IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR WORKING Wood
Year: 1840

page_text: ⚫ TO ALL TO WHOM 'THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HICKLING BURNETT, of Wharton Street, Bagnigge Wells Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman; send greeting..
:
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the fourth year of Her
reign, did,. for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Hickling Burnett, Her especial license, that I, "the said
William Hickling Burnett, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Hickling Burnett, my exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within 'England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR WORKING
Wood;" in which said 'Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me,
the said William Hickling Burnett, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what. manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and 'immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Hickling Burnett, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
İnvention, and the mode of using the same, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the various Sheets of Drawings annexed, and to the letters or figures of
indication marked thereon, which letters or figures in the description and
different views of each distinct object, whensoever they occur, are used to
designate like parts; but it is to be observed that as there are several distinct
objects, so are there several such series of letters or figures.
My Invention consists of the following parts:-1st. An improved system
of guides to boards or scantlings of wood, whilst passing through wood
cutting machines. 2nd. An improved mode of elevating and depressing
the upper pair or pairs of rollers in these machines, when the wood is carried
forward by their means. 3rd. An improved mode of admitting oil to the
working parts or bearings of cutters, circular saws, shafts, and spindles
generally. 4th. An improved tool for sawing and dividing, which is so
formed as to cut the wood asunder and plane it at the same time; this
improvement applies also to veneer saws. 5th. The application of the last-
named tools in conjunction with two or more sets of circular, plain, or moulding
cutters to form simultaneously two or more strips of moulded or planed wood
from one board or scantling. 6th. An improved mode of forming moulding
and other cutters. 7th. A machine for preparing deals and baulks of timber
for sawing by trimming and squaring one or more of their sides, which
machine is also adapted for shooting the edges of boards previous to gluing up,
and is intended to be used in some cases as a planing machine. 8th and 9th.
Two machines for similar purposes, and which are also moulding machines.
When the Drawings are made to a particular scale, it will be mentioned in
the course of the description, or will be shown on the Drawings if needed, and
it will be that which is most generally useful; but as in many cases it may
be desirable, and is easy to increase or diminish that scale, or to alter the
relative sizes of the various parts, I by no means bind myself to any particular
dimensions; and although I frequently name the materials of which different
parts, are to be made, I do not confine myself to them, as they will: often
require to be varied from economical and other causes.
observed that the spur and bevil wheels are only drawn to the pitch line, the
teeth not being shown, in order to simplify the Figures.
It will also be
I shall now describe in order the various objects which compose my Inven-
tion, beginning with the improved system of guides or guages. Figures
1, 2, 3 and 4, Sheet 1, represent this portion of the Invention, drawn to one

page_text: fourth of the real size, when adapted to wood of six inches square in section,
or any smaller dimensions; for larger sized wood this apparatus would require
proportionate enlargement.
In Sheet No. 1, Figure 1'is a section taken on the line a, a, a, Figure 3.
Figure 2 a section taken on the line b, b, Figure 1. Figure 3 a.top view of
the sliding guides. In
the system of guides. Figure 4 a side view of one of
Figure 1 is shown to the right hand the front, and to the left hand the back
of one of the guides, and in Figure 3 the right-hand pair of sliding guides is
removed in. order to shew the bed on which they travel. a is the general
framing. of the machine to which these guides are applied. It is indicated
in red lines as its form will vary in different machines, as will that portion of
the bed of the sliding guides which merely serves to form an attachment to
this framing. 6 is a strong metal frame bolted to and placed across and within
the frames of the machine. This frame forms the bed on which the guides
will slide, and is shaped accordingly, as may be seen by the Figures, but most
clearly at Figure 1, at b¹. c, c', are poppet heads forming the guides, the
pair c being fixed and the pair c' moveable. dare sliding slips of gun metal
screwed to the under side of the poppets, holding them in place on the sliding
bed, and are similar to the strips of the slide rest of a turning lathe. By
advancing c towards c, in the manner hereafter described, the wood W will
be firmly pressed upon the faces of c,, and thus guided sideways. It is also
held at the top by moveable pieces which slide upon the inner vertical faces
of the guide poppets c and c', and these moveable pieces are also adjustable
at pleasure. The mode of effecting these operations I shall now describe.
referring to the Drawings, and more especially to the top view, on either side
of the machine will be observed shafts e, f, supported by and turning in
brackets e and f', fixed to the ends of the beds of the cross frame b. On
these shafts are keyed handle wheels and f, with which respectively the
workman can turn these shafts, on the ends of which are fixed bevil wheels
g, h, gearing into corresponding bevil wheels g', h', fixed on shafts and screws
placed within the beds of the slides, which screws and shafts are the means of
adjusting the slides.
The handle wheel. e adjusts the vertical guides, and the
handle adjusts the horizontal guides. This being understood it will only be
necessary to follow the movements in one pair of the slides, the others.
being perfectly similar and simultaneously arranged, in order thoroughly to
understand the movement, and it is in the transverse section at Figure 2
that it will be best seen. The handle wheel e 2 being turned, communicates
motion, by means of the bevil wheels already indicated, to shafts i, placed
within the bed b, directly under the centre of the poppets or guides c, c. On
In

