A NEW METHOD OF WORKING AND PLANING OF WOOD, MINERALS, AND METALS, BY MEANS OF MACHINERY
Year: 1832

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
BEATTIE SHANKLAND, of Liverpool Street, in the City of London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-third day of February, in the second year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alexander Beattie Shankland, my exors, admors, and assigns, His especial
licence, that I, the said Alexander Beattie Shankland, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Beattie Shankland, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also all His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "A NEW METHOD OF WORKING AND
PLANING OF WOOD, MINERALS, AND METALS, BY MEANS OF MACHINERY;" in which
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Alexander
Beattie Shankland, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what way or manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alexander Beattie Shankland, do hereby declare. that the nature of the
said Invention, and how the same is to be performed, is herein set forth and
explained, reference being made to the Drawing hereunto annexed (that
is to say):
;-
Fig. 1 represents a plan or bird's-eye view of a new combination of a
machinery applicable to the cutting or working wooden planks, boards, or
pieces of any suitable shape or form, in such a way that one of the edges may
be grooved in the same manner as is now performed with the plane or instru-
ment commonly called by joiners a plough, and at the same time the other
edge may have a projecting tongue produced on it, and by similar means,
while the upper surface of the same plank or board will be reduced to a
beautiful plane by a simultaneous operation of other parts of the machinery.
Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the same machinery.
Figure 3 represents a vertical section of Fig. 1 by a plane passing through
the line A, A.
In Fig. 1, B, B, B, B, represents the wooden frame of the machine.
a, a, a, a, represents a cast-iron bed or bearing, upon which are fixed the two
standards b, b. The revolving cutter c has two steel knives attached by it by
screws and nutts, which pass through parallel slits, as shewn at d, d, d, by s
which means they may be detached to be sharpened, and also adjusted when
they are to be fixed. Only one of the steel knives can be seen in this Figure,
but in Fig. 3 both may be seen in section.
Fig. 4 represents a vertical section of the machinery by a plane passing
through the dotted line C, C, in Figs. 1 and 2. This figure is given in order
to show the combination of parts that effect the adjustment of the revolving
cutter c, so as to suit it to operate upon boards or planks of various thick-
ness. b, b, are the two standards screwed to the bed or bearing a, a,
e, e, e, e, are sliding brasses, in which the pivots of the revolving cutter c
are placed and turn. These brasses may be dovetailed or fit into a recess
in each standard, and then they may be raised or lowered therein by means
of the screws f, f, which screws pass through the bed or bearing a, a,
and receive on the lower end of each a beveled wheel g, g, which being
geared into similar wheels h, h, fixed on the axis D, will be turned
either way thereby, when ever the axis D is moved, by a handle or winch
being applied to the squared end. Each of the screws f,f, has a collar
or rim formed upon it, which rests upon the upper surface of the bed a, a,
and the lower end is squared and tapped so as to fix the beveled wheel to it in
the usual manner. i represents a vertical section across the board or plank to be

