Improvements in Machinery for Filing or Finishing Spur Rowels and Tracing Wheels.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 6th May, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 6th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 10th Mar.. 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Filing or Finishing Spur Rowels
and Tracing Wheels.
We, ARTHUR DUFFIELD ROBINSON, and JAMES WILLIAM BROOKS, trading
together as The Walsall Hardware Manufacturing Company, of New Street,
Walsall, Staffordshire, Patentees and General Manufacturers, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists of the herein described improvements in machines for filing
or finishing the points or teeth of spur rowels and tracing wheels which latter are
small toothed wheels for making dotted lines. We will describe this invention as
applied to spur rowels.
In carrying out this invention we employ a revolving circular file made V shaped
on it's periphery or otherwise suitably formed to correspond with the V shaped
spaces between the rowel teeth or points.. This file is mounted on a spindle so as to
revolve rapidly:
The spur rowels are held one at a time on a holder which we provide adjacent to
the revolving file. This holder consists of a slide which by means of a lever can be
moved to and from the revolving file. The said holder has a short vertical peg
which forms the axis on which the spur rowel is turned to bring each tooth
successively into position for the revolving file to act upon. To keep the rowel in
position on this peg there is a spring (preferably made from sheet metal) which is
fixed to the holder and bent around the rowel to or to within a short distance at the
top of the peg so that in placing the rowel on the peg this spring has to be lifted
slightly to allow of the rowel passing underneath and then when the rowel is on' the
peg the spring holds the rowel in that position.
To file or finish the teeth of a rowel by our invention above in part described the
said slide is first moved away from the revolving file; the rowel is then placed
upon the peg as aforesaid and the slide and rowel are then by the said lever moved
(either horizontally or vertically) to the revolving file so that the file will act upon
the V space between two of the rowel teeth. The slide and rowel are then by the
lever withdrawn slightly to allow of the rowel being turned round through one
tooth; the rowel is then again pressed against the file so as to file the next V space
and so on until all the teeth have been pointed and finished.
The said slide which carries the rowels can be adjusted and set in any desired
position so that the rowel will be held against the file at any desired angle to file off
the teeth to a more or less acute angle as may be desired. The rowel can either be
turned about the peg by hand by the operator to bring the teeth in successive order
in position for the file to act upon them or this turning movement of the rowel car
be effected automatically by a detent or finger or by an inclined piece acting upon
the rowel teeth when the slide with the rowel is drawn away from the file; this
detent or finger may be made to slide and be actuated by the said lever which moves
the said slide acting through a sliding piece having inclined surfaces arranged to
give the necessary to and fro movement to the sliding finger to move the rowel one
tooth at the proper time that is when the rowel is away from the file and so as to
keep the detent or finger stationary while the teeth are being acted upon by the
the file g
When the rowel has been moved to the proper position against the file the side
of the rowel opposite to that which the file acting upon may come into contact
with an adjustable stop which thus gives the necessary inclination to the rowel.

page_text: Instead of the rowel holder being made to slide to and from the file as above
described the slide may be dispensed with the rowel holder be made stationary, and
the revolving file be carried by an arm which can be moved about a centre to and
from the rowel teeth to act upon the same in successive order.
We may similarly arrange for two revolving files to act upon the teeth at
opposite sides of the rowel at the same time.
We file and finish the teeth of tracing wheels similarly as above described with
reference to spur rowels.
Dated this 5th day of May 1893.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Filing or Finishing Spur Rowels
and Tracing Wheels.
We, ARTHUR DUFFIELD ROBINSON, and JAMES. WILLIAM BROOKS, trading
together as The Walsall Hardware Manufacturing Company, of New Street,
Walsall, Staffordshire, Patentees and General Manufacturers, 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 :-
This invention consists of the herein described improvements in machines for filing
or finishing the points or teeth of spur rowels and tracing wheels which latter are
small toothed wheels used by saddlers and others for making dotted lines. We will
describe this invention as applied to spur rowels and we will refer to the accom-
panying drawings on which
Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 is a plan of a machine constructed according
to this invention for filing or finishing the spur rowels or tracing wheels; Fig. 3 is
a front elevation of the same;
Fig. 4 is a side elevation and Fig. 5 is a plan of the same machine shewn by
Figs. 1 and 2 but with some of the parts in different positions as hereinafter
described so as to illustrate how the machine is operated;
Fig. 6 is a side elevation and Fig. 7 is a plan of a modification of our invention;
Figs. 8 and 9 shew how our invention is applied to spur rowels and tracing wheels
of different sizes and having different numbers of teeth;
Figs. 10 and 11 shew how our invention is applied for finishing those hunting and
military spur rowels in which the edges or sides of the teeth are continued to form
a pattern on the rowel and
Figs. 12 and 13 each illustrate a further modification of our invention.
