IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEER CUTTING MACHINES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
VENEER CUTTING MACHINES." A communication from abroad by Henry
Thurlow Bartlett and George Washington Read, both of the City, County,
and State of New York, United States of America.
led the 1st September 1876, and dated the 1st April 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st April 1876.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEER CUTTING MACHINES."
The nature and objects of this Invention are as follows:-
In the first place to produce a machine which shall give a drawing cut or stroke
with the veneer cutting knife variable in depth and length to suit the exigencies
of the work to be done.
Secondly. To hold the log to be cut steadily and firmly in position, and feed it
forward under the knife with perfect accuracy, and then to withdraw it as soon as
the cut is completed to keep it from the edge of the knife during its upward stroke.
And the first part of the Invention consists in the combination of a cutting knife
with a guide and presser bar or roll attached to and operating with a suitable
frame, to which a vertical motion is imparted by cranks suitably connected, and a
horizontal motion by one or more radial guide rods.
The second part of the Invention consists in the means employed for guiding
the knife frame, being the compound gibs or shoes constructed and operating as
herein-after described.
The third part of the Invention consists in the arrangement of the radial guide
rods, which impart a horizontal motion to the knife frame, thus giving a longer or
shorter movement to the knife, as the nature of the log being cut may require.
The fourth part of the Invention consists in a vertically adjustable cutting table,
which is raised or lowered by suitable mechanism so as to suit the thickness of the
log to be cut.
The fifth part of the Invention consists in an improved means for clamping the
logs to be cut to the stay log or face plate of the machine by a travelling clamp
head or frame moving upon horizontal ways.

page_text: The sixth part of the Invention consists of the devices which cause the log to
recede from the knife after each downward stroke, as herein-after described.
The seventh part of the Invention consists in the construction and arrangement
of the devices by which the horizontal movement of the cutting knife is controlled,
being the radial guides rods attached to adjustable bearings in a frame as herein-
after described.
The machine is constructed as follows:-Upon a suitable base a frame consisting
of two pairs of uprights is securely bolted, those in the rear being inclined forward
at the top in such a manner as to bring them in contact with those in front,
to which they are securely attached. The frame is still further stiffened by
transverse beams connecting the pairs of uprights, and also strengthened by girts
or panels placed at each end of the machine between the front and rear uprights and
securely bolted thereto.
The driving shaft of the machine is carried in journal boxes, which rest upon and
are secured to the base. This shaft may receive its motion from any suitable prime
mover, and is provided with a pinion which gears into and imparts motion to two
toothed wheels keyed on separate shafts and each provided with a crank pin, to
which is connected a reciprocating knife-carrying frame.
The wheels being provided with an equal number of teeth are synchronous in
their movements, thus causing the crank pins to occupy the same horizontal line
at all times and consequently retaining the frame in a position parallel with such
line.
This frame is of metal, and is preferably cast in one piece, having an elongated
rectangular opening through it for the passage of the vencer after it is cut from the
log. Above this opening, on the inner side, is formed a recess to receive the cutting
knife, which is securely fastened therein. The top of the opening in the knife
frame is inclined upward and outward so as to present no obstacle to the passage
of the veneer in its exit from the machine. The bottom of the opening is flat and
horizontal, carrying a presser bar, which is moved forward by means of screws
passing through lugs attached to the knife frame, and acting upon nuts secured
to each end of the presser bar. This bar is provided with a sharp angle, which
presses into the log from which the veneer is to be cut a little below the edge of
the knife, thus preventing the knife from checking or producing cracks in the
vencer. This knife carrying frame is also provided with dovetailed grooves upon
its upper and lower edges, which are enclosed by projecting lugs upon gibs or shoes,
thus allowing the frame to have a horizontal motion upon the gibs, while they
have a vertically reciprocating movement on suitable ways formed upon the front
pair of uprights. The horizontal movement is given to the knife frame by radial
connecting rods, the lower ends of which are attached to a block sliding in guide
frames. These blocks are made vertically adjustable by means of screws, the lower
ends of which are provided with bevel-gear wheels gearing into bevel wheels upon
a horizontal shaft, carried in suitable bearings upon the guide frames. It will be
apparent that by revolving this shaft the sliding blocks, to which the lower ends
of the radial connecting rods are attached by means of pins, will be raised or
lowered. These guide frames have also a reciprocating movement upon a dove-
tailed way formed upon a projecting part at one side of the base, the bottom of
the guide frames being provided with a suitable groove and adjusting screws to fit
the projecting way upon the base. Motion is communicated to the the guide frames
by means of an eccentric upon one of the two shafts by which the reciprocating
motion of the knife frame is produced through an eccentric rod, rock shaft, arm,
and connecting rod, attached to a pin in a bar which connects the two guide frames.
