Improvements in Machines for the Manufacture of Spoons, Forks, and similar Articles of Wood, Bone, Ivory, Tortoise-shell, and like Materials.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for the Manufacture of Spoons, Forks,
and similar Articles of Wood, Bone, Ivory, Tortoise-shell, and
like Materials.
I ALEXANDRE DENISE of 15 Rue de Richelieu Paris in the Republic of France:
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to an improved machine enabling spoons and forks to be
made of wood, bone, ivory, tortoise-shell or any material of a similar nature, without
any appreciable loss of such material.
This machine consists of a mandrel or shank of any suitable shape upon the
periphery of which one or more blanks of wood, bone, ivory, tortoise-shell &c. are
fitted ready for the desired articles-say spoons-to be cut out.
This mandrel is
rapidly revolved on a horizontal shaft, and during such rotation, concentric or nearly
concentric external grooves are cut in the blank or blanks fitted onto the said mandrel
by a tool with a curved blade, fitted to a tool-holder adjustable in relation to the lathe
which carries the said mandrel.
The drawings hereunto annexed showing the various parts of this machine, will enable
the construction and operation of the same to be better understood.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the circular plate or chuck supporting the mandrel.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the said chuck.
Fig. 3 is a back view of the same showing the screw threaded portion which is
screwed onto an ordinary lathe spindle.
Fig. 4 is a side view of the lathe the mandrel supporting disc the tool-carriage and
the tool-holder.
Fig. 5 is a plan of the whole of the parts just mentioned.
Fig. 6 shows the tool carriage at right angles to Fig. 4.
Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the mandrel and the parts whereby the blanks are
secured to the mandrel.
Fig. is an end view of the wedge whereby the blanks are tightened on the
mandrel.
Fig. 9 shows the cutting out tool in two positions at right angles to each other.
In all these figures the same letters of reference designate like parts.
Upon any suitable table or bed A a lathe head p of any suitable description is
screwed or bolted at p. Upon the spindle a of such head a loose pulley o and a fast
pulley o are secured. The part of spindle a extending beyond the forward upright
post p of the head is screw threaded and upon this threaded portion e the chuck a
which supports the mandrel c is screwed.
To the bed A a tool-carriage B is attached whose position in relation to the
head P is variable in all directions, and which is also capable of turning about. its
own axis, so as to bring the cutting out tool u near the periphery of mandrel c
and cause it to describe concentric circles upon the external surface of the said
mandrel c. With this object in view the tool-carriage B (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) is made
of four carriages, arranged one above the other, as shown at n¹j v and v. Carriage n¹
moves upon its bed n at right angles to the axis of the spindle under the action
of screw n² turned by means of an ordinary handle or key. Carriage is moved in
a direction parallel to the axis of the spindle by the operation of screw n³. Upon
carriage the motion of which may be either parallel or at right angles to spindle
a vertical bolt or pin is provided acting as the pivot of a third carriage which
thus rendered capable of rotary motion. Upon this pivoted carriage v slides a fourth
carriage v operated by means of screw ². To this last carriage is fixed the tool
holder provided with an operating handle ».
1'

page_text: At the top of the tool-holder a screw threaded spindle is arranged which enables
a support s to be fitted upon tool u (Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 9) while its notch y engages
a slotted piece s¹. Both the supports and piece s' are firmly held in position upon
the tool-holder by means of a nut t..
By suitably operating screws n² n³ and ² and also the handle of the tool-holder
cutter is brought in the position indicated by dotted lines Fig. 5 and thus made
concentric with the surface of the mandrel c.
The chuck a supporting the mandrel (Figs. 1, 2, 3 4 and 5) is circular in shape
and terminates in the rear in a hollow cylinder or boss b provided with an inner
screw thread at e. Chuck a has a circular opening bored in its centre in which a
mandrele is fixed and a number of radial grooves d which extend backwards, into
the cylindrical portion b. as shown at d¹, so as to accommodate the tail pieces of the
blanks m of wood, bone, ivory, tortoise-shell &c., to he worked into spoons or forks.
To the edges of grooves d and to the disc a are fixed the guides upon the edges of
which rest or slide supports or dogs g bolted behind at to a plate y'. Each of these
dogs g receives a screw with a square head which screw can be brought to bear
upon the tail pieces of the blanks placed upon the mandrel c. Upon the periphery of
disc a and corresponding to grooves d other screws with square heads are provided
which turn within the screw threaded portion of the said disc and serve for adjusting
the distance between dogs y and the centre of disc a so as to enable screws to press
the blanks m against mandrel e no matter what the size of such mandrel and the
thickness of the blanks may be.
