IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASKS, TUBS, AND OTHER LIKE RECEPTACLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASKS, TUBS, AND OTHER
LIKE RECEPTACLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
."-A communication from abroad by Louis Florian Pile,
of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Scaled the 29th June 1869, and dated the 16th January 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th January 1869.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES, TUBS, AND
OTHER LIKE RECEPTACLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED

page_text: THEREIN,
"
a communication from abroad by Louis Florian Pile, of Paris,
in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions of machines
for effecting the various operations required in the manufacture of casks,
tubs, and other like receptacles, and consists, firstly, of a machine for
producing a concave and convex surface on the internal and external
Bides respectively of the pieces of wood from which the staves are to
be manufactured, the amount of concavity and convexity being in
accordance with the diameter of the cask to be made. This machine
consists of a pair of rotatory cutters on vertical axes, the shapes of the
cutters corresponding to the concave and convex surface to be produced.
Between these cutters is fed in a longitudinal direction the piece of wood
to be operated upon, suitable feed and guide rollers serving to feed the
wood and direct its course between the cutters, and also to keep the
wood down upon the table of the machine. One of the feeding rollers
situate behind the pair of cutters is curved in accordance with the
curved surface produced, and is to be changed when required so as to
suit the different diameters of the casks to be produced which may
be wanted. Some of the guide rollers are moveable or adjustable and
may be acted upon by a lever or counterweight, or other equivalent
contrivance for admitting of the introduction of a fresh piece of wood
into the machine.
The next operation consists in shaping or cutting out the staves and
bevelling the edges of the same, which it is proposed to accomplish by
the aid of 2 sets of rotatory cutters fixed to 2 discs of a conical form
sot face to face at the desired distance, according to the width of the
stave to be produced. The angle of the cutters in these discs not only
serves to cut the bevels on the stave, but also to impart the proper
contour thereto. The piece of wood to be operated upon is placed hori-
zontally on a bed, which is hollowed to conform to the external contour
of the cask, the piece of wood being forced down into such hollow
by a prossing bar or plate and levers, or other suitable mechanical
contrivance. Whilst thus maintained in a bent or curved form 'tho
piece of wood with the bed and pressing plate are traversed between the
rotatory cutters, the whole being mounted on a table or carriage for
that purpose which is traversed by a rack-and-pinion motion or their
equivalent contrivance. The cross grooves are cut in the staves by a

page_text: pair of rotatory cutters of the form of the cross section of the groove
to bo cut, such cutters being mounted on two independent spindles
placed in the same axial line. The distance between the two cutters will
vary according to the length of the stave to bo operated upon, the 2
cutters cutting a groove at both ends of the stave simultaneously. Any
existing twist or bend is previously taken out of the stave by pressing
it botween suitable surfaces, and the stave whilst having the grooves
cut therein is supported on a table curved to suit the external transverso
curvo of the stavo produced by the operation herein-before referred to.
The edges of the boards from which the tops and bottoms of the casks
aro to be mado are finished up perfectly true so as to form good joints,
by means of a machine somewhat similar to the ono' last described
except that one rotating cutter and spindle are used. The wood is
guided as it is pushed along the face of the rotating cutter by a suitablo
guido or fence, which is adjustablo in order to vary the thickness of
shaving or depth of cut. The boards which have had their edges dressed,
as above described aro jointed together to form the top or bottom of the
cask, and when rounded roughly is centred in a species of lathe, such
centreing being facilitated by the use of a V-shaped guide in the lathe,
into which the round top or bottom is placed edgewise so as to rest
against the opposite sides of the V, in which position its centre will
coincide or nearly so with the centres of the two face plates or in the
lathe, between which the top or bottom is held firmly by causing ono of
the plates and its spindle to be moved close up by a screw action. The
plates with the piece between them are now rotated, and the edge of the
said picco is bevelled in both directions at one operation by a V-shaped
tool or cutter carried in a slide rest situate between the poppet heads of
the lathe. The mounting of the staves is accomplished in a simple
machine consisting of a moveable curved guage forming the arc of a
circle in which the staves are deposited side by side, the curve cor-
responding or nearly so with that of the exterior of the cask; concentric
with this curved gunge there is fitted a horizontal hollow shaft secured
by bolts and flanges at one end to a fixed standard. Within this hollow
shaft is fitted a spindle provided at each end with right and left screw
threads respectively, and capable of rotation by a winch handle or
otherwise. Each screwed portion works through a sliding nut inside
the hollow shaft and projecting through a slot therein, so that by turning
the screwed spindle the two nuts will move towards or recedo from each

