IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING APPARATUS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Barbour, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Joiner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING
APPARATUS."
Sealed, the 24th June 1856, and dated the 23rd April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Barbour at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd
April 1856.
I, JAMES BARBOUR, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SAWING APPARATUS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to an improved arrangement of sawing machine of a
very simple and efficient nature, and offering peculiar facilities for operating
upon wood or other materials in various ways. According to one modification
of the improved apparatus, a strong rectangular frame is erected in a vertical
position upon a bed frame, which is furnished with a platform, across which the
wood to be sawn is traversed, and which is fitted if convenient with the
driving gear of the machine. The vertical frame is open to receive two pulleys,
placed 'one over the other upon horizontal spindles, the bearings of which are
adjustable in grooves, or in any other convenient manner upon the sides of the
frame. The peripheries of the pulleys are of a width proportioned to the saw
blade to be used, and this saw blade is made in the form of an endless belt,

page_text: which is passed round the two pulleys. The saw belt is kept properly stretched
by means of a screw or other adjustment, by which the bearings of the two
pulleys can be separated more or less. Either one or both pullies may be
driven in any convenient way by means of gearing connecting them with any
prime mover. The pulleys are made to revolve continuously in one direction,
and the wood to be sawn is continuously and uniformly fed up to the saw
edge, which, moving constantly in one direction, gets rapidly through its work
in a very efficient manner.
In making the endless belt saws for this improved machine, it is preferred
to hammer the saw in such a manner, that before it is put upon the pulleys
it may have a slight tendency to bend in the contrary direction to that in
which it will subsequently have to bend when put upon the pulleys; the
object of this being to make the saw blade sure to spring back to a straight
line in the portion of its traverse between the two pulleys. It is further
intended to adopt arrangements for shifting the wood to be sawn laterally or
otherwise whilst being fed up to the saw blade, so as to cause the wood to be
curved when sawn.
These arrangements are designed more particularly for cutting out ship
timbers, but they are also applicable in many other cases. Various mechanical
contrivances may be adopted for giving the wood the requisite lateral shift in
connection with the feed movement, as, for example, screws acting vertically
and horizontally, and actuated by workmen watching the action of the saw;
or if it is required to cut out circular forms, the wood may be made to turn
about an adjustable centre, set on the platform at such a distance from the saw
as to give the desired diameter.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Barbour in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BARBOUR, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Joiner, send 3
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself; Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said 8
Jannes Barbour, Her special license that I, the said James Barbour, my.

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Barbour, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWING
APPARATUS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Barbour, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 James Barbour, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to an improved arrangement of sawing machine
of a very simple and efficient nature, and offering peculiar facilities for
operating upon wood or other materials in various ways. According to one
modification of the improved apparatus, a strong rectangular frame is erected
in a vertical position upon a bed frame, which is furnished with a platformı,
across which the wood to be sawn is traversed, and which is fitted, if convenient,
with the driving gear of the machine. The vertical frame is open to receive
two pulleys, placed one over the other upon horizontal spindles, the bearings of
which are adjustable in grooves, or in any other convenient manner, upon the
sides of the frame. The peripheries of the pulleys are of a width proportioned
to the saw blade to be used, and this saw blade is made in the form of an
endless belt, which is passed round the two pulleys. The saw belt is kept pro-
perly stretched by means of a screw or other adjustment, by which the bearings
of the two pulleys can be separated more or less. Either one or both pulleys
may be driven in any convenient way. by means of gearing connecting them
with any prime mover. The pulleys are made to revolve continuously in one
direction, and the wood to be sawn is continuously and uniformly fed up to the
saw edge, which, moving constantly in one direction, gets rapidly through its
work in a very efficient manner.
In making the endless belt saws for this improved machine, it is intended in
some cases to hammer the saw in such a manner, that before it is put upon
the pulleys it may have a slight tendency to bend in the contrary direction to

