AN IMPROVED TENONING AND SHOULDERING MACHINE
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Henry Couch, of Croydon, in the County of
Surrey, Carpenter, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED TENONING AND
SHOULDERING MACHINE."
Sealed the 25th January 1867, and dated the 1st August 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Henry Couch
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st August 1866.
I, GEORGE HENRY COUCH, of Croydon, in the County of Surrey, Carpenter,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
TENONING AND SHOULDERING MACHINE," to be as follows:-
In the tenoning and shouldering machines hitherto in use the mechanism
has been arranged to operate on the wood by means of revolving cutters, the
wood being moved horizontally. Now under my Invention the wood is fixed
on a stationary horizontal table, and operated upon as required by a saw and
plane fixed in one frame, such frame receiving a horizontal reciprocating
motion by manual or mechanical power, and being moved in a vertical
direction as required by an attendant turning a wheel on a screw. There is'
a frame with a saw and plane to act on both the upper and lower surface
of the wood simultaneously, one frame with saw and plane being over the
other, and the two frames are worked vertically in opposite directions: by
turning the hand wheels on the fixed screw to the extent required by the
particular depth of shoulder intended to be cut. The requisite distance of
the saws and planes apart is regulated and adjusted by means of stops

page_text: fixed to the frame of the machine. By arranging the saw and plane together
in one frame, which receives both a regular horizontal reciprocating motion
and a vertical motion worked by hand, the operations of tenoning and
shouldering are simultaneously performed, the planing of the tenon and the
cutting of the upper and lower shoulder being effected at the same time.
When it is required to cut one shoulder longer than the other the guides
of the respective frame are shifted horizontally and fixed as required before
the saws and planes are set in motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Henry Couch in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st February 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HENRY COUCH, of Croydon, in the County of Surrey, Carpenter, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Henry Couch, Her special licence that I, the said George
Henry Couch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said George Henry Couch, 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, an Invention
for "AN IMPROVED TENONING AND SHOULDERING MACHINE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Henry Couch, 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 George Henry Couch, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings here-

page_text: unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is. to
say):
My Invention of "An improved Tenoning and Shouldering Machine,"
consists in the use of the machine herein-after described for the purpose.
In the tenoning and shouldering machines hitherto in use the mechanism
has been arranged to operate on the wood by means of revolving cutters,
the wood being moved horizontally. Now under my Invention the wood is
fixed on a stationary horizontal table, and operated upon as required by a
saw and plane fixed in one frame, such frame receiving a horizontal
reciprocating motion, either by manual or by mechanical power, and being
moved in a vertical direction as required by an attendant working a treadle.
There a frame carrying a saw and plane to act on both the upper and lower
surface of the wood simultaneously, and these two frames are worked
vertically in opposite directions, so as to open them apart from each other
as required for the insertion of a piece of wood to be operated upon, and its
removal when finished, by means of a treadle which is caused to act on
levers to which the frames are respectively connected. And the said frames
are caused to approach each other vertically as required, by the action of a
.counterbalancing weight on the end of a lever connected to the treadle and
to the said two levers for moving the frames. The requisite distance of the
saws and planes apart to suit the thickness of tenon to be cut is regulated
and adjusted by means of nuts and screws fixed in the vertical guides of the
said frames, and passed through fixed parts of the frame or standards of the
machine. By arranging each saw and plane together in one frame, which
frame receives a regular horizontal reciprocating motion, such frame being
also capable of being moved vertically as required, and adjusted as above
stated, the operations of tenoning and shouldering are simultaneously
performed on the stationary piece of wood, the cutting and planing of the
tenon and shoulder on both the upper and lower surface of the wood
being effected at the same time.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention I will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by
reference to the accompanying Drawings in which is represented a machine
constructed in the manner above referred to.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
.
Fig 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section; and
Fig. 3 is a plan or horizontal view of the machine, in which several Figures
Lattons of reference indiante corresponding parts.

page_text: A, A, is the frame or standards of the machine; B is the main shaft which
may be driven either by turning the fly wheel C, or by means of a band
pulley as shewn worked by a steam engine or other prime mover; D, D, are
two rods connected at one end to the crank wheel E, and at the other end
to the reciprocating frames F, F, each of which carries a saw and plane, so
that on the rotation of the crank wheel E a reciprocating motion is imparted
to the frames F, F, which are mounted so as to be capable of sliding to and
fro in fixed guides G, G, which may be formed as shewn, or otherwise; H is
a stationary horizontal table on which the piece of wood to be operated upon
is laid and held down firmly by means of a screw I, acting on a foot or
presser K, the wood is also fixed in its required position by being placed
against a vertical rail or stop L. The piece of wood may also be placed at an
angle if required by the insertion of a wedge or wedges between it and the rail
or stop, M is a pillar or standard jointed at the bottom to the bed plate of the
machine; in this standard are the fulcra of the two levers N and O, the
fulcrum of the former being at N* and of the latter at O. These levers
are connected to the upper and lower reciprocating frames F, F, and it will
be seen that to the lever O is connected at one end by a hook the treadle
P, and on the other end is fixed a counterbalancing weight Q. By means
of this arrangement when the treadle P is lowered by the attendant, it draws
down the end of the lever O, to which it is connected, thereby carrying down-
wards the lower frame F; at the same time through the rod R drawing down
the outer end of the lever N, thereby carrying upwards the upper frame F.
In this manner the frames F, F, are moved apart in a vertical direction as
required by pressing down the end of the treadle, and it is obvious that on
withdrawing the pressure from the same the action of the counterbalancing
weight will return them towards each other again. The vertical guides of
'the frames F, F, are adjusted and fixed in. their required positions to suit the
thickness of tenon to be cut by means of screws S, S, at top and bottom. If
required the vertical guides of the frames F, F, may be made slightly out of
'the perpendicular so as to give a little under cutting to the shoulder; T is an
adjustable stop for regulating, as required, the distance at which the piece of
wood to be operated upon should be advanced on the table H. It will be
seen from the foregoing description that on a piece of wood being laid on
the table H, and securely fixed in its required position, the reciprocating
motion of the frames F, F, will cause a tenon and shoulder to be simultaneously
cut and planed on the upper and under surface of the wood. I would
remark that I have not thought it necessary to explain all the parts of
the machine in detail as represented, because although the machine as

page_text: represented in the Drawings is that which I prefer, still it may be varied as
to the subordinate parts, without departing from the broad feature or principle
of my said Invention.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I do not claim as
of my Invention the parts of the machine otherwise than as herein-after
stated. But what I do claim as of my Invention is, the construction of
tenoning and shouldering machines, in which the tenons and shoulders are
formed by a frame (or frames) carrying a saw and plane, which are caused
to act by a reciprocating motion on a stationary piece of wood as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Henry Couch, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth day of January in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
15 Witness.
WILLIAM SPENCE,
8, Quality Court,
Chancery Lane.
GEORGE HENRY COUCH. (L.S.)