IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SAWING WOOD
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Casson, of No. 10, Saint James's Street,
in the Parish of Sheffield, in the County of York, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
SAWING WOOD."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Casson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd April 1868.
I, JOHN CASSON, of No. 10, Saint James's Street, in the Parish of
Sheffield, in the County of York, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHI-
NERY FOR SAWING WOOD," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates more especially to that class of machinery for
sawing wood in which a circular saw is used, and my said Invention
consists in the following construction and arrangement of parts whereby
the wood to be sawn is fed to the saw continuously (that is to say,
without the necessity for stopping or reversing the machinery) and the

page_text: top of the bench is rendered capable of vertical adjustment. The saw
is carried by a spindle turning in bearings affixed to standards, which
are cast upon the bed plate of the machine, the upper portion of the
saw passing through a slot in the top of the bench as usual. The said
top can be raised or lowered as required (according to the nature of the
work to be done) by means of a screw formed on a rib or girder affixed
to the under side of the said top, which screw passes through a female
screw formed in a worm wheel, the under edge of which bears against
the upper edge of a socket on the bed plate, through which the said
screw passes. The said wheel is turned by means of a worm on a shaft
furnished with a hand wheel.. Cylindrical legs or plungers are affixed
to the under side of the top of the bench, which plungers slide in
tubular guides bolted to the bed plate, and thereby steady the said top
at any height to which it is brought. The wood is fed to the saw by
means of a single continuously revolving grooved roller (by preference
of a slightly conical form) between which roller and the fence the said
wood is carried forward to the saw. The said roller is affixed to an axis
which turns in bearings carried by a horizontal arm formed in two parts,
one of which slides telescopically within the other, so that the said arm
can be extended when a small saw is used, and contracted when a large
saw is used, the adjustment of the said arm being effected by means of
a nut and screw arrangement which admits of the axial motion in its
socket of that part of the arm which carries the feed roller, so as to
set the said roller in an oblique position for bevil sawing. The said
socket is formed on a vertical tubular shaft, which turns in a bearing
affixed to the frame of the machine, and passes through another tubular
shaft furnished with an arm to the free end of which a weighted cord
or chain is attached. A set screw passing through the outer shaft
engages in a longitudinal slot or groove formed in the inner shaft, so
that the latter can slide but cannot turn in the former. By this arrange-
ment the arm carrying the feed roller can be raised to any height to suit
the height of the top of the bench (being fixed at such height by means
of the set screw aforesaid) and is caused to press the feed roller forcibly
against the wood, which is both guided and carried forward by the said
roller. The weighted arm referred to carries a toothed quadrant, which
receives motion from a worm on a shaft, which is turned as required by
means of a hand wheel, the said worm being so arranged as to be capable
of being thrown into and out of gear with the said quadrant by means
of a rocking standard and weighted lever. In order to introduce the

page_text: wood between the fence and the feed roller the worm and quadrant
above referred to are thrown into gear, and the hand wheel is turned
until the feed roller is brought (by the arm and shaft herein-before
referred to) to the requisite distance from the fence. The wood is then
introduced, and the quadrant and worm being thrown out of gear the
weight comes into action and the feed roller is pressed against the wood.
The said roller is driven by a strap passing over pulleys, one of which
is fixed on the axis of the said roller, the other being keyed to the
upper end of a shaft (which I will call the "central shaft") which
passes through the inner tubular shaft herein-before referred to, and
also through a worm wheel, to which the said central shaft is connected
by means of a groove and feather arrangement. The said wheel is
driven by a worm on a shaft, which receives motion by means of band
pulleys from the saw spindle. The feed roller and parts carrying the
same can be removed when cross cutting or other work requiring a
clear bench has to be done.
The improved feed apparatus herein-before described is capable of
separate application to the benches of ordinary sawing machinery.
When so applied the said apparatus is mounted on a separate bed plate,
which can be fixed underneath the saw bench, to which the said
apparatus is applied.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Casson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CASSON, of No. 10, Saint James's Street, in the Parish of Sheffield, in
the County of York, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of April, 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 John Casson, Her
special licence, that I, the said John Casson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Casson, my