page_text: other. To cach nut there is jointed one end of an inclined link, the
other end of which is connected through a longitudinal coupling rod
with a series of radial levers or arms centred in bearings cast on the
hollow shaft, and carrying at their outer ends moulds or blocks of wood
shaped or curved to the inner form of the cask. Hence by adjusting
the sliding nuts before referred to, by turning the screwed spindle, the
several moulds may be made to assume the exact position required as
regards the centre of the cask. In order to saw up the rough wood
into staves an endless band saw is used, and beneath it is placed an
apparatus which without twisting or straightning the wood conducts
it according to its form or bend under the action of the saw. This
apparatus consists of a small guide composed of four rollers mounted
in a plane parallel to the saw blade, and situato close to each other in
the direction of the length of the timber so as to have always four points
in contact with every bent position. The rollers are driven simul-
taneously by an endless screw and worm wheel. A toothed wheel.
transmits motion from the worm wheel shaft to another guide roller on
the opposite side of the timber, and situate centrally between the four
contact points of the four rollers above referred to. The wood is then
fed along in an undulating course corresponding to the bends in the
timber. The central pulley exerts its pressure on the wood by the aid of
springs or counterweights, and should be capable of being drawn back
at pleasure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 16th July 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 3
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,..
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her-special
license that I,. the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis- 3
>

page_text: .
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CASES, TUBS, AND OTHER LIKE
RECEPTACLES, AND IN. THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a
communication from abroad by Louis Florian Pilo, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,' the said
John Henry Johnson, my exccutors or administrators, 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.
"
1
NOW KNOW YE, that I, tho said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:
The said Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and
arrangements of machinery or apparatus for effecting the various
operations required in the manufacture of casks, tubs, and other like
receptacles.
The object of the improvements herein-after described is to remedy
certain defects which exist in the manufacture of casks by hand,' and to
which machinos. hitherto proposed to be used in that manufacture are
liablo. They relate to a series of machines intended to shape with the
greatest rapidity and the requisite accuracy the different parts of which
casks, tubs, and other, liko receptacles of any required dimensions are
formed. At each operation the stave is worked according to the form it
is required to have when the cask is put together, which principle'admits
of producing casks and tubs equal in quality to those made by hand.
It should be observed that all the wood is first cut to the required
length, width, and thickness in the ordinary manner. The first opération

page_text: consists in hollowing out the staves at the interior, and rounding them
on the exterior according to given moulds.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings is a side elevation,
and Figure 2 a corresponding plan of the machine employed for this
purpose.
It will be observed that the machine is similar to that used for making
mouldings, with the exception that two tools are employed in lieu of
one, in order to shape both faces of the staves at once. On the table b,
which is carried by a cast-iron frame a, there is a moveable piece c,
which supports all parts of a feed arrangement, which is capable of
being displaced at will. A socket d formed in one with the piece c
receives the shaft of a cone pulley f, which is driven from the main
shaft e, deriving its motion from any prime mover. The shaft of tho
cone pulley factuates by means of the wheels g, g¹, a double endless
screw h, which transmits motion to two feed rollers i,, destined to
straighten and feed along the stave, and cause it to pass between the
tools, which impart to it the required form. These tools are
mounted on the extremity of vertical shafts which are actuated by
pullies q fast on the main shaft e. The roller i, which grips the stave
before it passes under the tools, is preceded by a guide roller k. The
roller is made removeable, as it is requisite that it should be of the
same form that the tools impart to the staves. For this purpose the
piece c is made in two parts, and may be taken to pieces with great
facility, since it is simply necessary to remove a screw to admit of the
top part of the piece being taken off. It will be observed that as many
change rollers are required as there are patterns of staves to be shaped.
Keys of a triangular section are disposed between the tools; and the
rollers in order to prevent the wood vibrating and guide it perfectly.
In order to ensure the feeding along of the stave a counter roller is pro-
vided in front of each of the feed rollers i, , and of the guide rollers;
these counter rollers are mounted on a moveable frame, which is adjusted
so as to move with slight friction along the table, and maintained in its
place on stationary bolts by counterweights disposed at each end of
the machine. In order to cause this bar to move back there is provided
at the front of the table a lover, which is moved by hand. A scrow
provided with a handle may be employed in lieu of the lever 1, and in
this case the frame is provided with a strong india-rubber spring so as

