Aug. 12, 1947.

2,425,543

F. LANDGRAF
APPARATUS FOR CARVING' PROPELLER BLADES

Filed Dec. 28, 1944

5 Sheets-Sheet 1

Li

Aug. 12, 1947.

v

2,425,543

G. F. LANDGRAF
APPARATUS FOR CARVING PHOPELLER BLADES

Fild Dec. 28, 1944

5 Sheets-Sheet 2

Aug. 12, 1947.

2,425,543

G. F. LANDG,RAF
APPARATUS FOR CARVING PROPELLER BLADES

Filed Dec. 28, 1944

5 Sheets-Sheet 3

3mm

W961? 1W9,
I W/W,

4%!0144414
W4

Aug. 12, 1947.

v

2,425,543

' G. F. LANDGRAF
APPARATUS FOR GARVING PROPELLER BLADES

5 Sheets-Sheet - 4

////////////////

>7

Aug. 12, 1947.v

'

G. F. LANDGRAF

2,425,543 ,

APPARATUS FOR CAEVING PROPELLER BLADES

Filed Dec. 28, 1944'

5 Sheets-Sheet s '

1mm
880596 J?

5%

"t

M'IZWEMQM

2,425,543

Patented Aug. 12, 1947

UNITED STATES: PATENT OFFICE

2,425,543
APPARATUS FOR CARVING PROPELLER
BLADES
George F. Landgraf, Cockeysville, Md., as'sig'nor to
Koppers Company, Inc., doing business as

Bartlett Hayward Division, Baltimore, Md., a

corporation of Delaware

Application December 28, 1944, Serial No. 570,126

6 Claims.

(01. 90-1-34)

1
The present invention relates to machine tools
and more especially to a machine tool for carv
ing exactly corresponding blades for use in con

tra-rotating propellers. More particularly the in

vention embraces the concept of machining either
right or left hand propeller blades in accordance
with the contour of a single master model of one
of the blades.

Tools have been devised for duplicating parts

in which the work and a template are moved

simultaneously with respect to a cutter, the tem

plate guiding the cutter to accordingly shape the

work piece. This principle is employed in a ma

chine tool for shaping propeller blades disclosed

in a co-pending application of Claude M. Skin 15

ner, Serial No. 550,795, filed August 23, 1944,
wherein the template is a model of the blade to
be formed. This master model and a blade blank
are set up in the machine in axially parallel re

lationship and moved longitudinally along the 20

machine ways in reciprocating feed strokes. Be

tween the feed strokes the model and blank are

means for synchronizing axial rotation of th

work and master model in a propeller carving ma
chine including a change gear system of idlers

connecting the respective spindles supporting the

work piece and model whereby they may be either
indexed in the same direction to carve a blade
similar to the model, or indexed in counter direc
tions to carve a blade opposed t'o'the model.
In order to make the invention more clearly
understood, it has been made the subject vof il
lustration in the accompanying drawings in con"-'
vnection with a blade carving machine of the type

disclosed in the above-mentioned application Se

rial No. 550,795.
In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the blade

carving machine.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken

along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a face view of the headstock of the
machine shown in Figure 1 incorporating the
change gear feature in accordance with this iin-.

simultaneously indexed about their respective

vention.

tively engaged by the follower roll and cutter and

at the end of the carving operation the blank has
been reduced to the exact shape of the model.
It will be apparent that this machine produces
corresponding blades, that is, a right hand blade
is shaped from a right hand model, and to shape

the train.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken

axes. During the reciprocating feed strokes the
the line 4-4 of Figure 3.
blank is carved by a rotary cutter whose feed is 25 along
Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken
controlled by the engagement of a follower roll
along the line 5-5/of Figure 4.
with the master model. Between work feed
Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken along
strokes the blank and model are simultaneously
the line 6-43 of Figure 5 s'hovvihg the adjustable
indexed about their respective axes in the same
means for mounting one of the idler gears to its
direction with the result that corresponding in 30
supporting structure to eliminate back lash in
crements of the model and blank are respec

left hand blades a left hand model must be used.

"Figure 7 is a fragmentalsectional View taken on

the line "l~'l of Figure 5.
Figure 8 is a view similar to FigureS but show

ingt'a modi?ed arrangement of reverse gearing.

