IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING CASKS."
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Slater, of Cloudesley Street, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING CASKS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Slater at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th October 1874.
I, JAMES SLATER, of Cloudesley Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING CASKS," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in machinery for making casks
comprises various improvements having for their object the economiza-
tion of labor in cutting the staves, and putting the casks together, and
properly securing the joints.
The first improvement relates to cutting the cask staves from the
rough staves as imported, and consists in the use of a double band saw,
whereby two cuts can be made simultaneously, thereby greatly econo-

page_text: mizing time and labor. The pullies for driving the bands are provided
with the ordinary appliances for tightening or adjusting the tension of
the band saws.
The pulley shafts and other parts of one band saw are
mounted in bearings on a fixed or stationary standard, but the corre-
sponding parts of the other band saw are mounted on a standard which
is capable of being moved on its foundation plate (by means of suitable
gearing) nearer to or further from the other standard, so that the two
bands may be brought nearer to or further from each other according to
the thickness it is intended to cut the stave. The rough staves as
imported are frequently twisted or crooked, and if cut without due
precautions there would be a considerable waste of wood, and moreover
as the wood would be cut to a certain extent across the grain the strength of
the stave and consequently of the cask would be reduced. I prevent these
defects by straightoning or holding the wood straight while it is being
cut. This is effected by means of a weighted lever provided at one end
with a roller which is made to bear against the rough stave and hold it
straight against the fence while being sawn. The edges of the staves
are cut in the ordinary manner.
"
The next improvement relates to the operation, which is technically
known as "trussing," which has for its object so bringing the edges
of the staves together that perfectly tight joints will be produced. This
is usually effected by means of strong wooden hoops, which are driven
on to the cask by repeated blows from a heavy hammer. This is a very
laborious and tedious process; but by means of my improved apparatus
I am enabled to effect the desired object by hydraulic pressure in a
very short space of time. The staves of which the cask is to be made
having been properly prepared and temporarily secured in place I adapt
to cach end of the cask a metal ring or hoop made of iron called a
head hoop," and about thrce-sixteenths of an inch thick. Other iron
hoops called the "quarter hoops," and which are about three-eighths of
an inch thick, are dropped over the head hoops and embrace the cask a
short distance below the head hoops. Two other strong iron hoops about
half an inch thick (called the bouze hoops) are in like manner dropped
on to the cask and embrace it at the part between the quarter hoops. The
cask being thus prepared is ready to be placed in my improved apparatus
in order to be "close trussed" as it is technically called, the object of
which is (by driving down and tightening all the hoops) simultaneously
with an equal amount of pressure to form perfectly tight joints between
the staves.

page_text: "
The “close trussing
machine consists of a kind of hydraulic press
having strong vertical standards, between which are cross licads made in
the form of circular plates, between which the cask to be trussed is
placed. The upper plate is a fixture (when the machine is in use) but is
capable of being raised or lowered from time to time to any altitude
according to the size or length of the casks to be operated upon, and
when brought to the required height can be temporarily fixed there
while casks of the same size are being "closed trussed.”
The lower plate or table (on which the cask to be operated upon is
placed) is capable of being raised by means of an hydraulic pump, the
piston or plunger of which is secured to the under side of the moveable
lower plate or table of the apparatus. On the faces of the two cross
head plates are adapted four short vertical standards which are capable
of being moved radially by means of radial screws actuated by central
gearing so that they shall all be moved simultaneously to the same
extent and thereby be brought nearer to or further from the centre of
the circular cross head according to the dimensions of the casks to be
operated upon. To the inner faces of the short vertical standards are
adapted metal blocks or stops which are capable of being raised or
lowered thereon and fixed at any desired height according to the size of
the cask. These blocks are arranged on the top and bottom standards
at such points as will cause them to bear against the edges of the middle
or quarter hoops when the cask is lifted up by raising the lower cross
head or table on which it rests. The outer extremities of the short
vertical standards will in like manner come against the edges of the
"bouze" hoops. The outer edge of the lower head hoop will rest on
the face of the lower or movable cross head, and when the latter is
forced up by the hydraulic press it will bring the upper edge of the top
head hoop against the under side of the upper or fixed cross head. By
the lower cross head (with the cask thereon) continuing to rise the head
hoops will be forced down towards each other and will thus compress the
ends of the staves. At the same time the other hoops will be forced
forward on the cask and will compress the hoops at their middle parts,;
and by thus "close trussing" them will form perfectly watertight joints..
The casks thus prepared will then be treated and hooped in the ordinary
manner.

