ELEVATOR AND BAND CUTTER.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1642, 8 January 1913, Page 10

ELEVATOR AND BAND CUTTER.

; : TfelAL ATi YALDHTJRST. successful ; trial' of Messrs: P. and D. Duncan s sheaf elevator ■ and' band cutter -was . held 1 nst 'Saturday • at. : Mr. •' A/: Joh jlston s farni;Yaldhurst. 'iThe English sty o of mill m general use in New : Zealand ior threshing, isi built very/ high from the ground, the' vertical height to' the'top of the feeder,being about twelve feet. To pitch !the large 'sheaves of long straw Cjo'j" 'in New Zealand from the bottom of the stack-to .the'band-cutter stage; is therefore a'heavy ahdtlaborious job, and ma.'chinwtwnws: finding it increasingly difficult to'secure good forkers. With the N best ; of: forkers; the spe«l -of , threshing tapers off'as the bottom of the stack is reached.to little, more than 50. per'.cent of'the pace/at. the'upper parts of ; the stack, 'irhe .machine';- tried on Saturday consists of: a 'shoot'or trough- about three "feet /wide arid about eighteen, feet. long, : fixed to an independent four-wheeled carriage. The trough is set at an angle and reaches up to ® side of the feeder on the combine, fronr!: about four _feet from thp ground.' being ■ olac'od' at right angles to tha .mill. " A;.belt and canvas conveyer driven, by suitable gearing travels vp the botfo'm of the trough, and the sheaves arc ;forke|l. oil to the canvas nnd are by it' lailded into She feeder. . Near the i..pi>er .end of the trough a "band-cutter, consisting: of five arms carrying, a sharp b?arte like."a hedge-knife, at eacti: end, ...is: attached ;to a cioss spindlfl fixed above the conveyer, and being, 'driven] at a high speed tho'blades cat the,bands;of the sheaves as jthoy pass under on . the canvas./ The eleVatrir is arranged to work; from' either side; of the mill, and provisionals made for placing it further out from the mill if neces-! sary, and the ; .band-cutter being out; of 'geaT the'sheaves may be delivered uncut to a man band-cutter, -who would out into the; feeder, in, the usual way; The trial, consisted of < hours'', lun ; in light-oafe; with a good deal of in the sheaves", and tho .elevator and band'cutter did 'the work well under tomtwhat unfavourable conditions, and met with j general aDprbval from those present.: fl'he saving of labour, for the forkers :os Hie j stack ncared thi JJottom became vcty evident loose stuff waselevated without any trouble, and the general opinion was expressed that the elevator would be a'great acquisition foi; general purposes, but more particularly when threshing peas. It was also noticed that forlstook threshing two drays could be worked at the same time, one on each side of the elevator, so that there need be. no stop between the drays as with the present system.,