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HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 2u. 1922 



of ball bearings and thus the two developments are more or less 

 related. Ball bearings are now to be found on a host of machines, 

 shapers, moulders, planers, double-end tenoners and many others. 

 It required a great deal of experimenting and research work to 

 bring them to their present high state of efficiency. Direct motor 

 drives have been applied to moulders, double-end tenoners, shapers, 

 saw^ tables; in fact, almost any woodworking machine can now be 

 equipped with direct motor drive if the purchaser desires. 



It may be here said that the electrical industry has kept step con- 

 tinuously with the advance and progress of the woodworking ma- 

 chine tool manufacturers and are developing electrical apparatus 

 as soon as the machine tool manufacturer has any idea of any new 

 equipment to place upon the market. 



In discussing ball bearings in connection with w^oodworking ma- 

 chinery the development of thrust bearings has also been very in- 

 teresting. For example : on the little disk sander, or the speed 



arbor, being the last word. The hoUow^ chisel type is the best type 

 for general purpose w^ork at this time. 



Tenoners have been splendidly improved and the most striking 

 of these improvements has been the development of a tenoner that 

 does not sprawl all over the shop, the making of a self-contained 

 machine without belts running off to a countershaft far separated 

 from the machine itself. It takes quite a lot of power to drive the 

 old style of tenoner and the introduction of ball bearings has been 

 most welcome here. The tilting table has been introduced so as 

 to do angle w^ork. This eliminates the time necessary to make 

 forms for angle tenons, as would have to be done on the old rigid 

 tables. Ball bearing tables have also been introduced, which make 

 it easier for the operator to push the table forw^ard and back. 

 These machines are now furnished with a special motor operating 

 each spindle. In this case only the spindles actually doing work 

 are operated, securing the minimum consumption of power. 



By Courtesy The l)e Vilbiss x\rfn. Co. 



The Modem Method of Finishing Furniture 



lathes, or the big disk sanders, or. indeed, any other machine where 

 a thrust is involved, the thrust ball bearings now produced will 

 carry this thrust without increasing the friction of the motor, at 

 a considerable saving in power. 



Motors Applied to Saws 



Ball bearings have been introduced not only for the saw^ arbors 

 themselves, but for idlers and rolling sections of tables where they 

 have them. Motor application has mostly been introduced in the 

 last ten years, the first improvement having been to apply to motor; 

 second, to build the motor in in a self-contained manner and usually 

 belt it to the arbors, and, lastly, to have the arbor of the saw 

 bench one and the same. In other words, a motor arbor sav^r 

 bench. 



Ball bearings have also been introduced on sw^ing saws and mo- 

 tors were first applied to this tool overhead, so as to make a self- 

 contained unit, and later have been built in the arbor so as to make 

 a motor arbor swing saw^, eliminating belts altogether. 



In the matter of boring machines, ball bearings have been in- 

 troduced and various other improvements have been made, until 

 now the motor spindle boring machine is offered. 



The same things that have been said about the boring machine 

 may be said about the mortiser, the motor in head, or motor in 



In connection w^ith the reference to swing saws the developnient 

 of swing saw tables should have been mentioned. Sw^ing saw tables 

 are now being built with exhaust hoods and regularly fitted with 

 autoniatic swing saw gauges and stops for cutting off lumber auto- 

 matically at certain lengths. 



Safety Has Been Deferred To 



An entire article might well be devoted to the single item of 

 the development in the past few years of safety appliances for 

 woodw^orking machinery. A remarkable and most praisew^orthy 

 progress has been made in this direction and the principle of safety 

 in the construction of woodworking machinery is everywhere 

 recognized and deferred to by makers of these tools. Therefore, 

 the mention of one or two safety appliances will suffice to suggest 

 the improvements that have been made. Protecting all dangerous 

 parts of a machine, such as belts and gears, has been a marked 

 improvement during the last ten years on saw^ benches as w^ell as 

 guarding of the saws under the table and the saw^s over the table. 

 An automatic guard has been developed for the swing saw, w^hich 

 completely covers the saw, raising over the w^ork automatically. 

 Guards have been applied over both wheels of band saws and the 

 lower parts of the band saw have been constructed so as to con- 

 nect with the exhaust connection. 



(Continued un itagc 4.4) 



