Patent Application
20180104752
This disclosure relates to guides for band saws having a table, the guide having a rectilinearly moving work carriage and means to move the carriage (and workpiece) transversely towards the cutting plane of the saw.
Typically, the wood worker uses the band saw fence to guide the wood and cut it to the desired thickness. The woodworker must push the wood blank tightly against the band saw fence to keep it straight while at the same time pushing the wood at 90 degrees through the band saw blade. This method has two major drawbacks. The first problem is safety. In pushing the wood against the fence and through the band saw blade, the operator's fingers are very close to the band saw blade. The slightest slip of the hands or the wood and a serious accident is bound to happen.
The second problem is accuracy and smoothness of the cut. As the operator pushes the wood through the band saw blade, his hand pressure of the wood against the fence varies. Also the band saw blade can wander. As a result, the band saw cut is not smooth and can be quite wavy and may even result in burn marks on the cut wood surface.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a guide that can overcome these disadvantages of prior systems and methods, and provide a safer smoother cut when cutting thin sections of wood from a workpiece.
Before explaining at least one embodiment in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the disclosed embodiments. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments.
A band saw slicer was developed to make it easier and safer to cut thin sections of wood, known as re-sawing, and also to enable small pieces of wood or small round pieces of wood such as those used in segmented wood turning to be cut into thin sections. With some projects small pieces of wood may need to be cut into thin strips, or wood that is round or has other shapes that are difficult to hold and cut on a band saw or other saw. Some projects may require the ability to cut with accuracy and reproducible results, which is difficult or not possible on many prior systems.
Some embodiments of the band saw slicer may be useful in producing thin veneer strips, producing laminated strips, crafting wood pen blanks, and making segmented ring blanks for bowls and other wood turning projects. In some embodiments, wood strips may be produced as thin as 0.010 inches thick up to 2.0 inches thick. The accuracy of some embodiments may be up to 0.002 inches of thickness in a manner that is repeatable. The cuts may be produced as smooth clean cuts without burn marks or wavy cuts due to uneven pressure. Some or all of these advantages as well as others may be achieved by some embodiments of a band saw slicer as disclosed.
The carriage 110 may include roller bearings 168 that allow for a smooth interaction with the guide rail 112. The carriage 110 may include one or more push handles 176 to be used by a user in pushing the carriage 110 along the guide rail 112. A bearing adjuster 148 may allow adjustment of one or more of the roller bearings 168 to provide a smooth and accurate path for the carriage 110 along the guide rail 112. The carriage may include a sacrificial fence 172 attached to a portion of the carriage 110.
Referring to
As seen in
In some embodiments the anchor bar 136 has an anchor bar first end 140 and an anchor bar second end 142. The anchor bar 136 may have a top that sits relatively flush at or below the saw table surface, with the saw table 164 when installed. The anchor bar first end 140 and anchor bar second end 142 may extend beyond the length of the saw table 164 and both ends 140, 142 may be connected to guide bars. In some embodiments the first guide bar 124 may be perpendicularly connected to the anchor bar first end 140 and may extend away from the cutting plane 160. The second guide bar 126 may be perpendicularly connected to the anchor bar second end 142 and may extend away from the cutting plane 160.
The anchor bar 136 may have an adjustable connection with the second guide bar to adjust the distance between the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126. In some embodiments the distance between the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 may be adjusted so that when the device 100 is installed on a saw table 164 the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 are parallel to and in close proximity to edges of the saw table 164. In other embodiments the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 may be configured so that they are not in close proximity to edges of the saw table 164. In some embodiments there may be a distance between the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 between about twelve inches to about thirty-six inches. Some embodiments may have an adjustment of the distance between the first and second guide bars 124, 126, for example, a device 100 may be adjustable between about fifteen inches and twenty-four inches, and may fit on saw tables with a length between about fifteen inches to about twenty-four inches.
In some embodiments a base 114 may be slideably engaged to the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 and may allow the base 114 to have transverse movement relative to the cutting plane 160. The base 114 may have a length that is greater than the distance between the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126. The base may be a solid material, such as a plate of metal, that is capable of rigidly holding a shape and supporting the guide rail 112 and carriage 110.
In some embodiments a guide rail 112 may be connected to the base 114. The guide rail 112 may be perpendicular to the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126, and may be positioned parallel to the anchor bar 136. The length of the guide rail 112 may determine the length of wood piece or workpiece that can be cut using the device 100. In some embodiments guide rails may be from twelve inches to sixty inches long. Larger lengths can also be made. Some embodiments may have guide rail 112 lengths of twenty-four inches, thirty-six inches, forty-eight inches and seventy-two inches. The illustrations show a guide rail 112 as a single rail with bearings riding on side grooves on the rail. In some embodiments the guide rail 112 includes multiple rails, and may include a system where the carriage 110 rides in one or more channels, grooves, or structures to move the carriage 110 substantially rectilinearly and parallel to the cutting plane 160.
