Year: 1887

page_text: I, THOMAS MILLETT, of No. 42, Colvestone Crescent, Dalston, in the County of
Middlesex, Wood Turner, 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:-
My invention relates to an improved construction of turning lathes for the
production of articles of an irregular contour, and is more particularly applicable
to what are known as copying lathes in which a pattern article or dummy mounted on
the same mandrel on which are chucked the shapes, or rough pieces to be turned,
controls, in conjunction with a feeler on the cutter carriage and a counterpoise the
varying distance of the cutter axis from the mandrel axis.
It consists firstly, in an improved rocking chair or vibrating mandrel frame;
secondly, in an improved construction of cutters and blades; thirdly, in an improved
gear for travelling and returning the cutter-carriage in a direction parallel with the
axis of the mandrel on which the shapes are chucked fourthly, in an improved
automatic gear for stopping the lathe; and fifthly in an improved device for filling the
mandrel with shapes.
I attain the several objects of my invention by means of the mechanical devices
illustrated in the following figures which are to be taken as part of this specification
and read therewith, and in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation without the dummy and mandrel. *
Figure 2, an end elevation looking at the lathe as drawn in Figure 1 from the
right hand.
Figure 3, a plan of the lathe.
Figure 4, an end elevation looking at the lathe from the left hand.
Figure 5, an elevation of the filling bench.
Figure 6, a side elevation on an enlarged scale of a cutter.
Figure 7, an elevation, partly in section, on an enlarged scale. taken on the

page_text: The foregoing figures are all, excepting Fig. 3, drawn to the same scale, and show
the lathe as it would appear at the moment after a full mandrel has been chucked, the
driving belt running the while on the loose pulley.
The figures illustrate the lathe as adapted for turning eight boot-heels at once,
although I wish it to be distinctly understood that my invention is not confined to the
production of heels for boots and shoes, inasmucli as by merely exchanging the
dummy and adjusting the feeler, the movable face-plates on the shape-mandrel, and
the cutters on the cutter-spindle according to the length and position of the shape to
be operated on, it will produce any other articles of irregular outline such as lasts or
gun stocks.
A is the bed and legs of the lathe; A¹ the driving belt, and a the cutter-carriage
travelling-and-reversing-shaft carrying three pulleys a', a³, a³, of equal diameter,
on its outer end. The first pulley, a', is keyed on the shaft a, and is for reversing the
cutter-carriage; the middle one a² is the loose pulley; and the third a³ is the driving
pulley also loose upon the shaft a.
The spur pinion, b, is fast to the driving pulley a³ and concentric therewith. It
engages with the spur wheel, 1, fast on the end of the shaft c rotated in two
brackets c, c', projecting from the front of the lathe-bed for the purpose of actuating
the travelling gear of the cutter carriage.
The first part of my invention viz., the improved rocking chair or vibrating mandrel
frame consists of a horizontal beam C, a head-stock C, and a tail-stock, both of
which are continued below the beam to form the bearings by which it is carried upon
sleeves, 2, (shown in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 3), projecting inwardly from the
brackets e, c', and which sleeves also serve in part as bearings for the shaft e which
they protect from being worn by the vibrating motion of the mandrel frame.
03 is an open bearing aligned with the head and tail stocks for the purpose of
preventing the mandrel E from being sprung out of line by the pressure of the cutters
against the shapes e. There may be more than one of these, according to the length
of the lathe. The tail stock C, is fitted with the well known adjustable back-
centre, c³, and hand wheel, e. The top of the stock is split for a short distance, and
expanded for the same into two tabs, cs, which can be tightened upon the back-centre
by a closing screw, 6, for the purpose of preventing it being moved backwards.
The motion of the spur wheel is communicated through a line of intermediate
gears 2, 3, 4, mounted ou axes projecting from the outer side of the head-stock, the
last mentioned one engaging with one on the end of the mandrel axis.
I have shown my improved lathe as fitted with a detachable mandrel E of the
construction described in the Specification of a former Patent No. 8345 1886 to
which the reader is referred, although I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do
not confine myself to the use of this mandrel.
The second part of my invention relates to an improved construction, of cutter
and blades.
N, N are the cutters, each one consisting of a boss n, a disc n', and a set of blades.
They correspond both in number and position with the number of face-plates on the
mandrel E. The planes in which the cutters stand at the moment the lathe is started
is that which contains the left hand sides of the respective shapes to be turned down.
The cutters are keyed upon the spindle M² in which a longitudinal key-seat m² is cut
for the full length thereof, for the purpose of allowing the cutters to be fixed in any
desired position thereupon.
There are four blades n² upon each disc fixed thereto edge on (that is, edge to the
front) in grooves cut in the side of the disc by means of bolts and nuts passing
through slots n in the shanks of said blades and the bolt holes in the discs n'.
The grooves n³ are not radial to the axis of the cutter; being both parallel and
non-coincident with diameters thereof. The back edge n of each blade is straight,
the act of forgeing drawing the metal of the projecting half of each blade
forward and forming a leading cutting edge. The rectangular shanks n³ fill and
are supported by the sides of the grooves, ³, instead of the blades being (as has
frequently been the practice to make them), bolted to flat arms projecting from the