page_text: each of these shafts are two bevil wheels j, h. Motion is given from j
through a corresponding bevil wheel j', to the vertical slide on the fixed
poppet e, and through another bevil wheel k', corresponding with the bevil
wheel k, to the vertical slides on the moveable poppets c'. But as it is
necessary in every position of the moveable poppets c' that the wheels.k, k,
should remain constantly in gear, is supported by a bracket from the
under side c', and by it is carried along on the shaft i, the wheel k being in
the meantime prevented from turning otherwise than with the shaft i, by
means of feathered grooves. The wheel may be supported by a similar
Bracket to that already described, from the under side of the fixed poppet, and
it is thus also that the shaft itself is supported. The wheels j', k', are fixed
on vertical screws 1, and it is by turning these screws that the vertical
pressure guides are made to act. The wood W, in going through the system,
of guides, rests at the edges of its under surface on strips of metal projecting
from the lower part of the vertical faces of the poppets c, c', best indicated in
the transverse section, Figure 2, and is pressed upon at the top by the sliding,
plates m, which are adjusted as to 'distance by turning the handle wheel e².
These sliding pieces m are screwed to boxes of 'gun metal m', and together
with them work up and down in vertical grooves formed in the poppets..
These boxes are hollowed out in the interior, in order to receive the apparatus
which I shall now describe, and liave caps or covers m² screwed upon them.
Through these boxes and through hollow screws n in their covers, pass freely the
vertical screws already mentioned. Upon are nuts, which are prevented
from turning, but have full power to ascend and descend by means of grooves.
and feathers made on them and inside the boxes m'. The screws / being
made to revolve, will thus work the nuts up and down. , as will be seen
in the Drawing, are formed with flanges at their upper part, between which
and the bottom of the boxes m' are placed strong spiral springs o. The
relative positions of all these objects being duly observed, it will be easy.to
understand their operation, which is as follows:-The capstan headed hollow
screws being turned down, compress the spiral springs o, by drawing up
the hollow boxes m', and with them the spiral springs, against the flanges of
the nuts, and thus compressing the said springs to any degree of stiffness;
then when the wood has entered within the machine, by turning the wheel
handle e, already described, the box m', with its attached clipping pieces m,
is made to descend and press firmly on the wood, to any inequality of which
it will nevertheless rise and fall, and accommodate itself, by means of the
elasticity of the springs. The mode in which the side guides c' are adjusted
is similar in principle to the foregoing. The handle wheelf being turned,

page_text: causes, by means of the bevil wheels already described, the screws p, also
placed within the bed, and under the slides c¹ to revolve. These screws, pass
through nuts q, formed with a flange, in which is a groove fitting a feather
projecting from the bottom face of the poppet. This groove and feather allow
the nut q to travel backwards and forwards, but prevent it from turning,
consequently, when the screw, p is made to revolve, the nut q will advance or
recede. On the bottom of the sliding poppet c' is cast a boss, r, through
which the body of the nut can pass, but not the flange, and when a spiral
spring s is placed over the body of the nut, the flange and this boss form its
two abutments. The working of these parts can now be explained. When
the wood W is entered between the guides cand c', the handle must be
turned, by doing which the flange of the nut q presses upon the spiral spring
8, which in its turn is forced, against the boss r, and thus presses the, sliding
poppet c firmly against the wood, keeping. it steadily against the faces of c.
At the same time although the pressure is constant, the spiral springs yield
and thus accommodate the distance between the faces of the slides c, c', to
any inequality in the thickness of the wood.
I shall now describe my improved mode of adjusting the upper pair
or pairs of rollers in wood cutting machines. In Sheet No. 2, Figure
1 is a top view, Figure 2 a section on the line a, a, Figures 1 and
2. Figure 3 a section on the line b, b, Figure 1. The letters a
show the general framing of the machine, and a¹
the top or cross
frame. The design and position of these frames will of course vary with the
particular machines to which this arrangement may be applied, but when the
principle of adjustment is understood it will be easy, for any competent
mechanic to apply it wheresoever needed. In the general upright frames A
are slots or grooves, in which are the bearing blocks of the rollers. The
lower rollers are shewn at b, and the upper ones at c. The bearing blocks, b¹
of the rollers b, are fixed; the bearing blocks cof the upper roller c are move-
able, and are made to slide in the grooves in the frames a, in which they are
accurately fitted. The object of this power to slide is to enable the workman
to adjust the distance between the upper and lower rollers to the thickness of
the wood upon which he is about to operate. The adjustment is effected in
the following manner, and is best seen in Figure 1-The squared for
handle to be placed upon the end of the axis e, which is supported in bearings
raised above and from the cross framing a', upon being turned gives motion,
by means of the bevil wheelf, to the bevil wheel g. This bevil wheel. g. is
keyed into the spur. wheel h, and with it moves upon the upright axis i. This
ą

