AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ROTARY SAWING MACHINE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Nehemiah Parsson, of Southwark Bridge
Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ROTARY SAWING MACHINE."
Sealed the 27th January 1857, and dated the 7th October 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Nehemiah
Parsson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 7th October 1856.
J, WILLIAM NEHEMIAH PARSSON, of Southwark Bridge Road, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ROTARY SAWING MACHINE," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to make the cross-cut in large balks of
timber by means of a rotary saw of comparatively small diameter, and that
without the necessity for moving the timber. The saw spindle I mount on
the top of a frame, which slides in vertical guides in a travelling frame sup-
ported in suitable fixed standards. The travelling frame is provided with
gearing wheels, which take into horizontal racks carried by the standards, and
by the rotation of these wheels the travelling frame is moved horizontally.
The vertical motion of the saw is obtained by means of spur pinions mounted
on the travelling frame, and taking into vertical racks carried by the vertical
sliding frame. These spur pinions receive their motion through gearing from
the main driving shaft carried by the travelling frame. A pulley on this shaft

page_text: receives one or more coils of an endless band, which passes round fixed driving
and guide pulleys. The varying position of this pulley with respect to the
fixed pulleys (changing as it will continually by reason of the movements of
the travelling frame) will therefore not affect the driving of the sawing
machinery. Rotary motion is communicated to the saw from the driving
shaft by means of bevil gearing and a band and pulleys, and the varying
<listance between the driving gearing of the vertical sliding frame and the
driving shaft of the travelling frame is compensated for by causing the vertical
shaft which transmits (through the bevil wheels which it carries) the motion
from one frame to the other to slide in the hub of one of the wheels, as is
well understood. The traverse motion of the travelling frame is also obtained
from the main driving shaft, and provision is made for reversing this motion
(by the employment of a clutch box) without interfering with the run of the
driving shaft. In operating with this arrangement of sawing machinery
I am enabled to make a down cüt past the centre of a balk of timber having
a diameter but a few inches less than that of the saw used, then to traverse
the saw horizontally through the timber, and to finish the cut by the upward
traverse of the saw, and by this means I greatly expedite the operation of
cutting balks of timber crosswise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Nehemiah Parsson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NEHEMIAH PARSSON, of Southwark Bridge Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of October, in the year of our. Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Nehemiah Parsson, Her special licence that I; the said William
Nehemiah Parsson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Nehemiah Parsson, 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

page_text: Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ROTARY SAWING MACHINE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Nehemiah Parsson,
by an instrument 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 William Nehemiah Parsson, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of machinery whereby, with
the aid of a circular saw, timber of nearly the same diameter as the saw may
be cut across with facility. Thus, for example, by the application of my
Invention, I am enabled with a circular saw measuring five feet six inches in
diameter to make the cross cut in timber measuring five feet in diameter (and
so in proportion with other sizes), without disturbing the position of the timber
during the cut, which result has not, so far as I have been enabled to
ascertain, been achieved by any arrangement of circular saw machinery
heretofore constructed.
In the accompanying. Drawing, Fig. 1 shews my improved sawing machi-
nery in side elevation; Fig. 2 is a plan view; and Fig. 3 is an end elevation
of the same. The machine consists essentially of an inner sliding frame,
which carries the rotary saw, and permits of its receiving a transverse motion
in a vertical plane, and of an outer traversing frame, which carries the inner
frame, and by moving forward and backward on horizontal ways (supported-
by brickwork or other sufficient supports) imparts a traverse motion in a
horizontal plane to the inner frame and the rotary saw which it carries.
A, A, are two cast-iron side frames, bolted together by cross bars a, a, and
forming the outer frame before mentioned; B, B, are two main girders for
supporting the frame A. Upon these girders rack teeth are cast, and into
these teeth gear the spur teeth of the pairs of rollers C, C, which form the
carrying wheels of the traversing frame A. Working in V guides in the sides
of this frame is the sliding frame D, D, which carries at its upper end the
saw spindle d. Keyed on one extremity of this spindle is the saw d³, and on
the same spindle is mounted a many grooved pulley d². E is a horizontal
shaft, supported in. bracket bearings on the frame D, and fitted with a band
pulley and a bevil pinion e¹.. Gearing into this pinion e¹ is a bevil wheel F,

