IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS POR LANDING, LOADING, AND CONVEYING TIMBER IN TIMBER YARDS AND SAW MILLS, AS ALSO IN APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE SAWING OF SUCH TIMBER
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Bagster Boulton, of No. 394, King
William Street, in the City of London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS POR LANDING, LOADING,
AND CONVEYING TIMBER IN TIMBER YARDS AND SAW MILLS, AS ALSO IN
APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE SAWING OF SUCH TIMBER."
Sealed the 17th July 1868, and dated the 13th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Bagster
Boulton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 13th May 1868.
I, SAMUEL BAGSTER BOULTON, of No. 394, King William Street,
in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR LANDING,
LOADING, AND CONVEYING TIMBER IN TIMBER YARDS AND SAW MILLS, AS ALSO
IN APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE SAWING OF SUCH TIMBER," to be as.
follows:-
My Invention has principally for its object to facilitate the con--
veyance of timber from on board ship or from railway trucks into saw

page_text: mills or timber yards direct to the saw benches or to the places where
it is to be stacked without the aid of manual labour. For this purpose
I construct in the timber yard or saw mill channels, conduits, shoots,
troughs, or pipes containing water either open or closed, and either
sunk into the ground or laid upon or raised above the surface thereof,
which conduits lead from the water side or other locality to the saw
benches or places where the timber is to be stacked. The timber
may be conveyed into such conduits from the ship or other locality
by means of endless chains or bands stretched over rollers made to
revolve by any available motive power, which chains are provided
with dogs that catch the timber and convey the same either endways
or sideways along inclined rails or shoots into the water conduit,
in which it is conveyed along either by a current of water being
established therein or simply by pushing it forward in the trough
at the receiving station, and the timber may if introduced endways
be made itself to produce such onward motion by the impulse
imparted to it on falling down the shoot. If the timber is required
to be conveyed from a ship's hold into a yard this may be con-
veniently effected by arranging one or more endless revolving chains
provided with dogs, as before described, for raising the timber on to the
deck of the ship, where it is deposited in an inclined shoot, down which
it passes into the water conduits; or the timber may be thrown from
the vessel into the surrounding water, from which it is then conveyed
into the conduits by means of endless revolving chains with dogs, as
before described. The main conduits may be constructed with branches
for conveying the timber to various places in the yard as may be
required, and stop back plates are provided for preventing the timber
from passing into certain conduits and for directing the same into
certain others. At tho saw benches or places where the timber is to
be stacked it is removed from the conduits by means of other endless
revolving chains which raise the timber out of the water and along
inclined rails or shoots directly to the saw bench or other place where
it is required, so that by this improved system the raising and conveying
of the timber by manual labour is entirely avoided, and the expense and
delay consequent on the ordinary mode of landing, conveying, and
feeding the timber to the saw benches is greatly lessened. Where it
is required to raise the timber from one level to another I sometimes
arrange a tank containing water, with the upper surface of which the
before-described water conduit at the higher level freely communicates,

page_text: while at the bottom of such tank a communication is established with
the conduit at the lower level or with the waters of a dock or other
water-way by means of a closed pipe or conduit with a valve at each
end. The timber being introduced into such pipe or conduit and the
outer valve closed the inner valve establishing a communication with
the tank is opened, and the timber is caused to pass out of the pipe
into the tank either by being pushed forward by means of a rod passing
through a stuffing box or by any other suitable means, whereupon the
timber will by virtue of its buoyancy rise to the top of the water in
the tank, from which it is then readily caused to pass into the upper
conduit.
Another part of my Invention has for its object to facilitate the
sawing of such timber when deposited on the saw bench as described,
but which may also be employed in connection with saw benches
generally irrespective of the before-described system of transport. In
sawing timber, more particularly with the circular saw, it is requisite.
to open out the cut wood somewhat in front of the saw in order to lessen
the friction between the saw and the wood, and for this. purpose it has
hitherto been necessary for an attendant to drive wedges at intervals
into the cut in front of the saw, which operation is attended both with
danger and loss of the operator's time. Now my improvement consists
in employing in place of such ordinary wedges a self-acting circular
wedge or metal disc tapering in thickness from the centre towards.
the edge, which disc is capable of revolving on a pin carried by a.
vertical bar adjustable in a standard or bracket fixed to the saw bench...
This circular wedge is adjusted, in such a position in front of the
oircular saw that as the timber passes from the latter the wedge forces,
itself automatically intot he cut formed by the saw, thus opening it out.
to the required extent, the action of the wedge being made continuous
by the rotation thereof as the timber advances. By adjusting the
circular wedge in a higher or lower position it may be forced to a
greater or less extent into the wood, and it may also be adapted to
different sizes of timber.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Bagster Boulton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
BAGSTER BOULTON, of No. 394, King William Street, in the City of
London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her, most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Bagster Boulton, Her special
licence that I, the said Samuel Bagster Boulton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel
Bagster Boulton, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR LANDING,
LOADING, AND CONVEYING TIMBER IN TIMBER YARDS AND SAW MILLS, AS ALSO
IN APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE SAWING OF SUCH TIMBER," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Bagster Boulton, 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 im-
mediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Bagster Boulton, 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, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention has principally for its object to facilitate the conveyance
of timber from on board ships, barges, or rafts, or from railway trucks
into saw mills or timber yards direct to the saw benches or to the places

