IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VENEERS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS.PATENT to Augustus Bryant Childs, of No. 481, Oxford Street,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VENEERS."-A communication from abroad
by Harrison Parker and Johnathan Charles Sleeper, both of Boston, in
the County of Sussex, Massachusetts, in the United States of America,
Engineers.
Sealed the 6th February 1863, and dated the 12th August 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Augustus Bryant Childs at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th August 1862.
I, AUGUSTUS BRYANT CHILDS, of No. 481, Oxford Street, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VENEERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object new and useful improvements in machinery
for cutting veneers.
For this purpose the log or block from which the veneers are to be cut is
firmly secured to a bed plate by means of bolts which pass through the bed
plate and screw into the log or block. The bed plate is perforated with holes
at equal distances apart, and a sufficient number of them to receive a requisite
number of bolts to hold the block firmly thereto. The bed plate may be
placed in a vertical, a horizontal, or a diagonal position, but it is preferred to
place it in a vertical position. The bed plate, together with the block carried

page_text: thereby, has a motion up and down a distance somewhat over and above the
width of the largest block to be cut, and this motion is by preference communi-
cated to it by means of two cranks and two connecting rods one at each end of
the bed plate. The knife, when making the cut, is stationary, but is capable
of being moved towards and from the bed plate by the action of the feed
motion, which, by means of a double ratchet, causes it to recede immediately
after the cut, and again to move forward immediately before the cut a distance
depending on the thickness of the vencer next to be cut. The knife consists
of a straight cutting edge with one side bevelled off, and is firmly secured to a
knife block which is made to slide towards and from the bed plate. A little
before the edge of the knife there is a pressure bar made adjustable by set
screws and bolted firmly in its required position to a pressure beam so as to
give a very heavy pressure on the surface of the block immediately on the
point or line of cut. The pressure beam is also made adjustable by set screws
so that it may be set towards or from the edge of the knife according to the
amount of pressure required and the thickness of the veneer to be cut, and then
held firmly to the knife block in its required position by means of bolts. The
knife block is held firmly in its relative position to the bed by means of
powerful feed screws, so that any amount of pressure required can be given to
the pressure bar. In our experiments it has been found. that unless a very
heavy pressure is given on the surface of the block near or on the lino of cut
the veneer is so crippled or cracked in cutting that it is unfit for use.
The main feature in our Invention is the peculiar method of applying tho
pressure to the surface of the block at or near the line of cut, and of
graduating the same to 'the different thicknesses of veneers; also the method
of feeding the knife and of graduating the feed to the different thicknesses of
veneers to be.cut.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Augustus Bryant Childs in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 12th February 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTUS
BRYANT CHILDS, of No. 481, Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
8

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Augustus Bryant Childs, Her special licence, that I, the said Augustus
Bryant Childs, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VENEERS," (communicated to me from abroad
by Harrison Parker and Johnathan Charles Sleeper, both of Boston, in the
County of Sussex, Massachusetts, in the United States of America, Engineers,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands 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 Augustus Bryant Childs, 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, and by reference to the Sheets of Drawings, and the letters and
figures marked thereon:-
This Invention has for its object new and useful improvements in machinery
for cutting veneers.
•
"
For this purpose the log or block from which the veneers are to be cut is
firmly secured to a bed plate by means of bolts which pass through the bed
plate and screw into the log or block. The bed plate is perforated with holes
at equal distances apart, and a sufficient number of them to receive a requisite
number of bolts to hold the block firmly thereto. The bed plate may be
placed in a vertical, a horizontal, or a diagonal position, but it is preferred to
place it in a vertical position. The bed plate, together with the block carried
thereby, has a motion up and down a distance somewhat over and above the
width of the largest block to be cut, and this motion is by preference commu-
nicated to it by means of two cranks and two connecting rods, one at each end
of the bed plate. The knife, when making the cut, is stationary, but is capable
of being moved towards and from the bed plate by the action of the feed
motion, which, by means of a double ratchet, causes it to recede immediately
after the cut, and again to move forward immediately before the cut a distanco

