IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING FILES
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
STOCKER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth-day of June, in the sixth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alex-
ander Stocker, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Alexander Stocker, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alexander Stocker, my exors, adññors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no. others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make;
use exercise, and vend within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING FILES ;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Alexander
Stocker, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alexander Stocker, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and

page_text: A, A, is the bed plate of the machine which is fastened firmly down to the
wood framing, or otherwise as may be most convenient; B, B, the traveller
or slider fitted exactly into a dovetailed groove, cast or formed on the plate A
(see Figure 2), so as to slide steadily along without the possibility of shaking.
This traveller forms the bed for the file to lie upon while receiving the blows
of the hammer, and a piece of lead is interposed between it and the file, to
prevent the lower side of the latter being injured by contact with the iron of
the bed. The file is screwed firmly down by straps and screws at each end,
see Figures 1 and 4; C, C, are screws, each having two necks D, D, which
run in the carriages fixed upon the bed plate. These screws are turned round
by means of toothed wheels E, E, upon the end. There are two projections
F, F, upon each side of the slider B, which are tapped to fit the screws C, C,
so that when the screws are turned round they cause the slider to move longi-
tudinally along the groove in the bed plate, carrying the file along with it.
The motion of the screws may be reversed, and consequently the slider
returned by means of machinery which will be hereafter described. F¹ is a
shaft lying under the bed plate A, to which rotatory motion is communicated
by a strap running from the shaft of a steam engine or other convenient
power on to the pulley G. There is likewise a pulley running loose upon the
shaft, by turning the strap upon which the motion of the machine may be
stopped. On this shaft is keyed a cam H, H, having wipers or teeth upon
its circumference to lift the ends g, g, of the levers R, R, (see Figures 1
and 3), and by means of the connecting rods L, L, (attached to the other ends
m, m, of the levers) to cause the hammer to rise and fall. The cam shewn
has four wipers or teeth; but if required a greater or less number than this
may be employed in order to cut the file either courser or finer.
It will bo seen by Figure 1 that there are two hammers, with the levers, &c.
connected with them, but as these are precisely similar, only one of them will
be described for the sake of perspicuity. The lever R is supported by and
moves upon centres N, N, fixed upon the bed plate A, see Figure 1; upon
one end is a small roller O, which runs upon the circumference of the cam, to
lessen the friction, and by means of which that end of the lever is raised, and
consequently the other end m, lowered, and vice versa. Lis a connecting rod,
one end of which is attached by a union joint to the end m of the lever, and

page_text: the other end by a joint of a similar description to a brass box, which slides
upon the tail end of the lever V of the hammer, as will be hereafter described.
Q is the hammer, the blows of which cut the teeth of the file; it is hung
upon a pillar and fulcrum R', which is screwed to the bed plate A, see
Figures 1 and 4. S is a weight fixed upon the longer arm of the hammer; it
must be made so that some extra weights T, T, may be added to it, should it
not be heavy enough to produce the cut in the file without them. U is the
cutter, which must be well and exactly fitted into the weight S, being firmly
fastened therein by means of a screw, cotter, or other suitable means; the
edge of this cutter must be ground to a suitable angle, so as to produce a
proper inclination in the cut of the file, see Figure 4. On the tail end of the
hammer V is a brass box W, which is well fitted so as to slide easily but
steadily along it. To this brass box is attached by a union joint the other end
of the connecting rod P, to communicate the motion from the levers R, R,
to the hammer. The use of this brass sliding box is to reduce or increase the
height that the hammer will rise, and thereby the effective weight of the
blow upon the file, for when the box W is at or near the end of the bar or
lever V, and consequently at the greatest distance from the fulcrum R' of the
lever V, it is evident that as the connecting rod constantly moves through
the same distance, the angular motion of the said lever must be smaller, and
consequently the hammer have less rise than when the box is nearer to the
fulcrum. This increase or decrease of the effective weight of the blow is
necessary in proportion as the width of the file (at the place of the cut) is
greater or less, as it is obvious that were the blow of the same force throughout
the length of the file, the cut would be deeper in the narrower than in the
wider parts of the file, which would entirely spoil the same. This modification
of the blow is made self-adjusting in the following manner:-1 is a bar having
at one end a small roller, the bar (1) sliding in a guide 2, fixed to the bed
plate; 3 is an upright shaft, upon which are keyed two levers 4 and 5; the
lever 4 is a short one, and is made by means of a weight with a chain passing
over a pulley 6, to press constantly and firmly against the end of the sliding
bar 1, and thereby keep the roller close up to the edge of the file as the file
passes along; the lever 5 is connected by a rod 7 to the before-mentioned
brass sliding box W. It will be seen by an inspection of the Drawing, that
when the narrower part of the file is gradually brought under the hammer,
the small roller and sliding bar 1, will be forced inwards against it, and,
consequently, the two levers 4 and 5, and the connecting rod 7, moving with
them, the sliding box W will be caused to move gradually towards the end of
the lever V, and the force of the blow will be thereby reduced accordingly, as