It will be apparent that while the revolution of these shafts give to the cutting
frame a vertically reciprocating movement through the connecting rods, it at the
same time has a horizontal reciprocation through the agency of the radial connections
before referred to and their operating mechanism.
A vertically adjustable table moves upon suitable guide ways within the frame,
and is adjusted by means of a screw, one of which is placed at cach corner of the

page_text: table, the whole being so connected by means of bevel gears upon horizontal shafts,
upon one of which is placed a spur gear, which connects with a similar gear wheel
upon a shaft revolving in bearings on the frame, said shaft being provided with a
hand wheel upon its outer end, by turning which the table is raised or lowered.
The top of the table is provided with two or more rollers, so embedded as to
project slightly above its surface, upon which the log to be cut rests, and by
which its adjustment is facilitated. They may also be so arranged as to drop
entirely below the surface of the table, if desired, so that the log during the
process of cutting may rest firmly thereon. The stay log rests upon the table,
being retained in position thercon by a projecting tongue upon its under side,
which enters a groove, crossing the top of the table. Other grooves are also
formed across the table, in which dogs intended for holding the bottom of the log of
wood to be cut move. These dogs, as well as others which enter the top of the
log, move in suitable guide ways, and are operated by screws. Other dogs, operated
by screws in a similar manner to those just described, enter the ends of the log to
be cut, and assist in retaining it in its position. The stay log receives two motions.
one a regular feeding movement, by which it is carried forward the thickness of a
veneer or other piece of lumber at each cut, the other a retrograde motion, which
takes the log out of the path of the knife as it rises after each cut. In order to
impart to it the first of these movements a cam is secured to the rear end of one of
the knife operating shafts. This cam is provided with a groove, into which the
pin of a lever enters. One end of this lever oscillates upon a stationary fulcrum
secured to the base of the machine, the other end is connected by a pin to a con-
necting bar, the upper end of which is attached by a pin to a pawl carrier provided
with spring pawls, which engage with the teeth of a racket wheel upon a screw
shaft which crosses the table and passes through a suitable nut in the downwardly
projecting guide of the stay log. By this means the revolutions of the knife ope-
rating shaft, acting through the cam and connecting devices, cause the pawl carrier
to oscillate, thus giving to the ratchet wheel and the screw to which it is attached
an intermittent rotating movement, which causes the stay log to move forward a
certain distance at each revolution of the driving shafts, and consequently at each
reciprocation of the knife frame, thus causing the log to be cut into veneers to move
forward the exact distance necessary to form the lumber desired. In order to cut
veneers or lumber of varying thickness the pin is made adjustable upon the pawl
carrier, so as to vary its distance from the point of oscillation of the latter, thus
causing the pawls to move over a greater or less part of the periphery of the
ratchet wheel at each reciprocation, and consequently imparting to the stay log,
through the screw, a proportional forward movement.
