THE MANUFACTURE OF BOXES OR PACKAGES MADE OF VENEER OR THIN WOOD, FOR DRY OR WET GOODS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Hutchinson, of 70, Mildmay Groove, Mildmay
Park, London, N., in the, County of Middlesex, Engineer, for, the. Invention
of "THE MANUFACTURE OF BOXES OR PACKAGES MADE OF VENEER OR THIN
WOOD, FOR DRY OR WET GOODS." .
Sealed the 27th February 1880, and dated the 5th September 1879.
PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by the said. Richard Hutchinson,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th September 1879.
RICHARD HUTCHINSON, of 70, Mildmay Grove, Mildmay Park, London, N.,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer. "THE MANUFACTURE OF BOXES OR
PACKAGES, MADE OF VENEER OR THIN WOOD, FOR DRY OR WET GOODS."
This Invention relates to the manufacture of boxes or packages made of veneer or
thin wood, for dry or wet goods, millinery boxes, or any other article requiring to
be cylindrical, oblong, oval, and boxes or packages made with flat sides, and round
ends, or any other shape or form not obtainable by any other method out of one
piece of wood.
My Invention consists in forming the body portion of boxes or packages, of
veneer or thin wood, cut to the required length and thickness by knife or saw, or
any other means while under steam in process. The ends of the blanks of wood for
the body portion, I cut in dove-tail form by machine or punch, so that when bent
round, they shall interlock and be of straight and even form, leaving no projecting
edges on the out or insides, and requiring no glue or other adhesive substances. In
the manufacture of the boxes or packages I use bending machines with three rolls;
the top roll is made hollow and heated by steam or any other mode. Between the
two bottom rolls I fix a perforated pipe or tube of flat shape or any other shape or
form. Through this pipe or tube I
pass steam.
The object of this is, that during
the process of bending, I have through these perforations jets of steam playing upon
the outside of the wood body of the boxes or packages, which enables me to bend
the wood to any required shape or form, and also to use stubborn or cross grained,
or cheaper class of wood than is used for this class of goods. After the body of the
box or package is bent in the machine to the proper shape or form, I place them in
cylinders of the exact shape or form required. These cylinders are heated by steam
or other means. Inside these cylinders I place a second cylinder of exact shape or
Din 021

page_text: form of the outside one, but less in diameter, the thickness of the box or package.
These cylinders I make of cast iron, or any other material cut or parted through
the centre. Inside the cylinder I fix a pair of cones or springs for the manufacture
of the smaller boxes or packages, which, when released expands the inner cylinder
so as to press tightly against the box or package, and hold the same firmly in
position until thoroughly dried and fixed to the desired. shape or form. For the
larger size boxes or packages, I dispense with the cones or springs and use a cam,
eccentric, or other means to expand the cylinder, and retain the boxes or packages
in position until dried or seasoned. These cylinders I heat by steam, gas, or any
other method. For impervious boxes, I make the veneer or thin wood in lengths
suitable for the box or package, cut in a diagonal forin or shape in two or more
strips or folds: I place these strips or folds transversely, and in such a position that
the grain of one piece of wood shall cross the grain of the other, and by this method
I make the boxes or packages impervious to all greasy substances, &c.
For mantle boxes and millinery boxes, for the purpose of any garments made of
fur, or any valuable material, I similarly construct and make impervious to moths
and other insects; and by using cedar wood in preference; this wood I form in strips
or layers, as before named, and place in moulds or cylinders of the desired shape
or form, and heat by steam or any other means.
The cylinders aforesaid, for making the boxes or packages, I place in rows of
any number, in one or more castings of cast iron, or any other material, in tables or
benches of any form or shape, which tables or benches I make hollow, and by
admitting steam into the benches or tables the cylinders or moulds become
surrounded by the steam or any other heat used, and are thus made hot, and
thereby assisting in drying and moulding the boxes or packages.
