1874 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



31 



HOW TO MAKE A FOOT POWER It! /./,- 

 SAW, FOR MAKING HIVES. 



pp]HE following diagrams are drawn on a 

 J!!, scale of \ A inch to the foot ; the same let- 

 ters referring to the same parts in all. 



Fig. 1 Fig. 2 



I- M A 



A, A, A, etc. is the frame Avork made of hard 

 wood 8 by 3 scantling, put together with mor- 

 tises and tenons, and drawn up firmly with 

 bolts. Fig. 1, is a front view ; Fig. 2, a view 

 from the end where the operator stands ; Fig. 

 6, top frame work where the table top is raised 

 up as in dotted lines in Fig. 1 ; Fig. 4, table top, 

 and Fig. 5, treadle, The balance wheel B, seen 

 in Figs. 1, and 2, should if possible be as much 

 as 3 feet in diameter and weigh about 150 lbs ; 

 the shaft C, is made of a bar of square or round 

 iron at least l}.i inches in diameter for the 

 weight of balance given above. This shaft af- 

 ter the crank of 2^ inches stroke is forged in 

 at D, should measure about 1 1 .< feet, and con- 

 ical holes should be drilled in the ends to re- 

 ceive a heavy, pointed tempered steel screw, 

 screwed into the front legs at E, E, thus giving 

 a small amount of friction, with a ready means 

 of screwing up the bearings whenever they 

 become loose. Very much depends on a nice, 

 true, balance wheel, but many saws that do 

 very well are made with much lighter ones 

 than the above, and some of them are even 

 made of hard wood which however we cannot 

 recommend ; a better way is to buy some 

 kind of an iron wheel, even one selected from 

 heaps of old iron will many times do after be- 

 ing covered with wood and turned oft* true. 



The position of the saw and the manner of 

 supporting is clearly seen in Fig. 6; the saw 

 should be about 8 inches in diameter and can 

 usually be purchased best with the arbor, of 

 some saw maker. The driving pulley should 

 be about 2}£ inches in diameter, but two, 



would be better if covered with rubber which 

 can be had nicely adapted to the purpose, of 

 J. W. Sutton, 95 Liberty St. N. Y. As we have 

 arranged the pulley so near the balance, which 

 seems almost unavoidable for ease in working, 

 this rubber covering becomes very necessary 

 unless we fix a pulley to take up the siack of 

 the belt somewhere at F. The construction of 

 the top will be seen at a glance at Fig. 4, it 

 should be made, of l x 4 inch hard well seasoned 

 wood, screwed firmly to the 1 1 . 2 by 2 inch 

 pieces so as to leave the slot G, 4 inches wide, 

 for the bar II, to slide in. You can exercise 

 your skill in seeing how strait you can dress 

 out H, and how nicely you can fit it to slide 

 in G, for the accuracy of all of your work will 

 depend much on this; also see if you can fit I, 

 in place so perfectly square that you can saw 

 out a piece of board so true on all sides that 

 when turned clear around every corner trill be 

 sqmtre. 



It should also be adjusted to make a perfect 

 mitre such ' as is used in making picture 

 frames etc. Spring stops are used in both of 

 the bars I, and J, made of a strip of brass % 

 by 3 inches and about 1-16 thick, bent at right 

 angles at x . 2 inch from the end ; the long end 

 is fastened by two screws in the bottom of a 

 shallow mortise in such a way that the bent 

 portion projects as seen at I, but can be press- 

 ed out of the way by a slight pressure, conse- 

 quently when these stops are once set right 

 for the sides, ends or cover of a hive, by hold- 

 ing the corner of the board against the proper 

 one we always get exactly the same measurement ; 

 the same is true of frame stuff when held 

 against J. For rabbeting °tc 'tis very conve- 

 nient to be enabled to raise and lower the 

 whole top, this is done by the screw K, the 

 lower bar of the top, being entered at the ends 

 into holes made in blocks mortised in at Z, 

 permitting the top turning on it so as to allow 

 being raised as seen by the dotted lines in Fig. 

 1, also guides are hinged at each corner as seen 

 in M, and N, to enter mortises in bar A, shown 

 in Fig. G. 



O, is a strip l 1 ., inches square hinged with 

 three common hinges to back of table top in 

 such a way that it can be turned over on the 

 top, or turned completely below the surface on 

 the back side. The usual parallel stick P, 

 which should be about 2% square hardly 

 needs description, it is attached to O, by the 

 strips hinged to turn firmly at R, S, T and U, 

 and fastened in its place by bar Q, with a set 

 screw where it slides through a mortise in 

 stick O. 



Treadle, Fig. 5, is made of stuff about 2 by 3 

 and is pivoted on bars A, as seen at W, Fig. 1, 

 in a manner similar to the balance shaft. The 

 hook on the crank D, is pinned at its other 

 end in the treadle at X ; the step for the foot 

 is a piece I 1 ., by 6 inches by 2 feet and is 

 made to project at Y, for convenience in work- 

 ing at the side of the table in rabbeting etc. 



Top of table 3 by 4 1 ., feet ; top of table from 

 frame 3 inches. Top of table from floor 8 feet ; 

 distance between legs A, Length '•> feet, width 

 2 feet outside. Length of treadle 3 feet ; width 

 as great as the space will admit. We would 

 use a belt if soft about 3 inches wide. 



It will be observed, the balance runs a little 

 below the surface of the floor, and that we de- 