The second movement of the stay log referred to, being its retraction during the
upward movement of the knife frame, is secured through the following mechanism:
A cam wheel is placed upon the knife operating shaft, and, is provided with a
cam groove in its periphery, which receives a pin projecting from an arm secured
to a vertical rock shaft, the upper end of which has a spline of sufficient length
to allow an arm to rise and fall thereon with the table. To this arm is attached
a lever, which connects it with a toggle, one end of which is connected by a pin to
the screw which moves the stay log forward in setting, the other end of the
toggle is secured by a pivot pin to a supporting bar, which is, in turn, securely
bolted to the rear side of the table. By this arrangement each revolution of the
knife operating shaft will pass through the cam, and the connecting devices act
upon the toggle in such a manner as to draw back the stay log during the upward
movement of the knife frame, and force it outward as the frame begins its descent,
thus avoiding all danger of dulling the knife by rubbing against the veneer log during
its ascent. The face of the table next to the cutting knife is formed of a separate
piece of metal, secured to the latter by suitable bolts, and may be of harder material,
the better to withstand the extra wear caused by the frictions of the log, the action
of vegetable acids, and corrosion caused by the escaping steam as each veneer is

page_text: severed. It can at any time be removed and trued up by grinding or other incans,
so as to keep the upper edge on the same plane as the table top, and the angle
parallel to the cut of the knife.
Having thus described the construction of the machine, its operation and the
process of cutting veneers and other lumber upon it are as follows:-The knife
frame with its attachments properly adjusted being raised to its greatest height by
the mechanism arranged for the purpose, and the stay log with its clamps drawn
out to their full extent moved to a point upon the table farthest from the knife,
the log, if of hard wood having been properly steamed, is rolled upon the table
generally from one end, and is then securely fastened to the stay log by the
clamps. The cutting table is then adjusted to any desired elevation by the
mechanism provided for that purpose. The stay log is then fed forward by the
screw and its operating mechanism, carrying the log before it, until it projects over
the adjustable face or edge of the table when the knife descends and severs the pro-
jecting portion, which may be a veneer or thicker lumber for various purposes.
After the stroke, and when the cranks are turning their lower centres the log is
caused to recede from the knife by means of the devices, and in the manner hereto-
fore described, so as to prevent friction and unnecessary wear to the cutting edge
of the knife when it is returning across the face of the log. When the cranks are
approaching their upper centres, and the knife has passed above the top of the log,
the latter is returned to its former position, and is again fed forward the necessary
distance to form the piece of lumber to be cut, and the cutting repeated until the
whole or any desired portion of the log has been converted into veneer or other lumber.
If the nature of the wood has been previously determined the radial guide rods
may be set so as to give the knife the most advantageous draw, or after a few
cuttings have been made in order to develope the quality and direction of the fibre,
and as these change during the cutting operation, the position of the guide rods
may be changed by the operator withcut stopping the machine, so as to increase or
diminish the horizontal movement or drawing cut of the knife as the exigencies
of the case may demand.
In cutting round logs the process may continue until the centre or heart is
reached, when they may be turned down on the straight surface or reversed, again
commencing at the bark side; or they may be squared up by cutting from opposite
sides, and then proceeding as the nature of the wood and work may suggest.
It will be seen that in the process of slicing veneers through the log the concentric
rings representing the growth of the wood present a constantly varying line to the
direction of the cut.
The variable drawing motion of the knife enables the machine to accommodate
itself to all the variations in the texture of the material, and while it has no dead
point during the cut, which is continuous, it does its work with comparatively little
friction upon the presser bar, thereby saving the power this friction consumes,
which often amounts to double that required to force the knife alone through the
wood.
Another novel and excellent feature of the machine is the adjustability of the
table to any required height, so as to bring narrow logs into the first or longest
part of the drawing stroke, and the facility with which logs of any shape, whether
circular, semi-circular, or rectangular, may be secured to the stay log by using the
suitable fastenings enables great variety of work to be done upon the machine, and
a saving of labor and time is thereby effected.
It will be evident that the machine may be so constructed as to give the motion
to the log which is now given to the knife without departing from the principle
of the Invention, but I prefer the method of construction herein described as
being the best.