page_text: where it is to be stacked without the aid of manual labour. For this
purpose I construct in the timber yard or saw mill channels, conduits,
shoots, troughs, or pipes containing water either open or closed, and
either sunk into the ground or laid upon or raised above the surface
thereof, which conduits lead from the water side or other locality to
The
the saw benches or places where the timber is to be stacked.
timber may be conveyed into such conduits from the ship or other
locality by means of endless chains or bands stretched over rollers made
to revolve by any suitable motive power, which chains are provided
with dogs that catch the timber and convey the same either endways
or sideways along inclined rails or shoots into the water conduit, in
which it is conveyed along either by a current of water being established
therein or simply by pushing it forward in the trough at the receiving
station, and the timber may if introduced endways be made itself to
produce such onward motion by the impulse imparted to it on falling
down the shoot. If the timber is required to be conveyed from a
ship's hold into a yard, this may be conveniently effected by arranging
one or more endless revolving chains provided with dogs as before
described for raising the timber on to the deck of the ship where it
is deposited in an inclined shoot, down which it passes into the water
conduits; or the timber may be thrown from the vessel into the
surrounding water, from which it is then conveyed into the conduits
by means of endless revolving chains with dogs, as before described.
The main conduits may be constructed with branches for conveying the
timber to various places in the yard as may be required, and stop back
plates are provided for preventing the timber from passing into certain
conduits and for directing the same into certain others. At the saw
benches or places where the timber is to be stacked it is removed from
the conduits by means of other endles revolving chains, which raise
the timber out of the water and along inclined rails or shoots directly
to the saw bench or other place where it is required, so that by this
improved system the raising and conveying of the timber by manual
labour is entirely avoided, and the expense and delay consequent on
the ordinary mode of landing, conveying, and feeding the timber to the
saw benches is greatly lessened. Where it is required to raise the
timber from one level to another, I sometimes arrange a tank containing
water, with the upper surfaces of which the before-described water
conduit at the higher level freely communicates, while at the bottom
of such tank a communication is established with the conduit at the

page_text: lower level or with the waters of a dock or other water-way by means
of a closed pipe or conduit with a valve at each end. The timber being
introduced into such pipe or conduit and the outer valve closed the
inner valve establishing a communication with the tank is opened, and
the timber is caused to pass out of the pipe into the tank either by
being pushed forward by means of a rod passing through a stuffing box
or by any other suitable means, whereupon the timber will by virtue of
its buoyancy rise to the top of the water in the tank, from which it is
then readily caused to pass into the upper conduit.
Another part of my Invention has for its object to facilitate the
sawing of such timber when deposited on the saw bench as described,
but which may also be employed in connection with saw benches
generally, irrespective of the before-described system of transport. In
sawing timber, more particularly with the circular saw, it is requisite
to open out the cut wood somewhat in front of the saw, in order to
lessen the friction between the saw and the wood, and for this purpose
it has hitherto been necessary for an attendant to drive wedges at
intervals into the cut in front of the saw, which operation is attended
both with danger and loss of the operator's time. Now my improvement
consists in employing in place of such ordinary wedges a self-acting
circular edge or metal disc tapering in thickness from the centre
towards the edge, which disc is capable of revolving on a pin carried
by a vertical bar adjustable in a standard or bracket fixed to the saw
bench. This circular wedge is adjusted in such a position in front of
the circular saw that as the timber passes from the latter the wedge
forces itself automatically into the cut formed by the saw, thus opening
it out to the required extent, the action of the wedge being made
continuous by the rotation thereof as the timber advances. By
adjusting the circular wedge in a higher or lower position it may be
forced to a greater or less extent into the wood, and it may also be
adapted to different sizes of timber.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention I will now proceed
more particularly to describe the manner in which it is to be per-
formed, for which purpose I shall refer to the accompanying Drawings
serving to illustrate some of the various arrangements by which my
Invention may be carried into practice.
Figure 1, Sheet I., shews a general plan of a timber yard and saw

