IMPROVEMENTS IN ADJUSTABLE REAMERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, PHILIP ARTHUR NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent do hereby declare
the nature of the invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN ADJUSTABLE REAMERS to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to cylindric and taper reamers, which consist of a shell or
body provided with longitudinal grooves or seats for cutters, and cutters fitting
in such grooves or seats and all adjustable simultaneously to vary the cutting
diameter of the reamer.
The object of the invention is to provide a convenient means whereby cutters of
the kind described may be adjusted upon or in the shell or body of a reamer so
as to compensate for wear and maintain a uniform or standard size of hole finished
by the reamer, or so as to adapt the reamer for cutting or finishing a hole larger
or smaller, as may be desired.
In carrying out the invention the shell or body of the reamer is made of
approximately cylindric form, and having at intervals in its circumference dove-
tailed grooves or cutter-seats which extend lengthwise thereof and have their
bottoms inclined or tapered. The body is constructed with a central cavity or
bore and with slots extending from the bottom of the grooves or cutter-seats to
said bore. The cutters are dove-tailed into said grooves so as to be free to move
longitudinally therein and so that they are prevented from moving outwards or
in a radial direction, and each cutter has a pin or stud extending from its inner.
side through the slot in the shell or body and entering the central bore or cavity
in the shell or body.
Arranged concentric with the shell or body, and in the central bore or cavity
thereof, is a screw which may have its inner or upper end conical to fit a
corresponding seat or bearing in the shell or body, and it has its outer end secured
to the shell or body by means of a cap or flange so that the screw may be freely
turned through the lower end of the shell or body, but cannot move longitudinally
thereof.

page_text: To the inner central cavity or bore of the shell or body is fitted a follower or
ring, which is drilled radially to receive the pins or studs projecting inwards from
the cutters, and is screw-threaded so as to form a nut which fits the longitudinal
adjusting screw in the shell or body. It will be understood that this follower or
ring is prevented from turning by the pins or studs of the cutters which enter its
circumference, and when the screw is turned this follower or ring will be moved
or traversed lengthwise of the shell or body and will, through the pins or studs
with which it engages, transmit such lengthwise movement simultaneously to all
the cutters in their grooves or cutter seats; consequently if the bottoms of the
grooves or cutter-seats in the shell or body, and the backs of the cutters are
correspondingly inclined, it will be understood that this lengthwise movement or
traverse of the follower or ring, and movement of the cutters, will set the cutters
in or out relatively to the shell or body, and thereby decrease or increase the
diameter of the cutting circumference of the reamer.
This invention may be embodied in reamers for the purpose of compensating for
wear and keeping them adjusted to the standard size, or it may be employed for
the purpose of adjusting the cutters to enable the tool to serve for finishing
several sizes of holes; that is to say it may be employed to maintain the standard
size of a reamer, or to adjust a reamer for cutting holes of different sizes.
The shell or body, although it is of approximately cylindric shape, is channelled
or cut away between the longitudinal grooves or cutter seats, in order to afford
ample clearance for the chips formed by the reamer.

page_text: I PHILIP ARTHUR NEWTON of the Office for Patents, 6 Bream's Buildings,
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, 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:-
This invention relates to cylindric and taper reamers which consist of a shell or
body provided with longitudinal grooves or seats for cutters, and cutters fitting
in such grooves or seats, and all adjustable simultaneously to vary the cutting
diameter of the reamer.
The object of the invention is to provide a convenient means whereby cutters of
the kind described may be adjusted upon or in the shell or body of a reamer, so
as to compensate for wear, and maintain a uniform or standard size of hole
finished by the reamer, or so as to adapt the reamer for cutting or finishing a hole
larger or smaller, as may be desired.
In carrying out the invention, the shell or body of the reamer is made of
approximately cylindric form, and having at intervals in its circumference dove-
tailed grooves or cutter seats which extend lengthwise thereof, and have their
bottoms inclined or tapered. The body is constructed with a central cavity or
bore, and with slots extending from the bottom of the grooves or cutter seats to
said bore. The cutters are dovetailed into said grooves, so as to be free to move
longitudinally therein, and so that they are prevented from moving outwards or in
a radial direction, and each cutter has a pin or stud extending from its inner side
through the slot in the shell or body, and entering the central bore or cavity in
the shell or body.
Arranged concentric with the shell or body, and in the central bore or cavity
thereof, is a screw, which may have its inner or upper end conical, to fit a
corresponding seat or bearing in the shell or body, and it has its outer end
secured to the shell or body by means of a cap or flange, so that the screw may be
freely turned through the lower end of the shell or body, but cannot move
longitudinally thereof.
To the inner central cavity or bore of the shell or body is fitted a follower or
ring, which is drilled radially to receive the pins or studs projecting inwards from
the cutters, and is screw-threaded so as to form a nut which fits the longitudinal
adjusting screw in the shell or body. It will be understood that this follower or
ring is prevented from turning by the pins or studs of the cutters which enter its
circumference, and when the screw is turned, this follower or ring will be moved
or traversed lengthwise of the shell or body, and will, through the pins or studs
with which it engages, transmit such lengthwise movement simultaneously to all
the cutters in their grooves or cutter seats; consequently, if the bottoms of the
grooves or cutter seats in the shell or body, and the backs of the cutters, are
correspondingly inclined, it will be understood that this lengthwise movement or
traverse of the follower or ring, and movement of the cutters, will set the cutters
in or out relatively to the shell or body, and thereby decrease or increase the
diameter of the cutting circumference of the reamer,

