Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Files.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Jan., 1895
Innrification Laft 2nd not 1905 Accented 9th Nov., 1895
Date of Application, 3rd Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Loft, 3rd Oct, 1905 Accented 9th Nov., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Files.
I, JULIUS EDWARD Vos of 49 George Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention which has been communicated to me from abroad by Alfred Weed,
of Anderson, in the State of Indiana, one of the United States of America,
Engineer, relates to machinery for cutting files and has for its object to regulate
with precision the operations of the devices used to cut the teeth of file blanks, and
this invention cousists of a file cutting machine constructed in the manner to be
hereinafter described.
The base of the machine may be of any suitable form so that the requisite
solidity and stability may be obtained and may conveniently be in the form of
a standard which supports at the upper end a platform. In or upon the said base,
bed, standard or platform is or are formed a channel or guides in which the carrier
for the file blanks is mounted so as to be capable of being slidden. The said
carrier is provided with any suitable detent for holding the blank to be operated
upon in position. For instance there may be two bolts with heads or projections
which overlie the tang and heel of the blank and hold it in place. The said blank
may lie directly against the face of the carrier but in order to secure greater
solidity and a better bed for the blank it is preferable to cut away the carrier so
as to form a recess preferably corresponding in outline with the form of the blank
or it may be somewhat larger and to fill this recess with tin or lead or other soft
material or composition so as to constitute a soft metal or similar bed upon which
the blank lies and so that the blows which are imparted to the blank are sustained
by this bed which rests directly upon the above named base, bed, standard or
platform instead of being sustained by the carrier between which and the base, bed,
standard or platform there is necessarily some slight space. By being arranged in
the said manner the bed for the blank is maintained directly in contact with the
base, bed, standard or platform of the machine so that there is no jar or vibration
between the support for the blank and the base, bed, standard or platform and
a much better cutting effect is secured.
The cutter and its supports are carried by a swinging frame which is pivoted by
clamping bolts or other similar means to the sides of the base, bed, standard or
platform at a point about level with the carrier for the blank so that the said frame
may be swung to and secured at any desired angle to bring the cutter at the
required angle to the blanks. The cutter is of any suitable construction and size
according to the character of the file to be cut and is clamped in a stock which is
in turn clamped in a plunger which slides in suitable guides formed in the frame
above mentioned or the said cutter may be secured to the said plunger in
any other suitable manner. The cutter is arranged so as to be capable of
being secured in any position which may be desirable from time to time.
order that wear may be taken up and in order that the plunger may under any
circumstances be prevented from having any lateral play it is preferred to make it
with inclined sides so as to fit a flaring or taper recess formed in the frame
above named and to employ means whereby the plunger may be drawn in to the
said recess to compensate for wear so that there may at no time be any possible play.
In

page_text: In one arrangement there is a screw rod extending from the back of the plunger
through an opening or slot in the frame above mentioned and carrying a wide
washer and nuts whereby the rod may be drawn through the washer to draw back
the plunger to insure the close contact of its sides with those of the recess in which
it is mounted while the plunger is allowed to make the proper movement by the
elongated form of the opening through which the said screwed rod passes, the
washer sliding on the back of the said frame which is properly planed or formed to
insure the requisite contact.
The downward movement of the plunger is effected by means of a rubber spring
in the form of a hollow cylinder although any other spring or means of throwing
down the plunger may be employed. and the spring, may be set to secure any
desired quickness and strength of blow by being compressed between the top of the
plunger and a washer by means of a screw bearing on the said washer and extending
through a threaded opening in the top of the frame aforesaid or by other suitable
means.
The plunger is lifted at proper intervals by any suitable mechanism. In one
form of mechanism for lifting the plunger there is a double cam carried by a cross
shaft which is mounted so as to be capable of turning in bearings provided in the
frame aforesaid and is provided with a band wheel which is made to receive
motion from any suitable source of power. The said, cam acts upon, the head of
a screw bolt which passes through a nut or projection extending from the plunger
and preferably split and provided with a cross screw or bolt whereby the said nut
or projection may be clamped upon the said bolt after it has been adjusted in
position, the adjustment of such bolt determining the extent to which the plunger
shall be lifted by the action of a cam.
