AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SPLITTING WOOD AND CUTTING IT INTO LENGTHS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of No. 11, Wellington
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SPLITTING WOOD AND CUTTING
IT INTO LENGTHS,” A communication from abroad by Nelti de
-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th July 1872.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SPLITTING WOOD AND
CUTTING IT INTO LENGTHS," a communication to me from abroad by Nelti
de Courson, Fils, of 64, Faubourg St. Martin, Paris, France, to be as
follows:
This machine is composed as shown on the accompanying Drawing of
a balance beam or alternate double action lever A, having, say, 40 inches,
from the point 6' to that 6, and 26 inches from 6' to 6¹¹.

page_text: This balance beam is set in motion by means of the toothed wheel Q
and connecting rod R.
The fly H having a diameter of, say, 40 inches is set on the driving
shaft which carries two pulleys P, of, say, 20 inches in diameter and a
pinion gearing with the toothed wheel Q.
The frame B and the driving gear are bolted together and the whole
is fixed upon a strong wooden sole.
The hatchet or splitter V divides and splits the hardest knots and
stumps, while the head C, C', acting like an enormous pair of scissors
cuts into lengths fagot sticks or billets of 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
This machine is entirely made of cast and wrought iron and steel,
excepting the connecting rod R, and the sole upon which it is fixed.
By special arrangement it may be made a travelling machine, its
weight is about 26 or 27 cwt.
It can be worked by a single horse, and one man can easily split or
cut into lengths about 20 cubic yards ("15 stères") of wood per day.
The general principle of construction of machine for splitting and
cutting firewood is the use of an alternate double action lever.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 16th January 1873.
J
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 2
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Edward Gedge, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors, adminis- 3
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter

page_text: 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 "AN
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SPLITTING WOOD AND CUTTING IT INTO LENGTHS," a
communication to me from abroad by Nelti de Courson, Fils, of 64,
Faubourg St. Martin, Paris, France, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Gedge, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Gedge, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawing, and to the letters of reference placed thereon :--
This improved machine for splitting wood and cutting it into lengths
is composed, as shown on the accompanying Drawing, of a balance
beam or alternate double-action lever A, having, say, 40 inches from
the point 6 to that ' and 26 inches from 6¹ to 6".
This balance beam or lever is set in. motion by means of the toothed
wheel Q and connecting rod R.
The fly wheel H having a diameter of, say, 40 inches is set on the
driving shaft which carries two pulleys P of, say, 20 inches in diameter,
and a pinion gearing with the toothed wheel Q.
The frame B and the driving gear are bolted together, and the whole
is fixed upon a strong wooden sole or base.
The hatchet or splitter V divides and splits the hardest knots and
stumps, while the head C, C¹, acting like an enormous pair of scissors,
cuts into lengths fagot sticks or billets of 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
It is preferred to make this machine entirely of cast and wrought
iron and of steel, excepting the connecting rod R and the sole upon
which it is fixed.
By a special arrangement it may be made a travelling or portable
machine. Its weight is about 26 or 27 cwt.

page_text: It can be worked by a single horse, and one man can easily split
or cut into lengths about 20 cubic yards ("15 stères") of wood per
day.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is or may be performed, I would
have understood that I do not confine myself to the exact details
herein set forth, as such may be varied while retaining the general
principle of construction of the machine, which I declare to be, and I
claim, the use of an alternate double-action lever for the double purpose
of splitting wood and cutting it into lengths, substantially as herein-
before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.