IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, DRAWING, ROVING, AND SPINNING, FLAX, HEMP, AND WASTE SILK
Year: 1825

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALEXANDER
LAMB, of Princes Street, Bank, in the City of London, Gentleman, and
WILLIAM SUTTILL, late of Old Brompton, but now of Hoxton, in the County
of Middlesex, Flax Spinner, seud greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Seventeenth day of November, in the sixth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Alexander Lamb and William Suttill, His especial licence, that we, the
said Alexander Lamb and William Suttill, our exors, admors, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Alexander Lamb and William Suttill, our
exors, adiiors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PREPARING, DRAWING, ROVING, AND SPINNING, FLAX,
HEMP, AND WASTE SILK;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso obliging us, the said Alexander Lamb and William Suttill, or one of

page_text: us, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one us, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Alexander Lamb and-William Suttill, do hereby declare that our Invention
divides itself into and runs through the whole process of converting marketable
flax from a commercial or mercantile commodity into yarn; and in some
instances we adopt intirely new processes, in others we pursue modes of
treatment already used and common, but effecting them by machinery, con-
taining in some instances parts that are intirely new, and in other instances
new and improved combinations of the usual and known parts of the
machinery at this time in use, by which several means we effect a desideratum
in the important process of spinning flax, hemp, and waste silk into not only
finer, but much better yarn than has ever yet been effected by machinery,
and taking the quality, fineness forming one of its constituents, into considera-
tion, in larger quantities than has ever yet been turned out by any machinery
hitherto constructed. Taking the flax of commerce in its usual condition, we
purpose, after it has passed over the rougher tool or hackle, well known
amongst flax dressers as a No. 4 hackle, or some other tool of that description,
and answering the same purpose, to submit it to the action of a machine, which
consists of a cylinder, in or upon the circular side or periphery of which are
affixed plates, and into which plates are affixed, so as to stand at a right angle
with the surface of the plate, and in lines drawn parallel to the flat sides or
ends of the cylinder, points resembling the sharp ends of hackle teeth; or
there may be affixed on, or introduced into the circular side of the cylinder,
steel plates, so fixed as to stand at a right angle with the surface of the
circular side of the cylinder. These last-mentioned plates are cut into
teeth somewhat resembling the teeth of a comb, but which teeth are rendered
as round and smooth as possible; and we make the above points and cut the
above teeth of such a degree of fineness, and place the forner at such
distances from each other, and cut the latter of such width, as we consider
best adapted to the work they are intended to perform, making them finer and
fixing them closer for fine work than we make or fix them for heavier and
coarser work; and we use either one or the other, that is, horizontal plates
with points, or perpendicular ones with teeth, as we think proper; or we use

page_text: them alternately, that is, a horizontal plate containing points, and then plates
cut into teeth; or we use them in any other mode of alternation, that is, two of
one and one of the other, or in any other way we think fit; and we recommend
them to be so fixed that a point or a tooth in a back row-may always stand in
the opening or interval of the points or teeth of the front row in the usual
method of fixing the pins in heckles, the row of points or plates extending
the length of the cylinder, and dividing the circumference of the cylinder into
twelve or more compartments, at the option of the machinist. We fix three
or more rows of points or plates in each compartment, at such distances from
each other as we think is proportioned to the fineness and closeness of the
points or teeth, making the distance from each row as near as may be the
same, or equal to the distance between each point or tooth in their lineal
direction. There is then fixed in or upon the circular side of the cylinder,
and extending the whole length of the cylinder, in the same angle with the
surface thereof at which the toothed plates or points stand, a steel plate with
a plain uncut or smooth edge, and these plates are, fixed in succession in the
centre of each compartment, and at equal distances between each set of points
or toothed plates round the whole circular side of the cylinder. We have
described the toothed plates and points as being placed so as to stand at a right
angle with the surface of the circular side of the cylinder, and this we consider
for general purposes the best position; but we do not confine ourselves to that
position, but vary the angle at which we place the toothed plates or points
at pleasure, though we recommend the smooth-edged plate to be placed.
in an angle corresponding with the angle of the toothed plates or points; it
may be varied. if the machinist thinks fit. In describing, the points, as
well as the toothed and plain or smoothed edged. plates, we have described
them as formed from steel, which we consider the material best adapted
for them; but we do not confine ourselves to that or any particular sub-
stance, claiming right to construct them from any known or from any new
material if we think proper. And we have also here assumed that our
cylinder is made of wood, but we do not confine ourselves to wood or any
other material, nor to any particular diameter, although we consider the
diameter of twenty inches a convenient diameter for general purposes; but. the
material and size of all or any part of the cylinder plates or prints may be
varied at the discretion of the person intending to use them, it being evident
they must vary with the nature of the work they are intended for. The flax
intended to be submitted to the action of this cylinder (which is placed in a
frame in the common way in which cylinders for any other purpose where a
rapid revolution is desired are placed, and. is driven by any of the ordinary!:

page_text: motions or power), is fixed firmly between two plates, see Figure 1 of the
Drawings, or rollers, in such a manner that in the course of its operation the
whole of the woody or dead ends of the fibres may be exposed to the action of
the cylinder, which we recommend to be done by degrees, exposing the ends or
small parts of it first, and gradually all that part of the fibre where any woody
or dead part is perceptible. The rollers or plates between which the material
intended to be submitted to the action of the cylinder is held, may in like
manner be formed of any material, at the option of the maker, and is placed,
when charged with the material, in or upon a frame, in such a manner that it
may be advanced towards the cylinder by degrees; and that it may not be
advanced too far, and to prevent the rollers, or plates holding the material
coming in contact with the teeth or points fixed in the peryphery of the
cylinder, there are stops fixed in the frame, up to which they may advance, but
no further. In order that these plates or rollers may hold the material more
firmly, we sometimes make them fluted; at other times they are formed so
that one is concave and the other convex, or in the shape of a half or other
When the ends of the flax or
portion of a circle, to fit into the concave one.
hemp have been exposed to the action of the cylinder sufficiently to have been
cleared of all the woody, or dead, or hard parts, the process, as far as respects
flax or hemp, is completed. As respects waste silk, the defects to be removed
are of a different nature; they consist of knots and tangled portions of the
silk, and the thick clubbed or abrupt ends; and after the shorter parts of the
waste silk have been taken out by the hackle, and the longer portions laid as
even_and_as_straight as may be by means of the hackle, they are then spread
and secured between the rollers or plates in the same manner as flax, and the
ends exposed to the action of the cylinder in the same way till they are cleared
of all knots or hard tangled parts, and the fibres stripped in such a way as to
make them of unequal lengths, and as much as possible tapered at the end, so
as to facilitate their uniting in a sliver, roving, or thread. After the material,
whatever it may be, that is, whether flax, hemp, or waste silk, has been thus
prepared, the roller or plates containing it are removed, and other rollers or
plates containing fresh portions of the flax, or hemp, or waste silk, are exposed
to the action of the machine. In the progress of the operation the cylinder
collects the broken parts of the fibres, technically called, in flax and hemp, tow,
and as respects the silk, still denominated waste silk; and this is cleared from
the cylinder by another cylinder, the circular side of which is covered with
what are technically called cards, and when so covered, being made to move in
an opposite direction to that of the first described cylinder, clears it of the tow
and short waste silk. This last cylinder is, in the language of manufacturers,

