IMPROVEMENTS IN LATHES AND PARTS CONNECTED THERE WITH, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING AND SMOOTHING THE SUR- FACES OF CERTAIN METAL WARES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Penn Cresson, of Philadelphia,
United States, but now residing at George Street, Portman
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LATHES AND PARTS CONNECTED
THERE WITH, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING AND SMOOTHING THE SUR-
FACES OF CERTAIN METAL WARES."-A communication.
Sealed the 4th June 1853, and dated the 9th April 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Penn
Cresson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 9th April 1853.
I, WILLIAM PENN CRESSON, of Philadelphia, United States, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LATHES AND PARTS CONNECTED THEREWITH, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING
AND SMOOTHING THE SURFACES OF CERTAIN METAL WARES," to be as
follows:---
The Invention applies to that class of cast metal wares, such as
saucepans and like articles, whose surface has to be smoothed by

page_text: cutting instruments, particularly on the inside, to prepare them for
tinning or other coating.
And the improvements relate, first, to means of supporting and con-
troling the motion of such article during the required operation, so
that if it be of an oval or other figure out of a circle, it may have its
rotary or concentric motion changed into that corresponding with its
figure, in order that the cutter having begun, say at the centre of the
bottom, inside of the article, may, by a gradual helical or such like
movement of the article, act upon the bottom surface thereof, until the
sides begin to be operated upon by the side of the cutter, when the
rotary motion of the article is continued, that of the figure of the side of
the article being cut.
By one arrangement this movement is accomplished by a cam,
actuating a lever with a sliding centre of motion, moved by a screw or
otherwise, the lever acting upon rocking arms, which support the
mandril carrying the article being prepared.
By another arrangement the chuck or other fixture of the article has
a compound movement given to it, by which this gradual variation
from a concentric motion is obtained.
Also to applying spring or other pressure lengthwise of the mandrils
supporting the article, and which have, for that purpose, slight play in
their bearings, in order to compensate for any irregularities in the
bottom surface, or that surface of the ware which is across the axis of
the mandril, and enable the cutter to pare off an uniform quantity.
Secondly, to means of supporting and actuating the cutter. To
supporting the cutter on compound levers, which admit, during its
traverse motion, of its following the side figure of the article being
cut. And to keeping the cutter bearing with uniform pressure against
such side surface by spring or other pressure capable of adjustment, in
order to an uniform quantity being pared therefrom; also to the appli-
cation of a roller in connection with the cutter, to keep the cutter act-
ing as nearly as possible at the same angle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent.
filed by the said William Penn Cresson, in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 8th October 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM PENN CRESSON, of Philadelphia, United States, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the sixteenth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Penn Cresson, Her special licence that I, the
said William Penn Cresson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Penn Cresson, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, 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 LATHES AND PARTS
CONNECTED THEREWITH, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING AND SMOOTHING THE
SURFACES OF CERTAIN METAL WARES," communicated to me from abroad,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Penn
Cresson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Penn Cresson, 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):
Certain metal wares, such as saus-pans, and other somewhat similar
articles, are first cast, and then the inner surface has its rougher parts
removed, and is, to a certain extent, smoothed by the application of
cutting and smoothing tools whilst the article is supported in a lathe;
and, although the moulds in which such articles are first cast are formed

page_text: as truly as possible, the shrinking of the metal in cooling often causes
various deviations from the true or accurate surface which had been in-
tended; and although these deviations are but slight, yet they have
hitherto, as I believe, formed practical difficulties in the way of the
successful application of cutters worked by mechanical means for
smoothing the surface, although attempts have been made for that
purpose.
The object to be obtained is that the article may be so governed in
its rotary motion that the cutting and smoothing instruments shall fol-
low the general form of the article acted upon, and any deviation from
a true or accurate surface in such forms, resulting, as already stated,
from shrinking in cooling after casting, so that the tool, in cutting and
smoothing the surface, shall take off only one uniform quantity from
each part thereof, or as nearly so as may be.
But that the Invention constituting the present improvements may
be fully understood, I will proceed to explain the means of carrying
the same into effect, reference being had to the drawings annexed, in
the various figures of which the same letters indicate the same parts
wherever they occur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, shows a side view; Figure 2, a plan; Figure 3, an end
view; and Figure 4, a section taken across the dotted line 1, 1, of
Figure 2, of apparatus arranged according to the Invention. a, a, is the
framing of the machine; b, b', is the cradle or chuck, in which is sup-
ported the article whose interior surface is to be cut, and which article
is represented by the red lines. The plate b, is affixed to the shaft c,
so as to rotate with it; and the plate 6', is connected to the plate b, by
the bars and nuts thereon, as shown, so as to hold the article
This shaft c, has rotary motion given to it by
a band or strap from an overhead shaft worked by a steam engine or
other suitable power acting upon its fixed drum or pulley c', whilst it is
supported so as to turn freely in bearings formed in the upper ends of
the rocking arms d, affixed to the shaft d', by which arrangement the
shaft c, may have given to it a rocking motion as well as its rotary one,
between the parts b, b¹.

