AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND MEANS FOR OPERATING RECIPROCATING S▲ws
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND MEANS FOR OPERATING RECIPROCATING
S▲ws." -A communication from abroad by Charles Joseph Vowinkel,.
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Sealed the 9th February 1869, and dated the 20th November 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th November 1868.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,"
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND MEANS FOR OPERATING RECIPROCATING.
SAWS," a communication, to be as follows:-
The nature of my Invention consists in imparting reciprocating:
motion to a scroll saw from a revolving shaft by means of flexible
bands attached to the upper and lower ends of the saw, the said

page_text: disposed eccentrically upon driving wheels secured on the said shaft, or
to bands encircling wheels secured eccentrically thereon; I thus
dispense entirely with rods, links, or other rigid connections between the
saw and its motive power.
The saw is suspended in the usual manner between sliding bars.
working in suitable boxes, which are arranged vertically on a supporting
piece dependent from a beam above, and upon a standard projecting from
the floor below the table through which the saw plays. I prefer to make
my sliding bars of hollow metal, and I enclose them usually in boxes of
hard wood. By my Invention I am enabled to use saws of the most
slender description. Above and below the sliding bars I place band
wheels or pulleys in such positions that the plane of movement of the
sliding bars shall be as nearly as possible tangential to their peripheries.
The bearings of the lower pulley may be fixed to the floor, but those of
the upper pulley are supported in or on a sliding frame or plate having a
vertical movement, which plate may be adjusted to any required height
by means of a pawl and ratchet plate. In the plane of these pulleys
I support in suitable bearings, in any convenient position more or less
remote from the saw, a shaft having a pulley fixed centrally thereon to
receive a band for connecting the same with an arbor, from which
motive power is derived; this shaft terminates at either end in suitable
driving wheels having pins projecting eccentrically from their outer
faces, the distance of these pins from the axis of the shaft being in each
precisely the same, and being determined always by the extent of motion
desired in the play of the saw. These pins are each fitted with encircling
friction rollers, which turn freely thereon. Immediately below the
driving wheels, and on either side of the line of their axis, I place pulley
wheels, whose bearings are secured in standards projecting from the floor
in the plane of the lower front pulley wheel. I place also an additional
pulley wheel above the rearmost pulley in the plane of the upper. front
pulley; I then connect the pins on the driving wheels with the saw by
means of flexible bands of leather or other suitable material, which are
secured to the rollers upon the said pins and passed over the pulleys to
the ends of the saw to which they are attached. The strain upon the
said bands and upon the saw may be increased or diminished by
adjusting the sliding plate carrying the upper pulley, or either of the
band pulleys may be arranged to accomplish the same purpose. The

page_text: driving wheels and pulleys are all made light, and are carefully adjusted
in their bearings. Instead of securing the ends of the bands to pins
placed eccentrically upon the outer faces of the driving wheels I secure
them to bands or encircling collars fitted loosely yet closely upon wheels
keyed or secured eccentrically upon the driving shaft or by similar
mechanical equivalents. I obtain directly from the revolution of the
shaft a draught upon each band alternately, as herein set forth, without
the employment of connecting rods or bars. With the hands, saw, and
pulleys adjusted as described the continuous revolution of the driving
shaft and wheels carrying the accentric pins will alternately draw and
release each band, causing them to pull alternately upon the upper and
lower ends of the saw, and thus impart thereto à constant reciprocating
movement.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, my
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 of "AN IMPROVED
MODE OF AND MEANS FOR OPERATING RECIPROCATING SAWS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or,

page_text: 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 William Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings making a part of this Specification: -
. The nature of my Invention consists in imparting reciprocating motion
to a scroll saw from a revolving shaft by means of flexible bands attached
to the upper and lower ends of the saw, the said bands passing over
suitable pulleys and being connected to pins disposed eccentrically upon
driving wheels secured on the said shaft or to bands encircling wheels
secured eccentrically thereon; I thus dispense entirely with rods, links,
or other rigid connections between the saw and its motive power.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved sawing machine;
Figure 2 is a vertical section of a portion of the same; Figure 3 is a
plan, partly in section, of the driving shaft and eccentrics thereon;
Figures 4 and 5 illustrate modifications in the construction and arrange-
ment of the parts of the said machine. Like letters in all the Figures
indicate the same parts.
I will first describe the arrangement of the machine illustrated in
Figures 1, 2, and 3. In the said machine the saw A is suspended in the
usual manner between sliding bars B, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2,
working in suitable boxes C arranged vertically on a suitable support-
ing piece D dependent from a beam above and upon a standard E
projecting from the floor below the table F through which the saw
plays. I prefer in this machine to make the sliding bars B of hollow
metal, as illustrated in Figure 2, so as to obtain the least possible weight
with the maximum of strength required therein, and I enclose them in
boxes of hard wood or other suitable material, which boxes are at all
times easily repaired and adjusted. By this Invention I am enabled to
use saws of the most slender description. Above and below the sliding
bars B I place band wheels or pulleys G, G', in such positions that the

