US Patent: 17,829
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Sawing-mill Circular sawmill
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Patentee:
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William M. Ferry, Jr. (exact or similar names) - Ferrysburg, MI |
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Patent Dates:
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Granted: |
Jul. 21, 1857 |
Reissue Information: |
Reissued as RE542 (Apr. 06, 1858) |
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Jeff Joslin Vintage Machinery entry for Ottawa Iron Works
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Description: |
Inventor Ferry lost a patent infringement lawsuit filed by George Page (patent 2,174). The suit was filed in 1855 and the trial and judgement were in October of 1857, shortly after this patent was issued. It seems likely that this Ferry patent was intended to avoid any infringement problems. The Page patent covered the use of blade guides or rollers in combination with a saw arbor that had lateral end-play to avoid any strain caused by misalignment between the middle of the blade and its periphery. The older Ferry design did not have any such end-play as manufactured, but normal wear created sufficient end-play as to gain the benefit of the Page design. The judge instructed the jury that the end-play through wear was only an infringement if it was anticipated and relied upon by the builder. The jury found in favor of Page.This Ferry patent uses a yoke holding the saw guides, arbor, and journal boxes; the yoke is mounted by a pivot so that it can be adjusted to be slightly out of parallel with the edge of the carriage, i.e., the line of travel of the log. In this way, if the cut of the saw is slightly uneven so as to "lead" the blade in one direction or another, the sawyer can adjust the angle of the saw blade to cancel out the lead and eliminate the sideways strain on the blade. In addition, Ferry's design specifies a new mechanism for self feeding and self gigging. |
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