Referring now to
In some embodiments only the workpiece extends from the mounting surface 170 towards the cutting plane 160, with no support for the workpiece 174 extending beyond the mounting surface 170 towards the cutting plane 160. The carriage 110 may be made with no support under or over the workpiece 174. The workpiece 174 may be attached to the mounting surface 170 in one or more ways. In some embodiments adhesive strips are used between the mounting surface 170 and the workpiece 174. A workpiece may be supported on the mounting surface 170 with double sided tape or hot-melt glue or other adhesives separately or in combination with other attachment methods. There may be a benefit of using a carriage 110 with no support below the workpiece, in that multiple slices may be made from one workpiece 174 even until there is only a very small amount of the workpiece left mounted on the mounting surface, all without the need to remove and re-mount the workpiece.
In some embodiments the first guide bar 124 may have a first guide slot 132. The second guide bar 126 may have a second guide slot 134. The base may include releasable fasteners 122 connected to the first guide slot 132 and the second guide slot 134. The releaseable fasteners 122, when loose, may allow the base 114 and the indexing support 116 to move along the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 with a movement towards or away from the cutting plane 160.
The base 114 may include one or more linear guides 128 that extend along the first guide bar 124 and prevent substantial linear deviation of the base 114 as it moves along the first guide bar 124. The example embodiment shown in
In some embodiments the indexing support 116 may be slideably engaged to the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 to allow the indexing support to have transverse movement relative to the cutting plane 160. The device 100 may provide incremental advancement of the workpiece 174 towards the cutting plane 160 by tightening the releasable fasteners 122 connected to the indexing support 116, and adjusting a distance between the indexing support 116 and the base 114, thereby adjusting the distance between the base 114 and the cutting plane 160. The guide rail 112 and carriage 110 may move with the base 114, and therefore adjusting the distance between the indexing support 116 and the base 114 while the indexing support 116 is secured relative to the guide bars 124, 126 may adjust the distance of the carriage 110 and a workpiece 174 supported by the carriage 110.
An indexing device 120 may be connected to the indexing support 116 and may extend towards the base 114, wherein the indexing device 120 may adjust a distance between the indexing support 116 and the base 114.
In some embodiments the indexing device 120 may include an indexing screw 118 which may be secured to the indexing support 116. The indexing device 120 may include a receiving structure 146 connected to the base 114, wherein the receiving structure 146 may be aligned to receive an adjustable extension 144 supported by the indexing support 116. Adjusting the indexing screw 118 adjusts the distance between the indexing support 116 and base 114.
In the example embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In some embodiments ends of the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 may be connected to a frame support 158. The frame support 158 may secure the distance between the first guide bar 124 and the second guide bar 126 at a second end, while the anchor bar 136 may secure the distance at the first end.
A user may operate the device 100 by attaching the anchor bar 136 to the miter slot 166 of a saw table 164. The user may attach a workpiece 174 to the mounting surface 170 (which may be a sacrificial fence 172 or a portion of the carriage 110). The user may release the releasable fasteners 122 to adjust the position of the base 114 and indexing support 116, and thereby adjusting the position of the workpiece 174 that is mounted on the carriage 110 relative to the cutting plane 160, moving a portion of the workpiece 174 into the cutting plane. The user may secure the adjustable fasteners so that the base 114 and the indexing support 116 are secure relative to the guide bars 124, 126. The user may operate the saw, and hold the carriage 110 by the push handles 176 (keeping hands safely away from the blade 162) to advance the carriage, and therefore the workpiece, through the cutting zone of the blade 162. The user may reverse the movement of the carriage 110 to bring the workpiece 174 into a position where it can enter the cutting zone. The user may release the releasable fasteners 122 or the first and second indexing locks 154, 156, and then turn the indexing screw 118 to advance the workpiece into the cutting plane 160, with the number of rotations or partial rotations setting the resulting thickness of a cut piece 178. The user may tighten the releasable fasteners 122 or the first and second indexing locks 154, 156 and advance the carriage again using the push handles 176 to cut another slice of the workpiece 174.
The device may be automated, for example stepper motors may be connected to the carriage and rail to automate the process of cutting multiple slices from a workpiece.
In some embodiments a carriage with a different shape or size may be used to enable cutting options such as the cutting of Celtic rings and jewelry and other applications.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
