IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING MOULDINGS IN WOOD
Year: 1865

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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING MOULDINGS IN
WOOD." A communication from abroad by John Bartlett Winslow, of
the Civ
TT
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 27th November 1865.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING
MOULDINGS IN WOOD," to be as follows:-
One object of this Invention is to provide for the cutting of mouldings of
any curvature, simple or compound, and another object is to provide for the
cutting of either curved or straight mouldings in the same machine.
In carrying out the Invention the material is supported and held up to
and fed past the cutters by means of a feed roller arranged on the opposite
side to that in which the moulding is cut by a rotating cutter or cutters, the
form of whose edge or edges is the counterpart of the required transverse
profile of the face of the moulding; and the Invention consists, firstly, in the use
of guides constructed in the form of cams, and which operate on or hold down

page_text: the wood or material, and in relation to which the feed roll is made self-
adjusting by means of springs or their equivalents. By using this arrange-
ment of parts mouldings can be cut of any curvature in planes perpendicular
to the axis of the rotating cutters. Among the various kinds of the mouldings
to which this feature of the Invention is adaptable may be mentioned the
cutting of mouldings on oval frames.
The Invention consists, secondly, in the adaptation of fixed horizontal but
adjustable guides to guide the material in cutting mouldings of any curvature
or curvatures; these guides act in planes parallel with the axis of the rotating
cutters and at right angles to the line traversed by the material in passing
through the machine. The action of the springs which are employed to make
the feed roller self-adjusting in its pressure of the material against the guides
on its face while cutting mouldings with a curvature in planes perpendicular
to the axis of the rotating cutters is transferred to the guides or holding down
rollers by means of vertical rods or wires so as to render the springs self-
adjusting while they press the material toward the feed roller in cutting straight
mouldings.
The Invention further consists in providing for the longitudinal adjustment
of the rotating cutter spindle in relation to the guide or guides of the machine
by the use of a sliding journal box and adjusting screw, so that such adjust-
ment can be effected while the machine is in operation.
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 26th May 1866.
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.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, 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 1, 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

page_text: lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING MOULDINGS IN WOOD," being
a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
One object of this Invention is to provide for the cutting of mouldings of
any curvature, simple or compound, and another object is to provide for the
cutting of either curved or straight mouldings in the same machine.
In carrying out the Invention the material is supported and held up to
and fed past the cutters by means of a feed roller arranged on the opposite
side to that in which the moulding is cut by a rotating cutter or cutters, the
form of whose edge or edges is the counterpart of the required transverse
profile of the face of the moulding; and the Invention consists, firstly, in
certain novel constructions and arrangements of guides which hold down the
material, and in relation to which the feed roll is made self-adjusting by means
of springs or their equivalents. By using this arrangement of parts, mould-
ings can be cut of any curvature in planes perpendicular to the axis of the
rotating cutters. Among the various kinds of the mouldings to which this
feature of the Invention is adaptable may be mentioned the cutting of
mouldings on oval frames.
The Invention consists, secondly, in a novel system and arrangement of
fixed horizontal but adjustable guides for guiding the material while mouldings
of any curvature or curvatures are being cut; these guides act in planes.
parallel to the axis of the rotating cutters and at right angles to the line
traversed by the material in passing through the machine. The action of the
springs which are employed to make the feed roller self-adjusting in its pressure
of the material against the guides on its face while cutting mouldings with a
curvature or curvatures in planes perpendicular to the axis of the rotating
cutters is transferred to the guides or holding-down rollers by means of vertical

