Improvements in Automatic Lathes or Machines for Turning or Shaping Wood and other Materials.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Automatic Lathes or Machines for Turning or
Shaping Wood and other Materials.
(A communication from W. P. PREBLE, of Havemeyer Building, New York,
U.S.A., Patent Expert).
I, JULIUS HERMANN WEISS, of 9, Endsleigh Street, in the County of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to that class of turning lathes known as automatic
lathes. This term is applied to lathes in which the mechanism having once
been set up to produce a specific article will continue to produce that article
from the material fed to it without depending upon the skill of the operator at
each particular stage of the operation.
The improved automatic lathe is intended for use chiefly in the production of
knobs, buttons, rosettes and similar ornamental or fancy articles which can be
cut in rapid succession from a long bar or piece of wood, metal, bone or other
desired material. As generally employed, these articles are separated from cach
other as fast as produced; but this separation need not take place in the machine
and in that event, the machine can be utilized in making what is known as
twist work, that is to say, work in which each successive shape begins at a
different point of the circumference of the bar, so that the strip of unsevered
shapes looks as if it had been forcibly twisted, giving a cork-screw or spiral
effect to the general outline.
The improved automatic lathe, however, can also be used in making balusters,
chair-legs, table-legs, posts and other articles of considerable size and length and
when so used, is capable of producing a great variety of fancy shapes not so
readily attainable on the ordinary baluster lathe. The work, however, in this
latter case is not so quickly produced as by the baluster lathe, owing to the
fact that in the baluster lathe, the surface of the baluster along its whole length
is acted upon simultaneously, while in my automatic lathe, the different parts are
operated upon successively.
To accomplish these objects, the improved lathe is provided with a cutter
carriage mounted upon a reciprocating bed-plate and with a chuck carriage, also
mounted upon a reciprocating bed-plate, and operating mechanism for impart-
ing a proportionate number of reciprocating movements to the chuck carriage, as
compared with the revolution of the material carried thereby, in order to pro-
duce what is known as polygonal work.
In selecting these devices, the ordinary form of bed-plates, both for the.
chuck carriage and cutter carriage, may be taken and the operating mechanism
for giving the proportionate reciprocation to the chuck carriage may be the
multiple gear heretofore employed for that purpose.
The changes which are introduced according to this invention are chiefly.
first, making the cutter carriage advance and retreat automatically instead of
under the guidance of the operator; second, so constructing the chuck carriage

page_text: that the revolving material is fed lengthwise continuously or intermittently
instead of having simply a lateral reciprocation; and third, employing a single
cutter or set of cutters to which succeeding portions of material are presented
instead of using a series of cutters, all of which act simultaneously.
The invention consists, therefore, in an automatic turning lathe which is pro-
vided with a chuck carriage mounted upon a reciprocating bed-plate and so
constructed
the
as to present succeeding portions of the material to
revolving cutter; mechanism for imparting a proportionate reciprocation to
the said chuck carriage laterally to said cutter and a continuous revolution to
the material carried by the said chuck carriage; a revolving cutter mounted in
a suitable cutter carriage, and mechanism for automatically reciprocating the
sliding bed-plate upon which the said cutter carriage is mounted to bring the
said cutter, as required, into and out of contact with the material to be cut.
According to one construction the lathe or machine comprises a framework
upon which the moving parts are mounted. A cone driving pulley is mounted
on a shaft (hereinafter called the driving shaft) journalled in brackets pro-
jecting from the framework and driven by belting from a suitable source of
power. The shaft carries near its outer end a small toothed wheel which gears
with a large toothed wheel, which for distinction I will call C, carried by a
spindle, which turns in the outer end of an arm mounted upon or about a cam-
shaft which is journalled in the framework. The cam-shaft carries at one end a
large toothed wheel which gears with and is driven by the toothed wheel C thus
forming a multiple or change gear system of which the intermediate toothed
wheel C is preferably made the changeable wheel, although either or both of
the other toothed wheels could be removed and others of different size sub-
stituted, if preferred. It will be readily understood that by predetermining the
respective number of teeth of the different wheels in this multiple gear system, a
single revolution of the driving shaft may be converted into as many or as few
revolutions of the cam-shaft as may be desired.
The chuck carriage is caused to reciprocate in unison with the revolution
of the cam-shaft by motion communicated for example as follows:-
At the inner end of the said shaft is a cam which revolves with it and by
reason of its irregular surface swings the lower end of a rocking arm rigidly
attached to a rock-shaft which is journalled in the framework.
Provided at each end of the rock-shaft are short crank arms that are con-
nected by cranks with the under side of a movable hed-plate upon which the
chuck carriage is mounted. This bed-plate moves back and forth upon a track
secured to the framework in the manner usual to sliding bed-plates and will
obviously receive one to and fro movement for every revolution of the cam-shaft.
