IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS for CUTTING HOLES IN METAL PLATES."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Smiles, of Stockton on Tees, in the
County of Durham, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS for
CUTTING HOLES IN METAL PLATES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Smiles at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd September 1881.
JOHN HENRY SMILES, of Stockton on Tees, in the County of Durham.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING HOLES IN METAL PLATES."
My Invention relates to a machine for cutting holes of large dimensions, such as
manholes, mudholes, or other similar openings, whether circular or oval, with or
without taper, through plates of iron, such as aro used in the construction of boilers,
ships, or for similar purposes, the object of my Invention being to provide a better
means of cutting these holes in an easy and expeditious manner.
In carrying out my Invention the machine is constructed in the following
manner
A spindle is secured by nut and shoulder to the plate to be operated upon, a hole
being first made in the plate to admit the spindle, which is prevented from turning
round by a key on the underside of shoulder fitted into a recess made in the plate;
to the upper part of this spindle is secured an arm in which is fixed a smaller
spindle, round which revolves a fly wheel turned by a handle and having fixed
beneath it and turning round the same spindle a pinion, which pinion is geared
into a spur wheel fixed to a spindle, also passing through the arm, having another
pinion fixed to it underneath the arm and geared into a large spur wheel which
revolves round the spindle which is attached to the plate and supports the arm;
this large spur wheel carries round with it a pinion which is at the same time
compelled to revolve on its own axis by being geared into a stationary spur wheel
concentric with the large spur wheel, and held in position by bolts passing
through the arm; these bolts are tee headed, and fit into a tee shaped groove in
the stationary spur wheel, which can accordingly be fixed so as to adjust the

page_text: greater diameter of the oval to any required direction. Two slide bars are fixed
in the axle box and external bracket of the large spur wheel, which carry the
slide rest, to which an apparatus is attached containing the knife box, provision
being made to move this apparatus backwards or forwards along the slide rest by
means of a slot and fasteners so as to adjust to the required size the diameter of
the oval or circular plate to be cut out. The pinion which is carried round on the
large spur wheel, and at the same time revolves on its own axis, acts upon the slide
rest by means of an internal bolt which may be placed concentric or excentric in a
slot hole, to the lower end of which bolt is attached a connecting bar which is also
attached to the slide rest; by this means the path of the knife may be either a
circle or an oval of any desired eccentricity within the limits allowed by the
machine. In order to avoid the side thrust upon the knife arising from a deviation
of its path from the circle, when used for cutting oval boles, a trail knife may be
used, the arrangement being after the principle of a castor; the knife in this case is
inserted in a knife box attached to a bolt, forming a continuous hinge with the
apparatus in which it is confined, and which is secured to the slide rest; the knife
is supported and vertically adjusted by a tap bolt which is screwed up or down as
required by a nut, which is turned by hand or by the usual self acting motion.
The machine is portable and may be fixed to plates in any position, and within
certain limits will act upon convex or concave surfaces with almost as much facility
as upon a flat surface; but as the plate which is being cut out also supports the
machine, and in the case of concave and convex surfaces will be cut through at
some places before others, cottar bolts are applied through the openings to support
the machine during the completion of the process..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Henry Smiles in the Great Seal Patont Office on the
22nd March 1882.
JOHN HENRY SMILES, of Stockton on Tees, in the County of Durham.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CUTTING HOLES IN METAL PLATES."
This Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for cutting holes in inetal
plates, such for example as man holes, mud holes, or other similar openings,
whether circular or oval, and with or without tapering sides or edges, such
apparatus being especially useful in the construction of boilers, ships, or for similar
purposes where large holes have to be made in iron plates, the object of my
Invention being to provide a means of cutting these holes in a more easy and
expeditious manner than has hitherto been the case.
