Machines for Turning Round Bars.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 12th May, 1899-Accepted, 9th Sept., 1899
Machines for Turning Round Bars.
I, LATHAM H. BRIGHTMAN, of Millersburg, in the County of Holmes and State
of Ohio, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature.
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-,
The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail,
one mechanical form embodying the invention; such detail construction being
but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention
may be used.
In said annexed drawings, Figure I represents a longitudinal section of my
improved machine for turning shafts or other round bars; Fig. II, a top plan
view of the same; Fig. III, a side view of the receiving end of the machine,
illustrating the portion of the base upon which the feed disks are supported, as
broken away, and showing the supports for one feed disk shaft in section;
Fig. IV, a transverse section on the line IV-IV in Fig. III; Fig. V, a trans-
verse section on the line V-V in Fig. III; Fig. VI, a longitudinal section of
the steady rest between the feed disks; Fig. VII, an end view of the same;
Figs. VIII and IX, respectively an edge and a face view of one of the revolving
steady rests; Fig. X and XI, respectively an edge and a face view of one of the
cutter heads; Fig. XII, an axial section of a cutter head, illustrating the gage
for setting the cutter in its operative position; Figs. XIII and XIV, a side view
and a plan view, respectively, of one of said gages, and Fig. XV, a top plan
view of the feed disks.
The machine has a base, 1, formed in the shape of a trough, and divided into
two compartments, 2 and 3, by a partition, 4, shown in Fig. I. The larger
compartment 2, serves as a receptacle for the lubricating solution applied to the
bar at the cutting point, and the smaller compartment 3, serves as a receptacle
for oil in which the worm gearing and lower ends of the feed disk shafts are
immersed. Two main bearings, 5, are provided above the larger of the two
frame compartments, and a tubular spindle, 6, is journaled in said bearings.
Said spindle has a cog wheel, 7, secured upon it, which cog wheel meshes with
a pinion, 8, upon a drive shaft, 9, which is provided with cone pulley gear-
ing, 10, or other means for communicating rotary motion to it from the power
source. The spindle has a yoke, 11, at its receiving end, formed with two
annular disks, 12 and 13, concentric with the tubular spindle. A yoke, 14, is
provided at the discharging end of the spindle, and is formed with two annular
disks, 15 and 16, similar to the disks at the receiving end. A cutter head, 17,
the detail construction of which will be described later, is secured to the outer
face of the first disk 12. A steady rest head, 18, is secured to the outer face of
the inner disk, and the detail construction of said head will be described later.
A steady rest head, 19, is secured to the outer face of the inner disk 15, at
the discharge end, and a cutter head, 20, is secured to the inner face of the
outer disk 16 at the discharge end. Said latter steady rest and cutter heads are
similar to the first-mentioned heads, and will be explained hereinafter.

page_text: Chutes, 21, which incline to both sides from the center line of the machine
frame, are supported across said frame beneath the cutter heads and steady rest
heads to receive the turnings as they are turned off by the cutter heads, and
discharge said turnings at both sides of the machine. The bottoms of said chutes
are preferably perforated to admit of the lubricating solution applied to the shaft
at the cutter head to pass through said bottoms into the large compartment in
the base frame, whence it may again be pumped up and be again applied to the
shaft in any suitable manner. The end of the drive shaft, at the receiving end
of the machine, carries a cone pulley, 22, from which rotary motion may be
communicated by a belt, 23, to a cone pulley, 24, upon a worm shaft, 25, jour-
naled in bearings, 26, upon the side of the main frame.. Two worms, 27, upon
said shaft, mesh with two worm wheels, 28, upon the ends of two worm
shafts, 29, transversely journaled in the main frame of the machine in the
smaller compartment of the same, and immersed in the oil in the same.. Said
shafts have worms, 30, upon them, which mesh with worm wheels, 31, of the
feed disk shafts, 32. Said latter shafts are journaled each in two vertical bear-
ing blocks, 33 and 34, which slide in two sets of longitudinally slotted frame
bars, 35, transversely supported across the main frame. Feed disks, 36, are
adjustably secured by set screws, 37, to the upper ends of the feed disk shafts.
