IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING METAL OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING
METAL OR OTHER SUBSTANCES."-A communication.

page_text: bending the edges of the pieces thus cut, after which operation the
edges must be again straightened before the plates can be used.
The nature of the present Invention consists in so hanging the
shear or separating blades as that their cutting edges shall be in the
same line, and one so placed above the other as not even to come in
contact, much less overlap each other, by which means a perfectly
straight, square, and smooth edge can be cut without the least warping
or twisting of the edges, and with much less power than is usually
required, as the cutting edges need not pass into the sheet or plate
more than from one half to two thirds of its thickness, and yet such
sheet will be entirely separated, leaving smooth edges. Another feature
of novelty consists in hanging the cutting blades or stocks on which
they are supported upon excentric pins or bolts for the purpose of
enabling them to be most accurately adjusted, as will be found neces-
sary, according to the varied thickness of metal sheets to be cut. One
of the cutting edges is stationary, while the other is made to rise
and fall, the sheet to be cut or separated being placed between them.
In order to cut curved or crooked lines it will be found most conve-
nient to employ a rotary cutter of a circular form, to which a double
motion must be communicated, viz., a rapid rotary motion. and a
slow progressive horizontal motion. The cutter must also be mounted
in a vibrating or swinging frame, in order that it may be moved or
turned round to follow any curved line that may be traced on the plate
or sheet to be cut. It will be understood that the improved machinery
may be employed for cutting various substances besides metal, but
when any soft material, such as mill board, card board, or thin metal,
are to be operated upon, the machinery need not be made so strong as
when thick metal plates are to be cut.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 28th March 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in
the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton,
Her special license that I, the said William Edward Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and 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 King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING METAL OR OTHER
SUBSTANCES," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 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 William Edward Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the 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 Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letter and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):
In machines as heretofore constructed for cutting up sheets of metal
the blades, whether vibrating or rotary, have had their cutting edges so
arranged as to overlap or pass by each other. Such an arrangement,
particularly in cutting the heavier sheets of metal, requires great power,
and in all cases, whether cutting thick or thin sheets, a large portion of
the power is expended in forcing the two pieces apart; but a still
greater practical difficulty is, that this waste of power does actual injury
by twisting or bending the edges of the pieces thus cut, which must
again be straightened before they can be used.

page_text: Now this Invention consists in so mounting the fixed and moveable
separating blades as that their cutting edges shall be in the same line,
and one so placed above the other as not to come in contact, much less
overlap each other, by which means a perfectly straight, square, and
smooth edge may be cut without the least warping or twisting, and with
great diminution of power, from the fact that the cutting edges need
not pass into the sheet or plate more than from one half to two thirds
of its thickness, and yet it shall be entirely separated and with smooth
edges. The moveable cutting blade, or the stock which carries it, is
supported upon excentric pins or bolts for the purpose of giving it the
most accurate adjustment which it will require to suit the varied thick-
ness of metal sheets to be cut.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use the Invention I
will proceed to describe the same with reference first to Sheet I. of the
Drawings, wherein Fig. 1, represents a side view of a novel arrange-
ment of machinery for cutting metal and other substances, and Fig. 2,
is a vertical cross section taken at the line x, x, of Fig. 1. A sub-
stantial cutter stock or table A, of suitable length is provided, upon
which is placed the straight shear blade B. Two upright arms or
supports C, cast on or secured to the table A, extend upward suffi
ciently far to hold and support the upper stock D, which carries the
moving parts of the machine. The stock D, is connected to the arms
C, of the table A, by means of excentric bolts E, provided with nuts G,
for holding them firmly when the blades or stocks are properly adjusted,
the said bolts having also a square or many sided shank F, for receiv-
ing a wrench by which they may be turned. These excentric bolts
admit of the most accurate adjustment of the stocks, and the blades
should be further separated whenever the edges of the metal being cut
warp or twist in the least; it having been found by practice that there
is a waste of power, and, moreover, actual injury done whenever the
edges of the sheet being cut begin to warp or twist, and that the depth
to which the blades shall enter the sheet or plate may be ascertained
by the straight smooth cut made therein. It is erroneous to suppose
that in cutting sheet metal the blades should overlap or even meet, for
metal plates half an inch in thickness may be cut or separated with

