IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Hornsby and James Edwin Phillips, both of
Spittlegate Iron Works, Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, for the
T
DRADING AND MOURING MACHINES"
Sealed the 8th May 1868, and dated the 3rd December 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Hornsby and
James Edwin Phillips at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 3rd December 1867.
We, RICHARD HORNSBY and JAMES EDWIN PHILLIPS, both of Spittlegate
Iron Works, Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in reaping and mowing
machines.
In constructing a reaping and mowing machine we mount the axis of the
pinion gearing with the ring of teeth on the main carrying wheel, and also
the axis of the crank which drives the knife on a cast frame which pivots on
the axis of the carrying wheel on its inner side or between it and the cutters.

page_text: This frame also has the finger bar fixed to it. The driver's seat is supported
from the axis of the main carrying wheel and from the shafts so that the
finger bar can rise and fall altogether independently of the driver's seat and
consequently the finger bar runs very lightly over the land. The finger bar
it lifted and adjusted to the height required by a chain connected with the
cast frame already mentioned and passing to a lever jointed to the shafts.
At its other end this lever drops between teeth or stops formed for it on the
side of the support of the driver's seat..
In some cases we construct reaping and mowing machines with a frame
such as that before described, but arranged between two carrying wheels and
suspended by an arm or arms from the axle. The pinion is then taken in
and out of gear by turning the suspending arms partly round on the axle by
means of a handle with which they are furnished; this is not in itself new,
but according to our present Invention we secure the suspended frame in
position with the pinion either in or out of gear by means of a link jointed to
this frame, and the link has holes in it to receive a spring bolt carried by the
above-mentioned handle. In the use of reaping machines it is commonly
found that the outer edge of the standing crop where it is unsupported leans
or falls over, and in consequence the ears are often cut off. To obviate this
a single lifting pröng has sometimes been fixed at the inner end of the finger
bar so as to pass just outside of the edge of the standing crop. This, how-
ever, does not work efficiently, the crop not being sufficiently supported by
the single prong. Now we employ in the same position two prongs con-
nected at the front to a stem which carries them; one of these prongs raises
the crop and presses it inwards, and the other prong, should the crop tend to
fall outwards over the first prong, supports it at such a distance from the root
that it has no tendency again to double over. The first prong rises to, such
a height as to be only just below the beater boards which lay the crop
towards the cutters. The second prong rises higher but is at the side of the
path of the beaters. The rake teeth dip beloŵy the first prong and the end tooth of
the rake passes just clear of it. We'mount the prongs on the extreine finger, and
have a space beyond it, so that there may be a cutting blade working through this
finger in both directions in order effectually to clear away any rubbish the prongs
may gather. In order securely to fix the prongs to the finger bar we cast
two of the fingers together, and so get a firm attachment to the finger bar,
and to one of these fingers we bolt 'the stem of the prongs. In arranging the
cutting parts of reaping and mowing machine's the fingers are commonly
bolted to a finger bar, and the front of this bar forms the guide for the back
of the cutter bar or the bar to which the cutter blades are fixed. Heretofore,

page_text: however, when this construction has been adopted the cutter blades have been
fixed on the upper side of the cutter bar. Now in order to get the cutters
nearer to the ground, as is desired, we fix them upon the under side of the
bar, we also recess the edge of the finger bar so that it may support and
guide the cutter bar on the under side as well as at the back. In order to
lighten the knife, and to lessen its friction in working, we cut the blades to a
V form, and rivet them by their two extremities to the cutter bar. The
blades being as before mentioned on the under side of the cutter bar the two
ends or horns of each blade alone bear on the bottom guide of the cutter bar.
In casting or forming the fingers we do not make the points upon them, but
we form sockets at their ends to receive separate points which are fitted into
the sockets and secured by pins. This arrangement enables us to adapt the
form of the points to the nature of the crop and the soil on which the machine
is intended to work. In reaping machines in which self-acting rakes are
used we construct the frame which carries the gear both to drive the knife
and the rake of top and bottom bars of wrought iron held at a distance apart
by castings fixed between them so as to form a trussed frame. The frame
has other castings bolted to it to carry some of the parts. Now in order
that the speed at which the self-acting rakes are driven may be varied we
form one of these castings with a slot in it or with two or more suitably
placed holes in order that the axis of one of the wheels in the train which
drives the rakes may be shifted so that it may always be able to gear
accurately with the next wheel to it in the train, although this wheel is
changed from time to time for a larger or a smaller to vary the speed of the
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Hornsby and James Edwin Phillips in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 3rd June 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RICHARD
HORNSBY and JAMES EDWIN PHILLIPS, both of Spittlegate Iron Works,
Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
5 did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Richard Hornsby and James Edwin Phillips, Her special licence that we,