page_text: to enable the rollers to adjust themselves to any inequalities in the
thickness of the piece of wood x, and thus prevent the rupture of any
of the parts. The stave whilst being operated upon is provented from
rising by means of two vertical rollers m, m³, mounted on spindles, the
position of which may be varied as required.
The improved machine employed for forming the edges of the staves
is constructed on the following principle, videlicit, that by supporting
the stave in moulds having the exact external contour of the casks to be
produced, and causing two tools to act on the edges, the cut will bo
effected with a precision which has never hitherto been attained.
Figure 3 is a side elovation, and Figure 4 an end view of this machine.
The machine is composed of a strong cast-iron puppet o, in which
turns a shaft b, which carries at one of its extremities the two plates o, c³,
in which the tools are mounted. These plates, which are of the form of
a frustum of a cone, are perforated to receive the tools which are fixed
by means of screws; their inclination is obtained by abutting screws
which press at the back of them and admit of the angle of the cone
being regulated so as to correspond to the diameter to be obtained. The
plate o is moveable, but is fixed by means of two strong nuts for the
purpose of regulating the distance which should exist between the plates
according to the different widths of staves that may have to be shaped.
Under the plates c, o³, there is disposed a table t on which slides the
carrier & which carries the mould o receiving the stave z. The forward
motion of this carrier under the tools is obtained by means of a rack
and pinion, which may be actuated cither by hand or mechanically and
automatically. Above the mould there is disposed the beam e', cither
made wholly of metal, or of wood covered with metal on its under side,
by means of which pressure is exercised by the aid of levers 1, 1, as
shown in Figure 3, or in lieu thereof by an eccentric, or in any other
convenient contrivance so as to cause the stave x to bear properly on its
mould or bed e. As the carrier moves forward under the plates c, c³,
the tools which are fitted into such plates out the stavo longitudinally
and render the edges perfectly even. The carrier may be actuated by
hand or mechanically at will; in the latter case the pullies p, p, are
employed, the bosses of which are toothed, so that one or the other of
them will be actuated by means of the coupling box m, according to the
direction in which the carrier is required to move.
:

page_text: Figure 5 is a side elevation and partial section, and Figure 6,a trans
verse section taken along the line 1-2 (Figure 5) of a machine for
making the cross grooves in the staves. Two puppets. are, disposed in
the same axial line of a table common to the two, each of which carries
a shaft, on the extremity of, which is fixed the notching or grooving
tool j. Between the two puppets there is situate a wooden mould e,
having the external form of the stave z to be grooved. These staves are
guided at their extremities, one impelling the other, so that the tools
turning at a speed of about 2,000 revolutions form simultaneously the
notches or grooves destined to receive the heads of the casks. The
staves should be previously straightened between two strong moulds
which remove any bend or twist, after which the cross grooves in the
stave are formed.
Figure 7 is a side elevation, and Figure 8 a corresponding plan of a
machine for preparing the edges of the planks which form the heads of
the casks. This machine only differs from the preceding one in that it
has but one puppet and one tool j disposed at the extremity of the shaft
for the purpose of planing the edge. At the fore part of the puppet
there is provided a table e attached thereto or cast in one with it, as
shown in the Drawing, on which table there is placed the guide g
intended to regulate the thickness of the chips or shavings. The
planks which it is required to prepare are operated upon lengthwise
before being cut across. The heads, which are composed of planks united,
after having been previously prepared by the preceding machine, are
placed in another machine to be turned. Figure 9 is a side elevation,
and Fig. 10 a corresponding end view of the machine used for this
purpose. The different pieces composing the head are connected
together by a cross piece, and are then placed between the plates p, p²,
one of which is keyed on to a longitudinally stationary shaft, and the
other on to a shaft which may be caused to move forward or recede by
means of a screw which is turned by a fly wheel. In front of the
puppets which receive the shafts of the plates there is disposed a slide
rest c which turns the head at a single cut, imparting to it the double
bovel form, which corresponds to the groove in the staves. As soon as
the head is turned the moveable plate p¹ is caused to recede, and is with-
drawn to make room for another head. In order to facilitate the con-
tering a V-shaped wooden guide is provided on which the head, already
1

