IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SCOURING AND POLISHING KNITTING AND OTHER PINS AND NEEDLES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Turner, of Redditch, in the County of
Worcester, Needle Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR SCOURING AND POLISHING KNITTING AND OTHER PINS AND
NEEDLES."
Sealed the 25th November 1862, and dated the 28th May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Turner at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
May 1862.
I, THOMAS TURNER, of Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Needle
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SCOURING AND POLISHING KNITTING AND OTHER PINS AND
NEEDLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery or apparatus
for scouring, and polishing knitting,.and other pins and needles, by which such
operations are more readily accomplished, and a better result is obtained, thus
reducing the cost of manufacturing such articles. Heretofore, in scouring and
polishing: the above articles, it has been usual to cause the scouring and
polishing surfaces and materials to act around their. circumference, in place of
acting in the direction of their length, as practised according to my Inven-
tion. For the purpose of carrying out my improvements, I will describe the

page_text: mechanical arrangement which I prefer to employ, and have found to answer
the purposes of my Invention, although I do not confine myself thereto, as
other arrangements of mechanism may be employed to obtain a similar result.
The knitting, or other pins or needles to be polished, are placed and held for
part of their length between clamps or surfaces, one of which is pressed down
by spring pressure, or other suitable means, with sufficient pressure to retain
the pins, and at the same time to admit of their rotating by the to-and-fro
sideway movement of the upper clamping plate or surface, to which motion is
communicated in any convenient manner. The projecting parts of the pins
pass between surfaces covered with buff leather, or other suitable material
prepared with oil and omery, or other scouring and polishing materials.
These surfaces are caused to travel to and fro in any convenient manner along
the length of the pins or needles, whilst they are caused to rotate by the side-
way movement of one of the clamping plates or holding surfaces. The
knitting, or other pins or needles, are first acted upon by surfaces prepared
with coarse materials, suitable for scouring off the scale and rough surface of
the articles, after which they are operated upon by surfaces prepared with
finer materials for finishing and polishing. When a portion of the length of
the pins or needles have been thus operated upon, they are taken out of the
clamps or holding surfaces, and the ends are reversed, so as to complete the
scouring and polishing of their entire length.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Turner in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
TURNER, of Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Needle Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Turner, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Turner, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Turner, 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,

page_text: 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 SCOURING AND POLISHING KNITTING AND OTHER PINS AND
NEEDLES," upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the said Thomas
Turner, 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 Thomas Turner, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery or apparatus
for scouring and polishing knitting and other pins and needles, by which such
operations are more readily accomplished, and a better result is obtained, thus
reducing the cost of manufacturing such articles. Heretofore, in scouring and
polishing the above articles, it has been usual to cause the scouring and
polishing surfaces and materials to act around their circumference, in place of
acting in the direction of their length, as practised according to my Inven-
tion. For the purpose of carrying out my improvements, I will describe the
mechanical arrangement which I prefer to employ, and have found to answer
the purposes of my Invention, although I do not confine myself thereto, as
other arrangements of mechanism may be employed to obtain a similar result.
The knitting, or other pins or needles to be polished, are placed and held for
part of their length between clamps or surfaces, one of which is pressed down
by spring pressure, or other suitable means, with sufficient pressure to retain
the pins, and at the same time to admit of their rotating by the to-and-fro side-
way movement of the upper clamping plate or surface, to which motion is
communicated in any convenient manner. The projecting parts of the pins
pass between surfaces covered with buff leather, or other suitable material,
prepared with oil and emery, or other scouring and polishing materials.
These surfaces are caused to travel to and fro in any convenient manner along
the length of the pins or needles, whilst they are caused to rotate by the side-
way movement of one of the clamping plates or holding surfaces.
The
knitting, or other pins or needles, are first acted upon by surfaces prepared
with coarse materials suitable for scouring off the scale and rough surface of
the articles, after which they are operated upon by surfaces prepared with

page_text: the pins or needles have been thus operated upon, they are taken out of thre
clamps or holding surfaces, and the ends are reversed, so as to complete the
scouring and polishing of their entire length.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto
annexed.
...
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a plan and Figure 2 a transverse section of a machine,
suitably arranged for scouring and polishing knitting pins of the ordinary
description, according to my Invention. a and bare clamping plates, between
which the pins d, d, are securely held, the holding surfaces of the plates being
covered with buff leather, or other suitable yielding material. The plate a is
capable of traversing to and fro between the plates b and c, which are connected
together by hinge joints e, as shewn, the plateb being hinged to the cross bar f
On the plate c the screw c¹ is mounted, which passes through a screwed pro-
jection a¹ on the plate a, which acts as a screw nut on the screw c', so that
when motion is communicated to the screw by means of the handle, the
plate a is caused to traverse to and fro in either direction, thus causing the
pins d, d, to rotate on their axes, so as to present fresh surfaces to the action
of the scouring or polishing surfaces, g, g. The scouring or polishing surfaces
9, 9, in the arrangement shewn, consist of two bars pressed together by the
spring g*, and faced with buff leather prepared with oil and emery, or other
suitable scouring or polishing material. The bars g, g, are mounted on the
frame g, g', which is moved to and fro between the fixed guides h, h, by
means of the connecting rod i, to which a to-and-fro motion is communicated
by means of a crank, or in any other convenient manner, so as to cause the
bars g, 9, to travel to and fro along the surface of the pins d, d, in the direction
of their length whilst being held, and which, at the same time, are caused to
rotate between the clamping plates a, b, as before described. When the pins
have been acted upon for part of their length, the clamping screwj is removed,
and the pins are reversed end for end, so as to present the unfinished parts to
the action of the scouring or polishing surfaces. I prefer to operate upon the
articles first with surfaces g, g, prepared with coarse materials, in order to
scour off and remove the scale and rough surface, and then to submit them to
the action of surfaces prepared with finer materials, in order to finish and polish
the same.
The coouring and nolishing surfaces
A Π may be made of circular

page_text: form, so that by giving a partial rotation thereto, fresh surfaces may be
brought into position from time to time as they are worn away, or if desired,
the circumference of such scouring and polishing surfaces may be prepared
with materials of varying degrees of fineness, and in place of employing the
prepared surfaces g, g, as herein described, a reciprocating movement may be
given to the clamps, and the pins may be moved to and fro through emery or
other suitable scouring or polishing materials contained in a chamber or
receptacle, which may be formed with an elastic opening for the pins to pass
through, pressure being applied in order to condense the materials, and the
parts may be arranged to work in a vertical position, if desired. Continuous
rotating, scouring, and polishing surfaces may be substituted for the recipro-
cating surfaces g, g, in which case I prefer to place one of such revolving
surfaces in stationary bearings above, and the other below the pins, re-
ciprocating movement being given to the clamping surfaces which hold the
pins or other articles to be polished, according to my Invention, or the
clamping plates may be supported and moved to and fro upon springs or
elastic supports.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Turner, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
THOMAS TURNER. (L.s.)
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings, W.C.