Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Compound Lumber and in Panelled Articles Made from same.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 3rd May, 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for Manufacturing
Compound Lumber and in Panelled Articles Made from same.
A communication from abroad by COLIN MACDONALD THOMPSON, of 553, Deane
Street, Brooklyn, King's County, in the State of New York, in the United
States of America, Manufacturer.
I, PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, 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:-
-
The object of this invention is to produce wood panel work which is less liable to
warp and shrink, cheaper and otherwise superior to that made in the ordinary way.
and to this end the invention consists of panel work made of composite material and
in apparatus for making the same as fully set forth hereinafter and as illustrated in
the accompanying drawings in which :-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a door or wainscotting made from the composite or
compound lumber, a portion of it being broken away.
Fig. 2 is a cross section of a panel of the same.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the frame before the outer casing has
been applied.
Fig. 4 is a side view partly in section of the machine for making the lumber.
Fig. 5 is a top plan view.
Fig. 6 is an end view of one form of the cutter head.
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same, and
Fig. 8 is a view of a portion of one form of the gluing roller.
The use of compound lumber, and especially for doors, wainscotting and other
articles, has heretofore been restricted owing to the difficulty of making the lumber
in a satisfactory manner and then of properly arranging the filling and facing of the
articles so constructed from the lumber as to secure a perfect finish, and yet have a
cheap and solid backing or filling.
Referring then to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, a filling or backing A for the
rails and stiles of the door or other panelled article is first formed of a number of
separate pieces 1, 2 and 3, which are tongued and grooved and secured together
as shown at 4 and 5. These composite pieces are then tongued and grooved upon all
sides as shown at 6 and provided with the facing 8, consisting of the pieces 7 and 8
which are also tongued and grooved upon one side and forced into position upon the
sides of the composite filling by the ordinary means. In applying the facing pieces
it is preferred to first secure the narrower pieces 7, 7, upon the edges of the filling
after which the sides of the filling including the narrower facing strips may be
tongued and grooved and the wider facing pieces 8, 8, applied in the same manner.
This will cause the wider facing pieces to overlap and engage with and lock the
edges of the narrower pieces, thus bolding the composite lumber and the facing
pieces upon its edges more securely together. It also gives a neater appearance to
the door, as the joints between the edges of the facing pieces are on the edges of the
door, where they are not so noticeable as they would be if they were on the sides or
surfaces more exposed.
The pieces when completed as above described are mortised and tenoned to form
the stiles and rails, and the frame of the door is thus constructed as readily as though
these parts consisted of solid lumber. When desired, as when the top or bottom
edges of the door are exposed to view, the ends of the rails may be covered with a.
small facing piece 9 to correspond with the remainder of the door. But where such

page_text: exposure does not take place the entire facing along the entire edge of the top or
bottom may be omitted. Owing to the gluing or cementing of the different parts,
the tendency to warp or split is prevented and additional strength is secured, and
especially for the portions which are weakened by the ordinary mortising and
tenoning.
In doors, wainscotting, and such like articles constructed as above described, the
panels C, C, may be made out of a single thickness of lumber, or they may be made
out of two pieces as best shown in Fig. 2. In this manner each side of the door
may be finished in a different kind of wood and when the door is located between
rooms which are finished in different kinds of wood each side of the door can be made
to correspond with the particular kind of wood used in finishing the different rooms.
The machinery by which the lumber itself is made is illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7
and 8 of the drawings.
The machine consists of a suitable frame D, preferably made of iron on which are
mounted the planer mechanism E, the gluing device F, and the press G, the frame
- being long enough for the proper arrangement and handling of the lumber as it
passes through the machine, and is also provided with suitable shafts and pulleys for
imparting motion to the operating mechanism above referred to. The planer consists
of the feed rollers 10, 10, and a revolving head 11, having alternate smooth and
notched hits 12, 13, the notches or recesses of the notched bit forming points or
teeth 14 which project as far beyond the edges of the straight bits as it is desired to
have the depth of the grooves of the pieces composing the lumber. The faces of
the tongues, or the lumber between the grooves, are smoothed by the action of the
straight edged bits and are of the same width as the width of the grooves, so that any
two pieces of lumber that have been operated upon by the planer will fit together, the
tongues of one fitting in the grooves of the other.