page_text: sawn round, is placed, by means of which the centering is effected
without difficulty.
Figure 11 is a longitudinal vertical section, Figure 12 a transverse
section taken along the line 1-2, and Figure 13 a transverse section
taken along line 3-4 (Figure 11) of a machine for putting together the
parts of the casks. To a standard A there is secured a hollow shaft a,
through which a strong rod 6 having a scrow thread cut at both ends
passes; on the shaft a there are cast lugs which receive levers ?, to
which are secured circular pieces of wood B, which serve as moulds to
▸ receive the staves to be united. Each of the threaded portions of the
rod 6 passes through a nut e which is connected to the levers 7, whence
it follows that by turning the spindle or rod 6 the nuts e will be moved
and the levers raised or lowered, which brings the circular pieces of
wood into suitable positions to receive the staves. A moveable mould
in the form of an are circle admits of the staves being placed without
having recourse to the ordinary moans employed for this purpose. The.
red lines, Figure 12, shew this part of the apparatus.
Figuro 14 is an elevation, and Figure 15 a horizontal section taken
along the line 1-2, Figure 14 of an apparatus for sawing the timber
following its uneven form into staves. In order to cut up the timber in
its rough state into staves as it is fed along in a winding course there is
disposed under the endless band saw a small apparatus, which does not
remove the bends or twists in the wood, but conducts it in the course of.
its inequalities under the blade of the saw. This apparatus is composed
of a small guide G formed by four rollers g mounted in a plane parallel
to the blade L, and very closely together lengthwise of the wood so as to.
have always four points of contact with any ordinarily uneven part.
These rollers form a plane which is about of an inch in front of the
blade L, and they are simultaneously set in motion by the endless
screw f, which is in gear with a worm wheel; the wheel & is disposed
beneath that; f is in gear with a similar wheel i fast on the axis of the
roller H, which is situate in the centre of the four points of contact.
formed by the rollers g. Now as this roller has but one point at which
to exert pressure it constantly applics the uneven surface which is
behind it against the four rollers, and the stave timber X passes under
the saw, taking an undulating course following the uneven shape of tho
wood. The pressure of the roller H is exercised by means of two

page_text: springs r, r, or by a counterweight, but always in such a manner as to
be capable of yielding when the timber is not of uniform thickness.
By the aid of the series of machines herein-before described any
workman unacquainted with the manufacture of casks would be able to
skilfully make casks, tuns, barrels, tubs, and other like recepticles of 5
every description and capacity the form, capacity, or measure of which
could be obtained mathematically. By these means a considerable
saving in labour is effected, whilst perfection in manufacture is insured.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be 1
used or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I
consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
is,―
First. The application and use to and in the manufacture of casks 13
and other like receptacles composed of staves of the peculiar machinery
or apparatus herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings
annexed.
Second. The peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or
apparatus for hollowing out the interior of a stave and imparting a 23
convex form to the exterior thereof in accordance with a given form
or mould, as herein-before described and illustrated by Figures 1 and 2
of the Drawings.
Third. The peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or
apparatus for shaping the edges of staves, as herein-before described and 25
illustrated by Figures 3 and 4 of the Drawings.
Fourth. The peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or
apparatus for cutting the cross grooves in the staves, as herein-before
described and illustrated by Figures 5 and 6 of the Drawings.
Fifth. The peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or 30
apparatus for preparing the edges of the planks intended to form the
heads or ends and bottoms of casks and other like receptacles, as herein-
before described and illustrated by Figures 7 and 8 of the Drawings. ..
Sixth. The peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or
apparatus for turning the heads or ends and bottoms of casks and other 35

page_text: like receptacles, as herein-before described and illustrated by Figuros 0
and 10 of the Drawings..
Seventh. The peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or
apparatus for putting together the parts of a cask, as herein-before
described and illustrated by Figures 11, 12, and 13 of the Drawings.
Eighth. The peculiar construction and arrangement of machinery or
apparatus for sawing irregular shaped timber, as herein-before described
and illustrated by Figures 14 and 15 of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of
July One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.