page_text: spur wheel h gears into the four smaller spur wheels j, and turns them. The
wheels are accurately fitted, and work in sockets in the cross frame a¹; they
are tapped with female screws, and through them pass the male screws k.
The screws are hollow and are fixed at the bottom into the blocks k¹, which
have the power of sliding up and down the grooves in the upright frame a,
but have not the power of turning; when therefore the wheels j are made to
revolve, the hollow screws k must ascend or descend, carrying with them the
blocks k¹. These blocks press upon powerful spiral springs placed on the
top of the bearing blocks c¹ of the rollers c. Through the centre of these
springs, and of the hollow screws k, are rods l, fixed at the bottom into the
bearing blocks c', and formed into screws at their upper end. On these screws
are capstan-headed nuts l', which being properly turned tend to elevate the
rods l, and thus to compress between the bearing block c' and the sliding
block the spiral springs n, and to give them any requisite degree of
stiffness. It will be easy now to understand the arrangement. The springs
being compressed sufficiently the wood W is introduced between the rollers,
the upper pair of which is then lowered by turning the handle at d, and
forced down sufficiently firmly to bite the wood, and still further to compress
the spiral springs, which from their elasticity then allow the rollers slightly to
rise and fall to accommodate themselves to any variation that may exist in the
thickness of the wood W. As but a trifling degree of play need be allowed
to the upper pair of rollers, it is obvious that when once set, any quantity of
the same sized wood can be passed through them by merely introducing the
end of each piece between the first pair of rollers, which when revolving
will seize it and carry it forward. The manner in which the rollers are made
to revolve, whatever may be the position of the upper one, I shall now describe.
o is one of two shafts, both of which are seen in plan o, o, Figure 1, which
are driven by any means that may be most suitable from the first mover in
the machine. These shafts being set in motion, turn the lower rollers b by
means of a pair of bevil wheels p and p¹; p being fixed on the axis o, and p
on the ends of the shafts of the rollers b, which ends project their bearings
outside of the framing a. The upper rollers c are turned in a similar
manner by means of bevil wheels q, q, q, being upon the vertical axes o, and
7 being keyed to the projecting ends of the upper roller shafts; but as the
position of the upper rollers c must vary according to the thickness of the
wood operated on, the bevil wheels g, instead of being fixed are made to slide
upon the vertical axes o, and are prevented from turning upon them by
feathers and grooves. In order to keep them always properly in gear with

page_text: q', forked arms q³, forming bearings round throats in the bevil wheels q, are
fixed to the sliding blocks c', and consequently as those blocks ascend and
descend carry the bevil wheels q up and down the axes o along with them.
The next part of my Invention consists in an improved mode of admitting
oil to the working parts or bearings of cutters, circular saws, shafts, and
spindles, generally by means of what I call an improved oil cup. In Sheet 1,
Figure 5 is a. front view, and Figure 6 a section of the said cup. In the
improved oil cup a is. the part of. the cup into which the oil is placed;"
bis. the tube through which it is conveyed to the bearings. This tube is
intercepted by. a cock c, the object of which is to allow any required number
of drops per minute to fall from the nipple d into the tube or channel which
leads it to the bearings required to be oiled. . This cock is turned with the
necessary precision in the following manner:-Upon the shaft of the cock c
is accurately fitted a segment of a toothed wheel e, which is moved round in
either direction by the endless screw f, which is supported in bearings in the
brackets g attached to the base of the cup, and which is set in motion by.
means the milled headed nut h. Upon the face of the wheel.e just men-
tioned is a small projecting stud shewn at i. j.j.j, is the handle of the
cock c.
The action of the apparatus may now be understood; it is as
follows: By turning with the milled nut the, screw f, the wheel e, which
carries the stud i upon. it, will be slowly turned, and may be moved any the
smallest quantity that may be needed, and by pressing the handle of the
cock cupon the stud i as it moves, the opening in the cock, through which the
oil will flow, may be so adjusted as to allow any number of drops per minute
to fall from the nipple d into the tube or channel which conveys the oil to
the bearing requiring lubrication. When once the opening is properly
adjusted as described by the endless screw and cock handle, it will only be
necessary for the workman afterwards to turn up the handle of the cock c
at. night, or when he wishes to prevent the oil from running, and upon
returning to work he will only have to press the handle down upon the stud,
when the same quantity of oil will flow as he had at first adjusted. k is a
wedge passing through the cock c, which keeps the screwed wheel e in place;
the oil being supplied at intervals in drops falls into any convenient channel to
convey it to the bearing, and the base of the oil cup is so arranged that the
workman may see the drops fall, being open at 7. In all those cases where.
the spindle turns upon centres, a channel is formed through their axes, as
shown at m, down which the oil flows into the female centre of the spindle,
which by the centrifugal force generated by its rotation draws the oil out, and.
well lubricates the working parts.