Referring firstly more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: In
carrying out this invention we employ a circular file such as A made V shaped on
its periphery preferably to an angle of about ninety degrees but we do not confine
ourselves to any particular angle the said file being mounted on a spindle such as a
which is supported by any convenient means and caused to revolve rapidly. The
spur rowels B are held one at a time on a holder C wbich we provide adjacent to
the revolving file A. This holder consists of a slide C which by means of a lever I
can be moved to and from the revolving file A the said slide C being mounted on a
base D and suitably guided so as to move up and down vertically (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5) or so as to move horizontally (Figs. 6 and 7) (or as hereinafter described
instead of the rowel holder being made to slide the rowel holder may be made
stationary). The rowel holder C has at the top a short vertical pege which
forms the axis on which the spur rowel B is turned to bring each of its teeth
successively into position for the revolving file A to act upon. To prevent the
rowel B jumping off this peg e when being acted upon by the file A or when being.
turned round to bring its teeth into position for the file to act upon them there is or

page_text: may be a small spring such as F preferably made from sheet steel which as shewn
in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5 is fixed to the holder C and bent around the rowel B on to or
within a short distance of the top of the peg e so that in placing the rowel B on
the peg e this spring F has, by forcing the rowel under it, to be lifted slightly to
allow of the rowel B passing underneath and on to the peg e and then when the.
rowel B is on the peg e the spring F retains the rowel in that position and prevents
its jumping off when being acted upon by the file or when being turned round to
bring the rowel teeth into position.
To file or finish the teeth of the rowel B by our invention above in part
described the slide C has first to be moved down or otherwise away from the
revolving file A as shewn for instance in Figs 4 and 5; the rowel B is then placed
upon the peg e as aforesaid and as shewn by Figs. 4 and 5 and the slide C with the
rowel B upon the peg e are then by the lever I moved (either vertically Figs. 1, 2,
3, 4 and
or horizontally Figs. 6 and 7) to the revolving file A so that the file will
act upon
on the V space between two of the rowel teeth. The slide and rowel B are
then by the lever I withdrawn slightly as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5 to allow of the
rowel B being turned round through one tooth; the rowel B is then again by the
lever pressed against the file A so as to file the next V space on the rowel B and
so on until all the teeth have been pointed and finished.
On
The said slide C. which carries the rowel B can be moved up to any desired height
and the base D and the part supported thereby can be moved along horizontally.
either nearer to or farther from the revolving file A so that the rowel B will be
held against the file at any desired angle to file all the teeth to a more or less acute
angle as may be desired. For instance if the rowel is made with only a few teeth
as shewn in Fig. 8 leaving the V spaces between the teeth very wide then the
slide C has to be set so as to bring the rowel up to the position shewn in the
elevation Fig. 8 almost on to the horizontal centre line of the file spindle a.
the other hand if the rowel is made with many teeth which are much more acute
as shewn for instance by Fig. 9 then the slide C which carries the rowel has to be
set so as to bring the rowel up against the file A to the position about as shewn
in the elevation Fig. 9 that is in contact with the underpart of the file considerably
below the horizontal centre line of the file axis a. Thus it will be seen that one
revolving file made such as A will suit and act upon spur rowels of various shapes
and having various numbers of teeth.
The rowel A can either be turned about the pege by hand by the operator to
bring the teeth of the rowel in successive order in position for the file A to act
upon them or this turning movement of the rowel can be effected automatically by
a detent or finger such as G see Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 when the slide C with the
rowel B is moved away from the file A; this detent or finger G may be carried
by a horizontal slide 9 arranged to move horizontally in guides h on the upright
piece H fixed to the base D and be actuated by the lever I acting through the
sliding piece or lever J which turns on the fulcrum pin j and at its top end
engages the slide 9 and is made with two inclined surfaces ** arranged to be
acted upon by the projecting piece k which is fixed to and moves with the slide C
so that when the lever I is moved up so as to lower the slide C as shewn in
Figs. 4 and 5 the projection k acts upon the slide C as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5
the projection acts upon the inclined surface and moves the lever J
and slide and detent D outwardly as shewn in Fig. 5; then when the lever I
is depressed so as to raise the slide C as shewn in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 then just before
the slide C gets to the position shewn the projection k acts upon the incline and
moves the lever J slide g and detent G inwardly to the position shewn in Figs. 2 and 3
so that the detent G acts upon the rowel B and turns it through the space of one
tooth so that as the upward motion of the slide C is continued a fresh space
between the rowel teeth is presented to the revolving file A. Thus the rowel is
automatically turned through the space of one tooth every time the lever I is
depressed.
When the rowel B has been moved to the proper position against the file such

page_text: for instance.as shewn by Figs. 1 and 2 the side of the rowel B opposite to that
which the file A is acting upon is by preference arranged to come into contact with
an adjustable stop such as P which thus gives the necessary inclination to the
rowel B while the file A is acting upon it. This stop P is arranged to be adjusted
vertically to suit rowels of different sizes and to give them different inclinations
and the said stop may as shewn be carried by the screwed stem p which is fixed to
the upright part of the base 'D.
