AN IMPROVED TENONING MACHINE
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Skinner at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st January 1880.
☐ SAMUEL SKINNER, of Eastbourne, in the County of Sussex, Joiner. "AN
IMPROVED TENONING MACHINE."
This Invention relates to a machine for cutting tenons in joiners' work.
In carrying out my Invention I use vertical saws, two or more of which I mount
at suitable distances apart in a suitable frame arranged to slide in guides in a
stationary frame pivoted to the table of the machine.
The stationary frame may be maintained in a vertical or in an inclined position
by adjustable stays or struts.
A vertical reciprocating motion is communicated to the saw frame for making
longitudinal cuts by a pair of links or rods in connection with a cranked axle
suitably mounted under the table and actuated by a hand wheel keyed thereon.
The wood to be cut is placed in a clamp fitted to a slide as in mortising machines,
and is fed up to the saws by a novel construction of feed motion.
Below the table and mounted in bracket bearings is a vertical shaft, to the lower
end of which is keyed a ratchet wheel.
The upper end of this shaft carries a spur pinion which gears into teeth cut in
the side of a rib or flange secured to the under side of the slide.
A socketted arm mounted loosely on the vertical shaft carries at its outer end a
pawl which takes into the teeth of the ratchet wheel. This arm projects through a
slot formed in the end of a rod in connection with an arm or horn to which a
reciprocatory motion is communicated by an excentric on the cranked axle.
The forward motion of the rod pushes forward the arm with its pawl and
actuates the ratchet wheel with its shaft and spur pinion, and thus advances the
slide the required distance.
The amount of feed to be given to the slide is regulated by a set screw, which
determines the distance the actuating pawl is to be drawn back. A fixed pawl is
also provided to prevent any backward motion of the ratchet wheel.
To cause the return motion of the slide I use a train of spur gearing actuated

page_text: from the cranked axle, and which may be thrown into gear with a rack on the
underside of the rib or flange in any convenient manner.
Provision is also made for holding the pawls out of action if necessary, as well as
for laterally shifting the clamp.
The cross cuts may be made by saws set at right angles to the others, and the
wood may be fed up to them by laterally shifting the clamp in one direction or the
other.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Samuel Skinner in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st July
1880.
SAMUEL SKINNER, of Eastbourne, in the County of Sussex, Joiner.
IMPROVED TENONING MACHINE"
" AN
The object of this Invention is to provide a simple and efficient machine capable
of being worked by hand power for making the longitudinal cuts for tenons for
joiners' work.
In carrying out my Invention I use straight saws set in a suitable frame, to
which reciprocating motion is given from a cranked shaft, the wood being fed up to
the saws by a novel arrangement of feed motion, which acts during the return
motion of the saw and provides for the wood remaining stationary while the cut is
being made.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1, is a side elevation of my improved
tenoning machine, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1.
The remaining Figures refer to various details of the machine to be presently
specially referred to. A is the table of the machine to which is pivotted at a the
transverse slotted frame B. This frame B is maintained in a fixed position by an
adjustable stay or strut B¹, and in it a saw frame C carrying the saws C', C², slides.
D is a horizontal cranked shaft mounted transversely in bearings in the underside
of the table A, and is connected by means of links b, b, to the saw frame C. D¹ is
a fly wheel keyed on the shaft D and provided with a handle, whereby motion is
communicated to the shaft. By means of the wheel D' a reciprocating motion will
be communicated through the crank D to the saw frame C. The wood to be cut is
clamped by the clamping screw d into a slide E, which is so mounted on a saddle E¹
as to be capable of lateral adjustment by means of the adjusting screw c.
saddle E' works in guides f secured to the table A and is formed with a longitudinal
rib e' on its underside, which rib e¹ projects through a longitudinal slot in the
table A and is furnished with rack teeth on its side and bottom edge for a purpose
to be presently explained.
The
The wood which is fed forward during the return or upward stroke of the saw
frame receives its motion in the following manner:-Below the table A and

