Improvements in Apparatus for Cutting Stone.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Apr., 1891-Accepted, 5th Sept., 1891
COMPLETE DIEUIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Cutting Stone.
I, JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention which has
been communicated to me from abroad by La Société D'Espine Achard & Co.
of 52 Quai de la Marne, Paris in the Republic of France Engineers and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in the construction of apparatus for cutting
marble or other hard stones. With machines constructed according to this invention
blocks of stone of large dimensions can be cut from 20 to 30 times more rapidly
than according to the old sand process. The cut faces present a clean and polished
appearance and the block is readily cut in any direction so as in many cases to
avoid any further dressing. The diamonds forming the teeth are always pressed in
the same direction and consequently are not liable to be loosened in their settings
or sockets.
Up to the present date the cutting of stones and more especially hard stones
such as marble and the like has been effected under such conditions as to give very
unsatisfactory results. The inconvenience of the abrading agents employed such
as sand, emery, white cast iron, and the like introduced with the water into the cut,
are well known. A large portion of these bodies are carried away by the water
without producing any effect; they wear away the saw as well as the stone and
rapidly render it unfit for use.
And in order that the said invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the
several figures on the annexed sheets of drawings which shew two modifications of
a machine constructed according to this invention.
Figure 1 is a general plan of the whole apparatus ;
Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section shewing the position of and arrangement for
working the carriage.
In this apparatus constructed according to my invention I employ a circular saw
plate or disc A provided on its periphery with small diamonds which form the
teeth of the saw. The diamonds are attached to the steel disc A either directly or
by means of metallic plugs or washers carrying the diamonds, these plugs being
then secured by soldering or other suitable means in recesses formed for that purpose
in the rim of the disc.
It is preferred to fix the diamonds between two small plates of soft steel which
are then welded directly together thus holding the diamond without the interposition
of any brazing or other material as described in the Specification annexed to
Letters Patent granted to G. F. Kohler dated 1st Nov. 1889 No. 17364.
The diamond is not the only material that may be employed, other hard stones
such as corundum, rubies, sapphires and the like can also be utilized according to
the degree of hardness of the stones to be cut.
a
The saw A made as above described is secured between two rings or flanges
bolted together which are mounted on a screw threaded spindle or shaft B resting
on three bearings. The saw may be fixed in any desired position on the screwed
a. The shaft B
shaft by means of two adjusting nuts bearing against each ring
is driven by a belt passing over the fast and loose pulleys C. D. and has a slot c
along its entire length along which works a feather secured to the rings a carrying
the saw A.
At one end of the shaft B a coned pulley E is provided for transmitting motion

page_text: by a belt at varied speeds to a corresponding pulley M connected to mechanism for
moving the stone during the cutting process. The bearings of the shaft B are
solidly secured to each other by strong bedplates F and tie beams F¹. The bed-
plates are permanently set on solid foundations F2 of cast metal or masonry of
sufficient height from the ground to permit the largest stones that are to be cut
passing under the shaft B. When it is not required to alter the position of the
saw A on the shaft B it is unnecessary to provide the said shaft with a screw
thread.
The stone to be cut (indicated at Z Figures 2 and 3) is placed on a table G³
capable of adjustment on a vertical axis on a carriage G which runs on rails G
leading to the yard of the saw mill. The carriage G is brought onto a carrier H
sliding on ways or guides H¹ being moved by mechanism hereinafter described and
is secured firmly on the said carrier by means of tension rods I (Fig. 3) for
example, so as to retain it rigidly in position during the process of cutting the
stone.
Motion is imparted to the carrier H by means of an endless screw or worm J
working in a toothed rack K Fig. 3 and carried by a shaft J' receiving motion
through a worm wheel J2 from a shaft L driven by spur wheel gearing L' connected
with the pulley M hereinbefore referred to or by a fast pulley 10 placed between
two loose pulleys 11, 12. Couplings or clutches are provided for stopping or
starting the said carrier as hereinafter described. The carriage G with the stone Z
being placed on the carrier H, the driving belt is shifted onto the fast pulley Con
the shaft the mechanism for advancing the stone is put into gear and the carrier
thus advances against the cutting disc A which at the same time is driven at a high
speed. The diamonds fixed in the circumference of the disc come in contact with
the stone and cut out a channel therein. When the stone has been cut to the
desired depth by the saw it is brought back with a relatively rapid movement by
means of reversing gear to its original position; by displacing the blade along the
screw threaded shaft the same stone may be cut with as many channels or saw cuts
as may be required.
The advance and rapid return of the stone can be effected by means of screws,
racks, tooth gearing, pullies and the like or other suitable mechanism in place of
the helical toothed rack K driven by the endless screw or worm J keyed on the
shaft J' as hereinbefore described by way of example.
