IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN SEWING MACHINE SHUTTLES, AND IN THE MODE OF AND TOOLS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Francis Bradbury, of Rhodes Bank Foundry,
Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN SEWING MACHINE SHUTTLES, AND IN THE
MODE OF AND TOOLS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME."
Sealed the 11th July 1865, and dated the 19th January 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Francis Bradbury
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th January 1865.
I, GEORGE FRANCIS BRADBURY, of Roads Bank Foundry, Oldham, in the
County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN SEWING MACHINE SHUTTLES,
AND IN THE MODE OF AND TOOLS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to the construction of that class of sewing machine
shuttles having one side open through which the thread bobbin is inserted
into its bearings in the shuttle. This class of sewing machine shuttles has
hitherto been constructed by blocking sheet metal by means of stamps and
dies, and then filling the inside ends of the shuttles with pieces secured by
being soldered or brazed. Shuttles so constructed cannot be sufficiently
hardened, and consequently they are easily damaged and soon wear out.
The object of my Invention in sewing machine shuttles is to construct them
so that they will have greater strength than those of ordinary construction,
and so that they can be hardened to resist wear and tear, and so that (the
point being solid) they may be frequently sharpened when damaged before

page_text: they are wholly worn out. My improved sewing machine shuttles are made
out of a solid piece of metal, and they are entirely formed by drawing or
planing, boring, drilling, and cutting the solid piece of metal into the required
form. Each shuttle is constructed by boring out the piece of metal to within
a short distance from the point of the intended shuttle, then a slot is cut in
the side of the metal, and a plug is screwed into the piece to form the back
end of the shuttle, and other parts of the shuttle are brought into the required
form by cutting and drilling. The processes and tools by which I prefer to
manufacture my improved sewing machine shuttles are described as follows:-
I reduce the steel or other suitable metal to the required external section of
the body of the intended shuttle by a drawing process, that is, by forcing the
metal through dies having the form of the required section; by this means I
obtain an accurate and uniform section for the external body of the shuttle.
I then take the bars thus produced and cut them into the required lengths by
rotating or other saw cutters. The bars may be first cut into convenient
lengths, and then a number of these bars may be clamped together side by
side on a slide bed and made to pass under cutters placed on a shaft at such
distance apart as shall be equal to the required length of the metal for the
shuttle. Each length of metal is then inserted in a lathe chuck, and is
operated upon by a series of boring and cutting tools, and is tapped to receive
the screw plug. The piece then taken to another machine in which a
number of drills and cutters are arranged to operate upon it in succession,
and partly at the same time. In this machine one traversing rose cutter is
made to cut out the slot and another is made to operate upon the sunk part
at the tip of the shuttle (if required) and one or more circular cutters are
made to saw slits in the sides, and one or more drills to drill the required
holes. The screw plugs for the back ends of the shuttles in some cases are
made from pieces of metal which will form two screw plugs. They are cut
into the required lengths in the same manner as the pieces for the body of
the shuttles, and then have the middle part cut away by a circular cutter.
These pieces are next chucked in a lathe and turned, and screwed, and bored,
if required, and are then again chucked, so that those parts of the plugs forming
the back of the shuttle may be rounded off, if required; then the two plugs are
cut in two, and, if required, the projecting parts are turned up. One of these
plugs is screwed firmly into the back end of each shuttle, the front end is
ground to the correct shape, and then the shuttle is hardened and then
polished. The parts not herein-before referred to, such as springs and
bushes, are added to the shuttle as usual.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Francis Bradbury in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 19th July 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
FRANCIS BRADBURY, of Rhodes Bank Foundry, Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of January, 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 George Francis Bradbury, Her special license that I, the said
George Francis Bradbury, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said George Francis Bradbury, 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 CERTAIN SEWING MACHINE SHUTTLES, AND IN
THE MODE OF AND TOOLS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Francis Bradbury, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 George Francis Bradbury, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and the accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
.1%
:-
My Invention relates to the construction of that class of sewing machine
shuttles having one side open through which the thread, bobbin, or reel is
inserted into its bearings in the shuttle. This class of sewing machine shuttle
has hitherto been constructed by blocking sheet metal by means of stamps and
dies, and then filling the inside ends of the shuttle with pieces secured by
being soldered or brazed. Shuttles so constructed cannot be sufficiently
hardened, and consequently they are easily damaged and soon wear out.
The
object of my Invention in sewing machine shuttles is to construct them so
hat they will have greater strength than those of ordinary construction, and

