Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Treenails for the Permanent-way of Railways and like purposes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 18th May, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 18th Feb., 1898-Accepted, 9th Apr., 1898
Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Treenails for the
Permanent-way of Railways and like purposes.
I, JAMES TAYLOR, of Dorking, in the County of Surrey, Timber Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to certain improvements in the lathes by which treenails
are turned by which improvements the operation is rendered so far automatic
that but little attention is required beyond the feeding of the pieces of wood
into the machine, and the rapidity of production is thus considerably increased as
compared with lathes in which the operation has to be more largely controlled
or produced by hand.
According to my invention I construct the lathe with both the head and tail
spindles driven synchronously by power with an arrangement for making them.
either, or both, recede from and approach towards each other automatically and
a feeding apparatus by which pieces of wood previously cut to the required length
are fed in between the said spindles, by which they are seized and rotated while
a knife, or knives, is by suitable mechanism brought up to and reduces the wood
to the required size and shape after which as the spindles separate again and a
hammer strikes the treenail and knocks it out of the lathe to make room for the
next block which is being brought up by the feeding apparatus.
All the above described movements and operations are produced automatically
by a series of cams or the like, by which the arms and levers effecting these
movements are operated and controlled and these may conveniently be placed
on a horizontal spindle under the bed of the lathe and obviously admit of con-
siderable variety of arrangement and disposition. The feed I prefer to make
with a reciprocal motion so that at each return of the slide one block of wood drops
into it and is carried forward by the next movement to the spindles, but it is
obvious that a rotary feeder may be employed if it should be found more con-
venient in practice.
•
The treenails thus formed are of very exactly uniform size and shape and are
thus not only manufactured more rapidly and with less manual labour but are
of better quality, so far as relates to uniformity of size, than those heretofore in
the market.
NEWNHAM BROWNE,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Treenails for the
Permanent-way of Railways and like purposes.
I, JAMES TAYLOR, of Dorking, in the County of Surrey, Timber Merchant, 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 certain improvements in the lathes by which treenails
are turned, by which improvements the operation is rendered so far automatic
that but little attention is required beyond the feeding of the pieces of wood or
blanks into the machine, and the rapidity of production is thus considerably
increased as compared with lathes in which the operation has to be more largely
controlled or effected by hand.
According to my invention I construct the lathe with both the head and tail
spindles driven synchronously by power, with an arrangement for automatically
moving either or both of them so as to bring them nearer together or farther
apart, and a feeding apparatus by which the blanks or pieces of wood, previously
cut to the required size, are fed in between the said spindles by which they are
seized and rotated while a knife or knives is or are, by suitable mechanism moved
up to the blank which is thereby reduced to the required size and shape, after
which, as the spindles are moved farther apart, a hammer strikes the treenail and
knocks it out of the lathe to make room for the next blank which is being moved
into position by the feeding apparatus.
All the above described movements and operations are effected automatically
by a series of cams or the like, and arms and levers, the said cams being con-
veniently mounted on a horizontal shaft or spindle under the bed of the lathe
which arrangement will obviously admit of considerable variation as regards
the positions of the various parts and otherwise. The feed I prefer to make with
a reciprocal motion so that at each operation of the slide one blank drops into
it and is fed forward to the spindles, but it is obvious that a rotary feeder may
be employed if it should be found more convenient in practice.
I will describe my invention by reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one of my improved machines.
Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same.
Fig. 3 is back elevation of the tool carrier and immediately adjacent parts.
Fig. 4 is an elevation of the cam for operating the feed-mechanism.
Fig. 5 is an elevation of the cam for moving the cutting blade forwards and
backwards.
°
Fig. 6 is an elevation of portion of the hammer mechanism and
Figs. 7 & 8 are respectively a face view and a side elevation of one of the chuck's
for rotating the blanks.
Like letters of reference indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the
drawings.
As shown in these drawings the machine frame A comprises two vertical stan-
dards or supports a a¹ with a bed a rigidly secured to their upper ends. To the
upper side of the bed as are secured two stationary head-stocks 6 in the former
of which is mounted a spindle c after the manner of an ordinary lathe spindle.