page_text: placed, the lower part of the revolving cutter being just in contact with the
upper surface, which it will reduce to beautiful smoothness, as the cutter c
revolves and the plank or board is made to advance. E represents a pulley
fixed on the axis or lengthened pivot of the revolving cutter; this is turned by
a band which passes over a drum, from which motion is communicated to all
the moving parts of the machine. In Fig. 1, F represents the drum before
named placed beneath the frame of the machine. G is a band passing over the
band passing over the drum, and also over the pulley E, by which means the
revolving cutter is moved. H and I are two pair of drawing or feeding
rollers, the lower ones being placed immediately below the upper ones, upon
which the letters are placed. The board or plank to be planed, is placed
between those shewn at H first; and as they revolve by the means to be here-
after explained, they advance the board or plank forward, continually
presenting fresh portions to the revolving cutter c, and after the plank or
board has passed through the rollers H, it is finally drawn out of the machine
by the action of the rollers I. The two pairs of drawing rollers are set in
motion by the following means: J is a pulley shewn in dotted lines 3 inches
diameter, fixed on the axis of the drum F. L is a pulley 12 inches diameter
fixed on the axis-k, shown also in dotted lines. Fig. 2, 6 represents a pinion
fixed on the axis k; this pinion is geared into the carrier wheel M, which
revolves on a short axis fixed to the side of the wooden frame of the machine;
the cogs of the wheel M gear into and give motion to the two wheels N, N.
fixed on the axis of the two lower rollers, therefore when the wheels are set in
motion, the drawing rollers will also be made to revolve at a proper pace, and
the plank or board being between them, will be drawn through the machine as
fast as the revolving cutter reduces the upper surface to a proper degree of
evenness. To render the drawing rollers properly effective it is necessary
that they should press the plank or board firmly between them in order to
produce a sufficient degree of friction, and for this purpose the axis of the
upper rollers are each made to run in solid brasses, as shown at m and n,
Fig. 3, which brasses slide between parallel upright standards, seen at 0, 0, 0, 0.
The upper part of these sliding brasses have each a screw p jointed thereto,
; this bar
and upon the screw p two nutts are placed to adjust it to the bar
is jointed near O to one of the upright standards o, and the other end is
5 attached in the same manner to the bar P, the lower end of which is mortised
to permit the lever Q to pass through, and when a weight is hung upon it,
great pressure will be produced upon any board or plank in its passage
through or between the rollers, and also a corresponding friction (the under
roller being slightly fluted for that purpose) by which means any plank or

page_text: board will be carried through the machine, and should any considerable
variation be found in the thickness of any plank or board, the upper rollers
will yield to the inequality. R represents an iron frame made to slide on a ba
or portion of the metal bed or bearing a, a; this frame carries an upright
axis
9, which turns in a collar at the upper part, and on the conical point of a
screw at the bottom; on the upper end of the axis a cutter r is fixed, which
when it is turned by the pulleys, and the band S, will form a tongue on the
edge of any board or plank in its passage through the machine, and also make
the edges straight.
Fig. 5 represents a vertical section of the machine by a plane passing
through the dotted line T, T, in Fig. 2. In Fig. 5, two such frames and cutters
are shewn at R and U, one being used to produce a tongue and the other
a corresponding groove, as may be observed by a section of the plank or board
i, shewn in this Figure. The grooving cutter t and frame U are fixed and
kept stationary upon the bed or bearing a, a, but the frame R is capable of
being adjusted so as to suit the width of any board or plank by means of the
screw u, which is tapped into and passed through the back part of the frame
R, the plain end being fixed between collars in the usual manner, the extreme
or outer end being squared to receive a key or winch by which it may be
turned so as to adjust the frame and cutter at pleasure. It may perhaps be
superfluous to state that each cutter is driven by a band passing over the drum
F, as before described in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Fig. 1 v represents a small cylindrical roller, each end of which enters a
small sliding block, which may be raised or lowered the screws w, w.
This roller is placed near the revolving cutter c where it serves to keep down
the end of the plank or board until it advances to the feeding rollers I, V, V,
and W, W, are two fixed guides screwed down on the top of the
wooden frame of the machine; these serve to guide the plank or board through
the machine in a straight line; each plank or board, when it is first placed
in the machine, being pressed close to the edge V, V, by the spring X, which
may be adjusted to give any degree of pressure when it is fixed by the nutt
shewn on the arc H, H, H, H, H, H, are projecting from one side thereof.
The edge of the guide W, W, is rebated, by which means the edge of the
board or plank i, after it has passed by the drawing rollers I, will be kept from
springing upwards by passing under the projecting ledge so formed as may be
seen by the dotted lines near W, W, and the adjusting guide Y being also
fixed parallel thereto by the hand screw x, x, will likewise prevent any
deviation sideways. Fig. 6 represents a side elevation of the frame R, and
also the spindle 7 with a cutter r upon a larger scale, by means of which the.

