IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Allen Ransome, of King's Road, Chelsea, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD."
Sealed the 2nd May 1871, and dated the 18th November 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Allen Ransome at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th November 1870..
I, ALLEN RANSOME, of King's Road, Chelsea, in the County of
5 Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD," to be as
follows:-
My Invention of improvements in machinery for cutting and shaping
wood has for its objects to simplify the construction of the working
O parts of wood-cutting machinery, and also, by a different arrangement
of some of the working parts to economize the space occupied by such
parts.

page_text: The majority of the improvements herein-after mentioned may be
combined in that class of wood-cutting machines known as
"the general
joiner," in which are usually combined in one machine for the use of
joiners various mechanical devices for sawing, cutting, planing, tenoning,
moulding, drilling, morticing, and other operations required by joiners
in carrying on their work. Some of the improvements may, however,
be adapted to machines of a simpler construction, in which only one
or two of these operations are carried on.
My first improvement relates to a mode of altering the length of
the rod which transmits the pressure from the weighted lever to the
pressure roller, which holds down the log in timber frames, the object
being to retain the full effect of the pressure of the weighted lever under
all circumstances. This is effected by making the rod adjustable in
length by constructing one part to screw into the other, so that by
screwing or unscrewing one part of the rod by turning a hand wheel
or lever placed in a convenient position for the operator the pressure
rod may be lengthened or shortened, as may be desired, to suit any
inequalities in the thickness of the log. This improvement is also
applicable to scaleboard machines and other machinery in which the
length of the rod that transmits the pressure of the weighted lever (used
to keep the timber steady) requires altering from time to time.
In sawing frames in which the reciprocating saw acts horizontally,
the saw frame and driving gear may be raised and lowered simul-
taneously by means of a hand wheel and gear which acts on the vertical
screws, whereby the saw frame is raised or lowered on its guides and
also on the crank wheel, whereby the connecting rod which actuates the
saw frame is driven. This connecting rod is jointed to the back end of
the frame, and by this arrangement considerable economy of space is
effected.
Another improvement consists in the introduction (for vertical sawing
machines for cutting deals, flitches, or battens), of 3 or 4 horizontal
feed rollers instead of 2 as heretofore, whereby more feeding surface
can be obtained with less damage to the wood. For this purpose I
suspend the extra one or two rollers I employ for the above purpose on
springs or weighted levers in order to enable them to rise or fall to
follow any inequalities in the under side of the deal and thereby always
exert their full feeding power. The surfaces of these feed rollers and
those of sawing and shaping machines generally may be covered with

page_text: india-rubber or other elastic material, by which they get an additional
gripping power and at the same time do not mark the wood. This
same improvement is also adaptable for other machines for sawing and
shaping wood. India-rubber or other elastic material may also be
applied to the surface of the clamping devices of various wood-cutting
machines, such as tenoning machines, where it is required to securely
hold down pieces of wood which may vary slightly in thickness while
they are being operated upon by the cutting tools.
In cross-cutting machines for box making I employ a self-acting
moveable stop, which is advanced when the timber is brought forward
and is moved back as the saw advances, so that the pieces sawn at each
advance of the saw will not be held by the stop, but will drop into an
inclined shoot and be conveyed out of the machine. The stop as the
saw recedes preparatory to making another cut will advance so as to be
ready to stop the timber when it is pushed up.
For adzing out in sleepers the seats for rails or chairs, and also for
drilling the holes for the bolts, spikes, or trenails, the bench is provided
with a pair of endless chains, which, by means of dogs or catches
arranged at suitable distances apart, will carry forward the sleepers and
bring them first over the adzing cutters and then to the augers for
drilling the holes. By means of a cam and guide pin arrangement
made to act on a clutch, an intermittent motion is communicated to the
travelling chains, so that the sleepers are made to stop at exactly the
proper place to be operated upon by the drilling tools; these also are
brought into work by special self-acting arrangement, and when they
have done their work the timber is moved on again automatically.
Deals and battens sometimes vary in thickness at different parts, and
it becomes necessary to provide that the feeding and pressing rollers
should have a proper solid bearing and hold at all parts. To this end
the spindles of these rollers are mounted in a bar or frame which is
capable of expanding or contracting as may be required. This is.
effected by means of a knee or toggle joint worked by a screw and hand
wheel. In addition to this the spindles of the feed wheels may be held
in place so as to constitute a live fence while the pressing rollers are
allowed to recede. An analogous device may be adapted to wood-
cutting machines, in which irregular forms (such as wheel spokes) are
cut in shaping machines. In this operation, moreover, I use a rest to
support the wood while being cut, and as the spoke varies in form

