IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MORTICING, DRILLING, AND DOVETAILING, AND IN TOOLS TO BE USED THERE WITH
Year: 1862

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Weston at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th April
1862.
I, JOHN WESTON, of 80, Upper Whitecross Street, St. Luke's, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MORTICING, DRILLING, AND DOVETAILING,
AND IN TOOLS TO BE USED THERE WITH," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for morticing,
drilling, and dovetailing, and in tools to be used therewith.
The machinery is composed of an upright bar which carries the cutting tool.
This bar is capable of moving vertically in guides in the framing of the
machine, and is connected with a treadle, so that it may be depressed-by-
depressing the treadle, as in machines heretofore constructed. On two oppo-
site sides of the upper end of the bar are two arcs or segments of circles, which
at their circumference rest against the bar; the bar is connected to the upper
ends of these arcs or segments by straps or thin strips of metal, which come
between the bar and the segments. The arcs or segments each turn on a pin
or axis which is excentric to its circumference; each pin or axis is carried by
a strong vertical spring, which is fixed at its lower end to the framing of the
machine, and the position of each pin or axis is such that it is always below the
points of the circumference of the arcs which rest against the bar. By this
means, when the vertical bar is depressed by depressing the treadle, the arcs

page_text: will, as they are connected to the bar by straps or bands as above mentioned,
be turned on their pins or axes, and by reason of the circumference of the arcs
being excentric to the pins on which the arcs turn, the vertical springs which
carry the pins will be forced away from the bar which carries the cutter; thus,
when the treadle is released, the springs will press towards the cutter bar, and
will thus turn the arcs on their axes back again into their original position, and
thus raise the bar.
The cutting tool is not attached directly to the bar, but the bar has clamped
to it a circular plate, which is capable of being raised or lowered on the bar to
suit the breadth of material being operated upon; from the centre of this plate
a pin projects horizontally, on which another circular plate is capable of turn-
ing; this second plate is kept up to the first plate by a nut screwing on to the
projecting pin above mentioned. Around the circumference of the second plate
recesses are made to receive the ends of two or more tools, and they are fixed
in the recesses by set screws, the ends of the screws pressing the tools against
the bottom of the recesses. By this means, by turning the plate which carries
the tools on its pin, one tool may be moved out of action and another tool
brought into a proper position for acting on the wood, and the plate carrying
the tools may be retained in any required position by means of a catch carried
by it entering a recess in the plate which is clamped to the bar, there being as
many recesses in the plate which is clamped to the bar as there are tools
carried by the other plate. The wood which is to be acted on is supported on
a table, the upper surface of which is below the cutting tool carried by the bar
above mentioned, and is prevented from being lifted off it by the tool in its
upward movement by means of dogs, which can be set to any required height.
In place of the tools being held in recesses in a plate turning on a horizontal
pin, as above described, so as to move one tool out of action and bring another
into action; one tool only may be used, the upper end of which is held in a
socket, which can be turned balf round on a vertical axis, as in machines here-
tofore made. In order that the tools may cut the wood more readily, I arrange
the machine so that the tool is oiled after each cut; for this purpose, along
the face of the chisel or tool I apply a thin spring covered with cotton or other
fabric which is saturated with oil; the end of the spring comes to the end of
the chisel or tool, and on the end of the spring is a pad, also saturated with
oil; thus each time the tool descends into the wood, the pad being prevented
by the wood from descending with it, will rub against the face of the tool and
oil it; the pad also will deposit a-little oil on the portion of the wood where
the tool will next enter, so that at the succeeding cut the back of the tool will

