IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR REDUCING WOOD TO FIBRES, FILAMENTS, SHAVINGS, OR FRAGMENTS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, BONNETS, MATCHES, AND SCALE BOARDS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Farrar, of Bow, in the County of
Middlesex, Chemist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR REDUCING WOOD TO FIBRES, FILAMENTS,
SHAVINGS, OR FRAGMENTS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
PAPER, BONNETS, MATCHES, AND SCALE BOARDS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 4th June 1869, and dated the 8th December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Farrar at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th December 1868.
I, CHARLES FARRAR, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist,
do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR REDUCING WOOD TO FIBRES, FILAMENTS,
SHAVINGS, OR FRAGMENTS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER,
BONNETS, MATCHES, AND SCALE BOARDS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES," to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and

page_text: combination of machinery or apparatus for cutting, shredding, or
reducing wood to fibres, filaments, or fine shavings which are intended
for subsequent treatment with a view to their manufacture into pulp,
or "half stuff," or paper; or for producing shavings or fragments of a
more substantial nature suitable for the manufacture of bonnets, matches,
scale boards, and other like articles.
According to my Invention I mount upon a suitable cast iron or
other frame in slots made for that purpose therein one or more pairs of
V guides or rails which are adjusted in height by means of suitable
adjusting screws. Between and along each pair of guides works the
body of a plane or cutting tool, which I prefer to construct of hard wood
such as lignum vitre, and to face the rubbing edges with brass secured
thereto, such brass forming the actually rubbing surface against the
guides and bottom of the table or plate which carries the feeding hopper
herein-after referred to. In this plane is fitted a plane iron fitted with
adjustable screws or wedge, and with its cutting edge upwards. In
advance of the plane iron is a metal box let into the body of the plane
and provided with a number of sharp-pointed knives or lancets which
are also adjustable and serve to score the wood longitudinally in front of
the plane iron, thereby having the effect of reducing the shavings to
narrow shreds or filaments. The two sides or edges of--each-plane
project slightly above the surface of the plane in order to protect the
cutters by preventing them from coming in contact with the under side
of the table which carries the feed hopper or hoppers, and also serve to
facilitate the cutting of the timber down to the thun nest shaving without
any waste. Each hopper is provided on its opposite parallel sides with
a series of roughened, fluted, or toothed feeding roolers, which are carried
in suitable slots in the hopper, and are kept pressed inwards by springs
so as to nip the pieces of wood which are supplied edgewise into the
hopper and gradually feed or propel them downwards on to the plane as
fast as the cutting proceeds. Motion is imparted to these feeding rollers
by means of worms and worm wheels, or their equivalents, actuated
either by a pall and toothed ratchet wlicel, or by what is known as the
friction or silent feed motion or otherwise. The plane or planes are
reciprocated to and fro along their V guides (cutting in one direction
only) by means of a crank shaft or other equivalent worked either by
hand or by power. The fibre filaments or shavings as they fall from the
plane are received on an endless travelling cloth which carries them
under a pressing roller from which they pass through a rotating-cutting

page_text: apparatus constructed on the principle of the well-known "Lewis "
machine employed in cropping or shearing cloth or in lawn mowers,
such cutting apparatus severing transversely the fibres, filaments, or
shavings into short lengths. This cutting apparatus and pressing roller
may be driven by a band from a rigger on the crank shaft above referred
to, or by gearing or other equivalent mechanism. By suitably adjusting
the lancets. and. cutter or plane iron picces of various thickness and
width may obviously be produced suitable for use in. the- manufacture of
what are known as lucifer matches, or as shavings for the manufacture
of bonnets,, scale boards, and other useful purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
filed by the said Charles Farrar- in, the Great Seal Patent Office on
the Sth June 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES:
FARRAR, of Bow, in the County of Middlesex, Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent,, bearing date the Eighth day of December, in. the year:
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight,. in, the thirty-.
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and, successors; give
and grant unto me, the said Charles Farrar, Her special licence that.
I, the said Charles Farrar, my executors, administrators, and assigns,.
or such others as I, the said Charles Farrar, my executors, adminis-.
trators, or 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR REDUCING WOOD TO FIBRES, FILAMENTS, SHAVINGS, OR FRAGMENTS;
TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER BONNETS, MATCHES, AND SCALE
BOARDS, AND FOR OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Oharles Farrar, my executors or adminis-.
trators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same