The mechanism for working the worm shaft J' (shewn on the left hand of
Figure 1) is arranged to give the following results.
a. The advance of the carrier with the stone can be stopped at any point during
the cutting.
b. The return of the stone to its original position can be effected about from ten
to twenty times more rapidly than the advance.
c. The feed motion can be regulated according to the hardness of the stone.
d. The feed mo ion stops automatically as soon as the cutting of the stone has
been completed and
e. The movement of the stone is also stopped automatically when the carrier has
brought the stone back to its original position.
In order to stop the feed motion of the stone at any stage of the cutting operation
the driving belt is shifted from the fast pulley C to the loose pulley D by means of
a fork and hand lever 2. The rotary motion of the cutter shaft B being
thus arrested the feed motion derived from the said shaft is stopped at the same
time.
This
The feed motion may be stopped without stopping the cutter or saw A by means
of a clutch 3 worked by a lever 4 and rod 5 connected to a hand lever 6.
clutch enables the part of the shaft L connected to the feed motion to be dis-
connected from the part driven by the gearing L¹.
The feed motion may be arranged to stop automatically when the saw has cut
to any desired depth by adjusting a tappet 7 on the side of the carrier in such a
position as to cause it to come in contact (when the saw has cut to a certain

page_text: distance) with a lever 8 connected to a clutch 9 which disconnects the worm shaft J¹
from the driving gear J².
In order to obtain accelerated feed and return motions of the stone the feed
motion shaft L is provided with a belt pulley 10 placed between two loose
pulleys 11, 12 and capable of receiving a relatively rapid motion from a straight
belt 14 and a crossed belt 13 Fig. 3 working on a drum on the engine or motor
shaft not shewn in the drawing. These belts are controlled by forks 15 Fig. 1
connected by a suitable combination of levers and rods 16 with a hand lever 17
Figs. 1 and 2. This hand lever is connected to a sliding locking bar 18 provided
with a bent part 24 which when the bar is in a certain position engages with the
lever 6. By putting over the lever 6 so as to disengage the clutch 3 the bar 18 is
released and the lever 17 is free to be moved so as to put either the crossed belt 13
or the straight belt 14 on to the fast or driving pulley 10 of the feed motion shaft L
which is thus enabled to be driven at a more rapid rate direct from the motor or
counter shaft not shewn in the drawing.
When the stone is run back into position for a fresh cut its movement is auto-
matically arrested by means of a ring or collar fixed on a sliding rod 19 connected
to the clutch 9 Fig. 1 in such a position that when the stone returns to its original
position the lower arm 20 of a lever 21 (Fig. 2) engages with the said collar and
pulls the rod 19 in the direction in which the stone is moving thereby acting on the
lever 8 and throwing the clutch 9 out of gear. To produce the feed motion the
lever 21 is moved by hand so as to release the rod 19 which is then caused to return
to its original position by means of a spring 22 (Fig. 1). In order to render it
impossible for the return motion to continue after the stone has returned to its
original position owing to the lever arm 20 being accidentally disengaged from the
clutch rod and putting the clutch 9 in gear before the feed motion shaft has been
reversed the lever 20, 21 is locked in the position for engaging with the collar on
the said rod by means of a catch 23 on a sleeve fixed on the axis 16 of the reversing
lever 17 at such an angle relatively to the reversing lever that the lever arm 20
cannot escape from the clutch rod 19 until the reversing lever 17 has been moved
so as to shift the return motion or crossed belt 13 on to the loose pulley. In this
position of the reversing lever 17 the bend 24 in the bar 18 is brought opposite to
the lever 6 so as to enable this lever to be shifted if required to drive the feed
motion by means of the cone pulleys M E.
If preferred the feed motion may be obtained by means of the straight belt 14
by moving the lever 17 so as to bring this belt on to the pulley 10.
By means of these arrangements the labour of moving the stone is greatly
reduced the stone does not require to be displaced relatively to the table and in
order to form a series of parallel cuts for example it is simply necessary to loosen
the nuts bearing against the rings a Figures 1 and 2 so as to move the latter
along the shaft in a direction parallel to itself to the required position and again
to tighten up the nuts b.
This apparatus is especially designed for large blocks of stone; but the same
arrangement may also be employed with advantage for relatively small stones.
In the latter case the carriage G will not be needed the stone being secured
directly on to the feed carrier H. For small stones discs of different diameter
may be used or the same disc may be employed the stone being placed at different
heights by means of a travelling table vertically adjustable to any level according
to the depth of the cut.
When it is required to cut partly through the stone for the purpose of forming
grooves or rabates a modified arrangement of cutting tool is preferably employed
as shewn by way of example in Figures 4, 5 and 6 of which Figure 4 represents
a longitudinal section, Figure 5 a plan and Figure 6 an end view partly in
section.
In this apparatus the cutting disc A is carried on the overhanging end of a
shaft R working in two bearings.
