IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR SHAPING WOOD
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander McNeile, of John Street, Pentonville
Road, in the County of Middlesex, Wheelwright and Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR SHAPING
WOOD."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander McNeile
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 12th June 1872.
I, ALEXANDER MCNEILE, of John Street, Pentonville Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Wheelwright and Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR
SHAPING WOOD," to be as follows :-
My Invention of improved machinery for cutting and shaping wood
relates to an improved arrangement of machinery whereby wood can be
cut to various irregular shapes according to pattern.

page_text: The Invention is applicable for cutting wood for various purposes,
but more particularly for making the spokes of wheels. I will therefore
proceed to explain the essential features of machinery adapted for this
purpose. Whatever may be the form of the spoke or other article
intended to be made, a pattern (by preference a metal one) of suitable
form must be prepared. This pattern is mounted in the machine by
preference in a horizontal position for the manufacture of wheel spokes.
The cutters, of which there are four, for making a spoke are fixed on
vertical spindles mounted in bearings, in such a manner that they have
a free vertical motion therein within certain limits. The sharp edges of
the cutters must of course be ground to the proper shape, according to
the nature of the article to be produced.
The wood to be operated upon is sawn to the desired dimensions, and
in the case of spokes the end tennons are cut thereon in the usual manner.
Four cutters are employed, two to cut the top side of the spoke, and two
to cut the bottom side, and they are mounted in swinging or sliding
frames, to each of which frames are attached antifriction rollers which
I call pattern rollers, as they run on or against the face of the
pattern. One of these pattern rollers runs on the top of the pattern,
so as to follow all the vertical inequalities, and is connected with the
cutter spindle, which is therefore made to rise or fall according to the
form of the pattern, and the other pattern roller runs against the side of
This latter roller
the pattern so as to follow all the lateral inequalities.
is mounted in the swinging or sliding frame, and therefore will have a
tendency to push the latter back as it passes over any inequalities.
The metal pattern and piece of wood to be operated upon are mounted
in a frame, to which a slow progressive motion is given so as to carry
the wood forward up to the cutters, and as the pattern travels forward
against the pattern rollers the cutters are raised vertically or moved
laterally, according to the shape of the pattern. By this means spokes
and other articles of irregular shape may be made with great rapidity
and facility, and may be finished clean, and will require no hand labour
to complete them.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander McNeile in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MCNEILE, of Jolin Strect, Pentonville Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Wheelwright and Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-fifth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Alexander McNeile, Her special licence
that I, the said Alexander McNeile, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander M'Neile, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED MA-
CHINERY FOR CUTTING OR SHAPING WOOD" upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alexander McNeile, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
•
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander McNeile, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say) :-
My Invention of "Improved Machinery for Cutting and Shaping Wood"
relates to an improved arrangement of machinery whereby wood can be

page_text: The Invention is applicable for cutting wood for various purposes, but
more particularly for making the spokes of wheels, also tool handles and
similar or analogous articles. I will therefore proceed to explain the
essential features of my improved machinery as adapted for cutting
wheel spokes. Whatever may be the form of the spoke or other article
intended to be made a pattern (by preference a metal one) of suitable
form must be prepared. This pattern together with the piece of wood to
be operated upon is mounted in a travelling frame which works in guides
in the machine. This frame is arranged by preference in a horizontal
position for the manufacture of wheel spokes and such like articles. The
cutters of which there are four for making a spoke are fixed on vertical
spindles mounted in bearings in a frame which is capable of moving
horizontally on vertical pivots. The cutter spindles are rotated rapidly
and also have a free vertical motion in their bearings within certain
limits. The sharp cutting edges of the cutters must of course be ground
to the proper shape according to the nature of the article to be produced
and are set at the proper distance, and are properly adjusted in the
manner hereafter explained.
The wood to be operated upon is sawn to the desired dimensions, and
in the case of spokes the end tenons are cut thereon in the usual manner
and the piece of wood so prepared is mounted in adjustable jaws on the
travelling frame immediately above the metal pattern which travels with
it. Four cutters are employed, two to cut the top side of the spoke (one
on each side), and two to cut the bottom side, one of these lower cutters
being also placed on cach side of the wood to be operated upon, and they
are mounted in frames which are capable of swinging on vertical pivots
as already mentioned. The lower ends of the cutter spindles rest on the
upper end of other spindles to which are adapted antifriction rollers
which I call pattern rollers as they run on or against the face of the
pattern. The under spindle of each cutter carries one of these pattern
rollers, so that as there are four spindle cutters required to cut a spoke
there are four pattern rollers to run on the pattern. Additional pattern
rollers are used for the purpose of effecting the rise and fall of the cutters
at certain parts of the operation. When two of these rollers are
employed for each cutter spindle, as shewn in the Drawing, one of them
runs on the top of the pattern so as to follow all the vertical inequalities
while the other bears against the side. These two rollers being con-
nected with the lower spindle which supports the cutter spindle, the

page_text: latter will be made to rise or fall and move in or out according to the
form of the pattern. The pattern rollers of the other spindles run
against the under side of the pattern so as to follow all the inequalities
thereof just the same as the pattern rollers of the upper cutter spindles.
The metal pattern and the piece of wood to be operated upon are
mounted in a frame to which a slow progressive motion is given so as to
carry the wood forward up to the cutters, and as the pattern travels
forward against the pattern rollers the cutters are raised vertically or
moved laterally according to the shape of the pattern, and in so doing
will move the cutter either laterally or will lift the cutter's spindles
vertically in their bearings. By this means spokes, tool handles, and
other articles of irregular shape may be made with great rapidity and
facility, and may be finished clean and will require no hand labor to
complete them.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1, Sheet I, is a side clevation of a
machine constructed according to my Invention for cutting wheel
spokes, some of the parts being cut away in order that those parts behind
them may be more clearly seen; Fig. 2, Sheet II, is a plan view of the
machine; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same taken in the line 1, 2,
of Fig. 2, looking towards the right; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section or
sectional plan view of the machine; and Fig. 5 is an elevation of the
cutters and their appendages together with the pattern and piece of wood
to be operated upon detached from the machine.
.
The standards or framework of the machine are seen at a, a, a, a, and
carry brackets b, b, b, b, to receive the swinging arm b', Fig. 2, of the
swinging frame *, in which are the bearings for carrying the vertical
spindles c', c. The cutters c, c, are adjusted against the flattened sides
of the spindles, and are fixed thereon by means of the jaw nuts c³.
Rotary motion is communicated to the cutter spindles c¹ by means of
the friction gear d, d, and this latter is actuated by driving bands passed
round the pulleys e, e, on the short vertical shafts e¹, e'. The piece of
wood to be operated upon is secured in clamps f', f', connected with
the standard of the sliding bar g¹, g³, which is capable of being moved
along a fixed double V guide g. This sliding bar g' also carries the
pattern against which the pattern rollers i, i, of both pair of cutter
spindles bear. It will be seen that each set of cutters is provided with
two sets of pattern rollers i, i, and i, . One set of pattern rollers i¹, i,

page_text: are placed on edge and turn vertically against either the upper or under
side of the pattern, and thereby impart an upward or downward motion
to the cutters whenever they pass over or travel against vertical in-
equalities, while the other sets of pattern rollers bear against the edges
of the pattern, and thus serve to carry back the cutters in a horizontal
direction by causing the whole of the cutter frame b* to swing in its
bearings. The pattern rollers and i are connected with distinct
vertical shafts or spindles i*, on the upper end of which rests the lower
end of the respective cutter spindle c', which being capable of vertical
motion in its bearings will be lifted whenever the pattern roller shaft is
caused to rise by the vertical pattern rollers passing over a rise in the
pattern. This will be best understood by referring to Fig. 5, which
represents the four sets of cutters and their pattern rollers with their
appendages, together with the wooden spoke and pattern. The two sets
of cutters at the left hand end of the Figure under the letter A are
intended to form the upper half of the spoke, while the other two sets
of cutters under the letter B are forming the under half of the spoke.
It will be seen that the vertical pattern rollers i, i, adapted to the pair
of spindles A run on or rather move over the top of the pattern as the
latter travels slowly along, whilst the pattern rollers of the spindles B
run against the under side of the pattern. The horizontal pattern
rollers i, i, which run against the edge of the pattern (as seen best in
the sectional plan view, Fig. 4) are mounted in small swivelling frames,
which turn on vertical pivots so that they may be better able to follow
the irregularities or sinuosities of the pattern, as shewn at Fig. 4. In
order to admit of the same pattern being used for cutting spokes of
different thicknesses but of the same pattern, the pattern roller spindle **
of each set is mounted in a supplementary frame j, Fig. 3, which is
capable of sliding in guides in the swinging frame b, and is adjusted and
fixed in position by means of the adjusting screw j', which passes
through a female screw tapped in the swinging frame b which carries the
cutter spindle. It will now be understood that by turning the adjusting
screw, the horizontal pattern rollers will be forced against the
stationary pattern, and therefore the frame with the cutters c will be
drawn back from the central line of the spoke f, and (if this adjustment
is done on both sides) the spoke will be made of an increased thickness
equal to the increased distance which the two sets of cutters are drawn
back from their line of work. I find in practice that the weight of the
cutter spindle c' is sufficient of itself to keep it down in contact with the

page_text: upper end of the pattern roller spindle, but in order to keep the pattern
rollers i of the under cutters up against the under side of the pattern h,
as shewn at Fig. 3, a strong coiled spring is adapted to the spindle i* for
the purpose of pressing it upwards, and thereby keeping the under
cutters up to their work.
Fig. 6, Sheet III., represents a wheel spoke drawn on an enlarged
scale, that is twice the size of that shewn in the other Figures;
Figures 7, 8, and 9 represent sections of a spoke with its cutters drawn
full size and shewing the peculiar manner in which the cutters separato
in the wood; Fig. 7 is a section of the spokes taken at the line 1, 2,
of Fig. 6, and representing the cutters in the position they would assume
in commencing the cut on the rectangular piece of wood. In other
words, when the cutters are in this position it will be only their straight
portion which will be operating; Fig. 8 is a section of the spoke taken
at the line 3, 4, of Fig. 6, and represents the cutters as very considerably
overlapping each other, that is, one set of cutters has been raised and
the other lowered, so as to bring the curved part of the cutters into
operation, a portion of the side of the spoke being parallel; Fig. 9 is
another section of the spoke but taken at the line 5, 6, of Fig. 6, and
also shewing the altered position of the cutters. Thus it will be seen
that varying sections are cut with the same cutters merely by raising or
lowering them. In this instance nearly the whole of the curved portion
of the cutters is in work, and the cutters for the opposite side of the
spoke have been moved laterally so as to thicken the spoke.
From this it will be understood that the wood is cut by means, 1st, of
a knife with a cutting edge shaped in a curve of regular or irregular
form, or partially curved and partially straight, as may be required;
2ndly, by giving such knife (while revolving) a motion in two different
directions at the same or different times by the action of, 3rdly, a pattern
so formed as to cause the knife to recede or advance, or remain
stationary in one direction, while the same or varying portions of the
knife are brought in contact with the wood by motion in a different
direction, which motion is given by the travelling pattern which carries
with it the wood to be cut.
The variations in position required to be given to the cutting at
different parts of the cutting operation are illustrated by the diagram in
Sheet IV. Let a, b, c, d, (Fig. 13) be the form of the cutting edge of

page_text: the knife; let e, f, g, h, be the two directions in which motion is to be
given to the rotary cutter or knife. It is evident that if the knife
advances towards i in the direction g, h, that is horizontally, the point
of intersection of the curve a, b, c, d (or cutting edge of the knife), with
the line e, f, will gradually approach g, h, that is to say, such point will
descend. Hence in order to cut a piece of wood at one point as thick
as c, i, and at another point thinner than c, i, (but with an uniform
depth a, i,) the knife must gradually rise so as always to keep the point
of intersection of the cutting edge a, b, c, at the same point a, and so
also to change the form of section from a, b, c, to b, c, d, and thus pre-
serving the point of intersection at a, the knife must gradually rise as it
advances.
To cut a piece of wood first as k, n, m, (Fig. 14,) secondly, as k, o, m,
(Fig. 15,) thirdly, as k, p, m, (Fig. 16,) where k, l, remains uniform, but
the section as well as the width m, l, varics, it will be necessary to make
a pattern which in the direction g, h, (Fig. 1,) shall represent the
thickness at each point, and at each point also shall in the direction e, f,
(Fig. 13,) represent the amount the knife must be raised to produce the
required section in the wood. The pattern then becomes as in Figures 17
and 18. If the pattern be any given thickness (7) Fig. 18, at m, l,
Fig. 17, it must be so much thicker (s) at m³, l', as shall raise the knife, so
that the curve shall still intersect e,, (Fig. 13) at a, or in Figures 14, 15,
m or k, becomes m, o, k, and so on to m², ², (Fig. 17). If it be desired
to change from the curve to the flat part of the knife it is only necessary
to cause the knife to risc sufficiently to present the straight part of its
face to the wood. To set this out let A, B, (Fig. 19,) represent the
height to be preserved in one direction; B, C, the initial thickness;
C, D, the terminal thickness in another direction. Draw E, D, parallel
to A, B, and E, F, parallel to C, B, then while the knife is advancing
the difference of C, B, and C, D, i.e., D, B, it must rise the amount
of F, A. This is to maintain an uniform depth of section, but any other
proportions may of course be given to the pattern.
Figures 10, 11, and 12, Sheet III., are clevations representing a con-
venient mode of adjusting the cutters to their work. In Fig. 10 the
small standard k has a foot k¹ which fits into the place for the pattern h,
in Sheets I. and II. In this standard is a rising and falling table
which may be fixed at any point by a set screw, as shown. On the top
of this table is a sliding piece m, which may be moved in or out and

page_text: fixed by a set screw above at any desired point. On the table / is a fixed
point n, one edge of which coincides with the central line of the pattern h
below. Now supposing it be desired to make a spoke two inches thick,
the workman will have to push out the slide m until it projects exactly
onc inch (or half the thickness of the spoke) beyond the point n, then he
must bring up the pattern rollers against the foot ' of the standard k;
then by means of the adjusting screw j¹, Fig. 3, he will move the
swinging frame * in or out until the cutting edge of the cutter c comes
up to the end of the slide m. The same operation is repeated for all
four cutting spindles so far as regards the lateral adjustment, but all the
cutters also require a vertical adjustment of the same kind.
The apparatus for vertical adjustment is shewn at Figures 11 and 12.
Fig. 11 is for adjusting the under cutters, and Fig. 12 for adjusting the
upper cutters. In these instances the table (to receive the slide m) is
mounted on a stem, and is either adjustable thereon or the stem is itself
adjustable. In Fig. 11, when the table is at its highest point, the
under side of the point is coincident or level with the longitudinal axis
or central line of the spoke. If therefore it be required to make a spoke,
say three inches deep, it will only be necessary to measure one and a
half inches from the top of the stem and then to lower the table / to this
point, and also raise the table and slide m of Fig. 12 to a similar amount,
and then we have the requisite three inches deep. The curved cutting
edges of the cutter c, c, must then be raised and lowered respectively to
the adjusted points of the tables, and then they will be in the position
for cutting the spoke of the required form and dimensions.
Having now described my Invention of "Improved Machinery for
Cutting or Shaping Wood," and having explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters
Patent as aforesaid,―
First. Adapting to swinging frames spindles provided with cutters
and pattern rollers as herein set forth, so that by causing the latter to
bear against a travelling pattern the corresponding cutters while in
rapid rotation may be raised, lowered, or otherwise acted upon in-
dependently and a compound motion imparted to them in order to
cause them to cut away the wood to the desired shape, as above
described.

page_text: Second. I claim so arranging the rotary cutters and the pattern
rollers with their spindles that by means of a travelling pattern (whose
figure in one direction is that of horizontal section of the form to be
produced, and in the other is composed of such gradients as correspond
to the varying sections of the form to be produced) the pattern rollers
shall so act on the cutter spindles as to cause the cutters to present
different portions of their cutting edges at different points or stages of
the cutting operation, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander McNeile, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.