Abstract: An improved apparatus is described for chipping a resilient material such as layers of scrap wood veneer of the type that includes feeding the resilient material across an anvil into contact with a rapidly moving chipping blade. The apparatus includes a crush roll for holding the material down as it approaches the anvil surface. The crush roll is journal-mounted on a pair of support arms swing-mounted on a framework to respond to variations in level of material received by the apparatus. Hold-down fingers are pivotably supported upon a finger shaft and their fingertips hold the veneer onto the anvil as close as practicable to the knife blade. A compensating linkage carries the finger shaft and is pivotally connected to the support arms and to the frame to which the support arms are pivotally connected. The compensating linkage compensates for the horizontal amount that the fingertips would otherwise travel as a horizontal component of the swing arc of the crush roll as it responds to varying material levels.

Abstract: The invention provides a planing device for planing two opposite sides of a workpiece which has a flexible and continuous lower platen cantilevered from its frame. The platen has its free end flexed upward by a pneumatically actuated lever, and cooling passages are provided on the end of the lower platen to dissipate heat due to friction between the lower platen and workpiece.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for determining the center axis of the largest solid of rotation obtainable from an irregular, elongated object such as a log or veneer block. The object is rotatably supported by two pairs of opposed wheeled supports positioned inward of the ends of the object. A motor-driven press roller maintains the object in contact with the wheeled supports and causes it to rotate thereon. The motion of the ends of the object as it rotates is used to define a locus of points at each end of the log. The centers of the largest circles which fit within these loci define the desired center axis.