IMPROVEMENTS IN SAW MILLS
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
CARTER, of Lombard Street, in the City of London, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain bearing date at
Westminster, the Second day of July, in the second year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Carter, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said George Carter, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Carter, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAW MILLS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said George Carter, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Carter, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer--

page_text: tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon (that
is to say):-
My Invention relates to steain saw mills, and consists in combining steam
saw mills with a barge or other suitable floating vessel, whereby the saw mill,
so combined and constructed, can be moved from place to place with facility,
and thus rendering unnecessary much carriage of timber to and from saw mills
which are fixed on shore and cannot be moved to the wood; hence persons
requiring large quantities of timber cut up are put to considerable expence in
moving and carrying the same, more particularly in the cases where the
timber is brought from abroad, which constitutes a very large proportion of
the timber employed in England. Now by having floating steam saw mills, the
mill can be conveyed to the timber in all such cases where the timber has been
brought into rivers, docks, and other waters; and such floating steam saw mills
can be again removed to other places so soon as it has cut up the timber at
any one place; thus it will be readily seen, that as there are many places on
rivers and other waters where there is timber for a time requiring to be cut up,
yet will not offer such continued employment for saw mills as would justify the
building of extensive premises requisite for fixed steam saw mills, at much
greater expence than the quantity of timber requiring to be cut would com-
pensate for the outlay. Whereas, by having floating steam saw mills the cost
of carrying immense quantities of timber to fixed inland steam mills will be
saved, for it will be evident, that the cost of conveying the floating steam saw
mills from one place to another where timber is required to be cut will be very
small. And in order to give the best information in my power for carrying out
my Invention, I will describe the Drawing hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a barge, having a steam saw mill
applied thereto; Figure 2 is a plan thereof; and Figure 3 is a transverse
section thereof. In each of these Figures the same letters indicate the
same parts wherever they occur. The steam saw mill is suitably arranged
for cutting timber or wood with reciprocating saws, and also for cutting
with circular saws; but it is not necessary in all cases to have each mill
so prepared with two descriptions. The construction of sawing machinery
being well understood, it will not be necessary to enter into any particular
description thereof, other than what is requisite for combining it with a barge
or other vessel, or floating means suitable for enabling the steam saw mills to
be floated from place to place on rivers and other waters where timber is

page_text: required to be cut, my Invention not relating to any particular arrangement of
machinery for sawing, or steam engine for driving such sawing machinery; nor
does my Invention relate to any peculiarity of construction of barge or other
suitable vessel or means for floating such steam saw mills. Hence I would
remark, that although I have shown in the Drawing a convenient arrange-
ment of steam saw mills applied to a barge, and which is the best arrange-
ment I am acquainted with, yet the parts thereof may be differently arranged
and combined, and variations made in the parts themselves, without departing
from my Invention, which, as before stated, consists in the combining steam
sawing machinery with a large vessel or floating means, to enable such
machinery to be floated with facility from one place to another. A is a high-
pressure steam boiler, which is placed and affixed on the bottom of the barge.
I have not thought it necessary to show the steam pipe, safety valve, and other
proper apparatus for the boiler, they being well understood by engineers; my
object being, rather to show the general arrangement and combination of the
main or principal parts in a convenient manner, and not to enter into details,
as they are well understood; and I have omitted them in the Drawing, in
order to prevent complexity. B, B, are two steam cylinders; they vibrato on
axes, as is well understood; and I prefer this arrangement, because it allows
of compactness of arrangement, but, as before stated, this, as well as other
parts, may be varied, and further, if preferred, a condensing steam engine may
be used. The piston rods of the two steam cylinders B communicate rotatory
motion to the crank axis C, which carries a toothed wheel a, working into
another toothed wheel b on the axis of the drum D, from which motion is
communicated to the various parts of the sawing machinery by means of
straps E, F.
The strap E communicatės motion to the circular saws
G, G, on the axes H, there being suitable fixed and loose pulleys on those
axes H, as is shewn in the Drawing. The circular saws work through
proper slits or openings formed on the platforms I, on which the wood or
timber is placed. J, J, are parallel guides for the timber to rest against
whilst being sett, all which is well understood by persons constructing and
using such saw machinery. The endless strap E gives motion to the axis K,
turning in suitable bearings, as is shown in the Drawing. On this axis is a
fixed and a loose pulley L, by which this axis can be put into and out of
motion as required, M, M, being pulleys or drums on the axis K, by means
of which, and endless straps or bänds, motion is communicated from the
drum D to the circular saws. The endless band or strap F gives motion to
the reciprocating saws N, N, there being two saw frames N, one carrying two
pair of saws and the other carrying a single saw; but the number of saws will

page_text: depend on the nature of the work to be done, as heretofore, and as is well
understood. The strap from the drum F communicates motion to the axis O,
which turns in suitable bearings, as is shown. This axis O carries two cog
wheels, which take into others on the axis P, Q, of the saw frames, there
being suitable clutch boxes to throw the wheels of the axis P, Q, into and out
of gear with their respective wheels on the axis O; and the saw frames are
caused to reciprocate by means of the connecting rods R by cranks on the
axes P, Q, as is shown in the Drawing, and as is well understood, S, S, being
eccentrics, by which motion is communicated to the ratchet wheels T for
moving the timber up to the saws to be cut, there being toothed pinions on
the axes of the ratchet wheels T to actuate the frames, or moving platforms,
on which the timber is placed and secured, such platforms or frames having
toothed racks V underneath, which are moved by the pinions on the axis
carrying the ratchet wheels T; and the platforms move on rollers W, as is
shown in Figure 1, motion being communicated to the ratchet wheels T by
means of the rods X moving the clawkers or drivers Y. I have not thought
it necessary to shew the means of fixing the logs of timber or wood when
being cut, in order to prevent complexity of the Drawing; but that, as well as
all other of the details of saw mills which are not shown in the Drawing, are
in common use, and are well understood; they will therefore be readily
applied.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I lay no claim to any of
the parts separately, nor in combination, other than as herein described; and I
would remark, that although for all ordinary purposes the fittings up of the
barge or vessel will be such that it may be rowed in like manner to ordinary
lighters (taking advantage of the tides where they exist), yet it will be evident,
if greater expedition of movement from one place to another be desired, the
same may be obtained by applying paddle wheels, or suitable machinery for
propelling, and having the steam engine or engines properly arranged for that
purpose, the barge or vessel may be propelled by steam power, during which
time the driving bands of the sawing machinery will be thrown out of work, and
when the sawing machinery is at work the engine will be discontinued from
the propelling machinery. But I declare that what I claim as my Invention
secured by the present Letters Patent is, the combining steam sawing machinery
with a barge or other suitable means of floating from place to place. And
such
my Invention being to the best of my knowledge and belief entirely new,
and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her said Dominion of Wales, or

page_text: Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification
of the same, and that I do verily believe that this my Specification doth
comply fully and without reserve or disguise with the proviso in the said in
part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore I hereby claim to maintain
exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Carter, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
Inrolled the Second day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.