Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Firewood, and in Appliances for use in Bundling the same.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Firewood, and in
Appliances for use in Bundling the same.
We, NEHEMIAH STANFORD, of 124 Sheffield Road, Rotherham in the County of
York, Millwright, and JOSIAH WHITEHOUSE, of 21 Albert Street, Princes End
in the County of Stafford, Builder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
In machinery used for cutting firewood it has been customary, heretofore, to
cut the blocks first into slabs by the operation of one knife, and then to remove
the slabs to a second knife and cross-cut them to form them into sticks.
Now, the main object of this invention, in its relation to machinery for cutting
firewood, is the employment of knives which are so shaped that a single knife
cuts off sticks from a solid block at each operation, and thus the operation of
slabbing the blocks is dispensed with. The invention comprises, however, further
improvements in machinery for cutting firewood; and also improvements in
appliances for use in bundling the sticks.
The knives constructed according to this invention for cutting the blocks into
sticks, are each formed, when the wood is of a soft nature and not specially
knotty, of a blade which runs transversely across the whole width of a block as
it is fed into the machine, and of a number of smaller blades which project from
the rear face of the transverse blade each for about the distance of the thickness
of a stick and are spaced apart from one another about the same distance. The
knives are fixed on the lower ends of vertical sliding bars carried in suitable
guides of the framing of the machine, one of such bars with its knife working
preferably at each side, respectively, of the machine. The sliding bars are
operated by cams which have each a groove sunk in the outer face thereof with
which a slipper block engages which is carried on a stud or pin projecting from
the inner face of the corresponding bar. The cams are mounted on a shaft
carried in suitable bearings supported by the framing of the machine, and the
shaft carries a pair of fast-and-loose pulleys to receive the driving belt and also
a fly wheel. A bracket, forming a support and guide for the blocks as they are
fed under the knives, is fixed to the framing of the machine in position below
each knife; and a pair of rollers for feeding the blocks under a knife is carried
by each bracket in position to press upon the upper surfaces of the blocks, and
the rollers of each pair are mounted the one behind the other and are positively
driven by suitable ratchet mechanism so that they feed the blocks forward by
an intermittent movement to suit the operation of the knives. The rollers are
held down under the elastic pressure of springs so that they may yield to
irregularities in the sizes and surfaces of the blocks. The advantage of using
two rollers, the one revolving behind the other, arises from the fact that if a
single roller only is used it does not properly feed a block forward right up to
the last cut, but when only a short length of the block is left uncut, and is con-
sequently thin from back to front compared with its height, the roller tilts it
over forwards; whereas when two rollers are used as described the last portion
of a forward block is pushed forwards properly by a block which is being at the
time fed forwards by the hinder roller.
Immediately following each forward movement of a block, the knife under which
it is moved descends; and not only cuts it across as in the case of slabbing, but at
the same time cuts the portion which would otherwise form a slab into a number
of divisions vertically, each forming a stick.

page_text: If the wood to be cut is hard, or specially knotty, the knives used are each
formed of a serrated, toothed or corrugated shape in transverse section. In this
case, no feed mechanism is employed, and the brackets used to support the blocks
have their sides spaced apart a distance exceeding the width of the blocks to be
cut by half the pitch of the serrations or corrugations of the knife, and a block to
be cut is first placed upon the bottom of the bracket, with one side against one of
the sides thereof, and is pushed forwards the necessary distance for the first cut,
and after one operation of the knife the block is moved sideways to bring it against
the other side of the bracket, and is pushed forwards for the second cut, and so on
till the whole block is cut up. Each serration or corrugation of the knife forms
two adjacent sides of a square, and thus square sticks are cut off from the block,
with the exception of a row of triangular sticks which are produced at front and
back, and on each side of a block, by the action of the knife.
Whichever form of knife is used, two or more narrow blocks may of course be
placed together side by side upon the bottom of a bracket, and be treated as if a
single block.
If the cut wood is required to be removed some distance from the machine for
bundling, it may be carried on an endless band running in a suitable trough, being
delivered thereto through suitable guides direct from the knives.
Our improvements in appliances for use in bundling firewood have, for their
primary object, to securely hold the bundle of sticks at each end while it is tied
round the middle.
An appliance constructed according to this invention, for use in bundling the cut
firewood, has a pair of frames suitably distanced apart, and each formed with an
inwardly projecting flange or rim at or near its upper end, of a U-shape as seen
looking at the inner face of the frame, with the semicircular portion at the bottom.