page_text: rods or wires so as to render the springs self-adjusting while they press the
material toward the feed roller in cutting straight mouldings."
The Invention further consists in providing for the longitudinal adjustment
of the rotating cutter spindle in relation to the guide or guides of the
machine, so that such adjustment can be effected while the machine is in
oj eration.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine for
cutting mouldings having a curvature in planes perpendicular to the axis
of the rotary cutters; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a
longitudinal view of the cutter shaft and feed roll, and parts of the machine
near the same, shewing also a portion of the framing of the machine in
section.
A, A¹, is the main framing of the machine; a is the main pulley to which
the power is applied;. 6, the main shaft, upon which is secured the pulley c,
upon which runs the belt d, which through the pulley e turns the shaft f, upon
which are secured, the rotary cutters g, the cutting edges of which have a
profile, the counterpart of the transverse profile of the face of the moulding
desired. The fluted feed roll h is driven from the main shaft through the
pulley i, the belt j, the pulley k, the spur gears k¹, P, the shaft l, the two
bevilled gear wheels m and n, the upright shaft o, and the tangent screw p
working into the worm gear q, which is attached to the inside of the feed roll h.
Against the lower pointed extremities of a couple of stationary. cam-like
guides r, r, the upper edge of the mouldings is pressed (while passing through
the machine) by the action of the feed roll h. These guides are fitted to
stationary pins r³, 1, attached to vertically adjustable slotted plates 17, 17,
bolted to the upper part A¹ of the framing, and are secured to the pins by set
screws,
It may be observed by inspection of Fig. 2 of the Drawings that the form
or blank on which the moulding is to be cut being first sawn into the required
sweep (be it either circular, elliptical, serpentine, or even straight) in being
run through the machine may be pressed by the upward action of the feed
roll into contact with the lower pointed extremities of the cam-like guides r,
and thus has its bearings at and is guided by three points only to wet the
lower extremities of the cams, and the apex of the feed roll. The form once
entered passes through the machine, and by constantly presenting its upper
surface in the same relative position to the rotary cutters 9 has cut upon it a
moulding the transverse profile of which coincides with the form of the cutting
edge of the cutters, and thus the machine is adapted to the curvature of the
forms, in planes perpendicular to the axis of the rotary cutters.

page_text: For working very thin stuff it may be sometimes desirable to shape the
guides r, r, as shewn in the detail front view, Fig. 4, which enables their
points of contact to be brought nearer under the rotary cutters and holds the
form somewhat better while passing through the machine, as a serpentine or
curved form or blank in passing through this machine will from the nature of
its shape require a slight but almost constantly varying relative position of the
three. points of contact just considered. The position of the two cams or
guides r, r, , is once fixed and stationary, the feed roll h is made with a constant
automatic vertical adjustment adapting itself to the thickness or curvature of
the form or blank, and with a constant upward tendency or pressure while the
machine remains in this condition, and this is done as follows, viz. :-The
feed roll his set in a head or box t, which is fixed to the top of the two
vertical sliding columns u, u, which move in four projections or bosses v, v, v¹, v¹,
fixed upon the frame w, which is secured to the front framework A of the
machine. Upon the two sliding columns u are loosely circumscribed the spiral
springs, and the four loose short concentric sliding collars y and z, arranged
above and below the springs. Thus the upper cylinders y being depressed so
as to bring an adequate amount of strain upon the springs x, and fixed in that
position by the set screws 1, 1, the lower edge of the springs resting (ultimately)
upon the lower set of the bosses v, the evident action of the springs is to give
a constant upward pressure to the sliding columns u and the head or box t in
which the feed roll is set and revolves. To enable the upright shaft o to
rise and fall with the head of the feed roll, and independently of the bevel
gear n, which is necessarily in a constant fixed position with reference to the
gear m and the arbor 7, the upright shaft is constructed with a vertical
groove 2 in one side of it, into which projects a pin or stud from the inner
surface of the hub of the gear wheel n, which is otherwise louse on the shaft,
and by which means the shaft o, although impelled to its revolutions by the
action of the wheel n is allowed to rise and fall entirely independent of it.
A foot treadle 3 is affixed by a pin at 4 to a cross head 5, which is affixed to
the sliding columns u, and is retained in any desired position by the set screws
6, whereby the sliding columns u and the parts attached thereto are prevented
from rising or being carried by the springs any higher than is permitted by
the two studs 7, which project from the stationary framework A of the
machine. When it is desired to let down the feed roll to put in a new form
or blauk, or to stop the action of the machine for any purpose, the foot of the
operator is placed upon either extremity of the treadle, and the weight of his
body effects the object desired; the stud 7 on the opposite side of the machine
serving as the fulcrum of the treadle. For working forms having short