Figure 9 is a side-elevational view of the gear
arrangement illustrated? in Figure 8.
V
V Figure 10 is a diagrammatic View illustrating

It is highly important in contra-rotating propel

the method of carving a blade of opposite pitch
lers and particularly in automatic constant speed 40 than that of the model in accordance with this
types, that not only must the blades in one pro
peller be all exactly similar but that those in the

invention.

The propeller carving machine above refer-red

oppositely rotating propeller also exactly corre
to consists essentiallyof'an elongated bed I sup
spond to the others in weight, size, contour and 45 porting parallel ways 2 on which is s'l-idably
aerodynamic characteristics. The di'f?culty and
mounted for reciprocating movement awork sup
precision necessary to make two exactly corre
port table 3. This table is reciprecated bya- HY
sponding master models, one right hand and the
draulic feed system including a cylinder ll at

other left hand, will readily be seen.

tached to the bed I and carrying a piston which
It is therefore one of the objects of this in
has an operative connection through its
v1.")
50
vention to improve a propeller shaping machine
with the table. Hydraulic fluid under pressure
of the above character by the provision of a re
is applied alternately to opposite faces of the pis
versible indexing mechanism whereby either right
ton. The fluid is controlled by a. valve system
or left hand blades may be formed in accordance
indicated generally as 6 which; is actuated by
with a single master model of one blade.
55 means of, reversing dogs I and '8 carried by the

Another object of the invention is to provide

2,425,542

table 3. Smooth movement of the table is ac

complished by feeding against a back pressure .by
metering out the exhaust .?uid through valves 9

to e?ect either like or reversed rotation thereof

are a pair of intermeshed idler gears 43 and 44,
carried on an arm 45 which is pivotally mounted
on a slight extension 46 of the lower sleeve 38

and slowing down'the feed at the end of each

stroke by the action of valves I4 which are par
tially closed near the end of the strokes by cams

to pivot about the axis of the lower spindle I4.

As seen in Figure 5, the gear 43 is constantly
meshed with the lower gear 4I while the idler
gear 44 is constantly meshed with the idler gear

I I carried by the table.

The table 3 has mounted adjacent opposite
ends thereof a headstock I2 and a tailstock i3.

In the headstock I2 there are journaled a pair 10

of superposed spindles i4 and I5, parallel with

43.

The arm 45 abuts the rear face of the back '

plate 36 of the headstock and is provided with a

lateral extension 41 elongated to form a hand
lever 43 vby means of which the arm may be

the ways 2 and each carrying a chuck, or other

suitable holding device, designated generally as

I5 and I1 and adapted to hold respectivelythe

_ moved to ?engage either of the idlers 43 or 44

shank ends of a blade blank I8 and a model I9

of the blade to be carved. The tailstock I3 car

with the upper gear 42. In order to lock the idler

supporting-arm 45 in either of its selected posi
tions, the extension 41 is provided with an arou-v

ries spindles 2B and 2I, axially aligned withgthe

headstock spindles and each carrying a center ;
for supporting the respective tip ends of the

ate s1ot49 through which projects a threaded

stud 50 secured to an ear 5I formed on the back

blank and model. The headstock also carries the
plate 36. Threaded on the stud 50 to engage the
mechanism to be described in more detail later 20 extension 47 and clamp the idler arm into close

for the synchronized rotation of the spindles I4

and I5 to index the work and model.
Extending. transversely from the ways, interr
mediate the length thereof, on'opposite sides of 25
the bed I are aligned parallel tracks 22 and 23
respectively mounted on supports 24 and 25 se
cured'tothe. bed I .' Each of the tracks 22 and
23 support for rolling movement thereon a cut

ter carriage'ZS, carrying a rotary cutter 2? driven

through a belt drive 28 by a high speed electric

'motor 29, alsojcarried by the cutter carriage.

Above each cutter 2! is a follower roll 39 freely
rotatable about an axis parallel with that of the

cutter. These rolls are adapted toengage and

follow the contour of the model I9 to guide'the
cutter feed during feed strokes of the table 2 as
the carriages 26 are moved inwardly of the ma
chine by suitable means such as the weight ar
rangements shown in Figure 2. The rolls 36 are

mountedon cross slides 3| for lateral'adjust-V

ment 'with'respect to the cutters for controlling
the depth of cut made thereby.