page_text: periphery of the boss in a plane passing through the axis of the cutter spindle, and
twisted through a right angle to bring the cutting edge to the front. My blades,
from one extremity to the other, are respectively forged in one piece, and being
without any twist and fixed in grooves cut in the side of the disc, edge of the blade
to the front and side of the blade flat to the disc and in the same plane-they offer the
fullest resistance of which their shanks are individually capable to the strain to which
they are severally subjected during the operation of cutting.
The cutter spindle M² is rotated in standards M, M², by a belt passing around a
shrouded pulley m keyed thereon and driven independently of the driving pulley of
the lathe. Lubrication of the spindle journals is provided for by means of suitable
automatic lubricators m'.
The third part of my invention relates to an improved gear for travelling and
returning the cutter-carriage in a direction parallel with the axis of the mandrel
upon which the shapes are chucked.
O is a disc fast on the end of the shaft c, and o is a radial slot formed therein.
A connecting rod o¹ adjustably and eccentrically connected to the disc by a bolt and
mut passing through it and the 'slot o rocks the duplex lever o² upon the projecting
end of the shaft a. The upper extremity of this lever carries a gravity clutch o³ lying
in the groove of the pulley P keyed upon the shaft a. As the clutch is moved over
the face of the pulley towards the front of the lathe it slips along the groove, but
bites therein in its return travel. A square a³ is formed upon the extremity of the
shaft a to receive a winch handle for the purpose of reversing said shaft and effecting
the return of the cutter-carriage to the left hand end of the lathe independently of the
reversing pulley a¹.
The fourth part of my invention relates to an improved automatic gear for reversing
and stopping the lathe."
Qis the hand lever of the strap-shifter 7 and is pivotted on a stud q'; its rod q²
sliding in vertical guides fixed on the back of the lathe bed.
A rod y sliding in a guide q is pivotted to the lower end of the lever Q, and carries
two strikers, 7, between which hangs a fixed stop or striker 8.
The fifth part of my invention, viz., the filling bench illustrated in Figure 5 is
constructed and operated as follows
H is the base, and h, h¹, two standards between which a horizontal bar, h², with a
plane top surface can be raised or lowered by a hand wheel, ³, actuating a screw, 4,
(suitably connected to the underside of said bar) in a nut, h³, formed in the centre of
the tie rod, 4*.
An empty mandrel, E, is supported horizontally in the frame by causing the
dogs, f, or equivalent parts, to engage in corresponding holes formed in the inner
face of the standard, h, within the slot, h. The opposite end of the mandrel lies in a
slot, 3, formed in the top of the standard . The bar, 2, is adjusted so that its top
face is separated from the axis of the mandrel E by a distance equal to one half the
thickness of the shapes to be chucked. The locking nut, 4º, is then tightened up, and
the shapes filled into the mandrel by placing them on the bar in position between the
face-plates and their respective cramping-plates and locking then there by screwing
up the locking nuts. The standards are marked with gauges to facilitate the adjust-
ment of the horizontal bar. A filled mandrel lying in the bench presents the same
appearance as the mandrel and shapes drawn in Fig. 3.
While the lathe is at work the dummy d is kept in touch with the feeler L
described further on by means of a counterpoise I connected to the stocks of the
mandrel frame by cords i, i, passing over pulleys, ³, carried upon continuations of
the bar to which the moveable dust guard is fixed.
J is a curved bar hinged to the face of the lathe-bed and projecting through the
horizontal beam C of the mandrel frame. Its outer end carries a transverse pin j
against which the mandrel-frame rests when it is pulled back out of work away from
the feeler for the purpose of changing mandrels.
The angle which the mandrel-frame makes with the front of the lathe bed when it