By this method of steaming and drying in moulds or cylinders, and bending by
steam heating rolls aforesaid, I form my boxes, more especially boxes or packages
requiring to be made of a shape or form for close packing for transport, in the
form of flat sides and round ends, thus allowing the boxes to pack close together.
For the tops and bottoms of the boxes or packages, I cut a recess or groove,
and compress the tops and bottoms in the body of the box, or in the usual way.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Richard Hutchinson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd March
1880.
RICHARD HUTCHINSON, of 70, Mildmay Grove, Mildmay Park, London, N.,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer. "THE MANUFACTURE OF BOXES OR
PACKAGES MADE OF VENEER OR THIN WOOD, FOR DRY OR WET GOODS.
"
This Invention relates to the manufacture of boxes, cases, or packages made of
veneer or thin wood for containing dry, wet, or greasy goods, for millinery and
similar light goods, to the manufacture of any article requiring to.be cylindrical,
oblong or oval, of boxes or packages made with flat sides and round ends, or of any
other shape or form not obtainable by any other method, and out of one piece of
material without any joint in the sides.
The Drawings on Sheets 1 and 4 represent the machinery and methods I employ
in the production of my dovetailed and my sewn boxes. I use wood or any other
suitable material, softened by steam, and while still wet, cut it by knife or saw,
into pieces or "blanks," as they are hereinafter called, of the size required. The
ends of the blanks are then cut dovetail by a "stepped" chisel or punch, a side
view of which, along with a blank undergoing the process of being dovetailed, is
shewn by Fig. 1. By using a stepped chisel, i.e. one with its cutting edges
following each other, I obviate all risk of splitting the blank, inasmuch as the piece
removed therefrom is cut away by a series of cuts instead of at a single blow.
This chisel may be used by hand, or several may be combined and fixed in the tool
holder of a punching machine. Fig. 2 represents the two edges of a blank after
being dovetailed. I do not confine myself to the pattern of dovetail shewn in
Fig. 2, but may use various patterns. This dovetailing may be done immediately
after the blanks are cut, without waiting for them to dry, thus obviating the delay
which always occurs at this stage, in any method of manufacturing these goods as
up to this date conducted. Immediately after being dovetailed, and while still
moist, the blanks are passed through the bending machine, in the direction of the
line x, y, Fig. 4*. A front view of this machine is given in Fig. 3*, and an end
view of the rollers, with part of their gearing, in Fig. 4*. The rollers are three in
number, and are made, by preference, of cast iron turned up smooth on their outer
surfaces. The top roller e is hollow, and heated by steam or gas, supplied by any
convenient means. The bottom rollers c, d, may be either solid or hollow, as
convenience in their manufacture may suggest. These rollers are mounted in a
frame, and driven at the same rate by wheel gearing, actuated by hand or power.
The bearings of the roller spindles are adjustable, to allow of their taking blanks of
varying thicknesses. Underneath the rollers c, d, is an iron pipe a perforated along
its upper edge. These perforations are furnished with nozzles b, b, b, b. Steam is
supplied to this pipe, and rising in jets between the rollers c, d, impinges upon the
blank passing between the rollers, and by moistening its under side renders it pliant,
while at the same time its upper side is contracted by the dry heat of the outside
of the top roller e. A permanence is thus imparted to the cylindrical form, into
which the blank is rolled, which permanence cannot be attained by using cold top
rollers. Moreover, by availing myself of the softening influence of steam on one of
the sides of the blank, at the same time that its other side is being contracted by
dry heat, I am enabled to make use of cross-grained, i.e. stubborn, as well as
cheaper classes of wood, than has hitherto been found possible to utilize in the
manufacture of such boxes or cases as this Invention is capable of producing.
Each blank is taken direct from the bending machine and has its dovetailed ends
interlocked on a mandril, the resulting joint being smooth and free from all projections.
