CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SHAPING WOOD INTO MOULDINGS AND OTHER FORMS
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ROBINSON, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Timber Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the fifteenth year of Her
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
two, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Robinson, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said John Robinson, my exors, admors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said John Robinson, my exors, adñiors, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR SHAPING WOOD INTO MOULDINGS AND OTHER FORMS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said John Robinson,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Robinson, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed and the following
explanation thereof, that is to say:-
My improvements relate to certain machinery or apparatus for cutting wood
into mouldings and other such forms by the action of rotatory cutters, the par-
ticular points of novelty consisting, firstly, in a method of fixing the cutters to
the parts which hold them; secondly, in a method of mounting the axles of
such cutters; and, thirdly, in an arrangement for shortening the length of tho
cutters employed for carving the thinner or deeper parts of the moulding.
The cutters are secured by means of bolts having wedge-formed heads, which
heads project into grooves formed within the holders, and in which they are
capable of being moved crosswise so as to adjust them to any required pattern.
The axles of the cutter holders are formed conical at their extremities, such
conical parts fitting into brasses of a corresponding shape capable of being
adjusted so as to compensate for any wear, and consequently looseness, that
may arise.
According to the third part of my Invention, the table for supporting the
material to be operated upon is mounted in the machine so as to be capable
of being turned upon a centre, by which means its surface may be made to
assume any required angle to the horizontal line, and by this arrangement I
am enabled to adjust a wedge-formed piece of wood intended to form a
moulding so that its transverse surface be equidistant, or nearly so, fron
the axis of the cutters, thereby avoiding the necessity of using cutters of
extended length for the thinner portion of the moulding. Thus, suppose it
desired to operate upon a wedge-formed piece of wood so as to cut the
moulding represented by the red line, in Figure 1 of the accompanying
Drawings, and that the line A, B, represent the position of the axis of
the cutters, the strip of wood resting upon a horizontal table C, D.
The instrument employed for carving the portion E will be represented
by the length E, F, and that for operating upon G by G, H; but if the
table be shifted so as to occupy a position in relation to the axis A, B,
as represented at Figure 2, then the lines E, F, G, H, which represent the
length of the cutters will be equal or nearer so than in Figure 1, and a greater
steadiness of action will be produced. The same effect it is evident may be
obtained by placing the wood as in Figure 1, but upon a fixed table, and
making the axis of the cutters moveable, so as to be capable of bringing the
parts into the relative positions shewn at Figure 2.
And in order to explain:

page_text: how my Invention may be carried practically into effect, I have in the accom-
panying two Sheets of Drawings shewn the several improvements embodied in
a machine which I will now proceed to describe. Figure 3 is a side view of
the machine; Figure 4, a plan or horizontal view; Figure 5, a longitudinal
section; and Figure 6, a transverse vertical section; in all of which Figures
similar letters and numbers of reference denote the like parts. The frame-
work of the machine is shewn at a, a, a, a, at the ends of which there are
upright shafts b, b, turning in steps c, c, at their lower ends, and furnished with
screws at top taking into screw boxes d, d, which are situate within sliding
pieces e, e; these pieces move vertically against the stationary framework
of the machine, and are capable of being raised or lowered by turning the
shafts b, b, in their screw boxes, and of being confined to any required eleva-
tion by means of bolts f,f: The lower ends of the pieces e, e, are provided
with circular flanges projecting inwards, upon which are placed other
circular flanges g, g, formed upon the table h, h, h, h; the table flanges
9, 9, have slots formed through them, and in these slots are placed bolts i, i,
which also project through holes formed in the flanges of the pieces e, e;
by this arrangement the table h, upon which the material to be operated upon
is placed, can be raised or lowered to suit the thickness of wood to be cut by
means of the shafts b, and it can also be caused to assume an angle to the
horizontal line by turning its circular flanges within those of the pieces e, e,
and during the operation of the machine it will be kept in this position by the
bolts fand i. The cutters are shewn mounted in their holders at I, J, K, L,
suitably situated for cutting both sides and the top and bottom of the moulding.
The manner in which the cutters are mounted will be seen by inspecting
Figure 7, and also the general views before referred to, the former being a
detached view of one of the holders; it consists of a metal block j, having
dovetailed grooves k formed in the direction of its length. At one end of these
grooves there is an enlarged part 1, within which the dovetailed heads of the
bolts m are placed; these bolts are then slipped into the narrower part of the
groove, and the cutters placed on them, after which plates n, n, are applied,
and the whole secured, in the position desired, by nuts, as seen in the Drawing.
The number of cutters thus applied and their width will depend upon the
moulding to be cut; one only may be used for the sides and bottom, and in
some cases for the pattern, or several may be adapted side by side, making up
together the whole of the design to be produced. The method of mounting
the axes of the cutters will be best seen by reference to Fig. 8, which is a
detached sectional view of one of those employed for operating upon one side
of the moulding. The spindles 0, 0, are forined conical at their ends, which.

