IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR SAWING WOOD, STONE, OR ANY MATERIAL CAPABLE OF BEING CUT OR SAWN BY A RAPID RECIPROCATING MOTION OF THE CUTTING OR SAWING BLADES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Thompson, of New Charlton, in the County
of Kent, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
CUTTING OR SAWING WOOD, STONE, OR ANY MATERIAL CAPABLE OF BEING CUT
OR SAWN BY A RAPID RECIPROCATING MOTION OF THE CUTTING OR SAWING
BLADES."
Sealed the 15th August 1861, and dated the 28th February 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
February 1861.
I, ROBERT THOMPSON, of New Charlton, in the County of Kent, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR CUTTING OR SAWING WOOD, STONE, OR ANY MATERIAL CAPABLE OF BEING CUT OR
SAWN BY A RAPID RECIPROCATING MOTION OF THE CUTTING OR SAWING BLADES," to
be as follows:-
The arrangement of saw or cutting blades stretched between pulleys or
drums by attaching to each end of the saw blades a belt or rope passing over
the pulleys or drums, so as to form with the saws an endless belt, a rapid
reciprocating motion being imparted to the blades by giving an oscillating or
rocking motion to the drums or pulleys.
The accompanying Drawings represent two different methods of carrying
out the Invention.

page_text: Fig. 1 is an end or front view, and Fig. 2 a cross section. a, a, the saw or
cutting blades, attached at each end to the ropes or straps c, c, by the buckles
b, b; d, d, are metal rods or bars for the double purpose of limiting as much
as possible the stretchable portion of the belt, and offer the means (by the
screws e, e, at the ends of the bars, and the squares e', e¹, of drawing the belt
tight when any stretching takes place by wear. Guides for the blades may be
used or not, according to the nature of the material to be cut; f, f, the pulleys
over which the belts are stretched; any number of these pulleys may be used
upon the same pivots or bearing shafts g, g. The edge of blades being placed
parallel with the pivots and at right angles to the face of pulleys, the difference
in the radius of the pulleys gives the breadth between the blades, and con-
sequently the breadth of planks or other material cut out. The one pulley is
fixed, and the remainder upon the same pivot moveable, so that any difference
in diameters may be used; h, h, brackets or bearers for supporting pulley shafts
or pivots; i, a cross bearer, moveable up and down by the screw bolts j, j,
for varying the length of saws. The one set of pulleys (top and bottom) that
set to which the driving gear is attached, is fixed (so far as horizontal motion
is concerned), the other set may be attached to brackets, capable of sliding
horizontally, so as to be fixed more or less distant from the other set.
The oscillating or rocking motion is conveyed to the first set of pulleys by
the pin 7, to which one end of the connecting rod k is attached, the other end
of the rod being attached by the crank pin m to the crank n, which latter is
of less radius than the crank formed by the pin upon the pulley. It will
thus be seen that a revolution of the crank shaft x produces a rocking of the
pulley and a reciprocating motion of the saws. Motion is communicated to the
other set of pulleys and saws by the belts or straps u, u; o is the fly wheel;
p, the main framing; q, the sill or bottom bearers for pulleys; s, the roll for
supporting the material to be cut; t, cross-head of framing; v, tightening
pulley.
Figs. 3 and 4 represent a second method of carrying out the Invention, in
which a grooved .barrel or drum is substituted for the pulleys, so that a great
number of saws may be used at the same time. The only material alterations
requisite in the general arrangements being the placing the edge of the saws
at right angles to the axes of the drums, the driving gear being also applied in
same direction.
The flat bars d, d, follow in the cut made by the blades in
front. The saws may be arranged at any angle to the horizon, so that the
machine is equally applicable to cutting down trees, cutting off tops of piles,
or any work where the material to be cut cannot be brought to the machine,
and to the finest cabinet work.