page_text: throughout its length the device above referred to must be adapted to
the rest and cutter, so as to keep them both in contact with the wood and
support the same whatever may be the varying thickness of the wood.
The cutter is also made to travel longitudinally along the spoke while
the latter is rotating. The driving gear is therefore provided with a
series of guide pullies to keep the band in tension wherever the cutting
tools may be operating and while they are travelling along the spokes.
The next improvement relates to the mode of adjustment of the under
cutter blocks employed for planing and moulding wood. I raise or
lower these blocks as may be required by means of cams mounted on a
horizontal shaft, which may be turned on its axis by means of a hand
lever and retained in any position by a lock nut and quadrant, or the
horizontal shaft may be worked by an endless screw or snail taking into
a worm wheel.
The vertical adjustment of the side blocks of machines for planing
and moulding wood is effected by means of nuts on the ends of the
spindles, in combination with retaining plates on which the nuts work.
The side cutter block by working through the fence requires but little
adjustment, and that very seldom. In order to save the connections
and apparatus necessary for a separate screw for this purpose I by a
simple contrivance, use the same screw shaft for both side cutter block
slides.
This part of my Invention is also applicable to other machines in
which two slides are employed, one of which requires but little adjust-
ment. I effect this object in the following manner :—'
-The screw shaft
works through a sleeve tapped in the side frame of the machine, and is
screwed on the outside the same pitch as the screwed part of the screw
shaft, which takes into the nut on the outside cutter block. On this
screwed shaft are two fixed collars, one at each end of the sleeve. There
are also two fixed collars, one on each side of a lug cast on the outside
block, and through which the screw shaft passes, and in which it freely
revolves. In order to move or adjust the outside block it is merely
necessary to turn the screw, the faces of the sleeve acting as shoulders
to the screw shaft. To adjust the other block it is necessary to turn
both the screw and the sleeve at the same time. The screw part of the
screwed shaft in this case simply crawls through the nut on the outside
cutter block without moving it. To the step. bearings of the vertical
spindles used in the several operations are adapted oiling cups whereby

page_text: the step will be constantly lubricated. This oil cup is covered with a
plate to exclude dust and grit.
In order to produce good clean work with rapidity in cutting
mouldings I arrange the cutters in a peculiar manner. The timber is
fed in by suitable feed. rollers, and passes first under a rotary cutter
which roughs out the moulding on the top side. It then passes over
the second cutter, which roughs out the under side of the moulding.
It then passes to two vertical cutters, one placed in advance of the
other. The first of these planes and shoots the inner edge of the
moulding which works against the fence, and, the other reduces it to
an uniform width. The wood passes on to two other cutters, one above
and one below, which finish the moulding on both sides. The last top.
and bottom cutter blocks are driven at an increased speed by belts
passing over pulleys on the first top and bottom blocks respectively.
The pressure block over the under cutter is attached to the saddle
carrying the top cutter, thereby rising and falling simultaneously with
it and avoiding the necessity of independent carriages. I also hinge
this to the saddle, whereby it may be turned over the top block, leaving
both blocks free to the operator to sharpen and adjust the cutters.
The next improvement relates to the devices and mechanical arrange.
ments for cutting tenons in which 2 sets of cutting tools are applied to
onc machine, so that the tenons at both ends of a piece of wood may
be cut simultaneously. As the distances apart of these tenons will
vary according to the purpose for which the wood is required, I adapt an
adjustable table, which by means of parallel telescopic bars is expanded
or contracted as the two sets of cutting apparatus are brought nearer to
or further from each other. For cutting or slicing veneers the knife or
cutter is fixed in a hinged or swivelling carriage in a vertical frame.
The object of the hinge or swivel is to set the knife at different angles
with regard to the grain of the wood under operation. I also give all
the motion to the wood instead of to the knife as in other machines of
this class, whereby the knife can be more firmly fixed and better work
be turned out, as well as being more convenient for removing the veneers.
after they are cut.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Allen Ransome in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th May 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALLEN
RANSOME, of King's Road, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Allen Ransome, Her special licence
that I, the said Allen Ransome, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Allen Ransome, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CUTTING AND SHAPING WOOD," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Allen Ransome, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Allen Ransome, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say)
:-
My Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for Cutting and
Shaping Wood" has for its object to simplify the construction of the
working parts of the wood-cutting machinery, and also by a different
arrangement of some of the working parts to economize the space
occupied by such parts.
The majority of the improvements herein-after described may be
combined in one or two machines for the use of joiners who require

