IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING VENEERS AND BOARDS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING VENEERS AND BOARDS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR
PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by Henry Thurlow Bartlett, of
New York City, United States of America, and temporarily of Paris, France;
and George Washington Read, also of New York aforesaid.
Sealed the 23rd January 1880, and dated the 6th August 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th August 1879.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex;
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING VENEERS AND BOARDS,
AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES." [A communication from abroad by Henry
Thurlow Bartlett, of New York City, United States of America, and temporarily of
Paris, France; and George Washington Read, also of New York aforesaid.]
This Invention relates to improvements in the machine for cutting veneers and
boards, for which former Letters Patent were granted to me in 1876 (No. 1407),
and the present Invention has for its object, 1st, to impart to the knife au increased
drawing motion or stroke for facilitating the cutting; 2nd, to feed the log, from
which the veneers or boards are to be cut, to the knife in a regular and even
manner, hold the log firm while under the action of the knife, and withdraw it out
of range of the knife on the ascent of the latter; 3rd, to provide means for securely
holding down the work when a quantity of thin veneers are to be cut into strips,
or splints for baskets, boxes, matting, matches, &c.; 4th, to enable the face plate to
which the log is secured to be brought quickly up towards the knife, and quickly
run back after the log has been cut up, and to various other modifications in the
machine hereafter more fully referred to. The machine, as described in the afore-
said Patent, consists of a pair of cast iron uprights, firmly bolted to a base or
foundation, the uprights in the rear being inclined forward at top in such manner
Din 1.1

page_text: as to bring them in contact with those in front, to which they are securely bolted.
The log of wood to be cut into veneers is supported on an adjustable table, and is
fed forward by suitable mechanism to the knife or cutter which is attached to a
frame working up and down on the front uprights. Motion is given to the knife
by radial connecting rods, which are attached at one end to the knife frame, and at
the other to gearing driven from the main shaft of the machine.
According to the present Invention the blocks to which the radial rods are
pivoted at their lower ends are free to slide back and forth in dovetail ways on the
bed of the machine. They are either cast in one piece or rigidly coupled by a bar,
bolted to the blocks at each end, and the reciprocating movement for producing the
increased draw motion of the knife or cutter is communicated to the blocks through
a connecting rod from a crank shaft driven by the main shaft of the machine. The
reciprocating movement of the blocks may be arrested when desired, as, for instance,
when the fibre of the wood requires less draw motion of the knife, by simply
throwing the cranked shaft out of gear with its driving mechanism, and bolting the
blocks in place on the bed. The guides or shoes which carry the knife carrying
frame are fitted to move up and down in grooves on the front standards and the
shoes and frame are balanced by counterweights contained within the standards
which are cast hollow.
The knife is mounted at the upper part of the frame horizontally arched to resist
the thrust while cutting, and attached thereto by bolts passing through slots in the
frame, and secured by nuts, which are received in recesses to give clearance to the
veneers or boards as they come from the cutter.
The presser bar for preventing the splitting of the veneer is faced with steel and
secured to the knife frame so as to be capable of vertical adjustinent as the wear
of the cutter may require. It is moved forward against the work by means of a
horizontal shaft, which is carried in bearings in the knife carrying frame, and furnished
with hand wheels at each end. This shaft is provided with tangent screws which
engage with corresponding wheels on the ends of adjusting screws passing through
nuts on the presser bar. By this means the presser bar can be adjusted to suit
the work while the machine is in motion. Should the veneer or board need more
or less pressure at one end than at the other the pressure of the bar may be
increased or diminished at that end independent of the other by turning the nut
of the adjusting screw at either end with a hand wrench.
The bed or table on which the log rests is provided with adjusting screws for
raising and lowering the same, according to the wear of the knife. The table is
guided in vertical ways, provided with gibs and set screws on the four posts for
resisting the thrust of the log in the operation of cutting, and it is faced with a
strip of soft material, preferably wood, which projects beyond the edge of the bed,
beneath the knife (more or less, according to the thickness of the veneers or boards
to be cut), and affords a support to the veneer or board, as it is being severed with-
out liability of damaging the knife.
