The Coe Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Robert A Browning

Leonard L Hayes

Arthur L McGee

Gary W Ely

Lewis M Yock

A large diameter nose bar roll apparatus for a veneer lathe is disclosed including an automatic knife gap adjustment means. The knife gap adjustment means reduces the knife gap between the nose bar roll and the knife blade during peeling in response to decreases in the log diameter and/or changes in the knife pitch angle. This knife gap adjustment maintains the nose bar roll in contact with the log at the proper contact pressure as the diameter of the log decreases during peeling. This is necessary for nose bar rolls having a large diameter of at least 1.5 inches and 15 times the thickness of the veneer such as, for example, a nose bar roll of 3.75 inches diameter. An electrical control means is employed for automatically controlling the knife gap adjustment means by moving the nose bar roll toward the knife in response to decreases in the log diameter and changes in the pitch angle. The nose bar roll may be driven by power means to apply an auxiliary driving force for rotating the log in addition to the powered spindles provided at the opposite ends thereof for rotating such log during peeling.

Large diameter nose bar roll apparatus for veneer lathe with automatic

A veneer lathe apparatus is described with a powered nose bar roll of large diameter that is capable of peeling logs down to an extremely small core diameter on the order of about 21/2 inches for soft wood. The large diameter nose bar roll prevents jam-up of wood chips and trash at the junction between such roll and the log and greatly increases cutting time between lathe knife sharpenings. Both ends of the nose bar roll are connected through flexible couplings of plastic to the output shafts of two separate drive motors. The nose bar roll may be provided with a grooved outer surface for greater friction and can apply up to 40 percent of the total torque required for rotation of the log and to pressure the log for compression of its surface in front of the lathe knife during peeling. The nose bar roll is of larger diameter than the minimum log core and preferably such diameter is at least fifteen times the thickness of the wood veneer being peeled. For example, a nose bar roll diameter of 33/4 inches has been found suitable for peeling veneers in the thickness range of 0.1 and 0.2 inches. A plurality of open bearings are spaced along the length of the nose bar roll for supporting such nose bar and lubrication means is provided for such bearings by means of a plurality of oil passages which transmit oil through the bearing sleeves by air pressure to the inner surface of the bearing sleeve.

Veneer lathe with powered nose bar roll of large diameter

A log centering apparatus and method are described employing an optical log scanner for determining the longitudinal axis of the log for optimum wood product production by transmitting light to detectors through the space between the side of such log and reference edge members. The detectors each include a linear array of photosensitive diodes which are electronically scanned to take a reading. Before scanning, rough centering arms clamp the log and its opposite ends are engaged by rotation spindles. The log may be rotated intermittently or continuously during scanning to measure at different angles the distance between the reference edge and the surface of the log at a plurality of points spaced longitudinally along the log. These distance signals are fed to an electronic computer to compute the optimum yield axis of such log. The spindles on which the log is rotated are moved horizontally and vertically after determination of its optimum axis, to reposition the log until such optimum axis is in alignment with a reference axis, spaced a predetermined distance from a work axis, such as the lathe of a veneer lathe. The preferred embodiment of the invention is a veneer lathe charger. After repositioning the log in alignment with the reference axis, such log is reclamped and held while the spindles are removed so that the ends of the logs can be engaged by pivoted pendulum-like transfer arms which transfer the log from such reference axis to alignment with the lathe axis.

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Portland, OR, United States of America

Robert A Browning