page_text: clean smooth edges, with a full quarter of an inch space between the
cutters, and when thus separated they preserve a perfectly straight
edge, as before stated. And by way of further illustration it may be
stated that when the cutters are so adjusted as just to touch a sheet
without cutting or scarcely marking it, if then another sheet of equal
thickness be placed on the first, and both passed under the cutters in
that position, they will both be cut with clear smooth edges and entirely
separated. On the upper stock D, is arranged a rack H, and also suit-
able recesses and grooves for receiving and holding the stock or carriage
I, which carries the rotatory blade J, and the several parts which operate
it, and which may be constructed and arranged as follows:-A shaft K,
carries a drum or pulley L, around which may pass the belt for giving
it motion; the shaft also carries a spur wheel M, which gears into the
cog wheels N, N, so as to give the said wheels a motion in the same
direction. Near the ends of each of the shafts N', N', which carry the
wheels N, N, spur wheels O, (one only being seen in the section
Fig. 2,) are keyed, which take into the rack H, on the upper stock D,
and when in motion cause the carriage I, containing the rotary
cutter J, to traverse along the stock D. Each of the shafts N', N', also
carries an intermediate spur wheel (one only being seen in the Draw-
ing), which wheels work into the cogs or teeth on the cutter J, and
give it a rotary motion round its own axis whilst it traverses the
frame. By causing the rotary cutter to move around its axis with
greater speed than the carriage which sustains it traverses the frame a
drawing cut" will be obtained. The shaft Q, of the rotary cutter J,
is made adjustable by means of the spiral spring a, encircling it and
the set screw b, so that the line of its cutting edge may stand in proper
position in relation to and over the cutting edge of the straight fixed
blade B. The inner end of the shaft Q, is supported in a divided
box c, c, so that when the rotating blade is to be adjusted to the
stationary blade thin sheets of tin, brass, or other metal i, may be laid
between the sections of the divided box for the purpose of keeping one
section of the box close up against the frame on which the carriage
travels. R, is a stop or gauge on the table against which the sheets to
be cut may rest. The belt for driving the traversing carri
66
should

page_text: be provided with a "take up" pulley or weight for keeping it taut
over the pullies as it approaches or recedes from the fixed pulley, and
also with a reversing pulley or drum so as to run the carriage back
and forth, as may be required. The carriage may also, if preferred, be
operated by a crank, pitman, or other well-known device for giving a
reciprocating motion.
A modification of this machine may be made by allowing the rotary
shear or cutter to move around a fixed axis, and causing the sheet of
metal to traverse under or over it on a suitable carriage; but this
would be the same in principle, as it merely involves a chango of
traversing motion from one cutter to the other. The cutters also,
instead of being placed one over the other, may be placed one along-
side of the other without change of principle.
In Sheet II. of the accompanying Drawings a modified arrangement
of parts for cutting metal and other substances according to this In-
vention is shewn in several views. Fig. 1, denotes a top view of the
improved machine; Fig. 2, is an elevation of one side of the machine;
Fig. 3, is an elevation of the other side of the machine; Fig. 4, is a
transverse section taken through the rotary cutter; Fig. 5, is a back
view of the rotary cutter and its supporting frame and the gearing by
which it is moved; Fig. 6, is a horizontal section of the rotary cutter
and gearing over and parallel with a table or flat board or bench, and
near one side or edge of it a long flat metallic bar or frame B, is
affixed, on one side of which and near its top edge is a horizontal
rack C, of teeth, the said rack being made to extend from one end of
the bar to the other end thereof. A metallic carriage or slide D, is
arranged or applied upon the side of the bar, and so adapted to the bar
as to be capable of being slidden or moved on it from one end thereof
to the other. The slide or carriage has a handle E, projecting from its
front face and at right angles thereto. It also carries and supports on
a shaft in the handle E, a rotary cutter F, which stands vertically, and
has its periphery or circular edge bevilled down to an acute angle, for
the purpose of cutting metal plates or other sheets submitted to its
action. G, is a straight knife edge bar screwed or otherwise properly
fastened to a rail or bar H, which is placed underneath the bar B, as

page_text: shewn in the Drawings. The rotary cutter F, and the straight knife
edge G, form together what may be termed rotating shears, as in the
former arrangement. Keyed to the axle I, of the cutter F, is a spur
wheel K, which is of a somewhat less diameter than the cutter, and
gearing into this wheel K, is a pinion L, placed upon a short shaft M,
which revolves freely upon a pin or stud N, projecting from and within
the sliding carriage D. On the shaft M, is another and similar
pinion O, which is made to engage with the rack of teeth C. When,
therefore, the slide or carriage is moved on its bar the cutter wheel will
be rotated, and with a velocity such as will make any point in its
cutting periphery moved around a greater distance than the wheel is
moved horizontally. The pinion O,. may be made of a diameter either
greater or less than that of the pinion L, so as when revolved by the
rack to impart to the cutter wheel a less or greater velocity, or such an
one as will ensure the exact degree of drawing stroke required. The
cutter wheel in moving horizontally, and acting in connection with the
knife edge, has a drawing stroke imparted to it, which drawing stroke
causes it to cut through a sheet of pasteboard, metal, or any other
substance that it would not cut at all had it not the drawing stroke
imparted to it, much better and with more facility than it would if its
periphery moved only at the rate of the horizontal motion of the
wheel. The rotary cutter is borne against the knife edge by means of
the helical spring R, fixed upon its axle, and introduced within the
handle of the sliding carriage, the pressure of which spring may be
regulated by a set screw X, properly adapted to it and the end of the
handle. In connection with the sliding carriage D, another sliding
carriage S, is adapted to the bar B, and made to slide freely upon it in
the same manner as is the carriage D. A latch T, is applied to one
carriage, and made to latch or hook upon a screw pin or stud U, pro-
jecting from the other carriage, and so not only to connect the two
carriages together, but to enable a person to disconnect them when the
sliding carriage S, is not to be used. To the side of the said sliding
carriage S, a vertical frame V, is applied, one end of which is hinged
or jointed to the carriage so as to admit of the said frame being turned
horizontally through a sector of a circle, the centre or points of motion
.

