IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TURNING, SHAPING, PLANING, AND SLOTTING METAL OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Abram Lee, of Victoria Yard, Broadway, in the
City of Westminster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR TURNING, SHAPING, PLANING, AND SLOTTING METAL OR OTHER HARD
SUBSTANCES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Abram Lee at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th August 1881.
ROBERT ABRAM LEE, Victoria Yard, Broadway, in the City of Westminster.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TURNING, SHAPING, PLANING, AND SLOTTING
METAL OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES."
To enable an ordinary metal turning lathe to be used also for shaping, planing,
or-slotting,
I screw on to the nose of lathe mandril a bevel or mitre cog wheel which gears
into a second wheel, having its spindle either fixed to or revolving in a metal
bracket bolted to the bed of lathe; to this wheel or spindle is fixed a third cog
wheel gearing into another cog wheel which is fixed to a spindle, and also revolves
in the bracket; on this last wheel is a slotted way to receive a stud pin, to which is
attached a connecting rod or arm, the other end of which is connected by a pin to
a slide which can travel in guide ways formed at end of bracket opposite to the
gear wheels, and parallel to the lathe bed; the end of the slide terminates in a
circular plate at right angles to slide, and to this is bolted the top half of a slide
rest, the cutting tool being held in a swinging tool box, the work to be operated
on being fixed by bolts or any convenient manner to the lower half of slide rest,
which is fixed on to the bed of lathe at any desirable position.
It will be seen that when the mandrel revolves, the arm and also the slide will
be caused to travel to and fro, carrying with it the tool which operates on the
work, the crossfeed being given by a crank and adjustable rod and paull (driven by
the spindle of one of the cogwheels before named), which operates on a toothed
wheel fixed to guide screw of slide rest.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Robert Abram Lee in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th February 1882.
ROBERT ABRAM LEE, Engineer, of Victoria Yard, Broadway, in the City of
Westminster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TURNING, SHAPING, PLANING,
AND SLOTTING METAL OR OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES."
To enable an ordinary metal turning lathe to be used also for shaping, planing,
or slotting, I screw on to the nose of lathe-mandrel a bevel or mitre cog-wheel
which gears into a second wheel, having its spindle either fitted to or revolving in
a metal bracket bolted to the bed of the lathe; to this wheel or spindle is fixed a
third cog wheel gearing into another cog wheel which is fixed to a spindle, and
also revolves in the bracket; on this last wheel is a slotted way to receive a stud-
pin, to which is attached a connecting rod or arm, the other end of which is
connected by a pin to a slide which can travel in guide ways formed at end of
bracket opposite to the gear wheels, and parallel to the lathe bed; the end of the
slide terminates in a circular plate placed at right angles to slide, and to this is
bolted the top half of a slide-rest, the cutting tool being held in a swinging tool
box, the work to be operated on being fixed by bolts or any convenient manner
to the lower half of the slide-rest, which is fixed on to the bed of lathe at any
desirable position. It will be seen that when the mandrel revolves, the arm and
also the slide will be caused to travel to and fro, carrying with it the tool which
operates on the work, the crossfeed being given by a crank and adjustable rod and
paull driven by the spindle of one of the cog wheels before named, which operates
on a toothed wheel fixed to guide screw of slide rest.
In constructing mechanism according to my Invention, I employ those parts of a
lathe before mentioned, namely, the fast headstock, to the mandrel of which
I attach a bevel wheel and the slide rest; this I divide into two parts at the
quadrant plate; to the bottom or lower half I fit either on to or in place of the
lower slide-plate, a plate with shaped slots across it, either longitudinally or
transversely, and in the centre of this plate I make a circular 1 slot, to which the
top half of slide-rest can be bolted in the ordinary manner when used for turning;
at one side or end of this plate I fix an oblong bar of metal to the full width or
length of the plate, and standing above the top level of the plate to a convenient
height; through this bar I pass a screw to the length of the slots, and I fit a
separate bar of metal with lugs or projections made so that it slides firmly in the
1 slots; in the centre of this bar I make a nut for the screw before mentioned to
take in, so that by turning this screw round the second bar or jaw is drawn
towards the fixed bar or jaw, and forms a parallel vice for holding work to be
operated on by the shaping tool. To the top half of the slide-rest when fixed on
to the slide in the bracket I attach a vertical feed for operating on the edges of the
work or on bevels. In place of the handle on guide screw I fit a toothed wheel
and crank, to which is fitted a paull connected by levers to a rod passing through
the centre of the main slide, on which at a suitable distance apart is fixed collars
or pads, and I hinge at a convenient position on the main slide a lever gearing
with the collars or pads last mentioned, which gears with pins or studs fixed in the
bracket at a suitable distance apart, so that as the slide travels to and fro, the lever
catches against these pins or studs and actuates the rod, levers, crank, and paull,
and toothed wheel fixed to the guide screw of the slide above mentioned. The
accompanying Drawing shows a lathe fitted with my improvements, Figure 1 being
a front elevation; Figure 2, a plan; and Figure 3, an end elevation. In the
lathe represented my machinery is shown bolted to the bed in the manner herein

page_text: described. a, a, is the bracket; b, b, the slide; c is the pinion on the nose of
mandrel; is the bevel wheel gearing with c; e is the third cog wheel which
drives f, to which is attached the slotted way for working the connecting rod or
arm g, which is jointed to the slide b, b; h is the top half of an ordinary compound
slide rest; i is the swinging tool box; j is the toothed wheel; k, the crank and
paull; is a connecting rod from n; m is a guide rod; o is the traversing rod
passing through the centre of the main slide; p is the lever gearing with the
collars on o, which is moved by coming in contact with the pins b¹, b'; q is an
adjustible crank, to which is attached by a set screw the rod r connected to the
paull 8, which actuates the toothed wheel t; u is the slotted vice plate with one
fixed bar or jaw through which the screw w passes; and is the movable jaw
which is moved by the screw w. a is an adjustable arm movable in a quadrant
by means of a bolt and nut, so as to raise or lower the wheels d and e to the height
of the centres of the lathe.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention
of improvements in machinery for turning, shaping, planing, and slotting metal or
other hard substances, constructing those parts of the said machinery by which the
tool is caused to traverse to and fro, dividing the ordinary compound slide rest into
two parts, using the upper half as the vertical slide of the shaper, and fixing a
hinged or swinging tool box thereto, also fitting a vertical automatic or self acting
traversing motion or feed to this slide, using the lower half of the slide rest for
fixing the work to to be operated on, fixing a vice plate and vice to this slide, and
fitting an automatic or self acting cross traverse to the lower half of the slide rest,
in the manner herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Abram Lee, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of February. in the year of our Lord