page_text: curves which are alternately salient and re-entrant or otherwise much varying
a single guide * of inverted arched form, as shewn in the front detail view,
Figure 5, may be substituted for the two guides r, r, which is fitted to the
two pins r, r. This guide has an opening 25 for the cutters, as shewn in
the plan view, Figure 6, and the parts on opposite sides of this opening form
bearings for the work, thus supporting it on opposite sides of the cutters as
well as in front and behind the same, and in that respect having an advantage
over the two guides r, r.
To enable the machine to accommodate itself to a form curved also in a
direction transversely opposite to its vertical curvature before considered the
machine is fitted with the back guide 8 formed as exhibited in Fig. 3 of the
Drawings, and in the plan view, Fig. 7, with the convex face 9, against which
the back of the form is naturally pressed in its passage through the machine
by the action of the cutters, and it passes through in correct position either
automatically or with a very slight directing movement by the hand of the
operator in passing some of the sharpest portions of the convex curves, and
thus by the combined points of contact, viz., the feed roll and the lower
extremities of the stationary cam-like guides r, r, and the convex face of the
back guide 8, serpentine forms of almost any intricacy when once entered
are guided through the machine either automatically or with a very slight
directing motion by the hand of the operator, and a moulding of any desired
form is cut upon the exterior edge by the rotary cutters, which was the
practical end aimed at and accomplished in this Invention. For work in
which the shape of the cutters is not such as to draw the work against the
back guide 8, a front guard 8* of similar character may also be used, and the
work will then be guided with positive certainty between the curved faces 9, 9*,
of the back and front guides. The back guide 8 and front guide 8* to
render the machine more perfectly adapted to forms of various widths and
thicknesses, are made adjustable vertically, and are retained in any required
position by the set screws 10 and 10*, and are also adjustable horizontally,
and retained in any required position by the set screws 11, 11*.
It may here be observed that the machine as already explained and
exhibited is adapted to cut a perfectly straight moulding as one of its varieties,
but inasmuch as the running of the work through this machine requires a
little more care on the part of the workman than the running of straight
mouldings through an ordinary planing machine, this machine is so arranged
that when a large quantity of straight mouldings is to be cut, the same
machine by a change of some of its parts can be made as far as its operation
is concerned like an ordinary planing or moulding machine, and Fig. 8

page_text: represents a front detail view exhibiting parts of the machine thus
modified.
To effect this modification of the machine the stationary cam-like guides
, r, are taken off, and in their place the two compressing rolls 12, 12, are
applied. There is also affixed to the head t, Fig. 8, the stationary table
board 13, the upper surface of which is set slightly below the apex of the
feed roll and answers the same purpose as in ordinary moulding and planing
machines. It will be observed that the table-board is fixed to the same
sliding or moving head t as the feed roll, and when using the machine as
modified for straight work this moveable head is set in any desired position
according to the thickness of the work, and is held firmly in position by the
set screws 14, 14, which secure the columns u, u, in the frame w. The
connecting rods or wires 15, 15, are then attached, their upper ends being
secured by the pins 16, 16, to the slotted plates 17, 17, which support the
compressing rolls, the screws which attach the plates to the framing being
loosened, and the lower ends of the rods or wires being secured to the
cylindrical slides Z, Z, by the hooks 18, 18. Thus it will be observed that the
action of the springs is exactly reversed from what it was when the machine
was in its curved or serpentine adaptation. The feed roll and table board now
being stationary, and the action of the springs through the connecting rods
15, 15, being to draw down the slotted plates 17, 17, and the compressing rolls
12, 12, and thus retain the form closely and firmly upon the feed roll and
table board in its passage through the machine. Thus the same machine
which in its first described form is adapted to all the peculiarities of curved
mouldings is in this last described modification also adapted to straight work
with no more requisite care in its operation than the ordinary moulding and
planing machines.
To provide for the longitudinal adjustment of the cutter shaft f while the
machine is in operation the back journal box 20 (Figures 1 and 3) of the
shaft is fitted to slide lengthwise in the framing of the machine. The shaft
is fitted to the journal box with collars 22, 22, in such a manner as to move
with it, but is fitted to the front journal box 21 without collars, so as to be
capable of sliding longitudinally therein. The back journal box is made
with a projecting lug 24, into a hole in which there is fitted (in such manner
as to turn freely therein but not to move longitudinally within it) the neck of
a screw 25 which screws into a tapped hole in the framing of the machine.
By turning the screw 25 the longitudinal movement of the journal box 20
and the shaft is produced.
Having now described the Invention which has been communicated to me

page_text: by my foreign correspondent, and having explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent
as aforesaid,--
First, the combination of the cam-like guides r, r, or guide r*, and the
self-adjusting feed roll h, or their equivalents, as described.
Second, I claim the adjustable back guide 8 acting with the cams or guides
r, and the feed roll h, or their equivalents, in combination with the back
guide 8, the front guide 8* applied and operating as herein set forth.
Third, I claim the connecting rods or wires 15, or their equivalents, applied
in combination with the springs x, x, as described, whereby the action of the
springs is changed from the feed roll h to the compressing rolls 12 for the
purposes set forth.
Fourth, I claim providing for the longitudinal adjustment of the cutter shaft
while the machine is in operation by means of a sliding journal box 20 and
screw 25, as and for the purpose herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
1
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.B.)