IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING MACHINES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane; in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by
John Loper Knowlton, Wright Bennett, and John W. Lynn, all of the
City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Sealed the 10th May 1864, and dated the 22nd January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd January 1864.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to obtain a sawing machine of simple con-
struction which may be adjusted or manipulated with the greatest facility for
sawing ship and other timber in curved and bevilled form.
The Invention consists in placing the gate or sash of a reciprocating saw
between guides, which are attached to a graduated ring fitted between friction
rollers, and provided with a concentric sector rack, into which a pinion gears,-

page_text: all being arranged in such a manner that the saw while in operation may be
adjusted from a vertical to a more or less inclined position at either side of a
vertical position according to the bevil required.
The Invention also consists in a novel manner of driving or operating the
saw, whereby the latter may be operated or driven with equal facility at any
angle or position in which it may be placed, which is effected through the
medium of a crank pulley, the shaft or axis of which is placed at the centre or
as near as may be to the centre of a ring to which the sash is attached, the
pitman or connecting rod communicating the motion being connected to a slide
or to any projection attached to the sash.
The Invention further consists in a novel arrangement of a feed roller,
whereby the same is rendered capable of being thrown in contact with or free
from the log, and also of being adjusted in such a manner as to cause the log
or stuff to be fed to the saw in a direction corresponding with the form of
the cut to be made, whether the same be straight or curved, thereby causing
the saw to work in line with the cut, and avoiding much friction in the
working of the former, as well as much wear and tear.
The Invention further consists in grooving the feed roller longitudinally and
circumferentially, so as to form tooth-like projections on its periphery, whereby
the log is prevented from slipping laterally while being fed to the saw, and in
using in connection with the feed roller a swivel pressure roller for keeping
the log firmly upon its bed while being sawn.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th July 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William
Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should

page_text: 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 MACHINES," a communication to me from abroad by
John Loper Knowlton, Wright Bennett, and John W. Lynn, all of the City
of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, 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 William Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
:-
The object of this Invention is to obtain a sawing machine of simple
construction, which may be adjusted or manipulated with the greatest facility
for sawing ship and other timber in curved and bevilled form.
The Invention consists in placing the gate or sash of a reciprocating saw
between guides, which are attached to a graduated ring fitted between friction
rollers, and provided with a concentric sector rack, into which a pinion gears,
all being arranged in such a manner that the saw while in operation may be
adjusted from a vertical to a more or less inclined position at either side of a
vertical position according to the bevil required.
The Invention also consists in a novel manner of driving or operating the
saw, whereby the latter may be operated or driven with equal facility at any
angle or position in which it may be placed.
The Invention further consists in a novel arrangement of a feed roller,
whereby the same is rendered capable of being thrown in contact with or free
from the log, and also of being adjusted in such a manner as to cause the log
or stuff to be fed to the saw in a direction corresponding with the form of the
cut to be made, whether the same be straight or curved, thereby causing
the saw to work in line with the cut, and. avoiding much friction in the working
of the former, as well as much wear and tear.

page_text: The Invention still further consists in the particular manner of grooving
the feed roller, whereby the log is prevented from slipping laterally while
being fed to the saw, and in using in connection with the feed roller a
swivel pressure roller for keeping the log firmly upon its bed while being
sawed.
Fig. 1, Sheet 1, is a front sectional view of this Invention taken in the
line x, x, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a side sectional view of this Invention taken in the
line y, y, Fig. 1.
Fig. 1, Sheet 2, is a front sectional view of this Invention taken in
the line x, x, Fig. 3; Fig. 2, a side sectional view of the same taken in the
line y, y, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detached view of the feed roller pertaining to
the same.
A, Sheet 1, represents a framing which supports a horizontal bed B; and
a, a, are two uprights, one being at each side of the framing and connected
at their upper ends by a cross bar b. C represents a ring, which may be of
wood or metal, cast iron would be the preferable material; this ring C is
provided at its periphery with a flange c, and is fitted between friction
rollers D, which are attached to the uprights a, a, two to each upright, the
flange c fitting in grooves in the peripheries of the rollers D. The front or
face side of the ring C is graduated in degrees, as shown in Fig. 1, and at
the back of the ring C there is a sector rack E, into which a pinion F gears,
said pinion being on a shaft d, which has a hand wheel G on its back end, and
its bearings e attached to one of the uprights a. To the ring C there are
attached two parallel guides f. f, said guides being at opposite sides of the
ring, and between these guides a saw frame or sash h is fitted and allowed to
work freely; I is the saw, which is secured in the frame or sash in the usual
or any proper way, said saw working through a hole g in the bed B. The
lower cross bar h of the frame or sash H is attached to a bar or slide i, which
is fitted between pendant guides j, j, attached to the lower part of the ring C;
and the slide i is connected at its lower end by a pitman J, with a crank
pulley K on the inner end of a driving shaft L, which is in a plane that
passes through the centre of the ring C.
The operation is as follows:-The shaft L is rotated by any convenient
power, and a reciprocating motion is communicated to the saw frame or
sash H from the shaft L by means of the crank pulley K, pitman J, and slide
bar i. The stuff or timber to be sawed is placed upon the bed B, and fed to
the saw by hand, or by any suitable feed mechanism, and the saw I while in
operation is adjusted in an inclined position either to the right or left to suit