page_text: depending on the thickness of the veneer next to be cut. The knife consists
of a straight cutting edge with one side bevelled off, and is firmly secured to a
knife block which is made to slide towards and from the bed plate. A little
before the edge of the knife there is a pressure bar made adjustable by set
screws and bolted firmly in its required position to a pressure beam so as to
givo a very heavy pressure on the surface of the block immediately on the
point or line of cut. Tho pressure beam is also made adjustable by set screws
so that it may be set towards or from the edge of the knife, according to the
amount of pressure required and the thickness of the veneer to be cut, and
then held firmly to the knife block in its required position by means of bolts.
.The knife block is held firmly in its relative position to the bed by means of
powerful feed screws, so that any amount of pressure required can be given to
the pressure bar.
The main feature in my Invention is the peculiar method of applying the
pressure to the surface of the block at or near the line of cut and of graduating
the same to the different thicknesses of vencers; also the method of feeding
the knife and of graduating the feed to the different thicknesses of veneers to
be cut. By this method I am enabled to cut veneers more perfectly and
sound, and more free from cracks from any kind of wood and to any thickness
required.
Having thus explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
:
Figure 1 is a front elevation; Figure 2 is an end elevation; Figure 3 is a
vertical transverse section taken at the line x, x, of the feed motion and y, y,
of the bed plate in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken at the
lino z,, in Figures 2 and 3; Figure 5 is a vertical transverso section of the
knife and pressure bar full size taken at the line a, a, in Figure 1; Figure 6
is a detached horizontal section of the ratchet, pinion, and rack; Figuro 7 is
a detached side view of the ratchet and pawl lever; Figure 8 is a detached
front view of the ratchet and pawl lever; Figure 9 is a detached horizontal
view of the ratchet and pawl lover; Figure 10 is a plan, and Figure 11 is a
section of the dog X, or incline ringholder; Figure 12 is a side view of one of
the incline rings; Figure 13 is a plan, and Figure 14 is a section of the dog Y;
Figure 15 is a transverse section of the cam lever and a portion of the cam,
shewing the manner in which the slide block is attached to the cam lever.
The diagonal lines represent sections, and similar letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in the several Figures.

page_text: The frame is composed of two slide pieces A, A, and three girts B, B, B,
secured together with bolts a", a". There is a vertical guide C formed on
each of the side pieces A, projecting inwardly, and a bed plate D is fitted
to slide freely thereon. A cross head E is bolted to the upper part of the
bed plate D with a wrought-iron cross beam F secured thereto; this cross
beam is longer than the bed plate or cross head, and extends out by the frame
at each end with wrist pins made thereon, to which the upper end of the con-
necting rods G, G, are attached. The main shaft H is hung below the
frame, and fitted to revolve in boxes or hangers I, I, which are bolted to the
bottom of the frame A, A; this shaft has a large gear wheel J fixed on each
end outside of the frame with a crank pin K set therein, to which the lower
end of the connecting rods G, G, are attached; these crank pins K, K, are
set in the gears a suitable distance from the centre to give the required
motion or length of stroke to the bed plate. The driving or pinion shaft L is
fitted to revolve in boxes M, M, which are set in the rear part of the frame;"
this pinion shaft L has two small pinions N, N, fixed thereon, one near each
end outside of the frame, that gear into and drive the large gear wheels J, J;
this pinion shaft L also has two driving pulleys O, O, fixed thereon, one on
each end of the shaft outside of the pinion. A portion of the lower part of
the sides of the frame A, A, project out in front a distance sufficient to form a
seat P, P, in a horizontal plane for the knife block Q to rest and slide upon.
The knife block Q extends across from one side of the frame to the other, and
has its bearing at each end on the seat P, P, to which it is fitted to slide
towards and from the bed plate D. The knife a is secured to the knife
block by screws b, b, and made adjustable by a series of set screws c. A
portion of this knife on the side next to the log or block or from the edge
downward is ground straight or in a vertical plane, so that it may have a
bearing against the wood a little below the edge of the knife, or, in other
words, a continuous bearing from the edge a short distance downward. The
knife block Qat each end has an upward projection S, on which the pressure
beam Trests; this pressure beam T extends the entire length of the knife
block Q, and has its bearing at each end, and is made adjustable at each end
by a set screw b', and when properly adjusted it is firmly secured at each
end to the knife block Q by bolts a', a', a', which screw down into the pro-
jections S, S. The pressure bar d stands at an angle of about forty degrees
from the plane of the bed plate D, and in that position is held firmly to the
pressure beam T by a series of bolts e; this pressure bar d is also mado
adjustable by a series of set screws f bearing against its upper edge, and
screwing into the pressure beam T. The peculiar shape of the lower part of