The egg-shaped mandrel e (Figs. 1, 2 and 7) is hollowed out at its periphery for
the reception of the blanks m corresponding in their rough outline to the articles it
is desired to manufacture; (these are here supposed to be spoons). Each of these
hollow spaces corresponds in depth to that of a spoon and is situated in front of one
of the grooves d.
To secure the blanks m in these hollow spaces or recesses such blanks are fitted
snugly to the bottoms of their respective recesses (Figs. 127 and 8) and then fixed
in place by means of a tightening wedge or key y provided with as many arms as
there are blanks m to secure. Each arm of this wedge or key q is provided with
a groove in which the rod g of a bevelled pusher is made to slide which latter is
held in position by means of a screw . In the centre of the said wedge or key q
a screw threaded opening is provided wherein a correspondingly screw threaded
spindle m² is screwed the head 3 of which forms the point of the mandrel e. Screw
thread has two openings m¹ wherein the arms of a key are inserted when it is
desired to adjust the position of wedge so as to cause it to exercise more or less
pressure upon the blanks m and thereby to drive them home more or less completely
into the pointed portions m² of the recesses in which they lic. Screw m³ enables the
points of the blanks to be raised more or less as required, whereby the depth or
thickness of the corresponding portions of the articles to be cut out is varied at will.
By causing pushers to advance a greater or less distance the tail pieces of the
blanks maintained upon the mandrel by the screws and are raised the required
distance. The cutting out tools Fig. 9 are flexible steel blades or cutters with
handles A in the shape of prisms provided each with a notch y whereby they are
firmly fitted onto the tool holder. The working or end portion of each blade or
cutter is provided. with a point u' as shown. The shape of these blades and that of
the external surface of the mandrel c are made to correspond respectively to the
inner and outer surfaces of the spoon (or fork) it is desired to cut out.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
After the blanks of wood, bone, ivory, or tortoise-shell have been cut out by the
ordinary means so as to assume the shape approaching that of ordinary spoons and
forks they are inserted into the hollow space or recess provided in the mandrel or
chuck c, care being taken to first insert the point or beak of the blank into the
point m of the hollow space. Then by means of the screws and (Figs. 1
and 2) they are fixed in position by being tightly pressed against the inner or
bottom surface of the recess while at the point m¹ of the recess the wedge y
is

page_text: used to secure them tightly within this part, the said wedge being operated by the
screwed spindle 2. When this is done the cutting tool u is adjusted by suitably
moving the parts of the lathe so that it should take up its position upon the
mandrel or chuck e as shown by the partly broken and partly dotted lines (Fig. 5);
at this moment the position of the tool u being adjusted it is removed from the
chuck c while this chuck is set in motion by operating the lathe. Then the tool u
is moved closer to the chuck and cuts the blank concentrically with the curves of
the chuck e. This is how the hollow part of the upper spoon and also the external
convex portion of the lower spoon are formed. When this cutting out operation
is completed the blanks are removed from the chuck and one of the spoons is cut
away by means of a saw from the blank. Then fresh blanks are inserted into the
recess of the chuck and the same operation is repeated.
Thus by a series of successive cutting operations, the cuts being in each case con-
centric with the outline of the chuck, a number of spoons and forks unattained
hitherto in a given time may be cut out from one block say of ivory etc. The first
lower spoon of each blank is not hollowed out.
When it is desired to vary the thickness of the spoon it is necessary to alter the
depth of the recess m in other words to raise those parts of the recess which are to
carry the blanks. For this purpose the tail-piece of the blanks is raised by means
of the bevelled pushers q (Figs. 7 and 8) while the point or beak of such blanks is
also raised by tightening or loosening the screw m (Fig. 7) as required.
1 desire it to be understood that the same devices and parts of machinery may with
slight modifications be used for cutting out any other articles of a similar description
to those mentioned above.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A machine for cutting out forks and spoons from blanks of wood, bone, ivory,
tortoise-shell etc. without any appreciable loss of material, mainly consisting in the
combination of a rotary mandrel having an external curved surface approaching the
outline or shape of the articles to be cut out and adapted to support and move along
the blanks, with a cutting out tool provided with a curved blade or cutter capable
of rotary and cross motions, substantially as described and illustrated in the
drawings.
2. In the manufacture of forks and spoons the application of a revolving mandrel
the externally curved surface of which approaches the shape or outline of the articles
to be cut out in combination with a movable cutting out tool adapted to cut or groove
concentrically with the mandrel in the blanks fitted on to the said mandrel substantially
as described and shown in the drawings.
3. In a machine for cutting out articles such as described the various arrange-
ments of the mandrel cutter and tool-holder respectively the latter being capable
both of rotary and cross motions substantially as described and illustrated in the
drawings.
Datad this 4th day of February 1890
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.