Veneer lathe with powered nose bar roll of large diameter

Abstract

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.