page_text: in order that in the rotation of the article its surface, when of an oval
form, may all be brought against and be acted upon by the cutting or
smoothing instrument used; and this vibratory or rocking motion is im-
parted to the shaft c, by means of the cam course e', formed on the
plate c, which is affixed to the hollow axis e, which is capable of turn-
ing freely upon the shaft d'; and upon this hollow axis e², is also affixed
the toothed wheel e', which is taken into by and receives motion from
the toothed wheel e', affixed on the shaft or axis c. The cam course et,
receives the truck or roller f', carried by the sliding bar f, by which, in
the revolution of the cam e', a to and fro motion is given to the bar f,
which is controlled to move simply in a horizontal direction by reason
of its sliding in the guides f; and at one end this bar f, is connected
by pin joint to the lower end of the lever g, which at its upper end is
connected by means of the link g', to a neck formed on one of the
rocking arms d, so as to vary the position of the axis c, in the revolu-
tion of the cam e'. The lever g, carries a sliding plate g', upon which
are formed centre pins g², which form the axis of the lever g. The
pins g, (one on each side) are supported by and so as to turn in the
bearings h', carried by the frame h, which is capable of sliding on the
upright fixed standard h², and is adjusted in position so as to vary
the point of motion vertically of the lever g, by the screw h³, which
has necks formed upon it by which it is capable of turning in
the bearings h, affixed to the standard h².
to cut circular articles, then the frame h, is
position, so that the centre of motion and the pin g', (connecting the
upper end of the lever g, with the link g³,) will be coincident; and
although at such time the lower end of the lever g, may still be actuated
by the can e', its motion will (by reason of the position for the time
being of the centre of motion g².) have no effect upon the axis c, which
will then simply rotate upon its own axis.
When it is desired pro-
gressively to change the simply circular motion of the piece of ware
being cut into that of an oval, as hereafter more fully explained, then I
give motion to the screw h³, to cause the frame h, to descend, in the
following manner :-Upon the hollow axis e2, is formed a wharve or
pulley ho, which, by means of a gut or band, gives motion to the pulley
When it is desired
raised to its highest

page_text: wheel ho; fixed on the shaft h', upon which is fixed the pulley h³, which,
by a strap or band, gives motion to the pulley ho, fixed on the axis h¹0,
upon which is fixed the bevilled pinion h", which takes into and drives
the bevilled pinion h2, which, by the clutch h¹³, is capable of being con-
nected with, so as to turn the screw h³. i, is a lever for throwing the
clutch into and out of connection with the screw h³; and i', is a stop
(capable of adjustment by the set screw ) on the rod 3, in connection
with the lever i, by which, when the clutch is set to turn the screw, the
descent to any determined point of the slide h, will cause the projec-
tion, (through which the rod i, passes,) to act upon the stop i, to
release the clutch h¹³, from the screw h³, and prevent the further move-
ment of the screw h³, and consequently of the frame h. I would here
state, that the cam course e', is not a true oval; and the means by
which the required form to that cam is obtained is by placing a cam,
with a true cam course formed on it, as a temporary instrument in the
position of the cam e', and using it as a means of giving motion to a
cam e, placed in the position of the chuck b, whilst being cut by
suitable cutting tools; and a cam thus obtained will be found to have
the required deviation from a true oval for correct working; and such
cam, so cut, when placed in its proper position on the hollow axis e, to
give motion to the lever g, as before explained, will be found to produce
the required movement to the axis c, for the cutting of ovals; and in
like manner may other irregular cams be obtained for the cutting of
other irregular forms.
The cutting, or it may be smoothing instrument j, is affixed to
the bar j', as shown; and this bar passes through and is supported
by the tube j, upon which are formed the arms j, j", which
arms j, j³, are supported from the spindle j, carried by the upper
ends of the links j³, j³, whose lower ends receive the spindle j", which
also passes through projections from the slide j', which supports the
spring barrel, which is furnished with a powerful spring for the
purpose of drawing the spindle j*, and consequently the cutter j, with
considerable force against the side of the article being cut, there being
a chain j, connecting one of the arms ja, with the barrel js; and the
barrel je, has affixed to it a ratchet wheel jº, which is taken into and