page_text: the bevil required to be given the timber, and as this bevil in ship timber is
continually varying, the saw I is moved or adjusted accordingly by simply
turning the hand wheel G, the pinion F on shaft d, and sector rack E on the
ring C, causing the latter to turn, and with it the saw I. The graduated
part of the ring C serves as a guide for the adjustment of the saw, while
the timber is marked at different points, indicating the bevil that is to be
given it.
A, Sheet 2, represents a framing on which a fixed horizontal bed B is placed,
and C is a reciprocating saw gate, which works between parallel guides a, a,
attached to a ring D, the latter being fitted between friction rollers b. The
above parts coincide with the parts previously referred to on Sheet No. 1 of
the Drawings, and therefore do not require a further description. E
represents a feed roller, the journals c, c, of which are fitted in a box or
frame F, the latter having a pendant rod G attached to it, which is fitted
loosely in bearings d, d, attached to the framing A. The feed roller E is fitted
in an opening e in the bed B, and the lower end of the pendant rod G rests
upon the inner end of a lever H, by operating which the roller E may be raised
and lowered. One of the journals c of the feed roller G is fitted in a socket
I, which is at the inner end of shaft J, underneath the bed B. The portion
of the journal c which is fitted in the socket I is of square form, and the
interior of the socket is of corresponding form, so as to admit of the feed
roller being rotated by the shaft J, the latter having motion communicated to
it in any proper way. The square part of said journal c is also fitted loosely
in the socket I, to admit of the box or frame F and roller G being turned in
a position more or less obliquely with the shaft J, as will be understood by
referring to Fig. 3, in which an oblique position of said roller with the shaft
J is shown in red, the shaft J being also allowed to move laterally to a certain
extent, its bearing d¹ being constructed with a view to that end. The frame
F is turned in order to adjust the feed roller G in this way by means of a
lever K, which is connected by a rod e¹ with one end of the frame F, or with
a plate ex attached thereto, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The feed roller E is
placed directly behind the saw L, as shown in Fig. 2, and directly over the
feed roller E there is a pressure roller M, which has a smooth periphery, and
is fitted in a frame N, which has an upright rod fattached to it, said rod
being fitted in bearings 9 secured to a vertical slide O in the upper part of
the framing A. This slide O has a plate h projecting horizontally from its
rear side, said plate being notched and fitted on a vertical screw P, which is
rotated by bevil gears i, shown in Fig. 2. This screw when rotated raises
g

page_text: h
notched plate being engaged
One of the gears i is on a shaft
The feed roller E is grooved
and lowers the slide O in consequence of the
with it, said plate serving the office of a nut.
j, having a crank k at its outer end, see Fig. 1.
both longitudinally and circumferentially, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. These
grooves have tooth shaped projections on the face or periphery of the feed
roller, and prevent the log from slipping laterally while being fed to the saw.
By adjusting the feed roller E in an oblique position relatively with the saw
through the medium the lever K the log or stuff may be fed to the saw in the
direction of the cut, and this is a great advantage in sawing curves, as it
protects the saw from lateral pressure and obviates much friction. The pres-
sure roller M is allowed to turn freely to conform to the direction of the feed
movement of the log, owing to the rod f of the frame N being allowed to turn
freely in its bearings g, and said rod f has a spiral spring 1, which keeps the
roller M down upon the log. The roller M may be raised up free from the
log at any time by turning the shaft j, and the feed roller E may be let down
at any time when it is desired to stop the feed by actuating the lever H.
The two levers H, K, may if desired be connected with treadles so that the
attendant can operate them with his feet, or pins or any suitable fastening
may be employed for retaining the levers at any desired point.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be pro-
tected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the attaching of the saw frame or sash H to a ring C, fitted within
friction rollers D, and turned or adjusted by means of the sector rack E
and pinions F, or their equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Secondly, operating the saw frame or sash H through the medium of a
crank pulley K, the shaft or axis of which is placed at the centre, or as near
as may be to the centre of the ring C, to which the sash is attached, the pit-
man J being connected to a slide i, or to any projection attached to the sash,
substantially as described.
Thirdly, the employment or use in a sawing machine for sawing ship and
other timber in curved and bevilled form of a feed roller E, arranged substan-
tially as herein shown and described, so as to admit of an oblique adjustment
of the roller relatively with the saw, and either with or without the vertical
adjustment for the purposes specified.
Fourthly, the combination with the feed roller E, thus arranged, of a swivel
pressure roller M, as and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: Fifthly, corrugating the feed roller E longitudinally and circumferentially
so as to form tooth-like projections on its periphery, as and for the purpose
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. M. S. DAISH,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
W. CLARK. (L.B.)