· IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Lee Baxter, of Sneinton Hermitage, Sneinton,
in the County of Nottingham, Dyer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
· IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Lee Baxter at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th November 1854.
I, GEORGE LEE BAXTER, of Sneinton Hermitage, Sneinton, in the County of
Nottingham, Dyer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES" to be as follows:-
These improvements in reaping machines are applicable for the purpose of
reaping all kinds of standing crops, such as oats, wheat, barley, rye, Indian
corn, and even sugar canes. The improved machine is constructed as follows:-
A circular saw (similar to those ordinarily employed for sawing wood) is
mounted, and revolves horizontally upon a spindle. The saw is mounted
between two circular plates or discs, and the teeth thereof project slightly
beyond the edges of the same. In front of the saw are curved guides, and
behind the saw is a sloping trough. The shafts and running wheels are fixed
at the side. To one of the wheels is attached a spur wheel, which commu-
nicates with the saw by means of accelerating geering, so as to drive the saw
at about two thousand revolutions per minute. The machine is drawn by
means of a horse placed in the shafts. The corn, &c. is gathered by means of
the curved guides, and is by them directed against the revolving saw, which
severs the same instantly. The corn, &c. then. falls into the sloping trough,

page_text: and is left upon the ground behind the machine as the machine advances. If
it is desired to cut a greater width than about two feet at a time, two or more
saws may be arranged side by side, and driven in a similar manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Lee Baxter in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th May 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
LEE BAXTER, of Sneinton Hermitage, Sneinton, in the County of Nottingham,
Dyer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Lee Baxter; Her special licence that I, the said George Lee Baxter, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Lee Baxter, my executors, administrators, and 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Lee
Baxter, by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, should par
ticularly 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 George Lee Baxter, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof (that is to say) :-
My improvements in reaping machines are applicable for the purpose of
reaping all kinds of standing crops, such as oats, wheat, barley, rye, Indian
corn, and even sugar canes. The improvement consists principally in the
application or employment for such purposes of a circular saw, similar to those
ordinarily employed for sawing timber, such saw being mounted in an horizontal
position at a suitable height from the ground, and caused to revolve swiftly as
the machine progresses, by being connected by accelerating gearing to one of

page_text: the running wheels thereof. The machine may be constructed as follows:-
The saw is mounted between two circular plates or discs, the teeth thereof
projecting slightly beyond the edges of the same. In front of the saw are
curved guides, and behind the saw is a sloping trough. The shafts and running
wheels are placed at the side. To one of the wheels is attached a spur wheel,
which communicates with the saw by means of accelerating spur and bevil
geering; so as to drive the saw at about two thousand revolutions per minute,
more or less, according to the nature of the material to be cut. The machine
is drawn by means of a horse placed in the shafts. The corn, &c. is gathered
by means of the curved guides, and is by them directed against the revolving
saw, which severs them instantly. The corn, &c. then falls on to the sloping
trough, and is left upon the ground behind the machine as the machine advances.
Another form of construction of the machine, and which I find better adapted
for ordinary reaping purposes, is as follows:-The framing of the machine is
mounted and supported upon three wheels; two small wheels being placed in
front, and more immediately supporting the cutting apparatus, and a larger.
wheel behind, which acts as the driving wheel, and to which the gearing for
driving the saw is connected. The saw is made in segmental pieces, and is
attached to a wheel or drum which revolves upon a plate. This plate is pro-
vided with guides and notches, and below it and upon the same spindle as the
saw are mounted curved rods or arms for the purpose of gathering the corn, &c.
and forcing it into the notches, there to be severed or cut by the saw. The
machine is drawn by a horse, attached by a chain, and is guided by means of a
pair of handles or "stilts," similar to those of a plough, and fixed to the framing.
The gearing is enclosed in a case so curved as to lay the corn, &c. evenly upon
either or each side of the machine as it. is cut. And I would here remark that
if it is thought desirable to cut more than about two feet in width at a time,
two or more saws may be mounted side by side in the machine.
In order more fully to illustrate the practical application of my Invention, I
have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings, representing two views of this
last-mentioned arrangement of my improvements, and have marked the same
with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following
explanation thereof, similar letters of reference being placed upon corresponding
parts of the mechanism in both views, in so far as such parts appear or can be
seen at each of the said Figures respectively.

page_text: two wheels b, b, and the third or driving wheel c, c; to the axle d, d, of this
wheel, a spur wheel e, e, is attached, driving a smaller spur wheel f, f, fixed
upon a transverse shaft 9, 9, which drives the saw spindle h, h, by means
of two pairs of mitre wheels i, i. Upon the spindle h, h, is keyed a drum or
wheel k, k, to the under side of which the saw 1, 1, (in segments) is bolted or
rivetted. The saw runs in a recess cut or formed in the plate m, m, for that
purpose. The plate m, m, is furnished with projecting points or guides n, n, for
dividing the corn, &c., having slots o, o, between each, formed at right angles
(or nearly so) to, the teeth of the saw. Below the plate m, m, and fixed upon
and revolving with the saw spindle, are the curved rods or "gatherers" P, P.
The "stilts" for guiding the machine are shewn at q, q. The dotted lines 1, 1,
represent the cover or case for the gearing, which is removed for the purpose
of shewing the working parts of the apparatus more clearly. The operation of
this machine is as follows:-The machine being drawn along by a horse, and
guided as required by hand, the revolution of the wheel c, c, will (by means of
the spur and bevil gearing) impart rapid rotary motion to the saw l, l, and
gatherers" p. p. The points n, n, divide the corn, &c., and guide it towards
the slots o, o, into which it is drawn by the "gatherers" p, p, where it becomes
immediately severed against the edge of the slots by the saw 1, 1.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said Invention of
Improvements in Reaping Machines, together with the best means I am
acquainted with for carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark,
in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention, the general novel arrangement
and construction of reaping machines, as shewn in the Drawing and above
described; and especially the use of the revolving circular saw or saws when
employed in the manner and for the purposes herein-before more particularly
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Lee Baxter, have liereunto set
my hand and scal, this Third day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
GEORGE TOONE,
Snienton, near Nottingham.
GEORGE LEE BAXTER. (L.S.)