page_text: the said Richard Hornsby and James Edwin Phillips, our executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Richard Hornsby and
James Edwin Phillips, our 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Richard Hornsby and James Edwin
Phillips, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our
or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them,
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 we, the said Richard Hornsby and James Edwin
Phillips, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in reaping and mowing
macbinės. In constructing a reaping and mowing machine we mount the
axis of the pinion gearing with the ring of teeth on the main carrying wheel,
and also the axis of the crank which drives the knife on a cast frame, which
pivots on the axis of the carrying wheel on its inner side or between it and
the cutters. This frame also has the finger bar fixed to it. The driver's
seat is supported from the axis of the main carrying wheel and from the
shafts, so that the finger bar can rise and fall altogether independently of the
driver's seat, and consequently the finger bar runs very lightly over the land.
The finger bar is lifted and adjusted to the height required by a chain con-
nected with the cast frame already mentioned, and passing to a lever jointed
to the shafts. At its other end this lever drops between teeth or stops formed
for it on the side of the support of the driver's seat.
Figure 1 is a side view of a reaping and mowing machine thus constructed;
portions of the finger bar and cutter bar are removed; Figure 2 is a plán partly
in section of the machine; Figure 3 is a front view of some of the parts.
a, a, is the main carrying and driving wheel, with a ring of teeth within it
at a', a¹; a is the tubular axle of this wheel, through it a bolt passes from
end to end and secures the draft bars b', 6', to which the shafts 6 are fixed;
by the same means also the standards c', c', which support the seat care

page_text: secured to the axle, and they are steadied by a link passing to the draught
bar 6 on one side of the machine. The link is adjustable, so that the seat
with the driver upon it may be made to balance the shafts as nearly as may
be desired. d is a metal frame, by preference of cast iron, fixed on the axle a³;
it carries the axis of the pinion e gearing with the teeth a', and which axis
also has upon it the bevilled wheel e'; this wheel drives the bevilled pinion f, of
which the axis is carried in a long tubular bearing on the frame d, and has at
its lower end a disc and crank pin f, giving motion to the knife or cutters by,
a short connecting rod 9; d* is a stay connecting the end of the frame d with,
the axle; the finger bar h is rigidly fixed to the frame d at its lower end.
The outer end of the finger bar is carried by an adjustable wheel about in a,
line with the axle a³, as is usual; its inner end is hung up by a chain
connecting the casting d with the lever i, which is connected with the shafts,
with a pivotting joint at 1, and at its outer end is supported on one or other.
of the hooks or stops c* on the side of the standard c'; by means of this lever;
the finger bar can be set at any desired distance above the land, and can also
be temporarily raised above its working position when required; h' is a slade
or shoe fixed on the finger bar; it is usually carried above the land; but when
the surface is irregular it may touch it from time to time, and it then assists
the finger bar to ride over the inequalities; it also serves to prevent the crop
coming in contact with the connecting rod 9 and its joints; k is a lever
turning on a centre on the frame d; it serves to draw the pinion e into and
out of gear with its axis, projections on the axis fitting into recesses in the
end of the pinion, as is shown. A spring is provided to keep the pinion in
gear when the lever k is free.
J
The novel features in this machine are the frame d, having the finger bar
fixed to it and being capable of turning about the centre or axle of the main
wheel a, such frame carrying on its inner side or between it and the cutters
the axis of the pinion e, and also the axis of the crank which drives the knife.
Also the arranging the said frame d, so that it may be raised and lowered by
means of a lever i with which it is linked, such lever pivotting about a centre
on the shafts or pole. Also the supporting the seat entirely from the axle of
the main wheel, and from the shafts or pole independently of the frame which
carries the finger bar.
These several points of novelty are not necessarily applied in combination,
and the details of the arrangement may be varied; thus Figure 4 is a side
view and Figure 5 is a plan partly in section of a machine which is rendered
more suitable for mowing grass by placing the finger bar and cutters on the
other side of the main wheel a. In this machine a pole is substituted for

