IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING WOOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOBBINS AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
LARRAD, of Leicester, Mechanist, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of June,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the tenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Larrad, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Charles Larrad, my exors,
admňors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Larrad, my exors,
adiñors, or 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, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING WOOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOBBINS AND OTHER
ARTICLES" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the
said Charles Larrad, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing, under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next and

page_text: immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles Larrad, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, are fully described
and ascertained, in and by the following statement thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to novel arrangements of machinery whereby the
cutting of wood used in the manufacture of bobbins and other articles may
be more readily effected than by the processes at present in use for that purpose.
But in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
cotton.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a front view, Figure 2 a plan, Figure 3 a section, Figures.
4 and 5 two end views, and Figure 6 another section (with the parts
in a different position to that in which they are shown in Figure 3) of a
machine constructed according to my Invention suitable for the manufacture
of that description of bobbin or reėl used for the winding-on for sale of sewing
a, a, is the main framing; 6 is a shaft carried in the bearings a¹, a¹,
and which has affixed to it a drum on barrel 6, partly around which passes a
band or strap, to which motion is given by a steam engine or otherwise, in
order to drive the shaft b, which by means of the stem or spindle c carries the
pieces of wood to be formed into the required shape, there being projecting
ribs c' on the stem c which prevent the wood, while being cut to form, turning
round on the stem c as it might otherwise have a tendency to do by reason of
the pressure employed in cutting the same, all which is well understood by
persons in the habit of turning such articles and therefore forms no part of my
Invention; but owing to the necessity of forming the stem c of small diameter,
it has been found to spring when pressure is applied to the wood being cut
whereby the articles produced have been wanting in uniformity, they varying
one from the other according to the pressure employed in each case, and it
has been proposed to support the outer end of the stem c'by a sliding rod
sliding within a socket, which also serves to force the material to be cut on
to the stem c, and such sliding rod was then proposed to be held stationary by
means of a set screw. It has, however, been found that by such an arrange-
ment the parts quickly become loose, and the degree of certainty required
.

page_text: cannot be obtained. And it is a mode of arranging parts by which the,
material to be formed is forced on to a stem c, and by which a stem c may.
be steadied during the formation of the intended article which forms ono
peculiarity of my Invention; d, e, f, are uprights from the plate g, which
slides in and is guided by the dovetail grooves a³, a³, of the framing a, as is
shown. The parts d, e, support the shaft h, which is tightened by means of
the set screw e, at the same time that it is capable of turning freely between
the parts d, e, and the end h¹ of the shaft h comes against one end of the
piece of wood to be cut to form in forcing it on to the stem c, while by means
of the recess, as shown, it aids in supporting the end of the stem c. The
upright has a hole formed in its upper part, through which that end of the
stem c passes loosely; this upright f is for the purpose of drawing the formed
article off the spindle or stem c, as is well understood. The plate 9 is moved
to and fro by means of the lever g which turns upon a centre pin at g³ and
has a slot to receive the pin g' of the plate g. i, i, is a rocking frame supported
upon the centres 1, 2, and carrying the cutting tools used. This frame i is
moved backwards and forwards to bring one or other set of cutting tools
herein-after described into operation, by means of the eccentric j on the shaft j",
which is caused to make a partial rotation by means of the lever affixed to
the shaft j', and the distance of movement of the lever j³, and consequently of
the frame i, according to the diameters of the article to be cut, is regulated by
means of the adjustable screw stops k, l. m, m, are the cutting tools for
roughly cutting the length of the intended article, and n is the cutting tool for
giving to it a cylindrical form; o, o, are the cutting tools for finishing the ends
of the intended article. These tools, it will be seen, are affixed to the plates
o', o, by set screws o², so as to turn thereon, and they are borne upwards at
their outer ends by means of the springs o³, there been regulating stops o* by
which the cutting points of the instruments o may be adjusted, so as in going
forwards in cutting just to ride upon the stem c, while the springs o³ allow of
a slight yielding, which is another peculiarity of my Invention. p is the
cutting instrument (or barrel tool) for giving form to the centre part of the
intended article. The form of the various tools will, as a matter of course, be
varied according to the form of the article to be obtained, and they are held
by suitable set screws so as to be adjusted or removed for sharpening or
otherwise as required. In commencing to use the machine the rough
material to be formed should be placed on to the stem c; while the rocking
frame i is in a central position, the stem c being in rapid motion; the lever j
should then be moved so as to bring the part of the frame i, carrying the
instruments m, i, gradually to work, as is shown at Figure 6; they having

