IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TURNING OR CUTTING AND POLISHING SCREW NUTS AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Thompson, of Ardwick, in the City of Man-
chester, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR TURNING OR CUTTING AND POLISHING SCREW NUTS AND OTHER ARTICLES."
Sealed the 5th March 1867, and dated the 18th September 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th September 1866.
I, JOHN THOMPSON, of Ardwick, in the City of Manchester, Machinist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR TURNING OR CUTTING AND POLISHING SCREW NUTS AND OTHER
ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
My improved machinery is particularly applicable for cutting and polishing
screw nuts, but it may be modified to operate in like manner upon the heads
of bolts and upon wheels and pulleys and other articles.
In performing my Invention I make use of a chuck or face plate to which
an intermittent rotary motion is given by suitable gearing; in this face plate
are sockets or bearings for six or other convenient number of spindles; on
these spindles the nuts or other articles are screwed or secured. When six

page_text: spindles are used for operating upon screw nuts two of the spindles are held
stationary by spring catches, three of them are turned round in one direction
while the nuts are being faced, chamfered, and polished, and the sixth is turned
round in the contrary direction to the three above referred to, while a locking
instrument holds the nut to unscrew it, and thereby allows it to drop off the
spindle. The cutters, polishing, and locking instruments are mounted on a
bed or supported by the side standards. The first tool for facing the nut is
held in a slide rest which is traversed to and fro by a screw, and the depth of
the cut is regulated by another screw with a hand wheel, the circumference of
which is made with slots; one end of a spring catch takes into one of these
slots, and when the motion of the slide is reversed to bring the tool back after
the first cut has been given, the other end of the spring catch comes against
a set screw and thereby turns the regulating screw partly round or sufficiently
to set the tool for the finishing cut. When the first tool has faced a nut the
face plate is turned one-sixth of a revolution to bring the same nut to the
second tool, which chamfers the corners of the nut; the face plate is then
moved another sixth part of a revolution to bring the same nut under the
polishing instrument, which consists of an endless emery band passing around
pulleys, or other suitable polishing instrument may be used, and the nut is
polished by revolving in contact with the polishing instrument; the face plate
is then moved another sixth part of a revolution to bring the nut that has
now been surfaced, chamfered, and polished under the locking instrument,
which consists of a shot bolt acting against one side of the nut to prevent
it revolving while the spindle is turned round in the proper direction for
unscrewing itself out of the nut. These operations are all performed
simultaneously on separate nuts while the attendant is screwing fresh nuts
by hand on the two stationary spindles. As the under side of the nut in some
cases only requires to be made true it is evident that the operations of the
chamfering and polishing tools are not in such cases required. When bolt
heads are to be operated upon, the spindles in the face plate are hollow to
admit the sbanks of the bolts, and when rounded bolt heads are to be produced
the tools are guided by templates. In turning top rollers and other articles
they are supported horizontally on the face plate and brought successively
under different tools or instruments, as. above described. When grooved or
other pulleys and wheels are to be operated upon, the cutting tools are fixed
in slides which are worked in the proper directions for surfacing and grooving
as required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
THOMPSON, of Ardwick, in the City of Manchester, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Thompson, Her special license that I, the said John
Thompson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Thompson, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TURNING OR CUTTING AND POLISHING
SCREW NUTS AND OTHER ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Thompson, 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 John Thompson, 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
(that is to say):
My Invention consists of certain improved combinations and arrangements
of machinery for turning or cutting and polishing screw nuts, the heads of
bolts, and other articles.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a plan, Figure 2 a back elevation, and Figure 3 a side view of
a machine particularly adapted for cutting and polishing screw nuts, but which
with slight modifications may be adapted to operate upon the heads of bolts