The chuck carriage is so mounted upon and carried by the movable bed-plate
that the wood or other material to be cut, which is carried by the carriage.
inay be fed forward as desired to bring a fresh portion of the wood into contact
with or into the path of the revolving cutter either continuously or intermittently.
as may be required by the particular character of product desired. I will now
describe suitable means for accomplishing this result.
The chuck carriage comprises chiefly two discs, one of which is fastened upon
the carriage near its forward end and carries a chuck. The other or second disc
is movably mounted on the chuck carriage near the rear and is adapted to slide for-
ward and backward upon a track by means of a rack-clutch in the underside of the
second disc and turned by a worm-screw which is journalled in the chuck carriage.
Rotation is imparted to the worm-screw as follows:-
The aforesaid driving shaft carries a bevelled gear wheel which meshes with
a bevelled gear wheel on one end of a transverse shaft journalled in hearings on
the framework. On the other end of this shaft is a toothed wheel which gears
with a toothed wheel on a shorter transverse shaft and this wheel in turn gears
with another toothed wheel on a third transverse shaft. These toothed wheels
constitute another system of multiple or change gear and have for their function

page_text: the production of a large variety of feeding of the feed-screw. The third men-
tioned shaft carries a worm which meshes with a worm-wheel on the feed-screw.
It is obvious that when the rack-clutch is allowed to come in contact with the
feed-screw, which is done by moving a handle, the aforesaid second disc will
be fed constantly toward the first mentioned disc without interfering with the
revolution of the chuck and tail stock or the piece of wood or other material
carried thereby.
The revolution of the piece of wood or other material is or may be effected
from the driving shaft as follows:-A bevelled toothed wheel fast on the driving
shaft gears with a bevelled toothed wheel upon a transverse worm-shaft carrying
a worm which engages a worm-wheel. This worm-wheel is mounted upon the
sleeve of the foremost chuck which is supported by and turns in the first-men-
tioned stationary disc or plate and constitutes what may be called the tail-stock
of the chuck. The other part of the chuck, which may be called the chuck
proper, is rotatably mounted in the second disc or plate which, as before explained,
is fed forward with any desired variation of speed by the feed-screw. As the
end of the wood emerges from the tail-stock, it comes in position to be acted
upon by the revolving cutter.
At the forward end of the lathe is the usual hand-wheel fixed upon a longi-
tudinal shaft which runs lengthwise under the table and cutter carriage, is
journalled in boxes mounted thereunder, and carries two worm-wheels. One of
these worm-wheels is turned when desired by means of a hand wheel fixed upon
a transverse worm-shaft journalled in boxes projecting from the framework.
This worm-shaft carries a worm which, situated immediately under the worm
wheel, gears therewith. The two hand wheels are used, when occasion requires,
to move the cutter carriage by hand.
The other of the two worm-wheels on the longitudinal shaft is turned by a
worm on the transverse worm-shaft used for rotating the worm wheel on the
aforesaid chuck sleeve. This second worm-wheel is used when the reciprocation
of the cutter carriage is to be effected automatically. The rotation of the longi-
tudinal shaft is communicated by any of the usual methods, such as a cam or
rock-arm, to the cutter carriage, where it is transformed into a reciprocating
movement. These devices are so well understood as to require no further
description.
The revolving cutter is mounted upon a cutter arbor which may be screw-
threaded and is arranged longitudinally and journalled in bearings fixed upon
the cutter carriage bed-plate which is adapted to move back and forth on a track
or guide-way either automatically or under the control of the operator, as desired.
A high speed of revolution independent of the motion of the other
parts of the lathe is imparted to the cutter arbor by a pulley fixed
upon one end thereof and driven by belting from a suitable source of power.
If desired, the lathe may be provided with an automatic stop by means of
which the belting is thrown off the cone driving pulley, or the machine may be
stopped in some other manner when a bar or stick of material is exhausted.
This, however, is not necessary as there being no longer anything for the cutter
to act upon, a few revolutions more or less before the machine is stopped by
hand will do no harm.

page_text: Improvements in Automatie Lathes or Machines for Turning or
Shaping Wood and other Materials.
(A communication from W. P. PREBLE, of Havemeyer Building, New York,
U.S.A., Patent Expert).
I, JULIUS HERMANN WEISS, of 9, Endsleigh Street, in the County of London,
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:-
This invention relates to that class of turning lathes known as automatic
lathes. This term is applied to lathes in which the mechanism having once
been set up to produce a specific article will continue to produce that article
from the material fed to it without depending upon the skill of the operator at
cach particular stage of the operation.