Instead of making the recesses in the notched bits only as wide as the teeth it is
preferred to make them three times as wide, and then arrange the bits on the head
so that the teeth in one will alternate with those of the other as shown in Fig. 7 as
more rapid and satisfactory work can thus be got with at least 50 per cent. less
friction.
To give the teeth a good chance when in operation and thus prevent their gum-
ming or heating whereby the sharp corners of the tongues on the lumber would be
destroyed, the point of each tooth may be swaged or made broader than the lower
portion which can be done by a blow upon the end of the tooth, or by grinding out
the lower portion more than the end. The gluing apparatus F consists of a pan 15
suitably arranged in a frame H which is supported upon the frame D in which
pan 15 is kept the glue which may be supplied from a tank or reservoir 16 and the
pipe 17 leading to the pan, although the tank and pipe may be dispensed with, and
any other suitable arrangement made for replenishing the pan as the glue is
gradually exhausted in the manufacture of the lumber. Two rollers 18, 19, are
journaled transversely across the frame above or rather within the pan with their
lower portions immersed within the glue and their upper portions just within the line
of travel of the board or piece of lumber being acted upon, so that as the rollers
revolve either from contact with the moving lumber or by means of gearing they
will be constantly receiving a fresh supply of glue from the pan and as constantly
applying it to the tongues and grooves of lumber as it passes over them. It practice
it bas been difficult to apply the glue to every portion of the tongues and grooves and
especially the inner faces of the tongues and the corners at the bottom of the
grooves, and hence the gluing rolls are constructed as shown in Fig. 8, that is the
surface is formed or provided with a series of annular rings or ridges 20 of such size
and shape as to enter the grooves in the board and apply the glue to the sides,
bottoms, and corners of the grooves as thoroughly as possible. The face of the
gluing rollers between these rings or projections will apply the glue to the outer
face of the tongues of the board, so that when the boards or pieces of lumber thus
prepared are placed in contact and suitably pressed together and the glue or cement
has become dry or hardened, they will become united together so as to form practically

page_text: a single piece. If desired both of the boards may be coated with glue, although it
is preferred to glue but one of them and let it apply its glue to the other. The rollers
are made of any suitable material such as iron, steel, or hard rubber, and may be
mounted on shafts or trunnions as desired. Or they may be made of bristles or other
yielding material, and one of them may be dispensed with entirely, or a yielding
roller substituted in place of one of them, preferably the rearmost one which will thus
act as a brush for removing any surplus glue that may happen to get on to the
board from the first roller.
That every portion of the contacting surfaces of the boards be provided with glue
and thus make a more perfect union it is necessary that they be absolutely clean or
free from dust or other particles of loose matter.
It is therefore preferred to provide the machine with a brush or cleaner 21 which is
located directly over the front end of the glue pan and has its surface made sufficiently
yielding, as of bristles, to reach every point of the tongues and grooves of the boards.
It is also desirable to run the cleaner at a higher rate of speed than the gluing rollers
and also make its surface when it comes in contact with the board travel in the
opposite direction from the movement of the board. The glue pan may be made
single and of any suitable size and shape. or it may have its bottom and walls made
double, with a space between them within which hot water may be circulated, or
heating pipes 22 may be arranged for heating the glue and keeping it at the
proper temperature for being applied to the boards with the most satisfactory
results.
A pair of feed rollers 23, 23, can be arranged in front of the pan for forcing the
board across over it and in order to ensure constant contact with the gluing rollers as
it is thus forced along over them, the board is held down by the pressure rollers 24, 24,
which are provided in a frame 25 pivotally secured at one end to the portion of the
frame D carrying the feed rollers 23, said frame and rollers being shown partly broken
away, as in Fig 5. The opposite end of the frame 25 is adjustably supported upon the
legs or posts 12, 12, the lower ends of which are pivotally connected with the frame I),
and their upper ends are screw threaded and provided with the adjusting nuts 26, 26.
In this manner each of the rollers in the frame can be made to bear upon the upper
surface of boards of different thickness, the rollers being separately adjustable
within the frame by means of the screws 27 to compensate for the different angles to
which the frame is moved, as its outer end is moved to or from the gluing rollers,
and the rollers may be provided with rubber blocks or other suitable yielding devices
to make their pressure elastic or yielding.