page_text: mounted on a vertical shaft G, in which a key groove is formed to permit of
its sliding up and down through the boss of the pinion by which it is driven.
Through this shaft G rotary motion is communicated to the shaft E, and by
means of a band or cord passed over and around the many grooved pulleys d
and e, this motion is transmitted to the circular saw. The vertical shaft G is
driven by bevil gearing K, which connects it with the main driving shaft I.
This shaft I has its bearings in brackets carried by the frame A, and keyed
to it is a large driving pulley L, a pair of smaller pullies 0, 0, and a pair of
small spur pinions P. Rotary motion is communicated to this shaft I by a
band, which is passed once round the pulley L, then over a driving rigger N,
and brought round to a loose distance pulley M, by which the band is kept at
tension. This arrangement admits of the machine being moved to and fro on
the girders B, B, without interfering with the driving of the shaft I and parts
in connection therewith. The pulleys 0, 0, are connected by bands (one of
which is crossed to reverse the motion) with pulleys Q, Q, mounted loosely on
a shaft g at the upper part of the frame A. Between these pullies is a clutch
box q', for engaging one or other of the pulleys according to the direction of
rotary motion required to be given to the shaft. The shaft g carries at its
extremities a pair of pinions which through intermediate wheels R, also
mounted on the frame A, drive the wheels C, and cause the machine to move
bodily along the girders B, and advance the saw to its work. The vertical
sliding motion of the frame D, D, is derived from the pinions P, P, on the
shaft I; these pinions gear respectively into one of a pair of s spur wheels S, S,
mounted loosely on the shafts s, and connected rigidly thereto is a clutch
arrangement J, which, when thrown into action, will disengage one wheel S
from its shaft, and throw the other into connection with its shaft.. These
shafts & severally carry a pair of spur pinions s', which gear into the racks H
of the frame D, and thus by the rotation of the shafts s, caused by the gearing
which connects them respectively with the driving shaft I, the inner frame D
will be raised or lowered, according to which of the two spur wheels S is
made fast to its shaft.
From the above explanation it will be understood that when the tree to be
sawn up is brought into a proper position to be. acted upon by the circular
saw, as indicated in Fig. 1 of the Drawing, the saw will be capable of
receiving the compound movements necessary to enable it to cut through the
whole diameter of the tree.
The following is the mode of proceeding when the saw is required to make
the cross-cut in timber having a diameter equal to its full capacity of action.
The tree having been placed in a horizontal position by a suitable carriage,.

page_text: and the saw raised to the relative elevation indicated by Fig. 1, and set in
rapid rotation, the saw is then advanced in a horizontal position until it has
reached the perpendicular line 1, 2. It is next caused to descend and follow
in its cut the perpendicular line. When it has descended so far that its
collars which secure it to the spindle are below the level of the under side of
the tree, the saw is advanced in a horizontal line 3, 4, until the collars have
passed the tree sufficiently far to admit of the saw rising again perpendicularly.
The horizontal movement is now stopped, and the saw is again raised, and in
passing up through the tree will complete the cross cut desired.
I would remark, that for the purpose of moving heavy trees up to this
machine as pieces are cut off, I prefer to employ two carriages which work
on rails, and contain a crane motion for lifting the tree off the ground.
These carriages, by reason of their construction (which is well understood in
many timber yards), can be run over the tree as it lies on the ground, and
four chains being put around it, their cranes are brought into action, when
the tree will be readily lifted. When thus suspended, it will be obvious that
the tree can be advanced at pleasure under the circular saw.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved Con-
struction of Rotary Sawing Machine," and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim giving a compound traverse motion to circular
saws in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Nehemiah Parsson, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
W. N. PARSSON. (L.B.)