page_text: The improved tool for sawing or dividing wood is shown at Figures 7, 8,
and 9, Sheet 1. It consists of a circular saw, which is put on a spindle in
the ordinary way. At any part of the saw blade, as near as possible to the
periphery as is consistent with strength and stiffness; side cutters a and b are
formed, either from the blade of the saw itself, as shewn in the Figures, or by
a separate attachment to that blade. Tliese cutters are sharpened to the
same angle as a plane iron, and their edges project sufficiently beyond the
set of the teeth of the saw to take off a fine shaving after the wood is divided
by the saw, which it will do on account of its being nearer to the centre than
the teeth of the saw. I prefer placing one only of these cutters on each face
of the saw, thus forming for either side a single finishing tool, for where more
than one is used it is difficult to make their edges range well with each other,
and more especially when placed at much distance from each other, as, in that
case, if the saw be not perfectly true the marks of each tool will appear on
the surface of the wood. I do not however confine myself to one only of
these cutters, as in some instances it may be expedient to use more, particu-
larly in the case of veneers, as is shewn in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 2, in which
case also they sometimes with advantage may be set at different distances from
the centre and with different degrees of rankness. Figure 7, Sheet 1, is a
side view, and Figure 8 an edge view of one of these saws, where a is the
front or cutting side, and 6 the back of one of these smoothing tools. The
red lines at c shew the form of the section of the tool. It will be perceived
that it is cut away at the back in order to allow us much room as possible for
the fine shaving to pass out, which is taken off at each revolution. When
the tool is blunt it must be sharpened with a Turkey slip, or any other conve-
nient means, and set forward as the teeth of a saw are as much as may be.
needed. The angle at which these tools are set will vary according to circum-
stances; it may be a radial line or with the inclination shewn at Figure 7, or.
the inclination may be even as much on the other side of the radial line, as:
shewn at Figure 9. If the saw be cutting in the same direction as the wood
travels, I prefer the angle shewn at Figure 7, but if it be cutting against the
wood, I prefer that shown at Figure 9.
the smoothing tool may extend nearly to
through, as shewn at Figure 9, Sheet 1.
hard woods are used of which the grain is very uneven, it will be sometimes
expedient, in lieu of a tool with a smooth edge, to use one made like Figure 4
and 5, Sheet 2, where a is the front view, b.the back view of the cutters; it
is formed-with fine ribs similar to an ordinary float file, and operates as a
species of cireular rasp, and will be found to give a very smooth face without
Where the saw blade is pretty stiff
the periphery, which may be cut
For cutting veneers, and where

page_text: the same danger of dragging into the grain of the wood, and thus showing
inequalities which may occur sometimes with the other tool where the grain
of the wood is very uneven. This tool is sharpened and set forward in the
same manner as before described. When two or more of the dividing saws
are placed upon a common spindle, with washers between them, they will rip
up boards into smaller strips or scantlings, and will at the same time smooth
the faces they have cut; but if, instead of washers, blocks with plane or
moulded circular cutters. be placed between them, the upper and under. faces
may at the same time be prepared, and thus several moulded or plain strips
may be cut simultaneously. Such an arrangement is shown at Figure 6,
Sheet 2, where the parts marked a are the dividing tools, and 6 the circular
cutters, which in this case are plain.; mouldings cutters may however be
substituted where needed. When it is wished. to work complex mouldings,
two or more blocks may be placed side by side, and the whole made firm by a
nut working on a corresponding screw cut in the spindle c; at the other side
of the blocks on the spindle is formed a collar c¹, against which the blocks:
are held by the nut d.
The improved arrangement of circular cutters is shewn at Figures 7 to 14,
Sheet 2, as there shown, they are of the form required for sash bars, but: they
can easily be made of any other required shape. In these Figures a is the block
of gun metal on which the cutters are fastened; through this block is the hole
b, which is accurately fitted on a spindle and prevented from turning by means
of grooves and feathers. The cutters are shewn at g, and separately at Figures
9 and 10, where Figure 9' is the flat view and Figure 10 the edge view of the
cutters; they are made out of thin plates of steel and are screwed between two
other plates h and i worked to the same form as the cutters themselves, but so
arranged as to leave the cutters projecting beyond' them about.the twentieth part
of an inch. The lower of these plates h, seen also detached in top and edge view at
Figures 11 and 12, may be made of steel or wrought iron, and serves the purpose
of double iron in an ordinary plane, and at the same time stiffens the steel blade
in its under side. The upper of these plates i may be of gun metal, and is
formed with a boss on its under side to receive the head of the screw j. This
plate is shewn detached in Figures 13 and 14. It will be seen that the cutter
and the under plate are made to slip over this boss, and when the whole are
together they are firmly fixed to the gun-metal block by means of thei screw J.
The arrangement when in place is shewn in dotted lines at Figure 7. When.
the cutters require to be sharpened they are pushed slightly forward and
lapped to their correct form. Throughout these Drawings the wood is shewn
in red lines and is marked W.