After the upper one of the feed rollers 23 and the two pressure rollers 24, 24,
have been adjusted to give the desired pressure for one thickness of lumber it requires
time and trouble to change them all separately for a different thickness, so the frame H
is mounted in suitable guide ways 28, 28, on the frame D, along which the frame H
is moved by means of the vertical screw threaded shafts 29, 29, which are rotated by
the transverse shaft 30 and the bevel gearing 31, 31. Besides this adjustment which
thus carries the lower feed roller and the glue pan and the gluing rollers simultaneously,
the gluing rollers are independently adjustable within the glue pan by means
of the screws or adjusting pins 32, 32, which pass down through ears 33, 33, upon the
sides of the pan and rest with their lower ends upon the top of the frame H.
Suitable guide strips may be adjustably secured upon top of the machine for guiding
the lumber straight and true through each process, and from one mechanism to
another.
After the lumber has been passed through the planer and there provided with the
coating of glue or cement upon the grooved surface, two pieces are delivered to the
press G after one of the boards has been inverted and placed upon the other one
which can he done automatically by guide ways properly adjusted on the frame or by
suitable mechanism, or it can be done by an assistant stationed at that point.
The press consists of several pairs of gradually approaching pressure feed rollers,
of which only four pairs 34, 35, 36 and 37, are shown, although any desired number
may be used. These rollers may be operated by any suitable mechanism as for instance

page_text: trains of gearing 38 and 39, which may be connected with similar gearing. for
operating the other parts of the machine, or they may be driven independently of
them. Each pair of rollers is journaled in bearings in its appropriate frame or
slotted guide 40 secured to the frame D. The upper roller of each pair is adjustable
so that each set may be adjusted independently of the others and a constantly
increasing pressure is given to the lumber as it passes between the successive-pairs of
rollers. The adjustment of the upper roller of each pair is easily accomplished by
means of the screw threaded shafts 41, 41, having their lower ends engaging with the
hearings for the rollers and their upper ends provided with bevel gearing which is
operated by similar gearing on a shaft 42 which is journaled in a head or frame 43 at
the top of the guides 40. In this manner the surfaces of the rollers of each pair of
rollers can be easily kept at a uniform distance apart, with any adjustment. Each
pair of the rollers may be provided with yielding bearings, as rubber blocks
above or below them, and for the purpose of permitting the lumber to more readily
enter between the first pair of rollers, on account of the greater amount of com-
pression to be made upon the two pieces at that point, and also to yield sufficiently
to prevent any damage if the tongue of one of the pieces do not readily enter the
grooves of the opposite piece. Two pair of springs 44, 44, are also placed above the
head 43 of the supports for that pair of rollers.
After the lumber has been passed between these pair of rollers, in- which the
pressure has been increased to any desired degree, it has been found that there is a
tendency for the two pieces to separate or come apart, owing to the fact that the
moisture of the glue tends to lampen the wood and cause the tongues to swell and
force themselves out of the grooves, and also to cause the boards to warp and curl up
and away from each other. To remedy these defects the press is constructed with a
flat pressure plate 45 to the rear of the last pair of rollers, with its under surface in
a line with and adapted to bear upon the upper surface of the compound lumber as it
passes out from the pressure rollers. A corresponding plate or support 46 is located
directly underneath the pressure plate, the surface of the two being such a distance
apart that any desired amount of pressure can be applied to the lumber as it passes
between them. In order to permit of different thicknesses of lumber pressing under
the pressure plate it is made adjustable to the support beneath it, or they may both be
adjustable, and instead of making them rigid to apply a positively determined
amount of pressure, both of them, and especially the upper one may be yielding
or spring actuated by means of the frame 47, the adjusting rods 48 and the
spring 49.
To facilitate the entrance of the lumber to and its exit from between the pressure
plate and support the inner front and rear edges of both of them are bevelled or
rounded. As the surfaces of these two plates are flat and entirely or nearely parallel,
as it is desired to exert a uniform or slightly increasing pressure on the lumber as it
passes between them, the separation of the lumber as it passes from the last pressure
roller is entirely avoided and the junction of the two pieces remain the same after it
leaves the press as it was while passing through it. To also assist in keeping the
boards together the pressure plate and support may be heated in any suitable
manner, as for instance by making them hollow and passing a heating medium through
a coil of pipes 50 within or upon them as shown for the pressure plate. The lum-
ber is thus heated as it passes between them, and the glue or cement is dried to a
certain extent and becomes fixed or set and prevents the separation of the pieces
when removed from the pressure. If desired the last pair of pressure rollers may
also be heated in any suitable manner as for instance by passing a heating pipe
through them. The lumber sections may also be tongued or grooved so that the
tongues shall be fully as wide or wider than the grooves and forced together by
roller or direct hydraulic or other pressure so as to thereby compress and condense
the tongues forcing them into the grooves whereby the parts may be held together
without the use of cement.
