IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MOULDING OR SHAPING CLAY OR EARTHENWARE CANS AND JARS, AND OTHER POTTERY WARE
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Crawford at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th November 1882.
WILLIAM CRAWFORD, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North-Britain,
Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MOULDING OR SHAPING CLAY OR
EARTHENWARE CANS AND JARS, AND OTHER POTTERY WARE,"
This Invention has reference to a new or improved machine or arrangement and
combination of mechanism, and of many of its parts, for the moulding and shaping
of the clay or plastic material used in the manufacture of earthenware cans and
jars, and such like pottery; whereby much hand labour is saved, and the work
enabled to be performed more quickly, automatically and regularly without
stoppages, than heretofore.
This new or improved machine is of a portable or self contained construction,
and consists of rigid open vertical or side frames, secured below to a sole or bed-
plate, and bound together by a horizontal cross plate or frame at top, above the
revolving wheels or their carriers and vertical spindles, and driving shafts and
gear. The bush bearings of the driving shafts are carried in the said framing and
its lateral cross rails, and in bearing blocks secured to the sole-plate and upper
frame, as hereinafter described. The vertical reciprocating spindle, having the
portable removable profile plate, or scraper, secured eccentrically on its lower end,
which shapes the interior of the jars or vessels from above the upper horizontal
frame is carried in upper and lower bearings on a strong standard or bracket
secured by a broad flange or sole to one side of the top plate or frame, with the
axis of the spindle a little to one side of that of the mould and its spindle when
in the stationary normal position where the clay or jar is formed, all as will be
hereinafter described, so that it may be brought into the mould and clay and then
swivelled to shape the clay up the mould; and then be swivelled back again, to
enable the scraping or shaping profile plate to be raised quite out of the contracted
neck or open top of the vessel thus formed without injuring it, all ready for being
brought down again to shape and form the next vessel, as will hereinafter be
more fully described.

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One important improvement of this machine consists in mounting two, three
or more of the mould cases or "wheels," and their driving and carrying vertical
spindles in neck bearing bushes and footsteps, in the outer part of two horizontal
discs, or radial armed frames with strong eyes keyed or otherwise secured on a
vertical shaft, as an intermittent moving table frame, carried in a footstep bearing
on the sole-plate and a journal bearing at top on one side of the upper horizontal
or vertical frames. Each mould spindle bas a frictional disc mounted in the
middle between its bearings, so as to be driven at a regulated fast speed, by only
one edge driving friction shifting wheel, secured on the inner end of the first
motion driving shaft, which is mounted horizontally in bearings in the lower part
of the side frames, or on standard pillow blocks-from the sole-plate; and preferably
driven by fast and loose pulleys mounted on its outer end, through belts or bands
from any adjacent motive power driving shaft of the works. The vertical shaft
carrying the moulds and their spindles, is turned intermittently to bring their
driving disc over their actuating wheel, and retained there so as to be driven
ouly at the time, and when they are each brought under the shaping spindle and
scraping profile or plate before mentioned. This intermittent motion and retaining
action is effected by the slow motion of a screw on tlie inner end of the first
motion shaft, working in and actuating a screw wheel on a second horizontal shaft
carried in bearing bushes also in the lower part of the side frames or pillow blocks
on the sole-plate. And this second slow motion shaft has an escapement cam disc
mounted on it, with a "gap or section cut away, which works into a star wheel
secured on the lower part of the shaft (carrying the moulds and their spindles)
the angled cam part acts on each star arm to turn the shaft quickly round, to the
extent to bring each successive mould box under the shaping profile and its
reciprocating spindle, while the next star arm passes through the escapement
gap" in the disc part, which then enters a recess in the central part or eye of
the star wheel, and holds it and the mould carrying frame steady for the greatest
part of the revolution of its driving cam shaft, to give time for the forming of the
jar by the bringing down and swivelling of its shaping profile plate and spindle.
The improved arrangement for giving the said upward motion and downward
traverse to the spindle and its shaping plate, and oscillating them to the required
extent or radius within the mould, to form the wide part and contracted neck,
consists of a short arm secured on the spindle near the upper bearing and which
works through a vertical slot or guide curved laterally below to the extent of the
oscillation required. This arm is attached to a cord or chain passed up over guile
pulleys with a counterpoise weight (or it might be an arrangement of equivalent
counterpoise conoidal or other spring) which would always take up the spindle
and its shaping plate to the highest position clear of the moulds. A connecting
rod attached to the same arm above, and below to a lever (or it might be a cord or
chain to a grooved pulley or segment of such a pulley) working loose on a stud or
spindle centre, fitted with a retaining spring pin or catch to hold it in the lower
position when brought down against the power of the counter-weight or spring.
This lever, or grooved pulley or sector, would be turned down as described
through a radial slot in a lever or disc on the same axis, having a lateral crank
pin working in said slot, this pin being secured in a disc, or equivalent, fixed on
the second or slow motion shaft which turned the mould frame, and set so as to
come into action, as each mould with the clay placed in it was set in motion, and
retained in position under the shaping plate and its spindle, which would thus be
automatically brought down and held a sufficient time to form the jar or other
vessel with the mould, when an inclined cam on the side of the crank pin disc or
other equivalent, would release the retaining spring pin or catch, and so allow tho
counterweight or spring to draw up the spindle and its shaping plate out of the
mould as before described. The spindle table frame of moulds would then be
turned round to bring the next spindle and mould into position to form another
jar or vessel, all as described and so on in succession.
It will be seen that with three mould sockets or wheels and their spindles so

page_text: mounted in this intermittent revolving frame that at each stoppage of the frame
for and while forming a jar in the mould brought into position for that purpose
One attendant can be putting a fresh mould and clay into the rear or advancing
idle mould socket or wheel and spindle, ready for the next shift; while another
attendant can be removing the mould with the finished or shaped jar or vessel
from the mould socket and spindle which had been passed forward by the previous
shift, thus saving much time of the attendant besides enabling one machine to do
twice or three times the work that could be done in the single mould spindle
machines heretofore in use.
gear with
Other arrangements of intermittent turning and retaining mechanism than those
herein described, might be employed for turning and retaining the table frame of
the mould spindles intermittently as described, such as as those used for brick-making
and other such purposes; as also other equivalent cam mechanism for intermittently
reciprocating, oscillating and retaining the spindle with its shaping profile plate
for and while shaping the jars or vessels in the moulds as they come round. And
although friction discs have been described and preferred for giving different speeds
for driving the spindles of the mould cases or wheels when brought
the driving wheel for and while shaping the jar or other vessel, yet still it will be
seen that other means of driving might be employed as by edge or circumferential
driving friction pulleys brought round against a large corresponding driving wheel
or drum, having the driving surface of either covered with india-rubber, or it
might be against the middle part of a driving band passed over two or more
pulleys for the purpose. And although this arrangement of machine with inter-
mittent revolving table of potter's spindles has only been described for the cases
and fittings for moulds, and shaping profile plates forming hollow jars and such
like ware, it will be evident that it is equally applicable for a great variety of other
articles, only requiring to modify these ordinary fittings to suit the shape or
configuration of the vessels or articles, either for shaping the inside or outside
surfaces of the articles, automatically or by hand, by the usual hand appliances or
levers for holding these shaping plates on plain potters wheels fitted on the top of
these revolving table spindles.