page_text: I shall now describe a machine. for preparing deals and baulks of timber
for sawing by trimming and squaring one or more of their sides, and, which is
also adapted for a planeing machine. This machine is shewn in Sheet 3, where
Figure 1. to the left hand of the centre is a front view, and to the right of
hand of the centre a back view of the machine. Figure 2 is a top view, with
half, the sliding bed removed. Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line
a, a, Figure 1. Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line b, b, Figure 1:
Figure. 5 is a transverse section on the line c, c, Figure 1. B shows the
brickwork on, which the machine stands, and W the wood operated on.
These I have put in with red. lines, in order to distinguish them. from the
machine itself. In this machine the wood is placed upon a metal bed, similar
to that of a planing machine," which bed is moved by a rack and pinion, or any
other convenient means, and slides upon V pieces firmly screwed to the floor..
Upon this bed is an apparatus for holding the wood in place whilst under the.
operation of the.cutter. a are the V pieces. is the sliding bed, which is
made perfectly flat and true, upon.its upper surface, where the wood is placed,
in order to secure which the following arrangements exist:-c are poppets.
screwed. to the sliding bed; their inner faces are perfectly true and vertical, and
they are formed upon the edges adjoining those faces, like the portions of an
ordinary sliding rest, on which the slides move, and they act in the same
manner. To these faces are accurately fitted, by means of gun metal strips d,
the cast iron beam e. The strips d are best seen at Figure 1, in the half back
view of the machine, and the manner in which they are screwed to the beam e
is there shewn. This beam is moved up and down by means of screws and
nuts, which will presently be described, and serves to clip the wood upon its.
upper surface. The wood is operated upon on. one of its side faces, as in.
the case of a. veneer saw, which side face is made to project a little beyond the,
edge of the sliding table, up to the cutters.. It is backed on the opposite, side,
and advanced, if needed, by pieces of metal f, which are made to slide across
the bed by means of nuts and screws hereafter described. The object of the
peculiar form of these pieces, and of the clipping bar e, can now be understood.
It is that they may be able to secure the wood at the back and top, whatever.
its dimensions, and this they have the power of doing by intersecting one
another. It will be perceived, if their form be examined, that e can be made.
to ascend and descend nearly close to the bed, without at all interfering with
the sliding pieces f, which also can be moved backwards and forwards to within
an inch or two of the edge of the table, without coming in the way of the
clipping bar e, wherever it may be. It will be perceived that in each there.
are alternate solid portions and openings, which just clear, each other, and thus

page_text: the two may be moved to any required place. On the bottom face of the pro-
jecting portions of e, which clip the wood, are powerful flat springs g; which
fall into any inequality that may exist in the thickness of the wood, and thus
secure it at more points than would otherwise be the case.
I shall now
describe the mode of adjusting e and f, beginning with the piece. e. It has
already been said that e is attached by sliding strips to the faces of the poppet's
c, and travels upon them. To give them motion nuts h are fixed to the back
of the beam e, and within the bed of the poppets, which are made open, in
order to allow them. freedom of motion. Through these nuts pass screws i,
which, being turned, raise or depress the nuts h, and with them the
piece e, in a similar manner to that which carries backward and forward
the slide of an ordinary slide rest, and these screws have collars and plates
formed to keep them in place, as in those tools. It is of course necessary to
the parallel action of the bar e, that all the screws i should be made to move
simultaneously. This is effected by means of an endless screw. j are the
endless screw wheels keyed to the projecting ends of the screws i, and k is a
shaft turned by a handle or wheel k¹, on which are the screws 1, which work
them. This shaft is supported in bearings from the top of the poppets c, and
being set in motion by the handle wheel, causes the required rising or falling
of the bar e. The pieces are moved forwards by an arrangement in all
respects similar, but worked on the face of the sliding bed instead of on the
poppets. It will be sufficient therefore to refer to the marks on each portion,
and to examine the Drawings to understood the movement. m are the nuts;
n, the screws; o, the endless screw wheels; p, the screwed shaft, supported by
brackets attached to the side of the sliding bed; and p' the turning handle.
The sliding bed b, as before observed, may be moved by a chain, a rack or
pinion, or any other convenient means. A rack motion is shewn. 7 is a fixed
and a loose pulley on the shaft q, which is supported in plummer blocks
from the floor. An endless band from the drum of the main driving shaft is
passed over the fixed pulley where the bed is to be set in motion. On the
shaft q is a pinion r gearing into a spur wheel 71, keyed on the shaft r, on
which is the pinion s, which works in the rack s', attached to the under face of
the sliding bed. The velocity with which the bed will travel must of course
be governed by the relative dimensions of these wheels and pinions and the
driving drums to each other, and of whole to the speed of the circular plane,
and the number of its cutting tools. The circular plane or cutter chuck, and
its driving apparatus, is shewn in position in the different Figures, where t
represents the chuck, having gouges, chisels, or other cutting tools fixed to its
periphery, or projecting slightly beyond its inner face. These tools are shewn

