AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[January, 
16 
Drag^-Saw Machinery. 
Some of the subscribers of the Agriculturist 
have inquired for information concerning fix¬ 
tures for sawing logs into short cuts for wood, 
staves, wagon spokes, and other purposes. "We 
have engraved a representation of 
a drag-saw and carriage, with a log 
resting on it, which a mechanic of 
ordinary ability will be able to make 
by the description herewith given. 
We give ithe dimensions of one 
which we used for several years. 
The sills (B) are 14 feet long,- 3x3 
inches square, united by three cross- 
ties, 4 feet long, framed into them. 
It is not necessary to make the sills 
any larger, as the frame may be 
placed on two planks laid length¬ 
wise, flat on the ground, and thus 
serve as good purpose as heavier 
timber, which would make a heavy 
frame to handle. Z> is the wooden 
windlass-roUer placed at one end, 
turning freely in wooden boxes bolt¬ 
ed to the sills. Upon one end of this 
roller there should be a head 8 inch¬ 
es long, and of the same diameter. The bearing 
near the head should be about 5 inches in diame¬ 
ter, while that at the other end may be 4 inches. 
The middle part of the roller should be made 
10 inches in diameter, and cut out in the mid¬ 
dle, as shown in the illustration. On the .crowns 
of the bilges thus made, there are two rows of 
strong sharp-pointed spikes standing like cog- 
teeth, inserted at right angles to the roller. 
They extend about one inch above the surface, 
f and enter the log {A) as it rests on their points. 
I (7 is a carriage for holding one end of the log, 
? -which should be made to run close up to the 
roller, so that a log only two feet long may rest 
on both. The log is kept from ro.cking by the 
stiff *tfinding pole {E). The pitman {O) works 
on a wrist-pin in the arm of a wheel, or by a 
crank. Two posts (E) are set in the ground, or 
in a sill staked firmly down. A rope is attached 
to the pitman {G) and passed over a pulley, and 
by means of it the saw can be raised when in 
motion. The other end of the rope is fastened 
to the post, so that the saw cannot drop to the 
ground after it has cut a log entirely ofiF. A log 
twice the length of the sills may be rolled on, 
when, by working the windlass roller, it may be 
carried endwise in either direction. When the 
but-end of the log is sawed off, so that the por¬ 
tion behind the truck is the lightest, the end 
must be. raised up and the carriage run back to 
the end of the sills. In sawing a piece of a log 
only a few feet in length, it is better not to saw 
the cuts entirely off, as it can be held more 
firmly while sawjng the last one. 
The pitman is sometimes attached to a wheel 
on the side of a tread horse power, and the saw 
is bolted to the other end, and this works well. 
Still, some persons prefer to have one end of 
the pitman attached to a cross-head, playing on 
a horizontal way, with another pitman bolted 
to the saw and attached to the cross-head. With 
the first arrangement, the saw is worked with 
a rocking motion, as if used by two men; while 
with the latter, the saw is driven directly back 
and forth. When a drag-saw is driven by a 
sweep power, the pitman must be attached to 
an iron balance wheel, on a strong frame firmly 
braced. The wheel should make not less than 
one hundred revolutions per minute, though 
one hundred and fifty is none too fast. 
Drag-saws, sornetimes called “ butting saws. 
are made expressly for this kind of sawing. 
But a light saw-mill-saw, if properly filed, will 
■work well. We once used a small saw-mill-saw 
worked by a two-horse tread power, which 
cut off logs of hard wood 26 inches in diameter, 
in 70 seconds, when driven at ordinary speed. 
A good drag-saw is a great labor-saving ma¬ 
chine, as large logs, 30 or more feet long, may 
be worked up by horse power at very much less 
exuense, than the work can be done by hand. 
Sundry Uses for Portable Scales., 
On every good sized farm there is very fre¬ 
quent use for large scales of some sort, and none 
are so convenient and capable of so many ap¬ 
plications as the better forms of platform scales. 
These when possessed are usually appropriated 
to few purposes comparatively, for lack of 
thought. Scales marked to weigh 600 lbs., may 
be employed to weigh advantageously sheep 
and swine, and even light cattle and horses. 
PLATOKN SCALES. 
Our illustration shows how a light platform 
supporting a pen, may be placed upon a pair of 
scales. The pen is in four pieces, each made of 
three boards, or rails, and two uprights or posts. 
Tenons from the latter enter the platform, and 
the different parts of the pen are kept together 
by liooks above, as shown. On a platform seale 
thus provided a single hog or sheep, or several 
may be conveniently weighed, sheep more 
easily than if, with their legs tied, they were laid 
upon the scales. When a horse pr cow is to be 
weighed, block the wheels; lay on a wide 
plank, or broader platform, of sufficient length, 
for the animal to stand upon, supported so that 
while it is free to move up and down with the 
scales, it cannot tip more than half an inch, 
when an animal steps on either end. Then 
make a temporary floor of plank 
around the scales, so that the ani¬ 
mal may step without knowing it 
from the floor upon the scales. By 
managing gently, a cow or horse 
may be made to move itself to the 
proper place and the weight may 
then be quickly taken. There is 
seldom any danger in placing upon 
such scales, if they are good ones, 
double the weight they are gradu¬ 
ated foi\ A sufficient number or 
weight of “ poises ” will not come 
with the scale, to balanee the ani¬ 
mal it is desired to weigh. The 
counter-balance may easily be made 
with pieces of iron, lead-pipe, or 
similar known weights, or, what 
is neater, the heaviest poise may 
be taken, and after weighing it care¬ 
fully first, it may be filed smooth and 
used as a pattern to cast others by, which may 
be dressed down to the true weight by filing, or 
by the cold chisel. Such attachments to plat¬ 
form scales, as we have described, are not only 
a great convenience, and an aid in trying exper¬ 
iments in feeding, etc., but those 'vvho sell ani¬ 
mals “on the feet,” without knowing their 
weight, may sometimes lose enough on a few 
animals to pay for scales and attachments twice. 
No recommendation of portable scalesj or ex¬ 
hibition of the various uses to which they are 
applicable should lead any one, who can afford 
it, to dispense with the -fixed platform scales of 
large size, (hay and cattle scales). These when 
of the best manufacture, are suffieiently delicate 
for all common purposes, often turning with 
two or three ounces when moderately loaded. 
Set under cover, near or in the barn, even on 
the barn floor, they are most convenient. 
How to Make a Strong- Sleigh. 
There are two ways at least of making the 
“ benches” of all kinds of sleighs and cutters, 
and one is so much stronger and better than the 
other that we illustrate it. It will be seen by 
the engraving that a gain is made on the upper 
side of the runner where the knee enters it, 
so that the shoulders of the tenon at the lower 
end of the knee are let in below the upper edge 
of the runner; and that the shoulders on the 
upper end of the knee are let about half an inch 
into the beam. It is plain that a sleigh made 
in this manner must be much stronger than it 
could be, were the shoulders of the tenons not 
let into the beam and the runner, and that it 
will better endure the strains, -ndiich come in 
almost every direction. The tenons of a sleigh 
usually give oqt first. This flict teaches the im¬ 
portance of putting all the timber together in 
the strongest possible manner, thus gaining light¬ 
ness and the same strength as with heavier wood. 
The knees should be made of thoroughly sea¬ 
soned stuff, and should dry for at least one 
month after the last dressing, as oak and 
some other kinds of hard wood will shrink 
a little every time it is dressed, for a long 
time. The tenons should be made to fit so tight¬ 
ly on every side of the mortise, that a very 
heavy hammer will be necessary to drive them 
DKAG-SAW AXi) CAUKIAGB. 
