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Turton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
April 1865.
I, THOMAS TURTON, of Sheffield, in the County of York, File Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in machinery for cutting
files, and consists in the application of a fixed bed or stithy block, over which
the blank of a file to be cut (together or not, as the case may be,) with a
strip of lead, type metal, or other suitable metal is made to pass, and upon
which it firmly rests during the operation of striking the chisel. The hammer
and chisel with the necessary adjuncts are mounted upon a moveable frame,
which takes the said bed or block for its centre, and by its means they are
easily and simultaneously adjusted to any of the various angles required to be
obtained in the process of forming the teeth on the file, and still retain their
connection with the driving power.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Turton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th
October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
TURTON, of Sheffield, in the County of York, File Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Thomas Turton, Her special licence that I, the said
Thomas Turton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Turton, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Turton, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly 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 Thomas Turton, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This Invention relates to certain improvements in machinery for cutting
files, and consists in the application of a fixed bed or stithy block, over which
the blank of a file to be cut (together or not, as the case may be,) with a
strip of lead, type metal, or other suitable metal is made to pass, and upon
which it firmly rests during the operation of striking the chisel. The hammer
and chisel with the necessary adjuncts are mounted upon a moveable frame,
which takes the said bed or block for its centre, and by its means they are
easily and simultaneously adjusted to any of the various angles required to be
obtained in the process of forming the teeth on the file, and still retain their
connection with the driving power.

page_text: In order that my said Invention may be perfectly understood, I proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of driving end of machine with driving pulley
removed, the pulley and strap being shewn in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a side
elevation of the machine, and is shewn partly in section; Fig. 3 is a back
elevation of the same, shewing the lifting cam, the back plate of which is
supposed to be removed; Fig. 4 is a general plan of the machine with the
bamnier and lifting lever removed. All the above Figures are drawn to a
scale equal to one-sixth the full size.
A is the foundation plate, to which is firmly fixed the central boss A', which
is bored out to receive either a taper or parallel plug fitting truly (taper by
preference); this plug is securely attached to the swivel plate A³, the upper
portion of said plug being grooved out to receive the stithy face a' affixed in
the centre by the key wedge a; B is the hammer and chisel standard; b, the
chisel holder; 6', the hammer swinging from centre b³. The hammer head is
slung by the short links 6 to the lifting lever 65, vibrating on the stud to of
the regulator slide ; the centre of this stud is variable in position, ranging
according to the regulator cam s, and which is obtained from the figure of
the file to be cut; B₁ is the regulator slide standard cast on the swivel
plate A; and carrying the worm wheel 6°, the worm 610, and star wheel ",
which is actuated by the projection attached to the lifting cam C. To the
swivel plate A³, and cast with it, is the lifting or cam slide bed ¹³, in whose
groove is the slide carrying the bowl 6, and to which slide is hinged the con-
necting rod 6, taking on to the short end of lever , to the long end of
which lever is slung the hammer bead by the short link &', as herein-beforo
stated. The chisel holder bis a double-ended lever, one end carrying the
chisel g, to which it is secured by jam nuts, and from the other end hangs the
pendant stud with its bowl f; the pendant passes through a fixing 6, above
and below which are placed spiral springs, the lower one being the stronger.
The bowl f' is actuated by wiper cams f* fixed on the back of the crown
wheel F. Upon the cam having passed the bowl the stronger spring forces
down the bowl, carrying with it the lever b, thus withdrawing the chisel front
the cut last made; on the bowl rising on the summit of the wiper cam the
lower spring is compressed, thus leaving the upper spring in full play on to
the tail of the lever, and pressing the chisel on to its work. To the outer
end of hammer shaft is forged the short tail 19, which during the up stroko
of the hammer compresses the air cylinder or spring box 60 by its plunger,
and which in liberation of the hammer by the cam C accelerates its fall,
according to the degree of compression allowed. The file blank during the

