Fig. 1714.
The end of the slot at which the die must be placed when the reamer is wound down through the die and cylinder port, that is to say, the end of the port at which the operation of cutting it must be commenced, depends solely on which side of the port in the cylinder requires most metal to be cut off, since the reamer, or cutter, as it may be more properly termed, must cut underneath the heaviest cut, so that the heaviest cut will be forcing the reamer back, as shown in [Fig. 1714], a being a sectional view of the cutter, b the hole cast in the cylinder for the port, c the side of the port having the most cut taken off, d the direction in which the cutter a revolves, and the arrow e the direction in which the cutter a is travelling up to its cut. If the side f of the port were the one requiring the most to be cut off, the cutter a would require to commence at the end f, and to then travel in the direction of the arrow g. The reason for the necessity of observing these conditions, as to the depth of cut and direction of cutter travel, is that the pressure of the cut upon the reamer is in a direction to force the reamer forward and into its cut on one side, and backward and away from its cut on the other side, the side having the most cut exerting the most pressure. If, therefore, the cutter is fed in such a direction that this pressure is the one tending to force the cutter forward, the cutter will spring forward a trifle, the teeth of the cutter taking, in consequence, a deep cut, and, springing more as the cut deepens, terminate in a pressure which breaks the teeth out of the cutter.
If, however, the side exerting the most pressure upon the reamer is always made the one forcing the cutter back, as shown in [Fig. 1714], by reason of the direction in which the cutter is travelled to its cut, the reamer, in springing away from the undue pressure, will also spring away from its cut, and will not, therefore, rip in or break, as in the former case.
In cutting out the exhaust port, only one side, in consequence of its extreme width, may be cut at one operation; hence there are two of the slots d, [Fig. 1713], provided in the false plate or template for the exhaust port. The cutter a must, in this case, perform its cut so that the pressure of the cut is in a direction to force the cutter backwards from its cut. The time required to cut out the ports of an ordinary locomotive cylinder, by the above appliance, is thirty minutes, the operation making them as true, parallel, and square as can possibly be desired.
Drills and Cutters for Drilling Machines.—In the drilling machine, as in the lathe, the twist drill is the best tool that can be used for all ordinary work, since it produces the best work with the least skill, and is the cheapest in the end. As, however, the twist drill has been fully discussed with reference to its use upon lathe work, it is unnecessary to refer to it again more than to say that it possesses even greater advantages when used in the drilling machine than it does when used in the lathe; because as the drill stands vertical the flat drill will not relieve itself of the cuttings, and in deep holes must be occasionally withdrawn from the hole in order to permit the cuttings to be extracted, an operation that often consumes more time than is required for the cutting duty. Furthermore, as flat drills rarely run true they place excessive wear upon the drilling machine spindle, causing it to wear loose in its bearings, which is a great detriment to the machine.
Fig. 1715.