A NEW OR IMPROVED GUARD FOR CIRCULAR SAWS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Littler, of Cannock, in the County of
Stafford, Sawyer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED GUARD
FOR CIRCULAR SAWS."
Sealed the 23rd November 1869, and dated the 31st May 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Littler at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the .
31st May 1869.
I, BENJAMIN LITTLER, of Cannock, in the County of Stafford,
Sawyer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A
NEW OR IMPROVED GUARD FOR CIRCULAR SAWS," to be as follows:-
In the use of circular saws great danger arises from the ascending
side of the saw, any substance coming accidentally in contact therewith
being flung upwards into the air with great violence, its descent being
attended with great danger.
My Invention has for its object to obviate the danger referred to, and
consists in applying to circular saws a guard constructed and arranged in

page_text: the manner herein-after explained, whereby the ascending side of the
saw is so protected as to prevent anything being brought accidentally in
contact with it.
My said new or improved guard consists of a plate of metal, iron or
steel being preferred, somewhat thicker than the circular saw with
which it is to be used. One edge of the said plate is concave, the
curvature of the said concave edge having a radius somewhat larger
than that of the saw, the other edge of the plate may be convex or
straight. The breadth of the plate is not material, but I prefer to make
it at least half as broad as it is long in order that it may have the
required rigidity. This guard is fixed on the bed of the circular saw,
its concave edge being situated very nearly in contact with that of the
ascending side of the circular saw, which is situated above the table.
The said guard is fixed securely by bolts and nuts or otherwise to the
bed of the circular saw, and in case of large circular saws the said
guard may be made to extend to the highest point of the saw, and be
fixed at its upper as well as at its lower end. The concave edge of the
guard is bevilled on each side, so that when the timber in the process of
sawing passes from the saw the separated parts are situated respectively
on either side the guard, which acting like a wedge separates the said
parts, thereby relieving the saw of much friction and pressure and
facilitating the sawing.
My new or improved guard may be made double, that is, both its edges
may be concave, the curvature of the front edge being of greater radius
than the back edge. By this means the same guard may be used for
saws of different sizes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Benjamin Littler in the Great Seal Patent Oflice
on the 23rd November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
LITTLER, of Cannock, in the County of Stafford, Sawyer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-

page_text: second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors;,
give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Littler, Her special licence
that I, the said Benjamin Littler, my executors, administrators,, and.
assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin Littler, 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 for "A NEW OR IMPROVED
GUARD FOR CIRCULAR SAWS," upon the condition (amongst others) that. I,
the said Benjamin Littler, my executors or administrators, by an in-
strument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 Benjamin Littler, 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 :-
In the use of circular saws great danger arises from the ascending
side of the saw, any substance coming accidentally in contact therewith
being flung upwards into the air with great violence, its descent being
5 attended with great danger.
My Invention has for its object to obviate the danger referred to, and
consists in applying to circular saws a guard constructed and arranged
in the manner herein-after explained, whereby the ascending side of the
saw is so protected as to prevent anything being brought accidentally in
contact with it.
My said new or improvod guard consists of a plate of metal, iron or
steel being preferred, somewhat thicker than the circular saw with
which it is to be used. One edge of the said plate is concave, the cur-
vature of the said concave edge having a radius somewhat larger than
that of the saw the other edge of the plate may be convex or straight.
The breadth of the plate is not material, but I prefer to make it at least
half as broad as it is long in order that it may have the required rigidity.

page_text: This guard is fixed on the bed of the circular saw, its concave edge being
situated nearly in contact with that of the ascending side of the circular
saw, which is situated above the table. The said guard is fixed securely
by bolts and nuts or otherwise to the bed of the circular saw, and in
case of large circular saws the said guard may be made to extend to the
highest point of the saw, and be fixed at its upper as well as at its lower
end. The concave edge of the guard is bevilled on each side, so that
when the timber in the process of sawing passes from the saw the
separated parts are situated respectively on either side the guard, which
acting like a wedge separates the said parts, thereby relieving the saw
of much friction and pressure and facilitating the sawing.
My new or improved guard may be made double, that is, both its
edges may be concave, the curvature of one edge being of greater radius
than the other edge. By this means the same guard may be used for
saws of different sizes.
Having explained the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in elevation a circular saw to which a guard
constructed according to my Invention is applied, and Figure 2 is a
plan partly in section of the same, a piece of timber being shown in the
act of being sawn; Figure 3 is a cross section of the same, the saw
being omitted; Figure 4 represents in side elevation and edge view the
saw guard separately on a larger scale, and Figure 5 represents in side
clevation and section the angle bar to which the guard is bolted and by
which the said guard is connected to the bed of the saw.
The same
letters indicate the same parts in each Figure.
a, is the circular saw, and is the bed of the said saw, the said saw
and bed are of the ordinary construction; c is the saw guard fixed near
the ascending side of the saw and above the bed and in the same
plane as the saw a. The said saw guard e consists of a plate of metal
the edge of which is concave, the curvature of the said concave edge
having a radius somewhat larger than that of the saw a as represented.
The other or back edge of the guard is straight. The concave edge c'
of the guard is bevilled on each side as best seen in Figures 2 and 4,
for the purpose of separating the divided parts of the timber as they pass
from the saw. The said guard c is fixed by bolts and nuts d to the
angle bare (shown separately in Figure 5), and the said angle bar

page_text: carrying the said guard is fixed by bolts and nuts at f (see Figure 3),
to the under side of the bed b of the saw, the guard projecting through
a prolongation of the slot in the bed through which the saw a works.
Slots marked e' in Figure 5 are made in the vertical side of the angle
bar e through which slots the screw bolts d, d, pass. By means of these
slots the guard c. may be adjusted at the proper distance from the edge
of the saw a. By an examination of Figure 1 the position of the guard
on the bed for protecting the ascending side of the circular saw will
be readily seen, and by an examination of Figure 2 will also be seen the
manner in which the guard c in the process of sawing the timber g
operates upon the two parts of the timber as they leave the saw so as
to separate them, and thus relieve the saw of much friction and pressure
and facilitate the sawing, I do not limit myself to the arrangement.
described and represented for fixing the guard to the bed of the saw,
nor to the height of the said guard above the bed, as the said guard may
extend to the highest point of the saw and be fixed both at its upper
and lower ends.
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 described, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention;
but I claim as my Invention, the new or improved guard for circular
saws herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, a guard consisting of a fixed plate of metal
situated in the same plane as the saw, the said plate being constructed
and applied substantially as described and illustrated for protecting the
ascending side of the circular saw, and for separating the divided parts of
the timber as they pass from the saw, and thereby relieving the saw of
much friction and pressure.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Littler, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Nineteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
BENJAMIN LITTLER. (L.s.)