page_text: construction of the parts will be more plainly seen. Fig. 7 is a plan of the same
object. Fig. 8 shews a plan and side view of the knife or cutter that is used.
for producing a tongue on the edge of any board or plank; and Fig. 9 is a similar
knife or cutter made suitable for producing a groove on the edge of any board
or plank. The dotted lines in Fig. 9 will shew that if any given curve be
formed on the extreme edge of the cutting knife, mouldings may be produced by
the same apparatus, and with the greatest facility. Fig. 10 represents a front
elevation of the plane cutter c, upon a larger scale, in order to shew more plainly
the way in which the cutting knife is fixed by the screw nutts shewn at d, d, d.
Fig. 11 shews an end view, and Fig. 12 shews the plane cutting knife detached,
the three slits through which the screws pass being seen at d, d, d. If the edge
of this cutter be formed into a curve or curves, a single moulding or a series
may be formed on the surface of the same plank or board, which may either be
used singly, or sawn into separate mouldings, as may be found most convenient.
Fig. 13 represents a plane cutter, having three cutting knives which may, in
some cases, be found necessary. Where two or more cutting knives are used,
as at Fig. 11, it will be found necessary to place the extreme edge of each knife
exactly at equal distance from the centre of the axis upon which they revolve,
so as to make each knife effect an equal cut; this may be effected when the
cutter out of the standards in which it revolves, and with proper apparatus,
but when it is fixed in the machine and the knives become worn by repeated
sharpening, it may be effected in the following manner: c, c, are two points
formed on the cutter, equally distant from the centre of the axis upon which
the cutter revolves; it will be seen that the back ends of each knife, while new,
abut against these parts, as a bearing; z shews a gauge, the end of which
bears against the same part, and the extreme edge of the knife just touches
the stock of the same tool at z. Should the knife become worn, and conse-
quently not so broad, the edge may still be made to assume the same identical
place, provided it be brought at each end in contact with the stock of the
gauge, in which case each edge of the two knives will be everywhere equally
distant and paralel from the axis of the cutter. No. 1, in Fig. 9, represents
a knife with a straight edge, which, when fixed on one side of the cutter frame,
Fig. 7, near r 1, is used to cut or shoot the projecting edges on the side of a
board that is grooved. No. 2, Fig. 9, is a knife used for the purpose of
cutting out the groove; therefore, when these knives are placed in the cutter
frame r, care must be taken that the extreme edge of No. 1, and the bottom
of the projecting part of No, 2, be fixed so that the line or part 3, 3, may be
nearer the centre or axis of the spindle than the edge 4, 4, of No. 1, by which
means the knife that cuts out the groove will act completely clear of the

page_text: edges that have been made straight by the edge of the knife No. 1. The position
of these parts will be better understood by examining the plan of the grooving
cutter in Fig. 7.
Fig. 8 represents the knives that are used to cut or form the tongue on the
edge of any plank or board, and, from what has been just stated, it will be
easily conceived that the single straight edge of No. 1 is employed to cut or
shoot the external edge of the tongue, while the knife No. 2, with two edges,
is employed in cutting away two portions of the board, and thereby forming
the tongue. The mode of setting or fixing them in the cutter frame to which
they belong will require precautions similar to those described, by which means
the extreme edge of the tongue will be preserved entire. I shall also observe
that great care should be taken in both making and fixing the knives, so that
when the tongue is formed on one board, and it is placed in the groove of
another, the smoothed or plane surfaces may coincide, and when so combined
produce an even and uniform surface; this of course must be effected by
making and fixing the knifes with great care, and also in adjusting the cutter
frames with equal accuracy. It must be remembered, that the knives employed
to cut the grooves should be fixed in the stationary cutter frame U, and
consequently that edge of the plank or board that is best suited for that purpose
must be placed on that side of the machine in its passage through.
Fig. 14 represents a front and side elevation of the solid brass in which one
of the upper drawing rollers turn, and also the screw that elevates it, with the
adjusting and fixing nutts placed thereon upon a larger scale.
I shall now describe the mode or method of using the machine, which is
as follows:-When the planing cutter c has been adjusted to the thickness of
the boards to be planed, grooved, and tongued, and the grooving and tongueing
frames R and U are properly adjusted and fixed to the width, a board or plank
must be passed into the machine and made to enter between the two feeding
rollers H, and, if a band be applied from any suitable power to the pulley Z,
it will set the machinery in motion, and the plank or board will be advanced.
forward until it meets the edges of the planing cutter c, and these will then
begin to plane or render the upper surface beautifully smooth and even, and
as it passes on, by the action of the rollers H it will be forced between the
grooving and tongueing cutters, which will produce the groove and tongue by
the means and in the way previously described, the edges being reduced to
perfect straightness at the same time. The rollers I finally drawing the board
out of the range of the cutters, and then passing under the ledge of the
guide W, W, it must then be removed away by hand. Before the first
plank or board has completely passed through the rollers H another

