Improvements in Machinery for Finishing Felt Hats.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 8th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 24th Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Finishing Felt Hats.
I, ROUGHSEDGE WALLWORK, of the firm of Henry Wallwork & Co., of Union
Bridge Iron Works, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers and Iron
Founders, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention to be as follows:-
My invention refers to mechanism for finishing felt hats, in which the hat is placed
on a block and while rapidly rotating, sand paper or other suitable material is held
against its surface, this operation being termed "valouring," and my invention
consists in improved combinations and arrangements of mechanism.
The hat block is carried on a slide fitted in a face plate mounted upon a vertical
axis or shaft in suitable bearings, and there is a grooved ring below the face
plate for a slide block that swivels on a pin carried by the slide on the face plate,
and the grooved ring (which is movable) causes the slide and hat block to rotate
excentrically or concentrically, at the will of the operator.
The grooved ring is jointed upon one side of a plate that can rotate or oscillate
round the vertical shaft, and the boss part of the oscillating plate has inclines upon
it that rest upon corresponding inclines on the framing, so that by moving the
oscillating plate a quarter turn a bevel friction wheel on the vertical shaft will be
lifted out of or lowered into gear with its corresponding driving friction wheel on
a horizontal shaft.
The oscillating plate has a boss forming the bearing of a short shaft and handle,
by which the oscillating plate can be moved to and fro to stop and start the
rotation of the hat block, and the short shaft has a crank and crank pin (which
is or may be adjustable) that enters a vertical slot in the edge of the grooved ring,
so that by rotating the handle a quarter turn, the grooved ring is made either
excentric to, or concentric with the vertical shaft.
It is made excentric when the side of the hat is to be operated upon and con-
centric when the top of the hat is to be operated upon.
My improvements also consist in arranging "valouring" machinery so that by
resting the arm of the operator upon a suitable lever or rest, and depressing it,
the grooved ring or corresponding part is made excentric, for operating upon the
sides of the hat and by lifting the arm of the operator a spring or weight or
weight lever will bring the grooved ring back to the concentric position for
operating upon the crown part of the hat.
My invention further consists in arrangements whereby the operator by depressing
a treadle may start the block into rotation and by allowing the treadle to lift by
a spring weight or weight lever will stop its rotation.
The treadle for this purpose is or may be arranged to act through levers and
suitable connections to lower or lift the vertical driving shaft directly.
Dated this Fifteenth day of March 1890.
PETER J. LIVSEY,
(COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Finishing Felt Hats.
I, ROUGESEDGE WALLWORK, of the firm of Henry Wallwork & Co., of Union
Bridge Iron Works, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers and Iron-
founders, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
My invention refers to mechanism for finishing felt hats, in which the hat is placed
on a block and while rapidly rotating, sand paper or other suitable material is held

page_text: against the surface this operation being termed "valouring" and my invention consist
in improved combinations and arrangements of mechanism.
S
The hat block is carried on a slide fitted in a face plate mounted upon a vertical
axis or shaft in suitable bearings and there is a grooved ring below the face plate for
a slide block that swivels on a pin carried by the slide on the face plate, and the
grooved ring (which is movable) causes the slide and hat block to rotate excentrically
or concentrically at the will of the operator.
The grooved ring is jointed upon one side of a plate that can rotate or oscillate
round the vertical shaft, and the boss part or underside of the oscillating plate has
inclines upon it that rest upon corresponding inclines on the framing, so that by
moving the oscillating plate a quarter turn, a bevel friction wheel on the vertical
shaft will be lifted out of, or lowered into gear with its corresponding driving friction
wheel, on a horizontal shaft.
The oscillating plate has a boss forming the bearing of a short shaft and handle,
by which the oscillating plate can he moved to and fro to stop and start the rotation
of the hat block, and the short shaft has a crank and crank pin (which is or may be
adjustable) that enters a vertical slot in the edge of the grooved ring, so that by
rotating the handlo a half turn the grooved ring is made either excentric to, or
concentric with the vertical shaft.
It is made excentric when the side of the hat is to be operated upon and concentric
when the top of the hat is to be operated upon.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine (parts being in section) according to my
invention.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine shown by Fig. 1, parts being omitted to
show the other parts more clearly.
Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the machine.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the face plate detached, and slide carried by it,
and Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the face plate detached, a part supposed to be broken
away.
Fig. 6 is an edge elevation, and Fig. 7 a plan view of the handle plato or disc
shown detached for lifting and lowering the vertical shaft and giving movement to
change the rotary movement of the hat block from the concentric to excontric and
vice versa, from excentric to concentric.
Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional elevation, and Fig. 9 a plan view detached of the plate
having the groove in it which can be made excentric or concentric with the vertical
shaft, and which plate is jointed to the handle plate shown by Figs. 6 and 7.
a, are the side frames of the machine, which framing may be formed in various
ways; b, the horizontal shaft rotated from any suitable motor.
This shaft may be one common to a number of hat-finishing machines placed side
by side, and the shaft may be near the floor if desired.
Upon the shaft b, there is a bevel friction wheel &, which will drive a bevel friction
wheel c¹, on a vertical shaft c, the lower end of which is in a footstep bearing carried
on a cross plate a', passing between and being secured to the two side frames a.
The upper part of the vertical shaft c, works in a bearing in a table or cross plate a³,
also secured to the two side frames a.
The boss of the face plate d, is secured to the upper end of the vertical shaft c, as
shown best by Fig. 4.
Below the upper surface of the face plate d, and radially across it there is a recess
formed in which a slide d', is fitted to move in the lengthway of the recess, which
slide is kept in position in the recess by a plate d³, the edges of which are sunk into
a marginal space round the recess formed in the face plate d, the upper surface of the
plate d, being flush with the upper surface of the face plate d.
In this cross cover plate d³, there are two slots d³, for two pins d', and ď³, to pass
through freely, the lower ends of which pins are secured in the slide d¹.
One pin d, extends through the slide d', and passes through a slot for it, (in which
it can move to and fro freely) in the metal of the face plate on the underside of the
box or recess for the slide d'.
.

