Some recent improvements have been made in the Bryant channeler, notably a sliding box for holding the gibs, and which admits of their being dropped into a pocket so that the arm holds them in their place, and if they break they cannot get out of place. The old method was to hold the gib in the box by an enlarged head, which was liable to break, result ing in the dropping of the gib into the cut. By means of the improved gib box on the Bryant ebanneler it has been found advantageous to use gibs made of hard wood. These have proved to be much better• and mote durable than brass. The wooden gibs absorb the oil and make but little noise : they wear us long, and cost very much less than brass. The importance of the wooden gib is shown by the fact that the Cleveland Stone Co.. at Cleveland, Ohio. which has a large number of channeling machines in use, using brass gibs. pay about $600 per year for gibs. Another improvement is a steam cushion instead of a rubber one.
For this purpose a 6-in. cylinder in. long is used. Steam is admitted from the boiler, through a small opening into the cylinder•. This forces the piston out to the mouth of the cylinder, where it is held by lugs from going further. When the pressure comes on the piston, it forces the steam back into the boiler. but the pressure comes so quickly, and the opening is so small. that but little escapes.
The Saunders Direct-acting Channeling Machine, designed by the writer, is shown in Fig. 2. Steam is supplied through hose, and a back screw is arranged so that the engine and cutting tools way be tipped backward for use in what is known as " side-hill work." A standard Ingersoll •• Eclipse" rock drill of large size, 6 in. diameter of cylinder, is used, the machine being specially constructed for channeling purposes. Instead of a regular rubber buffer in the front head a dozen or more plate washers are used. The piston-rod carries a cross-head to which are attached a gang of cutting tools. The whole is mounted in a vertical position upon an adjustable east-iron support known as a quadrant piece, which rests upon a shaft bearing upon a carriage, which moves upon four wheels. The cutting engine is mounted on a such piece in a similar manner as rock drills are mounted, and is fed forward as the cutting progresses. This shell piece serves also as a guide for the cross-head, thus preventing the channeling bits from turning.
The distinguishing features of this machine are that it is direct acting ; that is, the cutting tools being attached rigidly to the piston, the blow is dealt directly by the steam pressure in the cylinder and without any intervention of crank shafts, levers, or springs. The feed motion of the carriage upon the track is operated by, and dependent upon, the engine which strikes the blow. The piston in its upward stroke is made to rotate a pawl piece at the top of the cylinder, and this rotation is conveyed through gears to the axles of the c•ar, and it is thus fed through traction upon the rails. This feed motion is imparted to the car on the upward stroke of the piston only ; the car remains stationary when the blow is struck. There is thus an intermittent feed motion, and the drills are moved a definite distance in the cut at every stroke, thus chip ping its channel and not powdering it, as is the case with other machines.
This feed averages three-quarters of an inch per stroke. The strokes average 240 per minute. The cut ting tools are made adjustable to any angle, to the right and left, and forward and backward. The ma chine is thus capable of making transverse and side-hill cuts, and does what is known as cutting out the corners in quarrying. The ma chine has but two quick moving parts: the piston, with cutting tools attached, and the valve. The stroke varies about 0 in. in length, running from 2 to 8 in. This is done by the peculiar construction of the piston and valve. The engine and cutting tools are fed downward as the cut ting proceeds, and the drills can cut a channel 18 in. in depth without unclamping or stopping the machine. By a stop-valve placed in the lower steam-port the blow can be regulated so that it will strike with only a light touch, or with a blow of 3,000 lbs. in force.
The Sullivan Chan neling Maehine.—Fig. 3 illustrates the Sullivan channeler with boiler mounted. This is also a direct-acting mac hi n e, having no levers or springs, and the cutting tools are attached rigidly to the piston-rod of the engine. This neler is also made on the screw-frame pattern without boiler. the steam being supplied from a stationary boiler through flexible tubing. An hi dependent engine is used to feed the carriage along the track ; thus the en gine that does the cutting is not used for the feeding. The feed engine is a com mon upright engine of New York safety steam power pattern. It re volves a shaft on the end of which is a gear which is used to rotate the axles of the carriage. The engine which carries the cutting tools has a valve movement which is operated by bell-crank levers connected with the cross-head. The cutting tools abut against the cross-head, and are clamped by three separate clamps. Piping and swivel joints are used in place of steam hose. The movement of the carriage is reversed either by a hand lever or by an automatic adjustment suspended under the car, which bears against an abut ment bolted to the rail. 171e Wardwell Channeling Machine, made by the Steam Stone Cutter f•o., of Rutland, Vt., is represented in Fig. 4. This is a single-gang machine of the Wardwell pattern, and is shown mounted on its track on the bed of the quarry. It is adapted for cut ting either vertical or inclined channels. By its use quarries can be enlarged by carrying under the wall channels, or, if the strata or vein of nx•k is inclined, channels can be cut to follow the inclination to any angle down to 45 -. The operating mechanism and cutting devices are mounted upon a portable sliding carriage, and, by means of a long screw shaft, can be readily adjusted at either end of the frame—thus making a right or left-handed machine—thereby enabling it to cut in all corners of a quarry, The engine is attached to the standard that gives direction to the gang of cutters, and motion is com municated to the cutter by means of two levers, the upper ends of which are pivoted to the cross-head of the engine, and their lower ends are connected by links to the lower clamp block which holds the cutters.