page_text: has been before described. It has been stated that the screws C, C, which
move the file along, may be turned either forwards or backwards while the
shaft is revolving continuously in one direction, which is effected in the
following way:8, 9, are two toothed wheels hung loose upon the shaft F, so
that the shaft itself may revolve without turning them or even while they are
moving in a contrary direction; 10 is a clutch box which is allowed to slide
longitudinally along the shaft F, but turning round with it by means of keys
upon the part of the shaft where it slides (see Figures 6, 7). This clutch
box has projections upon its two faces, which correspond with other projections
upon the wheels 8, 9, so that when the box is moved along the shaft, close
to either of the wheels, the projections or teeth on the box lay hold of those
upon such wheel, and carry it round in the same direction as the shaft; it is
represented in Figures 1 and 7, as disengaged from both the wheels. The
wheel 8 geers constantly into the wheels E, E, on the ends of the screws, as
shewn in Figure 6. The wheel 9 is larger and geers into a pinion 11, which
is fastened firmly upon another shaft 12, running above the bed plate and
supported upon carriages 13. Upon this shaft 12 is also fixed another pinion
14, which is constantly geering into the two screw wheels E, E, (see Figures
5 and 7). The action of this machinery will be evident by an inspection of
the Drawing, for when the clutch box 10 is placed close to the wheel 8, that
wheel will be turned with the shaft and consequently the screws and wheels
E, E, in the direction shewn by the arrows on Figure 6. This will propel the
traveller with the file upon it gradually forward to receive the successive
blows of the hammer, but when it arrives at the end of its journey, the
projecting piecs 15 upon the traveller will strike against the tappet 16 on the
rod 17, and by means of the lever 18 disengage the clutch box from the
wheel 8, and engage it upon the wheel 9, which by the intervening wheels
and shaft 11, 12, and 14, will cause the screws and wheels E, E, to revolve
in a contrary direction (see Figure 5), and with a much greater velocity,
thereby returning the traveller to its former place; when it arrives there
the piece 15 will strike upon the tappet 19, and disengage the box from
wheel 9, will set in motion the wheel 8, &c. as before. The rod (17), should
have connected to it (to insure its throwing the clutch box completely into
gear) a motion well understood, consisting of a weight upon a lever, raised in
nearly a vertical position, so that if it is moved a little way (sufficient to
cause the centre of gravity of the ball to be thrown upon the other side of the
fulcrum), its weight will carry the rod attached to it the remainder of the
distance; this motion has not been shewn in the Drawing to avoid confusion.
The action of the machine will require very little explanation after the

page_text: foregoing description. The two hammers are to be set on the bed plate at an
angle equal to that made by the cut on the file with each other, as shewn in
Figure 1. The file must be fastened firmly upon its bed, and the wheel 8
thrown into gear, the machine being then set in motion, and one of the
hammers made to act upon the file, one row of teeth will be cut by the time
the traveller reaches the end of its course. This hammer must then be
lifted up and kept out of the way, and when the file bas returned, the other
bammer being set in motion, will complete the file, which may then be turned
over for the other side to be cut in a similar manner.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would remark that I
lay no claim to the parts separately, and I am aware various arrangements of
mechanical instruments have been before combined for cutting files by
machinery, and in most instances the cutting instrument or hammer has been
for the most part similar to that above described, and in some instances the
strength of the blow has been regulated by the figure of the file itself or a
model thereof, but in such cases the mode of performing the action has been
materially different to my Invention; and I would have it understood that
what I claim as my Invention is the mode of combining the various parts
acting on the lever which carries the hammer and cutting instrument, in
combination with the mode of carrying the file to receive the cut.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Stocker, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
ALEX STOCKER.