.7 -

frictional engagement with the backplateil? is

a nut 52.

Preferably the gears should mesh and rotate

without back lash and to this end the gear 43_ is
mounted for adjustment toward the gears 4i and
44 with which'it' is in constant mesh. One means

for adjustably mounting the gear is shown in

Figure 6 and consists of a stud or post 53 upon

30 which the gear is mounted for free rotation by

means of a ball bearing 54. The post is provided
with a threaded extension 55 which extends

through a hole 55 in-the arm 45 and is held'in,

place between a washer=51 and a peripheral flange
35 58 on the post, by means of a nut v59 drawn up

on the threaded extension. The mounting hole

56 is of somewhat larger diameter than the ex
tension 55 and permits a limited amount. of
movement of the post relative to the gears 4| and
44, By virtue of this movement the gear 43 may
be moved into close engagement'with both the
gears 4| and 44 when it may then be locked into
position by the nut 59.

'

' >

For the major carving operations, both cutters

With the gears in the position shown in Figure
are employed, removing material from opposite 45 5, that is, with the gear 43 serving as a single
V faces and edges of theib'lank. During certain
idler between the gears 4| and 42,, rotation of'the
operations, however, particularly in finishing the
lower spindle I 4' will produce a rotation of the
?at face of the blade,provisi_on is made to retract
upper spindle IS in the same direction. On the
one cutter to an inoperative position; To this

other hand, by rotating the arm 45 to'mesh the

end latch mechanisms, such as are shown at 32 50 gear 44 with gear 42, the second idler 44 will. be
and 33, are provided to latch the cutter carriages
interposed in the train and produce a reverse '
in a retracted position away from the work.

The headstock mechanism. of which this in-v

vention constitutes an improvement is illustrated;
in detail in Figures 3 to '7. The headstock I2
comprises a base plate 34 to which issecured an
upstanding frame consisting of a front plate 35,
a rear plate 36 and side plates 31, all rigidly se

cured together. Passing transversely through the

front and rearplates 35 and 36 and secured

rotation of the spindles. It is to be notedthat '

the diameter of the idlers 43 and 44 is greater

than the distance between the peripheries of the 1

gears 4|v and 42 and that the slot 49 is made sum
ciently longer than the movement necessary to

bring the idlers into mesh with, the gear 42 so"

that back lash may also'beeliminated between

the idlers and the gear 42.

All gears are accu

60 rately cut'and by means of this structure/rota: '

thereto are a pair of superposed sleeves 38 and
tion of theitwo spindles may be absolutely syne
39'in*which are journalled in ball bearings re
spectively for- the lower spindle I4 and'the upper
Indexing of the blankiand model-may be done
spindle I5. I The headstock is bolted to the upper
either manually or automatically as set forth in
surface of the table 3 and is accurately aligned 65 the foregoing application SerialNo. 550,795. .The; i a
thereon by means of keys 40, with the spindles ' drive for rotating the spindles I4 and I5 may, "
chronized.

parallel with the ways.

In accordance with one embodiment of this in

vention, the following mechanism is provided for

rotating the spindles I4 and. I5 to thereby index
the blade blank and model about their axes. The

spindles I4 and I5 both extend rearwardly from.

7 their respective sleeves and are respectively ?tted

with spur gears 4| and 42. Adapted to be se

lectively interposed between the gears 4| and 42,

'

'

'

'

'

however, be described here brie?y asconsisting

' of a worm gear 60 keyed to the'spindle I4 and
meshing with a worm 6I1on a cross shaft 62. The

70 shaft'62 is journalled in bearings 63 supported on p I >

a bracket 64 which is hinged at one end, as indi-g

cated at 65, for movement toward andaway from

end
the by
worm
a cam
gear
65 60,
carried
and on
supported
a shaft 67
at and
its opposite
adapted '

to be rotated lby'a lever 68.,

9,425,54'Q
7On'e5end of the worm shaft 82 carries a hand
vwheeltii while the opposite end has splinedthere