page_text: •
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Slater in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
SLATER, of Cloudesley Strect, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Slater, Her
special licence that I, the said James Slater, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Slater,
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, excrcise, 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 MAKING CASKS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Slater, my executors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 James Slater, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
:
My Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for Making Casks"
comprises various improvements having for their object the economization
of labour in cutting the staves, and putting the casks together, and properly
securing the joints. The first improvement relates to cutting the cask

page_text: staves from the rough staves as imported, and consists in the use of a
double band saw, whereby two cuts can be made simultaneously, thereby
greatly economizing time and labour.
-
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the
machine complete; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a vertical
section taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, and looking towards the right
hand end of the machine; Fig. 4 is another vertical section taken in
the line 3, 4, of Fig. 1, also looking towards the right hand. The
pulleys a, a, a¹, a¹, for driving the band saws b, b₁, are provided with the
ordinary appliances for tightening or adjusting the tension of the band
saws. The pulley shafts and other parts of the band saw b are mounted
in bearings on a fixed or stationary standard, but the bearings of the
corresponding parts of the other band saw b' are mounted on a standard,
the bearings being so arranged thercon that they are capable of being
moved on the standard and foundation plate (by means of suitable
gearing) nearer to or further from the other standard, so that the two
bands b, b', may be brought nearer to or further from cach other
according to the thickness it is intended to cut the stave. To this end.
the bearings or plummer blocks ff, which carry the shafts of the
pulleys a', a', are mounted on slides f', f', which are capable of being
moved to and fro on the guides 9, 9. The top and bottom slides f', ƒ',
are actuated by the screws h, h, the shafts of which are geared together
by the train of bevil gearing h¹, h², ³, and the gearing is driven by means
of a winch handle ', as shewn in Figure 1. The rough staves as
imported are frequently twisted or crooked, and if cut without due pre-
cautions there would be a considerable waste of wood, and moreover, as
the wood would be cut to a certain extent across the grain the strength
of the stave, and consequently of the cask, would be reduced. I prevent
these defects by straightening or holding the wood straight at the point
or place where it is being cut. This is effected by means of a lever c
keyed on to a vertical shaft, and provided at its end with a roller c¹,
which is made to bear against the rough stave and hold it straight
against the fence d while being sawn. On the upper end of the same
shaft is keyed another lever c², to which is attached the weighted chain c³,
which causes the roller c¹ to bear with force against the stave. The
stave to be cut is placed on edge on the table e, and is carried forward
against the two band saws by means of the rack and pinion e', e², shewn
in the Drawing, and therefore the machine is self-feeding. The rack