page_text: called a doffer, and is not claimed as anything new. It is a thing in common
use for the purpose of taking off the tow from another card. From the doffer
the tow and short waste silk is received, or rather drawn, by two rollers, in the
manner now practised, and is then carded in the common and usual manner,
by which means it is prepared for the roving and spinning frames. And for
the better understanding the construction of this machine, the mechanic who
is desirous of constructing one will, from the foregoing description and the
Drawings annexed, be enabled to construct the same.
Figure 1. A represents an end view of the cylinder for the reception of the
toothed plates, points, and smooth edged plates. a, steel plates, with teeth cut
into them to resemble the points of hackle teeth. b, steel plates with smoothed
uncut edges. B, end view of doffer covered with card. C, end view of a
roller, of iron or any other substance. D, a roller resting upon roller C, made
of any convenient substance, wood, iron, or other metal. E, bed, trough, or
channel for supporting the thread. F, end view of front or guide roller. G,
roller resting and working on roller F. D and G are retained in their position,
and the necessary degree of pressure given to them by means of weights
suspended on a lever, or by springs, screws, or any of those modes which
mechanics are in the habit of adopting. H, vessel for receiving the
tow. I, I, I, I, frame in which the machine works. K, a curved board or
plate of metal fixed to the frame, and extending the whole length of the
cylinder in a sloping circular direction, to follow the direction of the circle
described by the cylinder, for the purpose of preventing the flax flying off from
the action of the plates or points of the cylinder in its revolutions, the bottom
of such board or plate approaching the cylinder rather nearer than the top.
Figure 2 represents a plan of the main cylinder A, Figure 1. Figure 3
represents a plan of the doffer B, Figure 1, with its shaft and pullies.
Figure 4 represents a smoth edged or uncut steel plate. Figure 5 represents
a steel plate with teeth cut to resemble the points of the hackle teeth. The
diameter of the cylinder A may be at the option of the maker. The one we
have adopted as a convenient size for use is twenty inches, its length eighteen
inches, and the length of the toothed plates or rows of points sixteen inches.
The speed we drive it at is from eighty to one hundred revolutions in a minute,
and the number of compartments into which we have divided it are denoted
by the letters a, b, repeated for each compartment. With respect to the mode of
fixing it and driving it, they are matters to be determined by the maker, and
regulated by the circumstances and situation under which and where he may
be called on to erect it, as it requires nothing but what is perfectly well
known to machinists, and in constant practice whenever machinery is used

page_text: for the commonest purposes to which it is applicable. The doffer B, or the
cylinder covered with cards, which, for the convenience of covering with the
cards, we make of wood, may be constructed of any material the machinist
pleases; and this cylinder we make of half the diameter of the cylinder A, but
without at all fixing that as a size always to be adopted; and the speed at
which we drive cylinder B is at about one revolution of B to forty of A, to be
in like manner, as in the case of cylinder A; driven in any way the maker may
find it convenient to adopt. The roller C we make of about three inches
diameter, sometimes plain, sometimes rouglied, and sometimes fluted. The
plain roller we consider sufficient for fine tow; for the coarser tows or waste
silk we recommend roughed or fluted rollers, but we do not confine ourselves
to the use of one or the other for any particular purposes, but use one or the
other indifferently as it happens to suit our convenience; and we adopt for the
construction of it any substance of either wood or metal that happens to be
most.convenient at the time, but frequently use iron, which, as it is not exposed
to any wet, is not liable to rust and corrode the materials, particularly when kept
in constant work. The upper roller D we make of wood, but do not confine
ourselves to that material; and it is retained in its situation, and the requisite
degree of pressure applied to it, by any of the usual modes, forming it with
corresponding flutes if the under roller C is fluted. From these rollers the
material is disposed of in the way best adapted to forward the proceedings of
the factory, and these rollers are driven by any of the accustomed modes and
at a speed having relation to the speed of the cylinder B, as it is seen; they
are intended to carry away the tow or short fibres of waste silk as that cylinder
collects them from the cylinder A. We claim as new the clearing of the ends
of flax and hemp from all dead, hard, or woody parts, and of waste silk from
all knots or tangled parts, by the action of a cylinder furnished with either the
points or plates already described.
Our second machine. is formed of two flat plates made of any substance or
material that is tolerably hard, either wood, bone, metal, or glass. These plates
are fixed in such a manner as to have a rapid rubbing motion communicated
to them by either cranks, wheels, and pinions, or any other mechanical con-
trivance acting on eccentric shafts or riggers, so that while one of the plates is
moving a given distance forward the other is moving the same distance back-
ward, and vice versâ, and so that any substance placed between these two
plates, when in action, is constantly propelled by a corresponding or equal
power in contrary and directly opposite directions, and it is by these means
made to revolve on its own centre. We prefer the distances to be thus
travelled by cach plate being small, because we desire the action to be quick