page_text: various mechanical devices for sawing, cutting, planing, tenoning,
moulding, drilling, morticing, and other operations, in one or two.
compact, useful, and inexpensive machines. Some of the improvements,
may however be adapted to machines of a simpler construction in which
only one or two of these operations are carried on, and for the sake
of simplicity I have preferred to show my several improvements
separately.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shown various views of
different kinds of wood cutting machinery with my several improve-
ments adapted thereto.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a sectional side elevation, and Fig. 2 an end
clevation of a timber frame for cutting up logs. of timber.
In these two Figures is shewn my first improvement, which relates
to a mode of altering the length of the vertical rod or bar, which
transmits the pressure from the weighted lever to the pressure roller
which holds down the log in the timber frame, the object being to
retain the full effect of the pressure of the weighted lever under all
circumstances. This is effected by making the rods a, a, adjustable in
length by constructing one part to screw into the other. The screwed
part a of the rods carries at its lower end the pressure rollers 6, which
turn in forked bearings as shewn in the Figure. The screwed part a
of the rod passes through a screwed box c. which is capable of being
turned round on the stationary screw a by means of the hand levers c¹.
The screwed box c is connected by means of links a', a', to the weighted
levers d, d, above. The parts a and a' therefore constitute one rod
which is capable of being lengthened or shortened by screwing or
unscrewing the screwed box c of the rod a by means of the hand lever c¹
which is placed in a convenient position for the operator.
In
Figures 3 and 4, Sheet I., represent two different arrangements for
constructing and adapting the hand levers c³ to the screwed box c.
one a click or dog is attached to the hand lever for the purpose of acting
on the teeth of a toothed or ratchet wheel adapted to the screwed box.
In the other plan the same object is effected by means of a rocking.
excentric V pawl which binds in a corresponding V groove formed in
the periphery of the screwed box c. By means of the hand lever and
screwed box c, the pressure rod a, a, may be lengthened or shortened as
may be desired to suit any inequalities in the thickness of the log.

page_text: This improvement is also applicable to scaleboard machines and other
machinery in which the length of the rod that transmits the pressure
of the weighted lever (used to keep the timber steady) requires altering
from time to time.
Fig. 5, Sheet II., is a longitudinal vertical section of a machine for
cutting scale board, and Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the same shewing.
my improved pressure arrangement adapted thereto.
In scale board machines an adjustable pressure rod a, such as that
shewn in Sheet I., is used, but with it is combined an automatic
arrangement for altering the length of the rod.
It will be seen that the fulcrum of the pressure lever d is attached to
the screwed box c, through which passes the vertical screw a, on the
lower end of which is mounted a toothed wheel a². The block of wood f
from which the scaleboard is cut is placed on the reciprocating cutting
table g, to which the cutting tool g¹ is adapted in the ordinary manner.
The wood fis prevented from moving forward with the table g by the
stops n, n, bolted to the fixed framing of the machine. The reciprocating
table g is mounted on V guides, as shewn at Fig. 6, and is moved to
and fro by the endless band or cord g². Tappet arms i, i, are fixed
inside the travelling table, and as the latter moves to and fro these 2
tappets come against a horizontal lever j, which by means of a dog or
click acts on the toothed or ratchet wheel a² on the lower end of the
screwed rod a, and causes it to turn round and lower the fulcrum of the
pressing lever d, a distance equal to the cut taken off at cach stroke of
the machine from the under side of the block of wood f. By this 2
arrangement of parts the position of the lever with regard to the wood
is not altered throughout the whole operation of cutting up the whole
block of wood f.
This method of attaching the fulcrum of the pressing lever for
keeping the wood down to the cutter applies to other machines in which 3
it is desired to effect the same object.
The next improvement relates to sawing frames in which the recipro-
cating saw acts horizontally.
Fig. 7, Sheet III., is a side elevation, and Fig. 8 an end elevation
of a sawing frame constructed according to my improvements, the object 3
of which is that the saw frame and driving gear may be raised and
lowered simultaneously. This is effected by means of a hand wheel k