The peripheries of the disks are formed with radial notches, 38, into which
chisel-edged spurs, 39, are secured, said spurs serving to grip the bar to be
turned, and to thus feed it forward as the disks are revolved. The spurs of one
disk are so arranged in their relation to the spurs of the opposite disk that the
spurs will alternate at the opposed parts of the peripheries of the disks, as illus-
trated in Fig. XV, and one spur will engage the bar from one side while one
spur at the opposite side is leaving the bar and another spur is engaging the
bar. The bearing blocks are adjustable in the slots so as to bring the shafts
and feed disks closer together or farther apart by means of adjusting screws, 40
and 41. The upper adjusting screws 40, are threaded through the ends of the
slotted frame bars, and have their ends bearing against yielding cushions in
the bearing blocks, such cushions being illustrated as rubber blocks, 42, faced
by metal disks, 43. The lower adjusting screws, 41, are supported to rotate in
the ends of the slotted frame bars, having their heads bearing against the outer
sides of the latter, and have their inner ends threaded into sockets, 44, upon the
lower bearing blocks. When properly adjusted, the upper blocks will be held
apart by the bar between the feed disks, and the lower blocks will be held apart
by the screws, so that there will be no need for any spacing devices between the
blocks. A stationary steady rest, 45, is provided between the two pairs of feed
rollers, and consists of a frame, 46, which straddles the space between the upper
slotted frame bars, and which has a longitudinal passage through it. The
frame has an upper socket, 47, and a lower socket, 48, in which two blocks, 49
and 50, respectively fit. A screw, 51, enters the middle of the upper block,
passing through the frame, and serves to upwardly adjust and to support the
upper block.
Screws, 52, pass through the frame and bear against
the block, near its ends, serving to downwardly adjust the upper block.
Two screws, 53, pass through the bottom of the frame, and bear against
the lower block, serving to adjust the same. The blocks may be ad-
justed in accordance with the thickness of the bar to be turned, by means of the
adjusting screws, so as to truly center the bar for the revolving steady rests and
cutters. The cutter heads, 17 and 20, are both of the same construction, and
have each a circular disk, 54, having radial slots, 55, in its edges, for the in-
sertion of bolts, which secure the disk to the face of the annular disk of the yoke.
Radial recesses, 56, extend from the central opening of the head and are open
at the face of the head. Steady rests, 57, are placed in the recesses, excepting
recess, in which a guide block, 58, preferably of cast iron, and a
cutter, 59, preferably of self-hardening tool steel, are placed. Two set screws, 60,
extend through the closed outer ends of each radial recess, so that the steady.
in one

page_text: recesses.
rests and guide block and cutter may be adjusted towards and from the center
of the head. Flat hooks, 61, are pivoted upon screw bolts, 62, one at one edge
of each recess and upon the face of the head, so as to extend across the open
sides of the recesses and to engage screw bolts, 63, at the opposite edges of the
The hooks bear against the outer edges of the steady rests and cutter,
and may be drawn against the same to firmly clamp them in the recesses, by
means of the screw bolts. The hooks may be quickly disengaged and engaged
to admit of the removal or insertion of the cutter and steady rests and of said
parts being secured in the head by simply loosening the screw bolts and swing-
ing the hooks away from across the slots, and by again swinging the hooks to
engage their screw bolts after the tools have been inserted or adjusted, and there-
upon tightening the screw bolts. A gage, 64, is preferably employed for adjust-
ing the tools in the cutter head, and said gage consists of a cylindrical plug, 65,
of the diameter of the shaft to be turned, an enlarged cross-shaped shoulder, CG,
which fits in the axial opening of the cutter head, and a cross-shaped flange, 67,
which bears against the rear face of the cutter head. As many gages as there
are sizes of shafts to be turned in the machine, are provided, the plug of each
gage having the diameter, of the shafts to be turned, and all of the gages having
shoulders of the same diameter as the interior diameter of the axial opening
When
through the cutter head, so that the gages will all be properly centered.
the gage is in place, the cutter, guide block and steady rests may all be
adjusted to have their inner ends at equal distances from the center of the cutter
head, so that the shaft or bar to be turned may be turned to the proper diameter
and true cylindrical shape. The steady rest heads 18 and 19, are alike, and
are in all essentials similar to the cutter heads, excepting that the latter are
thicker than the former. The steady rest heads consist of disks, 68, having
radial slots, 69, in their edges, for the screw bolts which secure them to the
disks of the revolving yokes. The heads are formed with radiating recesses, 70,
open at the faces of the heads, and steady rests, 71, are secured in said recesses
by flat hooks, 72, and screw bolts, 73, and are adjusted by set
screws, 74, in exactly the
same manner as the steady rests, cutter
and guide block are secured and adjusted in the cutter heads. Two sets
of three rails, 75, each, are provided at the ends of the machine frame, said rails
being arranged parallel with and on both sides of a line drawn axially through
the spindle and heads. Two of each set of said rails are placed, one above the
other, and the third rail is preferably placed to one side of and in the same hori-
zontal plane as the lower of said two rails. Clamps, 76, having jaws which are
adjustable to hold round bars of different diameters and with their axes
in the axis of the spindle and heads, have rollers, 77, with which they
travel between and upon said rails, one clamp being provided for each set of
rails. The yokes carrying the cutter heads and steady rest heads are preferably
incased in casings, 78, which prevent chips and turnings from flying about.
