Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-12-12
1878

DEAlH OF \ GREAT lNyENToE.-E rastus
Il. Bisclow, the famous inventor, died in
Boston, saturday, aged 60. When he was
only fourteen years old he invented a ma
chine for making cotton cord and Il hand
loom for suspcndrr webbing. lie afterwards
wrote a book on atcnographv At the age
, of twenty five he invented the first power
loom for weaving two-ply ingram carpets.
Up to 1899 two-ply ingram carpet had been
ma'r only hy hand ut the rate of eight yards
a day Mr.. Blgelow improved the power
loom So as to obtain ten and twelve yards,
and altorward twenty-five TO twenty
Of two ply AMI seventeen To eighteen of
thrc,-py. This improved method was pa
tented in lNij In 1913 he DEVELOPED and
completed the Brussels carpet loom. His
inventions and adaptations of various i'm
provcmcnts to lhrpowcr looms forthe weav-
ing of Brussels and tapestry carpets have
been of the greatest importance to the manu-
factmcr, andarc now in universal use. Messrs
Crosslcy " Sons, the great English manufac-
turcrs, purchased his patents for ego. 900, and
though they claim 10 have improved upon
them in some respects, still use them in their
mills at Halifax and Kidderminster The
whole number Of patents issued to Mr. Bigc-
low for his various inventions by the United
States Patent Office is &c. by his inventions
the cost Of weaving coach lace was reduced
at once from - cents yard to 3 cents the
cost of weaving Brussels carpet from 80
cents To cents.
of his browning invention, the loom for
Brussels AMI tapestry car7eting, the follow
ing graphic description has been written
Nothing short of actual inspection can give
any just idea of its wonderful capacities and
life-like action. Wires three feet or more in
length are here inserted and withdrawn with
a precision and quickncss which no manual
deXterity ever attained. Let us watch the
operation. First, mark that intruding knife
or wedge which, as it rises, separates from
its companions the wire next to he taken,
and guides the pushCr, which shovCs it along
toward the pincerS. The pincers now walk
up, grasp the Wire and draw il entirely out.
| While this is doing, another set of
nppcrs, hanging down like two human
hands, come forward, descend and
catch the wire at the moment
when the drawing pincors drop their prey.
No sooner have they seized the wire than
| they retreat To their original position, be-
meath which Il small angular trough has just
arrived. The fingers relax and the wire drops
into the trough, which Immediately returns.
Last of ALL Il triangular pusher rushing
through the trough sends the rod into the
open shed. Note also the double action of
the Withdrawing pincers. which, while they
attend 10 their own special mission, perform
| also sergcant's duty ny constantly bringing
into line the struggling wires. Those bird
like, three fingered claws. which dart back
and forth with such rapidity, are busy in
plating the sclvedgc, and their work is per-
feet. These, too, are 'contrived double
debt TO pay for whenever their thread
breaks they instantly stop the loom. In this
loom and that for coach-lace the mechanical
contrivancc for weighing the warp threads
is the same being one of the most ingenious
as well as most important Of Mr. Bigelow's
improvements.