page_text: 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 MACHINERY FOR SAWING WOOD," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Casson, 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 John Casson, 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, that is to say:
My Invention relates more especially to that class of machinery for
sawing wood in which a circular saw is used, and my said Invention
consists in the following arrangement and construction of parts whereby a
the wood to be sawn is fed to the saw continuously (that is to say,
without the necessity for stopping or reversing the machinery) and the
top of the bench is rendered capable of vertical adjustment. The saw
is carried by a spindle turning in bearings affixed to standards, which are
cast upon the bed plate of the machine, the upper portion of the saw a
passing through a slot in the top of the bench as usual. The said top can
be raised or lowered as required (according to the nature of the work
to be done) by means of a screw formed on a rib affixed to the under
side of the said top, which screw passes through a female screw formed
in a worm wheel, the under edge of which bears against the upper
edge of a socket on the bed plate, through which the said screw passes.
The said wheel is turned by means of a worm on a shaft furnished
with a hand wheel. Cylindrical legs or plungers are affixed to the under
side of the top of the bench, which plungers slide in tubular guides
bolted to the bed plate, and thereby steady the said top at any height to g
which it is brought. The wood is fed to the saw by means of a single
continuously revolving grooved roller of a slightly conical form

page_text: (inverted) between which roller and the fence the said wood is carried
forward to the saw. The said roller turns on an axis carried by a
horizontal arm formed in two parts, one of which slides telescopically
within the other, so that the said. arm can be extended when a small
saw is used and contracted when a large saw is used, the adjustment
of the said arm. being effected by means of a nut and screw arrange-
ment, which admits of the axial motion in its socket of that part of
the arm which carries the feed roller so as to set the said roller in an
oblique position. The said socket is formed on a vertical tubular shaft
which turns in a bearing affixed to the side of the saw bench and
passes through another tubular shaft furnished with an arm to the free
end of which a weighted cord or chain is attached, the inner tubular
shaft being capable of a rising and falling motion within the outer
tubular shaft, by which arrangement the arm carrying the feed roller
. can be raised to any height to suit the height of the top. of the bench
(being fixed at such height by means of a set screw passing through
the outer tubular shaft) and is caused to press the feed roller forcibly
against the wood which is both guided and carried forward by the
said roller.. The weighted arm referred to. carries a toothed quadrant,
which receives motion from a worm on a shaft, which is. turned as
required by means of a hand wheel, the said worm. being so arranged
as to be capable of being thrown into and out of gear with. the said
quadrant by means of a rocking standard and weighted lever.. In order
to introduce the wood between the fence and the feed roller the worm
and quadrant above referred to are thrown into gear and the hand
wheel is turned until the feed roller is brought (by the arm and
shaft herein-before referred to) to the requisite distance from the fence.
The wood is then introduced, and the quadrant and worm being thrown
out of gear the weight comes into action and the feed roller is pressed
against the wood. The said roller is driven by a strap or chain passing:
over pulleys, one of which is fixed. on the axis of the said roller, the
other being keyed to the upper end of a shaft (which I will call the
central shaft) which passes through the inner tubular shaft herein...
before referred to, and also through a worm wheel, to which the said
central shaft is connected by means of a groove and feather arrange--
ment. The said wheel is driven by a worm on a shaft, which receives..
motion by means of band pulleys from the saw. spindle. The feed:
roller and parts carrying the same can be removed when cross cutting.
or other work requiring a clear bench has to be done.