The sticks are laid across between the frames with their ends lying in the U-shaped
flanges. A fork, having its two prongs each formed to a hook shape, is carried by.
a suitable lever which is normally held up by a weight or spring, but which may be
moved down by a treadle; and when a sufficient quantity of sticks to form a
bundle has been placed in the flanges, aforesaid, the lever is brought down, and the
hooks thereby brought down over the sticks. The hooks are in such position, in
relation to one another, that they pass down over the sticks near to the flanges, so
as to leave the middle of the sticks clear. The sticks are thus pressed at each end,
between the semicircular portions of the flanges and the inner circumference of the
hooks, into a circular bundle, and while the lever is held down are tied round the
middle.
In order that the invention may be readily understood, we will now proceed to
describe a practical application of the same with reference to the drawings
herewith, of which
Figure 1 is an elevation of a machine for cutting firewood, constructed according
to this invention, as seen looking at the outer face of one side of the machine.
Figure 2 is a part longitudinal section through the centre of the machine, and
part side elevation thereof.
Figure 3 is a detached view shewing the back of one of the knives for use when
the wood is soft and not specially knotty.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of such knife.
Figure 5 is a view of the knife as seen from the underside.
Figure 6 is a detached view of the back of a knife for use when the wood is hard
or specially knotty.
Figure 7 is a vertical section taken on line x x of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a view looking down upon the top of the knife shewn by Figures 6
and 7.
Figure 9 is a side elevation of a machine constructed according to this invention
for bundling the cut sticks, with the nearer standard removed; and Figure 10 is an
elevation of the machine taken at right angles to Figure 9.

page_text: Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, which illustrate the machine for cutting
firewood:-
A A are a pair of standards, which are fixed upon a bed B. A shaft C is
mounted in bearings D carried by brackets E which project from the inner faces of
the standards. A vertical sliding bar F is carried at the outer face of each
standard A, in position to slide between upper guides a a and lower guides bb
which project from the outer face of a standard; and the outer face of each bar
slides against a cover plate or outer guide G. On the shaft C, and between each
bearing D and the sliding bar F on the same side of the machine, is mounted a
cam H having an excentric groove c sunk in the outer face thereof with which a
slipper block d engages which is carried on a stud e projecting from the inner face
of the corresponding bar F. The shaft C carries a pair of fast-and-loose
pulleys JJ to receive the driving belt, and also a fly wheel K. As the shaft C is
rotated, the vertical sliding bars Fare of course raised and lowered; and it is
preferred to set one cam H at the opposite centre to the other, so that while one
sliding bar F is descending the other is ascending. To the lower end of each
bar F is fixed a knife L. The knife on the left hand side of the machine shewn
by Figure 2 is in its upward position, and the knife on the right-hand side, which is
shewn by broken lines only, is in its bottom position. A bracket M is fixed to the outer
face of each standard, in position immediately below the knife L on the same side.
The bracket is formed with sides ff, and in these sides are mounted, respectively,
the opposite ends of a pair of feed rollers 9 g, carried in blocks each of which is
capable of sliding vertically in an opening i within which it is placed; and a
spring is inserted between the upper side of each block h and the underside of a
cap which covers in the opening i. The necks of the inner roller g are carried
beyond the outer faces of the blocks, and on the extended end of one of the necks
is fixed a wheel N having ratchet teeth at its outer face, as shewn. A ratchet
pawl O, which is pivoted at to the lower end of a vertical sliding shauk m, is
pressed inwards against the face of the wheel O, by means of a spring n of which
the upper end is fixed to the lower portion of the shank; and thus the pawl O,
when it is pressed downwards engages with a tooth of the ratchet wheel N, and
moves the ratchet wheel; but when the pawl is raised the spring allows it to be
forced outwards by the inclined portion of a ratchet tooth so that the pawl may be
raised without moving the ratchet wheel. The shank m slides through a guide
bracket P which is fixed to the standard A; and the ratchet is normally held up
by means of a spiral spring which presses between the top of the guide bracket P
and the underside of a head p forming the upper portion of the shank. On each
outer end of the shaft C is fixed a dise Q formed with a tappet q, and once during
each revolution of a disc its tappet 7 bears upon the head p of the shank m on the
same side of the machine and presses down such shank against the elastic pressure
of the spiral spring, and the pawl O is thereby caused to move the ratchet wheel N
a portion of a revolution corresponding to a single pitch of the teeth. Immediately
the tappet q has passed out of contact with the head p, the spring » re-acts and
raises the pawl O into position ready for engagement with the next succeeding
tooth of the ratchet wheel N. The neck of the outer roller g which is at the
opposite end thereof to that which is adjacent to the wheel N is extended also
beyond the outer face of the corresponding block h, and on the extended portions
of the necks of both the rollers at such end are fixed a pair of toothed wheels s 8
which, however, are too small to gear with one another. On a stud projecting
from the outer face of one of the sides of the bracket M is carried an idle wheel t
which gears with both the wheels s s. The rotation of the inner roller which is
caused by the operation of the ratchet mechanism, is thus imparted, through the
medium of the wheels at the opposite end of such roller, the idle wheel t and the
wheels on the neck of the other roller, to such other roller, causing it to rotate in
the same direction as the inner roller. The surfaces of the feed rollers g g are
roughened by being scored longitudinally with parallel lines as is commonly the
case with feed rollers used with wood-working machinery.