page_text: to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Farrar, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 accompanying Drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement,
and combination of machinery or apparatus for cutting, shredding, or
reducing wood to fibres, filaments, or fine shavings which are intended
for subsequent treatment with a view to their manufacture into pulp or
"half stuff" or paper; or for producing shavings or fragments of a
more substantial nature suitable for the manufacture of bonnets,
matches, scale boards, and other like articles.
According to my Invention I mount upon a cast-iron or other frame
in suitable guides a reciprocating plane or cutting tool. In this plane
there is fitted one or a pair of plane irons with adjustable screws or
wedges, and with their cutting edges upwards and facing cach other
when two are used. In advance of each plane iron is a metal box let
into the body of-the-plane-and-provided with a number of sharp pointed
knives or lancets, which may also be adjustable and serve to score the
wood longitudinally in front of the plane iron, thereby having the
One or
effect of reducing the shavings to narrow shreds or filaments.
a pair of feeding hoppers is mounted upon the frame, and each hopper
is provided on its opposite parallel sides with roughened, fluted, or
toothed feeding rollers which are carried in suitable slots in the hopper
and are kept pressed inwards by springs so as to nip the picces of wood
which are supplied edgewise into the hopper, and gradually feed or propel
them downwards on to the plane as fast as the cutting proceeds. For
this purpose motion is imparted to these feeding rollers by means of
worms and worm wheels, or their equivalents, actuated either by a pall
and toothed ratchet wheel or by what is known as the friction or silent
feed motion or otherwise. The plane or planes are reciprocated to and
fro along their guides, cutting in one direction ouly, by means of a crank
shaft or other equivalent worked either by hand or by power. The
fibres, filaments, or shavings as they fall from the plane or planes are
received. on an endless travelling cloth, which carries them under a
pressing roller which delivers them to a rotatory cutting apparatus

page_text: constructed on the principle of the well-known "Lewis" machine
employed in cropping or shearing cloth or in lawn mowers, such cutting
apparatus severing transversely the fibres, filaments, or shavings into
short lengths. This cutting apparatus and pressing roller may be driven
by a band from a rigger on the crank shaft above referred to, or by
gearing or other equivalent mechanism. By suitably adjusting the
Jancets or scorers and the cutter or plane iron picces of various
thickness and width may obviously be produced suitable for use in
the manufacture of what are known as lucifer matches, or as shavings
for the manufacture of bonnets, scale boards, and other useful purposes.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a side clevation and partial
section of my improved machine for reducing wood to fibres or
filaments; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same; and Figures 3,
4, 5, and 6 arc enlarged details which I shall herein-after more
particularly refer to.
A, A, are two parallel standards forming the main framing, between
which on suitable guides works the longitudinal reciprocating plane B,
provided with two plane irons C, C, and with two sets of scorers D, D'.
This plane derives its reciprocating motion from the crank E, with which
it is connected by the rod F. The crank shaft G, which may work in
bearings H, H, attached to or formed on the standards A or otherwise,
is rotated in any well-known manner, and carries a fly wheel I and a
strap pulley K, by which it transmits motion through the strap L to the
rotatory cutting mechanism and endless band, as herein-after explained.
M, M', are two rectangular hoppers with vertical and parallel sides,
which are secured to the standards A, A, above the plane, the surface of
which latter forms the bottom of the hoppers. Each hopper is provided
with two pairs of roughened feeding rollers N, N, and N', N', situate at
or near the top and bottom of the hopper on each side thereof; between
these rollers on each side of the hoppers there is fitted a smooth pressing
roller O and O¹. The journals or axles of all these rollers work in slots
made in the ends of the hoppers, as shown more clearly in the enlarged
details, Figures 3 and 4, of which Figure 3 is an end elevation showing

