A NEW OR IMPROVED ENGRAVING MACHINE
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Snell, of 16, Clement's Inn, in the, City of
Westminster, for; the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED ENGRAVING
MACHINE." A communication from abroad by John Corvosso Guerrant
and Benton Jeremiah Field, both of Leaksville, in the County of Rock-
T
14
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Snell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
August 1867.
I, WILLIAM SNELL, of 16, Clement's Inn, in the City of Westminster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED
ENGRAVING MACHINE" (a.communication) to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to enable persons of but slight technical
skill in the art of engraving to execute engravings upon metallic and other
surfaces.
This Invention consists, chiefly in a method of combining with a graving
tool or bit a stylus or tracing point, and a holder to support the plate or object
which is to be wrought upon, so that as the tracing point is made to follow.
the lines of the pattern corresponding motions will be imparted to the graver
or bit and a fac-simile of the same or a changed-scale of proportions-of-the-
pattern will be produced upon the surface of the object to be wrought upon.

page_text: The following description in detail will enable others to fully understand
and use our machine.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan of an engraving machine
illustrating our Invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a
horizontal section on the line x, x, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view;
Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of devices especially employed for engraving
the inner surface of a ring or similar object; Fig. 6 is a plan or top view of
the ring holder. .
A is a base plate, upon which the several operating parts of the machine
are mounted, and which is designed to be made fast to a table or bench by
means of a screw, clamp, or otherwise. The right-hand end of this plate, as
seen in the Figures of the Drawing, will be termed the front of the machine
and the end to the left the rear. B is a plate, supported upon the enlarged
rear end of the plate A, and C is a plate holder held upon the plate B by
means of the screw bolt and nut D, the plate holder C-being adjustable
toward and away from the front of the machine by means of the nut D and
slot C. The plate -or analogous object to be engraved upon is clamped upon
the front side of the upright portion of the holder-C' by any suitable means, as
by clamp, screws, or jaws. E, E, are rigid arms joined together and diverging
from the staff F, to which they are connected so as to be vibrated in a hori-
zontal plane by the partial rotation of said staff upon its axis. The studs e, e,
which project downwards from the extremities of the arms E, E, act upon the
ledge of plate B, and cause the said plate B, together with the plate holder C, to
revolve or vibrate in a horizontal plane about the axis or staff F for the purpose
to be explained. The boss or hut G is formed or secured on the base plate con-
centrically with the staff F, and the plate B is held up to said boss and caused
to move in contact with the circular periphery thereof by means of the flexible
straps or connections g; g, see Fig. 3. The flange g¹ on the boss G projects
over the front edge of the plate B, and aids in confining the same in its
operating position. The same object is also subvened by the roller H which
bears upon the opposite side of plate B, and which is journaled upon the
extremity of a vertical arm H', which is carried by the vibrating horizontal
arm H2, the latter being socketted upon the sleeve which surrounds the staff F.
The graving tool or bit is represented at I, and is suitably socketted in or
attached to the end of a rod J, which extends through and has its bearing in
the horizontal axis or shaft K, which is mounted upon the staff F. "An arm L
is joined to and extends upward from the axis Kand carries at its top a
shaft M; which forms an axis for the pendant arm m, which may be connected

page_text: i
with graving tool I, independently of the rod J, and which is provided with a
weight m¹ which gives the graving tool a tendency toward the plate holder,
thus holding it up to its work. The weight m¹ is to be adjustable so as to act
with varying force, as required, in holding the graving tool to its work. The
vertical adjustment of the staff F is regulated by means of nuts f, f, working on
the threaded portions of said staff above and below a sleeve which surrounds
staff F, and which is surrounded and concealed by the socket F. O.represents a
staff or lever joined or attached to the axis K, and extending thence to the front
of the machine in a position parallel with the rod J, which is caused to undergo
all the lateral motions of the staff O conjointly therewith by having its front end
connected to said staff by the fixed collar O'; this connection however does not
prevent the independent motion of the rod J in a longitudinal direction. N.is
a stylus or pointed follower fixed in the upper extremity of an arm N¹, which
is pivoted to a lug on the collar N, which is adjustable upon the staff O by
means of the set screw-N³. The tracing arm N¹ is connected with the graver
arm m through the medium of the two-part extensible rod P, P, one member
being confined upon the other by the loop.p through which it slides. By
'means of the collar. N and set screw N³ the stylus or pointed, follower N is
adjustable toward and from the centre of oscillation F of the staff O, so as to
make a larger or smaller engraving from a pattern of a given size on the
pattern holder Q; this pattern holder may be a plate. attached to the upright
rods Q, Q, fixed in the extremities of the transverse bar Q which rests upon
the base plate A, and is made adjustable toward and away from the staff or
centre of motion. F, so as to accommodate the position of the pattern holder
to that of the stylus N. This adjustment of the pattern holder is effected by
means of the slide Q, which is held in adjustment in the slot Q' of the base
plate by means of the set screw Q. As the stylus N.is conducted over the
curved and straight lines of the pattern upon the holder, two movements of the
same kind will be imparted to the graving tool or bit I, and a fac-simile of
the pattern will be cut or engraved upon the plate or other object which is
held upon the holder C... The graving tool it will be seen is rendered capable
of universal motion by the vertical and horizontal axes F, K, upon which it is
mounted. The movement of the staff. O in vertical and horizontal planes
permits.the stylus N to follow the lines of the pattern whatever may be their
direction, and the relative sizes of the pattern and the engraving will be pro-
portionate to the relative distances of the stylus and the graving tool from the
centre of oscillation F. The rod J which is attached to the graving tool I is
adjustable longitudinally towards and from the plate which is being engraved.
The forward motion-of-the tracing-arm N actuates the graver arm m in the

