Improvements in Pencil Sharpeners or Pointing Planes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 10th May, 1892-Accepted, 2nd July, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Pencil Sharpeners or Pointing Planes.
We, JOHN SIEGEL, of 250 Berri Street, Engineer, and WILLIAM STUDER, of
587 Craig Street, Mechanic, both of the City of Montreal, in the Province of
Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, do hereby declare the nature of our invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PENCIL SHARPENERS OR POINTING PLANES," and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to machines for sharpening pencils or planing similar objects
to a point.
The object of our invention is a miniature planing machine in which a pencil
or similar article is held mechanically at an angle which may be varied, and auto
matically rotated while being subjected to the operation of a guided plane, so as to
produce a point of any desired fineness without soiling the fingers.
Fig. 1 is a top view of our improved machine, showing the pencil in position.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, parts being broken out to show the angle
adjusting mechanism.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same on line a Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same on line y y Figs. 1 and 3, showing the
chuck turning mechanism.
Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the same on line
chuck locking mechanism.
Figs. 1 and 3 showing the
Figs. 1 and 3, showing the
to be planed..
"Figs. 1 and 3.
Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the same on line 2
mechanism for varying the angle or length of the point
Fig. 7 is a transverse section of the same on line
Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of the plane, the dotted lines showing the waste
guard turned up.
On the top of a bed frame or box A, which may have any desired shape or out-
line, I form a slide bed race or track a for a small plane, consisting of a longi-
tudinal gap or slot in the top, preferably parallel to, and at, one side of said bed if
rectangular: The edges of said race are grooved to form a guide a¹ for the plane.
B, Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 8, is a plane adapted to run in the race a, having its sides
prepared to run in the guides a'; it is provided with a cutting bit B' adjustably
secured to the beveled body by a set-screw B", and also with a hinged cover or
waste guard B for the cutter, to prevent the flying of waste and shavings and to
force them to drop in the interior of the box or bed. Near one end of the track,
and across it, is journaled a crank shaft C, Figs. 1 and 2, having crank c which
is connected by a pitman B to the plane B, said shaft having mounted upon it at
one end a fly wheel C₁ with handle c', and at the other a face cam C".
D, Figs. 3, 4 and 5, is a chuck, consisting of a tube or barrel of such internal
diameter as to be capable of holding the thickest pencil or other object, P, for
which the machine is to be used.. A number of wide slits, d, are made in it,
extending from one end to within a short distance of the other and the external
diameter of the tube at the slit end is made larger to the extent of the width of the
slits, tapering down to the normal diameter at the solid end, so that when the split
end is compressed in such manner that all the slits are closed at the free end, the
tube forms a cylinder, i.e. its external diameter is uniform. The solid end d' of
said tube is journaled in the beveled end a" below the level of the top, said end
forming a recess in the bed or box opposite the crank shaft C, at such an angle
with the horizontal and with the plane track that the center line intersects the

page_text: plane bit when near the end of its track near its farthest side, as indicated by the
pencil point in Figs. 1 2 and 3. Said tube is journaled yieldingly to permit of its
angle being varied by raising or depressing the other or free end. Upon the
end d' of the tube, projecting from the journal, a ratchet wheel D¹ is mounted so
as to be capable of turning it, and between the journal end and the ratchet is
journaled upon said tube neck a rocker D" carrying a pawl d gearing in said
ratchet, an upward projecting finger being pressed into contact with the cam C" on
the crank shaft by a spring D (Figs. 3 and 4) operating against a downward
projecting finger (Fig. 4). The ratchet wheel is enclosed by a trumpet mouthed
cover D secured to the end a", it being provided with slots at the top and
bottom for the fingers of the rocker D". A circularly grooved collar E, Figs. 3
and 5, is adapted to slide upon the chuck tube snugly, compressing it when near
the free end. Said collar may be moved forward and backward on the tube by
means of a lever E' pivoted upon a cross bar or fulcrum e' below, and projecting
through a slot all in the top of the bed, screws or pins e engaging the groove of
the collar.
F is a grooved pulley journaled upon an axle F¹, disposed at a right angle to the
vertical plane which passes through the center line of the chuck D and at such a
height that the free end of the pencil or other object P inserted in the chuck will
rest in the groove of said pulley and find a rigid support on said pulley while the
plane is operating upon it. The bar F¹ has one end secured in the side of the box
or bed and the other is provided with a threaded eye f¹ through which passes a
screw F having its lower end journaled in a ledge or bracket fill and its upper
end in the top of the bed, the end projecting above it being provided with a milled
head Between the end of the chuck and the pulley is placed a spring G,
Figs. 3 and 7, secured to the box or bed and so disposed that it will stand at a
right angle to the pencil or other object and press upon the same downwardly.
The bed or box A may be secured upon a base A if desired, as shown in Figs. 2
and 3, a being rubber feet.