page_text: The improved feed apparatus herein-before described is capable of
separate application to the benches of ordinary sawing machinery.
When so applied the said apparatus is mounted on a separate bed
plate, which can be fixed underneath the saw bench to which the said
apparatus is applied.
Having now described the nature of my Invention I will proceed to
describe the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference
being had to the Drawing hereto annexed and to the letters and figures
marked thereon.
Figure 1 represents in plan machinery constructed to my Invention;
Figures 2 and 3 are side and end elevations respectively of the said
machinery; Figure 4 is an end elevation (partly in section) of a por-
tion of the said machinery showing the means of raising the top of
the saw bench; Figure 5 is a vertical section (taken on the lines 7
and 8, Figure 1) of the feed roller and arms and shafts in connection
therewith; Figure 6 is a horizontal section (taken on the line 1,
Figure 7) of the telescopic arm which carries the said feed roller, and
Figure 7 is a transverse section of the said arm taken on the line 2,
Figure 6; Figure 8 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3,
Figure 5, and Figure 9 represents in plan a portion of the feed roller
having grooves or teeth of the form which I find to answer best when
friction rollers are not used in the fence; Figures 10 to 18 both
inclusive represent sundry details herein-after referred to. The same
letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
A is the bed plate of the machine; B is the saw which is mounted
on a shaft b¹ turning in bearings affixed to standards a¹, a¹, cast on
the bed plate A. 6, 6, are band pulleys, by one or other of which
the said spindle is driven. C is the top of the saw bench having
a rib con its under side, which said rib carries a screw c* which
passes through and engages with a female screw formed in a worm
wheel c³, the under edge of which bears against the edge of a socket a³.
D is a shaft having at one end a worm which engages with a worm
wheel c³, and at the other end a hand wheel d by means of which
the said shaft can be turned as required. a, a, are cylindrical
guides in which slide legs or plungers c, one of which is shown in
Figure 4. E is the grooved conical roller between which and the
fence the wood is carried forward to the saw. When friction rollers are
not used in the fence I prefer to make on the said roller grooves or

page_text: teeth of the form represented in Figure 9, but when friction rollers are
used in the fence the grooves on the said roller may be of the
ordinary form. I prefer to form the sides of the said roller with a
slight curve downwards, and also to form an annular groove in the said
roller as represented in order to give it a better hold on the wood, but
the sides of the said roller may be made straight and the said groove
may be dispensed with. The said roller turns on an axis f¹ carried by the
arms F, F. The part F¹ of the said arm slides in the part F, which
latter is formed on a tubular shaft F³, which turns in a bearing c¹ in a
bracket fixed to the top of the saw bench. c is a friction roller
turning in bearings in the said bracket. The part F³ carries a screw f
which engages with a screw box f* carried by the part F and has a
square head f by means of which it can be turned as required. The
screw box f' is so fitted to the part F as to allow of a little play (sec
Figure 7) so that the feed roller can be set in an oblique position. f³ is
a set screw by means of which the part F' can be fixed in any position
to which it may have been brought by the screw arrangement above
described. G is a shaft on which is keyed a sprocket wheel g¹ the motion
of which is transmitted to the roller E by a pitch chain * passing over
a sprocket wheel e¹ formed on the said roller. The shaft G turns in the
shaft F and is driven by a worm wheel H furnished with a rib or a pin
which engages in a slot g³ in the said shaft, so that it can be slidden to
any required height within the said wheel, and will still be in gear
therewith. The worm wheel H is driven by a worm I carried by a
shaft, which is thrown into and out of gear with a shaft K by means
of a friction clutch L, L, which said clutch with the parts in connection
therewith are represented in vertical longitudinal section (partly in
elevation) in Figure 10, and in end elevation (partly in section) in
Figure 11. The section Figure 10 is taken on the line 4, Figure 1.
The line 5, Figure 1, indicates the plane in which the elevation Figure 11
is taken. The part I of the said clutch is connected to the shaft ² by
means of a groove and feather arrangement which admits of the said
part being slidden on the said shaft, and the part L is affixed to tho
shaft K. The part L' is worked by means of a fork M carried by a
shaft m (shown separately in Figure 12) furnished with a weighted
lever m³, the position of which is indicated by the line 6, Figure 10.
The shaft K is driven from a band pulley 63 by means of band

