MACHINE FOR SHARPENING REAPER AND MOWER KNIFE SECTIONS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, PORTER WILLIAMS, of the City of London, in the Province of Ontario, in the
Dominion of Canada, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for "MACHINE FOR SHARPENING REAPER AND MOWER KNIFE SECTIONS" 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 Improvements on Machines for Sharpening the Outting
or Knife Sections of Reaper and Mower Cutting Bars.
And these improvements consist of a swivel joint knife holder, of a rest which
supports the knife holder when raised up off the stone; of a set screw in the driving
wheel hub, to adjust the machine so that the stone will revolve while the knife
sections remain stationary thereon, of the elevated boxings provided with slots for
the purpose of readily and easily adjusting sections of different lengths to the
stone; and of the frame of the machine provided with slots which permit the
bearings of the shaft on which the small cog wheel is secured, to be moved closer
to the driving wheel which adjusts the small cog wheel to mesh there with more
perfectly if it should become worn, all of which will be hereinafter more fully
described and claimed.
Reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein.
Fig. 1. is a side view of a machine embodying my invention looking from the
crank side.
Fig. 2. is a plan view of same.
Fig. 3. is a side view of a machine embodying my invention looking at the side
opposite to the crank side.
Fig. 4. is an enlarged detail plan view of the upright and the box vertically
adjustable thereon.
F, designates a frame provided with the slots, a, a, and leg sockets 8, 8¹; through
these slots, a, a, the bolts, b, b, pass, which firmly secures the bearings, c, c, in place
on the frame, F.
On the shaft, d, which is secured by, and revolves in the bearings c, c the cog
wheel, C, is secured by a set screw, e; the advantage of providing the frame, F,
with these slots, a, a, is, that the nuts on the bolts, b, b, may be loosened, and the
bolts be permitted to move back and forth in these slots, a, a, to allow the
bearings, c, c, and the shaft, d, as well as the cog wheel, C³, to be moved closer to

page_text: the cog wheel, C³, so that the cog wheel, C¹, may mesh more perfectly with the cog
wheel, C, according as they wear; when, the nuts on the bolts, b, b, may be
tightened again, which would retain the cog wheels in this position.
S, S, are leg sockets placed at an angular position end wise and sidewise of the
machine so that when the legs, L, are secured therein by bolts, b¹, they support and
brace the frame lengthwise and sidewise of the machine, the rear leg socket, S¹, in
which the leg, L¹, is secured, is placed at an angular position endwise of the
machine which braces the frame, F, of the machine end wise.
G, designates a bevelled stone secured on shaft, d, this stone, G, is bevelled from
the centre to the edges, and on which the knife or cutting sections, K, rost when
being sharpened.
And these sections, K, when being sharpened wear the stone, G, down evenly
from the ridge at centre to the edges, as it decreases in size, as the variation in the
proportionate size of the cog wheels, C', C, causes the stone, G, to revolve further
in proportion than the driving wheel, C, which communicates motion to the knife
holder, H, which thereby prevents the knife sections from wearing the stone in the
same place, but spread the wearing evenly over the whole surface of the face of the
bevelled stone, G.
d, designates a shaft which is secured by, and revolves in bearing, c³, to one
end of this shaft, d³, the driving cog wheel, C³ is secured by set screw, e³.
D, is a crank on the driving cog wheel, C, which communicates motion to the
machine.
Rigidly secured to the inner end of the shaft, d¹, is the eccentric wheel, E, in a
dovetailed groove in which a bevelled eccentric slide, E¹, is secured.
B, B, designates elevated boxings in which the shaft, d³, is secured.
U, is an upright, adjustable sideways on the shaft, d, after adjusting this
upright, U, in a line with the centre of the stone, G, it may be held in this position
and secured to the shaft, d, by the set screw, e', this upright, U, is provided with
a slot, U¹, near its lower end.
P, is a wrist pin which passes through the slot, U¹, in the lower end of the
upright, U, and the enlarged head of this pin, P, projects beyond the upright, U;
this pin, P, also passes through the eccentric slide, E, and when the wrist pin, P, is
screwed up until the end thereof binds tightly on the inner face of the dovetailed
groove in the eccentric wheel, E, it rigidly retains the eccentric slide, E', in any
position to which it may have been adjusted.
B¹, is a box vertically adjustable on the upright, U, this box, B¹, is retained at
any position on the upright, U, to which it may be adjusted by the thumb
screw, h.
The front side, N¹, of this upright, U, is bevelled from the centre to the edges,
which bevelled side, N', fits in a corresponding bevel, N³, on the inner face of the
vertically adjustable box, B¹, so that when the thumb screw, h, is tightened it
brings the vertically adjustable box, B³, as well as the knife holder, H, in a perfect
line with the centre of the stone.
The rear end of the knife holder, H, is forked, and provided with knuckles, k³, k³,
and the box, B¹, is provided with a knuckle, through these knuckles, k², k³, k², a
bolt, i, passes, which connects the rear end of the knife holder, H, with the
vertically adjustable box, B¹.
R, is a rest extending from, and forming part of the rear end of the box, B¹,
against which the knife holder, H, rests perfectly safe, when the operator is
examining the knife sections, K, to ascertain if they are properly ground, the
fork, H, in the rear end of the knife holder, H, being long enough to allow the
knife holder to pass perfectly free over the upper end of the upright, U.
The bolt,, is rigidly secured in the knuckle, k¹, by a thumb screw, h³; and
spaces are left between the knuckles, k³, k², k², so that when the thumb screw, h³, is
loosened, the bolt, i, with knife holder, H, held thereon by the nuts, n, n, may be
moved to either side to sharpen only one side of one knife section of a reaper or
'mower cutting bar when only one side of one section is dull,