În carrying out my Invention the machine is constructed in the following
manner:
A spindle is secured by nut and shoulder or otherwise to the plate to be operated
upon at the centre of the part to be cut out, a hole being first inade in the plate to
fix the spindle, which, when in place, is prevented from turning round by means of
a key on the underside of the shoulder fitted into a recess made in the plate. To
the upper part of this spindle is secured an arm in which is fixed a smaller spindle
round which revolves a fly wheel or arm turned by a handle and having fixed
beneath it and turning round the same spindle a pinion, which pinion gears into a
spur wheel fixed to a spindle, also passing through the arın having another pinion
fixed to it. Underneath the arm and genred into a large spur wheel which revolves
round the central spindle which is attached to the plate and supports the arm, this
large spur wheel carries round with it a pinion which at each revolution is
compelled to revolve twice on its own axis by being geared into a stationary spur
wheel concentric with the large spur wheel and held in position by bolts passing
through the arm. These bolts are T headed and fit into a T shaped groove in the
stationary spur wheel which can accordingly be fixed so as to adjust the greater
diameter of the oval to any required direction. Two slide bars pass through lugs
on the axle box and external brackets of the large spur wheel, and carry an
apparatus containing the knife box and a cross head, the cross head being secured
to the bars in one position and causing them to slide as it is itself moved, the knife
box being secured to the sliding bars by set screws, but is adjustable in position to
suit the required diameter of the circle or oval to be cut out. The pinion which is
carried round on the large spur wheel and at the same time revolves twice on its
own axis, acts upon the slide bars by means of a spindle placed within it, the
lower end of which may be eccentric or concentric with the pinion and is attached
by a connecting rod to the cross head which moves backwards and forwards a
distance equal to the throw of the eccentric. Or if tho spindle is set concentric
with the pinion the cross head remains stationary, whereby the knife will travel in
circular paths of various diameters, or through paths or various degrees of
eccentricity. In order to avoid the side thrust upon the knife arising from a
deviation of its path from the circle when used for cutting oval holes to the cross
head to which the slide bars are secured and moving backwards and forwards with
it, is attached a bell crank lever, one end of which provided with a slot and pin,
and turns the knife to face its path at every point of its travel. The machine
may be modified in construction as hereinafter described. The knife may be made
to trail, as also bereinafter described, in place of being turned by the mechanism
described to face its path in cutting ovals.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the annexed Sheets of Drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.

page_text: Figure 1 represents in plan, and Figure 2 in vertical section taken on the
line 1, 1, Figure 1, a machine or apparatus constructed according to my Invention;
Figure 3 shows the said machine in plan on line 3, 3, Figure 2, that is to say,
with some of the upper parts removed; and Figure 4 represents a sectional view
thereof taken on the line 4, 4, Figure 3, also with some of the parts omitted;
Figure 5 shows a plan of the large spur wheel with a modified construction of the
machine as hereinafter described, to cut circular holes only with taper if required,
or to give a horizontal cutting feed; Figure 6 is a sectional view of same taken
on the line 5, 5, Figure 5, but also showing how the machine can be connected
with a bracket sliding upon a fixed bar and driven by power.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4, a central spindle A is supported on the plate to be
cut out by a shoulder, on the underside of which is a projection B which fits a
recess cut in the plate, so that the said spindle is prevented from turning round
whilst the machine is in operation. Passing through the centre of this spindle A
is a bolt C, the T head of which is inserted through a hole made in the plate at
the centre of the hole to be cut which secures the spindle to the plate, a provision
being made for the unequal contact of curved or irregular surfaces by studs
screwed through the shoulder of the spindle. To the upper end of the spindle A
is secured the arm D, into which is fixed a spindle J2, round which revolves the
pinion F and fly wheel or arm G, to which the pinion F is secured or on which it
is formed. By the handle H the said fly wheel or arm G is turned with the
pinion F, which gears with and drives the spur wheel I connected to the spindle J,
turning in the end of the arm D, to which spindle is also keyed the pinion K.
In order to give the spindle J a support below the pinion K, the end of the arm D
is constructed so as to shroud the pinion K, which is slipped in from the underside
and then plugged up or secured in position by the filling piece k. The pinion K
gears into the large spur wheel L and causes it to revolve round the central
spindle A, carrying round with it the knife box M, cross head N, and pinion O.
