Rub the knife and other bright parts of the machine with an oily rag every night. This will prevent the rust forming with the variation of temperature between day and night.
When using the graduations on its rim to measure by, always keep turning the gage screw wheel in one direction, without reversing it, when pulling the back gage forward for successive cuts. This will keep up all the slack and lost motion of the screw and its nut. If the screw wheel is moved first one way and then another, little dependence can be placed upon the graduated reading of the scale.
Safety of the Knife
The best automatic rapid-production cutting machines are provided with four safety devices to prevent the knife making an unexpected stroke.
First—A solid knocker throws out the clutch positively. Neither gravity nor a spring for a trip is depended upon to move an intercepting part, but the certain fact that two solid bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
Second—An automatic friction brake grips firmly and stops all motion silently.
Third—An automatic counterbalance is used for both the knife-bar and the clamp, and retains them at the top position.
Fourth—An automatic steel safety bolt engages a solid lug on the large gear, so that the gear cannot revolve further until the operator deliberately pulls the starting lever for another cut.
These four safety devices are designed so as to act positively and simultaneously on the completion of each cut. To start requires a deliberate action of the starting lever by the operator.