page_text: and the distance we have adopted in our present machines is half of an inch
for each plate, making the whole distance of the two united one inch. But
we do not limit ourselves to this or any other distance, increasing the distance
when the article is coarse, long, and bulky, and diminishing it when it is short
and fine. We introduce the flax or hemp between these two plates in such a
manner that the fibres shall lay at right angles with the line in which the
plates are moved; and as one plate has, as before observed, the effect of
restraining it as much as the other has in propelling it, each fibre is made to
revolve with great rapidity on its own axis, or as nearly so as possible. "In
the machine represented in Figures 6, 7, and 8, the plates are shewn as in a
perpendicular position, but we sometimes place them in an horizontal one, or
in any other position we find convenient between a perpendicular and an hori-
zontal position. This process we sometimes apply before and sometimes after
the flax or hemp we are operating upon has been exposed to the action of the
former machine, and has undergone a partial hackling, or in coarse or heavy
work omit it altogether. We have already stated that we put these plates in
motion by any of those methods well known to and understood by machinists,
fixing them also in any manner that the constructor pleases; having ourselves
adopted for our present purposes a common frame, giving motion to two eccentric
cams or bosses fitted on a shaft and driven by any power that it is convenient to
apply. The flax or hemp, for we do not submit waste silk to the action of this
machine, is sometimes held in fluted plates or clamps, constructed of any material
the maker chuses, and confined in any way he thinks fit. The mode of bring-
ing the surfaces of the two plates in contact with the material to be acted upon
in the machine, represented in Figures 6, 7, and 8, is effected by springs with
friction rollers in their extremities, pressing on the backs of the plates; but we
do not confine ourselves to this mode, but adopt any other mechanical contri-
vance the constructor thinks proper, the whole field of mechanical arrange-
ment, both as to material and arrangement, being left open to him; our
Invention consisting of placing two plates with even but not too smooth
surfaces in such a position as that the one shall be propelled for a given
distance forward, and that the other shall be drawn by the same speed
an equal distance backward, and so on alternately, with their opposing surfaces
approaching so near to each other that they shall rub a fibre of hemp or flax
in the manner before described. And in order to give the requisite degree of
pressure, we have, as before stated, adopted springs pressing on the backs of
the plates, with friction rollers in their ends; but as the pressure required
is not great, we occasionally use no other force than the specific gravity
of the upper plate when the machine is placed in an horizontal position,

page_text: rapidity of action rather than severe pressure being the quality desired in this
machine.
Figures 6, 7, and 8 represent one of these machines with the plates in a
perpendicular position, driven or put in motion by excentric cams, bosses, or
rollers, fixed on the shaft a, with their eccentricities in opposite directions
and working in collars connected to the backs of the plates by iron rods or
bridles c.
On the top of the plates d are fixed iron rods e, by which the plates
are kept in their position; and at the bottom are two eyes f through which the
iron rods 7 pass, and on which the plates rest, and which also serve to keep
them in their position at the bottom.
The mode of supporting and retaining the plates in an horizontal position
is necessarily varied according to the circumstances; but as we claim nothing
new in the mode of fixing or working these plates, the arrangement is left
open to the discretion of the mechanic who constructs the machine. h, clamps
for holding the flax or hemp while submitted to the action of this machine.
Figure 6 represents a side, Figure 7 an end, and Figure 8 a bird's-eye
or top plan of this machine, which, with the description here given, will
enable any machinist to construct it. After the flax or hemp has been exposed
to the action of this machine, it is further prepared by the hackler in the
common way, and by him made ready for the drawing frames. When the
material is prepared for the drawing frames, the usual processes are either to
draw it from a tool or hackle by the hand, in a manner somewhat resembling
the way the wool comber draws out his wool, or to spread it on a board by
hand; but let the operator in either case be ever so expert, it is impossible to
avoid considerable irregularities, and these irregularities necessarily go through
the whole of the process, and are found in the yarn; it is therefore of the first
importance to have this first manipulation towards extending the fibres and
converting flax into yarn as perfect as possible, and for that purpose we
sometimes place an uniform quantity of flax in a hackle, or tool similar
to a hackle, in such a manner that the ends of the short fibres we intend
to introduce into the yarn shall just extend beyond the front teeth of
the tool, and then the ends of the longest fibres, being placed between
rollers fixed in a sliding head, the flax is gradually drawn from the tool
by a pair of rollers, and for this purpose we occasionally use two pair of
conical rollers, as represented by Figure 9. For the purpose of better over-
coming the resistance of the tool, the flax being drawn from the hackle by the
first pair, from them it is drawn by another pair of conical rollers of the
same diameter, with their cones reversed, moving at the same speed. From this
latter pair of conical rollers the material passes through another pair of

