Improved Means for Operating upon Earthenware chiefly in the Production of Electric Insulators and the like

6421. Doulton, H. L., and Morris, H. March 15. Pottery, throwing and turning.-Relates to a machine for boring and partly shaping the exterior of earthenware insulators & c., a n d comprises a pair of disks h each carrying a boring-tool i adapted to be moved upwards to operate upon a blank held in a work-holder a, and tools u arranged vertically in line with the tools i and adapted to descend and partly shape the exterior of the insulators. The workholders a are arranged in pairs on a slide b, which is operated, to bring them into alinement with the tools, by rack gearing f, g, one set of work-holders being operated upon while the other set is emptied and recharged. The tools i comprise a twist drill i, Fig. 5, adapted to produce the central boring 1, Fig. 4, a smaller part i' to produce the smaller boring 2 in the head of the insulator, and one or more spiral or scroll-like cutters i to form the annular space or spaces 3. The shafts h are rotated from a shaft q by belts passing around stepped pulleys j, s, and are raised by cams k acting through levers l and links m connected to sleeves m which engage collars h . Links v connected to the levers l operate levers w connected to the tools u, which are carried by shafts t rotated from the shaft q by belts passing around stepped pulleys x, y. Each cam k is mounted upon a shaft n rotated from the shaft q through worm gearing p and may be stepped, as shown, tu cause the shafts h to descend momentarily, at intervals, to clear the tools. Instead of the arrangement described above, the shafts h may be raised by disk cams acting directly upon the shafts or through levers, or screw traversing means with a quick - release motion may be employed. The work-holders a may be rotated instead of the shafts a. After being bored and partly shaped, the insulators are tapped and finished on the machine described in Specification 5501/14.