page_text: the mode of driving the several rollers, and Figure 4 is a half elevation
at the opposite end of the hopper and a half transverse section. P, P
are helical or other springs connecting the axles of each pair of opposite
rollers together and tending to draw them inwards or towards each
other. Slots or openings are made longitudinally in the sides of the
hoppers to allow of the said rollers projecting slightly into the interior
thereof (see Figure 4), and to grip by the action of the springs P the
piece or pieces of wood to be disintegrated, which are introduced into
the hopper with the grain in the direction of the traverse of the plane.
An intermittent rotatory motion is imparted to the several rollers N
and O, in such a direction as to cause them to feed downwards the wood
step by step at each passage of the plane iron and scorers, the thickness
of the strip or shaving depending upon the amount of feed given to the
wood at each impulse or movement of the feed rollers N. This motion
is obtained from a worm Q on a spindle R, carried in bearings attached
to one end of each hopper. Each worm gears into a worm wheel S fast
on a hollow axle, which is mounted loosely upon a stud T fixed to the
end of the hopper, as shown in the detail, Figure 5. This hollow axle
carries also a spur wheel U, Figure 3, which gears into a corresponding
spur wheel V fast on one end of the spindle or axle of one of the two
lower feed rollers N, and so transmits motion thereto. Motion is
transmitted simultaneously fo the opposite feed roller of the lower pair
through the carrier whcel W, which is also in gear with the wheel U
and gears with a wheel ✗ fast on the axis of the opposite lower feed
roller. This motion is transmitted to the upper feed and presser rollers
by means of the gearing Y, Y, fitted to the opposite ends of the roller
axles, as shewn clearly in Figure 4. Thus all the rollers receive a
positive rotatory motion in a direction which will tend to feed the wood
downwards on to the plane. The requisite intermittent motion of the
worms Q is obtained from a friction wheel Z fast on each of the
spindles R, and operated upon by a friction dog «, as shewn clearly in
Figure 6. This dog is caused to press upon the periphery of the friction
wheel by the action of an eccentric projection & formed on the slotted
arm c, which is jointed at d to two lever arms e, situate one on each
side of the wheel Z and vibrating loosely on the spindle R. When the
arms cand e are moved in the direction of the arrow in Figure 6 the
dog a is forcibly pressed against the periphery of the wheel Z, and causes
it to move by frictional contact therewith, but when the levers are
moved in the reverse direction then the pressure is removed from the

page_text: dog a, and the latter will move freely over the periphery of the wheel
without causing it to rotate. f is a blade spring attached to the lever c,
and pressing against the slotted lever c for the purpose of keeping the
projection b in contact with the dog a when in a state of rest. The
two slotted levers c, c', (Figures 1 and 2) are coupled so as to move
simultaneously the same distance by means of the coupling rods g; 9,
which rods are jointed at 1 to the connecting rod i worked by a crank
pink on the main crank shaft, or by a cam or eccentric. By adjusting
the coupling rods g, g, along the slotted levers c, c', nearer to or further
from the centres of motion R, R', the feed will be increased or diminished.
This adjustment may be effected by turning the regulating screws 1, l',
(Figure 1). The long fibres or filaments which are removed from the
under surface of the wood by the plane irons and scorers acting alter-
nately in the forward and back stroke are received upon the endless
travelling band m, mounted on the rollers n, n'. The roller n is
adjustable in a slotted bearing by means of the adjusting screw o, which
serves to tighten the band when necessary. Opposite the delivery end
of the band m there is fitted a set of rotatory spiral knives p, p, mounted
on discs fast on the spindle q, which is driven by the strap L from the
crank shaft through the pulley fast on the spindle q; this spindle carries
also a spur pinions in gear with the spur wheel keyed on to the axis
of the roller n', and thereby imparting motion to the endless band m.
A pressing roller z serves to compress the filaments or thin strips or
shavings of wood just before they are subjected to the action of the
rotatory cutters p, which cut them transversely into short lengths,
varying with the relative speeds of the band m and rotatory cutters.
is an inclined plate, which guides the filaments or shavings to the
pressing roller u. Jointed levers (Figures 3 and 4) are fitted to
the upper pair of feed rollers, for the purpose of separating the same
when introducing fresh wood into the hopper, it being simply necessary
to straighten the jointed levers by depressing the front part thereof.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The combination of one or a pair of plane irons and a set or
sets of lancet-shaped scorers caused to reciprocate longitudinally in

page_text: contact with the wood, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before
described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second. The combination with a feeding hopper of feed rollers working
in the opposite sides thereof, such rollers being held in contact with the
wood by helical or other springs, substantially as herein-before described 5
and illustrated by the Drawings.
Third. The combination of the said feeling hopper and feeding rollers
with a reciprocating plane and set or sets of scorers, operating togetlier,
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Fourth. The combination with a reciprocating plane and set or sets 1
of scorers of an endless travelling cloth and pressing roller and a set of
rotatory knives or cutters, substantially as and for the purpose herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Farrar, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of June, 1
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.