page_text: This invention may be embodied in reamers for the purpose of compensating for
wear and keeping them adjusted to the standard size, or it may be employed for
the purpose of adjusting the cutters to enable the tool to serve for finishing several
sizes of holes; that is to say, it may be employed to maintain the standard size
of a reamer or to adjust a reamor for cutting holes of different sizes.
In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is an axial section of a reamer embodying
this invention; and Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof on the plane of the dotted
line x, x, Fig. 1.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures.
A, designates the shell or body of the reamer, which is made of iron or steel,
and B designates a portion of a machine spindle on which it is secured for use.
As here represented, the spindle B has a taper portion entering a taper socket b
in the shell or body, and has inserted transversely through it, a pin b₁, which; by
fitting in a notch b' in the end of the shell or body, locks the reamer to the spindle,
that it will turn therewith. There is represented a nut b³ as applied to the
spindle, and by turning this nut, it will be caused to bear on the end of the shell
or body of the reamer, and will loosen the same from the spindle, enabling the
reamer to be removed from the spindle without any hammering.
SO
The shell or body A is approximately cylindric in shape, and has formed in it a
number of grooves or cutter seats c, which are dovetailed in their transverse
section, as shown in Figure, and in which are fitted correspondingly. dovetailed
cutters C. The outer or lower end of the shell or body is closed by a head or
removable portion A', which is secured to the main portion of the shell or body by
a screw pin c, or by any other suitable means. The interior of the shell or body,
at the lower portion, hollow and therein is fitted a screw D, which may have a
conical or other suitable bearing d at its upper end, and the lower portion of
which is supported in a bearing in the removable. portion A' of the shell or body.
This screw D has a collar d¹ which bears against the upper end of the removable
portion A of the shell or body, and when the removable portion A.' is secured to
the inain portion of the shell or body, the screw is held against longitudinal
movement. The outer end of the screw D may be squared, as at d, or otherwise
constructed, so as to provide for the application, to the screw, of a wrench for
turning it.
The grooves or cutter seats c are continued through the removable portion A¹ of
the shell or body, and the bottoms of these grooves are tapered or inclined
upward and outward from the lower end of the reamer; hence it will be seen, if
the cutters C are shifted longitudinally in the cutter seats or grooves, the size of
the reamer and the hole which will be finished by it, will be increased or
diminished. The shell or body, at the bottom of each cutter beat or groove c, is
slotted through the cavity to its interior at c*, and each cutter C has upon it an
inwardly extending stud or projection c. Upon the screw D, and within the
hollow interior of the shell or body, is a follower E, which is fitted as a nut upon
the screw, and has in it a circumferential groove e, with which the studs or
projections c on the cutters C engage. In order to prevent the follower E from
turning with the screw, a pin c¹ is placed across the circumferential groove e, and
by the engagement of this pin with the studs or projections c² of the cutters, the
nut or follower E will be prevented from turning when the screw is turned.
However, the turning of the screw will advance the nut along it in a direction
lengthwise of the reamer, and this nut or follower will carry the cutters C with it;
so that by simply turning the screw, the cutters, C, may be shifted length wise in
the shell or. body in either direction, and the size of the reamer may thereby be
increased or diminished.
It will be understood from the above description, that the cutters C may be
shifted so as to vary one eighth of an inch or one quarter of an inch or more; the
diameter of the hole finished by the reamer, and hence one reamer may serve for
finishing several sizes of holes, but the morb particular object of the adjustment of

page_text: the cutters is to enable the reamer to be kept up to the standard size, as the
cutters are worn down by use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention 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. In an adjustable reamer, the combination with a shell or body having dove-
tailed or inclined grooves or cutter-seats, of a central screw and a nut or follower
fitted within the shell or body of the reamer, and cutters, fitting the grooves or
cutter seats, and having inward projections which engage with the follower, and
by which the cutters are moved lengthwise of the reamer, with the follower, as the
screw is turned, substantially as herein described.
2. The combination with the shell or body, having a removable end portion A¹,
and having the dovetailed or inclined cutter seats or grooves, of a central screw
which is held in place by the removable end portion of the body, the follower upon
the screw, and the cutters, having inward projections which engage the follower,
and move with it in a direction lengthwise of the reamer, substantially as herein
described.