Planing and Matching Machine

Planing and matching machines that are made narrow to suit the planing and matching of boards for flooring are sometimes called flooring machines, the distinctive feature of a flooring machine being that it is (unless in the case of a double machine) made narrow (because flooring boards are narrow), and this makes the machine very stiff and capable therefore of a high rate of feed and speed.

Fig. 3176 is a general view, and 3177 a longitudinal section through a standard planing and matching machine of recent design, constructed by Messrs. J. S. Graham & Company. The plank passes through two pairs of rollers before meeting the front cutter head. The side heads then come into operation cutting (in the case of flooring) the tongue on one side of the plank and the groove on the other, the under side of the plank being dressed last.

The machine is built in three widths viz., 8′′, 14′′ and 26′′, each planing to 6′′ thick and matching as wide as it planes.

In place of matching heads, heads for beading, rabbeting, or fancy siding may then be used.

The board r (Fig. 3177) is fed in over the grate m′ until it reaches the rolls e and f′, which are held in place by the boxes fitted to the roll stand n′, and brought to bear on the lumber by means of the screw a′, equalizing bar m and nuts p, p, together with the lever y y and the weight x.

After the lumber leaves the second pair of rolls, it runs over the bed plate w (Fig. 3178) and under the shoe l, the duty of which is to hold the board firmly against the bed plate, and also to break the chips on a heavy cut. After leaving the shoe it is operated on by the upper cutter head h, then it passes beneath the pressure bar g, which holds the lumber firmly while it is acted on by the matcher c.

It then passes beneath the cleaner e′′ (Fig. 3177) and under the delivering roll, which is held down by the weight u in connection with the lever v and screw a′, the top which is shown at c (Fig. 3179). The board then passes underneath the pressure bar q (Figs. 3177, 3180) and over the under cutter s, from which it passes finished.

The pressure bar q is moved up and down by turning the shaft a′′, the motion of which is given to the screw h′ by means of a pair of bevel gears. k′ is also a scraper that cleans the board before it passes under the pressure bar q. The under cutter is adjusted for depth of cut by turning hand wheel a′, which moves the screw u′. The rolls are raised and lowered by turning the shaft at p (Fig. 3176).

In feeding two boards through the machine, one thicker than the other, that end of the roll that passes over the thick board can raise up without taking the pressure off the thin one at the other end of the roll. This raising mechanism is shown in Fig. 3179. The bevel gear c works over a ball joint q′. The shoulder b′ on the screw a′ works on the under side of the ball q′. The shaft a passes through the tubular shell b to the opposite end of the roll. The cross tie j is bolted to the roll box k′′.

c, Fig. 3178, shows matcher hanger in position. It is gibbed to the bed plate z by the gib f, which is so constructed as to be free from dirt. The sliding gib f is adjustable for wear. One matcher hanger is moved by the screw e, the other by e′. The left hand matcher hanger is moved by the shaft l′ (Fig. 3177), which passes along the side of the machine until it reaches the shaft e, where its motion is imparted to the screw by means of a pair of spiral gears. An index at the rear of the machine enables the operator to set the matcher heads to any desired width. The right hand matcher hanger, together with the guide, can be moved across the machine by turning the screw e′ at the side of the machine (Fig. 3176).

The upright d which carries the pulley which drives the top cutter head, or cylinder as it is sometimes termed, is set at an angle so that the cylinder belt will always be of the same tension.

The top cylinder is raised by the shaft d (Fig. 3176) and screw b. It is held in place by the nut m (Fig. 3177). The bar i ties the cylinder boxes together. k is held down by the weight i, and yields with the pressure bar l.

The spindle of the matcher c′ (Fig. 3177) is driven by a belt which comes from the pulley h and passes over the guide pulley k, and then to the pulley b′.

The lower end of the matcher is held in place by being gibbed to the cross tie p′, Fig. 3177, which is adjusted and kept in position by the screw o′.

s′ sustains the matcher spindle by means of an adjustable step.

y′, Fig. 3176, is the feed shaft which drives the gearing that operates the rolls. The pulley that drives the feed shaft is shown at l′ (Fig. 3176). The belt passes over this pulley and under and over the tightener pulleys w′, w′, then to the pulley u′ which is on the feed shaft y′.

The apron m′ in front of the under cutter s (Fig. 3180) is easily dropped to m′′ by loosening the nut r′ and releasing the bolt t′ so as to allow the apron m′ to drop.

This enables the operator to have free access to the under cutter for sharpening knives, etc. z′ is the bed plate over which the lumber passes before it reaches the under cutter.

A planing and matching machine designed and constructed by Messrs. London, Berry and Orton is represented in Fig. 3181. In this machine the upper surface of the board is surfaced first, and the matching second, the under surface being operated upon the last. The method of suspending the upper feed rolls of this machine is shown in Fig. 3182, in which a is an upper and b a lower feed roll. The upper roll a is suspended by the link c, which is supported by the link d, and also by link e, these three links forming a parallel motion which guides a in a vertical line.

At f (which is fast to e) is a bearing for the screw g, and the pair of bevel gears g that drives it. This screw threads into the nut h on the rod i, which receives the pressure of the bar j and weight k.

The lower feed rolls being larger in diameter gives them increased grip on the work, and gives it a better base, and also makes it enter and leave the rolls easier.

Each matcher bracket is fitted with a screw by which it can be moved at will across the machine, and by turning one other screw with the same wrench that moves the others, both brackets are firmly set to the slide and all screws held firmly. There are three changes of feed. The top cutter head is provided with improved pressure bars, which are set to or from the head by means of a double eccentric, which, while they can be set at any desired distance from the knives, limits their movement when moved towards them, rendering it impossible to get them into the cutters.