IMPROVEMENTS IN GUARDS FOR CIRCULAR SAWS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard William Tayler, of Bury St. Edmunds, in the
County of Suffolk, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GUARDS FOR
CIRCULAR SAWS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard William Tayler at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th March 1880.
RICHARD WILLIAM TAYLER, of Bury St. Edmunds, in the County of Suffolk.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GUARDS FOR CIRCULAR SAWS."
The dangers arising from the use of circular saws are twofold, namely, first, the
worker's fingers, hands, or arms may come in contact with the front or descending
side of the upper half of the saw; or, second, the same danger exists at the back
side of the saw, and substances may be hurled forward by it with sufficient force
to cause great injury to persons struck thereby.
My Invention has for its object to obviate the dangers referred to, and consists
in applying to circular saws a self acting safety shield, cover, or guard constructed.
and arranged in the manner hereinafter described, whereby the descending or frout
part of the saw is automatically protected so as to prevent objects coming into
contact with this part of the saw until it becomes necessary to remove the said
shield, cover, or guard for the purpose of cutting substances with the saw, and the
said shield, cover, or guard is extended or continued so as to shield or cover the
back or ascending part of the saw so as to prevent anything coming into contact
with it there.
My improved self-acting safety shield, cover, or guard is constructed of a plate or
plates of suitable metal, such as iron or steel, of about the thickness of the saw, and
the said shield, cover, or guard is curved to the radius of the saw, and is of any
breadth required to give the proper rigidity. It is placed at a given distance from
the teeth of the saw, and is provided with moveable plates and adjustment slide
and screw to suit the alterations in the radii of the saw by wear, or the substitution
of smaller for larger saws, or substances deeper than the cutting part of the saw.

page_text: The self-acting motion of the said shield, cover, or guard, consists of a rotary
sliding or lifting movement imparted to it by means of the substances to be cut by
the saw coming into contact with a projection or lever fixed at the front, the same
projection or lever holding the shield or cover in position while the substance is
cut by the saw, and on being released by the substance when cut it is automatically
brought to its normal position or starting point by means of a spring or counter-
weight. The hereinbefore described self-acting motion is effected by means of a
slot in the plate of the shield, cover, or guard, which is caused to rotate, slide, or
lift upon rollers, studs, or cams, the same being held in position by suitable plates,
bolts, screws, and springs, and fixed or suspended to the saw bench as required by
a strong bracket or frame, and the bolts and screws requisite for the purpose.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Richard William Tayler in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th September 1880.
RICHARD WILLIAM TAYLER, of Bury St. Edmunds, in the County of Suffolk.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GUARDS FOR CIRCULAR SAWS."
The dangers arising from the use of circular saws are two-fold, namely, first, the
worker's fingers, hands, or arms may come in contact with the front or descending
side of the upper half of the saw; or, second, the same danger exists at the back
side of the saw, and substances may be hurled forward by it with sufficient force
to cause great injury to persons struck thereby.
My Invention has for its object to obviate the dangers referred to, and consists
in applying to circular saws a self-acting safety shield, cover, or guard constructed
and arranged in the manner hereinafter described, whereby the descending or front
part of the saw is automatically protected so as to prevent objects coming into
contact with this part of the saw until it becomes necessary to remove the said
shield, cover, or guard for the purpose of cutting substances with the saw, and the
said shield, cover, or guard is extended or continued so as to shield or cover the
back or ascending part of the saw so as to prevent anything coming into contact
with it there.
My improved self-acting safety shield, cover, or guard is constructed of a plate
or plates of suitable metal, such as iron or steel, of about the thickness of the
.saw, and the said shield, cover, or guard is curved to the radius of the saw, and
is of any breadth required to give the proper rigidity. It is placed at a given
distance from the teeth of the saw, and is provided with moveable plates and
adjustment slide and screw to suit the alterations in the radii of the saw by wear,
or the substitution of smaller for larger saws, or substances deeper than the cutting
part of the saw.
The self-acting motion of the said shield, cover, or guard consists of a rotary
sliding or lifting movement imparted to it by means of the substances to be cut by
the saw coming into contact with a projection or lever fixed at the front, the same
projection or lever holding the shield or cover in position while the substance is cut
by the saw, and on being released by the substance when cut it is automatically
brought to its normal position or starting point by means of a spring or counter-
weight.