I am aware that machines have been constructed in which a drawing cut has
been given to the knife by means of radial guide rods, and by inclined guides to

page_text: the knife carrying frame, but both of these methods lacked the element of
adjustability while the machine was in operation, which is an essential feature of
the present Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th
September 1876.
"
A com-
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEER CUTTING MACHINES."
munication from abroad by Henry Thurlow Bartlett and George Washington
Read, both of the City, County, and State of New York, United States of
America.
The nature and objects of this Invention are as follows:-
In the first place to produce a machine which shall give a drawing cut or stroke
with the veneer cutting knife variable in depth and length to suit the exigences
of the work to be done.
Secondly. To hold the log to be cut steadily and firmly in position, and feed it
forward under the knife with perfect accuracy, and then to withdraw it as soon as
the cut is completed to keep it from the edge of the knife during its upward
stroke.
And the first part of the Invention consists in the combination of a cutting knife
with a guide and presser bar or roll attached to and operating with a suitable frame
to which a vertical motion is imparted by cranks suitably connected, and a horizontal
motion by one or more radial guide rods.
The second part of the Invention consists in the means employed for guiding the
knife frame, being the compound gibs or shoes constructed and operating as herein-
after described.
The third part of the Invention consists in the arrangement of the radial
guide rods, which impart a horizontal motion to the knife frame, thus giving a
longer or shorter movement to the knife, as the nature of the log being cut may
require.
The fourth part of the Invention consists in a vertically adjustable cutting table,
which is raised or lowered by suitable mechanism so as to suit the thickness of the
log to be cut.
The fifth part of the Invention consists in an improved means for clamping the
logs to be cut to the stay log or face plate of the machine by a travelling clamp
head or frame moving upcn horizontal ways.
The sixth part of the Invention consists of the devices which cause the log to
recede from the knife after each downward stroke, as herein-after described.
The seventh part of the Invention consists in the construction and arrangement
of the devices by which the horizontal movement of the cutting knife is con-
trolled, being the radial guide rods, attached to adjustable bearings in a frame as
herein-after described.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a front elevation of the machine,
showing the arrangement of the driving mechanism, connecting rods, and radius
rods, by means of which motion is imparted to the cutting knife.
Figure 2 is a plan showing the relative arrangement of the reciprocating
cutter, and for holding devices with the mechanisin by which the latter is
operated.
.
Figure 3 presents a rear elevation, showing the arrangement of the mechanism
for feeding the log to the cutter.
Figure 4 is an end view partly in section, and exhibits the general relative
arrangement of the different parts of the machine.

page_text: Figures 5 and 6 represent half and quarter logs, showing the grain of the wood
and the position of the cutting knife relatively thereto during the operation of
cutting the log into veneers.
The machine is constructed as follows:-A represents the base rectangular in
shape, having an extension E upon one side, and which may be constructed of wood
or iron, care being taken to give it sufficient strength and rigidity to sustain with-
out change the strain to which it may be subjected when the superincumbent
machinery is in operation. To this base the frame, consisting of the two pairs of
uprights'B, B, and C, C, are securely bolted. These are formed preferably of cast
iron, those in the rear C, C, being inclined forward at the top in such a manner as
to bring them in contact with those in front, to which they are securely attached;
the frame is still further stiffened by the transverse beams H, I, and K, the beam K
connecting the front pair of uprights B, B, and the beam I the other pair C, C.
The lower ends of all the uprights are bifurcated, thus giving them a broader bear-
ing upon the base A, and allowing space for the piller blocks D carrying the shaft N
to be placed upon the base within the bifurcation. The frame is still further
strengthened by the girts or panels G placed at each end of the machine between
the front and rear uprights and securely bolted thereto; M is the driving shaft of
the machine, and is carried in the journal boxes D, which rest upon and are secured
to the base A. This shaft may receive its motion from any suitable prime mover,
and is provided with a pinion L, which gears into and imparts motion to the
toothed wheels O and O upon the shafts N and N. The toothed wheels are
cach provided with a crank pin P, to which is connected by the connecting rods Q.