page_text: be likewise oiled. The wood is held firmly by the workman against a fence
or plate of metal, which is capable of sliding to and fro parallel with the
surface of the table, and in order that the wood may, when desired, be moved
forward a distance in either direction parallel with the fence after each descent
of the cutting tool, there is formed on the upper edge of each end of the plate
or fence a row of ratchet teeth, the teeth of the two rows being in opposite
directions into the ratchet teeth; at either end of the fence or plate a click or
pawl can be allowed to enter, there being a separate click for each row of
ratchet teeth. Each click is carried by an arm, which turns at its upper end
on a pin carried by the framing of the machine, the click being carried near
the lower end of the arm. Each arm is at each descent of the cutter bar
moved outwards, so that the click carried by it shall pass over a certain
number of teeth, the teeth being in the proper direction to allow them to do
so, and at each ascent of the cutter bar the arms are moved back to their
original position, and if either of the clicks or pawls are allowed by the work-
man to enter the ratchet teeth at either end of the fence or plate, the fence or
plate will, as the cutter bar ascends, be moved forward a distance, and as the
wood is held against the fence it will be moved with it, and a fresh portion of
the wood will thus be brought under the cutting tool, and the direction in
which the wood is moved will depend upon which of the clicks is allowed to
engage with the ratchet teeth on the fence. This to-and-fro motion is given
to the arms which carry the clicks or pawls by each arm being connected with
one of the vertical springs above mentioned, by a pin passing through a hole
in the arm and through a hole in a projection from the spring; several holes
are formed both in the arms and in the projections from the springs, so that
the amount of movement given to the arms, and consequently to the wood, at
each ascent of the cutter bar, may be varied by varying the positions of the
pins. Both clicks are ordinarily prevented from engaging with the teeth on
the edge of the fence by means of a lever placed at the back of the fence, the
upper edge of the lever coming a little above the top of the ratchet teeth; the
lever turns at its centre on a pin, and the clicks ordinarily rest on the opposite
arms of the lever, but when it is desired to cause the work to move in one or
other direction, one or other arm of this lever is depressed, thus allowing the
click, which before rested on it, to enter the teeth in the fence, and when the
lever is no longer pressed on it is brought back to its original position by a
spring, there being a separate spring to each arm of the lever.. The guides
upon which the fence slides to and fro are carried by a plate which is bolted to
two standards, and the plate can be bolted to the standards at any desired

page_text: height, so that the edge of the fence may always be above the top edge of the
work. The standards are carried by a slide, which can be moved backwards
or forwards by a screw, so as to adjust the position of the fence to the thick-
ness of wood that is being operated upon.
When using the machine for cutting a mortice or slot, the slot is first made
in the wood by means of a tool similar to an ordinary chisel held in the tool
holder of the cutter bar, commencing to cut near the centre of the mortice and
working towards one end of the mortice, the wood being moved after each cut
made by the chisel; when the tool has cut up to the end, the tool is either
turned half round as heretofore to cut the other half of the mortice, or is
turned out of action, and another tool made for cutting in the opposite direc-
tion brought into action, as above described; when the requisite length of slot
has been made, the cut portions of wood are forced out of the slot, and the
sides of the slot are made smooth by turning round the tool holder, so as to
bring into position a tool made with two parallel cutting edges, similar to the
edge of a chisel, connected together at the requisite distance apart by a central
web.
In some cases a mortice is required to be made with its ends inclined,
or in some cases part of the ends of a mortice are required to be made at right
angles to the face of the work and part inclined to it; in order to be enabled
to cut mortices in this manner, the upper ends of the tools are made with one
face parallel with the face of the tool and the opposite face at an angle to it;
the holder in which the tool is held is made in a corresponding manner; thus,
if the tool is parallel with the vertical bar which carries it when placed in one
direction in the holder, it will, if turned half round and again placed in the
holder, be at an angle to the bar. The chisel, when held parallel with the bar,
will cut at right angles to the work, but when at an angle to it the chisel will
-have-a-tendency-to-cut-at an angle through the wood; and in order to allow it
to do so, the lower guide of the vertical bar allows the bar to move to some
extent sideways.
When using the machine for dovetailing the sides of the dovetail recesses
are first cut by a saw, and in order to remove the piece of wood from the recess
I place in the tool holder of the machine above described a tool, the cutting
edge of which is similar to the edge of a chisel; the back edges of the tool are
ground away, thus in order that they may not cut into the sides of
the dovetail recesses.
In order to form dovetail projections to enter the dovetail recesses, the sides
of the projections are first cut with a saw, and in order to remove the pieces
from between the projections I place in the tool holder of the machine a tool,

page_text: somewhat similar to an ordinary chisel, but with its lower cutting edge shaped
thus
in side view, and cause the tool to descend into the wood in between
the saw cuts, until the inclined corners of the tool correspond with the inclined
saw cuts previously made.
In order to use the machine for boring, I remove the plate which carries
the tools, and in place thereof affix to the plate which is clamped to the
vertical bar an arm, which has combined with it a tool similar to a centre
bit, and the requisite pressure may be put on the boring tool by depressing the
treadle.