The improved automatic lathe hereinafter described is intended for use chiefly
in the production of knobs, buttons, rosettes and similar ornamental or fancy
articles which can be cut in rapid succession from a long bar or piece of wood,
bone or other desired material (hereinafter referred to as wood). Usually these
articles are separated from each other as fast as produced, but this separation
need not take place in the machine and in that event the machine can be utilized
in making what is known as twist work, that is to say, work in which each
successive shape begins at a different point of the circumference of the bar or
piece of wood, so that the length of unsevered shapes looks as if it had been
forcibly twisted, giving a cork-screw or spiral effect to the general outline.
The improved automatic lathe, however, can also be used in making balusters,
chair-legs, table-legs, posts and otlier articles of considerable size and length, and
when so used is capable of producing a great variety of fancy shapes not so
readily attainable on the ordinary baluster lathe. The work, however, in this
latter case is not so quickly produced as by the baluster lathe, owing to the
fact that in the baluster lathe, the surface of the baluster along its whole length
is acted upon simultaneously, while in the improved automatic lathe, the different
parts are operated upon successively.
To accomplish these objects, the improved lathe is provided with a cutter
carriage having a reciprocating bed-plate, with a chuck carriage also mounted
upon a reciprocating bed-plate, and with operating mechanism for imparting
a proportionate number of reciprocating movements to the chuck carriage, as
compared with the revolution of the material carried thereby, in order to produce
what is known as polygonal work. In selecting these devices, the ordinary form
of bed-plates, both for the chuck carriage and cutter carriage, may be taken, and
the operating mechanism for giving the proportionate reciprocation to the chuck
carriage may be the multiple or change gear heretofore employed for that purpose.
The changes which are introduced according to this invention are chiefly,
first, making the cutter carriage advance and retreat automatically instead of
under the guidance of the operator; second, so constructing the chuck carriage
that the revolving material is fed lengthwise continuously or intermittently
instead of having simply a lateral reciprocation; and third, employing a single
cutter or set of cutters to which succeeding portions of material are presented
instead of using a series of cutters, all of which act simultaneously.
The invention consists, therefore, in an automatic turning lathe which is pro-
vided with a chuck carriage mounted upon a reciprocating bed-plate and so

page_text: revolving cutter; mechanism for imparting a proportionate reciprocation to
the said chuck carriage laterally to the said cutter and a continuous revolution to
the material carried by the said chuck carriage; a revolving cutter mounted in
a suitable cutter carriage, and mechanism for automatically reciprocating the
sliding bed-plate upon which the said cutter carriage is mounted to bring the
said cutter, as required, into and out of contact with the material to be cut.
The accompanying illustrative drawings show a lathe or machine constructed
according to this invention,
Fig. 1 being a side elevation, of what is commonly called the right side.
Fig. 2a side elevation of what is commonly called the left side;
Fig. 3 a plan or top view; and
Fig. 4 an end view.
A is the frame of the machine upon which the moving parts are mounted. B is
the driving pulley fixed upon a driving shaft a journalled in brackets pro-
jecting from the framework and driven by belting from a suitable source of
power not shown. The driving shaft a carries near its outer end a small toothed
wheel e which meshes with a toothed wheel C carried by a spindle a', which turns
in the outer end of an arm mounted to turn upon or about a cam-shaft a but
normally fixed to the frame of the machine, as shown.
The cam-shaft, which is journalled in the frame A, carries at one end a
toothed wheel C which gears with and is driven by the toothed wheel C, thus
forming a multiple or change gear system of which the intermediate toothed
wheel C is preferably made the changeable wheel, although either or both of
the other toothed wheels could be removed and others of different size substituted,
if preferred. It will be readily understood that by predetermining the respective
number of teeth of the different wheels in this multiple or change gear system, a
single revolution of the driving shaft a can be converted into as many or as
few revolutions of the cami-shaft a² as may be desired.
The chuck carriage is caused to reciprocate in unison with the revolution of
the cam-shaft a² by motion communicated for example as follows:-
At the inner end of the cam shaft is a cam 1) which revolves with it and by
reason of its irregular surface oscillates or swings the lower end of a rocking
arm E which is fixed to a rock-shaft a journalled in the framework A and is kept
in contact with the cam by a spring. F, F, are short crank arms fixed to the
respective ends of the said rock-shaft and connected by rods F to the under
side of a movable bed-plate G upon which the chuck carriage H is mounted. The
bed-plate moves backward and forward upon a track or guideway secured to
the framework in the manner usual to sliding bed-plates and will obviously
receive one to-and-fro movement for every revolution of the cam-shaft a².