page_text: is resting against the pin j is too obtuse for the weight of the counterpoise 1 to
affect it.
The cutter-carriage consists of two plates K and K'. The lower one or saddle K¹
embraces a strong V projection k formed upon the top of the lathe bed, and has formed
upon.its underside a solid screwed nut a', which engages with a screwed part of the
shaft a, whereby the rotation of the latter in either direction travels the carriage to
the right or the left accordingly. The upper plate K engages with the saddle K¹ by
means of two guide pins, acting also as set screws, which pass through parallèl
slots and enter the saddle underneath. I provide a tightening slip ³, controlled by
set screws 4, to compensate for the wear of the faces of the V slide.
A transverse motion at right angles to the direction of the longitudinal travel of
the carriage can, therefore, be given to it by actuating the traversing screw k³ working
in an independent. bracket fixed to the back of the saddle.
the cut is on.
I is the feeler with which the dummy is kept in contact by the counterpoise I while
It is capable of a transverse adjustment in a slide / formed for that
purpose on the plate K of the cutter-carriage. A set screw is provided which
passes through a slot formed in the base of the feeler into the said plate K.
I wish to point out that in consequence of the mandrel-frame vibrating through a
longer are than has hitherto been the practice to give to this part of a copying lathe,
the feeler in a lathe constructed according to my invention need not overhang the
cutter-carriage much and may be stationary while the lathe is at work, inasmuch as
the long vibration of which the mandrel frame is capable viz., through an are of
90° a wide and thin dummy to be kept in touch with a stationary feeler.
A lathe constructed according to my invention operates as follows:-
The cutter spindle and carriage being over to the left, the driving belt A¹ on the
loose pulley, and the mandrel frame pulled back, a full mandrel E is chucked
therein, between the face-plate and the back centre 3, and the frame pushed
towards the lathe till the dummy bears against the feeler L. The driving belt A' is
then pulled by means of the lever Q on to the driving pulley a³ the driving belt on
the pulley m set in motion (there is no necessity for stopping it during a spell of
work) and the cut is started, a second mandrel undergoing the process of being filled
with shapes in the filling bench. The revolution of the shaft c rotates the pulley on
the end of the travelling and reversing shaft a at a suitable speed by means of the
gravity clutch and the screwed part of the shaft a engaging the nut a effects the
travel of the cutter carriage from left to right. By the time the cut is out
the striker has borne against the siop thereby actuating the strap shifter and
causing it to move the belt A¹ on to the loose pulley a² from which it is moved by the
hand lever Q on to the reversing pulley a fast on the shaft a the consequent rotation
of which returns the cutter carriage to the position illustrated in the figures viz., with
the cutter carriage at the end of the reversed travel when the striker contacts with
the stop and consequently moves the belt from the reversing pulley ² onto the
loose pulley a².
The action of a lathe constructed according to my invention is therefore continuous
and the cutters always revolving. A mandrel full of turned heels is taken out of the
mandrel frame as soon as the cut is finished; the cutter begins its reversing travel at
the same moment, and while this reversing travel is being accomplished, a mandrel
which has been filled with shapes at the filling bench while the last "cut was being
made can be chucked in the mandrel frame by the time the cutter carriage has
completed its reversing travel; and therefore no time is lost in waiting for the reversing
travel to be accomplished or for the preparation of a full mandrel of shapes.
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 :-
1. In a copying lathe for turning articles of an irregular contour, the combination
of a spur pinion concentrically and rigidly connected to the driving pulley of the
lathe and revolving loosely upon the cutter-carriage travelling-and-reversing shaft

page_text: with and engaging with a spur wheel fast upon the end of a second shaft about which
the mandrel frame vibrates, a line of intermediate gears upon the outer side of the
head stock frame driven by said spur wheel and driving the live mandrel of the
vibrating mandrel frame, substantially as herein before described.
2. In a copying lathe for turning articles of an irregular contour, the combination
of a mandrel frame vibrating upon stationary sleeves parallel with the front of the
lathe, with a shaft rotating in said sleeves and driving the live mandrel by means of
intermediate gears, and a connecting rod eccentrically connected to the opposite end
of said shaft and intermittently rotating a pulley upon the end of the cutter-carriage
travelling-and-reversing shaft substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In combination with a detachable mandrel having fixed face-plates and adjustable
cramping-plates projecting from its opposite sides, a filling bench consisting of two
standards which receive the mandrel and support it in a horizontal position and a
horizontal bar capable of a vertical adjustment between said standards, as hereinbefore
described.
4. In a copying lathe for turning articles of an irregular contour the combination
of a cutter spindle having a longitudinal groove formed in it and supported in
standards with the top-plate of the cutter-carriage and driven by a driving belt
independently of the driving pulley of the lathe.
5. In a copying lathe for turning articles of an irregular contour, the combination
of cutter disc having grooves cut in the side thereof in lines parallel with diameters
thereof, with the flat shanks of the cutter blades, said blades being each in one piece
from heel to cutting edge, the cutting edge of a blade being brought forward and
making an obtuse angle with the leading edge of a shank substantially as herein before
described.
6. In a copying lathe for turning articles of an irregular contour, the combination
with the saddle of the cutter-carriage of a nut engaging with a shaft on which are
keyed the reversing pulley and a pulley actuated intermittently by a clutch reciprocated
by a connecting rod eccentrically connected to the shaft about which the mandrel
frame vibrates, substantially as hereinbefore described.
7. In a copying lathe for turning articles of an irregular contour, the combination
of three pulleys upon the travelling and reversing shaft of the cutter-carriage, one of
which viz, the reversing pulley is fast on the shaft and the other two viz., the driving
pulley and the loose pulley between it and the aforesaid reversing pulley are loose
upon said shaft with a strap shifter actuated in either direction by a striker upon the
cutter-carriage said cutter-carriage being alternately travelled and reversed by the
rotation in respective directions by said shaft engaging in a nut formed upon
the underside of said carriage, substantially as hereinbefore described.
8. In a copying lathe for turning articles of an irregular contour, the combination
of a vibrating mandrel frame upon the live mandrel of which a rotating dummy is
fixed, with a feeler adjustably fixed upon a cutter-carriage which is travelled in a
plane parallel with the axis of the mandrel, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 12th day of February 1887.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Patent Agents,
22, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.