IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING WOOD INTO SHREDS OR SHAVINGS TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Robinson, of Rochdale, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and John Smith, of the same Place, Engineer,
for the Invention" of " IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
CUTTING WOOD INTO SHREDS OR SHAVINGS TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
PAPER."
Lancaster, Engineer, and John Smith, of the same Place, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
CUTTING WOOD INTO SHREDS OR SHAVINGS TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
PAPER."
Sealed the 17th February 1871, and dated the 23rd August 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Robinson and
John Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 23rd August 1870.
We, JOHN ROBINSON, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, and JOHN SMITH, of the same Place, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR CUTTING WOOD INTO SHREDS OR SHAVINGS TO BE USED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER," to be as follows:-

page_text: and reduced into fine shreds or shavings suitable for the manufacture of
paper.
The rotary cutters we employ are provided with two sets of tools, the
one having serrated edges or being otherwise formed to lance the timber
transversely, and these are followed by knife-edged tools placed at an
angle, and which slice off the timber up to the aforesaid transverse cut.
In employing the cutter blocks so formed we cause them to advance
transversely upon the timber operating upon two sides thereof, but they
are so adapted in their bearings that the periphery of one cutter block
overlaps that of the other, whereby the whole thickness of timber
may be severed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Robinson and John Smith in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 23rd February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
ROBINSON, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, and JOHN
SMITH, of the same Place, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said John Robinson and John Smith, Her
special licence that we, the said John Robinson and John Smith,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
John Robinson and John Smith, our 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR REDUCING TIMBER INTO SHAVINGS OR SHREDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
PAPER," upon the condition, amongst others) that we, the said John
Robinson and John Smith, by an instrument in writing under our
hands and scals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 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 John Robinson, do hereby declare.
the nature of our 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 accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
Our Invention relates to rotatory cutters and the method of applying
them, whereby successively fed lengths of timber may be cut entirely
through and reduced into fine shreds or shavings suitable for the
manufacture of paper.
We will in the first place describe the arrangement of cutters we
employ, and explain their mode of action upon the timber, and sub-
sequently an arrangement of machinery to which they may be adapted.
Figs. 1, 2, represent one of these cutters. At 1 is a block of, metal
formed with faces 2, and upon these are mounted, blades 3 somewhat
similar to plane irons; they are provided with slots 4 through which set
screws 5 pass and by which they are attached to the block 1. The
cutting edges are formed at an angle so as to provide them with an
advanced point 6, and beneath the cutting edges are hollowed out
parts 7.
Across the block 1 is a dovetail groove 8, within which are
placed instruments 9 secured in any required position by set screws 10
passing through slots 11 and into the block 1, which slots are of a
dovetail form with the wider portion outward, and the heads of the set
screws are of a similar form, whereby the whole of the parts are brought
flush with the face of the block 1. The outward ends of the instru-
ments 9 are formed with fine saw teeth 12, which are bent a trifle
outward from the face of the block so as to be in a line with the points
16 of the cutters 3, which cutters at those points project a trifle beyond
the face of the block, the object of which will be hereafter explained:
The cutter block thus arranged is provided with an axis 17..
I will now by aid of the Diagrams Figs. 3, 4, 5, describe the effect
intended to be produced and the method of accomplishing it.
The timber to be reduced into shreds or shavings may be in any form,.
but I will suppose it to be an ordinary plank, and it is required to effect
the reduction transversely in successive lengths, as divided by the
lines 13 in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is an edge view of this plank, and the dotted;.

page_text: line 15 represents the central line thereof. At 3, 3*, are circles which
are supposed to indicate the paths through which the blades of two
cutter blocks like those in Fig. 1 move, and it will be seen that one of
these circles projects below the centre line 15 and the other above it.
Suppose these cutters as they revolve are carried bodily forward against
the plank of timber, the one set will operate against the upper and
the other against the under part thereof, but as the one overhangs the
other each set is capable of removing rather more than one half, and it
therefore follows that we are able to secure the reduction of the whole of
the timber. The Diagram Fig. 5, shews a section of the timber partly
cut away, and during this operation the instruments 12 which project
slightly beyond the edges of the cutters nick or lance the cross section
of the timber and enable the shavings to be taken of in clean definite
widths.
:
It has been described in reference to Fig. 1, 2, that the cutters 3
are formed with angular ends, the whole breadth of the said cutters
therefore does not come into operation at once but the points 6 first
commence the cut, successive points gradually following, and in order to
compensate for this angle and bring the line of cut square the blocks 1
are formed with angular faces for the attachment of the blades, as seen
at Fig. 2.
It has been mentioned that the blades 3 project a trifle beyond the
faces of the blocks, as at 16, and that the instruments 12 are bent
outward so as to coincide with that line; the object of this is simply to
effect a little clearance for the cutter block as it passes the edge of the
timber.
Having thus explained the construction and operation of those parts
which include the points of our Invention I will proceed to describe an
arrangement of machinery by which the several necessary motions may
be imparted.
Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the machine; Fig. 7, an end view; and
Fig. 8 a plan. The main frame is shewn at 20, formed with dovetails,
upon which is a sliding pedestal 21, upon which there is a block 22
supporting two axes, on which there are pullies 23, and also the two
cutter blocks described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and upon which there
are the same numbers of reference, and these pullies and cutters are
caused to revolve rapidly by a strap 24 driven from any convenient
arrangement, which will allow the said axes to travel to and fro. At 25,

