IMPROVEMENTS IN CARPENTERS' BENCHES."
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Duppa Duppa, of Longville, Wistanton,
Shropshire, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARPENTERS' BENCHES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Duppa Duppa
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th July 1859.
I, THOMAS DUPPA DUPPA, of Longville, Wistanton, Shropshire, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARPENTERS'
BENCHES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in carpenters' benches. In
constructing a carpenter's bench according to my Invention, I combine there-
with a lever of an inverted tee-form, (thus 1), the vertical stem of which
passes up through a hole in the centre of the bench; the lever is mounted on
an axis passing through the stem a short distance below the surface of the
bench, and at the ends of the two horizontal arms of the lever foot boards are
mounted, on one or other of which the workman, when at work, stands, and
his weight thus applied throws the lever over, so as to bring the upper end of
the vertical stem towards himself, and this motion of the lever brings it against
the piece of wood to be operated upon and holds it firmly. The manner in
which the piece of wood is held differs on the two sides of the bench; on one
side the upper end of the lever has a horizontal projecting piece fixed in it,
and underneath this projecting piece, and laying on the surface of the bench,

page_text: there is a wedge; thus, when the lever is thrown over, as before explained, the
projection on the lever is brought down towards the wedge, and piece of wood
to be operated on being placed between them becomes firmly nipped and held.
On the other side of the bench a stop is placed opposite the lever; the stop
fixed into a hole in the surface of the bench, and is capable of being turned
round in the hole. It has formed on it several projections of different lengths,
so arranged, that by turning the stop round one or other of these projections
can be brought opposite the lever. When the workman steps on the foot-
board, and so brings the upper end of the lever towards himself, the piece of
wood to be worked having previously been suitably placed on the bench,
becomes nipped between the end of one of the projections on the stop and the
lever. By turning the stop round so as to bring a projection of a suitable
length opposite the lever, the apparatus may be adjusted to hold wood of
different thicknesses. The lever is furnished with a counterpoise, so that when
the workman steps off the foot-board, the wood is immediately released. In
order to hold boards up on edge for planing their edges, the side of the bench
has brackets fixed to it, each such bracket having a vertical ridge or projection
formed at its end; the board to be planed is held against the side of the bench
by wedges driven in between it and these ridges or projections on the brackets.
In place of employing a stop or dog projecting up vertically through a hole
cut in the bench, as is usual, I employ a metal plate hinged to the bench at
one end, and having the teeth formed at its other end; this plate is capable of
being set up by a screen, so as to bring its teeth to a convenient height above
the bench, according to the thickness of the wood to be operated on.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed 2
by the said Thomas Duppa Duppa in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
DUPPA DUPPA, of Longville, Wistanton, Shropshire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Iler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 3
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Ifer reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Duppa Duppa, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Duppa
Duppa, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the 3
said Thomas Duppa Duppa, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should

page_text: 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CARPENTERS' BENCHES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Thomas Duppa Duppa, 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 Duppa Duppa, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in carpenters' benches.
In constructing a carpenter's bench according to my Invention, I combine
therewith a lever of an inverted form thus 1, the vertical stem of which passes
up through a hole in the centre of the bench. The lever is mounted on an
axis passing through the stem a short distance below the surface of the
bench, and at the ends of the two horizontal arms of the lever foot-boards are
mounted, on one or other of which the workman when at work stands, and
his weight thus applied throws the lever over so as to bring the upper end of
the vertical stem towards himself, and this motion of the lever brings it
against the piece of wood to be operated upon, and holds it firmly. The
manner in which the piece of wood is held differs on the two sides of the
bench; on one side the upper end of the lever has a horizontal projecting
piece fixed in it, and underneath this projecting piece, and laying on the
surface of the bench, there is a wedge; thus, when the lever is thrown over, as
before explained, the projection on the lever is brought down towards the
wedge, and the piece of wood to be operated on being placed between them
becomes firmly nipped and held. On the other side of the bench a stop is
placed opposite the lever; the stop fits into a hole in the surface of the bench,
and is capable of being turned round in the hole. It has formed on it
several projections of different lengths, so arranged that by turning the stop
round one or other of these projections can be brought opposite the lever.
When the workman steps on the.foot-board, and so brings the upper end of
the lever towards himself, the piece of wood to be worked having previously
been suitably placed on the bench, becomes nipped between the end of one of