The interlocked blank or "body" as I now call it is taken from the mandril, and

page_text: while still pliant from the steaming it has been subjected to, is placed in a mould
or cylinder of the exact shape the finished box or case is intended to be. These
moulds or cylinders are illustrated on Sheet 4, Figs. 1 and 2, and are fully described
further on.
Inside each body is now placed an expansible cylinder. I use these
cylinders of various shapes, according to the shape to be given to the box or case.
They may be made in either of the ways illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 5, or 6, which
are sectional elevations-through their vertical axes. Either pattern consists
essentially of a cylinder and an internal and detachable expander. Where necessary
I use more than one expander to one cylinder. These cylinders are made of cast
iron or other suitable material, and are parted lengthwise into two or more parts in
such a way that their edges overlap, as shewn in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, which are plans
explaining the application of the expansible cylinder to a round, oval, and round
cornered box respectively. Other shapes can be made after the same plan. When
these cylinders are closed up as shewn in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, they are smaller
than the outside moulds or cylinders (illustrated on sheet 4) in which they are used
by the thickness of the "bodies." The expanding of the cylinders is effected by
either of the following methods. By two cones g, gl, a bolt and tightening.wrench f
Fig. 3; a cone g, a bolt' and cone and tightening wrench f, and yoke and guide-pins /
Fig. 4; by a cone and bolt g, a socket h split into two or more pieces lengthwise,
fastened to each
according to the shape of the cylinder to be expanded, a spring
section of the socket h, a yoke ; resting in notches in the cylinder k, and a
tightening wrench f, Fig. 5; or by two or more pairs of cams mounted on a
spindle m actuated by a tightening wrench f, Fig. 6. The cylinders are bored to
allow of the escape, in the shape of vapour, of the moisture imparted to the
bodies by the steaming processes already described, when the bodies are being
dried in the moulds o, o, o, Fig. 1 of Sheet 4. When the bodies are taken from the
moulds where, however, they are allowed to remain until they are seasoned, they
are quite firm, and the joints perfect, without the use of glue or any adhesive
substance. Instead of dovetailing the joints, I may in the case of thin veneer
boxes, make the joint by bringing the two edges to be joined butt together, placing
a strengthening strip 2 behind, and "herring-boning" or otherwise sewing them
together with a suitable thread, Fig. 10. The rims of the lids may be made in the
same way as the bodies of the boxes, or in any other way. The tops and bottoms
are punched in the ordinary way, and sprung into their places after the bodies are
seasoned, with or without a recess having been previously cut to receive them.
The ducts in g', Fig. 3, g, Fig. 4, are to allow of the escape of vapour during the
drying process.
My improved and impervious box for containing the moist or greasy goods and
method of manufacturo are illustrated by the Drawings on Sheets 2 and 4. The
same machinery and methods may be applied to the manufacture of boxes for such
goods as millinery or any light goods, or for furs, as well as for such articles as
rocket tubes. When I make my boxes for furs or any goods liable to the attacks
of moth, I use by preference cedar wood, or some other wood or suitable matérial
camphorated with the aid of steam, so as to thoroughly permeate the material
with the camphor. Fig. 1, Sheet 2, represents the machine use for cutting the
spirals; out of which I form the bodies of my impervious boxes. The frame of
the machine is similar to that of an ordinary lathe. A, A, are two holding
posts, a side view in section being shewn in Fig. 2. B is the cutter rest,
a side view of which with part cut away to shew an internal rack and pinion,
is given in Fig. 3. Figs. 4 and 5 shew respectively a right and left handed
spiral cut by the machine. Along the entire front of the machine is a
leading screw (a portion only of the thread is shown) which carries three
pulleys (each one twice as wide as the belt that drives it) D1, D2, and D
D' and D³ are keyed fast to the leading screw C. D2 is a loose pulley. D' is driven
in one direction, and D³ in. the opposite direction, the belt of one being straight, and
of the other crossed; these two belts are moved to the right or left by an ordinary

page_text: fork arrangement. The action of the three pulleys and two belts is as follows:-
When D', driven, e.g., by the straight belt, is travelling the cutter rest from left to
right, the crossed belt is on the right-hand half of the loose pulley D³. When it is
desired to reverse the machine the two belts are moved to the right, bringing the
straight belt on to the loose pulley D³, and the crossed belt on to D³; the cutter
rest is then travelled from right to left. E is an ordinary clip motion for grasping
the leading screw. The cutter rest is advanced to or receded from the work by the
usual movement indicated by the handle F. G is a steel cutter of a V section with an
obtuse internal angle, as indicated by the vertical line drawn from its apex to its baso.