a reciprocating knife carrying frame R. The wheels O and O' being provided with
an equal number of teeth are synchronous in their movements, thus causing the
crank pins P to occupy the same horizontal line at all times, and consequently
retaining the frame R in a position parallel with such line. This frame is of metal,
and is preferably cast in one piece, having an elongated rectangular opening through
it for the passage of the veneer after it is cut from the log. Above this opening on
the inner side is formed a recess to receive the cutting knife, which is securely
fastened therein. The top of the opening in the frame R is inclined upward and
outward, so as to present no obstacle to the passage of the veneer in its exit
from the machine. The bottom of the opening is that and horizontal, carrying
a presser bark, which is moved forward by means of the screws m passing
through lugs attached to the frame R, and acting upon the nuts secured to
each end of the presser bar. This bar is provided with a sharp angle which
presses into the log from which the veneer is to be cut a little below the
edge of the knife, thus preventing the knife from checking or producing cracks
in the vencer. This knife carrying frame is also provided with dovetailed grooves
upon its upper and lower edges, which are inclosed by the projecting lugs O¹
upon the gibs or shoes, thus allowing the frame R to have a horizontal
motion upon the gibs while they have a vertically reciprocating movepient
on suitable ways formed upon the front of the supports B, B. The horizontal
movement is given to the knife frame by the radial connecting rods S, the lower
ends of which are attached to a sliding block U within the guide frames S¹. These
blocks are made vertically adjustable by means of the screws V, the lower ends of
which are provided with bevel gear wheels W gearing into bevil wheels upon, the
horizontal shaft X carried in suitable bearings upon the frames St. It will be
apparent that by revolving this shaft X the blocks U to which the lower ends of
the radial connecting rods S are attached by means of pins T will be raised or
lowered. These guide frames have also a reciprocating movement upon a dovetailed
way formed upon part E projecting from one side of the base A, the bottom of the
guide frames being provided with a suitable groove and adjusting screws to fit the
projecting way upon the base E, as shown at R. Motion is cominunicated to the
guide frames by means of an eccentric a upon the shaft N1 through the eccentric
rod b, rock shaft c, arm d, and connecting rod e attached to a pin fin a bar which
connects the two guide frames. It will be apparent that while the revolution of

page_text: the shafts N and N₁ give to the cutting frame a vertically reciprocating movement
through the connecting rods Q, it at the same time has a horizontal reciprocation
through the agency of the connections S and their operating mechanism.
A vertically adjustable table J moves upon suitable guideways within the frame,
and is adjusted by means of the screw 7, one of which is placed at each corner of the
table, the whole being so connected as to operate simultaneously by means of the
bevel gears s and t upon the horizontal shafts w, upon one of which is placed a spur
gear which connects with a similar gear wheel w upon the shaft y revolving in
bearings a attached to the girt I of the frame, said shaft being provided with a
hand wheel b upon its outer end, by turning which the table is raised or lowered.
The top of the table is provided with two or more rollers c¹, so embedded as to
project slightly above its surface, upon which the log to be cut rests, and by which
its adjustment is facilitated. They may also be so arranged as to drop entirely
below the surface of the table if desired, so that the log during the process of cutting
may rest firmly thereon.
The stay log Y rests upon the table J, being retained in position thereon by a
projecting tongue upon its under side which enters a groove crossing the top of the
table. Other grooves d' are also formed across the table, in which the dogs K'
intended for holding the bottom of the log of wood to be cut move.
These dogs,
as well as the dogs g', which enter the top of the log, move in suitable guideways i¹
and are operated by the screws m'. Other dogs 1', operated by screws in a similar
to those just described, enter the ends of the log to be cut and assist in retaining
it in position.