page_text: Fig. 7, which by means of the bevil toothed gear 1, 1, 1, and the cross
shaft acts on the vertical screws a, a, whereby the saw frame p, p,
is raised or lowered on its guides. This gearing acts also on the crank
wheel m, whereby the connecting rod n which actuates the saw frame p,
is driven. This connecting rod n is jointed to the back end of the saw
frame p, and by this arrangement considerable economy of space and
compactness of parts is effected.
My next improvement is shewn in Fig. 8, Sheet IV., and consists in
the employment in vertical sawing machines for cutting deals, flitches,
or battens, of three or four horizontal feed rollers instead of two as
heretofore, whereby more feeding surface can be obtained with less
damage to the wood than in the old construction of sawing frame. For
this purpose I suspend the extra one or two rollers a (employed for the
above purpose) on springs or weighted levers, in order to enable them
to rise or fall and follow any inequalities in the under side of the deal,
and thereby always exert their full feeding power. The red circles
a*, a*, indicate the pitch lines of the toothed gearing for actuating the
feeding rollers. These wheels a* are placed in different planes so as to
rotate clear of one another, and are driven by a long pinion c which
is connected to a wheel, whereby motion is imparted to the driving
gear, the V wheel being driven by an excentric on the main shaft.
surfaces of these feed rollers and those of sawing and shaping machines
generally may be covered with india-rubber or other clastic material by
which they get an additional gripping power, and at the same time do
not mark the wood.
The
Figures 5ª, Sheet II. represent a side view and vertical section of a
feeding or pressing roller provided with a covering of india-rubber or
other elastic material 2, 2. India-rubber or other clastic material may
also be applied to the surface of the clamping devices of various wood-
cutting machines, such as tenoning machines where it is required to
securely hold down pieces of wood, which may vary slightly in thick-
ness while they are being operated upon by the cutting tools.
Fig: G, Sheet II., represents one of these clamping surfaces covered
with the clastic material 2. One of these clamping surfaces is shown
as pressing on the timber f in Fig. 6, it is also shewn in the moulding
and tenoning machines hereafter described.
In cross cutting machines for cutting up wood for box making I
employ a self-acting moveable stop, which is advanced when the timber

page_text: is brought forward and is moved back as the saw advances, so that the
piece sawn at each advance of the saw will not be held by the stop, but
will drop into an inclined shoot and be conveyed out of the machine.
The stop as the saw recedes preparatory to making another cut will
advance so as to be ready to stop the timber when it is pushed up pre-
paratory for another cut.
Fig. 9, Sheet V. is a side elevation; and Fig. 10 a plan view of a cross
cutting machine for cutting up timber for box making with my improve-
ments adapted thereto.
It will be seen that the circular saw a is mounted at the upper end
of a pair of vibrating levers b, b, b, which oscillate on a shaft c at the
bottom of the machine. This shaft carries between the levers the
belt pulley d, from which the saw is directly driven. On one of the
vibrating levers 6 is cast an are b¹ the teeth of which are geared into
by a worm e, as shewn by dots in the Figures. The shaft e¹ of this
worm carries at one end a pair of concentric bevil wheels e³, e³, of
different diameters, as shewn best in the detached sectional view, Fig. 11.
Into these concentric wheels gear a couple of bevil pinions and g, the
one fixed on the shaft f¹ and the other on a sleeve or tubular shaft g¹
encircling that just-mentioned, and revolving freely on it. Both the
shaft and the sleeve shaft g' are provided with belt pulleys f" and
g, shewn by dots in Fig. 10, and between these two pulleys is placed
a third and loose pulley h. An examination of the Figure just
mentioned will show that by shifting the belt on to one or the other of
these three pulleys the worm shaft e can be driven in either direction
or left stationary, and it is further evident that when the strap is on
the belt pulley f* (fixed on the shaft f¹) the bevil pinion on that
shaft, by gearing into the smaller e³ of the two bevil wheels on the
worm shaft e¹, the worm e will be driven at a higher speed than when
it derives its motion from the bevil pinion g on the sleeve shaft g', as
this pinion gears into the larger e³ of the two concentric bevil wheels.
By this arrangement the worm shaft e is made to give a slower motion
to the saw when feeding it up to its work than when withdrawing it
for another cut, the proportions of the two concentric bevil wheels e
and e³ being such that the return stroke is performed at double the speed
of the cutting stroke. The shifting of the driving belt from one pulley
to another is effected automatically by one of the vibrating levers b
acting on stops, on a sliding bar i, Fig. 10, connected by means of a

page_text: "
2
bell-crank lever j with the bar k, which carries the belt fork and a
tumbling bob arrangement as shewn clearly in Figures 9 and 10.
The stops on the sliding bar i just-mentioned are adjustable so that the
stroke of the saw can be varied and a hand lever may if desired be
provided for shifting the belt on to cither pulley by hand, so that the
motion of the saw may be stopped and started in either direction at any
point of its stroke.
m is a stop for regulating the length of the piece cut off a plank by
the saw a. This stop is carried by the projecting part of a shaft n,
which passes along just under the table of the machine, as shewn in
Fig. 9, and the stop m is adjustable to any desired position on this shaft,
so that the length of the pieces cut off by the saw a may be varied at
pleasure. The normal position of this stop is that in which it is shewn
in the Figures, and it remains in this position during the whole time
the saw is making its cut. As soon, however, as this cut is completed,.
and the saw withdrawn, a projecting arm carried by one of the vibrating
levers comes into contact with an adjustable stop o on a sliding bar o¹,.
and thus shifts the latter. This sliding bar is connected by a chain and
rod, as shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 9, with a short lever n¹ fixed on
the shaft carrying the stop m, against which the end of the wood bears,
and thus the movement of the sliding bar o' causes the stop m to be
raised clear of the wood, and allow the piece of the latter which has
been cut off to fall. An inclined shoot p formed at the edge of the table
facilitates the falling away of the piece of wood cut off. As soon as the
saw a retires for another cut the stop m falls by its own weight, and is
returned to its normal position all ready for the man or boy working the
machine to push up the wood against it for a second cut. The machino,
is thus entirely self-acting, and the cuts are made with very great
rapidity, the man in charge merely having to push the wood forward
after each cut.
For forming (in sleepers) the seats for rails or chairs by means of
adzing tools, and also for drilling the holes for the bolts, spikes, or
trenails, the bench is provided with a pair of endless chains on which
are secured dogs or catches arranged at suitable distances apart for the
purpose of carrying forward the sleepers as they are placed on the table.
By this means the sleepers are first brought over the adzing cutters.
which as they rotate cut away and form the seats for the rails. The
:

page_text: chains then carry forward the sleepers to the augers which drill the
holes for the trenails or bolts.
Fig. 12, Sheet VI., is a longitudinal vertical section of one of these
machines, and Fig. 13 is a partial plan view of the same.
The sleepers to be operated upon are laid by the attendant upon the
table of the machine, as shewn at a in Fig. 12, and cach is then carried
forward in succession by the wrought-iron dogs fixed on the two endless
chains b, b, and is thus brought under a pair of presser levers c which
hold it down while the adzing operation is being performed by means of
the rotary adzing tool d, d. Having carried the sleeper past the adzing
blocks the chains & bring it over a set of four or any required number
or augers e, e, where it stops. The augers c then rise up and bore the
holes for the spikes and rotire again, and when they have descended
clear of the sleepers the endless chains are again put into motion, and
the sleeper is carried to the delivery end of the machine.
These various movements are effected automatically as follows:-Tho
augers and the spindle carrying the adze blocks are driven continuously
by belts led from a shaft fixed near one end of the machine, this shaft
being driven by a belt from the main driving shaft. The latter shaft
also gives motion through a belt and gearing to a horizontal shaft &²,
which extends across one end of the machine, and carries the tumblers U³
for the endless chains b, as well as a spur wheel and two cam wheels.
The two chain tumblers run loose on the shaft 62, and each is provided
with clutch teeth capable of engaging with clutches f sliding on feathers
on the shaft 63, as shown in Fig. 13. Each of these clutch wheels has
a cam groove f¹ formed in its periphery, and fixed pins g attached to
the frame of the machine enter these grooves and cause the wheels with
the clutches to be shifted laterally on the shaft. The chain tumblers
are thus disengaged from their shafts during one-fourth of each revolu-
tion. In this way an intermittent motion is imparted to the endless
chains b. On the tumbler shaft there is also fixed a cam wheel which
has a groove in its face shaped so as to depress and re-elevate a lever h
at the time that the chain tumblers are disengaged from the shaft and
the chains are consequently stationary. The other end of the lever /
is attached by a link to the slide T carrying the augers, and it thus raises
the latter and causes them to bore the holes for the spikes, and then
withdraws the augers again before the chain tumblers are again brought

page_text: into gear with the clutches for the purpose of giving motion to the
chains. The adze blocks can be set to any desired angle on their
spindle so as to cut rail beds with any desired cant, and they can also if
required be made capable of being shifted laterally so as to adapt
the machine for finishing sleepers for lines of various guages.
guage to which the augers are set can of course be correspondingly
varied.
The
By means of the cam and guide pin arrangement being made to act
on the clutch an intermittent motion is communicated to the travelling
chains, so that the sleepers are made to stop at exactly the proper placo
to be operated upon by the augers or drilling tools; these also are
brought into work by special self-acting arrangements, and when they
have done their work the timber is moved on again automatically.
Deals and battens sometimes vary in thickness at different parts, and
therefore in sawing tables or benches for cutting up this kind of timber,
it becomes necessary to provide that the feeding and pressing rollers
should have a proper solid bearing, and hold on the wood at all parts of
the deal or batten. To this end the spindles of these rollers are mounted
in a bar or frame, which is capable of expanding or contracting, that is,
moving laterally from each other as may be required. This is effected
by means of a knee or toggle joint, regulated by a screw and hand
wheel.
Fig. 14, Sheet VII. is a transverse vertical section of a deal sawing
bench, with this improvement adapted thereto; Fig. 15 is a sectional
plan view of the same. Two pressing rollers q, q, Fig. 14, act on each
side of the deal or plank, and are indicated by the red circles in the plan
view, Fig. 15. These rollers are mounted in a carriage on an independent
frame r, r, which is capable of sliding laterally on the table, and moving
nearer to or farther from the plane of the saw. The frames are also
capable of turning on vertical centres, so that the rollers may conform
to the inequalities of the timber. These two sliding frames r, r, are
attached to a blocks by means of links ¹, "", of equal length. The
block 8 slides up and down in grooves &¹, 8¹, and is drawn down in the
vertical grooves &³, 8¹, by means of the weighted lever t, which is
connected to the blocks 8 by an adjustable rod . The slides &¹ with the
blocks can however be fixed in any required position by means of a
screw shaft u, as will be hereafter explained. When it is required
to saw a plank in two equal pieces, the centre of the block of timber

