HARDWOOD RECORD 



26E 



Development of the Horizontal Band ResaW. 



The liurizoutal baud resaw is the evolu- 

 tion of a type of machine, originally pro- 

 duced in England, which was cumbersome 

 to a degree and never acceptable to the 

 American mind. In a general way the hori- 

 zontal resaw has been on the markets of the 

 United States for about ten years. It was 

 originally designed as a slab resaw only, 

 and for a time was almost entirely used in 

 reclaiming merchantable stock that might 

 be in the slab product. Today it is being 

 used extensively, and it has naturally fol- 

 lowed that attempts have been made to 

 manufacture lumber, as well as to resaw 

 slabs on the horizontal machine. Various 

 difficulties have been encountered in these 

 efforts, and it was the opinion of E. C. Mer- 

 shon, mechanical 

 expert of W. B. 

 Mershon & Co., 

 of Saginaw, 

 Mich., that none 

 of those on the 

 market were en- 

 tirely satis f a c- 

 tory, nor as ef- 

 ficient, accurate 

 and reliable as 

 they should be 

 for the manufac- 

 ture of lumber. 

 With this in 

 mind, he deter- 

 mined to under- 

 take the design- 

 ing of a hori- 

 zontal resaw 

 adapted to every 

 sawmill require- 

 ment; in other 

 words, a ma- 

 chine which 

 should not only 

 reclaim any val- 

 uable stock there 

 might be in the 



slabs, but which could be used for resaw- 

 ing planks and cants as well. The result 

 of his investigations and careful study of 

 the problem is embodied in the resaw here- 

 with pictured. 



Varying the thickness of the cut by rais- 

 ing or lowering the entire feed bed of the 

 machine to many minds is a very objec- 

 tionable feature, and in oruer to avoid it 

 Mr. Mershon 's resaw is provided with a 

 stationary feed bed, mounted on a substan- 

 tial I-beam frame some twelve feet long. 

 This frame is securely attached to a massive 

 bed plate, which carries the supports for 

 the saw wheels. The entire construction 

 is low and not subject to vibration. The 

 long bed referred to carries six powerfully 

 driven rolls, and is provided with an ad- 

 justable center guide, running down its en- 

 tire length. By means of this device either 



sluljs or planks may lie rcsawn indiscrim- 

 inately at the same time. 



In order to adapt the machine to resaw- 

 ing exceptionally wide stock, the guide is 

 so attached that it can be instantly shifted 

 to the extreme left-hand side of the bed, 

 enabling the machine to take care of any- 

 thing that comes down the live rolls, no 

 matter how wide, how thick, or how irreg- 

 ular the upper surface may be, as in the 

 case of very rough or bell butt slabs. Where 

 the product of a mill runs largely to strips, 

 or narrow dimension stock, two pieces can 

 be fed at the same time on either side of 

 the guide, making four in all. The machine 

 is so designed that means can be con- 

 veniently provided for returning stock for 



SIDE VIEW HORIZONT.\L BA.VD RESl.WV. MFD. BY W. !'•. MKIiSUdX & Co., S.\(;IN.\\V. MICH 



a second cut. 



To vary the thickness of the cut, with 

 the stationary feed bed referred to, a pair 

 of so-called crowding wheels are utilized. 

 These are supported by a yoke, and they in 

 turn support the cutting section of the saw 

 blade, so that it can be instantly set by 

 quarters of an inch, either scant or full, to 

 cut any desired thickness of lumber. They 

 also serve the purpose of saw guides in a 

 most satisfactory manner. An excellent 

 feature of this part of the mechanism is 

 that the crowding wheel, following the cut 

 and serving as a saw guide, presents no ob- 

 struction to sawdust or refuse, cannot clog 

 up and pinch the saw or cause troublesome 

 miscuts. Another is that by supporting the 

 saw blade at tvpo points between the band 

 saw wheels and adjacent to the cut, the 

 efficiency of the blade itself is greatly in- 



creased and greater accuracy insured. This 

 special advantage which the machine pos- 

 sesses has attracted much attention and is 

 a source of surprise to every practical lum- 

 berman who has seen it in operation. 



The upper press rollers are sectional, and 

 so constructed that they will adapt them- 

 selves to whatever stock passes beneath 

 them. As regularly constructed they raise 

 twelve inches above the bed of the ma- 

 chine. 



Mr. Mershon 's intention in evolving this 

 horizontal resaw was not to put upon the 

 market a machine which, on account of its 

 low price, would compete with others, but 

 to build the very best of this type that ex- 

 perience and mechanical ingenuity could 

 devise. He has 

 not only done 

 this, but has suc- 

 cessfully o V e r- 

 come every ob- 

 jection to the 

 horizontal resaw 

 in its previous 

 stages of devel- 

 opment. While 

 liis manner of 

 c n struetion is 

 somewhat of an 

 i n Ji o V a tion, it 

 has proved en- 

 tirely practi e a 1 

 and thoroughly 

 reliable. L u m- 

 bermen who for 

 any reason de- 

 sire a horizontal 

 machine, but 

 who at the same 

 time insist that 

 their mills shall 

 turn out good 

 lumber and in 

 large quantities, 

 will doub 1 1 e s s 

 find in this machine exactly what they 

 need. Hardwood operators, especially those 

 making thin lumber, should find the use of 

 the horizontal resaw particularly advanta- 

 geous. 



Specifically, a description of the machine 

 is as follows: 



The six lower feed rolls are all driven, 

 and are mounted on a substantial I-beam 

 frame, forming a long bed or support for 

 the stock; this bed extends fully six feet 

 both in front of and behind the saw, secur- 

 ing a stable and accurate delivery of either 

 slabs, planks or cants to the saw. 



Unlike other horizontal resaws, the lower 

 rolls are not raised and lowered for sawing 

 different thicknesses, but are permanently 

 lined at the proper height to correspond 

 with the live rolls and transfer chains — i. e., 

 are as carefully lined as the carriage track 