The said bearings are placed at the two ends of a strong casting N hung in

page_text: the frame of the apparatus and provided with suitable means for being adjusted
vertically in the said frame. The base Q of the frame P is of considerable width
so as to give a firmer support for the apparatns, this enlarged portion is further
utilized as a support for the rails or ways of the carrier H and for the feed
mechanism. The carrier H for holding the stone to be cut is provided with a
helically toothed rack K operated by an endless screw or worm J (Figure 4);
the feed mechanism shewn on the right hand side of Figures 4 and 5 is arranged
as in the apparatus already described in this Specification, so as to give several
speeds of feed for cutting and a rapid advancing and retiring motion with or
without automatic stopping. The carrier is provided with claws and screws for
clamping the stone in position and enabling it to be supported as near as possible
to the cut in order to facilitate cutting thin slabs of stone.
The casting N supporting the cutter shaft B is capable of vertical adjustment
on the frame so as to allow the depth of penetration of the saw into the stone to
be regulated. In this manner stones can be cut up and slots and rebates formed
in them very economically.
The arrangement for supporting the saw as illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6 may
be combined with a carriage constructed with a table (not shewn in the drawing)
swivelling on a vertical axis as in the arrangement illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3
and enabling cuts to be made at different angles without loosening the stone upon
the table. This table may also be capable of vertical adjustment.
The feed motion as represented in Figures 4, 5 and 6 is also capable of being
controlled by means of a clutch lever 8 in a similar manner to that hereinbefore
described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the worm wheel shaft J' receiving
motion either from a feed motion shaft L driven by a belt working on the
pulleys E M or by means of bevel gearing 25 combined with a clutch as represented
in the drawing so as to obtain an accelerated motion of the stone in either direction.
In either of the arrangements hereinbefore described any suitable number of
cutting discs may be employed on the same shaft. In order to enable any desired
number of parallel cuts to be made without shifting the stone the bed plate Q
Figures 4, 5 and 6 may be enlarged and the frame P arranged to slide thereon in
a direction at right angles to the plane of the cutting disc.
The cutting discs are supported in adjustable guides e placed on opposite sides of
the disc for preventing the bending or deflection of the saw, which might other-
wise take place when the disc comes in contact with the stone before the commence-
ment of the cut. The cut once commenced itself forms a guide for the disc. Any
suitable arrangement such as that represented at W Fig. 1 may be employed for
the supply of water to the cutters.
This invention also relates to the use of diamond toothed saws or cutting discs of
diameter larger than has been employed heretofore. When the diameter of the
blade excoeds 2 metres 20 to 2 metres 50 it is almost impossible to obtain sheets of
sufficient size to make them all in one piece. It is necessary under these conditions
to construct the cutting disc with a number of plates or sheets rivetted welded or
otherwise firmly connected together. Figures 7, 8 and 9 shew two examples of
this arrangement.
Two segments a b, Figure 7 are placed on opposite sides of a central piece .c
which three pieces make up a circular disc. Three other like pieces are placed at
right angles to the first pieces as indicated by the dotted lines and all are rivetted
together. The positions of the lines of rivets are shewn by the large dots Figure 7
and on a larger scale in Figure 8, in which figure the position of the diamonds
is also shewn by the dots and small circles on the circumference of the disc or
plate.
Figure 9 shews another modification in which the disc is made up of four semi-
circular pieces of metal so arranged that the joint between the plates on one side of
the saw is at right angles to the joint between the plates on the other side.
The edges of the plates are rebated at the seams so as to obtain a uniform
'surface.

page_text: It is evident that the details of construction hereinbefore described may be
modified in various ways without affecting the spirit of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for cutting stone one or more cutting discs A provided with
diamond or other like teeth and retained in position by rings and nuts on a screw
or other shaft B in combination with the mechanically moved carrier H supporting
the stone either directly or through the intervention of a travelling table or
carriage, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1, 2
and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
2. In combination with the disc A the shaft B and carrier H referred to in the
preceding claiming clause, the improved means for working the said carrier and
imparting to it a differential or adjustable feed motion with a rapid return and
effecting the automatic stopping of the feed mechanism substantially as herein-
before described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying
drawings.
3. A cutter disc A carried on the overhanging end of the shaft B supported in
the vertically adjustable support or bracket N in combination with the stone
carrier H having an automatic feed motion substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to Figures 4, 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.
4. In combination with the disc A and shaft B with vertically adjustable support
or bracket referred to in the preceding claiming clause, the carrier H with
improved means for working the said carrier so as to impart to it adjustable
advancing or feed motion with a quick return and obtaining the automatic stopping
of the movements of the stone substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to Figures 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying drawings.
5. In combination with the disc A shaft B and support or bracket N a carrier H
having an automatic or mechanical feed motion and a rotary support or turntable
vertically adjustable so as to enable saw cuts to be made in the stone to any desired
depth and at any desired angles to one another substantially as hereinbefore
described.
6. The cutting discs fitted with diamonds or the like for the hereinbefore
described apparatus and composed of several pieces of metal rivetted or otherwise
suitably joined together substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.
7. The general combination and arrangement of parts constituting the improved
apparatus for cutting stone substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.