EARLIEST MACHINES

EARLIEST MACHINES A (brief) history of woodworking machinery. The earliest wood working machines were woodturning lathes, and although these were thought to have originated in Europe about 3,000 years go, the Egyptians provided the first pictorial record about 300BC. The drive mechanism of these early machines was a cord wrapped around the work itself, with the reciprocating (or back and forth) motion being provided by a hard-working assistant. This principle was further developed in Europe during the eleventh century and the pole lathe was born. This machine had a bowstring that was driven by a foot-powered treadle under the bed. The string passed around the drive mandrel and was connected to a springy bough, or pole, which acted like a leaf spring. The turner was now able to drive the machine with one foot while turning the wood, I have done some turning myself and this would be quite a skill. In the late sixteenth century the „Great Wheel? was developed. This 1800mm diameter wooden wheel allowed an assistant to generate greater speeds without the reciprocating motion of earlier machinery. Stepped pulleys to provide variable speeds and the introduction of waterpower through a paddle wheel assembly further developed the lathe technology. The cutting tool of many early machines was stationary, the work piece being moved in a straight line when planing or moulding with what was then the machine equivalent of smoothing and moulding hand planes. Rotating cutter heads originated around the time that mass produced parts were needed for an expanding British navy, and one of the first applications was in making ships blocks at the famous Chatham dockyard in England. Up to the beginning of the 19th century, woodworking processes fell largely into three categories, sawing, planing and boring. In the mid-1900s in Oberkochen, near Aalen in Germany, the 'Drill Sharpeners' (part of the guild of toolmakers) set the foundation for the modern tool making industry that was to develop hand in hand with modern machinery. Modern technology The Industrial Revolution, that period of history from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, is really the birthplace of technology as we know it today. While some scholars now have the view that the pace of change was not as rapid as once thought, this period of time certainly provided the springboard for the huge leaps in technology that woodworkers benefit from today. The Industrial Revolution was sparked by an increase in world trade that stimulated export industries. A shift from mainly rural based lifestyles to urban living and an increase in technical knowledge transformed both the method and means of production in all industries. James Watt invented the steam engine, a major industrial milestone in 1760. Machines were thereafter operated by steam power, driven by heavy leather belts off a central line shaft. Factories powered in this way had elevated floors under which a system of belts provided power to the machines. Waste from the factory went to fire boilers and steam provided the belt drive. While this was a great leap forward for the time, without ball bearings, machinery was slow. High speeds could not be achieved, and the finish of the timber, while satisfactory for the time, was poor by today's standards. Flat belt problems were finally eliminated when vee belts were introduced in the 1930?s. England and America were the birthplaces of the modern woodworking industry. In 1793 the father of modern woodworking machinery, Englishman Samuel Bentham, invented the surface planer or “buzzer”. A few years later in 1808 another Englishman, William Newbury invented the band saw. The band saw?s widespread introduction was not possible until the development of French spring steel blades and cushioned wheels some forty years later. It also took some time to develop a weld that would hold up to the cutting he saw filers of the time were a very stresses. It is interesting to note that t secretive order of men, and did their best to keep their secrets from even their own colleagues. 1819 saw the invention of the copy lathe by Thomas Blanchard in the USA and Andrew Gear of Ohio patented the first spindle moulder in 1853. With the development of the electric motor in 1873, machines became more efficient. Placement was no longer dependent on the location of the steam or gas engine, and belts did not hinder production. In 1899 when ball bearings were introduced, machinery was able to meet the high quality and mass production demands of the period. From the first days of rotary cutters, spindle bearings were an obstacle and many schemes were tried. A steel shaft running on a cast-iron bearing; use of lignum vitae (wood) as a bearing, and various bronze or brass bearings were tried. But by 1900, Babbitt metal (a tin-based alloy developed by Isaac Babbitt) had been universally adopted as the best material for the purpose. This bearing was a two-piece unit on a horizontal shaft but was a skill and labour-intensive job to replace. By 1910, machine builders began to design machines with ball or roller bearings, and by 1920 the practice was widespread. Sandpaper was first made in America in 1848. Drum sanders were introduced in the 1890?s, from the efforts of Porter B. Yates, founder of Berlin Machine Works. The drum sander used a metal cylinder, covered with felt or other soft material. The sandpaper was wrapped around the padded drum. This type of drum became the basis for a large number of models and was very popular in the United States. The use of a sanding belt for surfacing was not successful until tough belts for polishing metal were produced during World War II. The advantages of the wide belt technology were reduced time for changing belts, longer running time between changes, availability of contact rolls and polishing platens to improve finish, and the possibility of using opposed abrasive heads for stock removal on the top and bottom surfaces of the wood. Harry Ross, chief engineer at Berlin Machine Works (P. B. Yates), in 1903 installed the first knife-jointing devices on a push feed