page_text: mill at the side of a dock or other water-way with my Invention for
conveying timber applied thereto.
Figure 2, Sheet I., shews a sectional elevation on line X, X,
Figure 1.
Figure 3, Sheet II., shews a sectional elevation on line Y, Y,
Figure 1.
Figure 4, Sheet I., shews an enlarged side elevation of the raising
apparatus at L, Figure 1; and Figure 4ª shews a detail of the endless
chain and dogs thereof.
Figures 5 and 6, Sheet I., shew enlarged details of the elevator at K,
Figure 1. Similar letters of referenco indicate similar parts in each of
the Figures.
In the arrangement here shewn by way of example it is assumed that
it is required to convey timber from either the vessel A or from the
water at B first to the saw bench C to be cut up, and thence either to
the stacks at D, D, or to other parts of the yard or to the barge at E.
For these purposes a channel, conduit, or trough F containing water is
constructed from the wharf wall to the saw bench C, into which trough
the timber G is conveyed either down the shoot H from the side of the
vessel A, or from the water at B by means of the elevator L to be
presently described, and along which trough the timber is then conveyed
to the saw bench either by a current established in the water or simply
by the impetus imparted to the timber in passing down the shoot H.
The saw bench C is by preference arranged so as to be as nearly as
possible on a level with the channel F, as shewn at Figure 3, so that
the timber may be drawn on to the saw bench with little labor from
the water by means either of a travelling endless chain with dogs J
driven from the saw bench, or by any other suitable arrangement. If,
however, it should not be convenient to arrange the saw bench at so
low a level an elevating apparatus similar to that at K or at L, or of
any other suitable arrangement, may be employed to raise the timber
from the water channel on to the bench. If it be desired to convey
the timber to the saw bench without wetting it, this may be readily
effected by forming a float M of a number of transverse blocks of wood,
as indicated at Figure 7, Sheet II., upon which the timber to be
conveyed is placed so as not to come in contact with the water. After
being cut at the saw bench the timber is placed in the water channel F

page_text: in order to be conveyed either to stacks at D or at other parts of the
yard or to the barge at E. For this purpose the water channel is formed
with a branch F leading into it with a bend N of such a curvature
that the timber will readily pass round it into the branch. A portion
of this bend at N¹ is made to turn into the position shewn in dotted
lines in order to close the branch F and open the continuation of the
channel F when it is desired to convey the timber to another part of
the yard.
In like manner the channel F is provided with another
branch for conveying the timber to the stacks D or to the vessel E,
which branch has a similar bend to that at N with arrangement for
closing either the continuation of F3 or F3. On arriving at the elevator K
the timber is caught by dogs or projecting spikes O¹, O¹, on the endless
travelling chain O (shewn in red lines) passing over the toothed or
recessed rollers P, P1, P2, of which P is driven by means of a band Q
from a pulley Q¹ receiving motion from any convenient source of motive
power, such as a portable engine. The timber is by this means con-
veyed up the shoot K, which carries antifriction rollers K' at short
distances apart to facilitate the motion of the timber. The construction
of the elevator is more clearly indicated at Figures 5 and 6, which
shew respectively an end view of the shoot and a part longitudinal
section of the same. Arrived at the top of the shoot K the timber
passes on to the inclined staging R with antifriction rollers R', upon
which it is conveyed either to the stacks D or to the vessel E. It has
an impetus imparted to it for this purpose by the revolving spiked
roller S receiving motion from the shaft of the roller P. In order to
prevent the timber that has once been passed into the channel Fs from
re-entering the channel F¹ a stop back plate T is provided hinged to the
top of the channel, and so arranged that it will allow the timber to
pass through in the direction of the arrow, but not in the reverse
direction.
In order to permit of the circulation of the water in the channels F
is continued beyond the elevator K, and is connected to F by another
branch F, as indicated at Figure 1. Such circulation of the water
may be produced either by introducing a stream of water into the
system of channels at one point, and allowing a corresponding quantity
of water to escape at another point, or by imparting motion to the
water by means of a paddle wheel, screw propeller, or other similar
contrivance placed at any convenient point in the channel.

