OXO VOTED TO BEEW APSIID HOMEY, AIVD HOMiE ITSTTEHEST©. 



Vol. VI. 



NOVEMBER 1, 1878. 



No. 11. 



A. I. ROOT, ■) Published OToiitSily. (TEKMS: fil.OO Per Annum in AtT- 



Piiblisher and Proprietor, > ivsLnce; 3 Copies for %2.!yO^ 5 for %3.T 5; 



Medina, O. ) ESstatolislied in ISYa. (,10 oj 7nore, 60c. each. Single Number, 10c. 



MY EXPERIENCE. NO. 11. 



A HOME-MADE FOOT-POWER BUZZ SAW. 



Tnj?i AM sitting- in my work-shop wliere It is quiet, 

 jf jl and am using- my buzz saw table for a writing- 

 ~i desk. I made the most of said buzz saw mj'self, 

 and I am g-oing- to devote the wliole of this article to 

 a description of it, with the hope that it may help 

 some one else who has a "notion to make" a buzz 

 saw. 



I first made the large band wheel. It is composed 

 of felloes, 4 inches wide, sawed from two inch oak 

 plank, and pinned tog-ether. The wheel is S inches 

 thick, across the face, and 40 inches in diameter. 

 Two pieces of oak plank, S inches wide and 3 inches 

 thick, are halved together for spokes. The outside 

 ends of the spokes taper down to 4 inches in width, 

 and then enter mortises cut in the inside of the 

 wheel. Exactly in the centre of the wheel, where 

 the spokes cross, a square 3 inch mortise is cut for 

 the shaft. Inside of the wheel, opposite the treadle 

 cranks, are nailed pieces of old wagon tire; these 

 counterbalance the weight of the treadle. The 

 shaft is made from a oxS inch oak scantliTig, and ex- 

 tends the whole length of the buzz saw frame. I 

 spiked 4 wedge shaped pieces of plank upon the 

 shaft, one upon each side, with the wide ends all 

 one way. The wide ends of these pieces form a sort 

 of collar, or shoulder, against which the spokes of 

 the large wheel are firmly held by means of a key 

 through the shaft. I can take the key out, shove 

 the wheel along upon the shaft, and run a belt from 

 a little steam engine (if 1 am ever rich enough to 

 own one) to the pulley upon the saw shaft. If T 

 have a short job of sawing-, I can use foot-power; if 

 the job is a long one — why, turn on steam. 



Around each end of the shaft is an iron band; in 

 each end of the shaft is driven a gudgeon made 

 from ?.i inch round iron; and upon the end of each 

 gudgeon is a crank, 2?4 inches long. The treadle, or 

 rather the piece upon which my foot presses, comes 

 up hchind me, and from each end of this piece, a bar 

 of wood extends to the back part of the "ma- 

 chine," where it is fastened with a bolt, upon which 

 it turns. These bars pass directly under the cranks 

 which are upon the ends of the shaft, and are con- 

 nected with them by pitmans. The pitmans are 

 about 18 inches in length. 



I can tread upon any part of the treadle, and it 

 will go down steady and firm; the two cranks pre- 

 vent it from being "springy." 



The top of the frame-work is simnly a 2-inch oak 

 plank, one foot wide, and six and one-half feet long-. 

 At each end of this, "uprights," one foot wide, and 

 forty-two inches long-, are mortised and bolted. In 

 the center of each "upright," a hole is cut for the 

 shaft to pass through, and a piece of hard wood is 

 bolted upon the outside of each "upright," for the 

 gudgeons to run in. To the bottom of the uprights, 

 are pinned pieces of plank, 4 inches wide, and ;iJ4 ft. 

 long, and it is to the back end of these pieces that 

 the back end of the treadle bars are fastened. 



This frame, if such it can be called, is firmly 

 braced each way. 



Upon the top of this table, the buzz-«aw table 

 proper is fastened, with bolts, in such a maimer that 

 it can be removed in a few moments, and a turning 

 lathe put in its place and run by the same fo<)t-p()\\r- 



er. I should not have made the frame so long, if I 

 had not had this end in view. 



The upper part of the saw table is fastened at one 

 side, with hinges, and is raised or lowered with a 

 screw. One of the boards composing- the table— one 

 that is uear the saw— is left loose, so that it can be 

 slid backwards and forwards, the edges being bev- 

 eled to keep It securely in its place. 



Near the end of the board that is next the opera- 

 tor is fastened, at right angles, another strip of 

 board, :i inches wide, and 2\i feet long. The work is 

 placed in front of this strip, and then pushed up 

 against the saw, the strip holding it "squarely" to 

 the saw. 



That board in the table that comes next to the slid- 

 ing- board is fastened with bolts, so that it can be 

 moved up as it wears a^v^ly. I also have a gauge 

 that works parallel to the saw; it can be put close 

 vip to the saw, mo\ed 3 feet away, or taken off alto- 

 gether. Then there is a block frf wood that can be 

 fastened to the "sliding board" above mentioned, 

 and by leaning boards against this, and letting- their 

 lowei" edges come against the gauge that runs par- 

 allel with the saw, I can bevel their edges. This 

 block is fastened with a set screw, and can be 

 moved, so as to make bevels with ditf(;rent angles. 



In the center of the table, where the saw comes 

 up thrcmgh, is a small piece that can be removed, 

 and a piece with a larger slot cut in it can be put in 

 its place; the piece with the lai-ge slot is used when 

 I wish to set the saw wabbling. 



By looking- arovnul at the machine shops, I found 

 a small, second-hand mandrel. It was all complete, 

 with collars, and a :Mnch iron pulley, and ran in set 

 screws that fastened with bolts. They fitted it up 

 for the 6-inch Barnes saws, and let me have it for 

 fS.OO. 



To get enough motion, I had to use a. large band 

 wheel, and this made the table too high to work with 

 ease; to remedy this. I made a platform. 9 inches 

 high, to stand lipon, and "rigged" my treadle accord- 

 ingly. 



I bought Mrs. H. a new bed-tick, and she very gen- 

 erously gave me a six-ijjch stiip off one side the 

 cloth; this, I folded twice! stitched it upon the sew- 

 ing machine, and it made a nice belt, o inches wide, 

 and having a thickness of 4 layers of cloth. 



The material cost as follows: lumber, $4.75; bolts 

 and screws, ■^2.0'i; blacksmitliing, !?l.t"i; saws, S;3,00; 

 mandrel, f 2.00; belt, 32c. Total, .i;i:!.57. 



So much of the work was done at odd spells, that 

 it would be imiiossible to tcUexactly how much time 

 was occupied in its construction, but I do not think 

 it would be far from three weeks. 



I am well pleas(^d with my saw; I ha\e sawed out 

 1,000 fence pickets, cut up "ash. and walnut lumlier 

 for two bureaus, some stuff' fiu- rustic picture 

 frames, made a lot of bee-hives, &c. 



I would not advise any one to attempt to make a 

 buzz-saw, unless they have more time than money, 

 and a ?(H'c for such work; for they will have to over- 

 come many dilliculties, before they have their saw 

 "bvizzing""thr(iugh inch lumber, at the rate of "eight 

 feet per minute." W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Rogersville, Mich. 



INIany of your ideas are oxcellent, my 

 friend, and tlie iiitfciniity you have ex]iil)it- 

 ed ill iiiakiii<>- elieap ai)[)liaiices answer, with- 