The stay log receives two motions, one a regular feeding movement by which
it is carried forward the thickness of a veneer or other piece of lumber at each
cut, the other a retrograde motion which takes the log out of the path of the
knife as it rises after each cut. In order to impart to it the first of these move-
ments a cam a is secured to the rear end of the shaft N¹. This cam is provided
with a groove into which the pin y upon the lever x¹ enters. One end of this
lever oscillates upon a stationary fulcrum F secured to the base of the machine; the
other end is connected by the pin w to the connecting bar 1, the upper end of
which is attached by the pin u¹ to the pawl carrier t¹. This carrier is provided
with spring pawls which engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel upon the
screw shaft O, which crosses the table and passes through a suitable nut in the
downwardly projecting guide of the stay log Y. By this means the revolutions of
the shaft N acting through the cam all and connecting devices cause the pawl
carrier to oscillate, thus giving to the ratchet wheel and the screw to which it is
attached an intermittent rotating movement, which causes the stay log to move
forward a certain distance at each revolution of the driving shafts and consequently
at each reciprocation of the knife frame, thus causing the log to be cut into veneers
to move forward the exact distance necessary to form the luinber desired. In order
to cut veneers or lumber of varying thickness the pin u is made adjustable upon
the pawl carrier so as to vary its distance from the point of oscillation of the latter,
thus causing the pawls to move over a greater or less part of the periphery of the
ratchet wheel at each reciprocation, and consequently imparting to the stay log
through the screw a proportional forward movement.
The second movement of the stay log referred to being its retraction during the
upward movement of the knife frame is secured through the following mechanism :
A cain wheel m¹¹ is placed upon the shaft N¹, and is provided with a cam grove
in its periphery which receives a pin projecting from an arm 11 secured to the
vertical rock shaft ". The upper end of this shaft has a spline of sufficient length
to allow an arm 2" to rise and fall thereon with the table J.
To this arm is
attached a lever g" which connects it with a toggle, one end of which is connected by
the pin el to the screw o¹ which moves the stay log forward in setting. The other
end of the toggle is secured by the pivot pin el to the supporting bar ", which is
in turn securely bolted to the rear side of the table. By this arrangement each
revolution of the shaft N¹ will pass through the cam ml, and the connecting

page_text: devices act upon the toggle in such a manner as to draw back the stay log during
the upward movement of the knife frame, and force it outward as the frame begins
its descent, thus avoiding all danger of dulling the knife by rubbing against the
vencer log during its ascent. The face of the table J next to the cutting knife is
formed of a separate piece of metal e', secured to the latter by suitable bolts, and
may be of harder material the better to withstand the extra wear caused by the
friction of the log, the action of vegetable acids, and corrosion caused by the
escaping steam as each veneer is severed. It can at any time be removed and
trued up by grinding or other means, so as to keep the upper edge on the same
plane as the table top, and the angle parallel to the cut of the knife.
Having thus described the construction of the machine, its operation and the
process of cutting veneers and other lumber upon it are as follows:-The knife
frame with its attachments properly adjusted being raised to its greatest height by
the mechanism arranged for the purpose, and the stay log with its clamps drawn
out to their full extent moved to a point upon the table farthest from the knife, the
log, if of hard wood having been properly steamed is rolled upon the table generally
from one end, and is then securely fastened to the stay log by the clamps. The
cutting table is then adjusted to any desired elevation by the mechanism provided
for that purpose. The stay log is then fed forward by the screw and its operating
mechanisin carrying the log before it until it projects over the adjustable face or
edge of the table, when the knife descends and severs the projecting portion, which
may be a vencer or thicker lumber for various purposes. After the stroke and
when the cranks are turning their lower centres the log is caused to recede from
the knife by means of the devices, and in the manner heretofore described, so as to
prevent friction and unnecessary wear to the cutting edge of the knife when it is
returning across the face of the log. When the cranks are approaching their upper
centres, and the knife has passed above the top of the log, the latter has returned to
its former position, and is again fed forward the necessary distance to form the
piece of lumber to be cut, and the cutting repeated until the whole or any desired
portion of the log has been converted into veneer or other lumber.
