AN IMPROVED EQUILIBRIUM SAW FRAME
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Blackett Haigh, of Oldham, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED EQUILIBRIUM
SAW FRAME."
Sealed the 2nd February 1864, and dated the 11th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Blackett Haigh
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th August 1863.
T, WILLIAM BLACKETT HAIGH, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IM-
PROVED EQUILIBRIUM SAW FRAME," to be as follows :-
I make two frames capable of taking in any size of timber, the cranks
being set at half centres moving the frames in opposite directions, and
causing the piston to have equal work at each end of the cylinder, thus
balancing the frames within themselves. I introduce a loose frame in each
side which contains the saws, being thus fixed previous to being fixed in the
fast frame, which is connected at one side to the piston rod and at the other
side to the crank by means of a connecting rod so placed that the pressure of
the cut is divided between the piston rod and the connecting rod, being
peculiarly applicable to Betty saws or machines for cutting wond, iron, or other
metal or material.
I arrange the steam valve so as to be direct acting, having a straight rod
from the eccentric, and is applicable to other steam cylinders by arranging

page_text: the steam ports accordingly. I give the feed by two separate eccentrics con-
nected to palls that gear in two grooved wheels which give motion to fluted
rollers, thus dispensing with rope or chain. The fences being fixed to the
sides of the frame are easily adjusted by set screws. The rollers for keeping
the timber to the fences are connected to two shafts rising at each side of the
frame, at the top of which are two levers fixed to springs by means of two
shafts screwed, sufficiently long to take in various thicknesses of timber. I
also fix a band wheel to each of the said shafts in order to give the necessary
friction against the fences. The holding-down rollers are fixed upon a large
nut, in which is a spring to allow for variation in the sizes of timber or
material to be sawn, the said nut working upon a screw placed in the side of
the frame, a hand wheel being fixed at the top to regulate and adjust the
various sizes of timber or material to be cut, and thus dispense with weights
or ropes.
I also attach to the machine a circular saw, which I call a swing saw, for
cross cutting and other purposes; this saw is so arranged that it will pass
below the table by means of a worm and wheel connected with the swing,
whilst heavy timbers are placed upon the table; tho saw being then set in
motion, and the timber or material being cut, the saw falls back by a reverse
motion, in order to be out of the way whilst the cut timber or material is
removed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Blackett Haigh in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BLACKETT HAIGH, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by ller Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Iler
reign, did, for Herself, Ller heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Blackett 1laigh, Her special license that I, the said
William Blackett Haigh, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Blackett Haigh, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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,

page_text: 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 "AN IMPROVED EQUILIBRIUM SAW FRAME," upon the
condition (amongst others) that 1, the said William Blackett Haigh, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their bands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 Blackett Haigh, 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 (that is to say):-
:-
This Invention consists in various improvements connected to vertical saw
frames employed in sawing planks or balks of-timber to Betty or fret saws for
sawing fretwork, to circular saws for cross cutting or other purposes, and also
to the steam engines by which the saws are worked.
The manner in which my Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by referring to the figures and letters on the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are front and side elevations of my
improved vertical saw frame, and the steam engine for working the saws;
Figs. 3 and 4, detached views of the cylinder, slide box, and slide rod of the
engine; Fig. 5, a side elevation of my improved fret saw; and Fig. 6, a sido
elevation of my improvements connected with circular saws.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a, b, represent two saw frames, capable of taking in any
size of timber, and arranged to slido up and down in guides in the stationary
frame c. The saw frames are connected by connecting rods d, e, to cranks f, g,
set at half centres on the shaft h of the steam engine, in order that the said
frames may move in opposite directions and balance each other, and also
enable the piston of the steam engine to have equal work at all parts of its
stroke. The saw frame a is connected at the front to the piston rod i, and at
the back to the connecting rod d, so that the pressure of the cut is divided
between the piston rod and the said connecting rod, and thereby give equi-
librium to the strain upon the working parts, but when desired the piston rod.
can be at the back and the connecting rods at the front. The shaft of the
steam engine is central with the balf stroke of the piston, and the connecting
rods are brought down from the piston rod to the cranks, which arrangement
saves the length of the connecting rod, and shortens the framework. to a corre-

page_text: sponding extent. I give the feed to the timber in the usual manner by two
separate eccentrics k, working on the crank shaft h, and connected by rods to
palls, working in two grooved wheels m, fixed to the shafts of the fluted
rollers n, on which the timber rests, and the fences o against which the side of
the timber is in contact are adjusted by set screws and fixed to the stationary
frame c. The rollers p for keeping the timber against the fences are con-
nected to two vertical shafts q, working in bearings at each side of the frame c,
and to each shaft is fixed a lever r attached to a springs by a rod t, having a
screw sufficiently long to shift the roller for taking in various thicknesses of
timber, there being on the screw and against the lever a nut in the hand
wheel u, which is turned to shift the lever and roller and givo the necessary
friction against the fence. The holding-down rollers are connected to large
nuts working on screws w in connection with springs, in the usual manner,
for the purpose of adjusting the rollers to the various sizes of timber to be
sawn.
In the steam engines for working the saw frames I place the slide box and
valve at right angles to the length of the cylinder, and arrange the steam
passages accordingly, in order to work the slide direct from the eccentric by a
straight rod.
In Figs. 3 and 4, a' represents the cylinder of the engine; 6', the slide box and
ports; c', the steam passages from the ports to the cylinder; d', the eduction
pipe; and e', the slide rod. The centre of the crank shaft of the steam engine
is level with the centre of the slide rod, and the eccentric rod is connected to
the slide rod either directly or by the intervention of a sliding joint. Theso
arrangements dispense with the rocking shaft and lever hitherto used for
working the slide from an eccentric, and enable the engine to be so simple and
compact as to be well adapted for saw frames. In Betty or fret saws for
sawing fretwork I cause the saw to be in equilibrium with the slide which
carries it, by attaching the connecting rod between the saw and the sliding
part of the slide.
In Fig. 5, representing one of my arrangements of fret saws, f¹ is the frame-
work of the machine; g', the slide; h', the saw; and k', the connecting rod,
which passes through an opening or space in the framework and top part of
the slide, and is jointed at one end, as at l', to the slide between the saw and
the sliding part m³, and at the other end to a ball crank on the bevil wheel n³,
to which revolving motion is given in any desired manner, and as the con.
necting rod moves up and down, it gives up-and-down motion to the slide
without undue friction at any part, and enables the saw and slide to act in
equilibrium.

page_text: I also employ certain improvements connected with a circular saw, to bo
used either separately or in connection with the saw frames before described.
The circular saw is used for cross cutting and other purposes, and instead of
making the hearings stationary which carry the spindle of the saw, I mako
them moveable, so that the saw can be raised and lowered as desired. Theso
improvements are shewn in Fig. 6, in which o' represents the circular saw; p',
the spindle to which it is fixed; and q', the band pulley for driving it. The said
spindle p¹ turns in bearings at one end of the swing lever r', the other end of
which works loose on the shaft s³, which turns in bearings in the framework,
and has at one end the band pulley t. The band passes from any driving
pulley over the carrier pulley u', and around the two pulleys q' and t, and as
the pulley is central with the axis of the swing lover, the length between the
two pulleys is the same at any position of the saw, and the tension of the band
is the same in all positions. In large circular saw frames I move the swing
lever up and down by a worm v³, gearing into a worn wheel or quadrant w',
fixed to the boss of the swing lever r', so that when the worm is turned either
by hand or power one way it will cause the worm wheel or quadrant to
revolve and depress the swing lever and bring the saw below the table a', in
order to prevent accidents when the timber is being placed on the table, and
when the worm is turned the other way it will bring up the saw and cut
the timber as it rises, and after the timber has been cut the saw can be again
lowered to be out of the way during the removal of the cut timber. In smaller
saw frames the swing lever is moved up and down by a screw and nut or other
convenient means.
The fence or guide and the other parts of the machine not shewn in the
Drawings are made in the usual manner.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood
that I claim,-
First, the improved system of placing two saw frames opposite each other
and connecting them by a piston rod at the front and connecting rods at the
back, or vice versa, to the crank shaft of the steam engine, for the purpose
of enabling them to be evenly balanced, and making an equilibrium saw
frame.
Secondly, the improved position of the slide valve and slide box of steam
cylinders for enabling the eccentric to act directly on the valve.
Thirdly, the improved mode of working fret saws by attaching the top of the
connecting rod between the saw and the sliding part of the slide to which the
saw is attached.

page_text: And, fourthly, the improved mode of attaching a circular saw to a swing
frame, for the purpose of raising and lowering the saw as required and giving
uniform tension to the band, as all such improvements are herein described
and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Blackett Haigh, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
WILLIAM BLACKETT HAIGH. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named William Blackett
Haigh, in the presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.