HARDWOOD RECORD 



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when one side Is perfect in the rough state a 

 light or moderate cut by the bottom head, worls- 

 ing face down, is less liable to develop defects 

 than when a heavy cut Is taken from the face 

 side. 



When stock is worked face up and the bottom 

 head cuts first, the amount of stock which the 

 bottom head is set to remove is sure to be 

 taken, repardles<! of the fact that the stock in a 

 rough state may not be as much thicker than 

 finish size as the bottom head Is set to cut, 

 thereby spoiling the piece ; while in working face 

 down with the wedge platen device hereafter 

 described no cut Is taken from the back unless 



S. A. WOODS WEDOE PLATEN. 



there is more surplus stock than Is needed to 

 clean the face. 



W_hen surplus stock Is taken from the face 

 side the average cut is heavier than that which 

 is taken by a fixed cut, thereby causing the 

 knives to wear faster and to require more fre- 

 quent sharpening, and the trouble is Intensified 

 by the fact that In working face up and taking 

 the surplus cut with the top head, which also 



working face up, the sap Is preserved, while 

 the heart is thrown away. There is no doubt 

 that working the average heart face strip face 

 down will prevent from 10 to 15 per cent lower- 

 ing In grade. The same statement applies in 

 working any stock when it Is desirable to remove 

 the surplus from the poorer side. 



Aside from saving stock and keeping up the 

 grade, working face down provides for smoother 

 work, faster feed, less frequent stoppage of the 

 machine and less sharpening of knives. 



These and other facts have led the S. A. 

 Woods Machine Company of Boston to so design 

 their machines as to meet the con- 

 ditions In the best possible man- 

 ner. The outcome has been the 

 Woods wedge platen, which is 

 recognized by experts as the 

 greatest Improvement applied to 

 Woods planing machines in re- 

 cent years. 



It provides for instantly chang- 

 ing the tut of the top and bottom 

 heads, distributing it as desired, 

 without altering the finished 

 thickness of the material or loca- 

 tion of matching, and permits of 

 finishing face down, securing all 

 the advantages attending this 

 method. The general design and 

 method of adjustment is shown 

 in the accompanying illustra- 

 tions. 



The platen or bed-piate before 

 the bottom cutter-head Is secured 

 on a heavy wedge, which Is con- 

 nected to a frame — fitted on 

 rails forming a part of the 

 sides of machine — that supports 

 the bottom feeitlng-ln rolls, the latter also rest- 

 ing on wedges. This frame when moved toward 

 or away from the cutter-heads— an adjustment 

 accomplished by the turning of a screw at the 

 teeding-ln end of machine— raises or lowers the 

 rolls and wedge platen simultaneously, the rela- 

 tive location of each remaining unchanged. 



In construction and arrangement the mechan- 

 ism Is the simplest possible, and there are abso- 



lutely no parts to get out of order or require 

 same, which makes It possible to keep the bara 

 very close to the cut, thus preventing the clip- 

 ping of ends and making a more even surface. 



When working face down the top head acts 

 as a roughing agent on the back of the stock, 

 reducing It to an even thickness and leaving a 

 dressed surface for the bar over the bottom 

 head, which, with the additional advantages o( 

 having always a uniform cut and the convex 

 side to work on when heavy cut Is taken by top 

 head, makes all conditions favorable to bottom- 

 head work, and of course all work is governed 

 by the conditions under which It is done. 



When any kind of lumber Is being dressed on 

 both sides It often happens that on account of 

 thin spots or unevenness in the rough surface 

 It Is desirable to take the least possible amount 

 from the under side, as it might be less objec- 

 tionable to have an occasional rough spot on 

 both sides than to have one side always perfect 

 and frequent rough spots on the other. The 

 wedge platen permits of adjusting the machine 

 to distribute the cut in such cases. It also 

 makes an instantaneous adjustment possible 

 when It Is necessary to change from double to 

 single surfacing, or vice versa. 



As to the uniformity of lumber, one lot is 

 likely to vary in many respects from another, 

 even If both came from the same sawmill. Some 

 shrink more than others, some will twist more, 

 and sometimes the saw leaves a rougher sur- 

 face than at others, all of which serves to make 

 a difference In the amount of cut absolutely re- 

 quired to produce a perfect surface, in run- 

 ning several lots of such lumber through the 

 ordinary machine, more or less of the output 

 would be of an Inferior quality, unless time 

 was taken to readjust for each variation, and this 

 would not be practical. The wedge platen per- 

 mits of distributing the cut to overcome the 

 above and obtains the best results. 



Ordinarily, when an operator discovers hla 

 machine Is out of adjustment and Is not pro- 

 ducing the best work, he considers the time 

 and trouble that will result In changing the ma- 

 chine for the better, and then concludes that the 

 work the machine Is doing Is good enough and 

 lets It go. But with the wedge platen the ad- 

 justments are concentrated at one point, and 



PLATEN ON LINE OF CUT. 



does the finishing, the knives which dull quickest 

 are those which make the finish surface. 



When stock Is closely sawed it frequently 

 happens that rough spots will be left on the side 

 dressed by the top head, while the bottom head 

 is sure to have a full cut; therefore It stock Is 

 being finished face down a perfect face Is as- 

 sured, all unfinished spots being left by the top 

 head on the back. When barked strips are be- 

 ing worked by this method the surplus Is re- 

 moved from the bark side. The bottom head 

 working the face Is certain of a full cut and 

 removes only a snfiicU'nt amount to give a per- 

 fect surface, thereby leaving a maximum amount 

 of imperfect stock to be removed from the bark 

 side by the fop head. By working In this man- 

 ner one perfect face Is assured and the largest 

 possible percentage of double face. 



When heart face Is being worked face down 

 the surplus stock Is removed from the sap side, 

 theretjy leaving all the heart, less the amount 

 required to clean the face side ; whereas 1> 



PLATEN BELOW LINE OF CDT. 



attention. The wedge platen saves labor, saves 

 stock. Increases the capacity of the machine, 

 assists in the production of a higher grade of 

 lumber, provides for maintaining a machine In 

 proper adjustment and working order, and In- 

 spires the operator to higher attainments. Its 

 Introduction Into planing machinery marks a 

 great advancement In such equipment. 



The bottom head, located near the center of 

 the main frame and surrounded by so much 

 metal as is the case of the Woods machine, Is 

 certainly running under more favorable condi- 

 tions than a top head which In every case Is 

 held in place by boxes clamped to a pair of posts 

 which are commonly called cutter-bead stands. 



The opening bftween the bars, before and 

 after the bottom bead. Is much less than be- 

 tween the bars of the top head, as no allowance 

 has to be mads for a yielding pressure or varia- 

 tion of cuts, and the relative position of the 

 bottom head and bars is always practically the 



The wedge platen Is embodied In all of the 

 leading sizes of planers and matchers and 

 double-surface planers manufactured by the S. 

 A. Woods Machine Company of Boston, Mass. 



New Smith Cutting-Off Saw. 



The n. B. Smith Machine Company, of Smlth- 

 vlIM, N. .7., has recently' developed a very fine 

 cutflng-off saw of the railway style. In which 

 the sa.v Is drawn Into the work by hand. A 

 picture of this new tool Is herewith shown. 



It Is particularly advantageous In sawing off 

 long or heavy timbers, which cannot be con- 

 veniently moved to the saw. 



The frame Is of modern design, being cast 

 whole and Internally ribbed, which, with 

 the broad girts, makes a rigid sup- 