:mateiiais, such 'as plastic or aluminum, a brief

description will be given of the operations em

ployed infthe-formingorwoodenblades for contra=

on -a sliding gear 10 which is adapted to mesh

rotating propellers by way of example.
'withagear "H on the slow speed shaft/of a speed
The blanks from which the wooden blades and
reducer 7-2. The high speed shaft of the reducer
formed are usually made by bonding together
is coupled to the shaftof a small electric {motor
several relatively thin strips of wood havinga
13 mounted on the bracket 64 as shown in Figures
width somewhat in excess of the ?nished width
8 and 4. This motor is started at the ends of
=ofthe blade .and=of differentlengthsthe longest
the feed strokes of the table by a Starting swlitch
strips being'the-cen'ter laminations and theshort
(not shown) closed by movement "of the table 10 =est :at the shank end of the blade :50 that the
and stopped by a limit switch 14, actuated by a
lhlank tapers in steps from the shank-to the tip.
notched indexing plate 15 on the spindle Il4
The 'tip .end :of :the blank :is twisted relative to the
when the indexing plate has rotated'the distance
.s'hankto givecorrec't :twist'to the blank which-i5
drone of its notches.
(fixed therein :as the bonding material sets.
If it is desired to index the work and model 15 Blanks for right :and left hand blades are given
manually, the motor drive maybe disconnectedb-y
opposite twists. The blanks thus formed are
sliding the gear TE! out of mesh with 'the gear
laminated zpieces, rectangular in plan, :Slightly
'11, by means of a suitable shift rod 110", which
longer and wider than the blade to .be .formed,
leaves the worm 1'6! 'fre'e'to be rotated-by the "hand
stepped in longitudinal cross-section from ithe
wheel v(ill. Again, for certain operations, such as v20 shank "end to the tip on Opposite surfaces and
machining the twisted ?at races of the blades, as

:having taflongitudinaltwist.

'\will'be described, 'it is desirable that the spindles

The next voperation is to (saw these glaminated
M and IE be permitted to rotate independently of
pieces roughly to the plan form of the blade,
either the automaticor manual indexing :mecha
after which they .are centeredrin allathe and the
nismandbe controlled by the master model. To 25 shank .turned cylindrical to fit the headstock
this end the worm .6l may be disengaged from
chuck. The tip end of the blank is also turned
the worm gear 69 by rocking the cam 165 and
down to correct size and tapered vtol?t a fem-ale
permitting the bracket 64 to move aboutitshinge
center inthe tailstock.
1''65 away from the 'worm gear.
Thelmaster model ;| 9 .of the blade is set :up .in
Preferably a guard 115', attached to the'head'
:the machine'with its shank secured in the-upper
stock 'frame, encloses the gearing.
chuck-1H and the'tip heldby the tailstockrcenter
A somewhat simpler arrangement of headstock
'21. This master model is machined from {metal
igearing which is suitable where similar *blades'are
or othersuitablematerialperferablyof somewhat
produced in quantity is shown in Figures 8 and 9.
larger width and thickness than the dimensions
35
In this embodiment of the invention a pair of
of the blade in orderato provide apiecebf :su?i
iidler-gears 16 and 1-1 are detachably mounted on
cient .rigidity :to take the strains imposed on it.
ltheirearvplate -36 of the headstock frame to'mesh
Considering this -master model to 'be ~.-a model
respectively with the spindle gears 41 and '42 to
of *a right :hand blade and the headstock ige'aring
"give reverse rotation of the spindles I14 and
arranged to give :like rotation of the :spindlesatl
"while to e?ect like rotation of the spindles a 40 and +5 by vinterposing a single idlerbetween the
single idler 18 ir'eplacesthe pair and operatively
gears 41 rand-4'2, a righthand blank isgpositioned
connects the gears Al and 42 as indicated by

between the lower chuck 16 and the lowertail

dotted lines'in Figure 8.
zstock center 29. The master model and-blank
"The reversing idlers 1B vand 111 are respectively
are adjusted :to the same relative angular posi
mounted "for free rotation on studs 19 and 8.0 45 tions in their respective chucks such as shown
carried-by separate slide blocks'8l and 82. These
:in Figure 2 and the chucks fixed to immovably
slide blocks are respectively ?tted for lateral'ad

clamp theblank and model in thesepositions.