page_text: is set exactly in line with the plane of the saw, so that the pressing feed
rollers q, q, are at equal distances from the saw and will expand from
it equally, and in so doing will draw up the blocks and weighted
levert. By a very simple device this compensating feed motion may
be made to take the part of a live fence for cutting boards of any desired
thickness from the deal, the other two rollers acting as simple binding
rollers. To this end the screwed end of the shaft u passes through a
lug fixed on one of the frames r, which carry the pressing rollers on one
side. This screwed shaft u is capable of sliding longitudinally in its
bearings, but may be held steady by dropping a catch between the
collars o¹ of the shaft. The consequence of this will be that the roller
frame on the right hand side will be held steady, and will act as a
fence, but the other frame will be capable of lateral motion, as will
also the blocks together with its vertical guides and the toggle joint.
It will be seen on referring to Fig. 14, that the driving gear of the
feed motion is mounted on a feather shaft w, along which it may be
slidden as required. The length of the vertical rod
is also capable
of adjustment, so that the weighted levert may always be kept as near
a horizontal position as possible.
Fig. 16, Sheet VIII., is a side elevation of a shaping machine con-
structed according to my improvements, and arranged to form the spokes
of wheels, hammer handles, cricket bats, or other articles of irregular
section, either transversely or longitudinally. Fig. 17 is a plan view of
the same, and Fig. 18, Sheet IX., is a longitudinal vertical section.
The pieces of wood to be operated upon and formed into spokes or other
irregular forms are shewn at a, a. They are mounted on centres, and
are capable of being turned round on their axes by the gearing a¹, a', at
one end; b, b, are the rotary cutters mounted on a cross shaft ¹ in the
vibrating frame b³, and driven by bands passing from a large pulley con
the driving shaft. The template or pattern d is mounted on centres
parallel with the picces of wood a, a, to be shaped, and is rotated by a
similar arrangement of gearing. A guiding tool or point d¹, Fig. 18, is
fixed to the cross shaft b', and rests on the template or pattern d, and
as it rises and falls according to the inequalities of the pattern it carries
with it all the cutters. In this operation I use a rest e to support cach
of the pieces of wood a, and thus form a solid bed upon which the work
is steadied while being cut. As the pattern spoke or other article d
varies in form throughout its length a similar rest or support must be

page_text: adapted thereto.
These rests or supports are provided with strong
springs which keep them all in contact with the wood and support the
same from below whatever may be the varying thickness of the wood.
The carriage and frame A in which the cutters are mounted is made to
travel longitudinally in suitable guides so as to cause the cutters to
travel along the spokes while the latter are rotating. The driving gear
is therefore provided with a series of guide pullies f, f, Fig. 16, so as to
keep the band in tension wherever the cutting tools b, b, may be
operating and while they are travelling along the spoke.
An economy is space and in cost of manufacture is effected by
causing the cutters to travel over the pattern instead of the pattern
being made to travel under the cutter. For this purpose a long screw
shaft g, Fig. 18, is driven by means of a screw and worm wheel / or
other suitable means at one end, and this screw passes through a
block on the under side of the carriage A in which the collars are
mounted.
It will be understood therefore that as the screwed shaft g is rotated
by the worm h or other suitable means it will carry slowly forward the
carriage A and its cutters b, b. At the other end of this screwed shaft g
is a toothed wheel g¹ which, by means of an intermediate wheel drives
the gearing a whereby the spokes a, a, are rotated.
The next improvement relates to the mode of adjustment of the
under cutter blocks employed for planing and moulding wood, and is
shewn in Sheets X., XI., and XII., in which Fig. 19 is a side elevation
of a planing and moulding machine; Fig. 20 is a transverse vertical
section of the same; Fig. 21 is another transverse vertical section, one
half of the Figure shewing the bottom cutter slides and the other half
the side cutter slides; Fig. 22, Sheet XI., is a plan view of the machine ;
Fig. 23, Sheet XII., is a longitudinal vertical section of part of the
machine; and Figures 24 and 25 are sectional views of some of the
parts detached.
The under cutter blocks c and c, Figures 21 and 23,
may be raised and lowered as may be required by means of the cams m
mounted on a horizontal shaft m', Fig. 21, which may be turned on its
axis by means of a hand lever m², and retained in any position by means
of a lock nut m³ working in a quadrant slot m*, Fig. 19. Or the
horizontal shaft m² may be worked by means of an endless screw or
snail taking into a worm wheel. The cams m act against the under side
of the brackets which carry the cutter blocks c and e, as shewn in