The lathe spindle c¹, co-axial with the spindle c, is journalled in a head-stock 62
which is mounted in guides 63 in the fixed head-stock 1 so that the head-stock 68

page_text: "
(which is hereinafter termed the sliding head-stock") together with the spin-
dle c'may be moved nearer to or farther from the spindle c. To the outer part
for end of the sliding head-stock 63, through a link or links d, is connected the
upper end of a lever d¹ pivotted to a bracket a³ secured to the machine bed a³,
and on the lower end of the said lever acts a barrel cam e secured on the shaft E
which is supported in bearings mounted on, or formed in part with, the two
standards a, a¹. The cam e is so formed that at the required stages of the opera-
tion of the machine it moves the spindle c¹ towards and away from the spindle c
and maintains it in either of these positions for the desired length of time.
The two spindles c c¹ are provided with pulleys and are rotated synchronously
by belts ff passing around these pulleys and around other pulleys 9 rigidly
secured upon a shaft G journalled in the lower part of the standards a a¹ and
provided with fast-and-loose pulleys G by which rotary motion may be trans-
mitted to the said shaft from any desired motor.
Between the two stationary head-stocks 661 there is secured to the bed a² a
frame H to the front part of which is pivotted a plate I which may be adjusted
so as to be at any desired incline in relation to the frame H, it being secured in
any such adjusted position by a strut i Fig. 2, bolted or otherwise secured to the
frame H and plate I. The plate I is provided with a dovetail or other groove 21
in which is free to slide, in a direction transverse to the axis of the spindles c c¹,
a plate connected by a link to a lever arm which is secured to one end of
a short shaft on whose opposite end is secured a lever arm . The shaft 5 is
journalled in a bracket a secured to the machine bed a2 and the free end of the
lever arm is operated on by a cam e¹ secured on the before mentioned shaft E.
On the upper side of the plate I is secured a hopper (formed of two separate
inclined guides) for receiving the blanks X, and on the before described sliding
plate is secured a feed plate I¹ having two upstanding ribs 8 which serve for
pushing the particular blank then at the bottom of the hopper laterally out
of and away from the said hopper, at the same time supporting any other blanks
above the one so removed. The hopper is constructed so that only one blank can
be pushed out by the feed plate I' at each of its forward movements. The lever
arm is held in constant operative connection with the cam e¹ by means of a
spring 29.
The back part of the frame H is provided with guides in or on which is
mounted a plate or tool carrier J which is free to slide in a direction transverse
to the axis of the spindles c c. On the plate J is secured a bridge plate j to
which is adjustably attached the knife j¹, one or more regulators for adjusting
the thickness of the cut being secured to the tool carrier J beneath the knife 1:
preferably two tools or cutters are employed, one near each end of the knife j¹
as shown in Fig. 3. The knife is curved or bent to suit the shape of the tree-
nails to be produced and the tools serve to prevent the tearing away of the
wood while it is being cut by the knife ¹. The tool-carrier J is in operative
and adjustable connection with the upper end of a lever J₁ which is pivotted to the
bed a³, and on whose lower end is provided an anti-friction roller which engages
with the groove of a cam e secured on the cam shaft E, a spring 3 being provided
to hold the lever J¹ well in operative connection with the inner or effective side
of the cam groove e so as to prevent vibration or jarring of the tool carrier J,
should the anti-friction roller of the lever J¹ have any "play" in the cam
groove.
K Fig. 1 represents the hammer which is secured to one end of a lever k
pivotted to a bracket arm secured to one of the before described slides 63, the
opposite end of the lever k being connected to a rod whose lower end, guided
by a fixed bracket a³, is operated on by a cam or tappet 3 secured on the cam
shaft E; a spring lowers the rod and thereby raises the hammer K imme-
diately after these parts have been moved in the reverse directions by the tappet e³.