~justmenttoward-each other in grooves>83 and 84
The follower rolls 30 are adjusted with respect
formed in the back plate 3G and are secured in
to the cutters 21 by means of their slidesto give
Padjust'ed position by cap screws 85 which vpass 50 the desired depth of cutand the machine isgput
*throughrclear holes in the blocks and arethread
in operation to reciprocate the table onitsways
led into plates J86 which "form the base of the
relative to the cutter heads. As the cutter heads
igroo've's. "Theclear holes in the blocks may be
are .urged'inwardlyxtoward the blank andgmodel,
I elongated or ~drilled . somewhat larger in diameter
than the - screw shanks to permit . sufficient move 55

vmerit .of :the slide blocks in their grooves and

eliminate backlash both between the idlers and

*their matingspindle gears.
'Access may be had to the screws 85 for removal

and positioning of the .idlers, or adjustment,

through apertures 81 drilled-through the gears
Ytolre'gister with the screws.
"Thesing'le idler gear 18 is mounted-on a slide

the inward'movementzis limited by engagement

of .thea'follower rolls-'30 with the master -modell9.
'Thus, vasithe itable moves the blank and model,
the vfeed of the cutter carriages is varied inac
rcordan'ce "with the contour of the model and :a
cutis made on the blank by the cutter 30 inac

cordance with the shape of the model. .At~.the

end :of the feed stroke, the blank and model'are
both simultaneously rotated about their axesby
means of the indexing mechanism above set forth

'bloek'identical with the block 8| whichis posi

and on vthe return stroke a second cutwill be
"tioned'in the groove-83 when the single idler'is 65 made onsthe blank also in accordance with the
fused. This single idler is of sufficient diameter
corresponding. increment of the, model.
and is located on its slide block so that it will
ifIhe'above cyclic operation is repeated until the
meshwith bothof the gears M and 342when in
blankhas been rotated through-afull 180, that
position.
iis,'.when a out has been made completely around
1A suitable guard 88, detachably secured to-the
the blank by'th'e opposed cutters. This'?rst .cut
headstock frame encloses the gears during opera
will "principally remove the angular cornersfrom
itioniof-the machine.
the blank. The ~follower rolls are then backed
"While the machine is-not limited to -'carving
o'ffiwith respect-to the cutters and the above oper
wooden propellerlblades, as it is obvious that it
lations are repeated throughlanother ;full .1810. _; of
"may be used to pro?le blades composed-of other 75

2,425,543
rotation of the'work. These operationa'which

operations are'then performed in the exact man

may be considered roughing cuts, are continued

nerdescribed with reference to the righthand
until the blank has assumed the shape of the
blade.
. The blank, however, will be indexed about
blade but slightly oversize. The roughing cuts
its axis in a direction opposite from that of the
are usually made by indexing about 10 or 15 for
master model; In other words,'if the model is
each feed stroke of thework which forms the
rotated
counter-clockwise the blank willbe .ro
bladeroughly to shape but leaves a seriesof ?ats
tated in a clockwise direction as indicated'by the
extending the length of the blade.
arrows in Figure 10. Thus, although the model
Tomake the ?nishing cuts on the blade, the
and the blank are opposite, corresponding incre
indexing plate .75 used for roughing is. replaced 10 ments of the model and blank willbe respectively
by one which will rotate the index spindles
engaged by the follower rolls and cutter as the
through smaller increments, for example, one or
model and blank are, rotated. As a result, at the
two degrees. The follower rolls are adjusted to
end oftheoperation, considering the blank has
, give a light cutand the machine put in operation
been machined down'to the same size as the afore
and the ?nishing cuts are made completely 15
mentioned right hand blank, the left-hand blade
around the blade'in the manner above described.
will have a size and contour similar to theright

These ?nishing cuts reduce the ?ats formed by

hand blade but for opposite rotation. ' v
'
the roughing cuts in width so that a'substantially
By means of the foregoing, it will be seen that '
?nished curve isproduced on the blade.
by the provision of the gearing arrangement con- 7
~The shank end of the blade, which is cylindri 20 stituting this invention, both right and left hand
cal, is gradually merged into the curvature of the
blades may be producedfrom a single master
leading and trailing edges and the camber ofthe
model, with the results that one blade absolutely
upper? surface and the ?at rear'surface of the
corresponds in shape and size to another blade.
blade. The twist of the master model is also re
While there has been shown and described a

produced in the work. The indexing cuts, how- 7

preferred, apparatus and preferred procedural
ever, will not leave the rear face of the blade
, and operational steps, the apparatus and the steps _ '

perfectly flat and to machine this twisted ?at

face, an additional cut isnecessary-v ,

of manufacturing propeller blades disclosedrare

for the purpose of illustrating the principles in

volved in the inventive concept and'many changes
may be made, by those skilled in the art, in the

After roughing and ?nishing cuts have been

made and without changing the follower roll ad

'justment'the indexing drive is disconnected in

order of the steps and the design and arrange

the manner above set forth by moving the cam

66' to allow: the worm 6! to become disengaged
from the worm gear 60, which leaves the spindles

ment of the several parts, without departing from

the spirit of the invention or from the scope of
the appended claims.

l4 and I5 freely rotatable but geared together

-I

through the intermediate idler gear 43. . The .cut

'

claim:

>

1. In an indexing mechanism for _a "machine

ter adjacent the cambered face of the blade is

then moved away from the face of the work by

tool'of the character described for'carvingeithe'r '

rightor left hand propeller blades in accordance

moving its'carriage outwardly and latching it in

with a master model of a single blade, said mech

this retracted position. When the work is then 40' anism having a work carrying spindle rotatable
fed with respect to the opposite or engaged cut
to index the work and a model carrying spindle
ter, the blade and model will be rotated in ac
rotatable to index themodel, the improvement
cordance with the twistof the model by the pres
' comprising agear on each spindle, and selectable -

sure of the follower roll on the ?at face thereof '

idler gearing for coupling said spindle gears, said

idler gearing including'a single idler gear adapt
ed to be'meshed with both spindle gears for index

and the engaged cutter will produce a correspond

ingly flat face on the'work. When this operation

hasbeen performed the ?nished blade may then

be removed and replaced with another blank.
The onlyother operations necessary to complete
the blade is removal of the plug at the tip, ?nish so

ing off the'tip, and lightly sanding the blade

preparatory to lacquering.

'

> The above described operations, however, pro

duce blades for rotation corresponding to that of
the master model which is in this'case right hand.
To produce a blade for left hand rotation from
the same, that is, right hand model, in accordance

ing, the blank and model in the'same directionto ' ,7

carve blades similar ;to the model, and a pair of
meshed idler gears adapted to be meshed respec- ;

tively with the spindle gears for indexingfthe,

blank and model in opposite directions to carve ,
blades opposed to the model a common support '

for said idler gears, and movable journalling .

means'for at least one idler gear carried by the

support for adjusting the said idler gear relative
to other of said gears to reduce back lash there.
between.

'

'

with this invention, the relative direction of-ro

2. In an indexing mechanism for a machine
tation of the spindles Ill and I5 is reversed by
. tool, of the character described for carving either,
interposing both idler gears between the. spindle 60 right orjleft hand propeller blades in accordance v
gearslll

and.

'

'

1In the case of the ?rst described embodiment

of the invention, this is brought about by'rloosen

ingthe nut 52 and rocking the idler gearsup

porting arm ?iabout its pivot to engage the gear,
44 with the gear 42 and then looking the gear in

'_ this position by tightening the'nut 52,

In the 7

case of the second embodiment, the single idler

gear lB-is replaced bythe pair of idler gears '16
' and'll.

with a master model of 'a'single blade, said mech

anism having a work carrying spindle rotatable to r 7,

(index the work and a model carrying spindle re

tatable to index the model, the improvement com:- i

prising mechanism for transmitting rotation from
one spindle to the other spindle and "includinga
gear on each spindle, a first idler gear, in con
stant mesh with one of said spindlegears, a sec

ond idler gear in constant mesh with the-?rst '

One of the left hand blanks is set up 70 idler gear, and means for selectively meshingthe

. between the chuck l6 and the tailstock centerZ? '

in the position with respect .to the master model

~ shown in the diagrammatic view in FigurelO, .