page_text: conical ends are placed in brasses p, capable of being moved in sockets formed
within a bracket 9, 9, and of being retained in a desired position therein by set
screws r,r; the brasses p, p, are formed hollow, and screwed on their inward
surfaces, within the threads of which are set screws 8, 8, capable of being thus
brought against the ends of the spindles o. The bracket g is mounted upon a
V-shaped piece t, attached to a flange formed upon the table h, h, h, and is
capable of being slidden on thereon, so as to be brought nearer to or further
from the edge of the wood to be cut, and retained in that position by screws u,
and as the bracket 9 is attached to the table h, the cutting apparatus will
move therewith, and therefore maintain the same relative position. The
spindle of the cutter or cutters, which operate upon the bottom of the material,
is similarly mounted in centres p, p, carried by sockets affixed to brackets v, v,
pendant from the table h, h, h, h, so that to whatever angle the table may be
turned, this cutting apparatus will also move with it, and always maintain
the same relative position thereto. The spindle for carrying the top cutters
also turns in similar centres, but the sockets of this (seen at w, w,) are
mounted upon the stationary framework a of the machine, and are therefore
independent of the motion of the table h, h, h. It will be perceived that there
are four cutter grooves formed within the blocks j, j, and the knives may be
distributed amongst them in any desired manner, so as to make up the whole
of the pattern to be cut. For instance, if the design required eight cutters,
four may be placed at x, and the others as at y; but in such cases we prefer
to balance the blocks by placing other instruments as at z, z, not, however, of
sufficient length to arrive in contact with the material. Upon the stationary
amework are fixed a series of standards 1, 1, 1, within which are mounted
shafts 2, 2, 2, provided with saw-edged rollers 3, 3, 3. To the tops of the
standards 1 are attached bridge pieces 4, 4, 4, 4, through which pass screws
5, 5, 5, connected at their lower ends by swivel joints to other bridge pieces
6, 6, 6, 6, the lower ends of which rest upon the brasses in which the shafts
2, 2, revolve. By the screws 5, therefore, the pieces 6, and consequently
brasses on which they rest, are forced down, carrying with them the saw-
edged rollers 3, 3, 3, so as to press them into the material M to be cut, as
seen in the Drawing. At one end of the machine is mounted a shaft 7,
capable of turning in bearings 8, 8, which shaft carries an arm 9, provided
with a block 10. It is also furnished with a lever 11, bearing at its outward
end a weight 12, so that the block 10 is thus pressed downward, and bearing
against the wood in progress of being cut, keeps it in contact with the table h.
The parallel motion of the wood M is assisted by means of a guide piece 13,
secured by adjusting screws to the table, and against which it is pressed by a

page_text: spring 14. The method adopted for giving motion to the various parts is as
follows: A strap 15 proceeds from a main driving shaft to a drum 16, and
upon the axle of this are pullies 17, which actuate the series of top cutters I.
Upon the spindle of these there is a pulley 18, which, by means of a band 19,
drives a shaft 20, mounted upon the stationary framing of the machine.
This shaft is provided with a roller 21, bearing against the surface of a friction
disc 22, attached to a shaft 23, which, by means of a worm and wheel,
imparts rotary motion to a shaft 24. This, through the agency of a pinion
25, drives a toothed wheel 26, which, by taking into the teeth of pinions
upon the axes of the saw-edged rollers 3, causes them to revolve, and carry
forward the material M through the machine. The other saw rollers 3ª, 3b,
receive rotation for a like purpose from carrier pinions 27, 27. The bottom
cutter is driven by a strap 28, passing from a pulley 29 to another 30, thus
actuating a shaft 31, which causes the cutters L to revolve by means of a
strap 32. The shaft 31 turns in bearings mounted within a bracket 33,
which bracket is suspended from the table h, and therefore moves with it, and
also with the spindle of the cutters. The side cutters J, K, receive their
motion from separate straps, and move, as before described, with the table.
In the foregoing description I have pointed out a certain arrangement of
machinery by which my Invention may be carried into practical operation. I
do not, however, confine myself thereto, as the points of novelty admit of
other methods of application, which will be apparent to all competent persons
particularly; I would observe that instead of causing the table to move, so as to
bring the upper surface of the wood parallel to the axis of the top cutters, the
spindle of those instruments may be mounted in guides, so as to be capable of
being moved from the horizontal line, thus accomplishing the same object, and
which variation I have before alluded to in reference to Figs. 1, 2. I would
also observe that it does not of necessity follow that the upper surface of the
wood to be cut and the spindle of the cutters should be brought parallel to each
other, for an approximation thereto may sometimes answer, or be preferable.
I have also described the machine as cutting mouldings upon wedge-
formed strips of wood, but strips of a rectangular form may of course in like
manner be operated upon, and in such cases it may at times be desirable to
raise one side thereof, so as to be nearer to the axis of the cutters than the
other side, in order that a greater depth may be removed by cutters of similar
lengths.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that I claim
as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent,-