The strip of wood is secured to the bed by dovetail pieces fitting in grooves in
the casting by bolts or other suitable means, and it is bevelled off on its upper
edge to permit the presser bar to pass over it when the knife goes down.
The face plate which rests on the table, and to which the log is secured, is moved
forward to feed the log by means of a feeding screw, mounted in bearings beneath the
bed, and upon which traverses a nut fixed to the base of the face plate, and it is
held firmly in position while the log is under the operation of the knife by a pair
of screw rods firmly connected to the back of the face plate, and extending back-
wards above the table, and passing freely through bearings in standards at the rear
part thereof. These screws are of the same pitch as, but in the opposite direction
to the feed screw, and they have toothed wheels upon them, which act as nuts
thereto, and mesh into a corresponding spur wheel fixed on the feed screw by a
spline or feather, so as to permit of a small longitudinal movement of the feed
screw when the face plate is retracted on the upward movement of the knife, as

page_text: hereafter described. An intermittent feed motion is imparted by means of a
vertical rod which carries a pawl provided with a small roller on one side at its
upper end engaging with a ratchet wheel attached to the spur wheel of the feed
screw, and which rod, at its,lower end, is connected to a pivoted lever having a roller
that enters a groove on the side of a cam wheel mounted on the projecting end of
one of the main shafts of the machine. A loose ring between the spur and ratchet
wheel causes the pawl to drop into the ratchet wheel at any part of its stroke so as
to regulate the feed, and consequently the thickness of the veneer cut, this ring
being constructed as follows:-Between the spur and ratchet wheel is an annular
groove, in which the loose ring is received. The ring is divided into three segments
of different radii. The first segment of largest radius projects sufficiently beyond
the ratchet to enable it by holes made in it certain distances apart to be attached
to any one of these holes to a stationary point outside of the ratchet. The second
segment of next smaller radius projects slightly above the teeth of the ratchet, so
that by the roller of the pawl running on it the latter will be raised sufficiently to
disengage from the ratchet. The third segment of smallest radius is sufficiently
below the teeth of the ratchet to clear the roller and allow the pawl to engage the
ratchet. The distance moved by the pawl is constant, and to vary the amount the
ratchet is moved at each stroke of the pawl; it is necessary to unloose the ring and
shift it, so as to bring segment "two" to cover any number of teeth required from
the action of the pawl. The pawl engages only with the teeth left uncovered
opposite segment "three," which represent the thickness of the veneer or board to
be cut, so that one or all the teeth coming within the throw of the pawl may be
operated upon. Whenever the face plate is to be run forward or backward inde-
pendent of the motion of the cutter, the roller of the pawl rests on segment " two,"
allowing the ratchet to turn freely either way.
The withdrawal of the log during the ascent of the knife is effected by means of
a vertical rock shaft mounted in bearings in rear of the machine, and having a
projecting arm fast thereon provided with a roller that enters a groove on the face
of a second cam wheel on the cam shaft. The rock shaft, at its upper end, is
attached by an eccentric and strap with the feed screw, and as the rock shaft is
oscillated the feed screw is moved back and retracts the face plate and log from the
knife. To permit of this movement the screw rods by which the face is held up to
its work are furnished with loose collars, which are fitted on the rods just in rear
of the hubs or nuts of the gear wheel; these collars being attached by levers with
the rock shaft, and furnished with spiral cam faces which bear against corre-
sponding cam faces on the standards which support the rods; the latter cams are
made adjustable to the others, so as to always obtain. a solid bearing. When the
collars carrying the cam faces are turned in one direction they bear against the
nuts of the gear wheel, and thus through the latter and the screw rods, keep the
face plate up to its work. As the eccentric retracts the face plate the cams on the
screw rods are rotated, thereby allowing space for the gear wheel nuts and the rods
to move back. Before the knife reaches its starting point the face plate is returned
to its original position at same time that the feed screw is revolved and the face
plate advanced for a fresh cut.