page_text: These
plane of movement of the sliding bars shall be as nearly as possible
tangential to their peripheries. The bearings of the lower pulley G' may
be fixed to the floor, but those of the upper pulley G are supported in or
on a sliding frame or plate H having a vertical movement, and which
may be adjusted at pleasure to any required height by means of a pawl a
engaging a ratchet plate 6 fixed on the supporting piece D; this pawl
acts as a brace to maintain the proper tension of the bands passing over
the pulleys. In the plane of these pulleys G, G', above and below the
saw I support in suitable bearings, at the side of the building, or at any
other position therein convenient to the motive power and more or less
remote from the saw, a shaft I having a pulley J fixed centrally thereon,
as seen in Figure 3, to receive a band for connecting the same with the
shaft from which motive power is derived. The shaft I terminates at
either end in suitable driving wheels L, having pins c projecting eccen-
trically from their outer faces; the distance of each of these pins from
the axis of the shaft being precisely the same, and being determined
always by the extent of motion desired in the play of the saw.
pins c are fitted with encircling friction rollers c', which turn freely
thereon. Immediately below the driving wheels L, and on either side of
the line of their axis, I place pulley wheels M, M', whose bearings are
secured in standards projecting from the floor in the plane of the lower
front pulley wheel G'. I place also an additional pulley wheel N above
the rearmost pulley M in the plane of the upper front pulley G; I then
connect the pins c on the driving wheels L with the saw A by means of
flexible bands O, O', of leather or other suitable material, which are
secured to the rollers c¹ upon the pins c, and pass respectively the one O'
under the pulley wheels M' and G₁ to the lower end of the saw, to which
it is then attached, and the other O under the pulley M and over the
pulleys N and G to the upper end of the saw, to which it is likewise
secured. The strain upon said bands O, O', and upon the saw A may be
increased or diminished by an adjustment of the sliding plate H carrying
the upper pulley G. Although it is more convenient to make the upper
front pulley G adjustable to regulate thereby the tension of the bands, as
described, either of the band pulleys may be arranged to accomplish the
same purpose. The wheels L and pulleys are all made light, and, are
carefully adjusted in their bearings. Instead of securing the ends of the
bands O, O', to pins placed eccentrically upon the outer faces of the
wheels L, as described, I contemplate securing them to bands or
encircling collars fitted loosely yet closely upon wheels keyed or secured

page_text: eccentrically upon the driving shaft I, or otherwise by similar mechanical
equivalents, obtaining directly from the revolution of the shaft a draught
upon the one and the other alternately, as herein set forth, without the
employment of connecting or pitman rods or bars.
In Figures 4 and 5 I have shewn all of the parts of the machine
mounted upon independent framing, consisting of the base girder P, the
column P, and arm P². In this arrangement of the said machine
I place a countershaft Q upon the arm P; this countershaft is driven
by a belt passing over the pulley R, and communicates motion to the
shaft I by means of the belt on the pulleys S and J. At the front end
of the arm is a pinion T, which gears into a rack H' on the lower end of
the adjustable frame H; the said pinion is connected to the hand
wheel T, whereby it is operated to raise or lower the frame H; U is a
pawl for holding the said rack; U' is a handle, whereby the said pawl is
adjusted; V is a nut which fits the rod C' on the upper box C, which by
means of the said nut is secured in any desired vertical position; W is
a rod for holding the work down on the table F while it is being sawn;
the said rod is secured by means of the screw W¹, and a clamp
connected with the said screw; X is a small fan or blower, which is
driven from the pulley X', and which serves to prevent the accumulation
of sawdust on the saw and other parts; Y are stay timbers, which may
be secured to the roof of the building for steadying the arm P; Z is the
belt shifter for throwing the driving belt from the pulley R to the loose
pulley at its side; Z' is a spindle; and Z2, a lever for operating the
said belt shifter.
I sometimes combine with my improved sawing machine a band saw
which is operated in the ordinary manner, except that I prefer to drive
the same in the direction opposite to that in which such saws are usually
driven.
With the belts, saw, and pulleys adjusted as described the continuous
revolution of the driving shaft I and wheels L carrying the eccentric
pins c will alternately draw and release each of the bands, causing them
to pull alternately upon the upper and lower ends of the saw, and thus
impart thereto a constant reciprocating movement. The employment of
friction rollers upon the crank pins c, in combination with the adjust-
ment of the hands by means of the sliding frame H carrying the upper
front pulley G, and kept braced by the pawl a, as above set forth,
entirely prevents any vibration or rattling of the parts in their move-

page_text: ments, the tension of the bands upon the pins c and saw A being readily
kept equal and constant, so that the machine is noiseless as well as
perfectly steady in operation even at its highest speed. Thus by means
of my Invention I am enabled to drive the saw at an extraordinary speed
without noise or strain or the vibration occasioned in all the ordinary
forms of reciprocating machines by the change in the direction of the
movements of the saw. The highest rate of speed attained with ordinary
jig saws has not to my knowledge exceeded four hundred and fifty
strokes in a minute, whereas in my machine I obtain twelve hundred
strokes in a minute with perfect steadiness and ease of movement, and
enable the operative to accomplish with ease twice the amount of work,
and to produce it in a smoother and more finished state than heretofore.
By dispensing with connecting or pitman rods and cranks and the
ordinary saw gates I avoid the annoyance and expense resulting from
the constant need of attention and repairs where such devices are used,
while the simplicity of all the parts of my machine allows it to be
manufactured at a greatly reduced first cost.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)