page_text: rollers of uniform diameter, such diameter to be greater than that of the
conical rollers at the largest part of the cone, or if of equal or of less diameter
than that of the conical rollers, to be moved with a proportionably increased
or diminished speed, so that the material may be a certain degree extended
in length; and although we do not in this part of the process recommend the
extension to be very considerable, yet we vary it from one degree to any
number of degrees the operator may think fit.
Figure 9 represents a machine of the above description, with an arrange-
ment of conical rollers similar to such as has been described, in which the
letters A, A, represent two conical rollers with the large part of the cones
presented to the eye; B, B, the conical rollers with the smaller cones presented
to view; C, C, two rollers, of an uniform diameter drawing the material from
the conical rollers; D, D, two guide rollers conducting the material on to the
surface of a drum F, round which we pass it five or six or any lesser or
greater number of times, and from which drum it is taken into a can or to a
board, or in any other way convenient for removing it from this machine to
the succeeding one. E, small pressure roller working on drum F; G, tool
from which material is drawn by the rollers. We do not confine ourselves to
taking the material on to this drum, but sometimes carry it at once on to a
board or into a can without the intervention of the drum. The tool or
hackel in which the article is placed, as well as the rollers and drum, are
sometimes fixed on or in sliding heads to be fixed at pleasure by fixed
screws or otherwise. In order to accommodate them to the length of the staple
to be operated upon, we sometimes flute our conical rollers in such a manner
as to let them work into each other like the teeth of wheels, but we do not
confine ourselves to fluted rollers, sometimes using them with smooth surfaces.
In this machine we claim nothing for either material or dimensions; and with
respect to the mode of giving motion to it, it may be by any of the common
methods of giving motion to machinery, in which, however, it is proper to
notice that we sometimes construct it so that the hackle is made to advance
towards the first rollers at a speed proportioned to their speed, in order that it
may gradually present and deliver to the rollers the article placed in it
progressively as the length of the fibres diminish, till the whole of the article
intended to be taken into the yarn is drawn out, and the broken or short
fibres left in the hackle, in which case the hackle is caused occasionally to
move forward towards the rollers against the action of a spring, and when it
has advanced to its extreme limit a detainer is disengaged, and it is carried.
back to its position, and after being cleared of the tow or broken fibres, a fresh
parcel of material is placed in it, and the operation repeated. Where very