When the machine is to be employed in practice, the bar to be turned is
clamped in the clamp at the receiving end of the machine at the end of the bar
furthest from the machine, and the other end of the bar is inserted between the
feeding disks. When the machine is started, the feeding disks will grip the
bar and feed it into the first cutter head 17, where the bar will receive its rough
turning. The steady rest between the feeding disks and the steady rest head
following the first cutter head will maintain the bar in position to be properly
turned. After the bar has been fed through the first cutter head and steady
rest head, it passes to the second steady rest head and cutter head, where it
receives its finishing treatment. After the end of the bar has passed from the
finishing cutter head, 20, the end of the bar is secured in the clamp at the dis-
charge end of the machine, and will then be carried through the machine until
the clamp at the receiving end of the machine arrives at the end of its rails.
The bar is then relieved from the last mentioned clamp, and is allowed to pass
through the machine, being supported by the stationary steady rest between the

page_text: feeding disks and by the rotary steady rest heads of the machine, until the bar
has been entirely turned, and has left the last cutter head. The arrangement
of the stationary steady rest between the feeding disks and of the rotary steady
rest heads will give the bar a complete support during its entire passage through
the machine.
The gage employed for setting the cutter and steady rests in the cutter head
is also employed for setting the steady rests in the steady rest head, the adjust-
ment of said steady rests being exactly the same as the adjustment of the
cutter and steady rests in the cutter head.
It is absolutely necessary in a machine of this kind to place the steady rest
heads immediately adjoining the cutter heads, inasmuch as the shaft or bar to
be turned must be guided in the cutter head, close to the same, as otherwise
irregularities and curves in the bar would allow the cutter to simply bite into the
most eccentric side of the curve or bend in the bar without turning the entire
circumference of the same. When the bar is guided at a point close to the
cutter head, the bar is always centered in the same and maintained so, and the
cutter in the cutter head will act upon the entire circumference of the shaft or
bar. I have discovered by practical experience that a rotating cutter head will
not have its cutter act entirely around the bar, unless a centering guide, such as
the rotating steady rest head, is provided in close proximity, to center all bent
or curved portions of the bar into the rotating cutter head. If such guidance
is not provided, the bar will have the convexities of its bends, curves or other
irregularities cut away; but will not be turned to a true cylindrical form, to be
later straightened by special and separate devices. The rough cutter will pre-
pare the bar to be held and steadied by the first steady rest head, which at the
same time centers the bar for the cutter, and the second steady rest head will
centrally present the bar to the finishing cutter head and hold the bar for the
action of said head.
Other modes of applying the principles of my invention may be employed for
the mode herein explained. Change may therefore be made as regards the
mechanism thus disclosed, provided the principles of construction set forth
respectively in the following claims are employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a machine for turning round bars, the combination of a rotating cutter
head and a rotating steady rest head arranged in close proximity to each other,
with a rotating steady rest head and a rotating cutter head arranged in close
proximity to each other, said heads arranged in axial alignment and in the order
named and with a greater space between the two pairs of heads than between
the individual heads of each pair, substantially as set forth.
2. In a machine for turning round bars, the combination of a hollow spindle
having means for rotating it, a cutter head and a steady rest head supported.
upon one end of said spindle in close proximity to each other and in axial align-
ment with the spindle, a steady rest head and a cutter head supported upon the
other end of the spindle in close proximity to each other and in axial alignment
with the spindle, and means for supporting and feeding a bar through said heads
3. In a machine for turning round bars, the combination of two pairs of feed-
and spindle, substantially as set forth.
ing disks which feed the bar to the cutter head and arranged at one side of said
head, with two stationary steady rest blocks arranged between said pairs of feed-
ing disks and in alignment with the space between said feeding disks, substan-
tially as set forth.
4. In a machine for turning round bars, the combination of a steady rest frame
formed with an upper and a lower socket, a block in the upper socket, an adjust-
ing screw centering said block from above through the top of said socket at the

page_text: middle of the block, screws threaded through the top of the socket and bearing
against said block, a block in the lower socket of said frame, and screws inserted
through the bottom of said lower socket and bearing against said lower block,
substantially as set forth.
5. In a machine for turning round bars, the combination of a spindle having
means for revolving it, a cutter head and a steady rest head supported upon the
receiving end of said spindle in close proximity to each other and in axial align-
ment with the spindle, a steady rest head and a cutter head supported upon the
discharge end of the spindle in close proximity to each other and in axial align-
ment with the spindle, clamps arranged to travel at both ends of the machine in
the axial line of the same, two pairs of feed disks arranged at opposite sides of
the axial feed line of the machine and at the receiving end of the same, and a
stationary steady rest supported in the line of feed between said pairs of feed
disks, substantially as set forth.
30
T
1
ד
1000
LATHAM H. BRIGHTMAN.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.