The device for holding down work, such as thin veneers to be cut into strips,
consists of two or more adjustable clamp bars mounted in standards, and passing
through openings in the face plate so as not to interfere with the movement of the
latter. The face plate is provided with adjusting screws which carry friction
rollers that bear on the upper edge of the clamping bars, and thus retain the work
firmly while under the operation of the knife. These clamps may, be removed from
the machine when not required.
The face plate may be moved forward or back ward speedily when the feed motion is
at rest by means of a short shaft mounted in adjustable boxes at the rear of the
machine, and to which power is transmitted from any convenient point. A pinion
is keyed on this shaft, and the latter may be moved vertically at that end by means

page_text: of a hand lever and suitable connections to throw the pinion in and out of gear
with the spur wheel.
The rear end of the bed or table of the machine, which carries the standards sup-
porting the screw rods, is carried on vertical rods which are mounted in hollow
footsteps at their lower ends. These rods are provided with hand wheels, which
screw on the shafts, and are operated for adjusting the elevation of the cutting
table.
To facilitate the adjustment of the log small friction rollers are let into the sur-
face of the cutting table. These rollers are arranged in pairs; and they run loose
on shafts having eccentric axes, and they may be made to project above the surface
of the table or to drop entirely below, as desired. Each pair of roller shafts is
geared together, and operated by a short shaft projecting at each end of the table,
and furnished with a crank handle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
February 1880.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING VENEERS AND BOARDS,
AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by Henry
Thurlow Bartlett, of New York City, United States of America, and temporarily of
Paris, France; and George Washington Read, also of New York aforesaid.
This Invention relates to improvements in the machine for cutting veneers and
boards for which former Letters Patent were granted to me, dated April 1st 1876,
(No. 1407), and the present Invention has for its object, 1st, to improve the
mechanism for imparting the drawing motion to the knife, so that it shall both
increase and more efficiently control the said motion; 2nd, to feed the log from
which the veneers or boards are to be cut to the knife in a more regular and even
manner, hold the log firm while under the action of the knife, and withdraw it out
of range of the knife on the ascent of the latter; 3rd, to enable the face plate to
which the log is secured to be brought quickly up towards the knife when the log
is first placed in the machine, and quickly run back after the log has been cut up;
4th, to provide means for securely holding down the work when a quantity of thin
planks or veneers are to be cut into laths, or strips, or splints for making baskets,
boxes, matting, matches, and the like. The Invention also relates to various other
modifications in the machine hereafter more fully referred to.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood I will proceed to
describe it with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a
front elevation; Figure 2, an end elevation; Figure 3, a rear elevation, and
Figure 4, a plan of the machine; Figure 5 is a plan of the cutting bed or table
separately, and Figures 6 to 10 represent details hereafter referred to in their
proper places. The same letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts in
all the Figures. The machine like that described in the aforesaid Patent consists
of two pairs of cast iron uprights A, A, firmly bolted to the base or foundation, the
rear upright A of each pair being inclined forward at top and bolted to the front
upright A. The log of wood to be cut into veneers is supported on an adjustable
table B, and is fed forward to the knife or cutter which is attached to a frame C
fitted in chariots or slides D, working up and down on dovetail ways on the front
uprights A. The frame C is also fitted to slide horizontally on the chariots D, and
up and down motion is given to the knife frame end chariots by connecting rods E,
which are attached at one end of the knife frame C, and at the other end to
crank pins F on gear wheels G, G¹, driven from the mainshaft H of the machine.
