AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR BORING OR FORMING SQUARE OR ANGULAR-SIDED HOLES IN WOOD AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Critchley Barraclough, of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR BORING OR FORMING SQUARE OR ANGULAR-SIDED HOLES IN WOOD AND
OTHER SUBSTANCES."-A communication from abroad by Benjamin Merritt
the younger, of Newton, in the County of Middlesex and State of
Massachusetts, one of the United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Critchley
Barraclough at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 27th February 1864.
I, THOMAS CRITCHLEY BARRACLOUGH, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR BORING OR FORMING SQUARE OR ANGULAR-SIDED HOLES
IN WOOD AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists in attaching to an auger stock a cutter head con-
taining two fixed cutters, somewhat like the ordinary auger, and which has a
rotary motion given to it by means of a crank shaft and a pair of bevil wheels
in the usual manner. The said cutter head has also attached to it a pair of
reciprocating cutters which are acted upon by a pinion on the lower end of a
small shaft in the centre of the auger stock and which in its turn is acted
upon by a square cam (attached to the frame of the machine) through the
medium of a rack, to which is attached the cam truck acting upon a pinion
on the upper end of said small shaft in the centre of the auger stock.

page_text: In the Drawings annexed hereto, Figure
is a front elevation of the
principal parts of the machine; Figure 2 is a section on line (a, a, Figure 1)
and shows both the fixed and reciprocating cutters in plan, the reciprocating
cutters being shewn drawn iu, so that the distance from point to point of the
cutters is just equal to the width of the square to be cut, which is indicated by
lines; Figure 3 is an elevation of the lower end of the auger stock, and
Figure 4 is a section on line b, b, (Figure 3), the reciprocating cutters being
shown thrown out, so that the distance from point to point is just equal to the
diagonal distance from corner to corner of the square to be cut as indicated by
lines; Figure 5 is a plan and Figure 6 a vertical section of rack box or
bearing; Figure 7 is a plan of the under side, and Figure 8 a vertical section
of a cam the path in which is a perfect square; Figure 9 is a plan, Figure 10
an elevation, and Figure A a section of rack; Figures 11 and 12 are
elevations of truck pin and block for connecting the rack to the cam;
Figures 13, 14, and 15 are views of the cam truck and block; Figure 16 is
an elevation of a modification of the reciprocating cutters.
A, A, are the vertical slides on which the sliding frame B moves up and
down and which are attached in the usual manner to a horizontal frame not
shown in the Drawings; C is the crank shaft, and D, D, are bevil wheels
through which the motion of the crank shaft is conveyed to the auger
stock E, E; F is a cam bolted firmly to the frame B having in its lower side
a path or groove which is rectangular in form, and having in the centre of the
path at each angle or corner a small square projection G, as seen in Figures 7
and 8; H is a box or slide for rack I and keyed firmly to the auger stock and
rotating with it. The rack I is provided with a sliding block and pin J, as
seen in detail in Figures 11 and 12, and which is adjusted by the screw K.
The pin J is fitted to a friction truck L and square block M, as seen in
Figures 18, 14, and 15. The friction truck L and the block M are fitted to
the path of the cam F, and the block has two grooves cut in its upper side at
right angles to each other and to fit the projections in the path of the cam F.
The object of the grooves in tho block and the projections in the cam being to
insure the axis of the truck and block travelling in a direct line from corner
to corner of the cam and thus ensure a perfect rectangle; N, N, are the fixed
cutters attached to the bottom of the auger stock by means of screws, as shewn
in Figure 2; O is the worm of the augur; P, P, are the reciprocating cutters;
R is a pinion on the lower end of the shaft S that operates upon rack teeth on
tho side of the cutters P, P, to move them out or in.
The operation of the machine is as follows, the parts being in the position
shewn in Figure 1 :-The friction truck L and block M will be in the position

page_text: marked T in the path of the cam F and connected to the rack I by means of
the block and pin J. Now if the crank shaft be turned the augur stock will
be turned and also the rack box carrying the rack with it, and as the friction
truck cannot travel in a concentric circle, but must move in a direction tangent
to a concentric circle, it is clear that the rack must be moved endwise, and
as its teeth gear into the pinion U on the upper end of shaft S, it is evident
that the shaft S must be rotated and through the pinion R must move the
cutters P, P, out and continue to do so until the friction truck has arrived
at the corner of the square cam and the points of the cutters have attained
the position shewn in Figure 4, when the friction truck will be forced by the
continued rotary motion of the rack and the rectangular form of the cam path
to move in a line at right angles to that in which it has been moving and
approach the concentric circle to which its path is tangent, the rack will be
moved in and the shaft S rotated in the contrary direction and the cutters be
drawn in to the original position as shown in Figure 2.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Critchley Barraclough in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th August 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, TпоMAS
CRITCHLEY BARRACLOUGII, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and four, in the twenty- year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Thomas Critchley Barraclough, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Critchley Barraclough, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Critchley
Barraclough, 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, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR BORING OR FORMING SQUARE OR ANGULAR-SIDED HOLES IN WOOD AND
OTHER SUBSTANCES," a communication to me from abroad by Benjamin Merrit,
the younger, of Newton, in the County of Middlesex and State of Massa-

