A Felly-raunding Machine made by the Bentel & Margedant Co. has for it frame a heavy cast with the journals all in one piece, with a wide base, the column being parted so as to give one bearing on the front and the other on the back part ; the driving belt coining in the space between, and the mandrel pulley between the two journal boxes. The tight and loose pulleys are outside of the frame. so that the belt connection may be made from either above or below. There are two horizontal turned bars, one each side of the frame top, forming a support for a half-circle side guide, which may be adjusted thereon for wide or narrow fellies. The circular side guides may be adjusted for greater or less distance apart while the machine is in motion. The one on the back is wider than the front one, but both fit close to the circle of the cutter heads, The center guide or rest between the two cutter heads, on which the felly rests, can be raised or lowered at will during the operation of rounding. The. cutter-heads are of the Denison pattern, and the head in which they are held is shown in Fig. 1.
The Bent-el d Margo/ant Felly-boring Ma.
chilies have an arrangement for the accurate and positive clamping of the felly, doing away with trouble on account of the irregularity of the spoke holes. The felly rests on two steel straight-edges, which afford it only two rest ing places, establishing the height of each hole uniformly from the face of thc straight edges, regardless of any twist or bend in the sides of the felly. A double clamp, operated by a treadle, presses the felly uniformly against the stop bars at two points on the inside of the folly, establishing thereby an accurate and uniform angle for each hole. On the left side of the treadle there is an adjusting spleer, for spacing the holes accurately after the first one is bored ; and this is set to point toward the center of the felly are, so that the holes will be laid off accurately.
A folly-boring and screwing machine made by the same company consists in the main of a vertical column bearing a cross arm, at the short end of which there is a vertical boring mandrel having vertical feed by a balanced lever. The SCIfie cross arm bears a spindle, having a detachable screw_driver, encased by a countersunk cup for leading the screw head to the screw driver, or a milled grip cup. which takes hold of the rim of the screw at several points and drives the screw into place ; this latter method of taking hold of the screw being preferred, as it is quick in action and does •away with the danger of splitting the head. Both the boring and the screwing mandrel arc worked by the sante lever. By raising it, the boring spindle, which runs twice as fast as the screw-driver spindle, descends and bores the hole ; then pushing the lever down, the boring spindle is raised and the serew-driver spindle lowered, driving the screw into the folly. The spindles are connected by a chain, which may be unhooked if desired. The rim of the wheel rests, during the operation, upon a small adjustable table ; the hub being held by a chuck with jaws, operated by a screw.
Adjustment for wheels of different diameters and thicknesses is effected by a rod passing through the connecting with the wheel holder, being movable in and out by a hand lever. By running wood screws into the Icily where the tenon of the spoke enters, the splitting of the former is prevented.
The enormous development of special machinery may he pointed out by one, for instance, which is intended to supersede the heretofore annoying operation of cutting off that part of the screw head which remains projecting on the face of a wheel after the felly or rim screw, used by many manufacturers to bind and strengthen the rims or fellies of wheels, is driven home. In one of these machines, made by the Bentel & Margedant Co., the wheel is placed on a short upright mandrel, which is adjustable horizontally to suit different wheel diameters ; and the internal surface of the felly is presented to the action of two heavy shears, having tool-steel dies, one of which is stationary as to movement, but adjustable for taking up wear. The other shear is in exact line with an opposite or station ary shear, and has a reciprocating movement to and from it. By this action the projecting part of the screw will be cut off close to the face of the rim, when the wheel is properly set and the screw head brought between the jaws of the shears. The wheel itself rests upon an adjustable pivot, upon which is can be moved up and down, back and forward, and set at an angle, thins permitting changes for various sizes and kinds of wheel. The machine is driven by a pulley on a horizontal shaft, which by beveled wheels drives the cutting mechanism through a short vertical shaft.
The Beata & Margedaot Wheel -polishing .3Thehine is used for producing a finish on the treads of large wagon wheels ; it sands, sizes, and polishes both sides of the wheel at one operation. The wheel holder consists of a planed base sliding on flat surfaces to and from the sanding disks, to accommodate huge and small wheels ; and to this base there are pivoted upright rigid double-ribbed supports for the wheel chuck ; these supports being swung to and from the sanding disks by a treadle, for entering and withdrawing the wheel. On one side there is a centering chuck with adjusting jaws and scroll gearing. On the opposite side is a large scroll chuck, which centers from the hub, and holds and rotates the wheel while it is being sanded. Each sanding disk has its own mandrel and housing, and the latter can be set for any bevel of rim, an index scale showing the amount of bevel per foot. The disks adjust to and from each other for different rim thicknesses, and after being • set can be thrown together or drawn apart by a hand lever, to permit the finished wheel being withdrawn and another one placed in the machine. In applying the sandpaper a number of pieces cut to size are put on each disk in layers. one over the other, and held by a screw ring, without glue ; and when one layer is worn out this ring is unscrewed a little, the top layer of sandpaper picked off with a pointed instrument, and a fresh one thus presented.