IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, SHAPING, AND GRINDING IRON AND OTHER METALS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Thompson, of the City of Manchester,
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
CUTTING, SHAPING, AND GRINDING IRON AND OTHER METALS."
Sealed the 9th December 1864, and dated the 21st June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st June 1864.
I, JOHN THOMPSON, of the City of Manchester, Machinist, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CUTTING, SHAPING, AND GRINDING IRON AND OTHER METALS," to be as
follows:-
The first part of my Invention relates to machinery for cutting, shaping,
and grinding bolt heads and other articles of a circular or cylindrical form.
It has heretofore been customary to turn such articles in a lathe; now my
Invention consists in the following combinations of parts for effecting these
operations:-The bolts or other articles are fixed in spindles revolving in bearings
attached to a chuck or face plate; the spindles are turned round by a wheel
which is eccentric to the axis of the chuck or face plate gearing into pinions
on the spindles. Beyond the circumference of the face plate are a series of con-
solidated emery rollers or other grinding surfaces and a pair of cutters. As the
face plate rotates, the bolt heads or other articles are presented in succession to

page_text: the cutters which reduce their edges to the proper diameter, and to the grinders,
the shape of which must be made to suit the article to be operated upon.
When the bolts or other articles have passed beyond the last grinding surface
the pinions on the spindles are out of gear with the eccentric wheel, and the
attendant then removes the finished bolts or other articles and replaces them
with others to be operated upon. The mode of driving the spindles may be
varied by mounting two or more bevel wheels on studs revolving in the face of
the chuck, to which studs are fixed other wheels which come into gear with
the eccentric wheel. A modification of this part of my Invention consists in
fixing the bolts or other articles in spindles passing through the face of
the chuck, and in causing the spindles to revolve by a centre spur.wheel
gearing into pinions on the spindles. The grinding surface is concentric to
the chuck, and in revolving acts on the bolt heads or other articles to be
operated upon as they are presented to it.
The second part of my Invention is particularly applicable for making true
and polishing the circumference of toothed wheels, but it may be applied for
making true and surfacing other wheels, pulleys, and other articles. When
only the circumference of the wheel or pulley is to be operated upon, a single
revolving grinder is employed; the wheels or pulleys are mounted on spindles
passing through a chuck which is turned round by the attendant until the
wheel or pulley comes into or nearly into contact with the grinding surface;
the spindle is then turned round on its axis by a wheel and pinion, and the
chuck is moved very slowly forward by a catch and ratchet wheel or other
equivalent until the wheel or pulley has passed beyond contact with the
grinder; another wheel or pulley is now brought forward in the same way,
and while this is being operated upon the attendant has time to remove the
finished wheel or pulley and replace it with one in the rough. To prevent
the grinder wearing away irregularly, the usual lateral motion for that purpose
is given to it. When the edges or face of the wheel or pulley have to be
operated upon I employ one or more grinding surfaces acting on one or both
sides of the wheel or pulley, either at the same time or before or after the
circumference has been operated upon; these side grinders are made to
revolve rapidly by suitable gearing, and they are capable of lateral and vertical
adjustment by set screws or other equivalents. I am aware that in "topping'
toothed wheels in a lathe it has in some cases been customary to apply a block
of sandstone to the teeth, and that spindles and other articles have been
partly shaped by applying them to a revolving grindstone.
I wish to remark that the above details are capable of being considerably
modified, and that in grinding wheels, pulleys, and other articles they may be

page_text: connected to a lever instead of to the chuck described, also that the chuck
described instead of moving intermittently may have a constant rotary motion
given to it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
THOMPSON, of the City of Manchester, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Thompson, Her special license that I, the said
John Thompson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Thompson, 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 MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, SHAPING, AND GRINDING IRON AND
OTHER METALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Thompson, 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 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 Thompson, 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 of certain improved combinations of machinery for
cutting, shaping, and grinding bolt beads and other articles of a circular or
cylindrical form, and of certain improved combinations of machinery for making
true, polishing, and surfacing toothed wheels, pulleys, and other articles.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried

page_text: into operation, I will proceed to describe the two accompanying Sheets of
Drawings, in which I have shewn two modes of giving motion to the articles
being operated upon, one of which is continuous and the other intermittent.
On Sheet 1, Figure 1, is an end elevation, and Figure 2 a side view, of a
machine for cutting, shaping, and grinding bolt heads and other articles to
which a continuous motion is given.
A, A, are the bolts or other articles, the heads of which have to be ground
and shaped. The shanks of these bolts are let into the spindles B, which
revolve in bushes or bearings cast or fixed to the upper plate C of the chuck
or face plate composed of the plates C and C¹, connected by the studs C³.
The lower plate of the chuck is fixed to the hollow spindle D, which is turned
slowly round by the worm E gearing into the wheel D¹ fixed to the hollow
spindle; the worm E is fixed on a cross shaft which is driven by a mitre
pinion on the side shaft F; or the slow motion may be given to the chuck in
any other convenient manner. The side shaft F is driven by a wheel and
pinion from the main driving shaft, as clearly shewn in the Drawing. The
bolts to be operated upon are caused to rotate rapidly by the centre wheel
G, which is fixed to the solid spindle G³ working within the hollow spindle
D; to the lower end of the spindle G¹ is fixed the bevel pinion G2, which is
driven by the pinion H fixed on the lower side shaft H', which derives its
motion by a pair of spur pinions from the end shaft H³, which, as before
described, is driven by a wheel and pinion from the main driving shaft. The
spindle D is supported in the bed plate I, to which are fixed the angle
brackets J; to these brackets are connected the swivel compound slide rests
K, supporting the spindles L of the consolidated emery rollers or other grind-
ing or cutting surfaces M, the shape of which on the circumference, and the
angle to which they are set, must correspond to the shape of the article to be
operated upon. Beyond the circumference of the face plate or chuck C is
the spindle N of the grinding roller or cutter O, which revolves horizontally
and acts on the circumference of the bolt heads or other articles under opera-
tion to reduce them to their proper diameter. The socket in which the spindle
N revolves is adjustable on the bed plate I, and the spindles L and N are
turned round by bands passing around grooved pulleys, the said bands being
guided by carrier pulleys from driving pulleys on a countershaft. As the
chuck or face plate rotates slowly, the bolt heads or other articles are presented
in succession to the cutter or grinding surface O which reduces their edges
to the proper diameter, and to the grinders M, by which they are rounded off
or otherwise shaped. The compound slide rests may be made to oscillate on
their centres to vary the angle of the grinding surface, and to produce a

page_text: rounded head on the bolt or other article with a flat grinding surface; the
oscillation may be effected by means of a cam or eccentric on the side shaft H¹
and a link connected to the circular plate of the rest, or in any other con-
venient manner. As the chuck or face plate C rotates slowly, the attendant has
time to remove the finished bolts or other articles, and replace them by others
as it goes round.
On Sheet 2, Figure 3 is an elevation, and Figure 4 a plan of my improved
combination of machinery for making true and polishing the circumference of
toothed wheels. In this arrangement the articles to be operated upon have
an intermittent motion imparted to them. a is a consolidated emery roller
or other grinding surface, supported in the standards b; the plate to which the
standards are fixed or cast fits in ✓ grooves in the bed c, and it is moved
laterally to prevent the irregular wearing of the grinder by the worm d on the
side shaft d', gearing into the wheel e, in which is an adjustable stud e¹ for
actuating the link e³, the other end of which fits on a stud fixed to the
standards. The wheels to be operated upon, marked f, are secured by set screws
or otherwise to the spindles f¹, revolving in the chuck 9, which is fixed to the
spindle g', supported in the headstock h; this headstock is supported by the bed c,
and it is capable of being moved to and fro upon it by means of the screw h¹ and
a nut. To the side shaft d¹ is also connected, by means of a key and groove,
the mitre wheel d, the boss of which revolves in a bearing forming part of
the headstock h; this wheel de geers into a similar wheel h³ fixed on an upright
shaft in the headstock; at the upper end of this shaft is fixed the mitre
wheel h³, gearing into a similar wheel fixed on the horizontal shaft i, revolving
in the headstock h; to the projecting end of this shaft is fixed a spur pinion,
which geers into the pinion ¹ mounted on a bush projecting from the head-
stock h, and eccentric to the centre of the spindle g¹; the pinion gears
alternately into all the pinions f* fixed to the spindles f¹; by this means the
spindles f¹, and the wheels to be made true and polished, are made to revolve
rapidly on their axes, but a slow rotary motion is given to the chuck g so long
as the wheel to be operated upon remains in contact with the grinder, by
means of the eccentric d³ at the end of the side shaft d, the link j, the catch
¹, the ratchet wheel ³, and the worm ³ geering into the pinion g³ fixed to the
spindle g¹. As soon as one wheel has been made true and polished on its
circumference a more rapid motion is given to the chuck in order to bring
another in contact with the grinder, by the attendant turning the worm by
a handle applied to the square end of the shaft of the worm. As the chuck
is being turned partly round by the attendant, the pinion f*, now shown in
geer with the eccentric pinion ³, gradually passes out of geer with the said