page_text: the pressure bar d directly back of the cutting edge of the knife is an
important part of my. Invention; it is the peculiar shape of the pressure bar d
directly. in front of the cut, and the amount and manner of applying tho
pressure that enables mo to cut veneers without cracking the wood in process
of cutting.
The shape and position of the pressure bar d and knife a is clearly repre-
sented in Figure 5, where they are drawn full size, and in the act of cutting..
It is necessary to have a very heavy pressure directly on the line of cut with
a slight 'compression of the wood below the cut, and gradually diminishing to
nothing in order to cut the veneers without cracking them. There are two
horizontal feed screws U, U, one at each end of the knife block Q, which are.
closely fitted with journals to revolve without any lateral motion in boxes
V, V, firmly attached to the outside of the frame A, A. The feed screws U, U,
aře. made square-threaded, and are fitted to work in corresponding screw.
nuts 9, 9, which are held in nut boxes W; W, firmly attached to the end of
the knife block Q. These nuts 9, 9, are made in halves, and provided with
set screws c¹, c¹, c', c', c', c', above and below to adjust them, and prevent.
any play in case of wear, and also with set screws d', d', at the front end to
prevent any lateral motion. Each of the feed screws U have a bevel gear h
fixed on the rear end, which takes into corresponding gears i, i, fixed on a
horizontal feed shaft ; running across the machine at the back of the bed
plato D. This feed shaft j is made to revolve in boxes k, k, attached to the
frame A, A, and when set in motion the bevel gears i, i, thereon mesh into
and turn the bevel gears h, h, together with the feed screws U, U, thereby
giving a uniform feed to both ends of the knife block Q. There is a fixed
cam Z on the main shaft H inside of the frame A, and by the side of this
cam Z there is a cam lever hung at one end for its fulcrum m in the foro
part of the frame A. This cam lever has a roller n attached to one side
near the centre of its length, which is fitted to work in a cam-shaped groove o
cut in the side of the cam Z; this groove o is made in a suitable form to give the
required up-and-down motion at intervals to the cam lever l. On the rear end
of the cam lever 1, back of the roller 2, there is a slide block p fitted to slide
towards and from the roller n, for the purpose of adjusting the effective throw
of the cam lever l; this slide block p is moved back and forth by means of
a screw 9 with a band wheel r thereon by which it is turned, and when the
slido block p is properly adjusted it may be more firmly secured in its required
position by set screws 8, s. There is a connecting rod t attached to the slide
and extending upward takes hold of the lower end of a vertical
rack u; this rack u is held.in its position by a stand
block
attached to the frame A,

page_text: and allowed to slide up and down therein; this rack u is also provided with
teeth which mesh into corresponding teeth in a loose pinion won the feed
shaft. The pinion w is fitted to revolve loosely on the feed shaft j, and it
has a hub e' extending out on one side, on which a pawl lever f1 is perma-
nently fixed. The pawl lever f' is provided with two pawls g', g', which
throw in opposite directions, and a thumb screw h³ to lift the pawls g', g'; this
thumb screw h' is set in the upper part of the pawl lever f', with its lower end
resting upon a lip i, projecting from the inside of the hub of each pawl g¹ ;
these pawls 9', 9', are made to swing on studs o¹, o¹, set in the pawl lever f¹,
and are held down by a spring ¹ pressing upon the outer end of the pawls
9', 9', and each pawl g' has a friction roller s' attached to one side near the
outer end. A hub k¹ is fixed on the feed shaft j directly under the pawls 9', g',
and on this hub k³ are two steel ratchet rings,, with teeth or notches cut in
their periphery in opposite directions, forming a double ratchet to throw both
right and left. Each ratchet ring is supplied with an incline ring m', which
is fitted to turn loosely on the hub k', directly under the friction roller s¹, and
is capable of being set in different positions; each of the incline rings m¹ have
a series of holes made through them equidistant from their centres, and are
held in any required position by means of dogs X and Y, each of which has a
pin fitted to enter one of the holes made in the incline ring m¹. These
incline rings m', m³, are intended to lift the pawls g',g', (by means of the fric-
tion rollers s', s, attached thereto,) from the ratchets A, A, thereby limiting
each pawl g' independently to operate on any number of teeth required. In
Figure 6 the dog Y is attached to the stand v, with its pin n' in one of the
holes in the incline ring m¹; this pin n³ is held in its position by a spiral
spring, as represented in Figure 14, and is capable of being pressed back at
pleasure, so as to allow the incline ring m¹ to be turned from one hole to
another. The dog ✗, represented in Figures 10 and 11, is also to be attached
to the stand v, and operates in a similar manner to dog Y, only the spring v
throws in an opposite direction; this dog is designed to hold the outside incline
ring m', the operation of which will clearly be seen by referring to Figuro 11 ;
thus by pulling upon the knob p', the pin n' is withdrawn from one hole and
the incline ring readily turned to allow it to drop into another. By referring
to Figure 8, and supposing the pawl lever f' to be swinging to the right, the
friction roller s' is just on the point of rolling upon the incline to the higher
part of the incline ring m³, and is then allowed to travel thereon a short
distance, holding the pawl g' up from the ratchet P, and on the return motion
of tho pawl lever f the pawl g' again drops on to the ratchet and turns it,
until the motion of the pawl lover f¹ is again reversed. By this arrangement

