AN IMPROVED COMPOUND MACHINE FOR CUTTING TENONS AND MORTICES, AND SAWING WOOD
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Peirce, of Stamford Street, Lambeth, in
the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED COMPOUND
MACHINE FOR CUTTING TENONS AND MORTICES, AND SAWING WOOD."
Sealed the 27th May 1870, and dated the 1st December 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Peirce at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st December 1869.
I, JAMES PEIRCE, of Stamford Street, Lambeth, in the County of
5 Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED COMPOUND MACHINE FOR CUTTING TENONS AND MORTICES, AND SAWING
WOOD," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in constructing a machine adapted to perform
the above operations in the following manner and by the following means,
that is to say, to one side of the framing of the machine I adapt a sliding
piece of metal formed with four projecting pieces of metal, two of such

page_text: said pieces being employed to carry an upright holder at the front of
the machine into which a morticing chisel is fixed. The other two
projecting pieces aforesaid carry at the back of the machine two upright
saws strained tightly therein and set at such a distance apart as to cut
tenons of the desired width to fit properly into the mortices that are
to receive them or to cut wood into planks. An adjustable traversing
table is fixed to the front of the machine to receive the wood that is to
be morticed. And another table is adjusted to and capable of sliding
across the back of the machine to carry and advance the wood against
the saws either for sawing it into planks or for cutting tenons. In
connection with the fixed part on which the back table slides I employ
a wheel formed with teeth on a part only of its circumference; to this
said wheel a weighted lever is affixed, the teeth of the said wheel taking
into the teeth of a rack formed on the upright part of the sliding table,
so that according as the said wheel is adjusted in like manner tenons
may be cut of any desired length, the wood ceasing to advance when
the last space in the wheel comes against the teeth of the rack not-
withstanding the saws continue in motion. The up-and-down motion
of the aforesaid saws and morticing chisel is effected by means of a
lever or treddle to be worked by the foot of the operator, and another
shorter lever placed about eighteen inches more or less above the first
named lever. These two levers are connected together by an adjustable
rod, and another rod is adjusted by its lower end to the aforesaid short lever
and by its upper end to the sliding piece which carries the saws and
morticing chisel, as before stated. There is a roller adapted to the top
of the framing of the machine over which a strap passes; one end of this
strap is fixed to the slide that carries the saws and chisel, and the other
end is fixed to one end of a long piece of wood fixed by its opposite end
so as to act as a spring for lifting up the chisel and saws after they have
been forced down to the required distance by the treddle as before stated.
And in this manner and by these means tenons and mortices may be
cut at the same time or wood sawn into planks or otherwise in one
machine, and it is the above combination of mechanism in the con-
struction of a compound machine for effecting the above objects that
constitutes the novelty of this Invention.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Peirce in the Great Seal Patent Office ou
the 1st June 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
PEIRCE, of Stamford Street, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did,, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Peirce, Her special licence that
I, the said James Peirce, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Peirce, 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 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 "AN IMPROVED COMPOUND MACHINE
FOR CUTTING TENONS AND MORTICES, AND SAWING WOOD," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Peirce, my executors or admi-
nistrators, 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 per-
formed, 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 James Peirce, do hereby declaro
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to he
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This Invention consists in constructing a machine adapted to perform the
above operations in the following manner, that is to say:-To one side
of the standard or framing of the machine I adapt a sliding frame
formed with four projecting pieces of metal, two of such said pieces
being employed to carry an upright holder at the side of the machine
into which a morticing chisel is fixed. The other two projecting pieces
aforesaid carry an upright saw or saws strained tightly therein and set

page_text: at such a distance apart as to cut tenons of the desired width to fit
properly into the mortices that are to receive them or to cut wood into
planks. An adjustable traversing table is fixed to the machine to receive
the wood to be morticed. And another table is adjusted to and capable
of sliding across the machine to carry and advance the wood against
the saws either for sawing it into planks or for cutting tenons. In
connection with the fixed part on which the table slides I employ
wheelwork or gearing acting on a rack formed on the upright part of
the sliding table so that according as the said wheelwork is adjusted in
like manner tenons may be cut of any desired length, the wood ceasing
'to advance at a given point as may be arranged notwithstanding the
saws continuing in motion. The up-and-down motion of the aforesaid
saws and morticing chisel is effected by means of a lever or treadle to
be worked by the foot of the operator and another shorter lever placed
about eighteen inches more or less above the first-named lever. These
two levers are connected together by an adjustable rod, and another rod
is adjusted by its lower end to the aforesaid short lever and by its upper
end to the sliding frame which carries the saws and morticing chisel, as
before stated. There is a spring for lifting up the chisel and saws after
they have been forced down to the required distance by the treadle, as
before stated. In this manner and by these means tenons and mortices
may be cut at the same time or wood sawn into planks or otherwise in
one machine, and it is the above combination of mechanism in the con-
struction of a compound machine for effecting the above objects that
titutes the novelty of this Invention

page_text: the chisel C, secured at the other side of the said frame; D, connecting
rod secured to the sliding frame at the point shown in the Drawings.
This rod is secured by means of an eye at the lower end by being fitted
into one of the notches of the lever E, as shewn, the selection of the
particular notch being governed by the power required to be brought to
bear upon the work to be done. F is a moveable link whereby the
notched lever E is connected to the foot lever or treddle F*, this latter
being provided like the lever (E) with notches for the lower eye of the
link to take into; G is the table on which the wood to be morticed or
chiselled is placed. This table can be traversed on two guides *, *,
which enable it to be brought in close to the edge of the standard or
moved out from the same according to the distance required for the
work under operation; G', the regulating screw for the said table; H
denotes a slide table for holding the wood to be submitted to the action
of the saws. This slide works (V edges and V grooves being provided)
against a projecting plate or guide H which is secured to the standard A.
I is a wheel with ratchet teeth on its periphery, the axis of which (on
the side nearest to the projecting plate or guide H³) is provided with a
toothed wheel which it will be seen by referring to the Drawings Figs. 3
and 4, gears with the teeth of another wheel which also is provided
with a small toothed wheel that gears into a rack marked H h, secured
on the slide H with which the projecting plate or guide H is provided.
For communicating motion to wheel I there is a paul rod I, the lower
end whereof is secured to a lever I', one end of which is secured by a
centre pin to the standard A, its other end having jointed to it a rod I',
which rod is jointed at its upper end to one of the lower corners of the
saw frame, as shown. For securing the wood to be sawn in the slide
table H an adjustable holder is provided. This consists of an arm K
with a collar at its end in which a sliding rod L works, this sliding rod
being provided with a collar in which a binding or pressure screw M
works; N is a set screw fixing the rod Las may be required; O is a
spring attached to the top of the said frame and also to the top of the
standard A, as shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and
object of my said Invention, and in what manner the same may be per-
formed or carried out in practice, I hereby declare that I claim the
hercin-before described "Improved Compound Machine for Cutting
Tenons and Mortices and Sawing Wood," the construction of which

page_text: machine prevents the cutting of grooves too deep by accident, and also
enables sawing operations to be carried on at the same time as the
chiselling is being effected, and thereby mortices and tenons are easily
made by one machine and one operator, and whereby sawing operations
for other purposes may always be carried on whilst the chisel is being
used.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Peirce, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
JAMES PEIRCE. (L.S.)
Witness,
THOMAS MORGAN,
Secretary to the
Inventors' Patent Right Association, Limited,
Patentees' Agents,
21, Cockspur Street,
Charing Cross.