?rst idler gear with the otherspindlegear to in

deX the Workand model in'the same direction to i '
carve blades similar to the model, and fo'rifnesha

that is, for instance, with the ?at side of the'blank

ingthegsecondidler gear withgsaid other spindle
" facing the ?at side of the model; The cutting: 75 gear for indexing the workv andjmodel- in oppof '

2,425,543
site directions to carve blades opposed to the
model said means including a common support

for said idler gears, and movable journalling

means for at least one idler gear carried by the

support for adjusting the said idler gear relative

10

tool of the character described for carving either

right or left hand propeller blades in accordance
with a master model of a single blade, said mech

anism having a work carrying spindle rotatable

to index the work and a model carrying spindle

rotatable to index the model, the improvement

to other of said gears to reduce back lash there

comprising a gear on each spindle, and a pair of
between.
interchangeable idler systems for operatively con
3. In an indexing mechanism for a machine
necting the spindle gears, one of said idler sys
tool of the character described for carving either
tems comprising a single gear adapted to connect
10
right or left hand propeller blades in accord
said spindle gears to index the work and model
ance with a master model of a single blade, said
in the same direction for carving blades similar
mechanism having a work carrying spindle ro
to the model and the other idler system compris
tatable to index the work and a model carrying
ing a pair of meshed gears adapted to connect
spindle rotatable to index the model, and a com
said spindle gears to index the work and model
mon support for the spindles, the improvement 15 in opposite directions to carve blades opposed to
comprising a gear on each spindle, an arm
the model a common support for said idler gears,
mounted on said support for movement about the
and movable journalling means for at least one
axis of one of said spindles, a ?rst idler gear
idler gear carried by the support for adjusting
mounted on said arm and in constant mesh with
the said idler gear relative to other of said gears
the gear on the spindle about which the arm 20 to reduce back lash therebetween.
moves, a second idler gear on the arm and in

constant mesh with the ?rst idler gear, and

means for moving the arm to one position to

6. In an indexing mechanism for a machine tool

of the character described for carving either right

or left hand propeller blades in accordance with

mesh the ?rstidler gear with the other spindle

a master model of a single blade, said mechanism
gear for indexing the work and model in the 25 having a work carrying spindle rotatable to in
same direction to carve blades similar to the
dex the work and a model carrying spindle ro
model and to a second position to mesh the sec
tatable to index the model, and a common sup-'
ond idler gear with said other spindle gear for
port for the spindles, the improvement compris
indexing the work and model in opposite direc
ing a gear on each spindle, a pair of interchange
tions to carve blades opposed to the model mov
able idler systems for operatively connecting the
able journalling means for at least one idler gear
spindle gears, one of said idler systems compris
carried by said arm for adjusting the said idler
ing a single gear adapted to connect said spindle
gear relative to other of said gears to reduce the
gears to index the work and model in the same
back lash therebetween.
direction for carving blades similar to the model
35
4. In an indexing mechanism for a machine
and the other idler system comprising a pair of
tool of the character described for carving either
meshed gears adapted to connect said spindle
right or left hand propeller blades in accordance
gears to index the work and model in opposite di
with a master model of a single blade, said mech
rections to carve blades opposed to the model,
anism having a work carrying spindle rotatable
and independent detachable means for journal
40
to index the work and a model carrying spindle
ling each of the idler gears to the support each
rotatable to index the model, and a common sup
of said means including a support for the gear,
port for the spindles, the improvement compris
and means for adjustably positioning each of the
ing a gear on each spindle, an arm mounted on
gear supports relative to the spindle gears to re
said support for movement about the axis of one 45 duce back lash in the gearing.
of said spindles, a ?rst idler gear mounted on
GEORGE F. LANDGRAF.
said arm and in constant mesh with the gear on
the spindle about which the arm moves, a second
REFERENCES CITED
idler gear on the arm and in constant mesh with
The following references are of record in the
the ?rst idler gear, means for moving the arm to 50
?le of this patent:
one position to mesh the first idler gear with the

other spindle gear for indexing the work and

UNITED STATES PATENTS
model in the same direction to carve blades simi
Number
Name
Date
lar to the model and to a second position to mesh
806,075
Fawcus __________ __ Nov. 28, 1905
the second idler gear with said other spindle gear 55
1,893,957
Parten __________ __ Jan. 10, 1933
for indexing the work and model in opposite di
1,798,926
Black __________ __ Mar. 31, 1931
rections to carve blades opposed to the model, and
842,697
Phillips __________ __ Jan. 29, 1907
means for securing said arm in either of the said
1,660,048
Reed ___'_________ __ Feb. 21, 1928
positions movable journalling means for at least
FOREIGN PATENTS
one idler gear carried by said arm for adjusting
the said idler gear relative to other of said gears 60 Number
Country
Date
to reduce the back lash therebetween.
506,927
France __________ __ Sept. 1, 1920
5. In an indexing mechanism for a machine