page_text: many
26, 27, are fast and loose pullies for imparting motion in one direction or
the other to the wheel 28, driven by pinions 29, 30, as is well known in
machines in which a reversing motion is required. Upon the axis
of the wheel 28 is a screw 31 passing through a nut carried by the
pedestal 21, and at 32 is another screw taking into a nut in the sliding
part 22, and the cutter blocks may therefore be adjusted vertically. At
34 is a rod extending across the machine and passing through a collar 35
which projects from the sliding carriage 21, and upon this rod are two
coiled springs 36, 36*, bearing against fixed collars 37, 37*. The rod 34
also carries a lever 38 projecting from an axis 39, one end of which
carries a tumbler weight 40 and the other a pinion 41 in gear with a
wheel 42, which is attached to a shaft 43. On the other end of this
shaft is a lever 44 provided with a slot, within which is a pin projecting
from a boss 45 fast upon a rod 46, and this boss carries the strap fork 47
for shifting the strap on to the one or the other of the pullies 25, 27.
The timber to be reduced into shreds or shavings is shewn at 48, placeḍ
upon the framing and pressed against a fence 49 by a spring 50. Above
the timber is a roller 51, weighted by means of a lever 52, and beneath it
is a notched roller 53, mounted upon a shaft 54; upon this shaft are
mounted loosely two levers 60, 61, to which are jointed clamps 57, 58,
situate within the groove of a roller 59. To the levers 60, 61, are con-
nected rods 55, 56, which at their other ends are joined to an arm 62
extending from a shaft 63, which carries bevil pinions 64, 64*, taking
into other pinions 65, 65*, upon longitudinal shafts 66, 66*, and upon
these are projecting arms 67, 67*, against which alternately there arrives
a stud 68 projecting from the frame 21.
The operation is as follows:-According to the positions of the parts.
shewn the driving strap is on the pulley 25 and the cutter blocks have
severed a length of timber as above described, the said cutters being clear
thereof. A slight further motion of the frame 21 will bring the stop 68
against the arm 67, and its action thereon will cause a partial turning of
the shaft 66, and thus by communicating motion to the shaft 63 will
cause the clamp 57 to bite upon the grooved pulley 59 and effect a
rotation thereof, and as the timber is pressed upon the notched wheel 53
the said timber will be caused to advance a certain distance and thus
effect a delivering of another length for the action of the cutters, the
arrangement.being. similar to that now in use as feed motions of sawing
machines. While the timber has thus been fed the collar 35, advancing

page_text: with the frame 21 has compressed the spring 36, and by drawing with it
the rod 34 has raised the tumbler weight 40 to a vertical position, after
which the spring 36 suddenly turns it over and partial rotatory motion is
communicated to the pinion 41, and consequently to the shaft 43. By
these means the slotted lever 44 is caused to turn, and by acting against
the pin it encloses causes a sliding of the rod 46 whereby the strap will
be shifted on to the pulley 27, and by these means the rotation of the
screw 31 will be reversed, and the cutters will now be caused to travel
back and reduce the timber which has just been fed. When this
lias been accomplished the stop 68 arrives in contact with the arm 67*
and gives motion to the feed apparatus through the shaft 66*, the
said feed being effected this time by means of the clamp 58. This
secondly described cut having been effected the collar 35 compresses the
spring 36* and turns over the tumbler weight 40 back into the position
shewn, whereby the driving strap is again placed on the pulley 25,
and so on until the plank is reduced.
As the cutting in the machine above described is effected in both
directions it will be obvious that the leading cutter block is at the top in
one case and at the bottom in the other.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that we claim as secured to us under the above in part
recited Letters Patent and as applied to cutting timber into shreds or
shavings for the paper manufacturer,—
Firstly. The combined use of the cutters 3 and lancing instruments 9.5
Secondly. Disposing the cutter blocks so that the periphery of one
overhangs that of the other, as described in reference to the Diagram
Fig. 4.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Robinson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.