AN IMPROVED METHOD OF CUTTING OR PREPARING STICKS OR STRIPS OF WOOD FOR LIGHTING FIRES
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I CHARLES FREDERICK PARSONS of 39 Calvert Road East Greenwich in the
county of Kent Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
AN IMPROVED METHOD OF CUTTING OR PREPARING STICKS OR STRIPS OF WOOD
FOR LIGHTING FIRES to be as follows:-
According to my invention I fit or arrange a series of long saws to cut the wood
blocks, which are led to them by a kind of hopper and feed rollers, in the direction
of their length and as the wood blocks leave the long saws in succession they come
against a series of circular saws which again cut the wood in the same direction
but in smaller slices.
The wood as it leaves the circular saws is forced against the edges of horizontally
fitted knives which sever the sawn cut slices of wood into strips or sticks.

page_text: I CHARLES FREDERICK PARSONS of 39 Calvert Road, East Greenwich in the
county of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF CUTTING OR PREPARING STICKS OR STRIPS OF WOOD
For lighting FIRES" and in what mauner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
According to my invention I fit or arrange a series of long saws to cut the wood
blocks which are led to them by a kind of hopper and feed rollers in the direction
of their grain and as the wood blocks leave the long saws in succession they come
against a series of circular saws which again cut the wood in the same direction
but in smaller slices, the slices of wood as they leave the circular saws are forced
against the edges of horizontally fitted knives which sever the sawn cut slices of
wood into strips or sticks.
My invention will be clearly understood by the annexed drawings in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a longitudinal section of a machine of
which A is the frame and B, B, a couple of hoppers or spouts down which the
blocks of wood are fed and kept in contact with each other in succession by feed
rollers C, C, actuated by gearing D, D, by means of straps E, E, on riggers F, F,
on transverse shafts G, G, from the main driving shaft H the speed being in
proportion to the cutting action of long saws I, I, which traverse the wood blocks
in succession as they are fed to the saws I, I, the saws having their motion from
the disc J and connecting rod K.
The saws I, I, have some of their teeth partly set in one direction and others in
the reverse direction in order to cut at each forward and backward travel the teeth
clearing themselves of the wood fibre by the reverse angle of the teeth.
The saws I, I, are arranged in a skeleton frame L at say an inch and a half apart
to cut the blocks of wood into slices corresponding in width.
Below the traversing saws I, I, I arrange shafts M, M, carrying circular.
saws N, N, these being arranged to cut the wood in the solid between the cuts
made by the traversing saws II as at Figure 3 so as to cut the wood into thinner
slices than that effected by the traversing saws I, I, or say to slices three fourths
of an inch in width.
The teeth of the circular saws N, N, are driven by the band P from the shaft M
and there cutting speed is in proportion to that of the saws I I.
Directly below the circular saws N N I fit a couple of horizontal traversing
knives QQ on the same frame R which is caused to travel to and fro by the
connecting rod S from the main shaft H. The knife blades have their cutting
edges over openings in the frame S and the sawn wood rests on the knives QQ for
the completion of the cut but drop say three fourths of an inch on to the plate T
on the return travel to present fresh portions to the knives in succession whereby
sticks of wood suitable for tying into bunches are produced these falling on to the
endless belt U whose motion carries them away froin the machine for collection in
any convenient manner.
The saws I, I, and N, N, are within an enclosed box or chamber and the wood
fibre (which is long and thread like from being grain cut is particularly suited for
pulping for coarse paper, Millboard and other useful purposes) is drawn from the
box by suction up the pipes V, V, to any desired receptacle.
The circular saws can be dispensed with if desired and the horizontally traversing
saws be increased in number in the skeleton frame L. ln that case the knives are

page_text: set higher up in the framing A as shown by Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 of sheet 2 of the
drawings all the other parts or mechanism being the same as those previously
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The construction and arrangement of machinery and the method of sawing wood
into slices and simultaneously cutting the slices into sticks suitable for lighting
fires all as herein described and shown in the annexed drawings.
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the Applicant.