The chuck carriage H is so mounted upon and carried by the bed-plate G that
the piece of wood to be cut which is held by the carriage, can be fed forward
lengthways as desired to bring a fresh portion of the wood into contact with
or into the path of the revolving cutter, either continuously or intermittently,
as may be required by the particular character of product desired. Suitable
means for accomplishing this result are as follows:-
-
The chuck carriage comprises two discs f, f', one of which, viz. f, is fastened
upon the carriage near its forward end and carries the chuck h. The other
disc f is movably mounted on the chuck carriage near the rear end and is adapted
to be moved forward and backward upon a longitudinal track by means of a
clutch consisting for example of a half nut, adapted to be engaged with a
feed screw journalled in the chuck carriage. Rotation is imparted to the
feed screw as follows:-
The driving shaft a carries a bevelled wheel which gears. with a bevelled
wheel on one end of a transverse shaft a journalled in bearings 62 on the frame-
work A. On the other end of the shaft a is a toothed wheel C which gears with
a toothed wheel C carried by a shaft a8, which also carries a toothed wheel C
which gears with a toothed wheel C7 on a shaft a³. These three wheels C5, C6, C7,

page_text: constitute a second system of multiple or change gear and have for their function
to produce a great variety of feeding of the feed-screw ft. The shaft carries
a worm which meshes with a worm-wheel S on the feed-screw f. It is obvious
that when the clutch is allowed to come in contact with the feed-screw f',
which is done by moving a handle f, the disc f¹ will be fed constantly toward
the disc f without interfering with the revolution of the chuck and tail stock h¹ h
respectively or the piece of wood R carried thereby.
The rotation of the piece of wood R is effected from the driving shaft a as
follows: A bevelled wheel y fast on the driving shaft a gears with a bevelled
wheel g fixed upon the shaft i carrying a worm which engages with a worm-
wheel I. This worm-wheel is fixed upon the sleeve of the chuck which is
supported by and turns in the stationary disc or plate f and constitutes what
may be called the tail-stock of the chuck. The other part of the chuck, which
may be called the chuck proper, is rotatably mounted in the other disc or plate fl
which, as hereinbefore explained, is fed forward with any desired variation of
speed by the feed-screw ft. As the end of the wood emerges from the tail-
stock h, it comes in position to be acted upon by the revolving cutter.
Kis the usual hand-wheel at the forward end of the lathe; it is fixed upon a
longitudinal shaft a¹0 which runs lengthwise under the table of the machine and
is journalled in bearings below the table and carries two worm-wheels k, k¹, each
of which is adapted to be put in and out of engagement with the said shaft. The
worm-wheel can be turned when desired by means of a hand wheel P fixed
upon a worm-shaft a journalled in bearings + projecting from the frame A.
This worm-shaft all carries a worm, not shown which, situated immediately
under the worm k, gears therewith. The two hand wheels K and 1' are used,
when occasion requires, respectively for moving the cutter carriage by hand
quickly and slowly. The other worm-wheel is turned by a worm on the
worm-shaft and is mounted upon the worm-shaft a extending below the bed-
plate of the cutter carriage M. This worm-wheel A is used when the reciproca-
tion of the cutter carriage is to be automatic. The rotation of the shaft a⁰ is
communicated by any of the usual methods, such as a cam or rock-arm, to the cutter
carriage, where it is transformed into a reciprocating movement of such carriage.
These devices are so well understood that fer the sake of clearness in under-
standing the other devices which are not so usual, they have been omitted from
the drawings.
Lis the revolving cutter fixed upon the cutter arbor 7. This cutter arbor is
journaled in bearings m fixed upon the bed-plate of the cutter carriage M which
is mounted to move back and forth on a track or guideway either automatically,
or under the control of the operator, as may be desired, and as herein before
described.
A high speed of revolution independent of the motion of the other parts of
the lathe is imparted to the cutter arbor by a pulley N mounted upon one end
thereof and driven by belting from a source of power not shown.
If desired, the lathe may be provided with an automatic stop by means of
which the belting will be thrown off the driving pulley B, or the machine stopped
in some other manner, when a length of wood is exhausted. This, however, is
not necessary as there being no longer anything for the cutter to act upon, a few
revolutions more or less before the machine is stopped by hand will do no harm.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. An automatic turning lathe comprising a chuck carriage mounted upon a
reciprocating bed-plate and adapted to present succeeding longitudinal portions
of the material to be cut to the revolving cutter, mechanism for imparting a
proportionate reciprocation to the said chuck carriage laterally to the said cutter
and a continuous revolution to the material carried by the said chuck carriage,

page_text: a revolving cutter mounted in a suitable cutter carriage, and mechanism for
automatically reciprocating the sliding bed-plate upon which the said cutter
carriage is mounted to bring the said cutter as required into and out of contact
with the material to be cut, substantially as described.
2. The improved automatic turning lathe constructed, arranged and operating
substantially as described and shown.