page_text: Figures 21 and 23, and by turning the cams the cutters may be adjusted
with great accuracy. The vertical adjustment of the side blocks n, n, of
machines for planing and moulding wood is effected by means of
nuts n', n', on the ends of the spindles in combination with retaining
plates on which the nuts work. These adjusting nuts and plates may
be placed at either end of the vertical spindles. The construction and
operation of this adjusting device will be best understood by referring to
the detached view, Fig. 24, which represents the cutter block and the
upper end of the spindle drawn on an enlarged scale. n is the cutter
block; o is its spindle with a screwed end to receive the adjusting
nut n and jamb nut 1. The adjusting nut n¹ works against a plate or
washer 2, which is screwed down to the top of the cutter block n. If it
be desired to raise or lower the block on its spindle the jamb nut 1
must be loosened, and then by turning the adjusting nut n¹ the block
may be raised or lowered to the extent desired, and then again secured
by the jamb nut. As one of the side cutter blocks works through the
fence it requires but little adjustment laterally, and that very seldom,
but the other side cutter blocks require a greater latitude of adjustment,
the amount depending upon the width of the wood to be operated
upon.
In order to save the connections and apparatus necessary for separate
screws for each of the blocks, I by a simple contrivance use the same
screw shaft for both side cutter block slides..
This part of my Invention is also applicable to other machines in
which two slides are employed, and one of them requires but little
lateral adjustment.
The mode of effecting the lateral adjustment of the side cutter blocks
by means of one shaft will be understood by referring to the sectional
plan view Fig. 25, Sheet XII., in which n* is the vertical spindle of the
side cutter which works through the fence and consequently requires
but little adjustment, and n is the vertical spindle of the other cutter
block. The screwed shaft p works through a sleeve shaft q screwed
externally and working in a female screw tapped in the side frame r of
the machine. The screw thread on the outside of the sleeve shaft is the
same pitch as the screwed part of the shaft p, one end of which takes
into the lug n on the outside cutter block n*. On this screwed shaft p
is a fixed collar which bears against one end of the sleeve shaft 9. There
are also two fixed collars, one on cach side of the lug n cast on the

page_text: .
outside block, and through which the screw shaft passes, and in which it
freely revolves. In order to move or adjust the block n it is merely
necessary to turn the screw shaft p by causing the screw 3 to lock the
boss 4 of the hand wheel p* on to the shaft p,. and the end of the sleeve
acting as a shoulder for the screw shaft p to bear against, the shaft p
being turned by the hand wheel p*. To move or adjust the other
block n it is necessary to turn both the screw shaft p and the sleeve
shaft q at the same time. This is effected by locking the boss 4 to the
sleeve shaft q by means of the screw 5. The screwed part of the screwed
shaft Р in this case simply turns in the nut of the cutter block n
without moving the latter.
In order to produce good clean work with rapidity in cutting
mouldings, I arrange the cutters in a peculiar manner, as shewn in
Fig. 19, Sheet X. The timber a is fed in by suitable feed rollers, and
passes first under a rotary cutter b, which roughs out the moulding on
the top side; it then passes over the second or bottom cutter c, which
roughs out the under side of the moulding. The wood then passes to.
two vertical cutters n, n, one placed in advance of the other. The first
of these planes and shoots the inner edge of the moulding which works
against the fence, and the other reduces the piece of wood to an uniform
width. The wood passes on to two other cutters d and e, one placed
above and one below the table. These cutters finish the moulding on
both sides. The last top and bottom cutter blocks are driven at an
increased speed by belts passing over pulleys on the first top and
bottom blocks respectively. The pressure block fover the under cutter c
is attached to the saddle or bracket g, which carries the top cutter and
therefore rises and falls simultaneously with it and avoids the necessity
of employing independent carriages. The pressure block f is hinged to
the bracket or saddle of the top cutter block or mounted on a centre
at 6, so that it may be turned back over the top block, thus leaving both
blocks free to the operator to sharpen and adjust the cutters.
The vertical spindles o of the side cutter blocks n, n, are lubricated in
a somewhat novel manner, which will be best understood by referring
to the detached view Fig. 7ª, Sheet II., which represents a sectional view
of the step 8, Fig. 19, drawn upon an enlarged scale o. Fig. 7* is the
lower end of the cutter spindle, which is made conical and rests upon a
moveable block 7 in a conical recess in the screwed step 8, which being
screwed externally is capable of adjustment vertically as may be required.
B