Horizontal motion is at same time given to the knife carrying frame C in the
chariots D by two radius rods J, attached at one end to the knife carrying frame
C, and at the other to movable blocks K. These blocks K to which the radius
rods are pivoted at their lower ends are free to slide back and forth on horizontal
dovetail ways K¹ on the bed of the machine. The blocks K are either cast in
one piece or rigidly coupled by a bar K bolted to the blocks at each end; and
the improved mechanism of this Invention for giving the reciprocating movement
to the said blocks K for imparting and controlling the increased draw motion of
the knife or cutter consists of a connecting rod k¹, a crank shaft k², a spur wheel k³
fitting on a spline on said shaft, and driving said crank shaft k², and gearing with
a spur wheel keyed on the shaft I of wheel G¹. The reciprocating movement
of the blocks K is towards the cranks with which they respectively co-operate at
each downward stroke of the knife to produce the draw motion thereof, and in the
opposite direction on the ascent of the knife. The blocks K. may be arrested when
desired, as for instance, when the fibre of the wood requires less draw motion of

page_text: the knife by simply slipping wheel ³ out of gear with ', and bolting the blocks K
in place on the bed of the machine. The chariots or shoes D and the knife
carrying frame Care partly balanced by counterweights D₁ attached to chains or
ropes d, connected to the chariots D and passing over pulleys d' at the top of the
front standard A, which are cast hollow and receive the counterweights DI within
them. They are also partly balanced by counterweights G2 on the crank wheels
G, G. The chariots D are square grooved at top, and V shaped at bottom, the
edges of the knife carrying frame C which are received therein being corre-
spondingly shaped, as shown in Figure 2, and at back the chariots are square
grooved on the insides next the log, and V shaped on the outside to correspond
to the ways on the uprights A which are similarly formed.
The knife carrying frame C is constructed of cast iron in the form of strong
horizontally arched ribs to resist the thrust while cutting. The knife c is attached
to it at the upper part behind the large opening in said frame through which
the boards or veneers come as they are severed by the knife, by bolts c¹ passing
through slots in the frame C, and secured by nuts which are wholly sunk in
recesses in the upwardly inclined surface of the casting, so as not to obstruct the
veneers or boards as they come through the opening. The presser bar L for
preventing the splitting of the veneer is a casting faced with steel ground in the
manner shown in Figure 2 at 1, and is secured to the knife frame C by screw studs
12 passing through slots into the lower part of casting C, having shoulders sup-
porting long washers on underside, and long washers under the heads of bolts on
the top of casting L, so as to render it capable of vertical adjustment as the wear of
the cutter may require. The casting L is moved forward against the work by
means of a horizontal shaft L' which is carried in bearings in the knife carrying
frame C, and furnished with hand wheels at each end, and with tangent screws L²
which engage with corresponding wheels L³ on the ends of adjusting screws L*
mounted to turn in bearings C¹ on frame C and pass through nuts L³ received in
vertical slots or recesses on the presser bar L in such a way, as to be firm
horizontally and yet admit of the vertical adjustment of the presser bar. By this
means the presser bar L can be adjusted to suit the work while the machine is in
motion. Should the veneer or board need more or less pressure at one end than at
the other, the pressure of the bar L may be increased or diminished at that end
independently of the other, by turning the nut of the adjusting screw at either end
with a hand wrench.
The cutting bed or table B on which the log rests is adjusted at a height to
meet the knife at the end of its stroke by vertical adjusting screws b, one at each
corner, mounted in bearings on a cross bar of the frame, and working through nuts
on the underside of the bed, the said screws being geared together by bevel gears b¹
and horizontal shafts ba, so as to be operated simultaneously by a hand wheel b³ on
a shaft b* geared at 6, with one of the shafts 62, as in the former Patent before
referred to. The bed is provided with lugs B' which embrace vertical ways on the
uprights A, A¹, by which the bed is guided and enabled to resist the thrust of the
log in the operation of cutting. The front edge of the bed is faced with a strip of
wood B, or other semi-elastic material (see Figures 2 and 5) for the knife to cut
against, and which projects beyond the line of the cut sufficiently to afford a
support to the veneer or board as it is being severed, without liability of damaging
the knife, whose edge meets and slightly enters the strip. The strip of wood is
bevelled off on its upper edge to permit the presser bar L to pass over it when the
knife goes down, and it is secured to the bed by dovetail pieces fitting in corres-
ponding grooves in the edge of the bed by bolts or other suitable means, whereby