page_text: of the said frame being at a, b.
Through the frame a bar c, is
inserted and fixed in position by means of a set screw d, and upon
the inner end of the said bar a friction roller e, is placed to bear
against and run upon the bar B. The purpose of this bar, its
friction roller, and set screw is to regulate the distance of the
unjointed end of the swinging frame from the bar B, or, in other words,
to enable a person to adapt the centre of motion of a plate of metal (to
be cut circular) to its true or proper distance from the cutting shears.
The said frame is provided with a suitable contrivance for holding the
plate of metal, pasteboard, or other substance under operation at the
central part thereof, and allowing the said plate to revolve freely when
brought under the operation of the rotating cutter and the fixed knife
edge with which the rotary cutter acts. The contrivance for holding
the said plate should be so made as to hold it at a level with the top
of the knife edge. This contrivance consists of a set screws, (extending
through the bar g,) and a small bearing h, applied to the lower bar i, of
the swinging frame, the upper surface of the bearing being slightly
countersunk. Now if a plate of metal is placed in the swinging frame,
and the distance of the centre of the plate from the cutting edge of the
rotary cutter is properly regulated by means of the gauge bar and set
screw before described (such distance being the radius of the circle to
be cut), and the two carriages are connected and put in motion on the
slide bar B, the metallic plate will be cut by the action of the cutter F,
and will revolve and be reduced to a circular shape. This shape,
however, may be varied by simply placing a suitable waving or curved
surface on the bar B, and in such position as that the friction roller of
the gauge bar may slide against it, instead of against astraight surface, and
thus by modifying the shape of such waving surface, or using such a
shaped surface in lieu thereof as circumstances may require, the plate
may be cut into an elliptical or any other desirable form of perimeter.
The turning points or bearings of the swinging frame should be made
capable of adjustment, or of being moved towards or away from the
bar B, and confined in any position, and thus to enable a person to
make the frame parallel or about parallel to the frame of the rotary
cutter, and so as to cause the cutter to operate to the best advantage

page_text: on the sheet to be cut by it. In the Drawings the swinging frame is
represented as connected to the sliding carriage S, by two parallel
bars y, z, extending from the carriage. The lower pivot b, of the frame
is stepped into the bar y, while the upper one, videlicit, a, is a screw,
which is screwed through one of a series of screw holes n, n, n, made
through the bar, each of the same having a corresponding step or
socket made in the bar y, and for the support of the pivot b, the same
being shewn in section in Fig. 7. By unlatching the two sliding
carriages, and using the carriage D only, the plate of metal may be
cut in a straight line when subjected to the operation of the rotating
cutter and its stationary knife edge, or it may be cut, generally speaking,
in any manner in which it may be cut by ordinary shears. Although the
frame B, has been described as attached to a base board, it may be
constructed so as to be capable of being attached to or detached from a
bench at pleasure, the same as the ordinary shears used by tinmen.
Having now described the Invention of improved machinery for
cutting metal or other substances, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I wish it to be understood that under the above
in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First, the so mounting of a traversing and fixed cutting blade, one or
both, as that their cutting edges shall not overlap or come in contact
with each other, by which means sheets of metal or other substance
may be divided without twisting or warping their edges, and at great
saving of power, substantially as described.
Secondly, connecting the upper and lower portions of the frame
when each carries one of the cutters by excentric bolts suitably pro-
vided with screw and nut, or their equivalent, for giving the blades on the
said two parts of the frame a perfect adjustment one above the other,
substantially as described.
Thirdly, the arrangements above described, or any mere modification
thereof, for actuating the traversing rotating cutter, and causing the
cutting periphery thereof to travel around faster than the cutter moves
horizontally for the purpose of making the said cutter cut with a
drawing stroke.
Fourthly, the combination of the swinging frame and gauge con-

page_text: trivance or equivalents therefor with a sliding carriage, its rotary cutter,
and the slide bar and straight cutting edge, as substantially specified,
the same being for the purpose of cutting either circular or curved
work, as described, and of any diameter or dimensions within the
capacity of the machine.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-four.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)