In the centre of the large spur wheel L is placed the smaller pinion P, which is
secured to the arm D, but is capable of being adjusted to any position by means of
Theaded bolts and T shaped grooves, as shewn in Figure 2. This pinion P gears
into the pinion O, which is thus compelled to revolve twice on its own axis as it
travels once round with the large spur wheel L, and from the revolution of this
pinion the eccentricity of the path of the knife m is obtained in the following
manner: A cylindrical boss in the under side of the pinion O revolves in the
socket 7, forming part of the large spur wheel L, and is provided with an internal
tapered spindle Q placed eccentrically in the said boss, but having at its bottom
a pin R, also placed eccentrically with respect to the spindle in such a manner that
the eccentricity of the one can be made to neutralize that of the other when the
knife is required to cut a circle, whilst the exactly opposite position of the spindle
gives the greatest eccentricity to the path of the knife. On the pin R of this
spindle is a connecting rod S, which is secured to the gudgeon passing through the
cross head N, and forming with the lever n at the top of the said crosshead a bell
crank, and consequently the said cross head performs a reciprocating motion to an
extent due to the amount of eccentricity to which the spindle Qis set in the
pinion O. The said cross head carries the slide bars n' with it, and therefore the
knifebox M, which is secured to the said slide bars n² at any required position.
In order to provide against the side thrust upon the knife caused by its deviation
from the circular path, I attach to the bell crank lever passing through the cross
head a connecting rod n³, shown in plan in Figures 1 and 3, which is provided at
the other end with a slot and pin to connect it to the arm or lever m² of the knife
box, so as to be adjustable to ovals of different dinmeters, the arm of the knife box
being secured to the pin by a nut and washer. The knife box is by this means
turned so as to cause the knife to face its work at every point of its travel. It
will be understood that the amount of oscillation required by the knife box will
depend upon the form of knife used, which can readily be found by experiment,
and for this the arms of the bell-crank must be. adjusted, which I do by providing

page_text: a slot in the arm n above the cross head, as shewn in Figure 1, to adjust the
position of the connecting rod to any required oscillation of the knife box. The
feed of the knife is effected by a star wheel T working a spindle t, which is screwed
into the knife, the feed being adjusted by the number of the teeth in the star wheel,
which turns part of a revolution each time it passes the feed pin U fixed in a slot at
the tail of the arm D. Figure 5 is a plan of a modification of tho hereinbefore
described machine for cutting circular holes only, and when necessary with taper,
which I do by furnishing the large spur wheel L with an arm with two slots 1³, 13,
ono wider than the other, through which are passed the pins m², m², socuring the
knife box, the diameter of the pins being the game and equal to the width of the
smaller slot, so that the play of the pin in the larger slot allows the knife to be
canted so as to cut a taper hole.
In cases where a horizontal cutting feed is required (for example, in cutting the
flange of a boiler end) I provide a tool, as shown at p in Figures 5 and 6, attached
to a slide rest p³, and fed by a star wheel 9 working a spindle with a worm q³
working into the worm wheel 2, through which is screwed a spindle a carrying
the slide rest p backwards and forwards as required. This cutter may be tilted
by arranging its carrier as described with regard to the cutter m to make tapor
cuts. Figure 6 also shows how the machino may be attached to a bracket & sliding
upon fixed bars u and driven by power applied to the pulley at v. It will be
understood that a machine may be constructed according to my Invention to effect
only one purpose, that is, one machine for cutting round holes only, and another
oval holes of only one eccentricity, and another for applying the horizontal feet
shown in Figures 5 and 6. Or the same inachine may be constructed to serve for
more than one or for all of the above mentioned operations. In cases where the
hole is to be cut out of a curved plate the plate will be cut through sooner in some
parts than others, in which case cottar bolts may be inserted into the openings to
support the plate during the remainder of the operations. If the knife be set
with its cutting point behind the centre line of the tool holder or radial line of the
apparatus, it will act as a trail knife, and the guiding mechanism, consisting of the
lever and connecting rod can be dispensed with; but this trailing knife will not
act so well when a partly cut hole has to be increased or decreased, so that the
groove is greater than the width of the knife. The position of the cross head N
shown is for cutting full ovals, such as that shown by the line x in Figure 7, where
sharper or more abrupt ovals, such as that shewn at y, are to be cut; the said cross-
head will be placed on the opposite side of the spindle Q.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
The apparatus for cutting circular or elliptical holes, or both (taper or not), in
metal plates, the said apparatus being provided with a spindle attachable to or
connectable directly with the plate at the part to be cut out, the said spindle or
upright forming the working centre of the machine and supporting or steadying
the apparatus, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
In witness whereof, 1, the said John Henry Smiles, have to this my Specifica-
tion set my hand and seal this Twenty-second day of March. One thousand
JOHN HENRY SMILES. (L.S.)