page_text: same direction, and as the staff O moves in a vertical plane the rod P, P,
connecting the tracing arm with the graver arm is lengthened or shortened by
a slotted plate R, whose slots are traversed by studs p¹, p', upon the respective
portions of the rod P, P. For making vertical lines an adjustable vertical
guide rod S, against which the staff O traverses, is provided, said guide rod
being held in the adjustable slide S, which is fitted in the rest S2 and operated
by means of the crank screw S³, by which the position of the guide rod S is
made to coincide with that of the line which is to be traced by the stylus N.
As the graver I traverses over the face of the plate holder C in a horizontal
plane the said plate holder is adjusted about the axis of rotation F in such a
manner that the proximity of the tool and the object to be engraved is main-
tained; but the extensible rod P,.P, forms a definite means for advancing and
retracting the graver point as the latter moves vertically. To give a. greater
or less depth of cut to the graver the pivotted point of adjustment p of the
extensible rod P, P, is brought nearer to or more distant from the axis of the
tracing arm N¹, so as to vary the extent of motion iniparted to the, extensible
rod, and consequently the forward motion of the graver. When it is required
to engrave upon an interior surface,. such as within a finger ring, the rods-P
and J are detached from the graver arm m so as to permit the graver to drop
down into the article to be engraved. A hole is made in the base plate below
the graver for the reception of the sleeve W, in which the threaded spindle V,
•see Fig. 5, is adjustable, by means of the nuts v;:v: The spindle V,supports
upon its upper end the ring holder. Y, which is a cup or hollow cylinder within
which the ring is placed concentrically and held by the set screw r, r, r, which
bear against the outer surface of the ring, and leave. the interior exposed for
the action of the graving tool I, as seen in Fig. 5. The motions of the staff O
may be made by hand, or they may be accomplished by journaling the staff at
its front end in a slide rest, which is capable of imparting borizontal and
vertical motions by screws. The elastic cord m2, shown in Fig. 5, may be
attached to the end of the graver arm for the purpose of enabling the operator
to hold the graver up to the surface to be engraved when the pressure derived
from the weight m is insufficient. A rose cutter may be substituted for. the
graver I, and the cutter shaft revolved. by a band and pulley, with motion
derived from an exterior motor, or from a treadle worked by the operator.
We do not confine ourselves to the specific details of construction herein
set forth, as the same may be varied considerably without departing. from the
essential principles of our Invention....
.
Having described our Invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure
Datane
..

page_text: First, the holder Cadjustable about the vertical axis upon which the
graving tool or bit is supported, substantially as and for the object set forth.
Second, the combination of a graving tool or bit I, stylus, or pointed
follower N, and adjustable holder C operating conjointly, substantially as
described.
Third, the extensible rod P, P, connecting the graver-arm with the tracing.
arin, and adjusted in length by means of the slotted' plate R and studs p', p¹,
or their equivalents, substantially as described.
Fourth, the adjustment of the extensible connecting rod P, P, at the point
of attachment to the tracing arm N.so as to vary the degree of penetration of
the graver, substantially as described."
.. Fifth, the combination with the graver I of the vibrating and weighted
arm D, as described.
Sixth, the adjustable guide rod E affording the means for tracing vertical
lines, as described.
Seventh, the ring holder Y with its set screws r, r, r, or equivalent device.
madel adjustable by means of the staff V and sleeve W, substantially
described.
Eightli, an engraving machine constructed substantially as herein described!...
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, bled
by the said William Snell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS. SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SNELL, of 16; Clement's Inn, in. the City of Westminster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters:
Patent, bearing date the First day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,.
did, for. Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Snell, Her special licence that I, the said William Snell, my.
executors, administrators, and assigns, or .such others. as I, the said William
Snell, 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED
ENGRAVING. MACHINE," a communication-to-me-from-abroad by John Corvosso