page_text: The arrangement of the elevator at L is shewn to an enlarged scale at
Figure 4. In this case, as the elevator is at right angles to the channel F,
For this purpose
it has to convey the timber broadwise into the same.
two endless travelling chains U, U, passing over toothed or recessed
rollers V, V, (to the upper one of which rotary motion is imparted) are
provided with dogs U', U', arranged as shewn in enlarged detail at
Figure 4, and which as the chain comes round the lower roller, catch a
piece of timber G placed in position by the attendant and raise the
same broadwise upon the inclined rails W, W; when arrived at the
upper roller the timber falls thence into the channel F, guards a, a,
being provided for insuring its doing so correctly.
Figure 9, Sheet II., shews a sectional elevation of my improved
arrangement for floating timber from a channel situated at a low level
up to a channel situated at a higher level. For this purpose a tank or
vessel 6 filled with water communicates at its upper end with the water
channel F at the higher level, and at its lower end by means of the pipe
or tube c with the channel F" at the lower level. The tube c has two
sluice cocks or valves d, d, which when the apparatus is not in use are
both closed. When it is required to convey timber from F' to F the
valve d is first opened and the timber G is introduced into the tube c;
the valve d is then closed and that at d' is opened, whereupon owing to
the sloping position of the tube and the buoyancy of the timber this
will readily pass out of the tube and rise up in the tank p to the level of
the channel F. Where the difference of level of the two channels is
considerable the tank may for the sake of economy be dispensed with,
and be replaced by a continuation of the tube c, arranged with such an
incline or with such a bend leading into a vertical part thereof that the
timber shall readily pass up it.
Figures 10 and 11 shew respectively a side and front elevation of my
before-described circular or disc wedge for opening out the cut wood in
front of the saw of a saw bench. e is the disc wedge having a spindle
revolving in bearings formed in the forked rod f, which is secured in an
adjustable manner by the set screw g in the socket h¹ of the bracket h
secured to the saw bench k. As the timber i passes in the direction of
the arrow from the saw the tapering edge of the disc e forces itself into
the cut, as indicated, and thus opens out the two parts of the cut timber
in such manner as to allow the saw free play in the cut. By raising or
lowering the rod f in the socket the disc wedge may be made to

page_text: penetrate to a greater or less extent into the cut; the wedge being made
to revolve by the advancing timber itself, it will be seen that its action
is continuous and uniform.
Having thus described the nature of the several parts of my Invention,
and in what manner they are to be performed, I wish it to be understood
that I do not limit myself to the precise arrangements of waters channels
or conduits and of the apparatus employed in combination therewith
as shewn on the accompanying Drawings, as these arrangements
may be variously modified without departing from the nature of
my Invention, nor do I claim the employment of water conduits
or channels for conveying timber from one place to another otherwise
than in connection with timber yards and saw mills; but what I
claim is,
First. Arranging water channels, conduits, shoots, troughs, or pipes in
timber yards and saw mills so as to convey timber from or to the side of
a ship or other vessel, or from or to a dock or other water-way, or from
or to railways or other localities, to or from the immediate vicinity of the
saw benches or of the places where the timber is to be stacked or other-
wise dealt with, substantially in manner herein-before set forth, the
object being to dispense with manual labor in so conveying the
timber.
Second. I claim the employment of such aforesaid water channels,
conduits, shoots, troughs, or pipes for conveying timber to and from
different parts of a timber yard or saw mill in combination with
machinery or apparatus for conveying the timber into and removing it
from such channels, conduits, shoots, troughs, or pipes, arranged and
operated substantially as herein-before described.
Third. I claim the construction of machinery or apparatus for
conveying timber from the water into the channels or conduits, and from
these to wherever required, arranged and operating as herein-before
described with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth. I claim the employment of apparatus for raising timber from
a water channel situated at a certain level, to a water channel situated at
a higher level, wherein the two channels are connected by a vessel,
pipe, or tube containing water, through which the timber is made to
rise from the one level to the other by virtue of its buoyancy, substantially
as herein-before described.

page_text: Fifth. I claim the employment of a circular wedge or disc wedge for
opening out the cut timber in front of a saw, substantially as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Bagster Boulton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight