Stationary Baler: Engineering and Evidence

Our friend, Mark Schwarzburg came by the office with an old wooden box he inherited from his great great great grandfather, Henry Schwarzburg. In it is a lovely, very old working wooden model of the stationary baler Henry helped to invent. Also were found, on old oil-skin paper, beautiful original engineer’s drawings for patent registry; and a brochure for the actual resulting manufactured implement. I just knew some of you would get as excited as I did seeing this material and feeling the history of it all. Thanks to Mark’s sharing we can enjoy and wonder… LRM

DESCRIPTION OF THE NOXALL No. 1

This is a full circle, double-stroke perpetual baling chamber; it is mounted on four wooden wheels thirty inches high (except the hind wheels under the all-steel press, which are thirty-six inches high). Its workings are simple and durable; no platform for the team to climb over; no chains or cable, not even a link. The power is composed of a variable S-shaped gear, and is constructed that it gives the plunger two strokes to the round of the team. There is not a spring, trip-dog or unshipping point about it. The power gears and connection with the compound levers are so arranged that the power moves fast at the beginning of each stroke, when the material us loose, but as the density of the charge increase the power compounds proportionately until the center is reached.

The sweep is twelve feet long, and in passing over the center there is no jerk whatever on the team; therefore it needs neither tongue nor neck yoke to prevent the sweep from crowing the team. It is fed from the top with a fork, and has no doors to open and shut. The pressing chamber is fitted with retainer hooks to prevent the hay from springing back into the pressing chamber.

Owing to the particular shaped gears, it has five points where the power is increased, which equalizes the draft and makes it light on the team. It is easily set for operation, or put in shape for moving. Three men and a team are required to do the work; the team is tied to the lead pole, which they will follow round in a circle – usually without a driver – but a seat is furnished with each press, in case a boy should be needed to drive.

IT HAS A POSITIVE MOTION FOR DRAWING THE BEATER BACK

Any one who has operated a press that depended on the expansion of the material, springs, weights or other devices to bring the beater back, need not be told how uncertain they are. We will admit that they will bring it back the majority of times; but it is the times that they fail which causes so much annoyance and delay. With the Noxall the operator will not be annoyed by the beater not coming back, for it is pulled back by the team, and so long as they travel the beater must make regular back and forward motions, whether there is hay in the press or not. This makes it very convenient to prime the press, and also enables the operator to make a loose pressed bale. It is only in case it does not rebound that it is pulled back by the team.

END VIEW OF BALING CHAMBER

By referring to the adjoining cut (above), the reader can get a fair idea of the mode of constructing our steel frame presses, and it will at once commend itself to the thoughtful reader as being a much better way than the common one of turning the angles in, for the following reasons: It is well known that the inside of a baling press must be smooth in order to allow the hay to pass through unobstructed, and if both the upper and lower legs of the angles are turned in it is necessary to countersink every bolt and rivet in it; hence every bolt must of necessity be a round-headed one, leaving no way of tightening the bolt when once it gets rusty or the threads become battered. Besides, the countersinking process brings one side of the lining to a sharp edge at the hole, leaving it no bearing to speak of and soon allowing it to work loose, or the sharp edge of the lining to cut the bolt off; but by turning the upper and lower legs of the four angles out, as shown in above cut, forms a projection at the four corners of frame, to which we can fasten the lining, braces and other castings without the necessity of counter-sinking a single bolt or rivet in the top or bottom lining of the baling chamber. This mode of construction enables us to use a rivet long enough to form a good head on the under-side, and to use square-headed bolts, which is a great advantage, as they can at all times be readily put in or taken out and kept perfectly tight.

NEEDS NO BUMPERS

To relieve the press from the jar caused by the beater rebounding too hard. The pitman is carried over the small gear wheel which travels in a circle, giving the beater a positive and almost noiseless motion.

The folders used on all of our presses do not tear or break the hay, for the reason that there are no sharp edges for the hay to come in contact with. The baling chamber is long, thus giving the bale ample time to form before reaching the open sides of the press.

DESCRIPTION OF NOXALL No. 2

The Noxall No. 2 is strictly portable, full circle, two strokes to the round of team; sweep twelve feet long; is made with perpetual baling chamber, has suitable retainer hooks and is metal lined. This press is mounted on steel wheels having tires three inches wide; is built throughout of good material and is of good workmanship. It is operated with one team and three men; the team is tied to a lead pole working inside of the triangle. The one in the end of the pitman is driving the roller; the second is a guide, which holds the end one in the center of power. The pitman moves fast at the beginning of each stroke, but as the density of the charge increases, the motion becomes slow and powerful until the power strikes the third and middle roller and forces it against the trip lever, which causes the power to unship from the sweep head and allows the plunger to rebound, thus opening the feed hole for the next charge. The pressing and unshipping parts are all operated by rollers, thereby reducing the friction to a minimum.

The connection between the press and the power needs no bridging for the team to cross over, as it is little more than an ordinary step for the team; nor is there any pull on the team while it is crossing the power sill. We use a coil spring four feet long to assist the plunger to rebound, but generally it is not needed after the press is started. This spring is adjustable in order to give the required force to insure rebound. We also use a rubber bumper to check the rebound should there too much. This press is equipped with an automatic folder, and has tension on four sides of the bale. Built in the same manner and of the same material that is used in the construction of all of our other presses.

CAST STEEL POWER HEAD

We have been furnishing the Noxall No. 2 with a cast steel power head, and we have not been called upon to replace a single one, although we have agreed to do so free of charge should any break within a year from date of purchase.

We have further improved the power by making the trip-dog of malleable iron instead of cast iron, and in connection with the cast steel power head, we have placed the power of the Noxall No. 2 beyond the probability of a break.

CAPACITY

How many tons can be pressed per day? This is very often asked us, and we answer that so much depends on the men, hay and team that it is impossible to give a satisfactory answer in every instance. Some crews of men can handle 10 to 12 tons seemingly as easy as others can 6 to 8; then again, some hay is short, fine and heavy, while other is just the reverse.

We do not wish to place the capacity so great that a customer would be disappointed after getting the press; still, we do wish to do our presses justice, so we answer that 7 to 10 tons per day is fair and good work. By this we mean ordinary work one day after the other, and not a rush for an hour or two under favorable conditions. The Noxall Presses are guaranteed to press as much material as any other presses of their kind in the market, regardless of the claims of others, for nearly always it is customary for press manufactures to give the capacity at so much per hour; but this is misleading, as any one knows, because on a test perhaps a ton and a half can be pressed in one hour with a two-horse press. But such a rate as this could not be kept up for a week, or hardly a single day.