page_text: N is a tubular shaft, within which the shaft Fs can be slidden to any
required height, being fixed at such height by means of set screw n¹.
The shaft N carries an arm n³, to the free end of which a chain n³ is
attached. A weight n is hung to the said chain which passes over
pulleys n³, n³. The weighted arm 28 carries a toothed quadrant ne
having a slot n', through which passes a pin a* (fixed in a pillar a³) by
which the said quadrant is steadied. Motion is communicated to the
quadrant n' (when required) by means of a worm O mounted on a shaft o',
which is furnished with a hand wheel o, and turns in bearings in a
rocking standard o³. This portion of the machinery is shown separately
in transverse section in Figure 13, and in vertical longitudinal section
(taken on the line 6, Figure 1) in Figure 14. The rocking standard o³
is connected by means of a link o' to the weighted lever m² herein-before
referred to. f is a lever by means of which the feed roller E can be
quickly brought out of contact with the wood when it is wished to do so
without throwing the worm O out of gear. The lever fo is jointed to the
arm F so as to hang down out of the way when not in use. P is the
fence which is mounted on a saddle P¹, being held thereto by lock.
nuts p, p, which pass through slots p, p, in the said fence and engage
in cross slots in the said saddle. By this arrangement the said fence
can be adjusted according to the size of the saw used, and can also be
slidden off the saddle P² at right angles therefrom when a clear bench is
required. The said fence is moved nearer to or further from the saw
(according to the thickness of the wood to be sawn) by means of a
screw q¹ formed on a shaft Q, which said serew engages with a worm
wheel p', carried by an axis p³, turning in bearings in a sleeve p³ formed
on the fence P. The part of the shaft Q which is not serewed forms an
axis on which is mounted a friction roller q', which supports the wood
as it is fed to the saw.

page_text: The action of the machinery is as follows:-The fence P having been
adjusted to the required position the hand wheel o³ is turned until the
feed roller E has been brought back sufficiently far to admit of the
introduction of the wood between the said roller and the fence. The
wood having been introduced the lever m³ is reversed so as to throw
the shafts and K into gear, and the worm O and quadrant ne out of
gear. The feed roller is thus caused to revolve and to press against the
wood and feed it to the saw. The said feed roller having a slightly conical
form (the smaller end of the said roller being downwards) presses the
wood down upon the top of the saw bench and prevents the said wood
from rising or "climbing" from the said bench top, and thereby insures
a steady continuous feed to the saw notwithstanding any slight
inequalities which there may be in the thickness or form of the wood.
When a deal or batten is being sawn into boards or scantlings the
remainder of the deal or batten is passed back over the friction roller c
after each cut and is re-introduced between the feed roller and the fence.
If the wood which is being sawn is too bulky to admit of its being
passed back underneath the arm F, F, the said arm is held back out
of the way by means of the lever fº.
When the parts constituting the feed motion are to be applied to any
existing sawing machine they are mounted on castings represented in
Figures 17 and 18.
Figure 16 represents in plan a bracket c³ which is to be screwed to the
side of the saw bench to which the feed apparatus is applied, in which
bracket is formed the bearing c' herein-before referred to; c is the
friction roller herein-before referred to.
Figures 17 and 18 represent in plan and side elevation respectively a
bed plate having bearings cast thereon, which said bed plate is to be
fixed under the said saw bench; T, T, are the bearings in which the
shaft K turns; U, U, are the bearings in which the shaft i turns; V is
the bearing in which the shafts G and N turn; W is the bearing in
which the rocking standard o' turns; X, X, are the bearings in which
the shaft m¹ turns, and as is the pillar in which the guide pin a' is
screwed.
The feed apparatus herein-before described may be applied to ribbon
or band saws and to deal frames. These applications of the said
apparatus will be understood from the description herein-before given of
the application of the said apparatus to a circular saw.

page_text: Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise details herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention, but I claim as my
Invention,-
Firstly. The general construction and arrangement of the machinery
for sawing wood herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawing.
Secondly. The mode of feeding and guiding wood to circular and
other saws by means of a revolving conical roller mounted and adjusted
as herein-before described, between which roller and the fence the wood
is guided to the saw as herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. The application and use of a toothed quadrant, and the
gearing connected therewith, whereby the feed roller may be brought
to and fixed at any required distance from the fence as herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Casson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
H. H. MURDOCH,
7, Staple Inn.
JOHN CASSON. (L.S.)