page_text: fine yarn is contemplated, a more perfect equality or evenness will be attained
if the quantity of material intended to be drawn is divided into two equal parts,
and one part placed in one division of the tool or hackle, and the other in
another division, or one in one hackle, and the other in another. What
we claim as new in this machine is, the method of drawing flax, hemp,
or waste silk from a hackle by rollers, by which we convert them into a
more even sliver than has hitherto been effected by any other method,
and we have shewn here one of the modes by which it may be effected. But
there are various other ways; for instance, the rollers may be made to advance
towards the hackle, which may be stationary, or both may be stationary or
both may be moveable by either machinery or the hands of the operator; but
as all these methods are easily effected, and will readily present themselves to
the practical machinist, it would be idle to describe the whole of them, in none
of which is there or would there be anything new, except that of taking the
materials from the hackle by rollers, instead of drawing them from it by the
hand, as hitherto practised.
Figures 11 and 12 represent two gill frames which are in use in most
factories for spinning flax by machinery; and Figure 11 is introduced here for
the purpose of shewing the progressive stages of the manufacture; but the
number of drawings and doublings through this or similar machines is matter
of discretion with the operator, and regulated by the experienced spinner, after
a due examination of the state and quality of his material, and consideration of
the quality of yarn he intends to make. The material is removed from the
machine Fig. 9 to the machine Fig. 11, and from thence, after the requisite
number of drawings, it passes to the machine Figure 12, which is the ordinary
gill roving frame, except as respects the position, form, and arrangement of
the spindle, flyer, and the method of tempering the bobbins. The position of the
spindle is horizontal; but for that we claim nothing, our improvement con-
sisting in the formation of the eye of the spindle, and the mode of tempering
the bobbin, which will be better understood if we previously refer to and
explain the several Figures 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23.
In the Figures 13 and 14, a represents the board or plate in which the
standard 6 is fixed, with a slit or groove cut into it to admit of the screw c
being raised or depressed within the limit of that opening. d is a shaft or
pillar supported on screw c, by which it can be lowered or elevated, and moved
either to the right or to the left, so that a circular cup or hollow formed in it
at may be accurately adjusted to the end of the bobbin, which is formed to
fit into the circular hollow or cup e; and Figures 13, 14, and 15 show the
front, side, and top viows of this arrangement.

page_text: Figure 24 shews the supports in which the spindle works; also the spindle,
flyer, bobbin, and wharle; fff, being the supports, 9, 9, 9, being the spindle,
the flyer, i the bobbin, and k the wharle.
Figures 16 shew the ends of two of the spindles, with diagonal cuts or
openings into the eye to receive or through which to pass the yarn in piccing
up broken ends. Figures 17 and 18 are end or front views of the eyes of two
spindles, showing the position of the opening for the roving or yarn to pass
through, and by which means the roving or yarn are retained in the centre of the
spindle, the opening being formed in one quarter of the circle only, and extending
to, but not beyond, the centre of the spindle, terminating at a point or centre,
through which; if a line was drawn the whole length of the spindle, the spindle
and flyer would constantly revolve, that is, in the centre of the spindle or flyer.
We sometimes divide the eye of the spindle or flyer into equal halves, and
form the eye in such a manner that the extreme part of the opening shall just
touch the central part of the spindle or flyer; and in other instances we make
it of a round, oval, or any other form, forming any portion of a circle or
elliptic of a circle, so that the extreme part of the opening terminates at the
point or axis on which the spindle or flyer revolves; and in order to facilitate
the piecing of broken yarn or thread, an aperture or opening is made in the
side of the eye I, 1, Figures 17 and 18, inclining from the external circum-
ference to the centre of the eye in a direction opposed to the revolution of the
spindle, which prevents, the yarn or thread slipping out. The circular hollow
or cup e in which the bobbin works is so adapted that all lateral and perpen-
dicular motion of the bobbin is prevented; but the requisite degree of circular
motion is permitted; and for, the purpose of tempering the bobbin we apply the
clamps m, m, m, m; m, m, one of which is fully, shewn, on the shank of which
is cut a screw, on which a thumb screw works, and the shank of this clamp
being passed through the shaft or pillar d, and the points'n, n, n, being fitted
to a groove in the bobbin; as represented in Figure 15, it will be seen that by
applying the thumb. screw their pressure on the bobbin may be increased or
diminished according to the speed required for the bobbin, which is by this
means retained in its position in the circular hollow or cup formed in the
shaft or pillar before mentioned; and as the standard b, by which this shaft or
pillar is supported, is fixed to the travis board, the bobbin is also by this means
moved backward and forward on the spindle by the heart motion, so as to
receive the yarn equally. At the top and in the centre of the shaft or pillar is
an opening, cut for the purpose of raising the spindle up, in order to take the
bobbins on and off with facility. In the wharlek is an opening or socket,
into which the end of the spindle is adjusted at o, and this opening, with the

