IMPROVE. MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHAPING WOOD, APPLICABLE ESPECIALLY FOR PRODUCING SPOKES FOR WHEELS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Thompson, of Manor House, 124,
Camberwell Road, and John Thompson, of 46, Camberwell Green,
both in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHAPING WOOD, APPLICABLE ESPECIALLY FOR
PRODUCING SPOKES FOR WHEELS."
Sealed the 11th September 1868, and dated the 17th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Thompson and
John Thompson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 17th March 1868.
We, JOSEPH THOMPSON, of Manor House, 124, Camberwell Road, and
JOHN THOMPSON, of 46, Camberwell Green, both in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SHAPING WOOD, APPLICABLE ESPECIALLY FOR PRODUCING
SPOKES FOR WHEELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for
shaping wood, applicable especially for producing spokes for wheels.
We employ for this purpose an axis mounted horizontally on a frame
and driven at a high velocity. Upon this axis cutters are fixed, and
the contour of the cutting edge of each cutter corresponds with the
form which it is desired to give to the work. Underneath the cutter

page_text: axis is a table, which is able to slide to and fro in a guide frame, and
the wood which is to be worked into spokes or other forms is clamped
upon this table. The guide frame in which the table slides is itself
mounted so as to be able to rock on the frame of the machine about
a centre beyond the cutter axis, so that the table can be caused to
traverse in a plane nearer to or further from the cutter axis by tipping
the guide frame on its centre. The reciprocating motion is given to
the table by means of a rack on its under side gearing with a spur
wheel carried by the frame of the machine, and the axis of this spur
wheel serves also as the centre for the guide frame to tip upon, so
that the adjustment of this frame higher or lower will not interfere
with the action of the driving gear. The spur wheel receives its motion
from driving belts so arranged that the workman can cause it to rotate
in either direction, first to take the wood on the table forward ready to
be acted on by the cutters, and then to draw it back whilst the cutters
are operating, the latter motion being by preference at a slower speed.
The raising of the guide frame is effected by means of cams on an axis
receiving motion from a hand wheel, and catches are provided which
as soon as the guides arrive at their highest position restrain the further
action of the lifting apparatus. These catches are thrown out by the
return of the table when the cut is finished.
The action of the machine in cutting spokes is as follows:-The
table has four grooves formed in it longitudinally to receive the wood
to be cut. Into the first of these a suitable piece of wood is placed
and clamped whilst the table is out from under the axis, and whilst it
is in its lowest position; the table is then run forward until the wood
is in the proper position under the cutter to commence by cutting the
curve on the spoke. There is a gauge mark to guide the workman in
bringing the table to the proper position; he traverses the table by
means of the driving gear approximately the distance required, and
then sets it accurately by means of a hand wheel on the spur wheel
axis. This done the table is raised gradually by the other hand wheel
until it is stopped by the catches, and so the curve of the spoke is cut;
then the spur wheel is driven by the gear so as to cause the return
of the table, and thus one of the angles of the wood is suitably rounded
from the curve to the end of the spoke. The rack of the table at the
end of the return motion travels off the spur wheel, and so the table
stops of its own accord at the end of its proper course, and just before

page_text: doing so it trips the catches which sustain it, and then drops to its
lowest position. The wood which has been shaped on one angle is now
shifted to the next groove of the table to be shaped on another angle,
whilst a fresh piece is put into the first groove, and both are operated
on together at the next traverse of the table. In this way each of the
four grooves of the table is always filled, and after each operation a
finished spoke is removed from the last groove. The last groove on
the table receives a filling piece, in order that the spoke which is already
shaped on three angles may be steadily supported. In place of cutting
one angle of each piece of wood at each traverse two angles may be
cut at once, but this is not advantageous. By mounting suitably shaped
cutters on the cutter axis mouldings may be formed on the spoke, each
moulding commencing at the angle of the curve and passing along the
spoke to the end. The same machine may also be used for planing
wood, and also for shaping it in other ways by varying the forms of
the cutters on the cutter axis.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Thompson and John Thompson in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th September 1868...
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
THOMPSON, of Manor House, 124, Camberwell Road, and JOHN THOMPSON,
of 46, Camberwell Green, both in the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Joseph Thompson and John Thompson, Her
special licence that we, the said Joseph Thompson and John Thompson,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Joseph Thompson and John Thompson, our 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 SHAPING