page_text: chusetts, one of the United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Critchley Barraclough, 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 causo
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 Critchley Barraclough, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and
the letters and figures marked thereon to be as follows (that is to say):-
This Invention consists in attaching to an auger stock a cutter head con-
taining two fixed cutters, somewhat like the ordinary auger, and which has a
rotary motion given to it by means of a crank shaft and a pair of bevil wheels
in the usual manner. The said cutter head has also attached to it a pair of
reciprocating cutters, which are acted upon by a pinion on the lower end of a
small shaft in the centre of the auger stock, and which in its turn is acted
upon by a square cam (attached to the frame of the machine) through the
medium of a rack (to which is attached the cam's truck) acting upon a pinion
on the upper end of the said small shaft in the centre of the auger stock, as
seen in the Drawings annexed hereto.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the principal parts of the machine;
Figure 2 is a section on line a, a, (Figure 1), and shows both the fixed and
reciprocating cutters in plan, the reciprocating cutters being shown drawn in,
so that the distance from point to point of the cutters is just equal to the width
of the square to be cut, which is indicated by lines; Figure 3 is an elevation
of the lower end of the auger stock, and Figure 4 is a section on line b, b,
(Figure 3), the reciprocating cutters being shown thrown out, so that the
distance from point to point is just equal to the diagonal distance from corner
to corner of the square to be cut, as indicated by lines; Figure 5 is a plan,
and Figure 6 a vertical section of rack, box, or bearing; Figure 7 is a plan
of the under side, and Figure 8 a vertical section of a cam, the path in which
is a perfect square; Figure 9 is a plan, Figure 10 an elevation, and Figure A
a section of rack; Figures 11 and 12 are elevations of truck, pin, and block
for connecting the rack to the cam; Figures 13, 14, and 15, are views of the
cam truck and block; Figure 16 is an elevation of a modification of the
reciprocating cutters.
A, A, are the vertical slides on which the sliding frame B moves up and

page_text: down, and which are attached in the usual manner to an horizontal base frame
not shown in the Drawings; C is the crank shaft; and D, D, are bevil wheels
through which the motion of the crank shaft an conveyed to the auger stock
E, E; F is a cam bolted firmly to the frame B, having on its lower side a
path or groove which is rectangular in form, and having in the centre of the
path at each angle or corner a small square projection G, as seen in Figures 7
and 8; H is a box or slide for rack I, and keyed firmly to the auger stock
and rotating with it. The rack I is provided with a sliding block and pin J,
as seen in detail in Figures 11 and 12, and which is adjusted by the screw K.
The pin J is fitted to a friction truck L and square block M, as seen in
Figures 18, 14, and 15. The friction truck L and the block M are fitted to
the path of the cam F, and the block has two grooves cut on its upper side at
right angles to each other and to fit the projections in the path of the cam F.
The object of the grooves in the block and the projections in the cam being
to insure the axis of the truck and block travelling in a direct line from
corner to corner of the cam and thus ensure a perfect rectangle. N, N,
are the fixed cutters attached to the bottom of the auger stock by means of
screws, as shown in Figure 2; O is the worm of the auger; P, P, are the
reciprocating cutters; R is a pinion on the lower end of the shaft S, that
operates upon the rack teeth on the side of the cutters P, P, to move them
out or in.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The parts being in the position
shown in Figure 1, the friction truck L and block M will be in the position
marked T in the path of the cam F and connected to the rack I by means of
the block and pin J. Now if the crank shaft be turned the auger stock will
be turned, and also the rack box, carrying the rack with it, and as the friction
truck cannot travel in a concentric circle, but must move in a direction tangent
to a concentric circle, it is clear that the rack must be moved endwise, and as
its teeth gear into the pinion U on the upper end of shaft S, it is evident that
the shaft S must be rotated, and through the pinion R must move the
cutters P, P, out, and continue to do so until the friction truck bas arrived at
the corner of the square cam and the points of the cutters have attained the
position shown in Figure 4, when the friction truck will be forced by the
continued rotary motion of the rack, and the rectangular form of the cam
path to move in a line at right angles to that in which it has been moving,
and approach the concentric circle to which its path is tangent. The rack
will be moved in and the shaft S rotated in the contrary direction, and the
cutters be drawn in to the original position, as shown in Figure 2.
It will be readily seen by all acquainted with the act that by varying the

page_text: form of the fixed cam, angular-sided holes of other forms than square may be
bored with the apparatus.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to
the precise details, relative proportions, or dimensions herein-before described
and set forth, as it will be readily seen that the same may be considerably
varied without departing from the Invention; but what I do claim is, the
construction and use of augers or drills for boring square or engular-sided
holes in wood or other substances, as herein-before described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Critchley Barraclough, have
hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this Twenty-sixth day
of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-four.
Witness,
THOMAS CRITCHLEY (L.B.) BARRACLOUGH.
WILLIAM WALKER,
of 44, Castle Street,
Liverpool.