In order to "set" the glue or cement the lumber may be passed between rolls or

page_text: pressed between plates and subjected to a cooling process by passing water through
the rolls, those acting first being less refrigerated than those acting later on, so as to
gradually cool the material,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invon-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :—
1. A door or like panelled article in which the stiles and rails are connected by
mortises and tenons, and consist each of a composite tongued and grooved filling
or backing, and a facing of different material connected by tongues and grooves to
the filling to cover all the exposed portions, substantially as described.
2. A door or other panelled article the stiles and rails of which each consist of a
composite filling or backing having its surfaces tongued and grooved and facing
pieces secured thereto, the wider of said facing pieces overlapping and engaging
with the edges of the narrower pieces, substantially as described.
3. A door or other like panelled article having its stiles and rails each formed of a
composite filling and facings of different materials tongued and grooved and
cemented together, and its panels of different facing materials tongued and grooved
and connected to each other, substantially as described.
4. In a machine for preparing compound lumber, the combination with a frame
supporting a cutter for grooving the lumber of the feed rollers and a gluing device
substantially as set forth.
5. In a machine for preparing compound lumber, the combination with the frame
supporting the upper feed roller and the upper pressure rollers of a vertically
movable frame H carrying the lower feed roller, and the gluing rollers, substantially
as described.
6. In a machine for preparing compound lumber the combination with a frame
having guides, of another frame, the lower portion of which moves in guides,
vertically adjustable mechanism therefor, and feed rollers and a gluing device,
substantially as described.
7. In a machine for preparing compound lumber the combination with a vertically
movable frame, of a glue pan vertically adjustable thereto having gluing rollers
supported therein, substantially as described.
8. In a machine for preparing compound lumber the combination with a frame
having a gluing device, of a frame above the same carrying pressure rollers,
substantially as described.
9. In a machine for preparing compound lumber the combination with a frame
having a gluing device, of a frame pivotally secured thereto at one end, rollers
journaled therein and adjusting rods or legs at the outer end of said pivoted frame,
substantially as set forth.
10. In a machine for preparing compound lumber the combination with a gluing
pan of a gluing roller the surface of which is provided with annular ridges or
elevations, substantially as described.
11. In a machine for preparing compound lumber the combination with a gluing
roller the surface of which is provided with annular rings or elevations, of a planer,
the cutter head of which is provided with bits recessed or serrated to correspond
with the surface of the gluing roller, substantially as described.
12. In a machine for preparing compound lumber the combination with a planer
and a gluing device, of feed rollers intermediate the two, substantially as described.
13 In a machine for making compound lumber a series of pairs of pressure
rollers adapted to bear upon an intermediate two part strip with gradually increasing
pressure, all constructed and arranged to operate, substantially as described.
14. In a machine for making compound lumber a series of pairs of pressure rollers,
the bearings for which are yielding, substantially as described.
15. In a machine for making compound lumber the combination with a frame having
pairs of guides secured thereto and rollers journaled in bearings, a head upon each
pair of said guides, vertical shafts in each of said heads the lower ends of which

page_text: connect with the bearings of the upper roll within the guide, means for rotating said
shafts in unison, and a pair of springs at each end of the head of the first guide,
substantially as described.
16. In a machine for making compound lumber the combination with a press
having a series of gradually approaching pairs of pressure rollers, of a pressure
plate following the rear pair of rollers, substantially as described.
17. In a machine for making compound lumber the combination with a press
having a series of pressure rollers of a pressure plate, and a heater therefor, substan-
tially as described.
18. In a machine for making compound lumber the combination with a press
having a pressure roller, of a frame and pressure plate having adjusting devices,
springs bearing against said plate and frame and a support, substantially as described.
19. In the manufacture of compound lumber subjecting the material to pressure
between cold plates, as set forth.
Dated this 4th dow of Monch 1800
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.