IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES."-A com
munication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd June 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists in applying and regulating the operation of the
cutting chisel in file-cutting machines in such a manner as to produce a
uniform depth of cut from end to end of a file. This object is effected by
fitting the chisel to work in a stock which rests upon the file blank itself, or
on a pattern of similar form, and which is made to move with it throughout
the whole length of the movement of the blank under or past the chisel. By
fitting the chisel to the stock in such a manner as to leave only the requisite
depth of the cutting edge to project beyond the stock, the stock will serve as a
stop to the chisel, and will prevent it from cutting too deeply into the
blank.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING FILES," being a communication from
abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par
ticularly 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 im-
mediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
consists in a certain mode of applying and regulating the operation of the
cutting chisel in file cutting machines, for the purpose of producing an uniform
depth of cut from end to end of a file.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which Fig. 1
is a longitudinal vertical section of a file-cutting machine; Fig. 2 is a front
elevation of the same.
parts in both Figures.
zontal sliding carriage B.
A
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding
is a stationary table, containing ways for a hori-
This carriage B has a cavity in its upper surface,

page_text: which is to be lined at the bottom with some sufficiently soft metal to serve as
a bed for the file blank to rest in during the cutting operation, the cavity or
bed being of such length, width, and form as to prevent the file blauk moving
longitudinally or laterally during the cutting operation. A file blank is
represented on the carriage B in both views, in red outline. C is an endless
screw, working in fixed bearings in the ends of the table A, and fitting to a
nut D secured under the carriage B, for the purpose of moving the carriage
to feed the file blank to the chisel. E is a strong bridge piece, striding across
and firmly secured to the table A to support the fixed guide F, to which is
fitted the chisel stock G. This guide is inclined backwards from the bottom
upward, to throw forward the lower end of the chisel. The bottom of the
chisel stock is required to rest upon the upper face of the file blank during the
cutting operation, and in order to keep it firmly in contact therewith, the chisel
stock is connected with the guide F by means of two springs b, b, which hold
it down, but at the same time permit it to rise over the curved surface of the
file blank as the latter moves longitudinally under it. The bottom part of the
stock, which rests on the file blank, is made narrower than the narrowest file
intended to be cut in the machine, so that it may not project beyond the edges
of the file blanks. H is the chisel, which is fitted to slide up and down in a
groove in the front of the stock G, and is confined in place by two cross
pieces c, c, secured to the stock. The chisel is moved upwards to prepare it
for striking the file blank to produce the cutting operation by means of a cam I
on a rotating shaft J, which works in bearings in the bridge piece E. This
cam operates on the under side of a stud d projecting from the back of the
chisel, and passes through a slot n in the back of the stock G. The descent
of the chisel to strike the blow is produced after the point of the cam passes
the stud d by the action of a spring e, which connects it with the lower cross
piece c. The shaft J carries another cam L, which operates to depress a
lever M, to which is attached a pawl N, held by a spring P in contact with a
ratchet wheel O, keyed on the end of the screw C. The depression of the
lever M causes the pawl N to give motion to the ratchet wheel, and thus
move the screw to produce the feed motion of the carriage. The lever M is
raised again after the action of the cam by means of a spring R. The cams
must be arranged so that the feed takes place. while the chisel is stationary.
K is a screw, working in the head of the chisel H, and provided with a broad
flanged nut or collar f, which, when the chisel strikes its blow, comes in
contact with the top of the stock G, which serves as a stop thereto, and thus
prevents the further downward movement of the chisel, and regulates the depth
of cut. The depth of cut may be varied by screwing the screw K further into

page_text: or out from the chisel head, and using a collar f that is immovable on tho
screw, or by employing a nut at f to screw up higher or down lower, and
having the screw immovably attached to the chisel head. It must be observed
that the lift of the cam I must be sufficient to give the chisel a sufficient
amount of descent to cut to the required depth on the thickest or highest part
of any file to be cut in the machine. This being the case, it will be readily
understood, that, as the chisel stock G always rests on the file blank close to
the chisel, and serves as the stop to the descent of the chisel, the depth of cut
must be perfectly uniform from end to end of the file, whatever may be its
form in a longitudinal direction. This result is the most difficult of all to
obtain in cutting files, and upon its perfection the good quality of the file in a
great measure depends. Instead of the stock G resting directly upon the file
blank, it may rest upon a pattern or patterns of corresponding form attached
to the carriage on one or both sides of the file blank, which will effect the
same result.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved Machinery
for Cutting Files," as communicated to me from abroad, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do.
not claim the employment of a stop to regulate the depth of cut of the chisel,
irrespective of the manner in which such stop is adapted to its work; but
what I claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent is, fitting the
chisel to work in a stock which rests upon the file blank itself, or on a pattern
of similar form, moving with it throughout the whole length of the movement
of the blank under or past the chisel, and serving as a stop to the chisel,
substantially as and for the purposes herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)