I,

page_text: On a shaft U, carried in brackets V V fixed to the standards A A, is fixed a
pulley W, which is driven by means of a belt (omitted for convenience of illustration)
from the shaft C, or from a pulley fixed on such shaft; and a small band pulley A¹
is fixed on the middle of the shaft U, and an endless belt S is carried around such
pulley, and passes between the two standards AA of the machine and around another
pulley situated in position near to where the firewood is desired to be delivered for
bundling. The upper side of the belt S runs in a trough T. An opening B¹, of the
width of the interior of a bracket M, is formed through each standard A to allow
the firewood to pass through as it is cut; and a platform R is fixed in position between
the bottom of each opening B' and the side of the trough T, and an opening is formed
through the side of the trough at the inner end of each platform R and the
platforms themselves are closed in on each side so as to leave them each of the
width of the opening B' through the corresponding standard.
Each bead p of a sliding shank m may be screwed thereon and fixed by means
of a locking nut e', as shewn, so that it may be readily adjusted to ensure that the
pawl will be depressed only to the desired extent by the operation of the
corresponding tappet q, and in such case the spiral spring may bear against
the nut e¹, as shewn.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The rotation of the shaft C causes
the knives L to be raised and lowered through the medium of the cams H and
vertical sliding bars F. Each block of wood to be cut is pushed by hand along
the bottom of a bracket M until it is caught by the outer roller g, the block being
of such thickness that such roller is caused to rise slightly against the pressure of
the spring j. Each time a shank m is depressed, by the operation of a tappet 7,
the rollers g g on the same side of the machine are partially rotated in the direction
to feed forward a block, and this operation takes place during the space of time
that the knife on the corresponding side of the machine is above the level of the
upper surface of a block; and to give time for the block to be fed forward
sufficiently between two cutting strokes of a knife the knife is caused to rise some
distance above the level of the top of a block. As the sticks are cut by each
cutting stroke of a knife, they fall on to a platform R, and are pushed, by the
accumulation of succeeding sticks behind them, on to the endless band S, and are
thus conveyed away along the trough T within which the band runs, into position
where required for bundling.
The knives for use with the machine fitted with the automatic feed appliances
described are of the character of that illustrated by Figures 3, 4 and 5 above
described, that is to say each knife consists of a straight blade a¹ of the width, or
approximately so, of the blocks to be cut, and of a number of blades b'b' etc. formed
with the blade a¹ and projecting at the back thereof at right angles thereto for the
distance, at their cutting edges, corresponding to the width of the sticks to be cut.
These blades are spaced apart also at their cutting edges a distance corresponding
to the width of the sticks to be cut. It is preferred that the cutting edge of the
blade a¹ shall extend somewhat beyond the cutting edges of the blades ¹. Each
knife is formed with a shank C' by means of which it is fixed to the lower end of a
bar F by bolts passing through holes c¹ in the shank and corresponding holes in the
bar, suitable slots being formed in the outer face of the stàndard and the inner face
of the guide plate G to allow for the heads and nuts of the bolts as they move up and
down or the bolt heads may, of course, be countersunk, if desired, or the pins be
screwed direct into the bars F. The back face of the blade a¹ is slanted considerably,
as shewn, to split the wood and throw the sticks outwards; and the side faces of
the vertical blades are somewhat rounded as seen in cross section to enable the
sticks to readily clear themselves from between the vertical blades.
When the wood is hard, or very knotty, it is preferred to use knives similar to
to that illustrated by Figures 6, 7 and 8 before described, the cutting edges of
which are formed serrated. The serrations are carried up parallel on the
forward side of the knife, and run out gradually into the flat surface on the rear
side. When the serrated knives are employed, the feed mechanism is dispensed

page_text: with, and the blocks are fed forwards by hand along the bottoms of the-
brackets M, being moved from side to side between the cuts in the manner above.
described.