page_text: at t. The chuck t is screwed to. the shaft t, which is firmly supported by
plummer blocks bolted to the floor. On this shaft t are two pulleys, one fixed,
the other loose. The former is shewn at u, the latter at u¹. An endless
band from a drum on the main. driving shaft being passed over the pulley u
.will cause the cutter chuck to revolve, and thus plane the surface of the wood
which is presented to it by the motion of the sliding bed; when one face of the
wood has been planed it may be turned over, and another face be operated
on, or another log. may be substituted.
The next machine to be explained is for the same purposes as that last
described, but it may also be used for cutting mouldings in skirtings, cornices,
&c. and for ripping up boards by substituting. circular saws, or the dividing
tool previously described for the other cutters. In Sheet 4, Figure 1 is a side
view, Figure 2 a top view, Figure 3 an end view, Figure 4 a transverse
section through the centre of the machine. Figure 5 a. view of the bottom
of the sliding bed of this. machine. a is a bed firmly bolted to the floor,
having formed. on its upper side, on which the table will slide. This
sliding bed and table are placed between the main frames of, the machine,
which are indicated by the letters. c. is a cross frame bolted to the top of
these uprights c. The action of this machine is as follows:-The wood is
secured to the sliding table, as hereafter described, and is carried forward with
that table by a chain, rack, and pinion, or other convenient means. Above it,
and between the upright frames, circular cutters, similar to those delineated
in the foregoing Sheets, or for other forms, are made to revolve and adze it
to the required shape whilst advancing with the table, and along the slides.
In order to accommodate the machine to different scantlings of wood, a provi-
sion is made for elevating or depressing the cutters any needful quantity.
This being premised will render more comprehensible the following description.
Motion is given to the table.b as follows:-d is a fixed and d'a loose pulley
on the shaft d³; an endless strap from a drum on the main driving shaft being
placed on the former of these pulleys, communicates motion by means of
a pinion e to the wheel e¹, affixed to the shaft e², on which is a second pinion f
gearing into the spur wheel on the shaft f. On f2 is the pinion g, under
the bed of the machine, which takes into the rack g', screwed to the bottom of
the sliding bed. These shafts are properly supported by plummer blocks fixed
to the floor, as shewn in the Drawings. The wood may be held on the bed by
dogs and bolts, as in a metal planing machine, but I much prefer, and
therefore shew the arrangement which is seen more or less in all the views,
but more clearly in the top view at Figure 2, and in the bottom view of the
bed at Figure 5. h are bars of metal worked true upon their inner and lower

page_text: faces. They are placed upon the upper surface of the bed, and clip the wood
between them when properly arranged and adjusted. In the top of the table
are cut three grooves or slots, through which pass nuts i, attached to the
clipping pieces, which nuts are tapped with female screws, through which pass.
the male screws j. These screws are half.right and half left handed, and on
being turned simultaneously, cause the nuts, and consequently the parallel bars
to which they are attached, to advance towards or recede from each other. In
Figure 5 the mode in which they are simultaneously turned is shewn. On.
the centre of the three screws j, at one end is a projecting portion seen at
j', on which a turning handle is placed, when required, by which it is moved
to the right or left. This screw, as well as the other, is supported by a
bracket from the under side of the table, and by the nuts through which they
pass. On the handle end of this centre screw is a bevil wheel k, gearing into
other bevil wheels on either side of it. These bevil wheels are keyed to
a shaft k², also supported by brackets from the under side of the table. Upon
the other end of these shafts are similar bevil. wheels 7, which pair with and
gear into others fixed on the right and left hand screw's j¹. Thus, by turning
the centre screw, all the screws will be simultaneously moved, and consequently.
the parallel bars can be equally advanced towards each other, and thus be
made to clip and firmly hold the wood intended to be operated on.-The mode of,
elevating and depressing, as well as of turning the cutters, will now be indi-.
cated. m are blocks of metal, having flanges on the inner side accurately
fitted, and sliding in slots formed in the upright frames c.
m¹ are plates.
corresponding in form with m, and which are screwed to them, and form the
external flanges of the sliding blocks. It is through these blocks, which form.
in fact the mandril and dead centre heads, that the centres pass which give.
motion to and support the cutters. n is the mandril working in steel collars
outside of the machine. On the projecting end of the mandril are two pulleys
0, 0¹. o is fixed to the mandril, but o' is loose. An endless strap from the
main driving drum being stretched over the fixed pulley, will turn this
mandril, and with it the cutter which is shewn at p. This cutter may be plain
or shaped for cutting mouldings, or may have circular saws placed upon its,
spindle, which turns between the centres of the mandril, and a corresponding.
dead centre in the sliding block in the opposite frame. This dead centre is:
shewn at 'q. It is moved forwards into the cup of the spindle by a screw
turned by 'the handle q¹. "An inspection of the Drawing will at once make.
this arrangement intelligible, as it is quite similar to that of the back
centre of a turning lathe. The cutters are driven by a carrier from the.
mandril, similar to that used by turners. It is shown at r-It now:

page_text: only remains to show how the blocks in which the mandril and dead centres
are fixed are elevated and depressed. s is a handle wheel keyed on
the shaft s', which works in bearings formed on the top of the cross frame
c. On either end of this shaft is keyed a bevil wheel t, which gears into
another bevil wheel t¹. The necks of these wheels are accurately fitted in
holes in the cross frame, and have plates screwed to their under sides to keep
them. there. They are tapped with female screws, through which pass the male
screws u, in the lower ends of which are fixed in the tops of the sliding blocks.
Therefore, the handle wheel being turned sets the bevil wheels t¹ in motion,
which by their revolution simultaneously elevate or depress the sliding blocks.
Instead of circular cutters a cradle may be fixed between the sliding blocks m,
in which moulding and other planes of wood or metal may be fixed, and then
lowered down upon the wood, which being passed under it will have a shaving
or shavings removed, and by repeating the operation, and each time. the wood
passes slightly lowering the cradle with. its plane, by means of the handle s,
strips or blocks of wood may be fashioned as required; but as this would be
a long process, it would be better to have another pair of standards, similar to
c, behind the circular cutters, in order to carry the carriage and its plane, the
irons of which being made to correspond with the circular cutters, would take
off a shaving and finish the work. The wood operated upon is shown in red,
and figured W.
The next and last portion of my Invention also has for its object the forma-
tion of running articles in woodwork, whether plain or moulded, but the
principle of its action is altogether unlike that of the other machines, for in
them the wood was advanced up to the cutting tool, whereas in this machine
the wood is stationary, and the cutters travel over it, and whilst so doing fashion
its surface.
In Sheet 5, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, Figure 2 a-top view,
Figure 3 a transverse section on the line a, a. Figure 4 a side elevation, and
Figure 5 a transverse section on the line b, b. The machine consists of a fixed
bed, on which another bed. travels. This latter bed serves to support the
drums, the planes, and the mechanism,
There are also a rising and falling
circular cutting tools and their driving
with its pulleys which gives it motion.
table on which the wood is placed, and moveable side plates which hold the
wood. The rising and falling table is for the purpose of bringing the wood,
whatever its thickness, to its due position with regard to the cutting tools.
a shows the fixed bed upon which the moveable bed 6 travels.
On bare
shown at the various plummer blocks which form the bearings, of the
principal working parts.
It will be seen that across this bed are shafts,

page_text: between which are the circular cutters, and that on these shafts on each side
of the machine is a pair of pulleys. The pair of pulleys marked c, c', on tlie
shaft propel the bed, and the pair d, d', on the shaft d, drives the cutters;
c and d are the fixed pulleys, c¹ and d¹ the loose ones. An endless strap from
the main driver being passed over the pulley c'will turn it. At the further
end of its shaft c is a pinión e gearing into a wheel f; this wheel is keyed to
the shaft, on each of which is a bevil wheel g gearing into a corresponding
bevil wheel g. These bevil wheels g' are fixed on the ends of small vertical
shafts gå, at the lower portions of which are small pinions ; these pinions take
into racks h¹ screwed firmly to cach side of the fixed bed. When the pulley C
is turned the pinions will thus, through the intermediate gear, work the
travelling bed along from end to end. The straps must of course be so
arranged as to keep a constant and even pressure on the pulleys on
either side of the machine, notwithstanding their change of position, an
adjustment casily effected, but which it would be useless to show, as it
must vary in every workshop according to the relative position of the
main driver and the machine. On the opposite side of the travelling bed
to that on which are the pulleys last described is the other pair of pulleys
d and d. The duty of one of these d keyed on the shaft & is to drive the
circular cutters i, which may at pleasure be plane or moulded, or may have an
arrangement of saws according to the work required to be executed; these
cutters are on their own spindle, as is best seen in the transverse section at b, b.
The spindle is also supported in its own plummer blocks, between one of which
and one of the plummer blocks of the shaft d² is a driver and carrier j,
similar to that of a turning lathe, which enables the pulley. shaft to take the
cutters round, but the arrangement of the cutter spindle allows it to be removed
and exchanged at pleasure. To prevent thin boards from springing upwards to
the cut, weighted rollers are placed before and behind it, and travel with it.
They are shown at k, and their weights at ; are cross bars screwed to the
main frame through which the rods of the weighted rollers pass. Springs,
similar to those shown in Sheet 2, may, if preferred, be used instead of weights.
Across the frame and behind the circular cutters, are bars of metal which
form a cradle to support planes similar to carpenters' planes, of wood or metal.
The blocks of these planes are shewn at 1, and their irons at 7. When the
irons are duly adjusted as to rankness of cut, the plane is put into the cradle,
which is open at the bottom, with the exception of two longitudinal fillets on
which the plane will rest. These fillets must of course be wider apart than
the breadth of the plane iron, and the plane itself must have rebates sunk
along its side edges to fit over these fillets, so that the cutting edges' may be