it may be readily removed, strips of different thickness being used, according to the
thickness of the board cut. A rear projecting portion B³ of the bed B is supported
on vertical rods B' fastened to it at the upper ends, their lower ends being screw-
threaded and received in hand wheel nuts B³ fitted to rest on, and turn in foot-
steps B6. After the table has been raised to any height by the adjusting screws b
before described, the hand wheel nuts B are screwed down on the rods B' until

page_text: they rest firmly on the footstep B6, in order that the rods may firmly support the
extension B of the table. The table B is furnished with small friction rollers P
(see Figures 3 and 5a) received in cavities in table B, and projecting slightly above
the surface thereof to facilitate the running the log endwise onto the table as in
the former Patent, but they are now so mounted that they can be made to drop
entirely below the surface of the table if desired. To this end the rollers P run
loose on shafts p having eccentric axes p' mounted in bearings in the table, and
geared together in pairs by bevel wheels p² and longitudinal shafts p³, each of
which extends to the adjacent end of the table, and is there furnished with a
crank handle p* by turning which a half revolution either way, the rollers P are
thrown above or below the table as required; B' are shallow recesses across the
face of the table for dirt or small chips from the logs to fall into. The face plate M
which rests on the table B, and to which the log is secured is moved forward to
feed the log up to the knife as in the former Patent by a feed screw N mounted in
bearings n in a cavity BS (Figure 5) in the bed B, and passing through a nut m
fixed to the base of the face plate, which nut traverses to and fro along the screw N.
This screw which is shown separately in Figure 7 has intermittent rotary-motion
imparted to it to feed the work up to the knife by means of a wheel N₁ upon the
feed screw, and connected to it by a spline or feather n', so as to permit of a slight
longitudinal movement of the feed screw through the wheel for a purpose herein-
after described. Figure 8 shows separately on a larger scale the mechanism
applied to this wheel for operating the feed screw. Figure 9 is an edge view of
the same, the wheel and rings applied to it being in section, and Figure 10
represents a view of the other side of the pawl mechanism hereafter referred to,
the wheel being supposed removed, and therefore only partly indicated by dotted
lines. N2 is a ratchet ring of steel fitted on a boss of the wheel N¹, and secured to
it by keys n², or by screws and bolts. N³ is a lever arm pivoting loosely on the
plain part of the feed screw N, and n³ is a pawl pivoted at n to the arm N³, and
engaging by its toothed end with the teeth of the ratchet N²; n³ is a spring
mounted in a frame nº on arm N³, and bearing against the tail end of the pawl n³,
so as to press its toothed end into gear with the ratchet wheel N2; n7 is a lever
pivoted on a stud or bolt n³ at the back of arm Ns. It has two faces at different
distances from the pivot n³, the lower one of which permits the pawl n³ to engage
with the ratchet, but by throwing the lever n over so as to bring its higher face
to bear against the tail end of the pawl, the latter is disengaged from the ratchet.
The arm N³ is oscillated by a rod N₁ attached to arm N3 by means of a pin passing
through a hole in rod N*, and screwing into a nut N5, through which it also passes
and bears against the arm N³. The nut N is a block fitted to slide in a longi-
tudinal dovetailed groove in arm N³, in which the nut can be secured at any point
of its length as shown. The lower end of rod N is similarly jointed to a lever N6,
Figure 3, pivoted at one end and having a roller at the middle, which engages in
the groove of a cam wheel N7 keyed on the shaft I. N, Figures 8, 9, 10, is a
stationary-ring behind ratchet wheel N2, and loose on the boss of wheel N', so that
the latter can turn within it, and provided with projecting flange n10 having a
series of holes, in any one of which a bolt or pin may be placed to connect said
ring with a stationary part of the table B, so that the ring can be set and retained
in any desired position, the purpose of this fixed adjustable ring being to present
any number of teeth of the ratchet to the stroke of the pawl, and so regulate the
feed. For this purpose the ring has an off-set or segment n" projecting beyond
the teeth of the ratchet in the path of a roller n° on the toothed end of the pawl,
which roller runs on the segment during a greater or less portion of the stroke of
the pawl, whereby the latter is held out of the teeth of the ratchet wheel N2 and
only engages therewith when the roller is opposite the portion 12 of smallest
radius. The stroke of the pawl being constant, it is only necessary in order to
regulate the movement of the ratchet wheel at each stroke to shift and refix the
ring, so that the segment n¹ protects any number of teeth from the action of the
pawl, which only engages with the teeth left uncovered opposite segment 12 The

page_text: rate of speed and consequently the thickness of the veneer or board cut is thus
regulated.
