ROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASTOR BOWLS AND OTHER ARTICLES MADE FROM POTTER'S CLAY AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR
Year: 1884

page_text: for
ES
I, JOHN PARRY, of the Eagle Foundry, Broad Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASTOR BOWLS AND OTHER
ARTICLES MADE FROM POTTER'S CLAY AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to machinery for turning castor bowls and other articles
made from potter's clay and has for its object to provide a machine whereby
several castor bowls or other articles can be turned at the same time.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a series of spindles which
are carried in suitable bearings on a table or framework. The table or framework
supports the other moving parts of the machine. The spindles are placed
conveniently side by side in a straight line, preferably in a horizontal plane,
and each is provided with a pulley and caused to rotate rapidly by means of a
cord or belt from any convenient source. The end of each spindle at one side
projects beyond its bearing and forms a mandril on which is placed a cylindrically
shaped lump of potter's clay of the proper consistency for turning as hereinafter
described. Each spindle is provided with a collar having one or more sharp pins
against which is pressed the lump of potter's clay and so caused to rotate with it.
Near the spindles and preferably above them I provide a carriage to which is
attached by screws and plates or other suitable means a series of cutting or shaping
tools, which, as the carriage is slowly moved across the spindles as hereinafter
described come into contact with the revolving lumps of potter's clay in succession
and turn or shape them into castor bowls or other articles. They are then
removed from the spindles and glazed and baked in the ordinary manner as is
well known.
The carriage is moved across the spindles in suitable grooves provided in the
table or framework by a chain or cord attached thereto and passing round a drum
on a revolving shaft. The said drum is caused to revolve with the shaft by means
of a clutch. When the carriage has travelled across the spindles it is stopped
by it striking a lever which throws the said clutch out of gear and causes the
drum to cease revolving. The said shaft is caused to slowly rotate by means of
ordinary gearing and driving belt and pulley.

page_text: After the carriage has been moved across the spindles as above described and the
castor bowls or other articles have been removed therefrom it is brought back by
the attendant ready to repeat the process.
I make the said tools preferably of thin metal plates bent to the shape of the
castor bowls or other articles required to be turned.
I sometimes so arrange on the carriage that one set of tools roughly turns or
shapes the lumps of potter's clay into castor bowls or other articles and the others
finish them; by this means the finishing tools last longer and the castor bowls
or other articles obtain a smoother surface.
Dated this 1st day of January 1884

page_text: 65
I, JOHN PARRY, of the Eagle Foundry, Broad Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASTOR BOWLS AND OTHER
ARTICLES MADE FROM POTTER'S CLAY AND IN MACHINERY THEREFOR
" and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My Invention relates to machinery for turning castor bowls and other articles
made from potter's clay and has for its object to provide a machine whereby
several castor bowls or other articles can be turned at the same time.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a series of spindles which
are carried in suitable bearings on a table or framework. The table or framework
supports the other moving parts of the machine. The spindles are placed
conveniently side by side in a straight line, preferably in a horizontal plane,
and each is provided with a pulley and caused to rotate rapidly by means of a
cord or belt from any convenient source. The end of each spindle at one side
projects beyond its bearing and forms a mandril on which is placed a cylindrically
shaped lump of potter's clay of the proper consistency for turning as hereinafter
described. Each spindle is provided with a collar having one or more st " pins
against which is pressed the lump of potter's clay and so caused to rotate wit.
Near the spindles and preferably above them I provide a carriage to which is
attached by screws and plates or other suitable means a series of cutting or shaping
tools, which, as the carriage is slowly moved across the spindles as hereinafter
described come into contact with the revolving lumps of potter's clay in succession
and turn or shape them into castor bowls or other articles. They are then
removed from the spindles and glazed and baked in the ordinary manner as is
well known.
.
The carriage is moved across the spindles in suitable grooves provided in the
table or framework by a chain or cord attached thereto and passing round a drum
on a revolving shaft. The said drum is caused to revolve with the shaft by means
of a clutch. When the carriage has travelled across the spindles it is stopped by it
striking a lever which throws the said clutch out of gear and causes the drum to
cease revolving. The said shaft is caused to slowly rotate by means of ordinary
gearing and driving belt and pulley.
After the carriage has been moved across the spindles as above described and the
castor bowls or other articles have been removed therefrom it is brought back by
the attendant ready to repeat the process.
I make the said tools preferably of thin metal plates bent to the shape of the
castor bowls or other articles required to be turned.
I sometimes so arrange on the carriage that one set of tools roughly turns or
shapes the lumps of potter's clay into castor bowls or other articles and the others
finish them by this means the finishing tools last longer and the castor bowls or
other articles obtain a smoother surface.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
manner in which my Invention is to be performed. The same letters of reference
indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the Drawings.
Figure 1. represents in front elevation, Figure 2. in plan, Figure 3. in end
elevation and Figure 4. in transverse section, an arrangement of machinery
constructed according to my Invention for the manufacture of castor bowls and
other articles made from potter's clay; and Figure 17. is a front elevation, Figure 18.
a plan and Figure 19, a transverse section, of a modification of the same.

page_text: :
The spindles A are arranged side by side and revolve in bearings a³, a³, provided
in the table or framework B. Each spindle A is provided with a pulley a, (sec
Figures 5, 7, and 22) and is caused to rotate rapidly by means of a cord a³, from
the drum C on the driving shaft c³, having the usual fast and loose pulleys c³, c¹.
The end a, of each spindle projects beyond its bearing a³, and forms a mandril on
which is placed a cylindrically shaped lump of potter's clay (as D) in a green or
semi-dry state of the proper consistency for turning into castor bowls or other
articles as hereinafter described. (The clay may be prepared in a pug mill and
forced through dies to compress and give it a cylindrical shape and a central hole,
or it may be prepared in some other well known manner; but this process forms
no part of my Invention.) Each spindle A is provided with a collar a', having
preferably two sharp pins a³, a, which penetrate the lump of potter's clay when
placed thereon and cause it to rotate with the spindle.
When the nature of the articles to be manufactured is such that it necessitates
the mandril ends of the spindles being long I find it necessary to use a bearing
plate E to steady them the said bearing plate being hinged at e', e², or in some
other suitable manner arranged so that it can readily be turned away or removed
from the spindles as shewn in Figures 3 and 20 to enable the articles when finished
to be removed and to be replaced by fresh lumps of clay.
3
F is a carriage which is moved in the guides f³, f³, in the framework parallel
to the line of spindles, by the cord f, which is attached to the carriage and to the
drum G on the shaft g2. The shaft g, has a slow revolving motion given it by means
of the ordinary fast and loose pulleys h2, h3, on the shaft H and the spur pinion h³,
gearing into the spur wheel g³. The drum G is loose on its shaft g, and is
provided with a clutch g, which engages in a clutch g³, sliding on and turning
with shaft g, and is operated by a lever I so arranged that when the carriage has
travelled across the spindles a set screw f, provided thereon strikes the lever I and
throws the clutch g, out of gear with g, and so arrests the further motion of the
carriage.
Various methods may be adopted for constructing the turning or shaping tools K
but I prefer the arrangement as shewn in Figures 9, 10 and 11. Figure 9.
represents in transverse section, Figure 10 in longitudinal section and Figure 11 in
sectional plan a double tool for turning. castor bowls. The tools K are made
preferably of thin iron or steel plates bent to the shape of the castor bowls or other
articles required to be turned and they are secured by the screws k³, to the plate k³,
having a bolt, for attachment to the carriage. I then use packing strips leo, to
adjust the distance of the tools from the spindles. I find the tools work best if the
cutting faces make an angle of about 45° with the centre line of the spindles as
shewn at Figure 11.
I sometimes arrange on the carriage two sets of turning or shaping tools as
shewn in plan in Figure 6. so that the forward set K1 roughly turns or shapes the
lumps of potter's clay into castor bowls or other articles and the backward set K"
finishes them by being arranged a little nearer to the spindles and so taking a
very fine cut; or the backward set may smooth the articles after the forward set
have turned or shaped them.
The action of my improved machinery as illustrated in my Drawings is as
follows: Suppose the carriage F to be at the commencement of its travel, at the
left hand side in my Drawings, and the clutch g, to be out of gear with g', and
the drum G consequently stationary the bearing plate E also being turned away
from the spindles as shewn in Figures 3. and 20. A lump of compressed potter's
clay is put on each spindle and being pressed on to the sharp pins a³, a³, revolves
with the spindle. The attendant now throws the clutch g, into gear and as the
carriage slowly moves across the spindles the tools K come into contact with the
lumps of potter's clay in succession and turn or shape them into castor bowls or
other articles. When the carriage has travelled across the spindles it is stopped
by its striking the lever I as hereinbefore described. The articles are now removed

page_text: from the spindles and the carriage brought back by the attendant ready to repeat
the process.
Figure 16. shews a common form of castor bowl. Figures 12, 13, 14 and 15
shew the progressive stages of a lump of potter's clay D as it is operated on by
the tools to form it for instance into five castor bowls d', d², d³, d, d³. By the
oblique arrangement of the tools, d' is first finished and separated from d³, d²,
being then partly finished. When d², is finished d³, is partly so, and so on, the
last article finished not being separated from the main lump D until the turning
is completed.
It will readily be understood that by making the shaping or turning tool or
tools K, K¹, K", of a form to suit the contour of the articles required to be
manufactured a variety of articles made from potter's clay such as insulators,
perambulator handles, knobs, and other articles can be turned by my improved
machinery and with much greater rapidity and consequently more economically
than by the means hertofore employed.
When making some kinds of knobs and other articles which do not require a
hole right through their centre I use spindles having short mandrils as shewn at
Figure 23. and do not then use the bearing plate E.
Some articles, such for instance as the insulator L (see Figures 24 and 25), which
have to be turned on the inside 6%, as well as on the outside 63, I make by first
turning the outside 63, (Figure 25) by my improved machinery and then by
finishing the inside 62, by turning in the ordinary manner.
When my improved machinery is arranged to work with horizontal spindles as
shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, I sometimes make the spindles double ended as
shewn in Figure 7 and I then use a double carriage as shewn in Figure 8. and
another bearing plate as will be readily understood.
Instead of operating the carriage by a cord and pulley as herein described and
illustrated any other equivalent ineans may be employed such for instance as a
rack and pinion, or a mangle wheel and pinion, or a screw and nut or it may be
moved by hand, and instead of a cord, bevel wheels or other equivalent means
may be employed to drive the spindles.
In conclusion I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise
details as herein described and illustrated nor to the number of spindles used as
variations may be made without departing from the nature of my Invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
In a machine for the manufacture of castor bowls and other articles made from
potter's clay the construction and use of a series of revolving spindles in com-
bination with a moving carriage having a cutting or shaping tool or a series of
cutting or shaping tools arranged to operate as and for the purposes herein
set forth.
Dated this 14th day of Anconot 1084