92 
Report on the Trials of Sheaf-Binders 
in mastering the somewhat complicated mechanism by which 
the required motions are produced : — 
It may be as well in the first instance to give details of measurement, 
pvemisina; that the foundation, as in King's, is one of Samuelson's ordinary 
Eclipse Manual Reapers with double throw of knife. 
ft. in. 
Width of cut 4 3 
Depth of platform 5 0 
"Width over all running way 8 6 
Ditto at right angles . . . . 10 6 
Weight, said to be about 21 cwts. 
Driving-wheel, smooth 28"x85 
The platform at the rear of the knife is slotted in a direction parallel to 
the knife-bar, to allow the traverse of five iron rakes, which project up through 
the slots 18 inches ; they are slightly hooked at their upper ends towards the 
binder, and have a traverse of 5 feet 6 inches. The platform is horizontal as 
far as the width of cut, it then rises towards the binder ; the two sections, 
as will be hereafter described, are hinged, and have a certain amount of 
rocking motion. The rakes traverse from the extreme outer side of the plat- 
foi m to close up to where the sheaf is tied ; when they reach the limit of 
travel towards the binder they fall back below the platform, return to the 
outer side of the machine underneath it, in a horizontal position, and rise up 
again to rake the freshly cut corn. The rakes are keyed on to a rocking-shalt, 
which is kept in two positions by spring catches. In the one position the 
rakes are up and advancing to the binder; when they reach the end of their 
traverse the catch is drawn aside by coming against a wedge-shaped stop, the 
end of which, as soon as the catch is drawn owt, strikes against a stop, and 
turns the rakes down below the platform, and in a similar manner at the end 
of the return stroke the rakts are released and raised. The motion of the 
driving-wheel is communicated by means of a pinion to a short shaft and 
bevel wheel capable of being connected by a clutch actuated by a lever under 
the driver's control to an inclined shaft, the lower end of which carries 
the disc-crank which actuates the knives, while about its centre is keyed a 
bevel wheel which engages with another actuating a vertical shaft, which 
by means of a tangent screw causes a short shaft, on a higher level than 
the inclined shaft, to revolve, and also by a womi drives the reel. 
The forward end of the short shaft last described carries a crank, the pin of 
which engages into a slotted lever, the lower end of which is furnished with a 
bevel-toothed segment which actuates a corresponding segment on the short end 
of a curved horizontal lever, the long end of which is connected by a rod to 
the axis of a small spur wheel, one side of which runs in a fixed rack under 
the platform, and the other side in a movable rack, the outer end of which 
is secured to the rocking-shaft which carries the rakes. By this arrangement 
the stroke of the lever is doubled in a very simple and efiicient manner. , 
Binding Mtchanism.—[j\iAev the raised outer portions of the platform is a 
rocking-shaft, the rear end of which carries the curved binding-lever, and the 
forward end has a crank actuated through a pair of links by a swinging-lever 
furnished with a curved slot, into which engages the [lin of a crank secured 
in a crank-disc keyed on the rear cud of the shaft la^st described. The reel 
holding the sti ing is placed near the ground on the outer side and in rear of the 
platform ; the string is carried inwards through a short bell-mouthed pipe, and 
then upwards through a tube along the binding-arm. The upper end of the tube 
is furnished with a light spring, which presses on the string and locks it in the 
event of its tending to slip backwards and become unthreaded. From this 
tube the string passes through a double wedge-shaped projection or string- 