page_text: Guerrant and Benton Jeremiah Field, both of Leaksville, in the County of
Rockingham, and State of North Carolina, United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I; the said William Snell, 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. William Snell, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of this Invention is to enable, persons, of but slight technical
skill in the art of engraving to execute engravings upon metallic and other
surfaces. This Invention, consists chiefly in a method of combining with a
graving tool or bit a stylus or tracing point and a holder to support the plate
or object which is to be wrought upon, so that as the tracing point is made to
follow the lines of the pattern corresponding motions will be imparted to the
graver or bit, and a fac-simile of the same or a changed scale of proportions
of the pattern will be produced upon the surface of the object to be wrought
upon.
The following description in detail will enable others to fully understand
and use our machine.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan of an engraving machine
illustrating our Invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is, a
horizontal-section on the line x, x, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view; Fig. 51
is a vertical sectional view of devices especially employed for engraving the
inner surface of a ring or similar object; Fig. 6 is a plan or top view of the
ring holder.
A is a base plate, upon which the several operating parts of the machine
are mounted, and which is designed to be made fast to a table or bench by
means of a screw clamp or otherwise. The right-hand end of this plate, as seen
in the Figures of the Drawing, will be termed the front of the machine and
the end to the left the rear. B is a plate supported upon the enlarged rear
end of the plate A, and C is a plate holder held upon the plate B by means of
the screw bolt and nut D, the plate holder C being adjustable toward and
away from the front of the machine by means of the nut D and slot C. The
plate or analogous object to be engraved upon is clamped upon the front side

page_text: of the upright portion of the holder C by any suitable means, as by clamp
screws or jaws; E, E, are rigid arms joined together and diverging from the
staff F to which they are connected, so as to be vibrated in a horizontal plane
by the partial rotation of said staff upon its axis. The studs e, e, which project
downwards from the extremities of the arms E, E, act upon the ledge 6 of
plate B, and cause the said plate B together with the plate holder C to revolve
or vibrate in a horizontal plane about the axis or staff F for the purpose to be
explained. The boss or hut G is formed or secured on the base plate con-
centrically with the staff F, and the plate B is held up to said boss and.
caused to move in contact with the circular periphery thereof by means of
the flexible straps or connections g, g, see Fig. 3. The flange g¹ on the
boss G projects over the front edge of the plate B and aids in confirming the
same in its operating position. The same object is also subvened by the roller.
H which bears upon the opposite side of plate B, and which is journaled
upon the extremity of a vertical arm H¹ which is carried by the vibrating
horizontal arm H2, the latter being socketted which the sleeve which sur-
rounds the staff F. The graving tool or bit is represented at I, and is suitably
socketted in or attached to the end of a rod J which extends through and has:
its bearing in the horizontal axis or shaft K which is mounted upon the staff F.
An arm L is joined to and extends upward from the axis K; and carries at.
its top a shaft M which forms an axis for the pendant arm m, which may be.
connected with graving tool I independently of the rod J, and which is pro-
vided with a weight m¹ which gives the graving tool a tendency toward the
plate holder, thus holding it up to its work. The weight m¹ is to be made
adjustable so as to act with varying force as required in holding the graving
tool to its work. The vertical adjustment of the staff-F is regulated by means.
of nuts f, f, working on the threaded portions of said staff above and below a
sleeve which surrounds staff F, and which is surrounded and concealed by the
socket F. O represents a staff or lever joined or attached to the axis K,
and extending thence to the front of the machine in a position parallel with
the rod J which is caused to undergo all the lateral motions of the staff O
conjointly therewith by having its front end 'connected to said staff by the
fixed collar 0. This connection however does not prevent the independent
motion of the rod J in a longitudinal direction. N is a stylus or pointed
follower fixed in the upper extremity of an arm N¹, which is pivoted to a lug
on the collar N, which is adjustable upon the staff O by means of the set
screw N. The tracing arm N¹ is connected with the graver arm m through
the medium of the two part extensible rod P, P, one member being confined
upon the other by the loop p through which it slides: By means of the