page_text: pinion, and the pinions above the centre of the chuck in descending comes
into geer with the said eccentric pinion ¹; in this manner all the pinions f
are driven in succession by the pinion . During the slow motion of the
chuck imparted by the catch and ratchet wheel above described, the attendant
removes the wheels that have been operated upon and replaces them with
others in the rough. The side shaft d' and parts connected therewith are put
in motion by the driving shaft k, as clearly shewn in the Drawing, and the
grinder is driven direct by a strap from a countershaft or in any other
convenient manner.
The machinery above described is only capable of operating upon the
circumference of wheels and pulleys, but when the edges or face of the wheel
or pulley have to be operated upon I employ one or more grinding surfaces
acting on one or both sides of the wheel or pulley, either at the same time or
before or after the circumference has been operated upon. These side grinders
are made to revolve rapidly by suitable gearing, and they are capable of
lateral and vertical adjustment by set screws or other equivalents.
I wish to remark that the above details are capable of being considerably
modified, and that the wheels, pulleys, and other articles to be operated upon
may be connected to a lever, as shewn in Figure 5, instead of the chuck
described in Figures 3 and 4.
In Figure 5, a represents the grinder; f, the pulley or other article to be
made true on the circumference; f¹, the spindle to which the pulley f is secured
by set screw or otherwise. The spindle revolves in a bush or cannon at
the end of the horizontal arm of the elbow lever a, which is moved to and fro
on the fulcrum stud x by the attendant; the stud a¹ is fixed in the bracket y,
to which is also fixed the stud y¹ for the driving wheel *, gearing into the
wheelf fixed to the spindle f¹; by this arrangement the circumference of
the pulley is brought in contact with the grinder, and when sufficiently
ground it is removed from the spindle f¹, and another put in its place. I am
aware that in "topping" toothed wheels in a lathe it has in some cases been
customary to apply a block of sandstone to the teeth, and that spindles and
other articles have been partly shaped by applying them to a revolving grind-
stone, in which mode the centres of the grinder and of the article being
operated on have been brought nearer to each other, either by moving the
one towards the other, or by moving each towards the other; but in my
arrangement the centres remain at the same distance from each other, while
the article being operated on is brought in contact with the grinder, and
remains in contact with it during the operation, after which the article passes
beyond the grinder.

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim, the general combinations and
arrangements of machinery, as shewn in the accompanying Drawings, for
cutting, shaping, and grinding bolt heads, toothed wheels, and other articles
by means of cutters and grinding surfaces, or grinding surfaces without cutters,
the articles to be operated upon being brought against and passed beyond
contact with the grinder or cutter by an intermittent or continuous rotary
motion in the manner described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thompson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.
JOHN THOMPSON. (L.S.)