If the nature of the wood has been previously determined the radial guide rods
may be set so as to give the knife the most advantageous draw; or after a few
cuttings have been made, in order to develop the quality and direction of the fibre,
and as these change during the cutting operation the position of the guide rods may
be changed by the operator without stopping the machine, so as to increase or
diminish the horizontal movement or drawing cut of the knife as the exigences of
the case may demand.
In cutting round logs the process may continue until the centre or heart is
reached, when they may be turned down on the straight surface or reversed, again
commencing at the bark side; or they may be squared up by cutting from opposite
sides, and then proceeding as the nature of the wood and work may suggest.
It will be seen that in the process of slicing vencers through the log the con-
centric rings representing the growth of the wood present a constantly varying
line to the direction of the cut, as is clearly shown by Figures 5 and 6 of the
Drawings, in which the relative positions of the cutting knife and grain of the wood
is illustrated. The variable drawing motion of the knife enables the machine to
accommodate itself to all the variations in the texture of the material, and while it
has no dead point during the cut, which is continuous, it does its work with
comparatively little friction upon the presser bar, thereby saving the power this
friction consumes which often amounts to double that required to force the knife
alone through the wood.
Another novel and excellent feature of the machine is the adjustability of the
table to any required height, so as to bring narrow logs into the first or longest
part of the drawing stroke, and the facility with which logs of any shape whether
circular, semi-circular, or rectangular, may be secured to the stay log by using the
suitable fastenings, enabling a great variety of work to be done upon the machine
and a saving of labour and time thereby effected.

page_text: It will be evident that the machine may be so constructed as to give the motion
to the log which is now given to the knife without departing from the principal of
this Invention; but I prefer the method of construction herein described as being
the best.
I am aware that machines have been constructed in which a drawing cut has
been given to the knife by means of radial guide rods and by inclined guides to
the knife-carrying frame; but both of these methods lacked the element of adjusta-
bility while the machine was in operation, which is an essential feature of the
present Invention.
Having described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what 1 claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patents is-
1. The combination of the knife which the reciprocating frame and hori-
zontal adjustable presser bar as specified.
2nd. The reciprocating knife carrying frame R in combination with the gibs Z
and vertical guide upon the uprights B, B, as and for the purpose set forth.
3rd. The gibs Z provided with a recess and lugs O¹, as shown and described for
the purpose of guiding the knife frame in its reciprocations.
4th. The radial rods S in combination with their adjusting devices as set forth.
5th. The reciprocating frame R', in combination with the mechanism by which it
is operated.
6th. The cutting table J in combination with the screws, gears, and shafts by
which it is rendered vertically adjustable.
7th. The vertically adjustable table in combination with the reciprocating knife
frame R, and their operating mechanisms as described.
8th. The vertically adjustable table in combination with the stay log Y, and
the devices by which it is fed forward toward, and retracted from the cutting knife.
9th. The stay log Y, in combination with the toggle and the mechanism by which
it is operated, as and for the purpose specified.
10th. The shaft N1, can , lever a¹, and adjustable connections vl, in combination
with the pawl carrier t, ratchet wheel, and screw o', for the purpose of feeding
forward the stay log as set forth.
11th. The shaft N', cam m", arm 1, vertical rock shaft i, sliding arm p', and
connection g, in combination with the toggle and stay log for the purpose of
retracting the latter during the ascent of the cutting knife as described.
12th. The shaft N¹, eccentric a, eccentric rod b, rock shaft c, arm d¹, and con-
nection e, in combination with the reciprocating frame R', radial rods S, and cutting
frame R, for the purpose of giving to the latter a horizontal movement or drawing
cut as explained.
13th. The shaft M, spur gears Land O, the latter provided with the crank pins P.
The connecting rods Q and cutting frame R, in combination with the radial rods S,
adjusting blocks U, and reciprocating frame R', as and for the purpose set forth.
14th. The combination and arrangement of all the devices as shown and described
for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
iny hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)