page_text: collar N and set screw N³ the stylus or pointed follower N is adjustable
toward and from the centre of oscillation F of the staff O, so as to make a
larger or smaller engraving from a pattern of a given size on the pattern
holder Q; this pattern holder may be a plate attached to the upright rods Q¹, Q¹,
fixed in the extremities of the transverse bar Q which rests upon the base
plate A, and is made adjustable toward and away from the staff or centre of
motion F, so as to accomodate the position of the pattern holder to that of the
stylus N. This adjustment of the pattern holder is effected by means of the
slide Q3 which is held in adjustment in the slot Q of the base plate by means
of the set screw Q. As the stylus N is conducted over the curved and
straight lines of the pattern upon the holder two-movements of the same kind
will be imparted to the graving tool or bit I, and a fac-simile of the pattern
will be cut or engraved upon the plate or other object which: is held upon the
holder C. The graving tool it will be seen is rendered capable of universal
motion by the vertical and horizontal axes F, K, upon which it is mounted..
The movement of the staff O in vertical and horizontal planes permits the
stylus N to follow the lines of the pattern whatever may be their direction
and the relative sizes of the pattern, and the engraving will be proportionate:
to the relative distances of the stylus and the graving tool from the centre of
oscillation F. The rod J which is attached to the graving tool I is adjustable
longitudinally towards and from the plate which is being engraved. The
forward motion of the tracing arm N actuates the graver arm m in the same
direction, and as the-staff O moves in a vertical plane the rod P, P, connecting
the tracing arm with the graver arm is lengthened or shortened by a slotted
plate R, whose slots are traversed by studs p', p', upon the respective portions
of the rod P, P. For making vertical lines an adjustable vertical guide rod S.
against which the staff O traverses is provided, said guide rod being held in
the adjustable slide S which is fitted in the rest S³ and operated by means of
the crank screw S³, by which the position of the guide rod S is made to
coincide with that of the line which is to be traced by the stylus N. As the
graver I traverses over the face of the plate holder Cin a horizontal plane-
the said plate holder is adjusted about the axis of rotation F in such a manner
that the proximity of the tool and the object to be engraved is maintained, but
the extensible rod P, P, forms a definite means for advancing and retracting
the graver point as the latter moves vertically. To give a greater or less
depth of cut to the graver the pivoted point of adjustment p² of the extensible
rod P, P, is brought nearer to or more distant from the axis of the tracing
arm. Ni so as to vary the extent of motion imparted to the extensible rod and
consequently the forward motion of the graver. When it is required to engrave

page_text: +
see
upon an interior, surface, such as within a finger ring, the rods P and J are
detached from the graver arm m so as to permit the graver to drop down
into the article, to be engraved. A hole is made in the base plate below the
graver for the reception of the sleeve W, in which the threaded spindle V, s
Figure 5,.is adjustable by means of the nuts v, v. The spindle V supports
upon its upper end the ring holder Y, which, is a cup, or bollow cylinder,
is a
within which the ring is placed concentrically and held by the set screw r, r, r,
which bear against the outer surface of the ring and leave the interior exposed
for the action of the graving tool I, as seen in Figure 5. The motions of the
staff O may be made by hand, or they may be accomplished by journaling the
staff at its front and in a slide,rest which is capable of imparting horizontal
and vertical motions by screws. The elastic cord m², shown in Figure 5, may
be attached to the end of the graver arm for the purpose of enabling the
operator to hold the graver up to the surface to be engraved when the pressure
derived from the weight m is insufficient. A rose cutter may be substituted
for the graver I, and the cutter shaft revolved by a band and pulley with
motion derived from an exterior motor, or from a treadle worked by the
operator.
We do not confine ourselves to the specific details of construction herein
set forth, as the same may be varied considerably without departing from the
essential principles of our Invention.
Having described our Invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure
by Letters Patent is,―
1st. The holder C adjustable about the vertical axis, upon which the graving
tooi or bit is supported, substantially as and for the object set forth.
2nd. The combination of a graving tool or bit I, stylus or pointed follower N,
and adjustable holder C operating conjointly, substantially as described.
3rd. The extensible rod P, P, connecting the graver arm with the tracing
arm, and adjusted in length by means of the slotted plate R, and studs p', p',
or their equivalents, substantially as described.
4th. The adjustment of the extensible connecting rod P, P, at the point of
attachment to the tracing arm N, so as to vary the degree of penetration of
the graver, substantially as described.
5th. The combination with the graver I of the vibrating and weighted arm
D, as described.
6th. The adjustable guide rod E affording the means for tracing vertical
lines, as described.
7th. The ring holder Y with its set screws r, r, r, or equivalent device

page_text: made adjustable by means of the staff V and sleeve W, substantially as
described.
8th. .An engraving machine constructed substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Snell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
W., SNELL. (L.S.)