page_text: and other articles; Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are detached views of portions of
the machine shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
a is the chuck or face plate to which an intermittent rotary motion is given,
as will be described hereafter; the face plate a is fixed to or cast with the
hollow spindle a¹ which revolves in a socket in the bed 6 supported by the
standards 6. To the face plate a are fixed in this instance the six sockets c
in which the spindles revolve, to which the nuts to be operated upon are
screwed. I wish, however, to observe that a greater or less number of sockets
and spindles may be applied to the face plate according to the particular
purpose for which the machine is intended. Above the face plate a is the
frame d supporting the slides for the cutting and polishing tools, and the lock-
ing instrument for unscrewing the nuts when finished; the face plate a is
turned round by the driving pulley e, to the boss of which is fixed the pinion e¹
gearing into the wheel f¹ on the side shaft f, and the wheel e gearing into
the pinion g' on the shaft g.
The side shaft f moves.the face plate a at intervals the sixth part of a
revolution to bring the nuts in succession under the cutting tools in the
following manner :-The wheel f2 and the half of the clutch box f³ nearest
to it are both fast on a socket; this socket is loose on the shaft f; the other
half of the clutch box is free to slide endways on the shaft f, but is caused to
rotate with it by means of a feather key. When it is required to cause the
wheelf to rotate with the shaft f the halves of the clutch box are put into
gear. To the shaft f is fixed the worm f* gearing into the wheel h, in the
face of which is a stud acting on the shorter arm of the lever h³, the longer
arm of which raises the plate with inclines h³, which acts in the manner
described in reference to Figures 10, 11, and 12 of the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to me in conjunction with Edward Gerrard Fitton and
Frederick Alexander Fitton on the Nineteenth of October, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty, Number 2552; by this means the wheel f' is connected to
and driven by the shaft f, thereby driving the pinion on the shaft i, to which
is fixed the worm gearing into the worm wheel a fixed on the hollow
spindle a¹.
The shaft 9 communicates the requisite rotary motion to the spindles in
the sockets c in the following manner :-The bevel pinion g* on the shaft g,
see Figure 5, gears into the wheel a³ loose on the hollow spindle a¹; to the
boss of the bevel wheel a³ is fixed the spur wheel a gearing into the four
carrier pinions j, see Figure 1, which drive the spindles on which the nuts are
screwed; the wheel a also drives the smaller carrier pinion ¹ gearing into
the carrier, which drives the spindle in the contrary direction for the purpose

page_text: of unscrewing the nut when held by the locking instrument hereafter
described.
The cutting tool for performing the first operation on the nut is fixed in the
slide k, and the tool for performing the second or chamferring operation is
fixed in the slide n, see Figures 1 and 3, and these cutting tools are moved
to and fro over one-half of the nut in the following manner :-On the boss of
the worm wheel h above referred to is the change pinion h³ gearing into the
wheel on the shaft ; to this shaft is fixed the wheel gearing into the
wheel m² on the shaft m, to which is fixed the heart m³, which gives a vertical
up-and-down motion to the rack m³ gearing into the pinion m; this pinion is
fixed on the boss of the wheel m³ gearing into the pinions k¹ and n¹ fixed to
the screws of the slides k and n; one of these screws has a right-handed
thread and the other a left-handed thread in order to move the tools in
contrary directions, so that the tools may act on opposite sides of the nut,
as shewn in Figure 1. The tool holders of the slides k and n are raised
and lowered to vary the depth of the cut by the vertical screws k³ and
n2, one of which, marked 2, is seen in Figures 6 and 7; to this screw
is fixed a hand wheel, the circumference of which is .slotted. The
spring catch o is jointed to the arm o¹, which arm swivels on the screw k²,
and takes into the slots in the hand wheel. To the frame d is fixed
the stand d', thro' which pass the regulating screws d³ and d³, and
to the under side of the arm o¹ is fixed or cast a projection acting alter-
nately against the ends of the screws d and d. When the tool has
nearly finished the roughing or first cut the arın o¹ which moves with the
slide comes against the end of the screw d³, thereby causing the catch o
to turn the screw partly round or sufficiently to set the tool for the
finishing cut, and when the motion of the slide is reversed and the finishing is
nearly completed the arm o' comes against the screw d³ which turns the hand
wheel and screw back again to re-set the tool for the roughing cut. After the
Inuts have been faced and chamferred by the tools in the slides k and n it is
sometimes necessary to polish them; when that operation. is required an endless
emery band, as shewn in Figure 2, or other polishing instrument, is connected
to the slide n so as to act on the nut after it has been turned and chamferred,
but in most cases the polishing is not required. When the surface of the nut
is finished it is necessary to remove it from the spindle, and this operation is
performed by the locking or unscrewing apparatus shewn in Figures 1 and 4.
This unscrewing apparatus consists of the shot bolt p, one end. of which is
tapered and the other end is jointed to the spindle p¹ passing through the
bush d³ fixed to the frame d; to the spindle p¹ is attached one end of the