page_text: WOOD, APPLICABLE ESPECIALLY FOR PRODUCING SPOKES FOR WHEELS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Joseph Thompson and John
Thompson, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of one of us or them, 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 Scal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Joseph Thompson and John
Thompson, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to
say:
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for
shaping wood applicable especially for producing spokes for wheels.
We employ for this purpose an axis mounted horizontally on a frame
and driven at a high velocity. Upon this axis cutters are fixed, and the
contour of the cutting edge of each cutter corresponds with the form
which it is desired to give to the work. Underneath the cutter axis is a
table which is able to slide to and fro in a guide frame, and the wood
which is to be worked into spokes or other forms is clamped upon this
table. The guide frame in which the table slides is itself mounted so
as to be able to rock on the frame of the machine about a centre beyond
the cutter axis, so that the table can be caused to traverse in a plane
nearer to or further from the cutter axis by tipping the guide frame
on its centre. The reciprocating motion is given to the table by means
of a rack on its under side gearing with a spur wheel carried by the frame
of the machine, and the axis of this spur wheel serves also as the centre
for the guide frame to tip upon, so that the adjustment of this frame, a
higher or lower, will not interfere with the action of the driving gear.
The spur wheel receives its motion from driving belts so arranged that
the workman can cause it to rotate in either direction, first to take the
wood on the table forward ready to be acted on by the cutters, and then
to draw it back whilst the cutters are operating, the latter motion being a
by preference at a slower speed. The raising of the guide frame is
effected by means of cams on an axis receiving motion from a hand wheel,
and catches are provided which as soon as the guides arrive at their

page_text: highest position restrain the further action of the lifting apparatus.
These catches are thrown out by the return of the table when the cut
is finished.
The action of the machine in cutting spokes is as follows:-The table
has four grooves formed in it longitudinally to receive the wood to be cut.
Into the first of these a suitable piece of wood is placed and clamped
whilst the table is out from under the axis and whilst it is in its lowest
position. The table is then run forward until the wood is in the proper
position under the cutter to commence by cutting the curve on the
spoke; there is a gauge mark or stop to guide the workman in bringing
the table to the proper position, it traverses the table by means of
the driving gear approximately the distance required, and then sets it
accurately by means of a hand wheel on the spur wheel axis. This
done the table is raised gradu"y by the other hand wheel until it is
stopped by the catches, and so the curve of the spoke is cut; then the
spur wheel is driven by the gear so as to cause the return of the table,
and thus one of the angles of the wood is suitably rounded from the
curve to the end of the spoke. The machine is arranged so that the
table stops of its own accord at the end of its proper course, and just
before doing so it trips the catches which sustain it, and then drops
to its lowest position. The wood which has been shaped on one angle is
now shifted to the next groove of the table to be shaped on another
angle, whilst a fresh piece is put into the first groove, and both are
operated on together.at the next traverse of the table. In this way each
of the four grooves of the table is always filled, and after each operation
a finished spoke is removed from the last groove. The last groove on
the table receives a filling piece in order that the spoke which is already
shaped on three angles may be steadily supported. In place of cutting
one angle of each piece of wood at each traverse two angles may be
cut at once, but this is not advantageous. By mounting suitably shaped
cutters on the cutter axis mouldings may be formed on the spoke, each
moulding commencing at the angle of the curve and passing along the
spoke to the end. The same machine may also be used for planing wood
and also for shaping it in other ways by varying the forms of the cutters
on the cutter axis.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
anneved

page_text: Figure 1 shows a side view of a machine constructed as above de-
scribed, Figure 2 is a plan view of the same, and Figure 3 is a plan view
with the tilting frame and sliding table removed; Figure 4 is a vertical
transverse section of the machine, and Figure 5 is an end view of the
same, The machine shewn in these Figures is suitably arranged for
shaping spokes for wheels, but as before stated machines similarly con-
structed with a tilting frame having a sliding table upon it to carry the
work may be arranged for planing wood and for shaping it in various
other ways.
In the Drawings a is the cutter axis on which is fixed the cutter
holder in this holder when the machine is arranged to act simul-
taneously on four pieces of wood we ordinarily fix four cutters, and in
order that the cutter holder may revolve steadily these cutters are fixed
around it in such manner that as the holder revolves the cutters shall
come into action in succession only one cutter being absolutely acting on
the wood at any one time; two of the cutters suitable for shaping two
sides of a spoke are shewn separately at Figure 6. The stems of the
cutters are fixed to the cutter holder by clamping screws, as shewn.
On the cutter axis a is a pulley a' driven by a belt from the driving
axis x, which is itself driven by a driving band working over a pulley
upon it as shewn; beneath the cutter axis a is the table c, which is able
to slide to and fro on the tilting frame d; this frame near one of its
ends has brackets d' descending from it; these brackets are capable of
rocking on the axis e, as is clearly shewn by the side view Figure 1.
The brackets come down just outside the bearings e¹ which support the
axis. The tilting frame can thus be turned on the axis e, and thus the
table c can be brought nearer to or further from the cutter axis a, and
thus the depth to which the cutters are allowed to act on the wood can
be adjusted. The four pieces of wood which are to be simultaneously
acted on by the cutters carried by the the cutter holder 6 are laid into
the four grooves c¹ in the table c, and are held between the fixed dogs c
and the moveable dogs which can be moved towards or from fixed
dogs by screws c, as is seen in Figure 2, and also in the transverse
section Figure 4. On the under side of the table c is the toothed rack c
into which the spur wheel f gears, this spur wheel being carried on the
axis e, as shewn, so that its teeth are always in gear with the rack c

