AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING MATCH SPLINTS, TOOTHPICKS, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jonathan Clark Brown, of the City of Brooklyn,
County of Kings and State of New York, United States of America, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING MATCH
SPLINTS, TOOTHPICKS, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES.
Sealed the 4th July 1865, and dated the 10th January 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jonathan Clark Brown
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th January 1865.
I, JONATHAN CLARK BROWN, of the City of Brooklyn, County of Kings and
State of New York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING MATCH
SPLINTS, TOOTHPICKS, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in a series of knives fixed into the surface of a
cylinder, and arranged in combination with a mechanical contrivance for
revolving a block of wood, against which the said knives or cutters are pressed
with sufficient force to cut the surface of the said revolving block into narrow
splints, and combining therewith a knife or cutter to shave the splints from
the surface of the block. On a bed plate supported upon legs there is a

page_text: cylinder with knives or cutters fixed in its surface. The said cylinder is
supported so as to revolve freely in bearings resting upon or forming part of
a slide which is moved to or from the centre of the machine by means of a
I also employ a cutter or knife fixed to another slide which moves
to and from the centre of the machine by means of a screw in the same
manner as the cutting cylinder before described. On a main shaft supported
in bearings and driven by. means of a pulley there are toothed wheels communi-
cating by gearing to the screws, and on the main shaft I place a round block
of wood, the grain of the wood running nearly parallel with the cutters, the
said block is held firmly and made to revolve with the shaft by dogs or teeth
formed for this purpose. The cutters on the cylinder are forced against the
block of wood so that the cutters will enter the block to the proper depth,
and then the pulley and shaft are put in motion so as to cause the block to
revolve and with it the cutters, each successive knife or cutter gashing the
surface of the block; after being thus cut the knife is brought in contact
with the revolving block, and shaves the splints from the block. As the
block continues to revolve the cutters and knife are forced up by the screws
gashing and shaving from the surface until the block is nearly cut up. In
cutting match splints the cutters should all be parallel, but for cutting tooth-
picks it is better to arrange them diagonally, so as to form the picks nearly
sharp at one end; to further improve the point I arrange a cutter at each
end of the block, which will shave off each corner before the splints are cut
from the block so that when they are cut from the block the two ends will
be bevelled.
It will be found advantageous to steam the wood before placing it in the
machine, and afterwards drying the splints.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Jonathan Clark Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th July 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JONATHAN
CLARK BROWN, of the City of Brooklyn, County of Kings, and State of New
York, United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eight year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her beirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said.

page_text: Jonathan Clark Brown, Her special licence that I, the said Jonathan Clark
Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Jonathan Clark Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
MACHINES FOR CUTTING MATCH SPLINTS, TOOTHPICKS, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jonathan Clark Brown,
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 per-
formed, 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 Jonathan Clark Brown, 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 (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in a series of knives fixed into the surface of a
cylinder, and arranged in combination with a mechanical contrivance for.
revolving a block of wood, against which the said knives or cutters are pressed
with sufficient force to cut the surface of the said revolving block into narrow
splints, and combining therewith a knife or cutter to shave the splints from
the surface of the block.
To enable others to construct and use my machine I will proceed to fully
describe the same as illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Fig. 1 represents a top, and Fig. 2 an end view of the machine, and Fig. 3 a
section of the cutter cylinder; Fig. 4 represents the arrangement of cutters for
cutting toothpicks; and Fig. 5 an edge view of a toothpick to illustrate the manner
of forming the points. A is the bed plate supported upon legs B, B; C is the
cutter cylinder with knives or cutters fixed in its surface, as seen in Figs. 1and 3.
The said cylinder is supported so as to revolve freely in bearings D, D, which
said bearings rest upon or are made a part of the slide E, which is moved to or
from the centre of the machine by means of a screw G. a is a cutter or shear
fixed to and moving with a slide H in guides I, I, to or from the centre in like
manner as the cutter cylinder before described, and by means of a screw K.
Lisa mandril supported so as to revolve freely in bearings M, M, and driven by
power being applied to the pulley N fixed thereon; from the pinion cupon the

page_text: said mandril power is carried by requisite gearing, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2,
to cause the screws G and K to operate the slides E, H, as before described.
P is a similar mandril supported so as to revolve freely in bearings R, R.
Between the two mandrils L and PI place a round block of wood S, the grain
of the wood running nearly parallel with the cutters; the said block S is held
firmly and made to revolve with the mandrils by dogs or teeth formed on the
end of the mandrils for the purpose. The cutters on the cylinder C are forced
against the block-of-wood S so that the cutters will enter the block to the
proper depth, and then apply.power to the pulley N so as to cause the block to
revolve in the direction denoted by an arrow; the cutters also revolve, each
successive knife or cutter gashing the surface of the block; after being thus
cut the revolving block comes in contact with the knife a which shaves the
splints from the block. As the block continues to revolve, the cutters are
forced up as before described, gashing and shaving from the surface until the
block is nearly cut up. In cutting match splints the cutters should all be
parallel, as in Fig. 1, but for cutting toothpicks it is better to arrange them
as in Fig. 4, so as to form the picks nearly sharp at one end, and to further
improve the point I arrange a cutter at each end of the block, which will shave
off each corner before the splints are cut from the block, so that when they
are cut from it the two ends will be bevelled, as seen in Fig. 5. It will be
found advantageous to steam the wood before placing it in the machine, and
afterwards dry the splints.
Having thus fully described my Invention, what I claim as new and useful,
and desire to secure by Letters Patent is, the revolving cutter cylinder and
fixed cutter combined and arranged to operate substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jonathan Clark Brown, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JUNATHAN CLARK BROWN. (L.B.)