page_text: so that they can be hardened to resist wear and tear, and so that they may be
frequently sharpened when damaged (the point being solid), before they are
wholly worn out. My improved sewing machine shuttles are made out of a
solid piece or steel or other metal, which can be sufficiently hardened after it
has been cut into the required form.
The accompanying Drawings show the various sewing machine shuttles
constructed according to my Invention, though they appear to be the same
externally as the same class of shuttles hitherto in use. Fig. 1 is a view of
my improved shuttle, looking at the open side in which the reel is inserted,
and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of it. This shuttle is formed out of a
solid piece of metal, the back end (a) being screwed in, and then secured by
the small screw (a) which fastens the bush (a²) enclosing the spring (a³) that
acts upon a small disc, which keeps the reel (6) in its place and allows it to
be inserted in and removed from its bearings in the shuttle. This spring bush
and the tension spring (c) are of ordinary construction. The shuttle shewn
by Figs. 1 and 2 has a hook (d) upon its end for the shuttle driver to act
upon. Figs. 3 and 4 are views corresponding respectively to Figs. 1 and 2,
showing a similar shuttle to that shown by Figs. 1 and 2, except that the
shuttle is without the hook, or turned up end (d); Fig. 5 is a side view,
Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 7 an end view of a shuttle similar
to that shown by Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 8 is a side view, Fig. 9 a longi-
tudinal section, and Fig. 10 an end view of a shuttle same as that shown by
Figs. 3 and 4, except that the back end of each shuttle is solid with the body
of the shuttle. Figs. 11, 12, and 13, show another well known form of
shuttle constructed according to my Invention, where the reel is held in its
place when inserted by a hinged piece (e). The processes and tools by which
I prefer to manufacture my improved sewing machine shuttles are described
as follows: I take steel or other suitable metal capable of being sufficiently
hardened, which may be rolled to about the size required, and then reduce it
to the required external section of the body of the intended shuttles by a
drawing process, that is, by forcing the metal through dies having the form of
the required section by any ordinary means, by which process I obtain an
accurate and uniform section for the external body of the shuttle. I ther
take the bars thus produced and cut them into the required lengths by rotating
or other saw cutters. The bars may be first cut into convenient lengths, and
then a number of these bars may be clamped together side by side on a sliding
table, and then made to pass (by a slow motion imparted to the sliding table)
under saw cutters placed on a shaft above the table, the cutters being at such
distance apart as shall be equal to the length of the metal required for the

page_text: shuttles. When making shuttles with the screw plug (a) at the back end, each
length of metal is inserted in a suitable lathe chuck; it is then operated upon
by a series of boring and cutting tools; first, to bore a hole the size required for
the thread of the screw plug towards the tip end of the shuttle, then to enlarge
the hole without enlarging that part intended for the screw plug, a turning tool
is used, bent to the required form, and fixed upon a slide rest, and this tool acts
so as to recess the hole. The next operation is to tap the hole for the screw plug,
and afterwards bore the small hole at the end of the large hole for one end
of the reel. The piece after being thus operated upon is then taken from the
chuck and fixed in a holder or chuck upon a compound slide rest of ordinary
construction, and it is traversed under a stationary rotating rose cutter
(see Fig. 14 a side, and Fig. 15 an end view) which cuts the slot in the side
of the shuttle into which the reel is inserted. The shuttle may then be taken
to another compound slide rest with the top slide capable of turning hori-
zontally round a centre or axis, and upon this compound slide rest the
shuttle is secured in a holder or chuck, a rotating cutter (shewn by Fig. 16
a side, and Fig. 17 an end view) is then made to form the sunk part (ƒ)
at the tip end of the shuttle, the axis of the cutter being placed in a vertical
position in relation to the surface of the sunk part or plane to be cut. The
slide rest is then moved so that the cutter (which is stationary while rotating)
will traverse along the straight side of the shuttle, and then when sufficiently
near the tip of the shuttle the slide rest is made to turn back by turning upon
its axis so as to follow the curved side of the shuttle, the holder for the shuttle
upon the slide rest being fixed at such distance from the axis upon which the
rest turns as will produce the diameter of the curve required. In other words
the periphery of the cutter (Figs. 16 and 17) is made to follow the edge of the
sunk part of the shuttle, commencing at the inside or recess part for the
reel. Slits (g) are formed in the sides of the shuttle for the thread to
pass through where required, by a saw cutter, similar to that shewn by
Fig. 18 a side, and Fig. 19 an end view. The holes in other parts of the shuttle
are formed by drilling, and the pins (h), when required, are fixed in holes
drilled for the purpose when the sunk part (f) at the tip of the shuttle bas
been cut away. The screw plugs (a) for the ends of the shuttles are formed out
of a piece of metal which will make two plugs cut into the required lengths
in the same manner as the pieces of metal to form the body of the shuttle.
The piece of metal is chucked in a lathe, and is bored, shouldered, and
screwed at one end and then reversed in the chuck, the same operations
being performed upon the other end, then the metal is cut away between
the two ends by a rotating saw cutter under which the piece is traversed

