2-888-585 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Great Exhibition Building in Hyde Park - Adzing and Planing Machinery, 1850. ' The machinery requisite for this twofold operation is fixed on a long deal bench, breast-high from the floor, supported on square deal legs and cross-bearers, the whole being about 23 feet long. At the back of the bench is a longitudinal rail of deal, adjustable by vertical iron guides or fences, by which the boards, planks, or battens are kept in their proper position on the bench, while passing forward to undergo the process of planing and thicknessing. One of the attendants, who places the planks on the bench, also presses his hand against the outer edge, so as to keep the other edge close to the fence. One plank follows close to another, until a given number are completed...The plank is then carried forward to be cut (if required) to its proper width, by means of two vertical saws, one on either side of the bench, and adjusted to the required gauge'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.