page_text: process of cutting rests on the stithy face a¹, a piece or strip of type or other
suitable, metal being interposed between it and the file or blank, the said
blank being firmly held down on the stity face and bed of alloy by the roller
clothed with india-rubber a, which is retained in its position by the housing a;
and forced on to the file by the curved lever a³, whose centre of motion is at a®,
and derives its pressure from the helical spring a', whose action is adjusted
by. the nut a. The blank is held by the tongs a, whose jaws are formed to
fit the tang, and are lined with leather, felt, or other non-elastic material to
destroy the jar, and are nipped by the set screw a; the other end is a
circular, bar to which the jaws are hinged, and a pair of set collars are secured
on the same, which it will be seen allow the file to bed on the stithy, face, as
it is free to rotate in the bearing a"; a" is made to slide in a direct line
over the centre of the stithy face by being affixed to the V slide D, which is
made to slide along the bed D¹ through the action of the feed screw d and
star wheel d', which is actuated in its turn by the adjustable projection d'
fixed on the driving shaft d³, which receives its motion from the driving.
pulley E and clutch box e sliding on a feather let into the driving shaft. : :
I now proceed to describe the manner of cutting the first or "over cut" of
a flat file by my improved machinery. The machine being in position as
shewn in Fig. 4, and motion being communicated by the belt to the driving
pulley. E running loose upon the shaft d³, the clutch box e is thrown into gear
by the lever e¹, and held in its position by the latch e falling into the notch of
the weighted lever e³; the motion being continued, the bevil pinion F attached
to the driving shaft conveys motion through the crown wheel Frunning
loosely on the boss A¹ to the bevil pinion F keyed upon the cam shaft f,
upon which is placed the cam C, secured by the clutch box and nut f¹ and ƒ³.
The cam shaft f running in a bearing.or carriage f³, which is secured to and
takes its position from the swivel plate A³, the internal cam C for every
revolution bringing down the slide 6 and connecting rod 61, elevating the
long end of lever, and through the links lifting the hammer 61; just
previous to the descent of the hammer one of the wiper cams f' on the back
of crown wheel F¹ comes into action on the bowl f, thereby bringing the
tension of spring on to the tail of lever b, bringing down the chisel firmly
on to the file; the hammer now being liberated by the cain, its fall is
accelerated by the compressed air in the cylinder 620, .or .by any other spring
provided for that purpose. On the cam again lifting the hammer from the
chisel head, the wiper cam in its revolution having liberated, the bowl, the
spring 6 pulls down the tail of the lever b', thereby raising the chisel edge
out of the tooth last formed.. The feed motion is now brought into action by

page_text: the adjustable projection d on the driving shaft d3 striking the star wheel d¹
(which is a change wheel, and varied to suit the number of teeth per inch
required,) fixed on the feed screw d passing through a nut attached to the
slide D, passing onwards the file carrier and file for another tooth,, which
operation being repeated for the full length of file, the projection f is brought
into contact with the curved end of the weighted lever e³, and liberates the
latch lever e¹ from its notch, when the spiral spring .e throws the clutch box
out of gear with the driving pulley, and thus stops the machine.
by means of the nut a³,
now introduced in the
screw d is then wound:
The variable intensity of blow according to the increasing, width of the file;
is brought about in manner following-The regulator cam is formed in &
varying ratio, and according to the alteration in form of file to be cut, and
receives an intermittent rotatory motion from the worm wheel & through the
worm and star wheel b", which is actuated by the stud 613 at every.
révolution of cam C, the varying radius of the cam elevating the slide 67; with
its lever centre 6, the cam always drawing down the slide 6 to one point, a
corresponding variable motion is produced in proportion to the difference in;
the arms of lever , and thus giving the hammer a suitably. increasing,
elevation, and consequently a heavier fall resulting from this and the increased.
compression of air or other spring in cylinder 60.. The file being thus cut to
the end, and the machine being thrown out of gear, as before described, it is
taken out of the machine by elevating the roller
by liberating the set screw a; a fresh blank is
tong a, passing underneath the roller a³; the feed
back by means of the handle g¹, the blank being carried back with slide D;
until its point is in position, and the regulator cam returned to its normal:
position by means of the handle 9', the machine is then again ready to repeat'
the operation herein-before described. The second or "up cut" is put on in
the following manner :-The nuts of bolts 1 and 2 of carriage f³, and 3, 4;.
5, 6 of swivel plate As being loosed, and their heads working in concentric;
grooves 8 and 7, the swivel plate and plug A² are moved round its centre;
to the position indicated by the dotted line a, y, as seen in Fig. 4, in which
position it is secured by bolts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the bolts 3, 4, 5, and 6
also serving to bed the plug A2 in its seat in the boss A¹. The chisel and:
stithy face moving together always retain their relative position. The swivel.:
plate. As is provided with circular slots 9 and 10 to admit of the requisite
movement of the-swivel plate with relation to holding down roller, which
requires to be at right angles to the file whilst being cut. The holding.
apparatus is mounted upon, a ring encircling top part of plug A, and is;
secured in position by bolts and nuts in grooves 9 and 10 of the swivel:

page_text: plate A; the partially cut file is then introduced, and the operation is repeated,
as before described:
In cutting round files by this machine I mount the file in similar tongs, as
shewn, but replace the outer collar a² by a star wheel with as many teeth as
the number of rows of teeth on the circumference of the file; this wheel is
moved a tooth in any convenient manner from driving shaft or screw for every
tooth struck by the chisel. The holding-down apparatus is provided with a
V-grooved roller in lieu of a plane one. In cutting half round files the flat
sides are cut as before described for flat files; the file is then 'secured to a
mandril with a type or other soft metal lining, the file and mandril making
together a complete circle in transverse section, of which the file is a
segment. The file and mandril are now introduced into the machine, where a
reciprocating rotary motion is applied; it is otherwise treated as a round file.
I do not, however, confine myself to the exact details herein described,
but the same may be varied for their mechanical equivalents; for instance,
the crown wheel may be made the frustrum of a double cone having teeth
cut on both sides, and the bevil pinion F2 would then gear into the upper
portion of the same; the lifting cam being attached to this pinion would
actuate the hammer from its short end 6 direct through the spring cylinder.
In like manner the machinery for round and half round files may be varied in
the following manner:-Upon the foundation plate may be placed two
standards carrying chisel, hammer, and cam shaft; the file tongs is continued
in the form of a screw, upon which are placed two wheels; the boss of one
is formed into a nut fitting the screw, the other is bored to fit on the top of
the thread, but carrying a feather which takes into a groove cut in the screw.
These wheels are driven from a double feed motion, the effect of which is to
turn the file circumferentially, and also to pass it on longitudinally. The
chisel or hammer and chisel may be combined and made of such a length
that the chisel edge impinges on the file just inside the edge of the stitby,
when it will produce teeth without injury to those previously cut.
I claim, Ist, the application and adaptation of machinery as herein set
forth for the purpose of cutting files, whereby the hammer is made to deliver
its effect through the chisel in such a manner that the blow is always struck
across the centre line of the stithy carried by the moveable plug and swivel
plate; thus whatever angle the swivel plate may be required to take, the
chisel, hammer, and adjuncts moving and in connection with the swivel plate
and plug will always maintain their correct relative positions to each other
and the stithy, by which means.reaction is avoided whilst the file is receiving
its cut.

page_text: 2nd. The mode of suspending the chisel and actuating the same by the
wiper cams and springs as described.
3rd. The mode of obtaining a differential blow by means of driving cam,
cam slide, connecting rod, and variable centre of lifting lever as described.
4th. The arrangement of the tongs as described.
5th. The holding-down roller and its apparatus.
And, lastly, the application of disengaging gear worked from the V-slide
or other moving parts in connection with the file under operation for.
browing the machine out of action when the file is cut to the required
ength.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Turton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
5 Witness,
JOHN CLARK,
7, St. James' Row,
Sheffield.
THOMAS TURTON. (Ls.)