page_text: into whatever position the tilting frame is turned. The spur wheel fis
driven by a pinion g¹ on an axis g; this axis can either be driven slowly
by a toothed wheel upon it, being driven by a small pinion /¹ on the
axis h, which is itself driven by a band h² from the driving axis y, or a
quicker motion in the opposite direction can be transmitted directly to
the axis g from the driving axis y by a band g² passing over pulleys
on the two axes. Either one or other of the pulleys or the driving
axis y, over which the driving bands h and g³ pass, can be made fast
with the axis by clutches worked by the clutch lever 1, as shewn in the
plan view Figure 3. The driving axis y is itself driven by a driving
strap passing over a pulley y' upon it, as shewn at Figures 1 and 3;
m³, m', are the eccentrics by which the tilting frame is raised, these
eccentrics are fixed on the axis m on which is a toothed wheel m³, into
which gears a pinion n¹ on the axis n; on this axis is a hand wheel n
by which the axis can be turned, and so transmit motion to the eccentrics.
When adjusting the machine for any fresh work the tilting frame is
raised to the height required by turning the hand wheel n³, and when
brought to the required height it is held up by the eccentrics, a pall n³
then engaging with a ratchet wheel n' on the axis n, and so preventing
the eccentrics from turning back. The spring stops o on each side of
the tilting frame are then adjusted to the required height, so that pins
projecting out from the table enter holes in the spring stops. The pawl
is then thrown out of action, and the tilting frame is held up by the stops.
The pieces of wood to be operated on by the cutters are fixed in position on
the sliding table whilst the table is in the position shewn by the Drawings;
the table is then run back by shifting the clutch lever
driving band g³ to transmit motion to the toothed wheel
with the rack on the under side of the table. When the table has thus
been brought roughly to its proper position the clutch lever is again
shifted so that the band g2 is no longer driven, and the table is then
brought exactly into the position required by means of the hand
wheel g³; when the table is thus brought accurately to its proper
position the tilting frame d is raised by the eccentrics until its motion
is arrested by the spring stops o; the cutters on the revolving cutter
holder will then have acted to the depth required on the pieces of wood
fixed on the table; the clutch lever is then shifted to cause the
driving band h² to give motion to the toothed wheel f and so move
the sliding table back slowly to its former position, so causing the cutters
to shape the strips of wood from the point at which they first com-
to cause the
which gears

page_text: mence to act upon it to their opposite ends; when the table has nearly
arrived at the end of its travel the inclines p, p, on the table come
against the upper ends of the springs o and press them away from the
table, so releasing the table and allowing it to fall to its lowest position,
and as the table thus falls an incliner fixed to its end comes against
the clutch lever, as is seen in Figure 5, and this incline shifts the clutch
lever so that the driving band h³ is no longer driven; thus the table c
will remain at rest at the end of its travel; each of the four pieces of
wood fixed on the table will then have been brought to the desired
shape on one side by one of the cutters. In heavy machines the fall
of the table may be controlled by a friction brake applied to the periphery
of the hand wheel. Whilst the table thus remains at rest the piece of
wood in groove No. 4 is removed, it having been shape on all four sides;
the pieces of wood in the grooves Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are shifted respectively
into grooves No. 2, 3, and 4, and a fresh piece is placed into groove
No. 1; the table is then again moved back for the several pieces of
wood to be again operated on by the revolving cutters. As before
stated a filling piece of wood is placed in groove No. 4 for the piece
of wood which is to be held in this groove to rest on as this piece of
wood being already shaped on three sides has no flat side to rest
against the groove. If it is required to make mouldings along the
spokes suitable tools for producing the mouldings are fixed to the cutter
holder in addition to the cutters which shape the spoke to the required
oval form.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph Thompson and John
Thompson, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seven-
teenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
aight hundred and aimte night