US550825A - Sawmill - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 sheetssheet 1.

G. W. GRAY. SAWMILL.

No. 550,825. Patent d Dee. s". 1895.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Dec. 3, 1895.

' G. W. GRAY.

SAWMILL.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE VASI-IINGTON GRAY, OF LELIATON, GEORGIA.

SAW M L L.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550,825, dated December 3, 1895.

Application led .Tuly 9, 1895. Serial No. 555,437. (No model.) u

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WASHINGTON GRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Leliaton, in the county of Coffee and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sawmills; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a sawmill especially adapted for the manufacture of rift, edge-grain, and quarter-sawed lumber.

In the mills hitherto made for such purpose it has been the custom to out the logs into flat or square deals or cants by means of a large circular or band saw before they could be passed to the rift-machine for cutting them into rift material. In performing this operation the log has to be turned upon its longitudinal axis a number of times, and only certain parts of it will make rift-boards, the balance, which usually amounts to about sixty per cent. of the log, being left aslowgrade lumber of very little value. These difficulties in the manufacture of rift and edgegrain lumber have made the market value so far in excess of the ordinary kind as to leave but little profit to the manufacturer.

It is the purpose of my improvements to overcome these obstacles by producing a machine which will not only save the loss above mentioned, but will effect a proportionate saving in time and labor.

To this end my invention consists of a double table provided with oppositely-driven saws, which co-operate with a peculiar kind of feeding mechanism, all of which will be more fully described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a top view of my complete device; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof, and Fig. 3 an end view showing two quarters of Va log in process of simultaneous treatment.

The framework upon which the double table and the other mechanism are mounted consists of longitudinal outside bars l, cross-bars 2, and a central longitudinal bar 3, all of which are mounted upon legs 4.

The saws, feed-rollers,shafts,mandrels, and pulleys are all mounted in a' centrally-disposed iron frame 5.

The numeral 6 represents the saws, which are mounted upon oppositely-driven mandrels 7, placed end to end in axial alignment. As each saw and its driving mechanism is an exact duplicate of the other, a description of one will suffice for both.

On the mandrel 7 is fixed the main drivingpulley 8, which is actuated by a belt from any suitable counter-shaft. Power is communicated to spiked feeding-rollers 9 and l0 through the medium of an` endless belt l1, which passes over pulleys l2 and 13 on the shafts 14 and l5 and a small pulley I6 on the saW-mandrels 7. This belt is tightened and loosened to drive or stop the feed -rcllers through the medium of a loose pulley 17, located beneath the pulley 16 and centered upon the free end of an arm 18, pivoted on the frame 5. This arm is connected to asubstantially horizontal operating-rod 19, which extends out to the end of the table and is provided with a handle 22 and holding-notches 20, which engage a supporting-hook 2l.

It will be observed that the belt is so applied to the pulleys as to drive the spiked rollers 9 and l0 in the `same direction as denoted by arrows to feed the log to and past the saw.

For convenience in description that portion of the table and its mechanism which lies on the right-hand side of the central longitudinal bar 3 of the framing will be termed the right-hand half and that portion which lies on the opposite side of said bar will be termed the left-hand half. In each half are located at suitable distances apart a series of idle rollers 33, over which the quarter travels toward and from the saw, and each saw is provided with a suitable guide 34, secured to a post 35, rising from over the inandrel.

In front of the saw and extending longitudinally alongside the table is a gage 23, the inner edge of which is straight and adapted to be moved in and out to regulate the thickness required of the board to be sawed from the quarter. This adjustment of the gage is IOO effected through the medium of parallellinks 24, having their ends pivoted tothe gage and to a bracket 25, respectively. In order to dog or hold the quarter against the gage to cut a straight board, I provide an overhanging rolling weight 26, centered on the free end of a pivoted arm 27, which projects over the path of the quarter and is adapted to roll upon the curved side thereof during the sawing operation. This weight in the present instance merely consists of a round flat-sided wheel having a flat peripheryT and revolving loosely on the free end of the spindle, the opposite end of the spindle being secured to a pivot 28, mounted in an upright 29, rising from the frame 5. This pivot is disposed at a point considerably above the saw and on the outside of the log, so as to extend downward and hold the quarter iirmly against the straight edge of the gage, thereby directing the pressure of the roller toward the gage. The roller is raised up and down and thrown in and out of use by means of a cable 30, attached to the free end of the spindle and to the end of an overhead lever 3l, which has its opposite end extending back to within easy access of the operator, where it is provided with a hand-pull 32.

The preferred construction of my device having been set forth, I will now proceed to brieiiy describe the manner in which it operates.

An operator is stationed at each end of the table, and two separate quarters of a log are placed upon the right and left halves thereof, with flat sides down and vertical sides against the gages 23. The weighted rollers are now lowered upon the quarters and the latter pushed upon the feed-rollers 9, which take them up and feed them to the saws. As soon as the end of the quarter has passed to the opposite side of the saw, the spiked rollers 10 take hold to aid in the feeding and guid ing operation.A Thus it will be seen that the two quarters will pass each other and a board be simultaneously sawed off each. Each operator now gives his quarter three turns on its longitudinal axis, which will transfer it from one half to the other half of the table and bring the iiat side, which was down, into a vertical position against the gage for the sawing off of another board upon returning to the starting-point. These -operations are continued until thc entire quarter is converted into boards, thereby not only saving an immense amount of Wastage, but a corresponding amount of labor.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a saw-mill, the combination of oppositely driven saws, a longitudinally-double table provided with rollers adapted to receive the logs, and located in such juxtaposition in relation to each other as to enable the logs to be turned laterally and moved from one half of the table to the other half, feed rollers disposed before the saws, and means for gagin g and holding the logs in true alignment as they are fed to the saws, substantially as described.

2. In a saw-mill, the combination of alongitudinally-double table having its opposite halves provided with oppositely driven saws, feed rollers disposed before each of the saws, gages disposed alongside said rollers, and a pivoted weight adapted to bear by gravity upon the rounded side of the log during its passage past the saw, substantially as described. l

3. The herein described saw-mill mechanism consisting of a longitudinally-double sawtable provided with oppositely-driven saws, a feed and drawing off roller located before and behind each of said saws, in combination with means for guiding and holding the log during its endwise movement, whereby two quarters or logs are sawed simultaneously While moving in opposite directions, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WASHINGTON GRAY.

lVitnesses:

JOE H. MYERS, J. T. M. WATKINs.

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