page_text: and pinion e¹, e³, are actuated by means of an arrangement of bands and
pullics e³, e', e³, on the lower axle of which is a worm wheel e driven by
a worm on the axle of the lower band wheel a. The edges of the staves
are cut in the ordinary manner to the proper bevil required to form a
cask of tho proper shape and dimensions.
The next improvement relates to the operation which is technically
known as trussing," which has for its object so bringing the bevilled
edges of the staves together that perfectly tight joints will be produced.
This is usually effected by means of strong wooden hoops, which are
driven on to the cask by repeated blows from a heavy hammer. This is
a very laborious and tedious process, but by means of my improved
apparatus I am enabled to effect the desired object by hydraulic pressure
or other motive power in a very short space of time. The staves of which
the cask is to be made having been properly prepared and temporarily
secured in place I fit on to each end of the cask a metal ring or hoop
made of iron called a "head hoop," and about three-sixteenths of an
inch thick. Other iron hoops, called the "bowge hoops," and which are
about half an inch thick, are dropped over the head hoops, and embrace
the cask a short distance from the centre of the cask. Two other iron
hoops, about three-eighths of an inch thick (called the quarter hoops),
are in like manner dropped on to the cask, and embrace it about half
wway between the end and bowge hoops. The cask being thus prepared
is ready to be placed in my improved apparatus in order to be "close-
trussed," as it is technically called, the object of which is (by forcing
on and tightening all the hoops simultaneously, and with an equal
amount of pressure on each of the hoops) to form perfectly tight joints
between the staves..
The "close trussing" machine is shewn in Sheet IV. of the Drawings, in
which Fig. 5 is a front view; Fig. 6 is a side elevation; Fig. 7, a
sectional plan view of the same; and Fig. 8 is a vertical section through
one of the tables on which the cask to be trussed is placed.
This trussing machine consists of a kind of press, the moving table
of which is actuated by hydraulic or any other convenient motive power.
It is constructed with strong vertical standards i, i, between which are
cross heads
or tables j, j', made in the form of circular plates, between
which the cask to be trussed is placed. The upper plate j is a fixture
(when the machine is in use), but is capable of being raised or lowered

page_text: from time to time to any altitude, according to the size or length of the
casks to be operated upon, and when brought to the required height can
be temporarily fixed there while casks of the same size are boing
"close trussed." This upper plate is temporarily fixed at any altitude
by means of keys inserted into holes made in the side standards for the
purpose, as shewn at Fig. 5.
The lower plate or table j¹ (on which the cask to be operated upon is
placed) is capable of being raised by means of an hydraulic press
(as shown in the Drawing, the piston or plunger of which is secured to
the under side of the movable lower plate or table of the apparatus,
but any other mechanical power may be used to actuate this
moveable table. On the faces of the two cross head plates ; and j
arc adapted four or any other convenient number of short, vertical
standards k, k, h, k, which are capable of being moved radially by
mcans of radial screws k³, k, actuated by central gearing 1, 1, 'as
shown in Figures 7 and S, so that the short standards shall all be
moved simultaneously to the same extent, and thereby be brought
ncarer to or further from the centre of the circular cross head, according
to the dimensions of the casks to be operated upon. To the inner faces
of the short vertical standards are adapted.metal blocks or stops n, m,
which are capable of being raised or lowered thereon, and fixed at any
desired height according to the size of the cask. These blocks are
arranged on the top and bottom standards at such points as will cause
them to bear against the edges of the two middle or quarter hoops when
the cask is lifted up by raising the lower cross head or table j¹on which
it rests. The outer extremities of the short vertical standards will in
like manner come against the edges of the "bowge" hoops, while
the blocks m¹³ come against the head hoops. By the lower cross
head (with the cask thereon) continuing to rise the six hoops will
be simultaneously forced on to the cask towards each other, and will
thus compress the edges of the staves into close contact with each other.
By this method of "close trussing" a perfectly watertight joint is
formed, and far superior to what can be done by the ordinary trussing
operation. The casks thus prepared will then be crozed in a crozing
machine, and hooped in the ordinary manner.
.
T

page_text: general purposes it will be found that the vertical position is the more
convenient.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Machinery
for Making Casks," and having explained the manner of carrying the
samo into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters 5
Patent as aforesaid,-
First. The combination of two band saws so arranged as to be capable
of being adjusted to cut staves of different thicknesses, and to cut
both sides of the stave at the same time, as hercin set forth. I also
claim the combination with the above arrangement of adjustable band 1
saws of the moveable table for automatically feeding forward the staves
to the band saw, as hercin set forth.
Second. I claim the improved machine and appliances shewn and
described in reference to Sheet II. of the accompanying Drawings for
close trussing casks, by which means six or any required number 1
of hoops may be forced on to the cask at one operation, as herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Slater, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, the 27th day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
TCTN STATED