A MILL OR MACHINE TO CHOP BARK, AND GRIND, AND RIDDLE AND POUND IT; TO BEAM OR WORK GREEN HIDES AND SKINS OUT OF THE MASTERING OR DRENCH, AND MAKE THEM READY AND FITTING FOR THE OUSE OR BARK LIQUOR; TO BEAM SHEEP SKINS AND OTHER SKINS FOR THE SKINNER'S USE; AND FOR SCOWERING AND TAKING THE BLOOM OFF CR FROM TANNED LEATHER WEN IN THE CURRYING STATE
Year: 1801

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BAGNALL, of Worsley, in the Parish of Eccles, in the County of Lancaster,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-first day of
May, in the forty-first year of His reign, did give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Bagnall, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Bis special licence
that I, the said Thomas Bagnall, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A MILL OR MACHINE TO CHOP BARK, AND GRIND,
AND RIDDLE AND POUND IT; TO BEAM OR WORK GREEN HIDES AND SKINS OUT OF
THE MASTERING OR DRENCH, AND MAKE THEM READY AND FITTING FOR THE OUSE OR
BARK LIQUOR; TO BEAM SHEEP SKINS AND OTHER SKINS FOR THE SKINNER'S USE;
AND FOR SCOWERING AND TAKING THE BLOOM OFF CR FROM TANNED LEATHER WEN
IN THE CURRYING STATE; in which Letters Patent there is contained a proviso,
obliging me, the said Thomas Bagnall, under my hand and seal, to cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of

page_text: Chancery within one calendar month next and immediately ensuing the date of
the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same (relation being thereunto
had) may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Bagnall, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described in
manner following, that is to say:-
Figure 1 is a horizontal plan of the mill; Figure 2, longitudinal section of
it; Figure 3, transverse section of it. A, the water wheel by which the whole
machinery is worked; B, the shaft; C, the pit wheel, which is fixed on the
water wheel shaft B, and-turns-the-upright-shaft-E-by-the-wheel-F, and works
the cutters and hammer by tapits. D, the spur and bevil wheel at the top of
upright shaft; E, the upright shaft; F, the crown wheel, which works in
the pit wheel C; G, the spur nut to turn the stones I; P, the beam with
knives or cutters fixed at the end to chop or cut the bark, which said bark is
to be put upon cutters or grating, on which said beam is to fall; Q, the
tryal that receives the bark from the cutters i, and conveys it into the hopper h,
by which it descends .through the shoe J to the stories I, where it is ground;
K; the spout which receives the bark from the stones, and conveys it into the
tryal L, which tryal is wired to sift or dress the bark as it descends from the
stones I; M, the trough to receive the bark that passes through the tryal"L;
S, a kind of dish to receive that part of the bark which does not pass through
the tryal L; R, the hammer to crush or bruise the bark that falls into the dish
S, which said dish is on the incline, so that the hammer keeps forcing it out of
the lower side of the said dish when bruised; k, a trough to receive the dust
and moss that passes through the tryal-Q;T, the bevil wheel that works in the
wheel D, which works the beanr knife by a crank V at the end of the shaft U;
W, the penetrating rod which leads from the crank V to the start X; X, the
start, which has several holes in it to lengthen or shorten the stroke of the
beam knife; Y, the shaft to which the slide rods-h, h, are fixt by the starts n;;
h, the slide rod on which the knife fis fixed, which said knife is to work the
hides, &c. On the knife are two springs a, a, to let it have a little play as it
makes its stroke backwards and forwards, so that it may not scratch nor
damage the hides, &c. Z is a catch in slide rod h, which catches on the arch
bead e, and the said arch 'head conveys the knife back without touching the
hide, and then falls back to receive the catch again; 1, the roller to take up
the slide rod h while the hides are shifting on the bean b, by pulling at
the handle m; b, the beam to work the hides, &c. on. Each beam has four
wheels p, p, working in a trough road g, g, and moved by the levers c, c. When

page_text: the knife has worked the hide, &c. sufficiently in one part, the beam is
then shifted by the lever c, as far as is wanted; d, a press at the upper
end of the beam, to "hold the hide fast 'on' the beam while working;
e; an arch head, on which the slide rod h' 'catches; f, the knife,.. fixed on
the slide rod h to work the hides, &c.; i, cutters. or grating to receive
the bark for chopping: The beam P with knifes or cutters may either be
worked by tapets, as described, or by the bevil wheel T, with a crank,,
as V, to
cut the same as shears. The knife f is fixed at the bottom of the start, which
is fixed on the slide rod; the bottom of the start is split open to admit the
knife, the width of one foot; the knife should have a gudgeon at each end,
to fix in the open part of the start, and the two springs a, a, prevent the knife
from giving too much way when working; the knife should be one foot long
and four or five inches broad. The arch head e will shift nearer to or farther.
from the beam b, and will be fixed so as to carry the knife back as far as is.
wanted, or it may be taken away till wanted. The roller is taken up by
pulling at the handle m, which takes up the slide rod 'so high as to give head:
room under, the beam knife; the handle may be hung upon a hook for: that
purpose. The slide rod will keep running upon the roller all the time the
hide is shifting, and when the hide is fixed the knife is put on the beam again
by letting it down by the handle'm. There may be two or more knives at
work on one beam at the same time by having different slide rods. There
should be two beams, so that the workman could be shifting one hide, &c.
while the other was working. The beam must he flat, and a little on the
incline; as to the breadth, it does not matter; the broader it is, the less
shifting of the hides will be wanted, as the lever c will shift them as far as the
width of the hide if required. I have formed a kind of press d, to let down
by a lever, to hold the hide fast on each side of the knife, if required, so that
it will suffer the knife to make its back stroke without pulling the hide up as
it comes back. The slide rod may be weighted to cause the knife to lay stress
on the hide, &c., according to the kind and condition of the goods to be
worked. Hides and skins for the skinners use are worked in the same way
as for the tanners. Scouring of tanned leather for the curriers use will be lone
on the beam, the same as working green hides. It is only taking the knife
away and fixing a stone in the same manner as the knife, by the said joint,
and to have a brush fixed to go either before or after the stone. The leather
will be better scoured this way than by hand, and much sooner.
N.B. The whole machinery may be worked by water, wind, steam, or any
other power; and that part of the machinery which relates to the beaming part
of the hides may be fixed to any horse bark mill, or may be worked by a

page_text: horse or other power separately. The intention of working hides and skins
upon the beam is to clean and get out of them all the lime and dirt that can
be got out, which is the principal part of the business for making good leather.
The dirt will be got out much better, and the hides be made cleaner this way,
than they can by hand, and at much less expense.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Bagnall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of June, One thousand eight hundred
and on
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of June, in the year above written.