IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SAWING WOOD
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel William Worssam, of King's Road, Chelsea,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SAWING WOOD."
Sealed the 18th August 1865, and dated the 24th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel William Worssam
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th February 1865.
I, SAMUEL WILLIAM WORSSAM, of King's Road, Chelsea, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SAWING WOOD," to be as follows:-
My Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for Sawing Wood" relates
to the mechanical arrangements for moving the timber on the saw bench, and
consists, first, in the use of feeding rollers, which are mounted loosely on their
shafts, but are provided with a feather or equivalent device for causing them
to rotate with the shaft, and yet will admit of the rollers being moved along
the shaft to any position or place where they may be required, according to
circumstances and the size or dimensions of the timber that is to be operated
upon. The shafts of these feeding rollers are mounted in moveable or slotted
bearings, which will admit of the shafts being canted or placed at an angle to
their normal position. The change in position of the shafts is effected by
means of a hand lever and excentric, which is connected by a link or other
equivalent device to one of the bearings. The lateral movement of the feeding

page_text: rollers along their shafts is effected by means of a hand screw and clips
placed on each side of the roller, so that by turning the screw the roller may
be moved forward or backward on the shaft.
The next improvement consists in the use of a pair of rollers for returning
the timber to its original position on the bench when a plank or piece has
been sawn therefrom. These rollers, which I denominate the return rollers,
are mounted on shafts (running in suitable bearings), and are provided with
spring clutches, whereby they are rotated in the required direction. Motion
is given to the shafts of these rollers by a band passing from a pulley on the
saw shaft to a larger pulley on one or other of the return roller shafts, which
are situated at opposite ends of the machine, but are geared together by an
endless chain or other gearing.
The bearings wherein these return rollers are mounted form part of two
sliding carriages placed at each end of the machine, and are made to rise and
fall by means of excentric discs or other equivalent mechanism. They may
therefore be below the top of the bench during the forward motion of the
timber, but are capable of being raised so as to support the timber, and by
their rotation will carry it back to its original place. A top bending-down
roller may be occasionally used, for which purpose it is mounted on a carriage
with a lever, and is bolted to the top of the bench. This roller would be
immediately in front of the saw, but can be easily removed, and is used for the
purpose of giving extra pressure to the feed rollers, and for steadying the
timber.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel William Worssam in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
WILLIAM WORSSAM, of King's Road, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel William Worssam, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel
William Worssam, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Samuel William Worssam, my executors, administrators, and assigns,

page_text: 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 MACHINERY FOR SAWING WOOD," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Samuel William Worssam, my executors or adminis-.
trators, 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 Samuel William Worssam, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention of Improvements in Machinery for Sawing Wood" relates
to the mechanical arrangements for moving the timber on the saw bench.
The improved construction of parts whereby the objects of the Invention are:
effected will be understood by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in
which Fig. 1 represents a front or side elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is
a plan view, Fig. 3 an end elevation, and Fig. 4 a cross section shewing the.
feed rollers.
The first improvement consists in the use of feeding rollers a, a, which are
mounted loosely on their shafts b, which are provided with a feather 6' or
equivalent device for causing the rollers to rotate with the shafts, and yet
will admit of the rollers being moved along their shaft to any position or place
where they may be required, according to circumstances and the size or
dimensions of the timber that is to be operated upon. One of the shafts 6 of
these feeding, rollers is mounted in moveable or slotted bearings. c, which will
admit of the particular shafts being canted or placed at an angle to its normal
position. This change in position of the shaft is effected by means of a hand
lever and excentric d, which is connected by a link or other equivalent
device to one of the bearings c, as seen best at Fig. 2.
The lateral move-
ment of the feeding rollers a along their shafts bis effected by means of a
hand screw f and clips g, which clasp the rollers a on each side, so that by
turning the screw f by means of a suitable handle or hand wheel adapted to a
square on the end of the shaft, the roller may be moved forward or backward
on the shaft b, as will be understood on referring to Fig. 4.

page_text: . The next improvement consists in the use of a pair of rollers h, Figures 2
and 3, for returning the timber to its original position on the bench when a
plank or piece has been sawn therefrom. These rollers h, which I denominate
the return rollers, are mounted on shafts i (running in suitable bearings),
and are provided with spring clutches j, whereby they are rotated in the
required direction. Motion is given to the shafts of these rollers h by a band
passing from a pulley on the saw shaft m to a larger pulley n on one or
other of the return roller shafts i, which are situated at opposite ends of the
machine, but are geared together by an endless chain o or other suitable
gearing, so that they will be made to rotate together.
The bearings wherein these return rollers are mounted form part of two
vertical sliding carriages or moveable standards p, placed at each end of the
machine, and are made to rise and fall by means of excentric discs q or other
equivalent mechanism. The return rollers h may therefore be below the top
of the bench during the forward motion of the timber, but are capable of
being raised above that level when required, so as to support the timber, and
by their rotation to carry it back to its original place ready for another cut.
A top binding-down roller s may be occasionally used, for which purpose it is
mounted on a standard t, which is bolted to the top of the bench r, as shewn
by dots in Fig. 1, and carries a lever s¹. This roller s would be immediately
in front of the saw, as shewn at Figures 1 and 3, but can be easily removed,
and is used for the purpose of giving extra pressure to the feed rollers by
means of the weighted lever u and weight u¹, and for steadying the timber.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for
Sawing Wood," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,
the arrangement and construction of parts herein shewn and described for
moving and controlling the movements of the timber on the saw bench.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel William Worssam, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
SAMUEL WILLIAM WORSSAM.
(L.S.)