On the cam shaft E is secured a spur wheel L in gear with a spur pinion L'

page_text: secured to, or formed in part with, a pulley 7 which is mounted so as to rotate
freely on a stud or short shaft 1 supported by a bracket a secured to the
machine bed a². To the bracket a is pivotted a swinging arm P carrying a stud
on which is revolvably mounted a sheave pulley 13 and to this arm is connected
a rod or handle bar (leading to the front of the machine) by which the operator
may turn the said arm 12 on its pivot so as to move the pulley away from or
against the outer surface of the band which encircles the above named pulley
and a small pulley g¹ on the main driving shaft G. By pulling the rod or handle
bar into its most forward position the pulley as shown in Fig. 2 is drawn
tight against the band which is thereby tightened so that pulley 7 and conse-
quently the shaft E will be rotated, and by moving the rod or handle-bar into
its most rearward position the band is slackened and does not transmit motion
to the shaft E; the rod or handle bar may be locked in either of its two positions
by any convenient means so as to retain the shaft E in a state of either rotation
or rest.
m is a shoot for conducting or directing the finished treenails out of the machine
into any desired receptacle.
On the inner ends of the spindles c c¹ I secure chucks C (or these may be formed
directly upon the spindles c c¹) each consisting of a centre point and a series
of radial blades c of which the latter project from the face of the chuck some-
what less than the former.
Assuming the various parts of the machine to be in their proper starting
positions the operation of the apparatus may be described as follows: the
various cams &c being so timed and arranged as to cause the said parts to fulfil
their respective functions in substantially the order hereinafter set forth.
The hopper is charged with blanks X and rotary motion is imparted to the
shaft and consequently through the bands f, to the spindles ce¹ the latter being
caused to rotate at preferably a very high speed. The operator then draws
forward the rod or handle bar and thereby as previously explained, causes the
cam shaft E to be rotated whereby first through the cam e¹, the feed plate I¹ is
moved so as to present a blank X between the spindles c c¹ of which the latter,
under the influence of the cam e, moves towards the former so that the two centre
points engage with the two ends of the blank. At this stage, under the
influence of the spring and by reason of the continued rotation of the cam e¹
the feed plate I¹ is retracted so as to leave the blank supported by the centre
points and, as, by this time, the radial blades have been forced into the two
ends of the blank X the latter is rotated at the same speed as the spindles c c¹
At this juncture the blade j¹ under the influence of the cam e is moved up to the
blank and reduces it to the required shape and then the said blade and the
spindle return to their respective starting positions, leaving the then turned
treenail attached to one or other of the chucks C, and the hammer K is jerked
downwards by means of the tappet e³ so as to detach the said treenail from the
chuck and allow it to fall into the shoot m by which it is delivered into any
desired receptacle. The hammer K returns to its normal position directly after
striking the treenail and immediately thereafter a repetition of the foregoing
sequence of operations ensues.
The treenails thus formed are of very exactly uniform size and shape and are
thus not only manufactured much more rapidly and with less manual labour but
are of better quality, so far as relates to uniformity of size, than those heretofore
in the market.
I do not confine myself to the precise details of construction herein before set
forth as the same may be varied without departing from the essential features
of the invention for example although I have illustrated in the drawings a
machine wherein only the spindle c' is longitudinally moveable I may construct
the machine with both of the spindles e e¹ longitudinally moveable.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a machine for manufacturing treenails the combination with a centre
for engaging with the blocks to be operated upon, of mechanism for automatically
advancing and retracting or withdrawing the said centre substantially as herein-
before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. The combination with a machine for manufacturing treenails, of mechanism
for automatically feeding the blanks thereinto substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
3. In a machine for manufacturing treenails the combination with the cutting
blade, of mechanism for causing it to automatically approach and recede from the
blank in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the said blank sub-
stantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
4. In a machine for manufacturing treenails the combination with mechanism
for automatically feeding the blanks thereinto, of mechanism for automatically
causing the cutting blade to approach the blank and turn it to the desired shape
and then return to its starting position substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
5. In a machine for manufacturing treenails, automatically-operating hammer-
mechanism for detaching the treenails from the turning spindle substantially
as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
6. A machine for manufacturing treenails constructed and arranged or operating
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
. 1
T 1
R TR 1
1000