page_text: cut to the extent required, the instruments o, p, are next to be brought to
nct upon the material' to be cut, as is shown at Figure 3, by which the article
will be produced; and the rocking frame being brought again into a central
position the article so produced may be removed from the stem c by moving
the lever g' outwards and then by placing another piece of wood to have form
given to it (and which has been previously bored to receive the stem c, against
the end of the stem c, the same will be forced on the stem c by the moving
inwards of the lever g¹.
I would remark that I am aware of machinery having been arranged for
cutting bobbins or reels with a cutting instrument such as p, but as far as I
have been able to ascertain, it has always been placed horizontally or nearly
so, and caused to travel in a plain parallel to that of the axis c, which plane
was distant from that of the axis c, equal to the semi-diameter of the intended
article, whereby the cut has necessarily commenced at a depth from the
surface of the rough material equal to the quantity to be removed therefrom
by such cutting instrument, and unless great care was exercised the wood
being cut was frequently split, thus causing loss and delay. Now one
peculiarity of my Invention consists in placing cutting instruments such
as p, so as to cut at a tangent or nearly so to the surface of the material
to be cut, and so that the depth of cut will not be regulated by the
position of the cutters, but by suitable stops; and although I consider
the arrangement shown for bringing up cutting instruments to be the
best, I do not confine myself to the same, as they may be caused to have
ȧ sliding motion to bring them up to the work, or the parts may be otherwise
varied; and in place of using an excentric as above described for bringing
up the tools, a cam may be used for that purpose, and such mode of giving
motion by means of excentrices or cams to parts carrying cutting tools,
whether those parts be arranged as above described or otherwise, I consider
an important feature of my Invention, as I am thereby enabled better to
obtain power in cutting through hard wood or hard parts. such as knots in
other wood. I will now describe another machine shown at Figures 7, 8, 9,
10, & 11, and which differs slightly from that above described, the chief
peculiarity of it consisting in the two sets of cutters being carried by separated
rocking frames i, i, which are controlled by cams j, so as to be brought
successively into action by the working of the machine instead of depending
upon the workman; the same letters of reference are therefore used to
indicate similar parts. In this case the shaft is continued through the
framing a,. a, and supported therein at j, j³, and at one end it carries the
cam wheel 2, which has a grove on its periphery as indicated to receive the

page_text: truck g of the lever g', the 'upper end of which, by partly embracing the
pin g', carried by the slide 9 (when the shaft g is in motion), produces the to-
and-fro movement of the slide g. The cams ; make a complete revolution,
and motion is given to the shaft, in the following manner:r is a loose
pulley on the axis t, on which is affixed the screw wheel't', which takes into
and drives the toothed wheel u on the axis .. The pulley when driven is
caused to give motion to the axis t, by means of the clutch s, which is acted
upon by the connected levers v and w, as shewn; thus it will be seen that by
shifting the clutch box s, the pulley r will be connected to, so as to turn or
will run loosely on, the axis and so will the axis 7, and parts connected
therewith be set in motion or remain at rest. Although the cutters shewn
are only suitable for cutting bobbins for winding or. reeling cotton or thread,
yet it will be evident that by varying the cutters, the nature of the bobbin
or article produced may be varied.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details shown and described, so long as the
peculiar character of either part of my Invention be retained, but what I
claim is,-
First, the mode of supporting a stem or spindle c, as above described.
Secondly, I claim the applying springs to cutters o, o, as above described.
Thirdly, I claim the mode of applying cutters p, so that they may work at
a tangent or nearly so to the surface of the wood to be cut, and so as to be
caused to move in towards the centre of the material being cut, as above
described.
Fourthly, I claim the giving motion by means of excentrics or cams to parts
carrying cutters, as above described.
Fifthly, I claim the mounting of the cutters o, m, on a rocking frame or
rocking frames, as described.
And, sixthly, I claim the so arranging machinery such as herein described,
that the cutters may be brought into and taken out of action by the working
of the machine.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Larrad, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
CHARLES (L.S.) LARRAD.

page_text: FOLLER, Extra.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Charles Larrad came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her 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.
Enrolled the Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.