As before stated. instead of the rowel holder C being made to slide to and fro
from the file as above described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
this slide may be dispensed with and as shewn for instance by Fig. 12 the peg e on
on which the rowel rests and the stop P may be made stationary and the revolving
file A be carried by a lever arm such as L which can be moved about the centre m
to and from the rowel teeth to act upon the same in successive order. In this case
the revolving file A may be driven by any convenient means such for instance as by
the spur wheels n' n from the revolving shaft m. The distance to which the
revolving file A ḍescends when acting upon the rowel B is regulated by the set
screw o acting as a stop.
'
When filing and finishing those hunting and military spur rowels such as shewn
in Fig. 11 where the sides of the teeth are continued in lines past their roots so as
to join and form a star pattern at the base of the teeth we prefer to use V shaped
revolving files such as shewn by Figs. 10 and 11 one face of the circular file being
flat and the centre of the rowel which is being acted upon is arranged a little to
one side of the rotary file so that we first file and finish one side of each tooth by
means of the rotary file which is flat say on the left hand side see Fig. 10 and
carry the lines forward past the roots of the teeth as shewn in Fig. 10 and
then we file and finish the other side of each tooth by means of the file such as
shewn by Fig. 11 which is flat on the right hand side carrying the lines of the
teeth forward past. their roots to meet the lines from the other sides of the teeth
and thus form the star pattern at the roots of the teeth as shewn in Fig. 11.
When operating on large rowels such as camel rowels and cowboys' rowels which
have very long teeth we prefer to employ the horizontal arrangement such as
shewn by Figs. 6 and 7 and to arrange for the rowel teeth to pass right under-
neath the rotary file and back again so as to act all along the teeth right up to
the centre of the rowel as shewn for instance by Fig. 9.
In the arrangement of our invention shewn by Figs. 13 and 14 the peg e on
which the rowel B turns is fixed to a holder C which is made in the form of a bar
to be held at the end c¹ in the operator's hands the front end c³ resting upon an
ordinary hand rest Q as used with a lathe in which the rotary file A revolves.
The holder C is fitted with the adjustable stop P and. provided with the set screw
underneath the end of which comes into contact with the rest Q and regulates the
position of the rowel B against the file A. In this arrangement the rowel is
turned by hand to bring the spaces between the teeth in position-for the file.
It will be evident that we may arrange for two revolving files such as A to act
upon the teeth at opposite sides of the rowel at the same time similarly as above
described with reference to a revolving file acting on the teeth at one side of
the rowel.
We file and finish the teeth of tracing wheels similarly as above described with
reference to spur rowels.
It is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise arrangements
of mechanism hereinbefore described and illustrated by our drawings as it will
be, evident that these may be varied without departing from the nature of our
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :—
1. In machinery for filing or finishing spur rowels and tracing wheels the

page_text: employment of a revolving file or files preferably ✓ shaped on the periphery
in combination with the stationary or sliding rowel holder or tracing wheel holder
made with a peg about which the rowel or tracing wheel can be revolved and
means for moving the rowel teeth or tracing wheel to and against the revolving
file or files or for moving the revolving file or files to and against the rowel teeth
or tracing wheel teeth so as to file and finish the said teeth in successive order
substantially as herein before set forth.
2. In machinery for filing or finishing spur rowels and tracing wheels the
employment of a revolving file or files preferably V shaped on the periphery in
combination with the stationary or sliding rowel holder or tracing wheel holder
made with a peg about which the rowel or tracing wheel can be revolved, a stop
for maintaining the rowel or tracing wheel in an inclined position whilst the
revolving file is acting upon it and means for moving the rowel teeth or tracing
wheel teeth to and against the revolving file or for moving the revolving file to and
against the rowel teeth or tracing wheel teeth so as to file and finish the said teeth
in successive order substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
3. In machinery for filing or finishing spur, rowels and tracing wheels the
employment of a revolving file or files preferably V shaped on. the periphery in
combination with the stationary or sliding rowel holder or tracing wheel holder
made with a peg about which the rowel or tracing wheel can be revolved, a stop
for maintaining the rowel or tracing wheel in an inclined position whilst the
revolving file is acting upon it and means for moving the rowel teeth or tracing
wheel teeth to and against the revolving file or for moving the revolving file to
and against the rowel teeth or tracing wheel teeth and means for automatically
turning the rowel or tracing wheel so as to file and finish the said teeth in
successive order substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
4. In machinery for filing or finishing spur rowels and tracing wheels in which
the said rowels or tracing wheels are acted upon by a revolving file the employment
of the holder for the rowel or tracing wheel made with a short peg about which
the rowel or tracing wheel revolves and a spring to prevent the rowel or tracing
wheel jumping off the peg substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
Dated this 5th day of February 1894.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicants.