838 
STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
ENDLESS BAND SAW FOR IRON. 
Since the invention of the endless band saw by Mr. I. L. 
Perin, of 97 Faubourg St. Antoine, Paris, and its entry in the 
exposition of 1855, the circular plate saw has been rapidly 
loosing ground in public estimation, so that at present every 
country in Europe is represented by haely finished samples 
of these wood-cutting tools. In France it has been applied to 
ivory, and in Great Britain to iron. The latter adaptation 
was first made by Colonel Clerk, at Woolwich. In the war 
department annex are specimens proving his great success. 
The first one is an Archimedean.spiral (of three turns) cut from 
a block 9 inches square by 6 inches in thickness. The second 
is mounted in a glass case on a red velvet background and is 
composed of a crown on either side of which are the letters 
“ W. D.” below the words ‘‘ Boyal Carriage Department, 1867.” 
These were sawed from a plate of iron one inch in thickness. 
The letters are quite artistically executed, and the sawed sur¬ 
faces smooth. The experience of the department leads them 
to recommend a speed of 250 feet per minute for a band saw 
cutting 1-inch iron plates. The teeth of their saws are set and 
filed straight, having ten to the inch, the width is 5-16 of an 
inch. Thev use the hardest saw steel that can be obtained, and 
with soap and water as a lubricant run the saw four or five hours 
without sharpening; the latter operation requires half an hour for 
its^completion. Any curved line can be cut in plates of the 
above thickness with a feed of 1 1-2 inch per minute. By this 
system very little waste of material is incurred and the sawed 
surfaces are so smooth that they require but slight after-finish¬ 
ing. It may not be inappropriate to note that previous to 
Colonel Clerk’s experiments with-the band saw, Mr. Krupp 
used the circular saw for cutting out his steel crank axels, lu¬ 
bricated with soap and water, and found the expedient so much 
more economical than reduction by a slotting machine that he 
has continued the practice. 
