IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING MACHINERY
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Brownlee, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Saw Miller, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SAWING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 17th December 1863, and dated the 20th June 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Brownlee at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th June 1863.
I, ROBERT BROWNLEE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Saw Miller, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SAWING MACHINERY," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention of improvements in sawing machinery has for object the
traversing or feeding forward of the wood being sawn in a more efficient and
satisfactory manner than hitherto, and the improvements are more particularly
applicable with a circular saw.
In a modification of saw bench arranged for sawing up deals or battens into
boards of equal or unequal thicknesses, the saw projects up in the usual way
above the surface of the bench or table upon which the deal or batten placed
on edge is traversed. The deal or batten is fed or traversed forward by four
vertical rollers, which are mounted in a frame, two of the rollers being on each
side. The two rollers on what may be termed the outer side have the space
between them nearly filled up with a fence piece, which is fixed to the roller

page_text: frame. The rollers on the other or inner side are mounted in arms arranged
to swing on opposite sides of a spindle or pillar fixed in the roller frame mid-
way between them. All four rollers are driven by means of pinions fixed or
formed upon them, the two pinions of each pair gearing with a spur wheel
placed between them, and the two spur wheels being large enough to gear
together across and over the deal or batten. Motion is given to this gearing
by a pinion gearing with one of the middle spur wheels, and fast on the top of
a vertical shaft carried by the roller frame; and this vertical shaft has fast on
it a worm wheel, which is actuated by a worm on a transverse horizontal shaft
below the table or bench. The roller frame is mounted on a guide or guides,
so as to be capable of a movement transversely to the direction of the deal or
batten, and it is connected by a rod to a lever on a fixed vertical stud. This
lever extends both ways from its centre, and from its other side a rod is con-
nected to one of the inner swinging feed rollers. In consequence of this
opposite connection the swinging roller moves in the opposite direction to the
two fence rollers or those on the outer side, and a weight being applied to the
lever, or to a bell-crank arm on it, in such a way as to move the swinging
roller and the fence rollers together, the strain causes them to firmly grip the
deal or batten between them. The other swinging roller is also pressed
towards the fence rollers by the action of a weight.
An important feature of the described arrangement is, that if the connections
with the lever are adjusted to act equally in opposite directions, the rollers will
always hold the deal or batten fairly in the centre, however its thickness may
vary; or the connection with the lever may be adjusted so as to divide the
space in any desired proportion. Thus, if it is wished to saw a deal or batten
into three boards, the lever connections are adjusted to give twice as much
movement on one side as on the other, when the deal or batten will be held by
the rollers, so that exactly one-third will be sawn off, leaving a piece of two-
thirds the thickness, which is afterwards sawn into two pieces of equal thickness.
The lever connections may be disengaged, and the fence rollers may be set to
give a precise thickness, without. reference to its being proportional, by means
of a screw adjustment acting on the roller frame. The rollers are situated so
as to act on the. wood just before it encounters the saw, and, if desired, addi-
tional fence or guide pieces or rollers may be applied close up to the saw. If
preferred, only two of the four main feed rollers may be driven by the
gearing.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Brownlee in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th December 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
BROWNLEE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Saw Miller,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Robert Brownlee, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Brownlee,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert
Brownlee, my executors, administrators, assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING MA-
CHINERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Brownlee,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their;
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Brownlee, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention of improvements in sawing machinery has for object the
traversing or feeding forward of the wood being sawn in a more efficient and
satisfactory manner than hitherto, and my improvements are more particularly
applicable with a circular saw.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing two
modifications of sawing machinery embodying my improvements. In the said

