Water-Powered Saw Note with Mechanical Sketches
Sheet crowded with device sketches; a note weighs a water-saw for milling soft wood
The upper note weighs the merits of a water-powered saw: the water may be drawn off so that timber can be sawn and cut into billets before it is returned, though a water-saw is judged better because its pontoons then serve well for mills of soft wood. Below, the sheet is crowded with rapid pen sketches of mechanisms — saw frames, winches, cranes and geared devices seen from several angles. Further faint sketches and a folio number ('96') also appear on the sheet.
On this page
Water-powered saw and milling devices
The note reasons about a saw driven by water and about pontoon-mounted mills, while the page below is filled with sketches of saw frames, winches and geared mechanisms studied from several viewpoints.
Diverting and returning the water
The plan is to take the water away so that timber can be sawn and cut into billets, then to give the water back. A water-saw is preferred because its boats then suit mills for soft wood.
Array of mechanism sketches
Numerous small mechanisms are drawn across the sheet — framed devices, drums, cranked arms and crane-like structures — studied from different viewpoints.