The carrier for the blanks is connected in any suitable manner to a spring tending
to move such carrier in one direction and holding a roller or projection upon a part
or lever connected to the said carrier in contact with a cam by which the regular
feeding or movement of the carrier is controlled or effected. The said cam may be
spiral or of any other suitable shape but is preferably made in the form of a block
with an inclined edge to which a sliding motion is imparted by any suitable means
and against the edge of which bears a projection or roller upon a lever pivoted at
a suitable part and receiving a projection extending from the said carrier. Any
suitable means may be employed for gradually moving the said cam and in one
form of such means the said cam is provided with a toothed rack with which
engages a worm carried by a shaft driven by means of gearing receiving motion
by means of pulleys and an endless band or rope. The said pulleys may be step
cone pulleys in order that the relative speed of motion between the said, cam and the
other moving parts of the machine may be varied by the band or rope being placed
upon different portions of the pulleys. In cases in which it is desirable to so move
the blanks being operated upon that the teeth may be cut closer together at one
part or parts of a blank than at other parts thereof the cam by which the movement
of the said carrier is controlled or effected may be shaped in a suitable manner for
this object to be accomplished thus instead of being formed with a straight edge
the said cam may be curved with a gradually increasing or decreasing, curvature or
inclination or the same effect may be produced by, the substitution, of a revolving,
spiral cam instead of a sliding cam with a straight or curved edge.
In cutting a file from the point towards the heel it is often desirable to increase.
the force of the blows in proportion as the body of metal acted upon increases, as
otherwise the teeth would not be of equal depth, and for this purpose means are
provided for gradually increasing the lift or, throw. of the plunger as the blank is
moved under the cutter. One method of securing this result is to impart motion to
the said plunger by means of a tapering cam which gradually increases in the radial
extent of its cam projection or projections from one end to the other and moving
such cam in relation to the bolt upon which it operates, as the work progresses.
Any desired means may be employed for moving the said cam so as to secure the
above described result. It may be done by hand by a screw capable of being

page_text: turned by hand and caused to bear upon the end of the said cam or the shaft upon
which such cam is mounted but it is preferable to move the said cam automatically.
which may be done through the medium of appliances connected with any suitable
moving part of the machine. In one arrangement for this purpose a wedge is
interposed between one side of a slot or recess in the bearing or one of the bearings
in which the shaft carrying the said can is mounted and the end of a collar
provided upon the said shaft or the said cam and such wedge is connected
by means of an arm to the carrier by which the blank being operated upon is
moved.
It is desirable to exert a pressure upon the blank tending to hold it firmly upon
the carrier or support by which it is supported at a point adjacent to the part at
which the cutter or chisel acts upon the blank and for this purpose there is
employed according to this invention a presser bar having a flat edge which bears
against the blank and a stem which extends through a shaft which may be
rocked or oscillated in a bearing or bearings in or upon the base, bed, standard or
platform of the machine and which is rocked or oscillated by means of an arm and
a rod or treadle or other suitable means, which may he pressed or moved so as to
remove the presser bar from the blank and released so as to be moved by a weight
or other suitable means and be caused to bring the presser foot to bear upon the
face of the blank.
Dated this Second day of January 1805
HOWARD
CHEETHAM,
Manchester, Agent to the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Files.
I, JULIUS EDWARD Vos of 49 George Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention which has been communicated to me from abroad by Alfred
Weed, of Anderson, in the State of Indiana, one of the United States of
America, Engineer, relates to machinery for cutting files and has for its object to
regulate with precision the operations of the devices used to cut the teeth of file
blanks, and this invention consists of a file cutting machine constructed as fully set
forth hereinafter so as to secure such result.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side view of a file cutting machine
embodying my improvements, Fig. 2 is a front elevation of such machine,
and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of such machine, and Fig. 4 is a
section on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a plan of the
blank-carrier employed in such machine and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the
cam employed in the said machine.
The base (A) of the machine may be of any suitable form, so that the requisite
solidity and stability may be obtained. As shown it is in the form of a standard
which supports at the upper end a platform (50) in a channel in which slides the
carrier (10) for the file blanks, which carrier is provided with any suitable detent
for holding in position the heel of the blank to be operated upon. For instance
there are two bolts (51) (51) with heads or projections which overlie the tang and
heel of the blank and hold it in place. The said blank may lie directly against
the face of the carrier but in order to secure greater solidity and a better bed for
the blank it is preferable to cut away the carrier so as to form a recess preferably
corresponding in outline with the form of the blank or it may be somewhat larger
and to fill this recess with tin or lead or other soft material or composition so as to

page_text: constitute a soft metal or similar bed (52) upon which the blank lies and so that
the blows which are imparted to the blink are sustained by this bed which rests
directly upon the platform (50) instead of being sustained by the carrier which
slides upon the platform and between which and the platform there is necessarily
some slight space. By being arranged in the said manner the bed for the blank is
maintained directly in contact with the base, bed, standard or, platform (50) of the
machine, so that there is no jar or vibration between the support for the blank and
the base, and a much better cutting effect is secured.