page_text: held by the clawkerj10, in order to regulate the amount of strain effected
by the spring contained in the barrel j. The angle at which the tool
acts in cutting the side of the ware is regulated by the roller m, carried
by a pin projecting from the plate m', affixed by a set screw m², to
the bar.j.
The slide j, is formed on its under side with dovetail guides, by
which it is capable of sliding, as part of an ordinary slide rest, on the
slide ; and the slide j', is controlled in its movement on the slide k,
by the screw, which is formed with a neck to turn freely in the
bearing, carried by the slide k, and whose thread works in the female
thread or nut j13, carried by the slide plate j', and is capable of being
turned by the handle j", or may be turned, by the working of the
machine, in the following manner :-Upon the hollow axis e, is formed
a wharve j, to receive a gut or band 16, which passes over and gives
motion to the pulley j", affixed on the shaft or axis j¹8, carried by
suitable bearings from the framing, as shewn. Upon the end of this
shaft is affixed the bevilled pinion j", which takes into and drives the
bevilled pinion j2, affixed to or formed on the tube j", which turns in
the fixed bearing j; and 'through which passes the spindle j³, which
rests free within the tube j", except when connected thereto by the
clutch ja, there being a pin projecting inwards from the clutch j², which
passes into a longitudinal groove formed in the spindle j³, by which the
spindle j, may be caused to move with the clutch 12, when that clutch
is in contact with the projections on the tube j, upon which is formed
the pinion j; and the spindle 23, will, in its rotation, by its bevilled
pinion, give motion to the bevilled pinion j", affixed to the screw j¹¹.
The slide k, is formed, as shown, to slide on the rest 1, and to be con-
trolled in its position on the rest 1, by means of the screw ¹, which
passes through a nut affixed on the under side of the slide k, and is
capable of turning freely in bearings carried by the rest 1, whilst it also
carries the bevilled pinion k², which is caused to turn it only when
connected thereto by the clutch . The pinion, is taken into and
driven by the pinion , affixed on the end of the spindle h². In order
to compensate for any irregularity in the bottom surface of the article
being cut, so that only an uniform quantity may be removed therefrom

page_text: by the instrument j, the axis c, is caused to be capable of a slight longi-
tudinal play in its bearings, and it is acted upon at one end by a spring o
(or it may be other pressure) with a force capable of adjustment, as
shewn. w, is a support, hinged at w', to the tube, and used to sup-
port the tube, and cutting or smoothing instrument, when acting upon
the bottom surface of the article, and when the roller m, is not in
operation. The lower end of this support w, at such time, rests in the
projection a.
Figure 5, shows a roughing instrument, and Figure 6, a smoothing
instrument, suitable for cutting articles of the form shown by red lines
in the drawings.
I will now proceed to describe the means pursued in operating with
this machine. Having placed the article whose internal surface is to be
skinned or operated on in the cradle or chuck b, b', as shewn by red
lines. I disconnect each of the clutch boxes, and bring the parts into
position by means of the handles affixed on the ends of the various
screws, so that the axis g, of the lever g, may be coincident with the
pin joint g. When the articles to be acted upon are circular, I let
these parts remain in that position, that is, with the axis g², coincident
with the pin g', keeping the clutch box h, all the time disconnected,
so that there may be no movement of the screw h³.
Supposing, however, the article, as before stated, to be of an oval
form, I adjust the various stops to suit the size of article to be cut; I
then bring the point of the cutter to the centre of the bottom of the
article, (that is to say, coincident with the centre of the axis c,) and
the adjustment of the point of the cutter is obtained by means of a
screw 27, carried by the tube j, taking into the teeth formed on the
tooth segment j, affixed to the bar j'; I then connect the clutches his
and, with their respective pinions h, and 2, by which the centre of
motion g², will immediately begin to recede from its coincidence with
the pin joint g; and the article, in place of simply rotating upon its own
axis, will also begin to move to and fro, which motion will increase as
the centre of motion g², recedes from its coincidence with the pin joint
g', until the amount of motion obtained is such as to compensate for
the difference between the longer and shorter diameter of the oval.