page_text: the projections on the stop and the lever. By turning the stop round so as
to bring a projection of a suitable length opposite the lever, the apparatus
may be adjusted to hold wood of different thicknesses. The lever is furnished
with a counterpoise, so that when the workman steps off the foot-board, the
wood is immediately released. In order to hold boards up on edge for
planing their edges, the side of the bench has brackets fixed to it, each such
bracket having a vertical ridge or projection formed at its end, the board to
be planed is held against the side of the bench by wedges driven in between
it and these ridges or projections on the brackets. In place of employing a
stop or dog projecting up vertically through a hole cut in the bench, as is
usual, I employ a metal plate hinged to the bench at one end, and having
teeth formed at its other end; this plate is capable of being set up by a screw
so as to bring its teeth to a convenient height above the bench, according to
the thickness of the wood to be operated on.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows an end view; Figure 2, a longitudinal section; and
Figure 8, a plan of a carpenter's bench constructed according to my Invention.
a is the bench, through a hole in the centre of which the vertical stem of an
inverted T-formed lever 6 passes. This stem turns on an axis at c a short
distance below the surface of the bench. At the ends of the two horizontal
arms of the lever b foot-boards 6 are mounted, on one or other of which the
workman stands when at work; on the upper side of the horizontal arms there
are rails d, d, upon which cast-iron counterbalance weights e, e, slide. These
weights are for the purpose of bringing back the lever when the weight of the
workman is taken off one or other of the foot-boards, so as to release the piece
of wood that was being held. The upper end of the vertical stem of the lever
may have on one of its sides a piece of wood f bolted to it, as shewn at
Figure 1, so as to form a jaw, between which and the wedge g, resting on the
surface of the bench a piece of wood may be held. The wedge is formed with
a slot at its thin end so as not to interfere with the vertical stem of the
lever b, and is prevented from moving backwards by a tooth projecting from
its under side entering one of the notches in the sliding piece h. This piece
slides in a recess in the bench, and forms the moveable jaw of a vice, as by its
being jointed to the stem of the lever b, as shewn, it can be moved to or from
the fixed projecting piece h'. In place of the upper part of the stem of the

page_text: lever 6 having a piece f bolted to it, it may be fitted with pieces f, f, of
wood or other material mounted on arms f, which turn around a pin passing
through the stem, by which means the distance between the surface of the
bench and the pieces f may be varied, and they may be retained in any
position by a pin i passing through one or other of the holes f. The
pieces f are also attached to the arms f¹ by pins, as shown, so that pieces of
different dimensions may be employed and be readily substituted one for
another. One side of the upper end of the vertical lever is furnished with
teeth, as shown at k, Figure 2, and opposite these teeth there is a stop l,
between which and the teeth a piece of wood may be held, as shown. The
stop is capable of turning in a hole in the bench, and is furnished with
projections of different lengths, as shewn in plan and side view at Figure 4,
so that pieces of wood varying in size may be held by turning one or other of
the projections towards the stem of the lever. There are also several holes
formed in the bench, so that the position of the stop may be varied. One side
of the bench has brackets m, m, fixed to it which carry a table suitable for
planing; the top of this table is level with the surface of the bench, and
between it and the bench there is a recess, as shown at Figure 1, in which a
board may be held up edgewise by its being pressed against the end of the
planing table by the wedges n, n; the planing table is furnished with a dog o,
shewn separately in section at Figure 5. This dog turns at one of its ends on
a hinge, and is formed with teeth at its other end; it is constantly pressed
upwards by a spiral spring, and the distanco it is allowed to project above tho
surface of the table is regulated by a wood screw, as shewn. p is a table
attached to the side of the bench suitable for sawing or chopping upon. The
bench is also fitted with a knife r, which slides into a dovetail groove in a
projection from the bench; this knife is suitable for cutting up small faggot
or brushwood by placing the wood on the knife, and striking it with a wooden
mallet, such as shewn at s.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Duppa Duppa, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of January, in the year. of
our Lord One thousand-eight hundred and sixty.
THOS DUPPA DUPPA. (LS.)