IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN CUTTING HOLLOW AND SOLID CORKS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edgar Breffit, of King William Street, in the City of
London, Glass Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN CUTTING HOLLOW AND SOLID CORKS."
Sealed the 25th March 1862, and dated the 2nd October 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edgar Breffit at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd October 1861.
I, EDGAR BREFFIT, of King William Street, in the City of London, Glass
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN CUTTING HOLLOW AND SOLID CORKS,"
to be as follows:-
In cutting hollow corks it is necessary to arrange the position of the strip
of cork to be operated on so that on its being presented to the cutter it may
enter at such intervals that sufficient space is left to present for the second
cut, to form the hollow or cylindrical cork of equal thickness throughout and
the inner and outer circle truly concentric.
My Invention being directed to this end, I arrange the bed on which the
strip of cork to be operated on rests, and make it adjustable by means of a
slot and screw in the upright which supports it, so that without waiting to
look, the workman presents the cork to the cutter at a fixed distance from the

page_text: best or belly side of the cork. This part of my Invention applies to solid
corks, but in cutting hollow corks it is necessary to provide for the lateral
position of the piercings of the cutter, so that enough and no more cork is
left between than sufficient to form the hollow corks of the required substance;
for this purpose I provide a guide adjusted by slot and screw parallel with
the bed, and by means of the guide the workman determines the intervals at
which it is necessary to push the strip of cork towards the cutter.
In presenting the strip of cork a second time to the cutter, my Invention is
directed to keeping the edge of the circular cutter truly concentric with the
first cut, and for this purpose I arrange a mandril, which is pressed forward
at proper intervals through a rest with the same centre as the first cut.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edgar Breffit in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDGAR
BREFFIT, of 61, King William Street, in the City of London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Iler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
him, the said Edgar Breffit, Her special licence that he, the said Edgar
Breffit, his executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as hc, the
said Edgar Breffit, his 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN CUTTING HOLLOW AND SOLID CORKS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that he, the said Edgar Breffit, his executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under his, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edgar Breffit, 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:-
In cutting hollow corks it is necessary to arrange the position of the slab
of cork that on its being presented to the cutter it may enter at such
intervals that sufficient space is left to present for the second cut, to form the
hollow. or cylindrical cork of equal thickness throughout, and the inner and
outer circle truly concentrice.
My Invention being directed to this end, I arrange the bed on which the
strip of cork to be operated on rests, and make it adjustable by means of a
slot and screw in the upright which supports it, so that without waiting to
look, the workman presents the cork to the cutter at a fixed distance from
the best or belly side of the cork. This part of my Invention applies to solid
corks, but in cutting hollow corks it is necessary to provide for the lateral
position of the piercings of the cutter, so that enough and no more cork is
left between them sufficient to form the hollow corks of the required sub-
stance. For this purpose I provide a guide adjusted by slot and screw
parallel with the bed, and by means of the guide the workman determines
the intervals at which it is necessary to push the strip of cork towards the
cutter.
In presenting the strip of cork a second time to the cutter, my Invention is
directed to keeping the edge of the circular cutter truly concentric with the
first cut, and for this purpose, I arrange a mandril, which is pressed forward
at proper intervals through a rest with the same centre as the first cut.
The principle of cutting corks by means of revolving hollow cutters having
been long practised, I shall not describe this part of the operation.
guide a slab of cork is placed, its
My Invention consists in arranging the position of the slab of cork to be
operated upon, so that on presenting it to the cutter, it may enter at such
proper distances that sufficient space shall be left for a second or more cuts
to form the hollow or cylindrical corks of equal thicknesses. For this
purpose I provide a guide A, Fig. 1, which fits into the end. of the
mandril B; on the bed or table C of this
proper height and position being regulated by the slot and set screw, as seen
at D. The workman then presents the cork at one end of the slab to the
cutter, and forms the first pellat or solid cork; the slab is then pushed along
the table of the guide until the nearest edge of the perforation arrives at the
upright bar E, when the second pellat is formed, and so on till the whole slab
is perforated, by bringing the edge of each perforation to the upright, an

page_text: uniform distance is ensured, so that enough and no more space is left than
what is required for the next operation of forming the hollow corks, and a
more economical use of material is thereby gained. When it is intended to
form the hollow cork, the former perforated piece is presented a second time
to the cutter, when another form of guide or plunger F (Fig. 3) is used, and
fitting into the sliding mandril B, and which working truly. concentric with
the cutter G, is passed through each former perforation by the workman, and
a second cut is made, and a hollow cork formed, as seen at H (Fig. 3).
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation of the guide and mandril I employ; G, a
cylindrical steel cutter (these are made of different diameters); B, the
mandril which slides through the standard I; K is a moveable hub or collar
which is kept firmly in position by means of the set screw L; this hub
striking against the standard I, regulates the depth of the cut. H is a square
or slab of cork, the thickness of which is regulated by the intended length
of the cork, one side of which is parallel to the cutter, the other against the
disc M.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the guide; E, the upright bar by which the
distances for the cutter are regulated for perforating the cork; G, the table
or bed on which the belly or best side of the slab of cork is laid; D, the set
screw by which the height is regulated for presenting to the cutter. Fig. 4
shews a perforated slab of cork after having passed through the two operations
described; N, shewing the first or solid cork; and O, the second or hollow cork.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of my arrangement for cutting tapered or conical corks;
for this purpose I attach to the shaft of an ordinary lathe head the conical
stem a, having at its tapered end a disc b. On the end of the screw mandril c
is fixed another stem d, a disc e being at its end also, but working on a
centre in order that it may revolve; the mandril being withdrawn, one side
of a square of cork f of the necessary size is placed against the disc b; the
disc e of the mandril is then pressed against the opposite side, two or three
sprays or points being fixed in either discs which prevents the cork from
moving when revolving. The taper of the cork is determined by the angle
which the table g forms with the under bed k in an ordinary slide rest, which
fixes the point h at the same obliquity as the edge of the table is to k.
Motion is given to the cork by the pulley i, and the handle of the rest being
turned, the cutting point h enters the cork, and cuts through it in the direction
of the dotted lines, as seen in the square of cork f.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which the same is.
to be performed, what I claim is,-
First, the application of the guide (Figs. 1 and 2) together with the part F,

page_text: Fig. 3, as before described, for the purpose of cutting hollow and solid corks,
whereby a more regular manipulation is ensured, and a saving of time and
material obtained.
Secondly, the arrangement of the parts shewn by the letters g, h, k, in
connexion with the parts shewn by the letters a, b, c, d, e, for the purpose of
cutting tapered or conical corks.
day of
In witness whereof, I, the said Edgar Breffit, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this
in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty
'
Signed, sealed, and delivered in the
presence of
JOSEPH STAYNER EIDMANS.
EDGAR BREFFIT. (L.S.)