page_text: band p which passes over suitable guide pulleys, and the other end is then
secured to the pulley p³ which is mounted on a stud fixed to a bracket
projecting from the frame d; to the pulley p³ is fixed the arm p'. The shot
bolt p is held back by the catch 9 passing through bridles fixed to the
frame d, and this catch is raised when required by the pinion fixed to a
prolongation of the screw of the slide k; this pinion ³ gears into the pinion g',
in the face of which is a stud for lifting the catch q. As soon as the face
plate a in revolving has brought the finished nut beyond the shot bolt p, as
shewn in Figure 1, the catch 9 is raised and the spring around the spindle p
shoots the bolt p against the side of the finished nut and arrests its movement,
by which means as the spindle to which the nut is screwed revolves the nut is
thereby unscrewed off the spindle and falls on to the face plate, after which the
socket c from the spindle off which the nut bas been unscrewed comes against
the arm p and causes it to swivel partly round or sufficiently to cause the
pulley p³ to draw the shot bolt p back by means of the band p³; the spring
around the spindle p¹ is thereby again compressed, and the catch q is at
liberty to drop into the recess in the shot bolt to hold it back ready for the
next operation. When the face plate has made its partial rotation, the
spindle off which the finished nut has been unscrewed requires to be held
while the attendant screws on an unfinished nut; this is accomplished by the
spring catch taking into one of the teeth of the pinion on the spindle. The
operations of cutting, chamferring, (polishing when required), and unscrewing
are all performed simultaneously and in succession on different nuts, and the
attendant keeps the machine at work by screwing on the unfinished nuts, thus
producing more uniform work and effecting a great saving in time and labour.
As only the under side of the nut in some cases requires to be made true it
is evident that the chamferring and polishing operations are not in such cases
required. When bolt heads are to be operated upon the spindles in the
sockets c are made hollow to admit the shank of the bolt, when rounded bolt
heads are to be produced the tools may be guided by templates.
Figure 8 is a plan, and Figure 9 an elevation of the principal parts of a
machine constructed according to my Invention for turning top rollers; in
this instance the face plate a bas a rotary intermittent motion imparted to it
in the manner before described; to the face plate are fixed six or other
convenient number of sockets for the spindles of the wheel and face plate so.
Each spindle supports one end of the top roller to be turned, and the loose
headstocks & support the other end.
In the Drawing I shew three of the six top rollers as being operated upon
by cutting and other tools, as herein after described. The three top rollers being

page_text: operated on require motion to be given to them, and which they receive from the
spindles. To drive the spindles I employ a train of wheels, shewn detached in
Figure 9, in which the centre wheel a', see also Figures 1 and 5, gears into
the carrier j, which gears into the pinion fixed on the short upright shaft
to which the mitre pinion is fixed; this mitre drives the mitre s revolving
on a stud fixed to the sockets s, and to the mitre s' is fixed the spur pinion s
gearing into the wheel and faee place 86, fast on the spindle revolving in the
sockets; one of these train of wheels is employed to each of the spindles
which require turning, and if it is found desirable to operate on more than three
rollers at one time then an additional train of wheels can be used. The face:
plate a works within the circular frame t which supports the rests for the
various cutting and other tools. The first tool for roughing over the surface
of the top roller is fixed in the slide t', which is traversed to and fro by means
of the screw t and the spiral wheel driven by a similar wheel on the
upright shaft t, see Figure 9; this shaft is turned round alternately in
contrary directions by the large wheel u gearing into the pinion u¹ on the
lower end of the shaft t. The wheel u is annular and works in a recess in
the frame t outside the face plate, and it is driven by the heart m³ fixed on a
shaft corresponding to the shaft m in Figure 2. The heart m³ gives a
vibrating motion to the segment lever w, which gears into the pinion w¹, on
which is a mitre pinion gearing into a similar pinion on the upright shaft w³,
at the upper end of which is a spur pinion w³ gearing into the large wheel u.
After the surface of the roller has been roughed over by the tool in the slide t¹
the roller is carried forward to a slide furnished with three tools working up
and down for reducing the diameter to form the journals and the space for the
weight hook; the roller is then carried forward, and two finishing tools, as
shewn in Figure 9, are passed over the bosses to adjust their diameter; the
rollers are again passed forward and brought under the revolving cutters v for
adjusting the diameter of the journals and the space for the weight hook; the
roller may then be subjected to the action of one or more emery wheels for
adjusting the diameters and then to other cutters for chamferring the ends of
the bosses and nicking the ends of the journals, so that when the rollers are
liberated and taken off the face plate they are ready for being polished and
otherwise finished. All the operations for turning top rollers are thus
performed simultaneously and in succession, and one or more spaces are left
unoccupied by tools, so that the attendant may have time to remove the
finished roller or other article and replace it by another to be operated
upon. When grooved or other pulleys and wheels are to be turned up and
polished, the cutting or other tools are fixed iu slides, which are worked

page_text: in the proper directions for. surfacing, grooving, or otherwise operating upon
them as required.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the mode of
carrying the same into operation, I wish it to be understood that I do not
intend to limit myself to the details given; as they may be varied and modified
to suit the particular articles to be operated upon; and I claim,-
First, the general combinations and arrangements of the parts of the
machines described and shewn in the Drawing for turning or cutting
and polishing screw nuts, top rollers, and other articles by successive and
simultaneous operations.
Secondly, the apparatus described and shewn detached in Figures 6 and 7-
for moving the cutting tools..
And, thirdly, the apparatus described and shewn in Figures 1 and 4 for
unscrewing screw nuts from the spindles on which they have been turned.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thompson, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-seven.
JOHN THOMPSON.
(L.S.)