page_text: And by loosening the thumb screw, h, the vertically adjustable box, B', may be
raised or lowered on the upright, U, to sharpen only the heel or point of the section
according as either become dull.
As the driving cog wheel, C", revolves, the shaft, d³, and eccentric wheel, E, also
revolves, and gives a circular motion to the wrist pin, P, which passes through the
slot, U', in the lower end of the upright, U, which causes the lower as well as
the upper end of the upright, U, to move back and forth, and the knife holder, H,
on which the knife sections are secured, being connected to the upper end of the
upright, U, by box, B¹, a horizontal motion backwards and forwards is imparted
to the knife holder, H, as well as the knife sections, K, thus keeping the knife
sections level while they follow the curve of the stone, G.
K, are the knife sections secured on the knife holder, H, by thumb screws, h¹.
This knife holder, H, is constructed in two parts, x, x, the rear part, x', is
provided with a socket into which the end of the part, x, is inserted, and forms a
swivel joint, the part, x, is rigidly retained in the part, a¹, by a thumb screw, h³.
The advantage of this swivel joint in this knife holder, H, is, that if the bevels
on each side of the centre of the stone, G, are not the same, the thumb screw, h²,
may be loosened, when the two adjacent sections of the reaper or mower cutting
bar may be adjusted to lie perfectly flat and true on the bevelled faces of the
stone, G, when they may be retained in this position by tightening the thumb
screw, h³.
The elevated boxings, B, B, are secured to the frame, F, by the bolts, b².
These boxes, B, B, are provided with slots, a, a, through which the shanks of
the bolts, b, pass, the advantage of these slots, a¹, a', in the elevated boxes, B, B, is,
to readily and easily adjust the longest or shortest knife sections of reaper or
.mower cutting bars to the centre of the stone, and the adjustment of these
boxes, B, B, in combination with the eccentric slide, E¹, in the eccentric wheel, E,
for adjusting the upright, U, to give a longer or shorter throw to the knife
sections, K, according as the eccentric slide, E¹, is adjusted to or from the centre of
the eccentric wheel, E, knife sections of reaper or mower cutting bars of different
lengths and widths of sections can be ground and sharpened from heel to point.
If any of the knife sections became nicked, and it was required to grind this nick
out of them; the machine is operated until the part of the knife section, K, which
is nicked lies directly on the stone, G.
The thumb screw, ', passing through the bearing, e, is then tightened on the
shaft, d, so as to prevent the said shaft, d', from revolving, which would prevent
the upright, U, or the knife holder, H, on which the knife sections, K, are secured
from moving back and forth, and if they remained in this position, and the set
screw, e, which rigidly retains the driving cog wheel, c³, on this shaft, d', were
loosened, the driving cog wheel, C³, would revolve on the shaft, d¹, instead of with
it, which would cause the cog wheel, C³, to revolve, as well as the bevelled stone, G ;
at the same time the upright and knife holder on which the knife sections, K, were
secured would remain stationary, which would readily and quickly grind the nick
out of the section.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
.I claim is
1st The frame, F, provided with slots, a, a, substantially as shown and described
and for the purpose specified.
2nd The knife holder, H, constructed in two parts, x, x¹, connected together with
a swivel joint, substantially as shown and described.
3rd The combination of the elevated boxings, B, B, provided with slots, a², a',
with the frame, F, shaft, d², and upright, U, substantially as shown and described
and for the purpose set forth.
4th The combination of the upright, U, provided with bevelled edge, N¹, and
slot, U, and vertically adjustable box, B', provided with bevelled inner face, N,

page_text: with the wrist pin, P, eccentric wheel, E, and eccentric slide, E¹, substantially as
shown and described and for the purpose specified.
5th In a Reaper and Mower Knife Section Sharpener the combination of the
driving cog wheel, C³, provided with set screw, e³, with the shaft, d, bearings, c³,
and thumb screw, h, substantially as shown and described and for the purpose
specified.
6th In a Reaper and Mower Knife Section Sharpener the combination of the
rest, R, with the forked knife holder, H, and vertically adjustable box, B¹, substan-
tially as shown and described and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 14th day of November & D 1001.