page_text: should be pressed up close against the end, so as to be ready to enter the
rollers, and in this way the machine must be supplied whenever it is put in
action, the fluting made on the lower drawing rollers never failing to carry
the planks or boards through, provided the upper rollers are properly adjusted
and sufficient weight be applied on the levers QQ; and as cutting tools vary
much in their quality, and also the materials to be operated upon vary also in
their quality, no general rules can be laid down when it will be necessary to
sharpen the tools; that subject must, therefore, be left to the judgment of the
workman who is to superintend the working of the machine. The propor-
tions of the various parts herein shewn are such as are most suitable for
general purposes; nevertheless they may be varied considerably as particular
circumstances may be found to require. Machinery of this description may
be employed to form mouldings on certain stones, as, for instance, the Bath
stone, or other suitable kinds of stone that can be worked into form by the action
of a cutting tool applied in the peculiar manner herein described; in which
case the stone must be laid upon a moveable plane or frame of wood that is long
enough to pass between the drawing rollers, and by that means advance the
stone that is laid upon it under the revolving cutter, and when that agent has
effected its purpose, namely, that of forming the mouldings, the weight
attached to the lever Q must be lifted, the stone removed, and the wooden
frame being returned to its original position, must be again supplied with fresh
stone for a repetition of the operation. I shall also observe that for this pur-
pose one pair of drawing rollers will be sufficient, which may be placed either
before or behind the cutter as may be most convenient; but the advance of
the stone and the direction of the motion of the revolving cutter must be in
opposite directions, that circumstance forming one of the principal features of
this Invention; for when the motion of the cutter and the object to be planed
or cut are made to move in the same direction, it will frequently happen that
the cutter will have the effect of advancing the board, plank or other material
forward by jerks, owing to knots or other accidental circumstances occurring;
but when the cut is made to meet the motion of the material to be planed,
it will have the effect of detaining it until the operation is properly effected.
Brass, copper, zinc and other soft metals may have mouldings formed upon
them by the same means, provided the revolving cutters are formed of a proper
curvature, and the angles of the cutting knives are made sufficiently obtuse
for the purpose, this being a circumstance best known to workmen, and when
straight kuives are used, plane surfaces of such metals may be also produced,
care being taken to let the advance of the metal be proportionate to the
action of the revolving cutter, and also to the nature of the material to be

page_text: operated upon. In the Drawing the same letters applied to designate the
same parts wherever they can be shewn. And I hereby declare that this
Invention consists :-
Firstly, in the peculiar application and combination of a revolving cutter,
as shewn at c in the various Figures of the Drawing, and also in combining
therewith drawing rollers in such a manner that, when they are employed to
draw forward any board, plank, piece of stone or metal to be either planed or
have mouldings formed thereon, it shall be in a direction to meet the action
of the revolving cutter.
Secondly, in applying and combining therewith revolving cutters, shewn
at rr, in various Figures in the Drawing, which, by their peculiar form and
action, will groove and tongue the edges of any plank or board, or, if neces-
sary, form mouldings thereon, such side cutters being equally applicable for
producing straight edges if plain knives be used, their motion being also
opposite to that of the plank or board upon which they are made to operate;
such application and combination producing greater advantages than can be
effected by any means now made use of.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Beattie Shankland, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-two.
A. B. (L.S.) SHANKLAND.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of August,
in the year of our Lord 1832, the aforesad Alexander Beattie Shankland
came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.