page_text: What I claim as my Invention is the arrangement of machinery' whereby a
reciprocating motion of the saws or plain cutting blades (stretched between
drums or pulleys, and forming with the band or cord an endless belt,) is
obtained by the oscillating or rocking motion of the said drums or pulleys, as
described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th August 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
THOMPSON, of New Charlton, in the County of Kent, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Robert Thompson, Her special license that I, the said Robert Thompson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert
Thompson, my executors, a ministrators, and.assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no otues, 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING
OR SAWING WOOD, STONE, OR ANY MATERIAL CAPABLE OF BEING CUT OR SAWN BY A
RAPID RECIPROCATING MOTION OF THE CUTTING OR SAWING BLADES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Thompson, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Robert Thompson, do hereby declare
the nature of my: said Invention, and in what manner the same..is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-.
The arrangement of saw or cutting blades stretched between pulleys. or
drums by attaching to each end of the said blades a belt or rope passing over

page_text: the said pulleys or drums, so as to form with the blades an endless belt, a
rapid, reciprocating motion being imparted to the blades by giving an oscillating
or rocking motion to the drums or pulleys.
The accompanying four Sheets of Drawings, upon a scale of one inch to the
foot, represent several modifications of the Invention adapted to different
descriptions of work.
(Sheet 1.) Fig. 1 is a front view, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the
machinery arranged for cutting planks or shaping timber. a, a, the saw or
cutting blades, attached at each end to the ropes or belts c, c, by the
buckles b, b; d, d, are rods or bars for the double purpose of limiting as much
as possible the length of rope or belt used, and to offer the means by the
screwed ends e, e, and squares o, o, of tightening the endless belts thus formed
from time to time, as required. The blades can be packed to any distance
and guided by any of the usual methods adopted in working reciprocating saws.
It will be seen that each saw blade is stretched between a separate pair of
pulleys ff, any number of which pulleys may be placed upon the same
axles.
s.g,g. The edges of the blades being parallel with the axles of the pulleys,
the difference in the radius of the pulleys gives the breadth between the blades,
and consequently the thickness of plank or other material cut. h, h, brackets
or bearers for supporting pulley axles; i, a cross bearer, carrying the upper
pulleys, sliding up and down by the action of the screw bolts j, j, for varying
the distance between the two sets of pulleys, in order that the length of the
cutting blades used may be varied. The one. set of pulleys (both top and
bottom), that set to which the driving gear is attached, is fixed so far as
horizontal motion is concerned, the other set may be attached to brackets
capable of being moved. horizontally, so as to place the two sets more or less
distant from each other. The oscillating or rocking motion is conveyed to the
first set of pulleys by the pin l, to which one end of the connecting rod k, is
attached, the other end being attached to the crank pin m. The pin is set
at a greater distance from the centre of its axle than the crank pin m, and
consequently a complete révolution of the shaft x produces through the con-
necting rod a vibrating or pendulous motion of.the pulleys, and a reciprocating
motion of the saws, motion being communicated to the second set of pulleys
and saws by the belts or ropes u, u; p is the main framing; q, the sill or
bottom bearer for pulleys; s, the roll for supporting the material to be cut;
t, cross-head of framing;. v, tightening pulley.
A modification of the pulleys is shewn at Figs. 5 and 6, (Sheet 2, (the same
letters of reference being used to represent the same parts as in Figs. 1 and 2
previously described,) in which the belts attached to several saws are laid over

page_text: each other upon the same pulley; the said pulley being grooved of a sufficient
depth to receive five or six belts. As in the former case, the edges of the saw
blades are parallel with the axles of pulleys; the thickness of the belts
separates the saws, which can be packed to any distance by the packing
blocks n, n, n; the bolts w, passed. through the belts above and below the
buckles b, b, b, secure the belts from slipping over each other.
Figs. 3 and 4 (Sheet 1) represent a third arrangement. Here a pair of
grooved barrels or drums f, f, are substituted for the pulleys, in order that a
greater number of saws can be used at the same time. The only material
alteration in the general arrangement being the placing the edges of the saws
at right angles to the axles of the drums instead of as before parallel with the
axles of the pulleys. The upper drum is raised or lowered as required by the
wormed shafts j, j. The stretching bars d follow in the cuts made by the
blades in advance. The remaining letters of reference refer to the same parts
as in Figs. 1 and 2.
Fig. 7 (Sheet 2) shews an arrangement for cross cutting. a is a frame to
hold the pair of pulleys b, b', between which the saw c is stretched. One end
of the frame is supported by the truck drunning on the ground. The opposite
end e of the frame is held by the hand of the workman, who is assisted by the
counterpoise f. The crank shaft x and the pulley axle h are both supported
and held in their proper relative positions by the truck d. The bar i is for
tightening the frame, and the bar g for stretching the saw taut; l is a spike
driven into the ground to hold the truck steady. The connecting rod k conveys
a rocking motion to the pulley b, and a reciprocating motion to the saw, as
described in the previous Drawings. The workman holding the end e presses
the saw downwards upon the log m until it is cut through.
Figs. 8 and 9 (Sheet 3) represent respectively a side elevation and an end
view of an arrangement for shaping timber or cutting it up into planks as it
lay on the ground. a, a, are temporary trams, laid down on each side of the
log, to be cut up for the wheels b, b, of the truck c to run upon. The
standards d, d, on each side of the truck are held together by the stretching
bars e, e, and the tightening rod f. The standards d, d, support the rocking
pulleys g, g', which are carried by the blocks h, h, fitted to slide up and down
upon the standards d, so as to be set to any desired height by means of the
screw shafts i, i. The saw k is stretched between the rocking pulleys g, g',.
motion being communicated to the pulleys in the following manner :-
A revolving motion being given from the driver to the crank axle x by the
band r, a rocking motion is communicated to the pulley 1. An endless gut or
belt passes entirely round the pulley up over the pulley m, down and entirely.

