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1904 Article - The Higley Cold Metal Saw |
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"Railway and Locomotive Engineering," Vol. 17, No. 9, Sep. 1904, Pg. 431. |
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5/24/2020 10:05:33 PM |
The Higley Cold Metal Saw.
The principal thing which strikes an observer as he looks at a Higley cold saw at work is the way it is driven. You have seen a man take hold of the spokes of a cart wheel when his vehicle is well nigh stuck fast, and help the tugging team. He catches the spokes near the rim and pushes on them with might and main; well, that is pretty much the way a Higley saw is driven. Motion is given to the saw blade by a sheer steel sprocket wheel meshing in radial slots placed as near the periphery as possible The slots, however, leave sufficient depth beyond to permit of the frequent regrinding of the saw.
On machine size No. 21, which you can see in the P. & R. shops at Reading and in other railroad repair plants, the saw blade is carried in a carriage having a horizontal travel of 45 ins. This makes it possible to make very long, straight or angle cuts. The blade is held ?rmly in place by four adjustable wearing plates which keep rigidly in line. The sprocket method of driving has stood the test of time as it has been in satisfactory use for ten or twelve years on Higley saws. By drawing the saw through the work, so to speak, as is done here, where the power is applied close to the teeth, it is possible to cut very much faster than it is with a saw driven by the rotation of its arbor. The sprocket driven blade is not liable to buckle when the machine is forced. The saw table has a moveable gibbed section, giving a side adjustment of 3 ins. The feed is of the friction variety, and is adjustable for various classes of work and the machine is provided with automatic stop and quick power return.
This cold metal saw has proved to be a very popular tool in railroad shops not only on account of its ability to do lots of hard work and stay at it, and on account of its strong, positive drive, but because of the conveniences provided. Work can, if desired, be clamped on both sides of the blade. This often necessary, especially when sawing out the ends of locomotive connecting rods, or when handling steel foundry work. The Higley saw takes hold of all sorts of operations where the dividing of metal is work in hand, and it does quickly and well. In the matter of it economy makes good showing in running some more pretentious machine tools hard for ?rst place. There are a good many more things that can be done with a good cold saw than a causal observer would imagine. To get a good idea of the whole thing you ought to see the saw saw, or, failing that, write to the R. Vandyck Company, Dey street, New York City, and ask for particulars. |
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