IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING WOOD INTO SHAVINGS OR SHREDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND IN MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Robinson, of Rochdale, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and John Smith, of the same Place, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING WOOD INTO SHAVINGS
OR SHREDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND IN MACHINERY CONNECTED
THEREWITH."
Sealed the 30th April 1872, and dated the 3rd November 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Robinson and
John Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 3rd November 1871.
We, JOHN ROBINSON, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, and John Smith, of the same Place, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING
WOOD INTO SHAVINGS OR SHREDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND
MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
IN
According to our Invention the wood to be operated upon is cross cut
by any ordinary machinery into short lengths, which are placed endwise

page_text: "
upon a creeper" provided on one side with a fence, or they are adapted
to an incline or hopper, by which they are delivered to a pair of rollers
and by which they are consecutively forced against the face of a
revolving disc provided with cutters similar in construction to plane
irons. By these cutters the short lengths of wood are reduced into
shavings or shreds. Between the aforesaid rollers and the cutter
disc we propose to adapt a presser to hold that part of the wood which
is not grasped by the said rollers. The cutters are held in their proper
situations by a set screw and lever clamp, and we propose to adapt them
alternately at different distances from their centre of motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Robinson and John Smith in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 3rd May 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
ROBINSON, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, and
JOHN SMITH, of the same Place, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said John Robinson and John Smith, Her
special license that we, the said John Robinson and John Smith,
our executors, administrators, or assigns, or such others as we,
the said John Robinson and John Smith, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING
WOOD INTO SHAVINGS OR SHREDS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
CONNECTED THEREWITH, upon the condition,'|
amongst others, that we, the said John Robinson and John Smith, by
an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention and in what manner the same was to
"

page_text: 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 John Robinson, on behalf of
myself and of the said John Smith, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists,―
Firstly. In a method of cutting wood into shavings or shreds for the
manufacture of paper by cross cutting the said wood in the first instance
into short blocks or logs, and then feeding them to a machine which by
means of a cutter or cutters slices off shavings or shreds so as to reduce
the whole of the wood into that condition.
Secondly. In a certain arrangement of machinery for effecting the
object in view.
In carrying our Invention into operation we take a fir pole or other
tree and cross cut it by any ordinary machinery into lengths, say, of
six inches, as shewn by the dotted line in Fig. 1, but the length is not
material within certain limits; and we thus have a quantity of logs, as
represented at Figs. 2 and 3, which are to be sliced off in the direction
of the red lines, Fig. 3; or in like manner we cross cut short lengths
from planks or other form of timber.
The machinery which we use for obtaining the shavings or shreds is
shewn at Figs. 4, 5, and 6, which are side, end, and plan views thereof.
The frame of the machine is shewn at 1, and the fast and loose driving
pullies at 2, upon the shaft of which is a disc 3 provided with slits 4,
through which there project slightly a series of cutters 5, formed as plane
irons. See the detached views on a larger scale, Figs. 7 and 8, which
show how these cutters are mounted and held in their places. Upon
the back of the disc 3 are levers 6 capable of turning upon centres 7,
and bearing at one end upon the cutters 5. The other ends of these
levers carry set screws 8, which upon being tightened bind the back
ends of the cutters 5 to parts 9 projecting from the disc 3, while the
front ends of the cutters are at the same time bound to the parts 9 by
the screw S forcing the lever 6 to turn upon its centre.
The cutters

page_text: may thus be adjusted according to the thickness of shaving desired, and
removed for being sharpened by loosening the set screw 8. Upon the
driving shaft 10 is a pulley 11, over which there passes a strap driving
fast and loose pullies 12, and upon the shaft of this there are speed
pullies 13, which by means of a strap and pullies 14 imparts motion to a 5
shaft 15, on the other end of which is a worm 16 taking into a worm
wheel 17, upon the axis of which is a pinion 18 communicating motion
to a roller 19 through the medium of an intermediato 20. Upon this
roller and upon another roller 21 is an endless strap 22 resting upon a
stationary part 23 of the frame, and which by the means above described 1
is caused to travel continuously, and upon the shaft of the pinion 18 is a
roller 24, which consequently is caused to revolve. To the frame 1 is
fixed a bracket 25, to the upper end of which is jointed a lever 26,
weighted at its other end but prevented from falling downward beyond
a certain distance by a stop 27, and carrying a roller 24*. At 28 is a 1
lever jointed to a fixed centre at 29, and carrying weights 30 at its other
end, provided also with a plate 31 jointed thereto, and which, as will
hereafter be seen, bears upon the log which is being cut.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-A number of the short
logs or blocks above-mentioned are placed side by side upon the belt 22 2
between fences 22*, which may be adjustable to suit different diameters
of blocks, as shown at 32; and the driving strap being placed upon the
fast pully 2 the said belt is caused to travel forward by the means above
described, carrying with it the blocks 32, and delivering them con-
secutively to the rollers. 24, 24*. The upper of these rollers being a
weighted by the lever 26 presses them as they arrive upon the roller 24,
which being driven passes them onward upon a flat part of the frame,
and presses them against the rotating disc 3, in which position they are
held down by the plate 31, which as before-mentioned is weighted by
means of the lever 28, and being mounted on a joint accommodates
itself to the surface of the block. As this travelling forward of the
blocks 32 takes place the disc 3 by rapidly revolving brings the cutters 5
to act upon them, and successive shavings are removed in the direction
shewn at Fig. 3. The plate 31 is curved upward at the end where the
logs or blocks enter, in order to facilitate their admission, and when one';
of the blocks or logs is nearly cut up the said plate serves to hold the
last portion, for which purpose it extends close to the disc 3.
According to the Drawing there are six blades 5 shown on the disc 3,

page_text: but any other number may be employed. We would also observe that
instead of using the travelling belt 22 the short logs or blocks may be
placed in an inclined shute and pass down by their own gravity to the
action of the cutters.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it
to be understood that we claim, as secured to us under the above in part
recited Letters Patent and for the purpose above set forth,―
Firstly. Cutting wood into shavings or shreds from cross cut logs or
blocks fed consecutively to cutting apparatus.
Secondly. The use of the revolving disc 3 with its cutters and the
travelling surface 22, or equivalent thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Robinson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
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