760,061. Dividing by fusion. BRITISH OXYGEN CO., Ltd. April 29, 1965 [April 30, 1954], No. 12653/54. Class 83 (4). A flame-cutting head for cutting a double bevelled edge with an intermediate flat face or nose lying between the bevels, comprises a nosecutting nozzle supported in a holder 40, a top bevel cutting nozzle carried by a nozzle holder 33 mounted adjustably against a first scale 35 carried by the head, for setting the angle between the axis of the top bevel cutting nozzle and the cutting plane of the nosecutting nozzle, a bottom bevel cutting nozzle carried in a nozzle holder 37 mounted adjustably against a second scale 39 carried by the head, for setting the angle between the axis of the bottom bevel cutting nozzle and the cutting plane of the nose cutting nozzle, said top bevel cutting nozzle being in addition adjustably mounted for the setting of its height above the plate to, be cut against a third scale 42, and said bottom bevel cutting nozzle being in addition adjustably mounted for setting its height above the surface of the plate against a fourth scale 43, means 17, 18 being provided for supporting the head at a fixed height above the surface of the plate to be cut. The holder 40 for the nose-cutting nozzle is removably mounted in a non- adjustable vertical position on a centre-piece 10 secured to the lower end of a floating post 11. The bevel cutting nozzle holders 33, 44 are mounted on quadrants 22, 23, slidable along dovetail slideways 20, 21 on the centre piece 10. The quadrants are moved vertically along the slideways by rack-and-pinion gearing 24, 25 operated by hand wheels 28, 29. A horizontal slotted bar 16 mounted on the lower end of the centre-piece 10 carries an adjustable bracket 17 on which is mounted a roller 18 adapted. to ride on the, plate to be cut. In side elevation the vertical centre line of the roller 18 is aligned with the axis of the nose-cutting nozzle and with the axis of the post 11, Fig. 3 (not shown) ; the roller 18 may, however, be arranged either in advance of or behind the centre-line of the post 11. The quadrant 22 is of such length that top bevels up to 45 degrees may be cut. The quadrant 23 is extended nearly to the horizontal position so that plates may be cut with a relatively flat chamfer or scarf on the underside. The quadrant 23 may be in two parts and means, Fig. 4 (not shown), may be provided for swinging the lower part of the quadrant out of the way so as to avoid its fouling the plate, especially during curve cutting. Each of the nozzle holders 33, 37, 40 is provided with an eccentric sleeve such as 44, 45, each sleeve having a graduated scale 47, 48 and being rotatable within the nozzle holder for offsetting the nozzles and thereby setting the cutting flames to their correct position. The nozzles are secured in their holders by clamping screws 50, 51, 52. Mechanical means such as rack and pinion mechanism may be provided for moving each nozzle axially within its eccentric sleeve. The floating post 11, Fig. 6, is mounted in a housing 15 secured to the cutting machine and is rotatably and axially movable therein on rollers 68 mounted in cages 69. The post may be locked in a fixed position by a screw 72 carrying a hand wheel 71. A cylindrical member 78 rigidly secured to the post 11 has four vertical grooves 79 disposed at 90 degrees from each other around its circumference. Any one of these grooves is engageable by roller 83 mounted on a spring-biased plunger 81 carrying a knob 86. The spring normally biases the roller 83 into one of the grooves 79 but may be withdrawn therefrom by the knob and maintained out of engagement by a pin 87. The post may thus be fixed in any one of four angular positions. In a modified arrangement, Fig. 8, the post 11 is locked in any vertical position by balls 90 mounted in a cage 91 and adapted to engage the conical bore of a housing 89 whereby the balls are pressed against the post 11 and hold it in position. The cage 91 and balls 90 may be lifted so as to release the post, by admitting compressed air into an annular groove 93 and thereby lifting a packing ring 94 backed by a steel ring 95 provided with six vertical stems 97 which engage the flange 92 of the cage and thus raise it. Helical springs 96 disposed around the stems 97 force the packing-ring 94 downwardly when the compressed air is released. The post 11 is also moved vertically by a pneumatic motor 99, Fig. 9 (not shown) through linkage 100. The upper part of the post 11 may carry an extension 101 on which may be mounted a flexible shaft carrying a template roller adapted to engage a template whereby the floating post 11 and hence the nozzles carried thereby will be guided by the template. The cutting head may be used to cut vertical plates in which case suitable means, such as springs, pneumatic or counterweight means, are provided to maintain the plate roller 18 in contact with the surface of the vertical plate.