The cutter (7) and its supports are carried by a swinging frame (B) which is
pivoted by clamping bolts (53) to the sides of the base, bed, standard or platform
at a point about level with the carrier (10) for the blank so that the said frame (B)
may be swung to and secured at any desired angle to bring the cutter at the
required angle to the blanks. As shown in the accompanying drawings all
the parts supporting the cutter (7) are in a vertical position but in operation the
frame (B) would be swung to the right from the position in which it is shown
in Fig. 3 to such an angle as would be required to bring the point of the cutter (7)
in its proper relation to the surface of the blanks. The cutter (7) is of any
suitable construction and size according to the character of the file to be cut and
is clamped in a stock (6) which is in turn clamped in a plunger (5) which
plunger (5) slides in suitable guides formed in the frame (B). In order that wear
may be taken up and in order that the plunger may under any circumstances be
prevented from having any lateral play it is preferred to make it with inclined sides
as best shown in Fig. 4 so as to fit a flaring or taper recess (y) formed in the
frame (B) above named and to employ means whereby the plunger may be drawn
into the said recess to compensate for wear so that there may at no time be any
possible play. As shown in the accompanying drawings, there is a screw-rod (16)
extending from the back of the plunger through an opening or slot (a) in the
frame (B) above mentioned and carrying a wide washer (17) and nuts (18)
whereby the rod may be drawn through the washer to draw back the plunger to
insure the close contact of its sides with those of the recess (y) in which it is
mounted. At the same time the plunger can have its proper upward and downward
movement by reason of the elongated form of the opening (c) through which the
said screwed rod passes, the washer (17) sliding on the back of the said frame (B)
which is properly planed off to insure the requisite contact.
The downward movement of the plunger is effected by means of a rubber
spring (8) in the form of a hollow cylinder although any other spring or means of
throwing down the plunger may be employed and the spring may be set to secure
any desired quickness and strength of blow by being compressed between the top
of the plunger and a washer (56) by means of a screw (9) bearing on the said
washer and extending through a threaded opening in the top of the frame.
The plunger lifted at proper intervals by any suitable mechanism. As shown
in the accompanying drawings there is a double cam (13) carried by a cross
shaft (12) which is mounted so as to be capable of turning in bearings (19) (19)
provided in the frame (B) aforesaid and is provided with a band-wheel (22) which
is made to receive motion by means of a belt from any suitable source of power.
The said eam (13) acts upon the head of a screw-bolt (14) which passes through
a nut or projection (15) extending from the front of the plunger and preferably
split and provided with a cross screw or bolt (55) whereby the said nut or
projection may be clamped upon the said bolt (14) so as to hold it firmly after it
has been adjusted in position, the adjustment of such bolt (14) determining the
extent to which the plunger shall be lifted by the action of the cam.
The carrier (10) for the blanks is connected in any suitable manner to a
spring (s) tending to move such carrier in one direction and holding a roller
or projection (35) upon a lever (32) connected to the said carrier in contact with a
can (D) by which the regular feeding or movement of the carrier is controlled.
This cam (D) may be spiral or of any other suitable shape but is preferably made
in the form of a block with an inclined edge to which a sliding motion is imparted

page_text: by, any, suitable means and against the edge of which bears the projection or
roller (35) upon the lever (32) which is pivoted at (45) and receives at the upper
slotted end a projection (33) extending from, the rear end of the carriage (10). At
the beginning of operations the carriage (10) is at the position in which it is.
indicated in Figs. 1 and 3 and the cam (D) is then carried gradually downwards so
that the lever (32) moves gradually to the right carrying, with it the carriage (10).
so that at each descent of the cutter (7), a fresh portion of the blank is presented
until the entire face to be operated upon is cut the stock (6) being turned so as to
put the cutter (7) at any proper transverse angle when this is necessary. Any...
suitable means may be employed for gradually moving downwards the said cam (D).
As shown in, the accompanying drawings the said cam (D) is provided with a
toothed rack (31) with which engages a worm (29) carried by a vertical shaft (28)
which is driven by means of gear-wheels (26) (27) receiving motion from the
shaft (12) by means of pulleys (23) (24) 'and an endless band or rope (25). The
said pulleys (23) (24) may be, step cone pulleys as shown in order that the relative..
speed of motion between the shaft (12) and the cam (D) may be varied by the band
or rope (25) being placed upon different portions of the pulleys (23) (24). When
a decrement of movement is required as for instance where it is desired that the
teeth of the file may be cut closer together as they approach the end of such file.
the cam (D) may be shaped in a suitable manner for this object to be accomplished
thus instead of being formed with a straight edge as shown in Fig. 1 the edge of
the said cam may be curved with a gradual increasing curve as shown in dotted
lines or the same effect may be produced by the substitution of a revolving spiral
cam instead of a sliding can with a straight or curved edge.