page_text: The blocks on which the hats are placed to be finished, vary in size, but they have
holes in them of the same distance apart, to fit upon the pins d', and ³, the holes in
the block (not shown) are on a centre line of the block passing its longthway, so that
the middle of the hat block will coincide with the axis of the vertical shaft c, when
rotating concentric therewith.
The pin, projecting below the face plate d, enters a hole in the segment of a ring
or slide block e, that fits into a circular recess e², in the plate e, shown dotached
by Figs. 8 and 9, and this plate e, is jointed by a hole e, Fig. 8, to a short pin
also marked, (Fig. 9) secured in the handle or disc part f, which is shown detachod
by Figs. 6 and 7.
This disc part f, has an arm ", projecting from it in a ralial direction, which
arm has a boss, a hole through which, forms the bearing for a short shaft or
handle the inner end of which has a crank arm upon which a crank pin f
is formed or secured the projecting end of this crank pin being partly spherical and
fits a vertical slot e, in a projection from the plate e, see Fig. 9.
By rotating the handle shaft, a half turn, the circular groove e, in the plate e,
can be brought in one position of the handle shaft f, concentric with and in the other
position of the handle shaft, excentric to the vertical shaft c.
The handle disc or plate f, has a hole in it that fits the vertical shaft c, round which
it is oscilluted.
On the underside of the handle plate f, there are a series of ratchet like inclines f*,
that rest upon corresponding inclines a³, formed on the upper face of the plate a³,
(see Fig. 2), so that when the handle part is in one position, the vertical shuft C, is
in its lowest position, with its friction bowl c', resting upon the bevel 6, of the hori-
zontal shaft, and when the handle part is moved about a quarter revolution on its
vertical axis and is thus brought to its other position, it is lifted by the inclines and
as the upper face of the disc part, comes against the under surface of the boss of the
face plate d, the vertical shaft c, is lifted until its friction bowl c¹, is clear of the driving
bevel b¹.
The crank pin f, for giving the excentricity to the plate e, may be made adjustable
to suit different ovals in hats, but I prefer it fixed, hecause the hatters of each country
a lopt their own standard or extent of oval for all sizes of hats.
The hatters in England make the oval one inch and three eights of an inch. that
is to say, the hat is one inch and three eighths of an inch more in the long way, than
in the narrow way of the hat.
It will be seen that there is a turned up rim on the edge of the plate e, this is to
ratch any oil thrown from the recoss for the slide d', this oil or lubricant can pass
when the plate ceases to rotate into the circular recess e³, in the plate, to lubricate
the segmental slide block e¹.
The mode of driving by bevel frictional wheels is that usually employed, and I
prefer it, but do not confine myself to that mode of rotating the face plate d.
1
1
I also prefer the means described for moving the plate e, to cause the hat block
to rotate excentrically to or concentrically with the vertical shaft r, but do not
confine myself thereto, as a handle may be formed to extend radially from the
te e, by which it can be oscillated to and fro, and a pin may be secured in the
iower side of the plate e, to project into a slot concentric with the joint pin e³, formed
the plate f, this slot being long enough to allow oscillation to the required extent
in the plate e, for giving to it the excentric or concentric positions, by which arrange-
ment when the handle upon the plate e, is moved to the excentric position, the pin
in it will have arrived at the end of the concentric slot formed in the plate f, and the
further movement of the handle from the plate e, a quarter turn will take the plate f,
with it, and thus lift the bevel pulley c', out of contact with the bevel b', and stop
the lathe. On the backward movement of the handle on the plate e, the pin projecting
from it will first pass to the other end of the said concentric slot in the plate f, and
will then move the latter to its position, where the bevels c', and ', are in contact
and in which position the plate e, will be in the concentric position. In place of the

page_text: pin in the plate e, and slot concentric with the joint pin e, a projection from the
plate e, may be used made to work between stops on the plate f
When the handle f³, is in the position to give excentric rotation then the hand
of the operator holding the sand paper against the side of the hat at a point about at
a right angle to a line drawn from the joint pin e, to the handle, will feel very
little motion but in the ordinary hat finishing lathe, the hand of the operator moves
to the extent of the oval of the hat, and this produces unnecessary friction or
irregularity of pressure on some parts of the hat more than other parts.
When the handle f, is turned so that the hat will rotate as in an ordinary bat
finishing lathe, then the crown part of the hat is operated upon. It will thus be seen
that either excentric or concentric rotation can be obtained, or the lathe may be
stopped and started by the same handle in my improved machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed declare that what I
claim is.
1. The employment of a plate with a circular groove or reass in it, that can be
readily oscillated at will, to cause the hat block to rotate excentrically or concentri-
cally, and to stop and start the lathe by one handle, as hereinbofore described and
illustrated by the drawings.
2. The combination and arrangement of mechanism, substantially as and for the
purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings.
3. The combination of the handle f, with the handle plate f, and with the inclines
on the plate a², the movable plate e, the segmental block e', the slide d', and the face
plate d, on the shaft c, substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated
by the drawings.
Dated this 6th day of December 1890.
ETER J.
Agent.