page_text: that in which it will subsequently have to bend when put upon the pulleys,
the object of this being to make the saw blade sure to spring back to a straight
line in the portion of its traverse between the two pulleys. If, however, the
belt saw is well made, and of steel of a sufficient thinness and flexibility, this
reverse bending action is not so much required as in cases where the the saw is of
a comparatively thicker material. It is further intended to adopt arrangements
for shifting the wood to be sawn laterally or otherwise whilst being fed up to
the saw blade, so as to cause the wood to be curved when sawn.
These arrangements are designed more particularly for cutting out ship
timbers, but they are also applicable in many other cases. Various mechanical
contrivances may be adopted for giving the wood the requisite lateral shift in
connection with the feed movement, as, for example, screws acting vertically
and horizontally, upon a frame or table carrying the wood to be sawn, and
actuated by workmen watching the action of the saw; or if it is required to
cut out circular forms, the wood may be carried upon a table, or in a frame
which is made to turn about an adjustable centre, set on the platform at such
a distance from the saw as to give the desired radius of curvature.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I have
hereunto appended and shall now proceed to describe a Sheet of explanatory
Drawings, showing a mode of working out my Invention in practice.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is an elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan,
of a sawing machine as constructed according to my improved system. The
saw is mounted in a rectangular framework, consisting of the two cast-iron
end standards A, each composed of two columns, connected together by an
.entablature and a base, the standards being connected together by the cross
entablatures B and cross base pieces below, but not seen in the Drawing. One
column of each standard is slotted at C and D, to receive the bearings of two
horizontal shafts E and F, upon which are keyed the upper and lower pulleys
G, H, of equal diameter. The endless saw belt I is stretched upon the
pulleys G, H, the peripheries of which are covered with leather or other
suitable material to increase the frictional hold upon the saw belt. The
bearings of the upper pulleys G are capable of sliding vertically in their slots
C, and are adjusted by means of the screw spindles J, acted upon by nuts K.
The pulleys G, H, are held asunder with considerable force by means of the
screws J, for the purpose of stretching the saw belt I as much as possible. It
is the descending side of the saw belt I, as indicated by the arrows in the
Figure, which operates in sawing, and the driving power is applied by pre-
ference to the shaft F of the lower pulley H. This shaft F carries fast and
loose pulleys L, to receive a driving belt M from an overhead shaft, which is

page_text: shifted from one pulley L to the other, as required, by the lever N. Small
pulleys O are fixed on the further ends of the shafts E, F, and a belt is passed
round them to assist in keeping the movements of the two shafts and their
pulleys G, H, uniform. The timber P to be sawn is placed upon a traversing
table or platform Q, which moves in a direction parallel to the shafts E, F,
upon rollers R placed at intervals along a bench or framework composed of
standards S, connected by longitudinal timbers T. The table Q has a rack U
fitted to its under side, and in gear with this there is a pinion V fast on a
transverse horizontal shaft W, fitted with a handle X at one side and a set of
pulleys Y at the other side. The timber P to be sawn may, if necessary, be
fixed down to the traversing table Q in any suitable way. It is fed up to the
cut by the movement of the table, which is traversed at a uniform rate, either
by hand, by means of the handle X, or by means of a belt Z, from a con-
tinuously revolving shaft overhead, acting upon one of the pulleys Y; or the
traverse movement may be derived directly from the shaft F by means of a
worm and worm wheel. The saw belt I passes between two wooden guiding
surfaces a, shown in section in Figure 1, immediately before entering the
timber P to be sawn, these guides being carried in a bracket b, bolted to or
cast upon the standard A. The saw belt passes between similar guiding
surfaces c on its ascending side to prevent vibration, these pieces c being held
in a bracket d, and being capable of adjustment by means of pinching
screws.
In the Drawing, by means of which I have illustrated my Invention herein,
I have represented the open rectangular framing as arranged for carrying
two sets of belt saws, provision being made for this purpose by forming
openings at the opposite side of the framing for the reception of the tension
and driving pulley shafts. Under such a duplex arrangement, the belt saws
would work one on each side of the framing, so as to afford sufficient room for
each of the saws and for the attendant workmen.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion
to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of sawing apparatus, as
herein-before described.

page_text: Second, the application and use of endless belt saws passed over or round
tensional and driving pulleys fitted with tensional screw apparatus, as herein-
before described:
Third, the system or mode of guiding and steadying belt saws by means of
fixed guide brackets, as represented at band d on my Sheet of Drawings.
Fourth, the combination of two belt saws working on one frame, as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Barbour, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
JAMES BARBOUR. (L.S.)