In cutting a file from the point towards the heel it is desirable to increase the
force of the blows in proportion as the body of the metal acted upon increases as
otherwise the teeth would not be of equal depth, and for this purpose means are
provided for gradually increasing the lift or throw of the plunger as the blank is
moved under the cutter. One method of securing this result is to impart motion to
the said plunger by means of a tapering cam (13) which gradually increases in the
radial extent of its cam projection or projections from one end to the other and
moving such cam in relation to the screw bolt (14) upon which
operates as the
work progresses. Thus in the construction shown in the accompanying drawings
the cam (13) and the bearing head of the screw-bolt (14) are in the position which
they occupy at the commencement of the operation of cutting a file and as the
operation continues the cam (13) is moved towards the left of Fig. 2 so that the
lift of the plunger (5) is gradually increased, the spring (8) is compressed to a
greater extent at each movement and the blow struck by the chisel or cutter (7) is
proportionately augmented. Any desired means may be employed for moving the
said cam (13) so as to secure the above described result: It may be done by hand
by a screw (20) capable of being turned by hand by means of a crank-handle (21)
and caused to move the shaft. (12), upon which such cam (13) is mounted, so as to
force such cam (13) towards the left of Fig. 2 but it is preferable to move the said
cam (13) automatically which may be done through the medium of appliances
connected with any suitable moving part of the machine. Thus between the side
of a slot (w) in one of the bearings (19) of the frame (B) and the end of the
shaft (12) is placed a wedge (59), which is connected by means of an arm (60) to
the carrier (10) by which the blank being operated upon is moved. As the
carriage (10) moves towards the right of Fig. 3 the thicker part of the wedge (59)
is gradually brought between the said bearing (19) and the end of the shaft (12)
and the cain (13) is gradually forced towards the left of Fig. 2.
It is desirable to exert a pressure upon the blank tending to hold it firmly
upon the carrier or support by which it is supported at a point adjacent to the
part at which the cutter or chisel acts upon the blank and for this purpose there is
employed a presser bar (40) having a flat edge which bears against the blank and a
stem which extends through a rock-shaft (46) which may be rocked or oscillated in
a bearing (41) connected with the platform (50) of the machine and this shaft is

page_text: rocked or oscillated through the medium of an arm (42) rod (43) and treadle (44)
pivoted at the end of the shaft (45) to which the lever (32) is joined. By pressure
being exerted upon the treadle (44) by the foot of the attendant in charge of the
machine the end of the presser bar may be lifted from the blank and when such
treadle (44) is released a weight (S) upon the rod (43) serves to rock the shaft (46)
and bring the presser foot to bear upon the face of the blank.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is
1. In a file cutting machine the combination with the frame (B) having a
recess (y) provided with inclined sides and an elongated slot (a) extending from the
said recess to the rear of the frame, a reciprocating plunger (5) provided with a
tool-carrier and having inclined sides fitting the said recess, a bolt extending from
the plunger through the slot in the frame and a washer and nuts attached to the
said bolt, and means for reciprocating the plunger substantially as described.
2. The combination with the reciprocating plunger of a file cutting machine of
an operating cam increasing or diminishing towards one end, devices for shifting
the same and connections between the said devices and a movable part of the
machine, substantially as described.
3. The combination with the blank-carrier of a file cutting machine of a movable
cam and connections between the blank-carrier and cam arranged to shift the cam
upon the movement of the carrier substantially as set forth.
4. The combination with the blank-carrier of a file cutting machine, of a sliding
cam (D) having an inclined edge, a lever connected with the carrier and carrying
a bearing in contact with the said cdge and means for sliding the cam substantially
as set forth.
5. The combination with the sliding blank carrier of a file cutting machine,
lever (32) and cam (D) of a rack on the cam, a worm engaging the said rack and
means for rotating the said worm substantially as set forth.
6. The combination in a file cutting machine of the movable blank-carrier, of a
cam controlling the movement of the carrier, means for moving the cam at an
uniform speed, the cam being provided with a gradually increasing curve towards
its end, whereby a decrement of movement of the blank-carrier is produced,
substantially as described.
7. In a file cutting machine, the combination with the blank-carrier and its
actuating cam of devices for varying the movement of the said cam substantially as
set forth.
Dated this Second day of October 1895.
HOWARD CHEETHAM,
Manchester, Agent to the Applicant.