Manufacturers Index - Ottawa Iron Works
Ottawa Iron Works
Ferrysburg, MI, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class:
Wood Working Machinery & Steam and Gas Engines
This page contains information on patents issued to this manufacturer.
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USPTO's for finding information on machinery patents.
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17,829
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Jul. 21, 1857
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Sawing-mill
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William M. Ferry Jr. |
Ferrysburg, MI |
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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20,150
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May. 04, 1858
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Device for governing lateral motion of carriages in gigging back in circular sawing machines
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William M. Ferry Jr. |
Ferrysburg, MI |
From the 1858-05-15 issue of Scientific American: "In saw mills which have the carriage arranged to run upon friction wheels having a lateral movement by means of offset boxes from toward the saw while gigging back, and which have the feeding head blocks, feed automatically by means of an oblique inclined gage bar and ratchet lever, inaccuracies are experienced in the thickness of the boards sawed. This difficulty arising from the wear of the boxes and track, and the consequent chance allowed the carriage of being forced from the saw, when the feeding ratchet lever comes suddenly in contact with the inclined gage bar, and is resisted by said bar in a manner to effect the feeding of the head blocks, and yet, at the same time, to pull over the carriage head blocks and log the same distance as the wear of the boxes and rails will allow. This invention of W. M. Ferry, Jr., of Ferrysburg, Mich., which is clearly defined by the claim, completely obviates the above objections, and therefore will prove a valuable auxiliary to self-setting saw mills." |
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26,262
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Nov. 29, 1859
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Journal-box for sawmill-carriages
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William M. Ferry Jr. |
Ferrysburg, MI |
According to the 1873 "Subject-matter index of patents for inventions issued by the United States Patent Office", this patent was granted an extension. |
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32,418
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May. 28, 1861
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Sawmill
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William M. Ferry Jr. |
Ferrysburg, MI |
Improvement on inventor's patent 17,829. |
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95,889
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Oct. 19, 1869
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Improvement in circular-saw mills
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William H. Ferry |
Grand Haven, MI |
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113,865
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Apr. 18, 1871
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Improvement in saw-mills
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William M. Ferry |
Grand Haven, MI |
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113,866
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Apr. 18, 1871
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Improvement in saw-mills
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William M. Ferry |
Grand Haven, MI |
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132,086
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Oct. 08, 1872
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Improvement in log-carriages for sawmills
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Willard Lamb |
Green Bay, WI |
An 1875 ad from Willard Lamb shows this invention. "Foundrymen and saw mill machinists are requested to apply to me for manufacturers' licenses and terms of royalty." There is a list of 15 references, which we assume were users of the invention. Follow the link provided to Wm. H. Hiner & Co. and then look at the "Images" tab on that page to view the ad. One of the companies listed in the ad is E. P. Allis & Co., and an ad from that firm in the same book as the Lamb ad includes this text: "We make Willard Lamb's patent wire rope carriage movement that dispenses entirely with the cog gear. The Saw Carriage is much lighter and can be handled much more rapidly and at a much less expense than the old movements." |
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139,142
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May. 20, 1873
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Improvement in edging-machines
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Otto H. Gronberg |
Ferrysburg, MI |
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Improvement in edging-machines
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William M. Ferry |
Grand Haven, MI |
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158,693
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Jan. 12, 1875
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Improvement in saw-mill dogs
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William M. Ferry |
Grand Haven, MI |
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173,907
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Feb. 22, 1876
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Improvement in saw-guides for circular-saw mills
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Jeremiah Collins |
Lincoln, MI |
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173,927
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Feb. 22, 1876
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Improvement in saw-guides for circular-saw mills
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William M. Ferry |
Grand Haven, MI |
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