July 10, 1921 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



By A. H. Noyes 



President, Hills-McCanna Company, Chicago 



DuriiifT the past few years tlun'c has bocn a ra|iiilly growiiiK 

 tendency on the part of manuf.-icturers toward central control of 

 lubrication. Few industrial manufacturing plants present as many 

 obstacles for central control as does the saw mill, and perhaps the 

 very obstacles offered have been responsible for the f;reat advance- 

 ment toward more efficient and economical methods of distributinfj 

 lubricant to the varied classes of equipment found in the up-to- 

 date establishment. 



Failure of the oiler to reach important bearings at the proper 

 time, clogging of gravity systems on account of flying sawdust 

 and bark, freezing and bursting of hydrostatic machines, changes 

 in oil flow due to temperature conditions with its consequent reflec- 

 tion on oil delivery, causing expensive shut downs, and labor con- 

 ditions, early presented a problem to saw mill operators that 

 demanded radical departures from previous accepted methods of 

 oiling, and led to the perfection of the mechanical systems, cen- 

 trally controlled, that are fast being adopted by progressive lumber 

 manufacturers throughout the country. 



In Figure 1 is shown a centrally controlled force feed oiling 

 system now operating in the plant of the Marathon Lumber Com- 

 pany, at Laurel, Miss., which consists of a forty-two feed, two unit 

 device that operates in parallel. 



The two units are mounted on a specially constructed table in 

 the main engine room, and are driven indirectly from the eccentric 

 of a Filer & Stowell Corliss engine. 



The eighteen feed two compartment unit supplies cylinder and 

 machine oil to the steam cylinders and liearings on the short side, 



Fig. 1 — "Central Station" of force feed oiKng system 



Fig. 2 — A six-feed lubricator on a Wickes gang saw 



and the twenty-four feed two compartment unit serves like equip- 

 ment on the long side. 



Both machines are driven directly from the jack shaft mounted 

 back of the machines, which is driven directly off the eccentric on 

 the engine, and either unit may be disconnected from the driving 

 mechanism when one side of the mill is not in operation. 



The lubricator serving this mill, as can be noted in the cut, 

 embodies many interesting features. 



It will be noticed that all working parts of the oil pumps are 

 on top of the reservoir, in plain view of the engineer, where 

 repairs or adjustments may be quickly attended to. Each pump 

 valve is a separate unit; which permits regulation to take care of 

 the varied requirements of each point lubricated, disconnecting 

 when the machine is out of service, and repairing when needed, 

 without interfering with the operation of the other jiumps, or 

 stopping the power. 



Cross Section View 



A cross section of the pumping unit shows a one-piece casting, 

 in which all complex parts have been eliminated, and by which 

 the oil is passed from the oil reservoir, through a mechanical sight 

 feed to the point to be lubricated. The oil is neither subjected to 

 atmospheric pressure nor does it come in contact with steam from 

 the time it leaves the oil reservoir until it reaches the delivery 

 point. No possibility exists, therefore, for the device to become 

 air bound, causing failure to deliver through the pipes, and- the 

 full lubricating qualities of the oil are realized. 



By individual adjustment of each pump valve, just the right 

 amount of oil is delivered to each of the machines and steam 

 cylinders, in accordance with their needs, both as to service ren- 

 dered, and speed at which they are driven. 



The mechanical sight feed, being on the discharge side of the 

 pump, shows the oil actually flowing to the point to be lubricated, 

 and functions equally as well a thousand feet away from the pump 

 as it does when placed directly at the pump, whether in a vertical 

 or horizontal position, upright or upside down. A special ball 



