AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF TOOL FOR CUTTING TUBES,
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF TOOL FOR CUTTING
TUBES, A .communication from abroad by David Meeker Nichols, of
the City of New York, in the United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 12th December 1865.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF TOOL FOR
CUTTING TURES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel construction of tool for cutting tubes, and
chiefly boiler tubes, to the length required, and that either before the tubes
have been inserted in their places, or afterwards, and partially secured
therein. The tool consists of a rotary cutter head fitted with suitable cutters
for trimming or turning down the end of the tube. This cutter head is
mounted on a hollow axle, which in order to enable the tool to be applied to

page_text: a fixed tube extends sufficiently beyond the cutter head to enter the tube
several inches. Over this extended portion of the hollow axle is placed an
expanding sleeve, which is slit up longitudinally from its opposite ends, and
is intended to bind against the inner surface of the tube to be cut, and thus.
hold the tool to its work. The expansion of this tube may be effected by a
variety of mechanical devices, but that which is preferred is a couple of cones,
which enter the sleeve at its opposite ends,, and thereby cause it to expand
and bind the tube firmly. One cone is fixed to or is a conical projection on
the hollow axle, and the other is a loose taper tube applied to the end of the
hollow axle, and made to slide thereon by the following means:-A rod
screwed at one end and furnished with a head at its other is passed through
the hollow axle. The head bears against the end of the taper tube, and the
screw thread is fitted with a nut. As, therefore, this nut is turned and made
to bear against the outer end of the hollow axle the head of the rod will
press the taper tube or cone into the split sleeve, and force it at the same
time further on to the fixed cone, so that both ends of the tube will expand
simultaneously, and bind tightly to the tube. The cutter head is provided
with a true face, beyond which the cutting edges of the cutters are made to
project just sufficiently to cut to the desired depth, so that the same cannot
take a heavier cut than desired, and that a uniform feed is obtained whether
the feed be effected by a lever, weight, or spring, or by a positivo power,
such as a feed screw, or by a ratchet brace or other mechanism. The
cutter head is fitted on the hollow shaft so as to slide on the same, and a feed
motion is imparted to it by a wheel which screws on the end of the shaft.
The end of the cutter head is made octagonal, or otherwise so. formed that a
suitable wrench can be applied for turning the same, and on its outer end,
next the feed wheel, is mounted a .collar provided with a dog that slides in
and out, and when moved out catches into corresponding recesses in the feed
wheel, so that that wheel is compelled to turn with the cutter head, and an
automatic feed is effected. When the dog is moved back the feed wheel
must be turned by hand in order to produce the desired feed. The cutters
are made with projecting lips to strike, the tube sheet if a tube is cut when in
its place, and to prevent the operator from cutting off any more than
desirable. In practice several sizes of cutter heads and expanding sleeves
must be provided for tubes of different diameters. If desired the cutters may
be so arranged that they cut from the inside instead of from the ends of the
tubes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
"
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year .of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators,
and 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 "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF TOOL FOR CUTTING TUBES,"
being a communication to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under ny, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
bo performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-
This Invention relates to a tool which is intended for the purpose of cutting
boiler tubes to the proper length, either before putting them in their places,
or after putting them in and fastening one end. It is constructed of a bar or
shaft with a hole bored through its longitudinal centre to receive. the
tightening screw, and with a stationary and shifting cone in combination with
an expanding sleeve or any other suitable expanding device in such a manner
that by the act of the tightening screw on the shifting cone both ends of the:
sleeve. are expanded, and the bar or shaft can be secured or guided in a tube

page_text: in a central position ready for the operation of cutting. The cutters are
secured in a head, which is keyed or otherwise secured on the shaft, and
which is provided with a true face, beyond which the cutters are set the
required distance, so as to determine the depth of the cut and to obtain a
uniform feed with or without a positive motion.
This Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal central section of the improved cutting tool
applied to a boiler tube; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a
front elevation of the cutter head; Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the tool
taken in the plane indicated by the line, x, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a front view
of the feed wheel detached; similar letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts.
A represents a bar or shaft of iron or other suitable material, which is
provided with a central hole a, extending throughout its length, and made to
receive the screw b, which is provided with a head c at one end, and with a
nut d'at the opposite end, as shown particularly in Fig. 1 of the Drawing.
The shaft A is furnished with a stationary cone and with a shifting cone f,
and situated between these two cones is the expanding sleeve B; this sleeve
is made of iron or other suitable material, and it is furnished with slots g cut in
from öpposite ends at suitable distances apart, so that by causing the cones e, f,
to enter its ends 'the sleeve is expanded, and if the shaft has been inserted
into a tube by the expanding sleeve, it can be securely fastened in a con-
centric position, or so arranged that it turns in the tube in the desired central
position. The operation of expanding the sleeve is effected by turning the
nut d so that the 'head c of the screw 6 bears against the shifting cone f, and
causes the same to enter the outer end of the sleeve, at the same time forcing
its inner end on the stationary cone e. The shaft A may, however, be adjusted
in the proper position in the tube by other means besides this expanding
sleeve. Instead of one sleeve, for instance, two separate sleeves or rings might
be arranged on the shaft at a suitable distance apart, and made to expand by
scrolls or by cams or other means; by preference the sleeve shown in the
Drawing is used, as the same forms a 'good bearing for the shaft and is not
liable to get out of order. The cutters are secured in a cutter head C,
which may be firmly keyed to or fitted loosely on the shaft A. This head is
provided with a true face i, beyond which the cutting edges of the cutters are
made to project just sufficiently to cut to the desired depth, so that the same
cannot take a heavier cut than desired, and that a uniform feed is obtained
whether the feed be effected by a lever weight or spring, or by a positive
power, such as a feed screw, or by a ratchet brace or other mechanism.

page_text: Without this face the cutters are apt to lead in, and the cuts taken soon
become so heavy that the tool is strained beyond its capacity, or that the
cutters break. The cutter head is fitted on the hollow shaft A, as shown in
Fig. 2, but in practice it is preferred to mount the cutter head on a sleeve D
(see Figures 1 and 2), so as to slide on the same, and a feed motion is im-
parted to it by a wheel E, which screws on the end of the shaft A, as shown.
The end of the cutter head is made octagonal, or otherwise so formed that a
suitable wrench can be applied for turning the same, and on its outer end next
the feed wheel E is mounted a collar F; this collar F is provided with a
sliding bolt j, which slides in and out, and which when moved out catches
into corresponding recesses & in the feed wheel, so that that wheel is compelled
to turn with the cutter head and an automatic feed is effected. When the
sliding bolt is moved back the feed wheel turns independently of the cutter
head, and the feed wheel must be turned by hand in order to produce the
desired feed. The cutters are made with projecting lips 1, intended to strike
the tube sheet (if a tube is cut when in its place), and to prevent the operator
from cutting off any more than is desirable. In practice several sizes of
cutter heads and expanding sleeves must be provided for tubes of different
diameters. If desired the cutters may be so arranged that they cut from the
inside instead of from the ends of the tubes.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of an improved con-
struction of tool for cutting tubes, and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim the construction of tool above described, which
admits of being centred in the tube to be cut, and effectually provides against
the cutters taking a deeper cut than is desired.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twelfth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)