page_text: At the upper end of the step 8 is an oil cup &¹ to receive oil or some
other lubricant. The moveable block 7 in the step rests upon the upper
end of a screw 8 which is tapped in the bottom of the step, and by
turning this screw. 8 the cutter spindle o may be raised or lowered in the
step. When the conical end of the spindle wears away it will only be
necessary to lower the screw 8 and let the spindle down in its bearing.
The vertical spindles in the other machines may be mounted in the
same manner in adjustable steps provided with oil cups, as shewn at
Fig. 7, Sheet II.
The next improvement relates to the devices and mechanical arrange-
ments for cutting tenons, in which two sets of cutting tools are applied
to one machine, so that the tenons at both ends of a piece of wood may
be cut simultaneously.
This improvement is shewn in Sheet XIII., in which Fig. 26 is an
end elevation of the machine, and Fig. 27 a side elevation. As the
distances apart of these tenons will vary according to the purpose for
which the wood is required; I adapt an adjustable table, which by means
of parallel telescopic bars t, t, is expanded or contracted as the two sets
of cutting apparatus B and B* are brought nearer to or further from
each other. When the distance of the cutting blocks from each other
is accurately adjusted, the telescopic table is secured by tightening
screws t¹.
The mode of driving the cutters and adjusting them vertically is so
clearly shown in the Drawings as to require no further or more detailed
description.
Fig. 28, Sheet XIV., is a front elevation; and Fig. 29 an end elevation
of a machine for cutting veneers from a log. The knife or cutter is
fixed in a swivelling carriage u mounted in a vertical frame or standards.
The object of mounting the carriage u on the swivel u* is to allow of
the knife being set at different angles with regard to the grain of the
wood under operation. To this end screw studs q, q, at each end of the
carriage u are made to take into sector slots or grooves in the vertical
standards, and may be screwed up tight when the carriage with the knife
is set at the proper angle.
Motion is communicated to the wood instead of to the knife as in
other machines of this class, and therefore the knife being stationary
can be more firmly fixed and secured, and better work can be turned

page_text: out than with machines in which the knife is moveable.
It will also be
found that the arrangement shewn in the Drawings is more convenient
for removing the veneers after they are cut from the log.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Machinery
for Cutting and Shaping Wood," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
First. Making the vertical rod or bar which transmits the pressure
from the weighted lever to the pressure rollers adjustable, as and for
the purpose herein set forth. I also claim adjusting the fulcrum of the
pressure lever automatically, as and for the purpose herein set forth and
more particularly shewn in Sheet II.
Second. I claim constructing and arranging the saw frame and driving
gear of horizontal sawing frames in such a manner that the length of
the machine may be considerably reduced, and the saw frame and driving
gear may be raised and lowered simultaneously, as and for the purpose
herein set forth.
Third. I claim adapting to deal sawing frames one or more extra
feeding rollers, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fourth. I claim covering the feeding rollers and clamping surfaces
of wood-cutting machines with india-rubber or other elastic material.
Fifth. I claim adapting to cross cutting machines a self-acting stop,
as shewn in Sheet V.
Sixth. I claim the general construction and arrangement of parts
shewn in Sheet VI., or any mere modification thereof for forming in
wooden sleepers, the seats for railway chairs, and also boring the holes
for the bolts or trenails. I claim particularly imparting an intermittent
motion to the chains which carry forward the sleepers so that the
seats may be cut and the holes drilled without the assistance of the
attendant.
Seventh. I claim the construction, arrangement, and mode of working
the feeding and pressing rollers, as set forth and shewn in Sheet VII.
Eighth. I claim adapting to that class of wood-cutting machines
technically known as copying machines of self-acting rests for supporting
the wood while being operated on by the cutters.
Ninth. I claim the vertical adjustment of the bottom cutter blocks of
moulding and planing machines by means of a cam shaft, as herein set

page_text: forth. I also claim the mode herein set forth of adjusting laterally the
side cutter spindles of planing and moulding machines, and also the
adjustment vertically of the cutter blocks on such spindles, as herein set
forth.
3
Tenth. In reference to tenoning machines I claim the application to
such machines of the telescopic arrangement of the sliding table t, t, as
herein set forth.
Eleventh. In reference to machines for cutting veneers I claim im-
parting a vertical motion to the log instead of to the knife as heretofore,
and mounting the knife in a swivelling frame so that it may be set at an
angle, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Twelfth. I claim the mode herein set forth of constructing step
bearings for the vertical spindles of wood-cutting machines.
In witness whereof, I, the said Allen Ransome, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.