IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Dodge, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CUTTING FILES."
Scaled the 21st April 1868, and dated the 24th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Dodge at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
October 1867.
I, JAMES DODGE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist,―
Firstly. In so regulating the action of the cutter that it shall be prevented
from slipping upon the blank when the hammer has descended upon it. For
this purpose I employ a finger in contact with the said blank and pressed
thereon by a weight or equivalent apparatus; against this finger the cutter
moves, and it is thereby governed in its action; or instead of the finger
pressing on the blank an abutment situate above the blank may be
employed.
Secondly. My Invention relates to loose cutters, and consists in an arrange-
ment whereby they may readily be removed for whetting or for other purpose.
To this end I mount the cutter in a frame carried loosely, and apply thereto a
finger which keeps it in its place; this finger being under the control of the
attendant the frame with its cutter may readily be removed when required.

page_text: Thirdly. I propose to mount the cutter with an elastic abutment in order
that when the hammer presses upon it it may adjust itself to the blank before
the blow is struck; and for this purpose I propose to make the cutter wedge-
shaped and to enclose it in strips of india-rubber.
Fourthly. I propose to compound the hammer, and to make the part which
effects the blow adjustable according to the length of the cutter, moving it as
occasion may require; and for this purpose I use a wedge or similar appa-
ratus as its abutment, such apparatus being capable of adjustment by screws
or nuts.
Fifthly. My Invention relates to a method of cutting half-round or other
such files, and consists in so regulating the partial revolution of the blank
that it shall by mechanical means be continuously presented to the cutter in a
straight line. To accomplish this I propose to place the said blank excentric
to the centre of a bed on which it rests and turns, and it thus moves towards
the cutter in proportion to its radius.
Sixthly. My Invention refers to file cutting machines in which a shaper is
used to regulate the force of the hammer on the cutter, and consists in trans-
ferring the weight of the acting spring from the part which moves on the
shaper to a fixed point. To accomplish this I employ an excentric upon a
fixed shaft on which the rod communicating with the acting spring rests,
and on the shaft of this excentric I place an arm carrying a roller which runs
on the shaper; this arm by rising or falling turns the excentric and thus alters
the tension of the acting spring as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Dodge in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th April 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE. PRESENTS: SHALL COME, I, JAMES
DODGE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, givé and grant unto
me, the said James Dodge, Her special license that I, the said James Dodge,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Dodge, "my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others; from time to time and at all times thereafter

page_text: 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES," upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the
said James Dodge, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 James Dodge, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My Invention refers,—
Firstly. To file cutting machines in which a sharper is used to regulate the
force of the hammer on the cutter, and consists in transferring the weight
of the acting spring from the part which moves on the shaper to a fixed
point.
Secondly. In the use of an abutment for the cutter, whereby it is prevented
from slipping on the blank when the hammer has struck it.,
Thirdly. My Invention relates to loose cutters, and consists in an arrange-
ment whereby they may readily be removed for whetting or other purpose.
Fourthly. I mount the cutter with an elastic abutment in order that when
the hammer presses upon it it may adjust itself to the blank before the blow
is struck.
Fifthly. I compound the hammer to make the part which effects the blow
adjustable.
Sixthly. My Invention relates to cutting half-round or other such files.
The several points of novelty although described in my Provisional Specifi-
cation are not now put precisely in the same order, the arrangement having
been altered for convenience of description.
My first improvement is shewn at Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying
Drawings, the former of which is a partial side view of a file cutting machine.
The hammer is at 1 mounted on a centre 2, on which it is caused to vibrate
by the revolving tappets 3 acting upon a roller 4; at 6 is the shaper
attached and travelling with the bed 7, on which the file blank to be cut is
placed, all of which parts are now in common use. In order, however, that
my Invention may be properly understood, I will in the first place allude to
the use of this shaper as now practised.. Files, as is well known, are cut