page_text: mounted in a bracket bearing g is a vertical axle h (shewn in the detached view,
Fig. 3). To the lower end of this axle is keyed a ratchet wheel F, and on the
upper end is mounted a spur pinion i which gears into the rack ¹ formed on the
side of the rib e¹. A socketed arm j is mounted between the wheels F and i loosely
upon the axle h and projects through a slot made in the end of a horizontal sliding
rod k. The arm j carries at its outer end a pawl l which engages with the teeth of
the ratchet wheel F; the rod k is supported in guides m, m, attached to the under-
side of the table, and is connected by an excentric rod n to an excentrico on the
shaft D; thus, by means of the excentric o a reciprocating motion is given to the
rod k which actuates through the arm j, pawl l, ratchet wheel F, axle h, and spur
pinion i, the saddle E' and slide E carrying the wood to be cut. A fixed pawl p is
employed to prevent any back motion of the ratchet wheel which might be caused
by the pressure of the saws against the wood while cutting. The length of feed is
regulated by the adjusting screw k¹ fitted in the slotted head of the rod k. This
screw strikes against the arm j as the rod k retires, and drives it back over a
sufficient number of the teeth of the ratchet wheel to give the desired amount of
feed; thus, a long feed is obtained by screwing in the adjusting screw, and vice
versa.
The slot in the end of the rod k is of such a length that even with the fastest
feed required there will always be a space between the arm ; and the shoulder of
the slot when the rod k has retired to its fullest extent; thus the arm j will remain
at rest till the shoulder of the advancing rod strikes it, by which time the saws will
have risen clear of the wood.
The return motion of the slide E when the cutting operation is completed is
effected in a simple and expeditious manner through a train of gear wheels actuated
from the driving shaft D. G is a horizontal transverse shaft mounted and capable
of sliding end wise in bearings q pendent from the table A and carrying the spur
pinions H, H. The pinion H is intended to gear with the rack e on the rib e¹,
and the pinion H', with a second pinion H2 mounted on a horizontal stud axle
carried by a bracket pendent, from the table. The pinion H2 is cast with a gear
wheel H³ which receives motion through an intermediate wheel H in gear with a
pinion H5 on the shaft D. The pinions H, H', are thrown into gear by giving an
endway motion to their shaft G. This is effected by depressing the lever I which
rocks a forked lever I' that embraces a grooved collar fixed on the shaft G. At the
same time the pawls and p are raised by the tappets on the bent lever 1, which
is pivotted at 2 to the frame and is connected to the lever I by the link ³, as
shewn detached in side elevation and plan views at Figs. 4. The lateral motion
given to the lever I to withdraw it from the notch will draw over and cant up
the free end of the lever ', and thus bring the tappets r, r, into contact with the
underside of the pawls and raise them out of gear with the ratchet wheel.
The saws C1, C2, are stretched between the top and bottom rails of the saw
frame C, and are secured thereto in the ordinary manner. These rails are slotted
to receive the saw clamps, and an adjusting screw t is provided to each rail (see
Figure 5) to work through the clamp of the adjustable saw, whereby that saw is
adjusted laterally and with nicety in the frame to suit the width of the tenon
intended to be cut.
To provide for the advance of the saws, and while the wood is quiescent during
the cutting operation, the saws are set with a rake in the direction of the cut, so
that the top of the saws shall overhang the wood. The rake or inclination given
to the saws will depend upon the length of the saw and its stroke, and on the speed
of the feed motion, which is governed by the thickness and the quality of the wood
to be cut; thus with a four feet saw having a stroke of two feet for a quarter inch
feed the saws should overhang half an inch, or with a one eighth inch feed a quarter
inch, and so on. In order to obtain this inclination of the saws I form the top rail
of the saw frame C in two parts 8, 8', as shewn detached in cross section and front
view at Figures 6. The part 8 is fixed, and the part 8 is capable of sliding thereon.
To the front of the part s' is secured a plate of which is tapped to receive an

page_text: adjusting screw 88 which abuts against the fixed parts. By turning the screw s³ in
one direction or the other the part s¹ to which the saws are connected will be
slidden forward or backward, as the case may be. The saws being set with the
desired inclination, or rake forwards, the frame B is then inclined to the rear to
such an extent as to bring the cutting edge of the saws into a vertical line, and its
position is fixed by means of the adjustable strut B¹. Upon a reciprocating motion
being given to the saw frame C an advancing and retreating motion will alternately
be given to the saws as they descend and rise in the inclined frame B. This
arrangement admits of the wood being fed up close to the saw ready for the fresh
cut, and therefore no part of the stroke of the saw will be lost; the saws can well
clear themselves before the feed commences and a square cut will be given to the
wood. The power also commonly expended in forcing the wood into contact with
the saws is saved.
When the longitudinal cuts have been made the wood is taken out of the
machine and is planed up, after which the shoulders of the tenons are cut by
hand.
It will be obvious that the above described machine may be adapted with slight
modifications to be worked by steam power, though it has been specially designed
for hand power.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Tenoning Machine," and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First. The arrangement of machinery above described, whereby the advancing
cut of the saws is effected while the wood is at rest, and the advance of the wood
is effected during the return motion of the saws, for the purpose above set forth.
Secondly. The means above described for adjusting the advance of the saws to
suit the work in hand.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Skinner, have hereunto set my hand
and seal; the Twenty ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.