The cutting edges are set by preference at an angle of 45° with the face of the wood
or other material to be operated upon, but it is by varying this angle that I regulate
the diameter of the spirals, inasmuch as the more acute this angle may be the smaller
will be the diameter of the spiral, and vice versa. The cutter is fastened to the top
of the rest by a bolt h, Figs. 1 and 3, which passes through its base-plate, allowing
it to be turned or partially revolved in either direction by turning the notched wheel
i, Figs. 1 and 3. When the cutter has traversed the work, shewn as a beam of wood
j, Fig. 1, and at the moment it is to be reversed, the notched wheel is turned in the
necessary direction, and by means of the bevilled pinion k and quadrantal rack l,
Fig. 3, the cutter is made to revolve a little, so that its other edge is brought into
operation, and the half that had been in work moved from the face of the work far
enough to prevent the friction which would occur if the cutter were straight instead
of a V section. The distance that the wheel i is moved regulates the thickness of
the spiral by setting the cutter more or less into work with greater nicety than
could be obtained by the action of F. The notched wheel, which may have any
number of notches cut in its periphery, is held in position by a spring catch m.
Fig. 2 is a side view in section of one of the holding posts. A set screw n is pro-
vided to fasten each one to the bed of the machine. Each post is fitted with a pair
of jaws o, o, which sliding in their groove are expanded or closed by the right and
left-handed screw p. Fig. 4 is a right hand spiral as produced when the cutter is
travelled from left to right, and Fig. 5 a left hand spiral as produced when the cutter
is travelled from right to left.
The wood or other material to be cut is, when necessary (as would always be the
case with wood), thoroughly steamed by any convenient method, and used before
having time to dry; its top and bottom faces are slightly tapered from front to back,
so that each succeeding spiral is rather smaller than its predecessor, thus facilitating
the making of them up into cylindrical forms. The spirals, the production of which in
a perfect or unbroken form, in spite of knots and irregularities in the grain of the wood,
is rendered easy by the preliminary steaming to which the wood is submitted, are
dried by any convenient means and then made up into cylindrical forins as follows:-
I take a right-hand spiral and slip-it over a left hand one, or vice versa, using a
little glue to fasten them together as well as to close the spirals. By drying the
spirals before combining them I get rid of all natural as well as all artificial moisture
much more quickly and thoroughly, than I could do if I were to defer the drying until
the spirals had been combined; the result is increased strength. I may use as many
pairs of spirals as I find necessary for cylinders that have to be of extra strength;
but the principal advantage derivable from my improved method of manufacture is
the imperviousness that is the immediate consequence of the grain of one spiral
crossing the grain of the one to which it is united. The forms are now ready to be
cut up into lengths as may be required; this may be done by mounting them on a
mandril in a lathe, and applying a parting tool. They are now dried and finally
seasoned by the same process as the dovetailed boxes first described in this Specifi-
cation, see Figs. 3 to 9, Sheet 1, and Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet 4.
When I make these forms up into boxes I secure imperviousness in the tops and
bottoms by using two or more layers with the grain of the respective layers
crossed at right angles and glued and pressed together; these layers are punched in
the ordinary way and dried before being fixed in their places, with or without
grooves having been turned to receive them. Fig. 6, Sheet 2, represents one of my

page_text: -
impervious spiral boxes, shewing the inside spiral or pair of spirals continued
upwards to form a rebated junction between box and lid. The diagonal lines shew
how the spirals cross each other.
