William Rogers (of London)
of 54 High Street, St. Giles, London
1833 Rogers was awarded a large silver medal by the Royal Society for his machine for parting (punching out) combs, which appears to have utilised a principle previously applied by a Mr. Ricketts. Rogers' machine was described in detail in a number of contemporary publications, including Transactions of the Society, Instituted at London, for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce[1] and the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana in 1834.
The machine was worked by a hand crank. This turned a crankshaft to lower and raise a punch. After each cut, the comb was moved incrementally. This was one by an unusual arrangement of a pinion having a small group of teeth clustered on part of its periphery. This pinion turned a larger gear wheel - only when the punch was raised clear of the blank. The larger wheel turned a leadscrew which traversed a dovetailed slide carrying the comb blank.