The machine operates as follows: The chuck D is opened by drawing the
lever E back from the position shown in Figs. 1 2 and 3, thus moving the collar E
towards the box end or journal and allowing the lips of the chuck to expand
and open out. The pencil or other object P to be operated upon is then
inserted through the mouth of the cover D into the chuck D, pushed along
under the spring G and into the groove upon the pulley F, until its end is even
with one of the marks m, which are made upon the top of the bed for convenience
of adjustment. The pencil is now clamped into the chuck by pushing the
lever E forward, thus moving the collar E nearer the split end and compressing
it. The milled head f" is now turned to the right or left, according to whether
it is desired to raise or depress the end of the object and to have the point
shorter or longer. The crank shaft C is now rotated by means of the handle c¹
on the fly wheel C', and the plane B is thereby given a reciprocating movement,
at each forward stroke of which it takes a cut off the elevated end of the
object P. During the return stroke the cam C" pushes the upper projecting end
of the rocker D₁ outward, thus turning the chuck D and object P to the extent
of one tooth of the ratchet wheel D³, the pawl d slipping over one tooth of the
ratchet wheel back as soon as the pressure of the cam on the upper end of the rocker
ceases and the spring D pushes the lower end of the rocker in the other
direction and the upper end against the cam, thus presenting a new operating
surface to the plane bit at each stroke until the chuck has made a complete
revolution. The box form of frame or bed answers the purpose of a receptacle
for shavings and waste, the waste guard B preventing the latter from flying. The
plane being oblique to the object upon which it operates, prevents the former being
blunted too rapidly in one place, as thus the whole width of the bit is brought
into operation, but it is essential in making a fine point on a pencil, which breaks in
the operation of cutting if plane and pencil are parallel.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. The combination of a bed frame or box, a plane guided in a track on the
top of said bed, a crank shaft journaled on the top of said bed near the end at the
heel of said plane and provided with means of turning it and connected to the plane
by a pitman, a rotary chuck having one end journaled yieldingly in the bed end
opposite said crank shaft so that its free end and center line slopes upwards and
laterally and the latter intersects the plane track at an acute angle near its far end
and side at the level of the cutting edge of the plane bit, said free end being
elastic and tapering, a sliding locking collar on said free elastic end, mechanism
for sliding said collar, mechanism for rotating said chuck, an adjustable support
for the end of the object projecting from the chuck and a spring pressing it down-
ward, substantially as set forth.
2. In a pencil sharpener or pointing plane, the combination of a bed A having a
race or track a with guides a adapted to guide a plane, a plane body B adapted
to run in said guides, cutting bit B₁ held on said body adjustably by a screw B¹¹ and
waste guard B hinged to said body, substantially as set forth.
3. In a pencil sharpener or pointing plane, the combination of a bed A having
an open race or track a, a plane B guided in said race and provided with adjustable
bit B' and hinged waste guard B, a crank shaft C journaled across said track near
one end thereof, a pitman B connecting said plane with the crank, a fly wheel C¹
on said shaft and handle c' on said fly wheel, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination of a bed or box A having at one end a beveled recess with
end a with an elastic tubular chuck D journaled yieldingly in said end and
diagonally in said bed so that its center line forms an acute angle with the top
surface of the bed, its free end slit open and tapering in diameter, the sliding
collar E on the tapering split portion having a circular groove, and the lever E¹
pivoted below said collar and projecting through a slot in the top and engaging the
groove of the collar, substantially as set forth.
5. The combination of a bed or box A having in its top a race or track ag and a
chuck D having one end journaled below the level of said track at one end of said
bed and having its other projecting into said bed or box at a line rising and
deviating laterally so as to intersect said track at the opposite end at an acute
angle, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination of a bed or box A, a race or track a in the top of the same,
a recess with beveled end a normal to a line intersecting the opposite end and side
of said track at an acute angle in an upward and lateral direction, a tubular and
flexible chuck D journaled yieldingly in said end and taking said line as a center,
substantially as set forth.
7. The combination of a bed or box A having in its top a race or track a, a
tubular flexible chuck D journaled below said top at one end of said bed and
projecting into said bed so that its center line intersects the race a at an acute
angle, a sliding collar E on said chuck, the lever E' pivoted upon the axle e¹ and
connected to the collar by screws e, a grooved pulley F normal to the line of said
chuck and near the end of the line, the bar F upon which said pulley is journaled
having a threaded eye f¹, a screw F" journaled in the bed top and passing through
the eye and provided with a milled head f", and the spring G between the end
of the chuck D and the pulley F, substantially as set forth.
8. The combination of a bed or box A having in its top a race or track a, a
tubular flexible chuck D journaled in the recessed and beveled end a" of said bed
and below the top so that its center line intersects said track at an acute angle, a
ratchet wheel D mounted near the end of said chuck, a rocker D" journaled upon
said chuck between its bearing and the ratchet wheel and having arms projecting
above and below, the pawl di pivoted on said rocker and gearing in the ratchet
wheel, the spring Dur pressing against the lower arm of said rocker, the face

page_text: cam C at the end of a crank shaft against which the end of the upper arm of the
rocker is pressed by said spring, the crank shaft C journaled across the track a
opposite said rocker and having said cam mounted upon its end, and the trumpet
mouthed cover D₁ enclosing said ratchet wheel, substantially as set forth.
9. The combination of the box A having an open track a in its top and having
one corner recessed by a beveled end a", said box forming a receptacle for waste,
a plane B provided with adjustable bit and having a hinged waste guard B
running on said track, a crank shaft C journaled across the track, a fly wheel C¹ on
said shaft provided with handle c', a pitman B connecting the crank and plane, a
cam C on the end of said shaft, a chuck D journaled in the end all below the
top of the bed and having mounted upon it a ratchet wheel and journaled upon it a
rocker operated by said cam and a spring and carrying a pawl gearing in said
ratchet wheel, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 30th day of December A.D. 1891.
JOHN SIEGEL and
WM. STUDER.
Per A. Harvey,
His Attorney.