page_text: when fixed, upon a table slide or rest, into the shape shewn by Fig. 20
and Fig. 21, side views at a right angle to each other, and if the plug is
to be rounded off, then the piece is chucked upon a face plate in a lathe
with the flat side (k, Fig. 20) against the face of the plate, and it is turned,
as shewn by the dotted line Figs. 20 and 21; then the two ends are cut
asunder, and each projecting piece is bent up, if there is to be a hook at
the back end of the shuttle, as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2. In forming the
solid shuttles shewn by Figs. 5 to 13 inclusive, the cavity in the side of
the shuttle for the reel is formed by fixing the piece in a chuck or holder,
and drilling a series of holes by the side of each other and then cutting
these holes into a uniform slot by traversing the piece in the direction of
the slot against a rotating stationary rose cutter of the form shewn by tho
side view Fig. 14 and the end view Fig. 15. The rose cutter may be made
both to traverse and rotate at the same time and the shuttle piece may
remain stationary. The piece thus slotted may next havo the holes (1) drilled
to hold the ends of the reels by means of a tool shewn by Figs. 22 a plan,
and Fig. 23 an end view. This tool may be secured in a stand fixed upon
a lathe bed, and the spindle (m) (which is placed in a horizontal position)
may be driven by being connected with the end of the lathe spindle, when
motion will be transmitted by a toothed wheel (m²) on the spindle (m)
through an intermediate wheel (m²) to a wheel upon an axis (m³) having
a drill (m) at each end. The bearings of the spindle, intermediate wheel,
and drill axis are formed in the part (m²) one side of which is secured by
screws (m) as shewn. The wheels and parts carrying the bearing are made
sufficiently small to pass freely into the slot or recess formed in the shuttle
for the reel. The shuttle piece is secured in a chuck or holder, with the
slot or open side opposite and parallel to the axis (m³) of the drills upon a
vertical slide, which is placed upon a compound slide rest, and by means of
the horizontal slide at a right angle to the drills the piece is brought into the
position shewn by the section of a shuttle (a) (in dotted line) Fig. 22, then
means of the horizontal slide moving in the direction of the axis of tho
drills, first the hole at one end, and then that at the other end is drilled by
moving one end of the shuttle against one drill, and the other end against the
other drill. In other respects the solid shuttle (Fig. 8, 9, and 10) is operated
In shuttles like that shewn by Figs. 11,
upon as herein-before described.
12, and 13, where the recess for the reel is to be square at the ends, then I
operate upon the recess as formed by the rose cutter, by a tool shewn by
Fig. 24 a plan, and Fig. 25 an end view. In this tool the toothed cutters
(m³) are screwed upon the ends of their axis (m³) which is driven directly by

page_text: a toothed wheel without intermediate wheel. In other respects this tool is
constructed, arranged, and used same as that shewn by Figs. 22 and 23. In-
stead of the tools being fixed, and the shuttle piece being moved to and
against their cutters, the shuttle piece may be fixed and the stand secured
upon the compound slide rest so as to move the drills or cutters into their
correct position, and so as to give the motion for cutting. In this case the
spindle (m) will have to be driven by means admitting of its moving to and
fro and up and down, which may be done by an intermediate shaft sufficiently
long, connected by "universal couplings," capable of sliding endways. The
slot (P) to admit the end of tho reel in the shuttle, shown by Fig. 11, may be
formed by a traversing drill or a cutter, and the slit for the hinge part may
be made by a rotating saw cutter. The tips of the shuttles are ground to the
form required, and other parts are made by ordinary means, and when the
shuttles have been hardened by any well known process of hardening steel or
other inetal capable of being sufficiently hardened they are then polished and
are ready for use.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the
modo of carrying the same into effect, and claim as my Invention, sewing
machine shuttles with open sides formed out of a solid piece of steel or
inetal capable of being sufficiently hardened by any ordinary and well known
process and also the processes and tools for manufacturing such shuttles,
and particularly the forming of the bars to the correct external section of the
required shuttles by any ordinary drawing process; and the tools shewn by
Figs. 22 to 25 inclusive for drilling and shaping the inner ends of the recess
in the shuttle for the reel, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Francis Bradbury have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-five.
GEORGE FRANCIS BRADBURY. (L.S.)
Witness,
PETER J. LIVSEY,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.