Using Machinery in the Forests. [Volume: 8, Issue: 3, 1889, pp. 143-146]

No. 3.1

CHARCOAL IRON Wr~ORKERS.

145

distance from the scene of operations; all that is required to convey the power being a pair of insulated cables, which cal be easily
brought into the innermost parts of the forest. The felling machine itself is lighter and smaller than a corresponding steam saw,
and can therefoIre be taken over difficult ground and through narrow places where the former could not pass. It was constructed
at Buda Pcsth, especially for the use in the Galician forests. The
separation of the tree from the stump is in this case not effected
by a saw, as is usual, but by a special drill. According to the
nature of the wood, this drill may be used either to perforate the
base of the tree with a series of holes, placed so close together that
when the operation is completed all the fibers have been cut
through, or it may be used to take a sweeping cut, in which
case the tool is shaped somewhat in the fashion of a twist
drill, but with prominent cutting edges along its side. The
atter method is adopted for medium hard and for soft woods,
The electromotor with its platform is placed on a light twowheeled carriage, which is taken close up to the tree, and
shackled to it by clamps and chains, the latter being attached
to the axles of the carriage in such a way as to be readily detach
able, so that the carriage may be quickly withdrawn if there
should be danger of the tree falling before the operation is completed. The platform of the motor is mounted upon a vertical'
spindle in such a way that it can swivel in a horizontal plane.
The drill is carried in a spindle, which receives motion from the:
motor by means of belt gear, the spindle being provided with a.
long key bed, and the pulley with a fast feather, so that thespindle may be shifted forwards or backwards by means of a rack..
The mode of operation is as follows: After the machine has bcen,
brought up to the tree and shackled to it, the current is switchedl
on, and a sweeping cut of suitable depth is taken across the surface of the tree by slowly rotating the motor on its vertical spindle..
The drill is then advanced by a few inches, and a second cut is
taken in the same manner, until about half the thickness of the tree
has been separated from the stump. When this point is reached
clamps are driven in to keep the cut from closing up by the weight
of the tree, and the operation is continued until a point is reached.
when it would not be safe to cut away more of the wood. The
shackling chains are then loosened and the carriage is withdrawnv
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