page_text: Drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like
parts in all the Figures in which they occur.
Figure 1 is a plan, and Figure 2 is an elevation, of one modification of my
improved sawing machinery, the saw bench 1 being arranged for sawing up
deals or battens 2 into boards of equal or unequal thicknesses. The circular
saw 3 projects up in the usual way above the surface of the bench or table 1
upon which the deal or batten 2, placed on edge, is traversed. The deal or
batten is traversed forward to the saw by four vertical rollers 4, 5, 6, 7, indi-
cated by dotted lines in Figure 1, and which are mounted in a frame 8, two
of the rollers being on each side of the batten 2.. The outer rollers 4, 5, have
their spindles or carrying studs fixed to the frame piece 8, but the rollers 6, 7,
on the other or inner side, are mounted in arms 9, 10, arranged to swing on
opposite sides of a spindle or pillar 11 fixed in the frame 8 midway between
them. All four rollers 4, 5, 6, 7 are driven by means of pinions fixed or
formed upon them, and the pitch lines of which are indicated by dotted lines
in Figure 1. The two pinions of each pair of rollers gear with a spur wheel
placed between them, and the two spur wheels, the pitch lines of which are
indicated by dotted lines at 12 and 13 in Figure 1, are large enough to gear
together across and over the batten 2. Motion is given to this gearing by a
pinion gearing with one 13 of the middle spur wheels, and fast on a vertical
shaft 14 carried by the lower frame 8, and this vertical shaft 14 has fast on its
lower end a worm wheel 15, which is actuated by a worm on a transverse
horizontal shaft 16 below the table or bench 1, this shaft 16 being driven
by a belt from the saw shaft or otherwise, as may be convenient. The roller
frame 8 is fitted so as to be capable of adjustment transversely in a slot or
opening 17 in the bench or table 1, and it is connected by a rod 18 to a
lever 19 mounted on a fixed vertical stud 20. This lever extends both ways
from its centre, and from its other side 21 a rod 22 is connected to one 6 of
the inner swinging feed rollers. In consequence of this connection to opposite
sides of the lever 19, 21, the swinging roller 6 moves in the opposite direc-
tion to the outer rollers. 4, 5, and a weight being applied to the lever 19, 21,
or to a bell-crank arm 28 on it in such a way as to move the outer rollers 4, 5,
inwards, and the swinging roller 6 outwards, the strain causes the rollers to
firmly grip the deal or batten 2 between them. The other swinging roller 7.
is pressed towards the outer rollers 4, 5, by the action of a weight applied
through a chain 24 to a lever arm 25 fast on the swinging arms 10, which
carry the roller 7. The strain is applied to the lever 19, 21, 23, also by a
chain 26, and the two chains 24, 26, are connectel to barrels 27 acted

page_text: on by weighted levers 28 through ratchets which permit of the chains being
tightened up.
An important feature of the described arrangements is, that if the con-
nections with the lever 19, 21, are adjusted to act equally in opposite directions;.
the rollers will always hold the deal or batten 2 fairly in the centre, however.
its thickness may vary; or the connections with the lever 19, 21, may be
adjusted so as to divide the thickness in any desired proportion. Thus, if it is:
wished to saw a deal or batten into three boards, the lever connections are.
adjusted to give twice as much movement. on one side as on the other, when:
the deal or batten will be held by the rollers, so that exactly one-third will be
sawn off, leaving a piece of two-thirds the thickness, which is afterwards sawn
into two pieces of equal thickness. In the modification represented in
Figures 1 and 2 the connecting links 18, 22, have their ends forked, and are
connected to the lever 19, 21, by pins, and the lever is formed with additional
holes, into which the joint pins are shifted to vary the divisional proportion.
The lever 19, 21, may be made so as to give any required division, and the
joints might be adjusted by screws. To facilitate adjustments one of the links
18 is made in two pieces, with a right and left handed screw coupling 29.
When required, the lever connections may be disengaged, and the outer rollers
4, 5, may be set to give a precise thickness, without reference to its being
proportional, by means of a screw adjustment acting on the roller frame 8,
by means of a hand wheel 30. The rollers 4, 6, are situated so as to act on
the wood just before it encounters the saw 3, and, if desired, additional
fence or guide pieces or rollers may be applied close up to the saw. If
preferred, only two of the four main feed rollers 4, 5, 6, 7, may be driven by
the gearing, and in that case the modification represented in plan and elevation
in Figures 3 and 4 may be advantageously adopted. In this modification
the details are somewhat simplified, the driven rollers being the inner ones
6, 7, whilst the outer rollers 4, 5, are carried by overhanging arms 31, 32.
The lever 19, 21, is connected to the frame or box 8 on one side and to
one, 4, of the outer rollers on the other side; and the strain is applied by the
arm 23 so as to force the frame 8 and inner rollers 6, 7, outwards, and draw
the outer roller 4 inwards, thereby pressing upon the deal or batten 2 in
opposite directions. The other outer roller 5 is pressed inwards against the
deal or batten by means of the lever arm 25, acted on by a weighted lever 28,
as in the other modification. The driven rollers 6, 7, or one of them, may be
fluted or grooved to give an increased frictional feeding power. The spur
wheel 13 is represented as fixed on the vertical shaft 14, instead of being

page_text: driven by a pinion on that shaft; but these and other details obviously admit
of considerable variation.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated; but
that what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the
arranging or combining of the feeding details of sawing machinery sub-
stantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Brownlee, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
ROBERT BROWNLEE. (L.S.)
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agent,
28, St. Enoch Square, Glasgow.