moulding machine in the factory of Edward Hines Lumber in Chicago and was successful. At that time planer and moulder feed rates could not exceed 20 to 50 feet per minute and still produce an acceptable finish because unequal knife projection permitted only one knife finish. This new technology immediately made it possible to multiply feed rates in proportion to the number of knives in the head because the jointer stone brought the cutting edge of all knives into a precisely equal cutting circle. Ross could not have visualized that his experimentation would be the key to planer feed rates of as much as 2,000 feet per minute by the year 2000. He joined George Stetson in 1907 to form the renowned Stetson-Ross Machine Co. In the mid-1800s the Robinson Company started to make woodworking machines. The oldest machine in Australia, a 12-inch by 4-inch push feed moulding machine, was made by this company in 1856, and has been retired to a museum in Ballarat, Victoria. Wadkin began production in 1897 and was probably the longest surviving manufacturer of woodworking machinery. Sadly, the company no longer exists as a major supplier. 1906 saw the invention of the sliding table panel saw (made almost entirely of wood) by Wilhelm Altendorf. The long history and consequent technical know-how has made Altendorf one of the leaders in panel saw technology. In 1912 Oscar Onsrud opened a small machine shop in Chicago, and developed a small compressed air powered high-speed turbine motor. Running at speeds up to 30,000rpm, the motor was intended to power headlights on steam locomotives. It was developed at the request of a friend into an efficient overhead wood working router. Called the 'Ons-Rooter', the machine was eventually given a table and pin. The term 'Rooter' is an American term and is still used today. The Onsrud inverted pin router is still available. 1924 saw the beginning of the Scheppach Company in Germany, and a few years later in 1920 the Friz Company made its first membrane press. Shoda of Japan entered the woodworking machinery market in 1926 with its first circular saw. The post-war year of 1948 saw the Weinig Company of Germany change production from farm machinery to woodworking equipment. This move, prompted by the rebuilding of Germany, has made Weinig one of the leaders in moulders technology. Since the University of Massachusetts developed computer numerical control (CNC) in 1952 at the request of the American Air Force, the world of machinery has taken another leap forward. While the first CNC woodworking machine did not appear until 1968, it has since been rapidly developed and widely accepted throughout the industrialised world. Modern routers, sawing machines and “point to point” or machining centres are becoming commonplace in Australia. There are reports of up to five of these machines installed every working week in this country. Today the woodworking machine powerhouses of the world are Italy and Germany, with Taiwan, Japan, China, Austria and the United States of America following behind. Some Eastern European countries are currently taking advantage of low labour costs to produce wood working machines. An Australian story Allen Wolfenden Machinery Pty Ltd (Airport West), Victoria was a manufacturer of woodworking machinery whose origins go back to early this century. Ernest Wolfenden, the great-grandfather of Peter Wolfenden, founded the company. In 1918 Ernest Wolfenden found himself out of work as a result of a major engineers' strike and started to machine motorbike engine cylinders and make piston rings on a treadle lathe. His brother Charlie joined him and, soon after, the idea of making woodworking machines was suggested to them by a furniture manufacturer. A twenty-six inch band saw was the first machine produced. Wolfenden Bros. Proprietary Limited was formed in 1924, the brothers being Charlie, Ernie, Bill and Frank. Wolfenden manufactured the largest range of most types of machinery then used in the woodworking industry. The company went on to specialise in the manufacture of all classes of high grade tools required by joiners, carpenters and cabinetmakers. Wolfenden's first brochure featured jointers (buzzers), thicknessers and a circular saw bench. The brochure noted that everything from mortisers to shapers, band saws and lathes could be made. At its peak the company employed about sixty people. One of the biggest selling points of the machinery was its use of ball bearings, a long-term major selling point, which was initially slow to be accepted. Wolfendens were also reputed to be the first to make use of heavy steel welded bases. In a letter to his grandchildren in 1967 Ernest Wolfenden wrote, “My part was the engineering and designing end of the business. Over the years I designed over 400 machines, put simply, eight per year or one every six weeks”. Ernest, with some evident bitterness, went on to note that such a contribution went without any public recognition, a contribution that would have been acknowledged in other countries. The Second World War affected industry as a whole. In 1939 supplies of engineers' machinery were unable to be obtained in Australia. All engineering shops were immediately required for the war effort. Wolfenden Bros, manufactured engineers' milling machines and engine lathes only to be directed by the Government onto gun parts and woodworking machinery for the armed forces. The return to peace and the establishment and resumption of numerous furniture, joinery and similar industries meant repair and replacement of worn-out machinery. Wolfenden Brothers then had to reduce their range owing to shortages of material and skilled tradespersons in Australia. The company was never afraid to diversify, and at different stages manufactured veneer peeling lathes, moulding machines, veneer presses and, for a time, even caravans. Today's modern computerised machine bears little resemblance to the first surface planer of 1793, some 200 years ago, but whatever the future holds for the woodworking industry it is certain that advances in machine technology will have a significant influence.