page_text: when the frame h, will come against the stop i', by which the clutch
13, will be thrown out from its locking with the pinion 12, and the
further movement of the screw h³, will be stopped.
During all this time the cutting instrument will have been caused
gradually to recede from the centre of the bottom of the article, and is
supposed to have acted upon the whole of the bottom of such article,
and to have arrived at its side, when the slide k, will have come against
the adjustable stop k, by which the rod k, will cause the clutch k³, to
disconnect the bevilled pininon k², from its screw ; and the slide k,
will cease to travel farther in that direction.
The clutch box 2, is thrown in and out of gear by means of the lever
n, which has a tendency to keep the parts of the clutch in contact, by
means of a spiral spring n'; and they are kept out of contact by the
lever n, which passes into a notch in a pin n, projecting from the
lever n, by which the lever n, is held with the clutch j", separate from
the tube j; but when the slide k, has carried the cutting instrument
to its full extent towards the side of the article, then the conical end
of the pin n', which is carried by the slide k, and is adjustable by the
set screw n³, comes against the lever, and causes it to be moved, by
which the pin n", is released, and the spring n', acts to throw the clutch
, into gear with the tube j", by which the screw", will now act to
draw the slide outwards, and consequently the cutting (or it may be a
smoothing) instrument along the sides of the article being operated
upon.
In arranging apparatus for cutting articles simply of a circular form,
the cutter may be applied to parts of an ordinary slide rest, having
movements corresponding to those above described, for causing the
traverse of slides j', and k; but in place of applying spring or other
pressure to the bar or other means for holding the cutter, in order to
the cutter following the irregularities of the ware, a like effect may be
obtained by the application of spring or other pressure to the upper
ends of the rocking arms, carrying the axis by which the ware is
supported.
Figure 7, shows a front view; and Figure 8, a plan of another
arrangement for supporting ware, so that its surface, when of an oval

page_text: form, may be, on its rotation, kept in contact with the cutting
instrument. 6, 62, are bars, whose outer ends may carry frame b', such
as already described, to support the ware correctly against the plate b;
and this plate b, slides in dovetail grooves formed in the plate P; which
is affixed to and rotates with the axis c, so as to give rotary motion to
the article being cut. The plate b, also has projections 63, affixed to it,
by which it embraces and turns upon the ring q, which is shown to
be concentric with the axis c; but this ring q, is capable of a sideway
movement by means of the screw r, which passes through a nut v,
carried by the ring q, and is capable of receiving motion, when required,
by being connected by the clutchs, with the pinion t, which is taken
into and driven by a corresponding pinion driven from a shaft h. The
clutch is capable of being disconnected with the pinion t, by the forked
instrument u, to which is affixed the adjustable stop u', which must be
so placed upon the rod u², which carries the fork u, that when the
required exentricity is obtained to the ring q, the projection v¹, from
the nut v, will come in contact with the stop u', by which the clutch
will be moved, and cease to connect the motion of the pinion t, with the
screw, when the article will be caused to continue its movements in
an oval direction, as was explained in respect of Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, I would
have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details
herein shewn and described, so long as the peculiar character of any
part of the Invention be retained. But what I claim is,-
First, machinery constructed and arranged as above described, and
represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, for the supporting, cutting, and
smoothing of hollow metal ware.
Secondly, I claim the arrangement above described, and represented
in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, for carrying and working the cutting or
smoothing tools in the manufacture of hollow metal ware.
Thirdly, I claim the adapting of spring or other pressure to the axis
carrying the cradle or chuck, so as to admit of slight yielding to the
cutting or smoothing instrument when the bottom surface of the ware
is being acted upon, as above described.
Fourthly, I claim the arrangements above described, .and represented

page_text: in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, for controlling the movement of the article
being cut, so that its simple rotary motion may, when required, be
changed into that of an oval or similar form.
Fifthly, I claim the adapting spring or other pressure to the parts
supporting the article operated on, so that the cutting or smoothing
instrument may be caused to act uniformly upon the irregular side
surfaces of metal ware, as above described.
Lastly, I claim the combination and arrangement of apparatus for
controlling the movement of the chuck or other carrier of the articles
being.cut, when such article is of an oval form, as described in respect
of Figures 7, and 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Penn Cresson, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three.
WILLIAM P. CRESSON. (L.S.)
Witness, WILLIAM BROOKES,
73, Chancery Lane,
Patent Agent.