A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TURNING OR FORMING SPILE OR VENT PEGS, HARD, TRYING, AND POROUS PEGS, SHIVES, PLUGS, RAILWAY PINS, CLOCKMAKERS' PEGS, HANDLES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES OF WOOD
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Thornley and Thomas Buxton, of Burton-upon-
Trent, in the County of Stafford, Engineers, for the Invention of "A NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TURNING OR FORMING SPILE OR VENT PEGS, HARD,
TRYING, AND POROUS PEGS, SHIVES, PLUGS, RAILWAY PINS, CLOCKMAKERS'
PEGS, HANDLES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES OF WOOD."
Sealed the 23rd August 1878, and dated the 12th March 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Thornley and
Thomas Buxton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th
March 1878.
GEORGE THORNLEY and THOMAS BUXTON, of Burton-upon-Trent, in the County
of Stafford, Engineers. "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TURNING OR
FORMING SPILE OR VENT PEGS, HARD, TRYING, AND POROUS PEGS, SHIVES, PLUGS,
RAILWAY PINS, CLOCKMAKERS' PEGS, HANDLES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES of
WOOD."
The object of our present Invention is, by improved machinery, to turn, form, or
shape pieces of wood into vent and other pegs, shives, plugs, railway chair and other
pins, handles, and the like articles more cheaply and rapidly than hitherto, which
object we attain as follows:-
.
Our improved machinery contains a number of upright spindles, the upper ends
of which are provided with wings or points; above each of these spindles is a centre,
as in the ordinary wood lathe; these centres are moveable vertically, and are fixed
to suit the length of the article to be made. On each of these spindles is secured a
small toothed pinion, which pinion is operated by an internal toothed wheel or
rack carried by a revolving head, which head is turned by a wheel-and-pinion
motion operated by any motive power.
The said head rotates eccentrically about a vertical spindle, carrying at its upper
end one or more revolving cutters; these cutters are shaped to suit the form of
the article to be mado, and are set at the requisite angle for cutting the wood
smoothly.
-
-
1-3

page_text: The pieces of wood to be shaped are placed vertically between the said points and
centre as each spindle successively arrives at the front, when the head carries and
revolves them with their spindles, bringing them gradually by its eccentric motion
to and in contact with the cutters, still carrying them onward until they arrive at
the opposite part of the machine, when the articles are finished. From this point
the finished articles gradually recede from the cutters until they arrive near the
front of the machine, when the spindle drops in its socket, and thus liberates such
finished article, which may then be removed by hand, by a spring, or a bent lever,
or by other suitable means.
I has hitherto generally been the practice in making pegs and the like articles
to turn them in an ordinary lathe, or to form them by hand. Machines have been used
for making such pegs, but they require the timber to be sawn in long lengths, which
is expensive, and the articles made being very rough are often unsaleable. Our
improved machine will make such articles from waste or short pieces of timber, and
finish them smoothly.
We estimate that our improved machine will do more work, and finish it better
than any other machine hitherto used for the same purpose; indeed, we believe that
our machine, simply fed by a boy, will do as much good work in a day as now
requires three skilled workmen to produce.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Thornley and Thomas Buxton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th September 1878.
GEORGE THORNLEY and THOMAS BUXTON, of Burton-upon-Trent, in the County
of Stafford, Engineers. "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR TURNING OR
FORMING SPILE OR VENT PEGS, HAND, TRYING, AND POROUS PEGS, SHIVES, PLUGS,
RAILWAY PINS, CLOCKMAKERS' PEGS, HANDLES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES OF
WOOD."
The object of our present Invention is, by improved machinery, to turn, form, or
shape pieces of wood into vent and other pegs, shives, plugs, railway chair and other
pins, handles, and like articles more cheaply and rapidly than hitherto.
In order that our said Invention may be more fully understood, and be more
readily performed, we will explain the same with the aid of the accompanying
Drawing, which forms part of this Specification, reference being made thereto by
the numerals and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of our said machine; and Fig. 2 is a plan thereof.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same on the line A, B, Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the same on the line C, D, Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a full size transverse vertical section of the head of the said machine on
the line E, F, Figs. 1 and 2.

page_text: Our improved machinery contains a number of upright spindles a, the upper ends
of which, see Fig. 5, are provided with wings and points. Above each of these
spindles is a centre b, as in the ordinary wood lathe; these centres are carried in
the ring b', in which ring they are moveable vertically to suit the article to be
made, and are fixed at the required position by the nuts 6. On each end of these
spindles is secured a small toothed pinion c, Figs. 3 and 5, which pinions are
operated by an internal toothed wheel or rack d, carried by a revolving head e,
which head e also carries the ring b, and is turned by the pinion f, operated by any
motive power.
The head e is supported by the trunnion g, around which trunnion the said head
rotates, driven by a wheel-and-pinion motion in the opposite direction to that of
the rack d.
Within the trunnion g we place the vertical cutter spindle h, in the upper end of
which is fixed the cutter block h¹; to this cutter block we fix one or more
cutters h², which revolve and travel with the spindle h; these cutters are shaped to
suit the form of the article to be made, and are set at the requisite angle for cutting
the wood smoothly.
A piece of wood i, say, intended to be shaped as a vent peg, is placed, as shewn
in Figs. 1, 3, and 5, between the points of the spindles a and the centres b as each
spindle a successively arrives at the front part k of the machine, Figs. 5 and 6.
When the piece of wood i is so placed, the spindles i ascend an incline formed in
the ring 1, Figs. 3 and 5, which raises such spindles until the piece of wood i is
securely held between the said points and the centres b; the piece of wood i is now
carried along the track shewn by the dotted lino m, Fig. 6. The cutters h² are at
the same time carried along the track shewn by the dotted line n, the said wood
and cutter revolving in opposite directions. It will thus be seen that the said wood i
gradually approaches the cutters until they arrive at the opposite part o of the
machine, at which point the article is properly shaped or finished. From this point
the finished article gradually recedes from the cutters until they approach the front
of the machine, when the spindle drops in its socket in the head e, thus liberating
such finished article, which may then be removed by the bent lever p, operated by
a spring or otherwise.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and
the method of performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not
restrict ourselves to the precise details and dimensions of the several parts now
illustrated, nor to the number of spindles shewn, or their vertical position, as from
the nature of our said Invention the details thereof admit of much variation without
departing froin the principles and main characteristics of such Invention; but we
claim as our Invention and desire to secure by the before-mentioned in part recited
Letters Patent, the combination of machinery as and for the purposes herein described
and shewn in the Drawing.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Thornley and Thomas Buxton, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fourth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.