The face plate is held firmly in position while the log is under the operation of
the knife by a pair of screw rods O,O, firmly connected to the back of the face plate
at the upper part, and extending backwards and passing freely through bearings in
standards o rising from the rear part of table B. The threads of these screws are
of the same pitch as, but in the opposite direction to, that of the feed screw N, and
they are geared with and operated by the feed screw N, by spur wheels 0¹, 0¹,
meshing with the spur wheel N¹. These wheels are of equal diameter, and the
bosses of wheels O¹ through which screws O pass are threaded to act as nuts for the
screws 0. The wheels O do not abut directly against the standards o, but against
a pair of spiral cam faced collars interposed between them for a purpose to be
presently mentioned. The withdrawal of the log during the ascent of the knife, to
allow the latter to rise freely without friction and wear on the face of the log, is
effected by means of a vertical rock shaft R, mounted in a footstep bearing and passing
through a collar in the rear part of bed B³. A lever arm R¹ is fast on this rock
shaft near the lower part, said arm being provided with a roller running in a cam
groove in the periphery of a second cam wheel S keyed on the cam shaft I. An
eccentric r, Figures 4 and 7, is fixed on the rock shaft R near the upper part, and
its strap is bolted to a yoke r² confined between two collars on the feed screw N.
The purpose of this eccentric ? is to withdraw the feed screw N, which, as before
mentioned, is capable of slight longitudinal movement, through wheel N¹ and in its
bearings, and so retract the face plate and log from the knife. To permit of this
movement a loose collar q is placed on each screw O, between its wheel O' and its
standard o, the said collar being formed with a spiral cam face at back which abuts
against a corresponding cam faced collar q¹ fastened to the standard o, but adjustable
in a circular direction, so as to afford a firin bearing for collar q during the descent of
the knife. A short lever arm 92 (Figure 2) is attached to each collar q, and these arms
are coupled by connecting rods q³ (Figures 2 and 4) to the extremity of a lever arm
Qfixed on the top of the rock shaft R, when, by the rocking of shaft R by the cam
S, the collars q are partially rotated in one direction; their inclined faces sliding up
the inclined faces of the fixed collars q' causes the collars q to bear against the hubs
of the wheels O¹, thus through the rods O keeping the face plate up to its work
during the descent of the knife; but on the movement in the opposite direction of
the shaft R, together with the eccentric r, to retract the face plate during the ascent
of the knife, the collars q are also turned in the opposite direction, and their inclined
faces slide down the inclined faces of the collars q', thereby allowing space for the
rods O and wheels O' to move back. Before the knife reaches its highest point the
cam S returns the rock shaft R and its connections to their original position, the
screws regain their bearings, and the feed screw N is revolved, together with gear
wheels N and O', to advance the face plate and log the proper distance before the
knife descends on its next stroke, the operations above described being repeated
until the log is cut up into boards or veneers. In order to move the face plate
backwards or forwards speedily when the other parts of the machine are at rest the
feed motion is thrown out of gear by disengaging the pawl n³ from the ratchet N²
by means of lever n', as before described, and power is applied by belt to a pulley T
from any shaft outside the machine having fast and loose pulleys with shifting belts,
in order to revolve pulley T in either direction. This pulley T is fast on a short
shaft t (Figures 2, 3, and 6) mounted at one end on a swivel box u hung on two set
screws in a hanger U bolted to the underside of the rear extension B³ of the table B,
the other end of the said shaft being hung in a similar box on a lever V pivoted at v
to the machine frame, and connected by a rod v¹ with a bell crank lever v² pivoted to
the back of table B, whereby the lever V is raised and lowered in order to throw a
pinion (t, Figure 2) on shaft t in or out of gear with the spur wheel N¹, whereby
motion in the proper direction may be transmitted to wheel N, and by it to the
feed screw N and wheels O' to advance or withdraw the face plate as desired. The
