Cutting – With means to convey work relative to tool station – Plural passes of diminishing work piece through tool station
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-30
2004-03-23
Dexter, Clark F. (Department: 3724)
Cutting
With means to convey work relative to tool station
Plural passes of diminishing work piece through tool station
C083S412000, C083S435110, C083S435270, C083S714000, C083S717000, C083S720000, C083S723000, C083S728000, C083S729000, C083S730000, C083S788000, C144S286100, C144S287000, C414S018000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06708593
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a folding, straight-line, work piece guide for a band saw which enables a craftsman to safely and efficiently rip, taper, bevel and reduce the thickness of multiple elongate pieces of standard hardwood stock.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rough-cut, hardwood stock is typically only supplied in ¼ inch nominal thickness increments called “quarters”. The smallest common thickness for hardwood stock is 4 quarter or 1 inch nominal while the largest common thickness is 16 quarter or 4 inches nominal. Often, hardwood stock having a nominal thickness less than 1 inch is required for a particular woodworking component. For example, furniture drawer sides are typically ½-¾ inches in thickness while the drawer bottom is typically about ½ inch thick.
To make components having a thickness less than 1 inch, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of 1 inch thick hardwood stock. The most common thickness reduction method known in the prior art is to mill away 1 inch hard-wood stock using a jointer until the hardwood stock is reduced to the desired nominal thickness. This prior art method is extremely hazardous due to the inherent hazards of working with a jointer which is known to be the most dangerous piece of woodworking machinery in any woodworking shop. The jointer is so dangerous that jointers over about 12 inches in width have been outlawed in many apprentice workshops.
The prior art method of milling away 1 inch hardwood stock is also inefficient for several reasons. Large amounts of costly hardwood are wasted by reducing the thickness of standard hardwood stock. For example, when making ½ inch drawer sides, about ½ of the 1 inch hardwood stock is milled away and discarded. Further, the manpower and machinery (including cutters) greatly increases the overhead of the project. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method of reducing the thickness of standard hardwood stock in a safe and efficient manner.
The band saw is a very efficient and economical piece of woodworking machinery common to most woodworking shops. For example, the horse power requirement of a band saw is less than ½ of the horse power requirement of a circular saw. Additionally, the kerf on a typical circular saw blade is ⅛ to {fraction (3/16)} inches while the kerf of the blade on a typical band saw is only {fraction (1/32)} to {fraction (1/16)} inches.
A band saw is also a very safe piece of machinery compared to other cutting machinery. For example the most common cause of accidental injury in the woodworking shop is “kick back” of the workpiece. While “kick back” is inherent in all machinery having a rotating cutter (blades or cutter heads), a band saw does not “kick back” the workpiece. While the band saw is recognized as a safe and economical tool, it is infrequently used by most craftsmen. Therefore, it would also be desirable to adapt the band saw to be a more versatile tool and make more effective use of the band saw in everyday woodworking operations.
Before mill-seasoned hardwood stock can be used to make furniture, cabinets, bookshelves, or other fine objects, any cup, warp, twist, or wane in the mill-seasoned stock must be removed. A craftsman must first straighten one edge surface and one face surface before subsequently ripping, cross-cutting, planing or otherwise reducing the hardwood stock to exact dimensions.
Initially, one face surface of the stock is straightened using the jointer. It is usually necessary to make multiple passes on the jointer in order to eliminate face surface defects and reduce the thickness of the board to the desired dimension. If the stock is over about 6 feet in length, a craftsman is needed at both the infeed end and outfeed end to safely handle the stock. Additionally, as described above, the jointer is extremely dangerous to even a well-experienced craftsman. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a safe and efficient woodworking tool which efficiently and safely straightens the face surfaces of hardwood stock so that the wood jointer can be returned to its original intended use as a fine-finish cutting, glue joint, and saw mark removal machine.
After the face surfaces of the stock are straightened, the edge surfaces are straightened using a table saw. To straighten the lengthwise-extending edges, a craftsman slides the work piece along a stationary fence past the circulating blade. During ripping, long pieces of stock tend to veer off the outfeed end of the fence, thereby causing a non-parallel cut. Further, feeding each piece of hardwood stock individually is time consuming. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a tool which simultaneously rips multiple elongate pieces of stock and prevents veering from a continuous straight path past the blade.
For most woodworking hobbyists, work space in the shop is not prevalent. Even in commercial work shops, multiple pieces of machinery crowd the shop and may create an unsafe work environment. Prior art machinery used for ripping elongate boards have permanent, elongate guide assemblies, typically 8-10 feet long, at both the infeed and outfeed of the saw. When not in use, such guides unnecessarily occupy a large amount of the available work space in the shop. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a workpiece guide assembly which is foldable when not in use to free-up additional workspace for other woodworking operations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a folding, straight-line, work piece guide for a band saw having a base, a saw blade extending vertically through the base, and a feed path relative to the saw blade. The work piece guide enables a craftsman to safely and efficiently rip, taper, bevel and reduce the thickness of multiple pieces of standard hardwood stock using the band saw. The work piece guide also provides a safe and efficient method of straightening the face and edge surfaces of hardwood stock without the use of the jointer. The work piece guide is foldable when not in use to free-up additional workspace for other woodworking operations.
The folding, straight-line, work piece guide generally comprises an elongate table which can be collapsed into a folded configuration or set up and locked into a working configuration, and a carriage constructed and arranged to support multiple, elongate work pieces and to slide on the track along the feed path of the saw.
The elongate table is made of multiple chassis sections pivotally-connected to one another which form a continuous but foldable table having a lengthwise axis. The chassis sections have a top side and a bottom side. The table has an infeed end portion and an outfeed end portion. A central base portion is constructed and arranged to be securely fastened to the base of the saw. The central portion connects the elongate table parallel to the feed path of the saw.
Each of the infeed end portion and outfeed end portion is also made of multiple hinged chassis sections which can be set up and locked into a working configuration or can be folded into a generally-flat configuration. One end of both the infeed and outfeed end portion is pivotally connected to the central base portion. The end portions suspend from the central base portion when the end portions are folded and locked into a flat configuration.
Adjustable legs support the table. The legs comprise a pair of telescoping leg members which can be rough adjusted and locked in a plurality of heightwise positions. One of the leg members is hinged to a chassis section, and the other leg member has an adjustable foot which can be finely adjusted and locked in a plurality of heightwise positions. The legs are foldable coplanar with the chassis section to which the leg is attached.
A guide track section is mounted on the top side of each chassis section. The guide track sections form a continuous guide track for guiding the carriage along the table when the table is in the working configuration. The guide tracks are adjustable slightly skew to the lengthwise axis
Dexter Clark F.
Konieczny, Sr. Joseph M.
LandOfFree
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