A machine may be fitted with a knife corresponding to that shewn by Figures 3, 4
and 5, on one side, for cutting soft wood, and with a knife corresponding to that.
illustrated by Figures 6, 7 and 8, on the other side, for cutting hard wood.
The ratchet feed mechanism for the rollers may of course be used for operating-
a single feed roller only in cases where such is employed.
Referring now to Figures 9 and 10, which illustrate the appliance for use in
bundling the cut sticks-K' K' are a pair of standards, each of which is formed
at its upper end with a flange ¹ projecting inwards from a plate l'.
Each flange
is formed of a U-shape, as shewn, and the sticks to be bundled are laid across-
between the plates, and their ends rest upon the flanges k. A lever L' is
pivoted at m to a standard M. This lever is formed as a treadle at one end, as.
shewn, and has a counter-balance weight N' suspended from the other end which
projects for such purpose beyond the fulcrum m A forked link P₁ is pivoted at
its lower end to the lever, in position between the fulcrum m and the treadle
plate n'. Each side of the fork of the link P¹ is curved over into a hook plas.
shewn in side elevation Figure 9, and the hooks are spaced apart so as to be near
to the flanges k', respectively, when the lever L' is in its downward position shewn
by full lines Figure 9. When the foot of the operator is removed from the treadle-
plate n', the lever L' and link P¹ are balanced up into the position indicated by
broken lines Figure 9, the forked end of the link P' being then in position to allow
of a bundle of sticks being taken out of the flanges k' and a fresh supply of sticks
being put down inside the flanges. When sufficient sticks to form a bundle have-
been placed within the flanges, the lever L' is depressed, and the curved ends p' of
the forked link 1" are brought down over the top of the sticks, and thus the bulk
of sticks lying within the flanges is pressed between the curved or book-shaped.
ends of the fork on the upper side and the curved portions of the flanges k on the
lower side, and is thus formed up into a roughly cylindrical shape, and held in
position while the bundle is tied round. The curved ends of the fork, being near-
to the flanges k', leave the middle of the bundle clear for convenience in tying up.
When the forked link P¹ is raised it leans back against a pin , and when the-
lever is depressed the link is jerked forwards and the hooks thereof brought over
the sticks lying within the flanges. The standards K¹ are fixed to a bed R' and
are distanced apart also by the pin 7 and by a pin s¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said.
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a machine for cutting firewood, the employment of a knife shaped so that
each single operation cuts off from a block of wood sticks ready for bundling,.
whereby the necessity is avoided of cutting blocks first into slabs each of the.
thickness of the required sticks, substantially as described.
2. In a machine for cutting firewood, the employment of a knife formed with a
straight blade, set transversely to the line of feed of the blocks to be cut, and with
short blades projecting at right angles therefrom, substantially as described for the-
purpose set forth.
3. In a machine for cutting firewood, the employment of a knife which is of a
serrated corrugated or toothed shape as seen when the cutting edge is viewed.
edgeways, in combination with means which permit of a block which is in position
to pass forwards under such knife being moved sideways between two consecutive.
operations of the knife, substantially as described.
4. In a machine for cutting firewood, a rotating cam formed with a groove, and
a knife holder sliding in suitable guides and operated by such cam through the
medium of a portion carried by the knife-holder and engaging with the groove of
the cam, substantially as described.

page_text: 5. In a machine for cutting firewood, the employment of a pair of feed rollers
revolving, by an intermittent movement, the one behind the other, substantially as
described.
6. In a machine for cutting firewood, the combination with feed rollers (or a
single roller) of a ratchet wheel N, pawl O, sliding shank m, and tappet g, operating
substantially as described for the purpose set forth.
7. A machine for cutting firewood, constructed with a knife operating at each
end and in which the blocks are fed inwards towards the middle of the machine
and are delivered by the knives in a direction towards a carrier passing through the
machine between the knives, substantially as described and shewn.
8. A machine for cutting firewood, constructed and operating substantially as
described and shewn by the drawings, and the modifications thereof, substantially
as described, in which a pair of serrated corrugated or toothed knives is used, and
in which a serrated corrugated or toothed knife is used in combination with a
knife having a transverse blade and blades at right-angles thereto.
9. An appliance for use in bundling firewood, formed with a pair of U-shaped
pockets open at the top and at the sides which are towards one another, and with a
pair of hooks which may be brought down over a bulk of sticks which lie with
their opposite ends in the respective pockets, substantially as described.
10. An appliance for use in bundling firewood, constructed and operating
substantially as described and shewn by Figures 9 and 10 of the drawings
herewith.
Dated this 26th day of February 1894.
STEPHEN
WATKINS,
Wolverhampton, Agent for the Applicants.