face plate is provided, as in the former Patent, with dogs w (Figures 2 and 3) at top

page_text: and bottom sliding in vertical guide ways across the face plate, and operated by
screws w for holding the top and bottom of the log to be cut. Similar dogs moving
in horizontal guide ways are applied to hold the ends of the log. The means of this
Invention for holding down a quantity of thin veneers or planks laid one on the
other to be cut into splints or strips consists of two or more horizontal clamping
bars X (Figures 2 and 4) fixed in sockets at the rear ends, which are fitted to slide
up and down, standards X' rising from the table B and passing at their other ends
freely through vertical slots x (Figures 1 and 3) in the face plate, and projecting
from the face thereof, so as to bear upon the pile of veneers or planks to be held
down. The bars X, as well as the standards X', when cutting up a log into vencers
or boards, are entirely removed, as they are not then required. To clamp bars X
down upon the work, and yet allow the face plate to move more freely back and
forth, the bars X are pressed upon by rollers y (Figure 3) mounted at the sides of
nuts y' traversed up and down vertical screws Y mounted at the back of the face
plate alongside the slots x.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
1st. The mechanism for imparting and controlling the draw motion of the knife
carrying frame, consisting of the wheels k³, k, crank shaft k², and crank rod ki
combined to operate the horizontally sliding blocks K, substantially as shewn and
described.
2nd. The mechanism for holding the face plate firmly up to its work, consisting
in the combination with the face plate M and feed screw N of the screws O and
their nut gears O¹, operated by the feed screw, substantially as shown and described.
3rd. The mechanism for producing the draw back motion of the face plate, con-
sisting of the eccentric r on the rock shaft R connected with the feed screw N, in
combination with the rotary cams q, q¹, between the nut gears O¹ and standards o
operated by the same rock shaft R, substantially as and for the purpose shown and
described.
4th. The mechanism for regulating the rate of feed, consisting in the combination
with the ratchet wheel N of the adjustable stationary ring N8 with segments of
different radius, as set forth, acting on the pawl n³ pivoted to the arm N³, substan-
tially as described and shown in Figures 8, 9, 10.
5th. The combination with the pawl n³ pivoted to arm N³, as described, of the
spring ns and cam lever n' acting on the tail end of the pawl, substantially as and
for the purpose set forth.
6th. The means of producing the quick forward and return movement of the face
plate, consisting in the combination of the adjustable pulley T, pinion t¹, shaft t, and
the lever V with the spur gear N¹, substantially as shown and described.
7th. The counterbalancing of the knife carrying frame C and its chariots D by
weights supported over pulleys and hung within the hollow uprights A, and by
counterweights on the crank wheels, as shown snd described.
8th. The combination with the knife carrying frame C of a presser bar L made
adjustable both vertically and horizontally, as and for the purpose described.
9th. The mechanism L', L², L³, L*, L, applied to the presser bar for rendering its
horizontal adjustment parallel or equal at both ends, substantially as shown and
described.
10th. The application to the front edge of the cutting bed B of a facing strip or
cushion for the knife to cut against, the said strip projecting beyond the line of cut
to support the veneer or board cut off, substantially as described.
11th. Mounting the rollers P on eccentric shafts in the cutting bed B, and gearing
the said shafts together for adjustment, substantially as shown and described.
12th. The combination with the rear extension B³ of the cutting bed, of the
vertical screw threaded supports B', hand wheel nuts B³, and footsteps B6, as and
for the purpose described.

page_text: 13th. The adjustable clamping bars X extending horizontally to the back of the
cutting table, passing through slots in the face plate, and pressed down by screws
and nuts thereon, with rollers to admit of the free to and fro motion of the face
plate, substantially as shown and described.
14th. The combination with the cutting bed of clamping bars X sliding up and
down upon standards rising from the cutting bed, and secured by screws and nuts
on the face plate, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.