page_text: the shafts; it is carried by a casting on the axle of the main wheel a and of
the frame d; is a tie connecting the pole to the other extremity of the axle ;
m is bracket fixed to the pole and carrying the seat; n is a draw bar
through which the draft of the horses is transmitted to the implement; it is
linked to the pole at one end, and at the other to the frame d as is shewn.
The lever in this case is of bell crank form and it is retained by a catch
bar turning on the main axle; the lever i has a horn upon it which by
coming against the lifting chain deflects it and so causes the lever to operate
on the frame d more rapidly.
In some cases we construct reaping and mowing machines with a frame
carrying the pinion axis and the crank axis, and in some respects similar to
that before described but arranged between two carrying wheels and suspended
by an arm or arms from the axle in place of pivotting upon it. The pinion is
then taken in and out of gear by turning the suspending arms partly round on
the axle by means of a handle with which they are furnished, this is not in
itself new and is described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to
one of us and dated the Twenty-ninth day of June, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-six, No. 1738, but according to our present Invention we secure the
suspended frame in position with the pinion either in or out of gear by means
of a link jointed to this frame and the link has holes in it to receive a spring
bolt carried by the above-mentioned handle.
Figure 6 is a side view of a portion of a machine with this method applied
of sustaining the frame with the driving parts in or out of gear; Figure 7 is a
back view of a portion of the machine; the other parts may be such as are
described in the Specification of the said former Patent.
a is the frame carrying the axis of the pinion working with the ring of teeth
on one of the main wheels and also the axis of the crank from which the knife
is driven. This frame a is jointed to arms b¹ on a tube 6 encircling the main
axis; b is a handle on the same tube, and by it the tube 6 and arms b¹ are
moved so as to take the pinion up to or away from the ring of teeth on the
main wheel; c is a link jointed to the frame a, aud having holes in it into
which a spring bolt 6x on the handle locks. The pole is fixed to a casting
turning freely on the tube b; this casting is not shown in Figure 7.
In the use of reaping machines it is commonly found that the outer edge of
the standing crop, where it is unsupported, leans or falls over and in con-
sequence the ears are often cut off. To obviate this a single lifting prong has
sometimes been fixed at the inner end of the finger bar so as to pass just
outside of the edge of the standing crop. This however does not work
efficiently, the crop not being sufficiently supported by the single prong.

page_text: Now according to our Invention we employ in the same position two prongs
connected at the front to a stem which carries them. One of these prongs
raises the crop and presses it inwards and the other prong, should the crop
tend to fall outwards over the first prong, supports it at such a distance from
the root that it has no tendancy again to double over.
The first prong.
rises to such a height as to be only just below the beater boards which lay the
crops towards the cutters, the second prong rises higher, but is at the side of the
path of the beaters. The rake teeth dip below the first prong and the end.
tooth of the rake passes just clear of it.
This arrangement is seen in the machine shewn in plan at Figure 8, and in
front view partly in section at Figure 9; the general construction of this
machine is clearly indicated by the Drawings and is such as is described in the
Specification of a Patent granted to us, and dated the Twenty-ninth day of
September One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, No. 2523, this part of
our Invention may however be applied to other machines.
a¹ is the first prong, a² the second prong, and a³ the stem carrying them. It
will be seen in Figure 9 that as the crop is doubled over the prongs a¹ and a²,
and is distended between them, the corner of the beater board catches it with
certainty and sweeps it back on to the platform. In this machine rakes are
usually employed allternately with the beater boards on arms at right
angles to those shewn, the head of the rake as it comes over the finger bar
takes the position in which the beater board is shewn, and its teeth project
down till they come nearly in contact with the platform. A short rake tooth
may be arranged to pass between the prongs a¹ and a³. We mount the prongs
on the extreme or innermost finger and have a space beyond it so that there
may be a cutting blade working through this finger in both directions in order
effectually to clear away any rubbish the prongs may gather.
Also, according to our Invention, in order securely to fix the prongs to the
finger bar we cast two of the fingers together and so get a firm attachment to the
finger bar, and to one of these fingers we bolt the stem of the prongs. This method
of fixing the stem a³ of the prongs is clearly indicated in dotted lines in Figure
8. In arranging the cutting parts of reaping and mowing machines the
fingers are commonly bolted to a finger bar, and the front of this bar forms
the guide for the back of the cutter bar or the bar to which the cutter blades
are fixed; heretofore, however, when this construction has been adopted the
cutter blades have been fixed on the upper side of the cutter bar.
Now, according to our Invention, in order to get the cutters nearer to the
ground as is desirable, we fix them upon the under side of the bar, we also recess