page_text: below them, and the other portions of the cradle and the plane is held firmly,
and prevented from rising by bars m stretched across it, or by any other con-
venient means. These planes being properly placed will follow the circular
cutters, and remove one or more shavings after the wood has been adzed to
its form by them. It is obvious that the circular cutters or the planes may, if
desired, be used alone, but for quantity of work and finish combined the two
in conjunction are preferable. As the thickness of the wood operated on will
vary, and as the position of the cutters is constant, the table on which the wood
will be placed is made to rise or fall by turning a handle, thus enabling the
workman to bring the, face of his wood in proper position with regard to the
cutting tools. Another apparatus is provided to clip the wood sideways, and
hold it firmly whilst under the operation of the cutting tools. Both of these I
shall now-describe, beginning with the moveable table. n shows the table.
Its form is best seen in the top view, by referring to which it will be perceived
that, with the exception of a central rib, it has alternately solid and open
portions. These last are to admit of the approximation towards cach other of
the side clipping. pieces hereafter described. In the longitudinal section and
the transverse one taken on the line b, b, the mode of supporting, and moving
the table is shown; at a¹ are cross portions of the fixed bed. To these are
bolted pendants of metal shown at o, which are bored up their centres in order
to receive screwed rods o', which are well fitted, and slide up and down in
them. These screwed rods are firmly fixed at their upper ends into the-bottom
of the table n. If all these rods be elevated or depressed equal portions in
equal times, they will cause the table n to which they are affixed equally to
ascend or descend. This is effected as follows:-In the cross portions a¹ of
the bed a, immediately under the centre of the table and above the holes in
the pendant-o, other holes are bored in which are accurately fitted the throats
of bevil wheels p; these bevil wheels are secured in place in the cross frame
by caps on their upper sides, and can thus turn freely, and at the same time
remain firmly in place. These bevil wheels are tapped with female screws
through which pass the screws o¹, which are. keyed at their upper end in the
table n.
It is obvious, therefore, that if all the bevil wheels pare-simultane-
ously turned they will lift the screws, and with them the table. p are other
bevil wheels pairing with and gearing into p; they are keyed on shafts p³,
supported in bearings in the fixed bed, the ends of which project outside of the
fixed bed, and have endless screw wheels q fixed on them. A shaft q²,
having screwed portions q¹ which work these endless screws wheels, is supported
in bearings fixed to the side of the bed a, and is turned by a handle wheel q³;
this it is which gives motion to the whole, and it will be easily understood by any.

page_text: person who has followed the description of this movement how by it the work-
man can elevate or depress the table any required quantity.The last portion
of this machine requiring description is that for holding the wood. r is a
handle wheel on the opposite side of the bed to that last described, keyed
on the shaft, in which are various portions of screws, r³, which work
the endless screw. wheels -³. These wheels are keyed to the projecting
ends of screws s, which go across the bed inside of the portions a'.
These screws are half right and half left handed, and on them are nuts s'
which are screwed to the poppets t. It is the vertical faces of these
poppets which clip the wood sideways, and hold it firmly whilst under the
operation of the cutters. The cross portions of the fixed bed a², on which
these poppets will slide, must be worked quite truc in their upper and
under faces, for on the former the poppets and on the latter the plates which
secure them will slide. The right-handed halves of the screws s move the
clipping poppets on one side of the wood, and the left-handed halves those on
the other, and thus by turning the handle wheel r these poppets will
simultaneously be moved to or from each other, and thus can be made
firmly to hold the wood between them, when properly adjusted as to height,
by the handle wheel q³. The wood throughout is marked W, and the brick-
work on which the machine will rest B. In this and the two proceeding
Figures the moving bed might be made to travel on wheels or rollers instead
of Vs if deemed advisable.
Now whereas I claim as my Invention the arrangements and combi-
nations of improved machinery herein-before described, and shown in the
Drawings annexed, for the purpose of producing the results herein-before set
forth; and such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her said
Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England,
Her Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I hereby declare
this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this, my
said Specification, doth comply in all respects fully, and without reserve or
disguise, with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained; wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right
and privilege to my said Invention.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hickling Burnett, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
WH. (L.s.) BURNETT.
B
"

page_text: AND BE. IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fourth day of December,
in the year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid William Hickling Burnett canie
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
'
Inrolled the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty.