CHAPTER II.

CIRCULAR SAW BENCHES.

WITH the exception, perhaps, of the wedge and the axe, the saw can lay claim to being the most ancient instrument for the conversion of wood, and it is certainly by far the most important. Its earliest history, however, from the lapse of ages, is involved in obscurity. Representations of saws are said to have been discovered on some of the most ancient of Egyptian monuments. This, taken in connection with the many times the saw is mentioned in Holy Scripture and other ancient histories, seems to conclusively prove that the saw was known many thousands of years ago. What it was constructed of, however, there are no records to show. Ancient Grecian historians variously ascribe its invention to Dædalus, Perdix, and Talus,' and the inventor, whoever he was, was inscribed in their mythology, with a place in which, among their gods, they honoured the greatest benefactors of the earliest ages. Talus is said to have formed his first saw from the jaw-bone of a snake. Perdix, we are told, used the backbone of a fish for a like purpose. The saws of the Grecian carpenters had a similar form to ours in use at present, as shown by a painting still preserved among the anti

1 See Beckmann's History of Inventions.

quities of Herculaneum. Two genii are represented at the end of a bench; the piece of wood which is to be sawn through is secured by cramps. The saw with which the genii are at work has a perfect resemblance to our frame saw. It consists of a square frame, having in the middle a blade, the teeth of which stand perpendicular to the plane of the frame. The arms in which the blade is fastened have a similiar form to those we

now use.

It is recorded that saw mills driven by water or wind were erected in Germany as early as the fourteenth century; this is, however, very much open to doubt. Stetten says in his work (Kunst- und HandwerksGeschichte der Stadt Augsburg,' 1779) that saw mills were erected near Augsburg in the year 1337; but what the machinery consisted of, or by what means it was driven, there is nothing to show. It is also recorded that saw mills were in existence at the following places at the dates named:-Breslau, 1427; Holstein, 1545; Lyons, 1555; Ratisbon, 1575; and in Norway in the year 1530. The first mill erected in Holland was at Saardam in 1596, and in Sweden about 1653.

The first saw mill in England of which we have any record was erected by a Dutchman near London about the year 1663, but was the occasion of so much riot that it had to be abandoned. This was also the case with a

mill erected by one James Stansfield in 1768, as it was torn to pieces by the mob. Wind was the motive power used by Stansfield, and it seems that he and others, aided by the Government, erected mills in various parts of the country about this time, which were allowed by the populace to continue working. The straight saw or mill web was doubtless in use many years in Holland

and Germany before the circular saw was known. The circular saw is said to have originated in Holland in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, but there is nothing to show who was the inventor. One of the earliest records of its use in this country is contained in the patent specification of Samuel Miller, of Southampton, granted in the year 1777, in which he claims 'an entirely new machine for more expeditiously sawing all kinds of wood, stone, and ivory; and the saws used are of a circular figure.' The motive power employed was a horizontal windmill. He also claimed an arrangement for bringing the timber up to the saws when in motion; in point of fact, it may be considered our present rack saw-bench in embryo. Bentham, in his specification of 1793, claims also various improvements in sawing machines, including crown saws, taper gauge, grooving table, adjustment of saws in benches, &c.

In the year 1805, Brunel took out a patent for 'improvements in machinery for sawing timber,' with arrangements for veneer cutting, &c.; he also about this time fitted up the Government dockyard at Portsmouth with sawing machinery, including both reciprocating and circular saws. It was considered at that day the most complete machinery in the country. We have before us an engraving of one of these machines, especially adapted for preparing the rough timber for block-making; the elm trees of which the blocks were formed were cut into proper lengths by two crosscutting saws, one of which is a reciprocating and the other a circular saw. This combination of straight and circular saws for this special work would not do discredit to a designer even of the present day. Of course

some of its details appear to us somewhat crude; but, as showing early efforts in introducing wood-working machinery into this country, I think it of sufficient general interest to append herewith a short general description :

The tree subjected to the action of the crosscutting reciprocating saw is placed on a long frame or bench, raised a little above the floor, on the end of which is a frame composed of vertical posts and a crossbeam. Through this frame the end of the tree is drawn, by a capstan working in the middle of the room upon a vertical shaft, turned by a steam engine. The end of the timber projects as much beyond the front of the frame as the part intended to be cut off, and is fastened from rolling sideways by a lever, which presses upon it and holds it down. The saw is a straight blade, fixed into a wooden handle at each end to lengthen it. One of these handles is connected by a joint to the upper end of a lever, bent at right angles and having the centre beneath the floor. The horizontal arm of the lever is connected by a spear rod with the crank on the end of a spindle near the ceiling of the room, the motion of which is regulated by a fly wheel. By this means the saw has a reciprocating motion from right to left nearly in a horizontal position, and exactly across the log that is to be cut, resembling in its action the carpenter's hand saw. The teeth of the saw are, of course, on the lower side of the blade, and it acts entirely by its own weight. The machine, being at rest, is prepared for work by fixing the log in the frame by the lever, so that the surface of the frame intersects the log at the place it is intended to be cross-cut. The saw, which was before lifted up by its handle to be

clear of the log, is now suffered to rest upon it in the place where the cut is to be made; and to guide it in first setting-in, the back of the saw is received in a saw kerf, made in the end of a piece of board, which is attached to the frame over the saw, but slides up and down, to reach it at any height, according to the thickness of the log. The machinery is then put in gear, which causes the saw to reciprocate horizontally across the tree, and thus by its own weight cuts it through. As the saw gets into the tree, it quits the guide above mentioned, which becomes less necessary as the saw goes deeper, a saw having no tendency to alter its course when cutting across the grain.

The circular cross-cutting saw, which is employed for the same purpose, is more novel in its construction. The spindle is so mounted as to move in any direction. parallel to itself, the saw continuing in the same plane. By this means it can be applied to any part, so that it will divide trees much larger than could otherwise be done by it. It is more expeditious and accurate in its performance than the one above described, for which reason the preference is always given to it in all cases where the size of the tree is not too great for its application.'

What is now known as the American rack bench is really of English origin. In the year 1824 letters patent were granted to Messrs. Sayner and Greenwood for improvements in sawing machinery,' the chief of which was the use of two circular saws of small diameter placed one above the other, but with their peripheries revolving in the same line, in lieu of one saw of large diameter for breaking down heavy timber. The timber rested upon horizontal rollers, and was