page_text: the edge of the finger bar so that it may support and guide the cutter bar on
the under side as well as at the back.
Figure 10 is a plan, and Figure 11 a transverse section, of cutting apparatus
thus arranged. a is the finger bar with the fingers b, b, fixed to it as is usual;
c is the cutter bar, and d the cutters fixed to it; thus the cutter bar works
against the front edge of the finger bar, and, as will be seen, this is recessed
to support the cutter bar also on the under side. Clips are fixed to the finger
bar at intervals, and they overlap the front edge of the cutter bar to keep it
back in its place; these clips are not shewn in the Drawing. It is not
essential that the edge of the finger bar should be recessed. The transverse
section, Figure 12, shows an arrangement in which the recess is omitted.
In order to lighten the knife, and to lessen its friction in working, we according
to our Invention cut the blades to av form and rivet them by their two
extremities to the cutter bar. The blades being, as before mentioned, on the
under side of the cutter bar, the two ends or horns of each blade alone bear
on the bottom guide of the cutter bar. The cutting blades d, d, in Figure 10,
are thus constructed as will be seen; the centre part of each blade is so cut
away as to leave the blade with two limbs connected, only at the apex of the
blades, so that when they are fixed to the cutter bar and the knife so formed
is in its place it rests on the surface at intervals only and the cutting parts
are consequently less liable to clog."
In casting or forming the fingers according to our Invention we do not
make the points upon. them, but we form sockets at their ends to receive
seperate points which are fitted into the sockets and secured by pins; this
arrangement enables us to adapt the form of the points to the nature of the
crop and the soil on which the machine is intended to work. This arrange-
ment also is clearly shewn at Figures 10 and 11. The points fit into sockets
and are held there by wooden pegs; points turning either up or down may
thus be employed as the nature of the land and crop renders desirable. In
reaping machines in which self-acting rakes are used we construct the frame
which carries the gear both to drive the knife and the rake of top and
bottom bars of wrought iron held at a distance apart by castings fixed between
them so as to form a trussed frame, and the frame as other castings bolted to
it to carry some of the parts. Such an arrangement is described in the
Specification of a Patent granted to us and dated the Twenty-ninth day of
September, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, No. 2523.
Now according to our present Invention, in order that the speed at which
the self-acting rakes are driven may be varied, we form one of these castings

page_text: with a slot in it, or with two or more suitably placed holes, in order that the
axis of one of the wheels in the train which drives the rakes may be shifted,
so that it may always be able to gear accurately with the next wheel to it in
the train although this wheel is changed from time to time for a larger or a
smaller to vary the speed of the rakes. Figure 13 is a portion of a side view
of a machine such as is shewn and described in the Specification of the said
former Patent, but with this modification applied to it. Figure 14 is a portion
of a front view of the same machine; a, a, is the trussed frame; 6 is the axis
of the pinion gearing with the ring of teeth on the main carrying wheel; 6¹ is
another pinion on the same axis driving an intermediate wheel c turning on a
stud which is capable of adjustment along a slot as is shewn, or from hole to hole.
in the casting d fixed on the frame a; this wheel drives the change wheel e,
and from the wheel e by bevilled gear the rakes and beaters are driven. By
using a larger or smaller wheel at e and placing the wheel c to correspond
and gear with the wheel e the rakes and beaters may be driven faster or
slower as desired.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard Hornsby and James Edwin
Phillips, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-ninth day
of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
RICHARD HORNSBY.
(L.B.)
JAMES EDWIN PHILLIPS. (L.S.)
RICHARD HORNSBY.
(L.B.)
JAMES EDWIN PHILLIPS. (L.S.)