page_text: it will be seen that the incline rings m³, m', can readily be set, so as to allow
the pawls g, g, independently to turn the ratchet any number of teeth
required. The office of this arrangement is to feed both ways, for instance,
the incline rings can be set so that the ratchet will turn forward one-third of
a revolution, and back one-quarter of a revolution, or in any other proportion 5
required. The log or block R to be cut. into veneers is firmly secured to the
bed plate D by means of bolts u', u', which pass through holes made in the bed
Alato and corow into the West D
OPERATION.
By attaching belts to the driving pulleys O, O, and giving motion to the
pinion shaft L, the pinions N, N, will turn the large gear wheels J, J, and by
means of the connecting rods G, G, the bed plate D, with the block R attached
thereto, will be made to slide up and down on the guides C, C, and cut a
veneer from the block R at every revolution of the large gear wheels J, J. In
Figure 3 the bed plate D is up, and the knife a is in the proper position to
commence cutting. During that portion of the downward motion of the bed
plate D, while the cut is being performed, the roller n rolls on the smallest part
of the cam Z, which is on a true circle from its centre, thereby allowing the
cam lever to remain at rest in its lowest position during the whole time the
cut is being performed. Immediately after the cut is completed, and while
the crank pins K; K, are passing under the centre, the cam lever Z rises to its
highest position, forcing the rack u upward with it, which causes the pinion
w to turn together with the pawl lever f¹, and by the action of the pawl g' on
the ratchet the feed shaftj, together with the feed screws U, U, are made to
turn, which cause the knife block Q to recede a sufficient distance to allow the
log or block R to pass up without touching the edge of the knife a. During
that portion of the upward motion of the bed plate D, while the log or block R
is passing the knife a, the roller n rolls on the largest part of the cam Z, which
is on a true circle from its centre, thereby allowing the cam lever / to remain
at rest in its highest position during the whole time the log or block R is
pussing the knife a, and immediately after the log R passes the knife a, and
while the crank pins K, K, are passing over the centre, the cam lever
together with the rack u drop to their lowest position again, thereby causing
the knife block Q to be fed forward a distance depending on the thickness of
the veneer next to bo cut, in addition to the back motion before given. By
this arrangement for a feed motion wood can be cut to any thickness required,
from the very
thinnest veneer up to three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness,
ór even thicker, if desirable. The use of the slide block p is to vary the

page_text: distance of motion given to the rack u, for instance, if by changing the ratchet
one tooth should be found to be too great a change, the slide block p can be
set so as to take any part of a tooth, even the hundredth part, if required,
thereby graduating the thickness of veneers to any point of nicety required.
This slide block p can also be used to change the distance of motion required to
be given to the rack u from thick vencers to thin, and from thin to thick. When
the log or block R is entirely cut up into veneers, the thumb screw h¹ is to be
turned so as to press down upon the lips, t, and raise the pawls g', g', up, so
that the ratchet may be made to revolve freely in either direction, the knifo
block Q may then be run back by attaching a belt to the pulley 6" on the feed
shaft j, or by any other practical device.
Ilaving thus given a full description of the nature, construction, and
operation of my Invention, I will now proceed to point out the parts which I
CLAIMS.
First, I claim the pressure bar d, adjusted as herein described, in combi-
nation with the feed screws U, U, for holding the pressure when used for
cutting veneers, in the manner and for the purpose herein specified.
Second, I claim the double ratchet, constructed and operated as herein
described, for the purpose specified.
Third, I claim the cam lever in combination with the adjustable slide
block p thereon, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein
described.
Fourth, I claim the combined arrangement herein specified for giving a
backward and forward self-feeding movement to tho knife, whereby the knife
recedes from the block or wood for the return motion and is again fed forward
for the cut, substantially as herein described.
And I also claim the combination and arrangement of parts for the purposes
above mentioned, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
D CHILDS
B. CHILDS. (..)