page_text: with diagonal lines, as shown at Fig. 1A, and as the cut 8, for instance, is
shorter than the cut 9, it requires less pressure of the cutter, and this for all
intermediate points. The inclined part 6*, 6**, of the shaper represents
this required varying force, and this part of my Invention consists in applying
it as follows: In the upper part of the hammer 1 is a recess 10, within
which is a block of india-rubber 11, its upper end being situate in a sockett 12,
mounted so as to be able to slide upward and downward in the frame 13.
At 14 is a lever turning upon a fixed centre 15, and provided at one end with
a screw 16 resting upon the socket 12, and the other end of the said lever is
jointed to a rod 14*, the lower part of which is formed as a fork and rests
upon an excentric 15 carried by a stud 16* which turns in the framework.
Fast with the excentric 15 is a lever 17 provided with a roller 18 which rests
upon the shaper 6. At the commencement of cutting a file the roller 18 is
situate on the lowest part of the incline 6*, 6**, and as the bed and con-
sequently the said incline advances it acts against the roller 18, thereby
causing the lever 17, and consequently excentric 15, to turn upon the
centre 16. By these means the rod 14* will be forced upward so as to turn
the lever 14 and cause the screw 16 to force the socket 12 downward,
whereby block of india-rubber 11 will be compressed, and will therefore
exert increased expansive force when effecting the cut, and as this com-
pression of the india-rubber is effected gradually by the incline 6*, 6**, the
increased force will be in proportion to the length of cut. As before stated
this use of the shaper is already known, and constitutes no part of my
Invention, but heretofore the spring has acted direct upon the roller which
rests thereon, whereas it will be seen that by my Invention the weight is
transferred to the centre of motion 16*. The screw 16 is for the purpose of
acquiring the necessary initial strength of spring, which may be a block of
india-rubber, as shewn and described, or a metallic spring of ordinary
construction.
My second and third improvements are shewn combined at Figures 3 and 4.
At 19 is the pressing finger mounted upon a centre 20 (Figure 1) so that it
may be turned upward or downward; the hammer is shewn at 26 provided
with an extended portion 27, to which the cutter 28 is connected by means
of a pin 29, and this cutter is situate within a recess formed in a block of
steel 30 carried by the part 19, and which block rests upon the blank. At
31, 31, is a léver mounted upon a centre 32, the portion 31* being pressed
forward towards the cutter 28 by a spring 33, and the said cutter is therefore
forced against the back of the recess; but I find it desirable to interpose a
block of india-rubber 35. When the hammer descends upon the cutter,

page_text: the action of which is an oblique direction, there is according to usual
arrangements a tendency in the said cutter to slip upon the blank, but it will
be perceived that this is prevented by my Invention, as the back of the recess
is an abutment which receives and arrests any such tendency. Although I
have shewn and described that part of the finger which acts as the abutment
for the cutter as pressing on the surface of the blank, a slight removal there-
from may be effected without destroying the advantage. When it is desired
to remove the cutter for whetting or other purpose the lever 31, 31*, is turned
upon its centre 32 so as to liberate the said cutter from the portion 31*,
and it may then be withdrawn from the hammer 26, the pin 29 merely
projecting into a perforation.
The finger 19 is provided with a pin 36 (see also Figure 1) to which is
connected a rod 37, the lower end thereof being jointed to a treadle 38 turning
upon a centre 39, and weighted at 38*, whereby the said finger, through the
medium of the block 30 is caused to press upon the blank, but such pressure
may be removed by a foot placed upon the end 38.. This part of my Inven-
tion, as above described, is intended for use in cutting half round or round
files, a method of turning which will be described under another part of my.
Invention.
The fourth part of my Invention is shewn at Figures 5, 6, & 7, and they
also exhibit modifications of the two points of novelty just described, but
adapted for cutting flat surfaces. The file blank is at 40 pressed upon the
bed 41 by a finger 34 as in the foregoing instance. The cutter is at 42
formed conical, and situate within a small frame or box 43, 43*, the part
43*. of which passes through a slot 44 formed in a part 45 projecting from
the hammer 46, and against which the said box and cutter are forced by a
lever 47, as described in reference to Figures 3 and 4. The sides of the cutter
are in contact with blocks of india-rubber 48 carried by the frame or box 48,
and these blocks therefore exercise a certain amount of detention upon the
downward motion of the cutter, but will yield to side pressure so as to admit
of the cutting edge assuming variations in position. When the hammer 46
descends the frame or box 43 is first carried down by the top of the slot 44
in the part 45 acting thereon, and the india-rubber blocks 48 pressing upon
the wedge-formed sides of the cutter cause it also to descend until it reaches
the surface of the blank; this motion, however, is not through the medium of
a rigid part, and either of the said blocks 48 will yield by their elasticity so as
to allow the edge of the cutter to accommodate itself fairly to the surface of
the blank. After this a further motion of the hammer will bring the striking
part 46 into operation, and the cut will be effected. On the upward motion

page_text: of the hammer taking place the lower part of the slot 44 will raise the frame
or box 43 and cutter 42. As before observed Figures 5 and 6 show also
modifications of other parts of my Invention above described. In the first
place the cutter 42 being forced forward by the lever 47 finds an abutment
against the finger 34, and when the blow is struck it is thereby prevented
from slipping on the blank 40. Also the cutter being mounted in the loose
frame or box 43, and being kept in position by the lever 47, may be removed
when the said lever is turned back, but in this instance the frame or box 48 will
also be removed. When this is done the cutter might perhaps fall from its
holder and become damaged. In order to prevent this 1 adapt a pin 49 to
the cutter, which during the operation of the machine is situate over a solid
part of the frame or box 43, but when this has been removed and it is desired
to detach the cutter it is moved on one side until the said pin is over a
vertical slot 50, and then the cutter may withdrawn, or it may be whetted
while it is in its holder.
The fifth part of my Invention is shewn at Figures 8, 9, and 10, in which the
hammer is shewn at 51, the end being provided with a recess, within which
is placed a loose piece 52, to which the cutter is to be attached. This piece
is provided with a slot at its upper end, within which is a wedge 58 having
upon it a screw 54 capable of being drawn forward by a nut, so that the
piece 52, and consequently the cutter, may be forced downward or allowed to
move upward. In order to secure it in any desired position a bolt 55 is adapted,
which is hollowed out, and may be tightened or loosened against the piece 52
by a nut. By this arrangement the cutter when worn away to a certain
extent may be lowered to compensate therefor, and the holder may again be
raised when a new cutter is to be adapted.
My sixth improvement is shewn at Figures 11, 12, 18, and 14, in which
56 represents the bed of the machine provided with a circular recess, within
which is placed a rocking bed 57; at one end this rocking bed is provided
with an axis 58, on which there is a fast arm 59 carrying a pin 60, which is
forced forward by a spring 61 acting against a collar on the said pin, but it
may be drawn back at pleasure by a nob on the outside; by these means the
pin. 60 may be placed consecutively in a series of holes 62 formed in a
disc 63, which is loose upon the axis 58. On the periphery of the said disc
are-worm wheel teeth, in gear with which is a worm 64 capable of being
caused to rotate by means of a pulley handle 65. The rocking bed 57 is
flattened on its upper side, and is furnished with a fast plate 66, baving a
longitudinal projection at one side, against which the file blank 67 abuts, and
it has also another projection 68 at one end, which forms an abutment for the

page_text: tang of the blank; the said blank being forced forward at its other extremity
by a piece 69 sliding in a socket 70, and driven forward by a spring 71, and in
order to facilitate the liberation of a cut file and the adaptation of another
blank the piece 69 carries a projection 72, which extends through a slot
formed in the socket 70. The axis of the rocking bed is shewn in Figure 12
by the red line 78, and the surface of the plate on which the blank rests by
the blue line, and this last-mentioned line it will be perceived gradually
approaches the other, so that the supporting plate is excentric to the
centre of the rocking bed. In using this apparatus the workman when a
cut along the blank has been effected withdraws the pin 60 from a hole 62,
and then by means of the lever 59 turns the rocking bed until the pin 60
arrives opposite to the next hole 62 into which it is placed, and this registers
the distance apart of the rows of cuts upon the blank. Half-round files are,
however, usually tapered from end to end, and a provision is therefore
necessary for causing the cutter to act from one end to the other without
running off the side of the blank, and it is for this reason that the surface on
which the file rests is eccentric to the centre of motion of the rocking bed,
and the operation will be understood by reference to Figure 14, in which 74
represents the centre of motion of the rocking bed 57. The broadest end of
the file is at 75, 76, and the narrowest at 77, 78. Now suppose the cutter
is required to effect six rows of cuts between 75 and 76, it will also be
necessary that there shall be the same number of cuts made between 77 and
78, and this is effected by the eccentric plane shewn by the blue line, as the
greater radius necessarily travels through a greater space for each portion of
a revolution. The worm and worm wheel 68, 64, may be used to turn the
rocking bed for any slight adjustment when necessary.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim as secured to me under the above in part recited
Letters Patent,―
Firstly. Transferring the weight of the acting spring from the part which
moves on the shaper to a fixed point.
Secondly. The use of a finger or other instrument upon or in proximity to
the blank, and against which the cutter moves, and acting as an abutment
for securing regularity of cut.
Thirdly. Mounting the cutter in a frame or box, and confining it or the frame
or box by a finger, which may be turned away for the removal of the cutter.
Fourthly. Mounting the cutter with an elastic abutment for allowing it to
accommodate itself to the blank before the blow is struck.

page_text: Fifthly. Compounding the hammer as described in reference to Figures 8,
9, 10, and making the part which effects the blow adjustable.
Sixthly. In reference to half-round files or other files requiring similar
treatment in cutting, placing the blank upon a surface excentric to the centre
of motion of the rocking bed.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Dodge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.