Lathe having movable spindles and method

A method of peeling a log comprising:

• providing a lathe having a first support wall having a first pair of vertical guides and a second pair of vertical guides and providing a second support wall having a third pair of vertical guides and a fourth pair of vertical guides, such that the first and third pairs of vertical guides are disposed in a face to face relationship and the second and fourth pairs of vertical guides are disposed in a face to face relationship, and such that the second pair of vertical guides is disposed above the first pair of vertical guides and the fourth pair of vertical guides is disposed above the third pair of vertical guides,
• providing a first trunnion and mounting the first trunnion on the first pair of vertical guides and providing a second trunnion and mounting the second trunnion on the third pair of vertical guides and providing a log peeling assembly and supporting the log peeling assembly on the first trunnion and the third trunnion for movement on the first and third pairs of vertical guides,
• providing a structure having back-up powered rollers and mounting the structure on the second and fourth vertical guides for movement thereon and such that the structure is disposed above the log peeling assembly,
• providing a first frame having a first pair of horizontal guides and supporting a first spindle assembly on the first pair of horizontal guides and joining the first frame to the first support wall and providing a second frame having a second pair of horizontal guides supporting a second spindle assembly on the second pair of horizontal guides and joining the second frame to the second support wall, and
• moving the first and the second spindle assemblies along the first and the second pairs of horizontal guides between a first working position where the first spindle assembly and the second spindle assembly engage a log to be peeled and impart rotation to the log and a second working position where the first spindle assembly, the second spindle assembly, the log peeling assembly, and the back-up powered rollers contact and impart rotation to the log to rotate the log against a blade clamped in the log peeling assembly, and causing the first and second spindle assemblies to release from the log and return to the first work position to grip another log while the log peeling assembly and back-up powered rollers continue to support and rotate the log into the blade and peel the log.

A lathe for peeling a log, the lathe comprising:

• a first support wall and an opposed second support wall and a log peeling assembly mounted on the first support wall and the second support wall and the log peeling assembly having a blade assembly with a knife,
• a first spindle assembly supported on a first pair of horizontal guides that are mounted on a first frame and the first frame is joined to the first support wall, and the first spindle assembly is for imparting rotation to the log and is capable of being moved between a first working position and a second working position,
• a second spindle assembly supported on a second pair of horizontal guides mounted on a second frame and the second frame is joined to the second support wall, and the second spindle assembly is for imparting rotation to the log and is capable of being moved between the first working position and the second working position and wherein the first pair of horizontal guides mounted on the first frame and the second pair of horizontal guides mounted on the second frame are mounted in a side by side relationship along an X axis, and
• wherein the first spindle assembly and the second spindle assembly are capable of gripping, pre-centering and imparting rotation to the log when the first spindle assembly and the second spindle assembly are positioned in the first working position, and when the first spindle assembly and the second spindle assembly are positioned in the second working position the first spindle assembly and the second spindle assembly are positioned at a center of rotation such that the log is rotated by the first spindle assembly and the second spindle assembly against the knife in order to peel the log.