The hereinbefore described self-acting motion is effected by means of a slot in the
plate of the shield, cover, or guard, which is caused to rotate, slide, or lift upon
rollers, studs, or cams, the same being held in position by suitable plates, bolts;
screws, and springs, and fixed or suspended to the saw-bench, as required, by a
strong bracket or frame and the bolts and screws requisite for the purpose.
But to make my Invention better understood I will now proceed to describe the
same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 represents in
elevation a circular saw, to which a shield, cover, or guard constructed according to
my Invention is applied; Figure 2 is a plan, and Figure 3 an end view of the
same Figure 4 represents in elevation the means of suspending the improved shield,
cover, or guard over the saw by an attachment to the floor on which the bench
rests; Figure 5 is a plan, and Figure 6 an end view of the same; Figure 7 repre-
sents a piece of wood in the act of being cut, and passing respectively on either
side of the shield, cover, or guard. Similar letters in all the Figures represent similar
parts.
I will first describe my Invention by reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3. A is the
circular saw, and B is the bed of the said saw; C is the self-acting safety shield,
cover, or guard suspended over the saw A, and in the same plane as the saw; D is
the projection or lever on the front of the guard or shield C, and the wood to be
cut coming first in contact with the said projection or lever D raises the said guard

page_text: or shield, thereby rendering it automatic; 'E is an arm or lever, shewn more clearly
in Figure 2, and F is the socket of the same to receive the guard or shield and
secure the same in suspension concentrically with the saw; G is a stud or pin on
which the said arm or lever can turn, so as to keep the shield or guard concentric
with the saw A in its movement; the said stud or pin is secured to the side of the
bench by suitable means, such as a plate and bolts at H, better seen in Figure 2;
J is a metal claw made to slide in the groove K for the purpose of adjusting the
rollers L to the shield C by the T bolt M to give the required steadiness to the said
shield while the wood is being cut and passing between it; N is a pulley, over
which a wire or cord (shewn in dotted lines) runs; this cord carries at its lower
end the counterweight O, the other end being connected to the shield C for the
purpose of bringing the shield back to its normal or starting point after the wood
has been cut in such a manner as to make the action automatic; P is a bracket to
which the claw J is fixed in the groove K, seen also in Figure 3, and secured by
bolts to the bed of the saw bench.
From this arrangement it will be seen by reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3 that
the shield C will protect the teeth of the upper half of the circular saw so as to
prevent substances coming in contact with the front until the shield is first raised
at the projection D, and it will also be seen that no substances can be caught up by
the teeth of the ascending side of the saw and be thrown forward, but when a piece
of wood is to be cut it is merely necessary to press it against the projection D, and
the shield will be raised and the wood can be brought against the saw.
In Figures 4, 5, and 6 my Invention is shewn applied to a circular saw by
attaching the shield or guard to a socket in a semicircular guide plate R. The
guide rollers S support the weight, and are secured by the necessary bolts beneath
the floor, and protected from dust by a cover. The said guide rollers, together with
the guide pulley T and the rollers L in the claw J, keep it in a concentric position
with the saw, and the counterweight O, moving by means of the cord over the
pulley N, make it self-acting, as in the arrangement herein-before described. V,
Figure 7, represents a piece of wood being cut by the saw, and passing out at the
back after being cut on either side of the shield respectively.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the best means with
which I am acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein laid down and shown in the
Drawing, as the same may be varied without departing from the peculiar character
of my Invention; but what I claim as my Invention is, the improvements in guards
for circular saws herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
.Drawing, that is to say, a shield, cover, or guard for circular saws, consisting of a
metal curved plate or plates suspended over the periphery or edge of the saw, and
in the same plane as the saw, the said plate or plates forming the shield, cover, or
guard being automatically held and kept concentric or nearly concentric with the
saw, the whole arranged and operating substantially in the manner and for the
purposes herein before described and represented in the Drawing, or any mere
modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard William Tayler, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
RICHARD WILLIAM TAYLER. (L.S.)