When I wish to make my improved seamless-side box or cylinder for any
other purpose I use the machinery illustrated on Sheet 3. For drying and seasoning
I use the expanding cylinders shewn in Figs. 3 to 9 on Sheet 1, and the moulding
benches illustrated on Sheet 4, and fully described further on. Fig. 1, Sheet 3, is
a lathe adapted to the purpose of this Invention carrying a headstock of an ordinary
pattern. To the face plate is fastened the material, wood, or any other suitable
substance, by an ordinary nose-screw, bolt, and nut, or chuck. The length of the
material to be operated upon may be equal to that of the lathe bed, less the space
occupied by the headstock and tool holder, the piece of work, etc., being supported
when necessary in an upright moveable head, with an adjustable socket fitted
therein whose centre is coincident with the centre of the lathe face-plate. The
wood is cut dry, not previously steamed. I use three varieties of tool holders,
Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The cutters are of three patterns, Figs. 5, 6, and 7. The tool
holders, only one of which is used at once although two are shewn on the lathe
bed, are each mounted on bases of the same pattern. A hand wheel a carrying an
internal cog wheel b gearing into a rack c on the face of the lathe-bed, traverses
the tool holder to and from the work. The revolving heads d, Figs. 2 and 3,
carry a series of cutters arranged so as to bring into operation the largest first, and
so on, or vice versa. These cutters are fastened into sockets in the heads by any
convenient means. A spring bolt e, e, is provided to keep the head in position.
The head of Fig. 2 is revolved by a worm and circular rack f, that of Fig. 3, by a
handle mounted on its axis. The base of the latter is hollowed out to allow of the
revolution of the cutters. Either pattern, 2 or 3, may be made automatic by any
well known device, such as making the top parts to slide on the bases, and by the
addition of a ratchet wheel moved by a spring catch (as the top part of the holder
is drawn back from its work) while the spring bolt is released by the same motion;
the worm and rack f, Fig. 2, and handle on the axis of the head of Fig. might
then be dispensed with. Fig. 4 is a mitrailleuse head. The cutters work through
two circular plates g, g, whose peripheries are shaped angularly to keep them in
their beds in the frame h, which is made in two parts and bolted together. In this
pattern holder I revolve the cutters by hand, or I may use a worm and wheel
arrangement. Each is, in its turn, advanced to or receded from its work by
a lever handle i, working on two guides j; it carries a block which bears against
each cutter in turn and forces it forward into the work. The addition of a spring
self-releasing catch to this block enables the lever handle i to draw each cutter
in turn out of the work. The catch referred to is not shewn in the Drawing. A
spring bolt l, working into holes cut in the periphery of the front plate g, serves to
keep the cutter in position while at work. Fig. 5 represents the cutter I employ
for cutting hard woods, ivory, etc.; Figs. 6 and 7 are for ordinary woods. The
teeth of Fig. 6 are cut like those of a frame saw. Fig. 7 carries sometimes three
and four cutting edges cut with teeth like those of an ordinary saw.
longitudinal slots in Figs. 6. and 7 are to allow of the cutters freeing them-
selves of saw dust which is expelled by centrifugal force. I do not confine
myself to the patterns of teeth illustrated, but may vary them as required by the
nature of the material to be cut. By preference the cutters are made without a
seam or weld, but for small cutters I may use them with brazed joints.
The
The
The tool holder is brought into position by the hand wheel a, and the work
revolved. On advancing the largest cutter a cylinder is at once cut on the
revolving block of wood or other material. While the cutter is being drawn back
a polishing pad held to the work imparts a finish to its external surface.
cylinder is then cut off by the application of a parting tool such as a lever con
veniently mounted on the lathe bed and carrying a suitable cutter. The finished
cylinder is then removed and the revolving head turned so as to bring the next
smaller cutter into position, and so on as before. The thickness of the sides

page_text: of the cylinder are decided by the difference between the internal diameter of one
cutter and the external diameter of the next size smaller. By following the cutters
one after the other as described, I produce from any block of material the largest
number of cylinders it is capable of yielding. I only waste the saw dust and use
the material up to the smallest core. Before cutting off the cylinders I may, when
required, cut a rebate on the outside at one end to allow of lids fitting on flush,
when I intend the cylinders to be made into boxes, and a recess inside for the
reception of the box bottom can be cut afterwards. Box lids can be cut in the same
way as the bodies. Box tops and bottoms are punched out and sprung into their
places in the ordinary way. If the cylinders as cut in the lathe are required of any
other shape, they are exposed to.the softening influence of steam in any convenient
way, and then fixed in moulds with expanding cylinders as described in a former
part of this Specification, and illustrated by Figs. 3 to 9, Sheet 1.
Fig 1 is a plan, and Fig. 2 (Sheet 4) a side view, with parts of the side broken
away to shew the inside, of the benches of moulds or cylinders I use for moulding,
pressing, and seasoning my different manufactures. The benches and cylinders are
made of cast iron in any convenient way, and the moulds are bored out or in some
other way made quite smooth. These moulds o, o, o, o, are of various patterns as
may be required, and are arranged in any quantity of the same or various shapes
in one bench as may be convenient. The necessary heat is supplied by steam, or
hot air, or otherwise through the pipe p, the steam or hot air circulates round and
amongst the cylinders or moulds and passes away through q.
;
Having now particularly described the different parts of my Invention, and how
the same is to be carried into effect, I claim,
First. Making a box or cylinder with a joint in the side, without using glue
or any adhesive substance, as herein before described and illustrated by the
Drawings on Sheet 1.
Second. Making a box or cylinder with a joint in the side, out of steamed or wet
wood, and carrying the process of manufacture as far as the last stage, as and for
the purpose hereinbefore described, without using artificial heat or any other agency
for drying.
Third. Making a box or cylinder with a dovetailed joint, as herein before described
and illustrated on Sheet 1, Fig. 10.
Fourth. The "stepped" chisel as and for the purpose hereinbefore described and
illustrated, Fig. 1, Sheet 1.
Fifth. The bending machine with its rollers made and used so as to apply dry
heat to one side of the "blank" and moist heat on the other, as and for the purpose
herein before described and illustrated, Fig. 3*, Sheet 1.
Sixth. Making the joint or seam of a box or cylinder by sewing with a non-
metallic thread, as hereinbefore described.
Seventh. The drying and seasoning table or bench, made as and for the purpose
hereinbefore described and illustrated on Sheet 4.
Eighth. The expansible cylinders and expanders, as and for the purpose herein-
before described, and illustrated by the Figs. 3 to 9, Sheet 1.
Ninth. The machinery for cutting right and left hand spirals, each one of a
a different diameter, as and for the purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated
on Sheet 2.
Tenth. A box or cylinder made by combining spirals as and before described and-
illustrated in the Drawings on Sheet 2, Figs. 4, 5, and 6.
Eleventh. The use of veneers in any shape, combined, with their respective
grains crossed, as and for the purpose herein before described and illustrated in the
Drawings on Sheet 2.
Twelfth. Camphorating boxes as and for the purpose herein before described.
Thirteenth. Cutting seamless cylinders one by one and using the core down to
the last as hereinbefore described and illustrated on Sheet 3.
Fourteenth. The revolving tool holders and cylindrical cutters, as and for the
purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated on Sheet 3.

page_text: Fifteenth Steaming seamless cylinders as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described, and
Lastly. Using polished cylindrical cutters, Figs. 5, 6, and 7, Sheet 3, and the
smallest first.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Hutchinson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
RICHARD HUTCHINSON. (L.S.)