page_text: round the pulley n, thence down under the pulley o, back round the first
pulley . The rocking motion of 7 is thus imparted to the pulley n, the shaft
of which, p, also carries the rocking pulley g, round which the belt carrying the
saw passes. A reciprocating motion is thus conveyed to the saw blade as in
the previously described arrangements. In the Drawing a slice s is supposed
to have been already cut off the top of the log, and the rocking pulleys 9, 9',
and saw lowered, so as to cut through the log just above its centre, along
the line p.
Figs. 10, 11, and 12, (Sheet 4,) represent an arrangement for cutting down
growing timber, cutting off the tops of piles, and all similar work, Fig. 10
being an elevation of the machine; Fig. 11, a plan, and Fig. 12 a separate
section of the radius guide, in which the block carrying, the rocking pulley
traverses with the pulley placed in it. a is a truck, carrying the crank shaft x;
and the first rocking pulley b.. A double pulley c is pivoted firmly in the
ground on one side of the tree or other object to be cut down. d is a radius
guide, held firmly upon the ground by the spikes (screwed or otherwise) e, e, e, c.
In the radius guide the block f traverses, carrying, the pulley g. The saws k
are stretched between the pulleys c and g. The rocking motion of the first
pulley is conveyed by. the gut h to the pulley c, and thence to g, imparting.
the required reciprocating motion to the saws.. o is a guide to keep the saws
in position. The saw is fed up to its work by the pulley g, traversing in its
block f along the radius guide d, in the following manner:-One end of a gut
or band i is hooked to the block f; this gut passes round the pulley 1, and
thence round the pulley m. The latter pulley has a handle n, by turning.
which the gut is wound upon the pulley m, and draws the block f along the
radius guide towards the opposite pulley 1. The pulleys and m are made to
transpose, in order that the block can be traversed in either direction. This
machine may be driven either by a band upon the pulley p, or by hand by the
handle s upon the wheel t.
In all the arrangements hitherto described the rocking motion is first
obtained from the revolving shaft by means of a connecting rod, but Figs. 13
and 14 (Sheet 3) show a method of dispensing with the connecting rod when
it is inconvenient to use it.
Revolving motion is first given from the driver through the gut r to the
shaft x, carrying the pulley a, which in its turn imparts revolution to a corre-
sponding pulley 6 by the band f. These two pulleys a and b have each a
crank pin c, c', set at opposite angles from the centre line. One end of a
gut d is attached to the crank pin c, passes round the rocking pulley, e, and
thence to the crank pin c', to which it is secured.. The revolution of the two

page_text: pulleys a and b thus imparts the necessary rocking motion to the pulley e.
This method of driving the rocking pulley reduces the friction, and is almost
noiseless.
I claim, first, as new and of my Invention, the application of saw or
cutting blades and gut, rope, or belts, forming in combination an endless belt,
as described.
Secondly, the imparting a reciprocating motion to saw or cutting blades by
means of oscillating or rocking pulleys or drums and gut, rope, or belts, as
described.
Thirdly, the method described of imparting rocking motion to a drum or
pulley by means of gut, rope, or belts, for the purpose of driving reciprocating
saws or cutting blades, as described and illustrated by Figs. 13 and 14
(Sheet 3) in the accompanying Drawings.
Fourthly, the several arrangements described and illustrated in Sheets 2, 3,
and 4 of the accompanying Drawings, for rendering the machine portable.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Thompson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witnesses,
EDWARD J. POWELL,
HENRY MAYOR.
ROBERT THOMPSON. (L.S.)