page_text: end of the spindle adapted to it, we make of various forms, sometimes semi-
circular, and at others triangular or square, or of any other form, so that the
end of the spindle will remain firm in the socket or eye when made of a cor-
responding form, and so that when the wharl revolves it may carry the spindle
round with it, but at the same time permits the spindle to slip in and out with
facility; and as the wharle works on the double bearings f, f, the spindle is
removed without any interruption to the working of the other spindles in the
machine, the band remaining in its place, and the wharle, which is retained in
its position by the band, continuing to work. In order to retain the other end
of the spindle steadily in its place, we fix in the centre of the support f, by
means of a screw a stop p, which, being turned over the end of the spindle,
prevents its rising in its bearing, in consequence of the band's pressure on the
wharle k. This stop we sometimes extend over the whole, and sometimes only
over half the spindle.
Figures 19, 20, 21, and 22, represent another method of tempering the bobbins;
and in the Figures 19, 20, 21, and 22, a, a, a, a, a, a, represent a semicircular
piece of metal, with a leg or shank that is somewhat clastic, and which is fixed in
metal supports b, b, b, b, into the front of which a groove is cut, so as to permit
the two supports when advanced to approach sufficiently near for the semicircular
pieces of metal attach to them to clasp a groove in the bottom of the bobbin
that they are intended to temper. The leg or shank of these semicircular
pieces of metal is fixed to the support by means of a screw passing through
it into the support, as seen in Figures 19 and 20. The supports b, b, are
fastened to the standards by means of screws working into a sliding groove, in
such a manner as to permit the supports b, b, being elevated or depressed
so as to meet the exact elevation of the bobbin's groove. The standards
c, c, c, c, c, c, are firmly fixed on sliding plates, Figure 22, hereafter mentioned,
in such a manner that the centres of the semicircular pieces, or a line drawn
through their respective centres, would meet, and this is effected by placing
the standards on the plate d in such a manner that they may project suffi-
ciently over the edge of the plate d, that the centre, or a line drawn through
the centres of the semicircular pieces supported by standards on plate d, may
exactly correspond with the centre line between the two plates d and e, and
the standards on the plate care placed in such a manner that they project
sufficiently over the edge of the plate e that the centre, or a line drawn through
the centres of the semicircular pieces supported by the standards on the
plate c, may exactly correspond with the said centre line between the said two
plates and c. On the inner side of the semicircular pieces of metal is fixed
a spring ff, which, however, is not always applied, as it is used or dispensed

page_text: with at the option of the machinist.
But as the object of this arrangement IS
to temper a whole frame of bobbins by moving one screw only, we find the
spring of use in frames for spinning fine yarn. It will also be seen that if
there should be any irregularity in the diameter of the bobbins, or any difference
in the power of the springs when they are used, or if the machinist should not
have been sufficiently careful in fixing the standards, or that there should for
any other reason be a less degree of pressure on some particular bobbins than
on the general series, such bobbins would not take up their yarn with sufficient
speed as compared with the others. To obviate the objection arising from the
above or any other cause, we have introduced into the supports b, b, screws,
with their points resting on the clastic shank of the clamp, which, when
screwed, presses the clamp forward so as to equalize its pressure with the
pressure of the other clamps. The manner in which the standards c, c, with
the supports and clamps, are brought near or removed to a distance from cach
other, may be seen in Figure 22, where d and e represent two horizontal plates
or sliding bars of metal or other substance. 9, 9, are two uprights fixed to
the sliding bars, which work on the travis board; h, h, pinion wheels working
into each other, and reversing the action of the screws; i, i, two screws, by
which the bars are advanced or drawn back; k, head of main or adjusting
screw, for turning pinion wheels h, h; from which it will be seen, that, turning
the screw, one sliding bar will be advanced towards and the other repelled
from the hand of the operator; and as one series of the standards c are fixed
on the plate d, and the opposite series of the standards c are fixed on
the plate e, they must necessarily move in a direction opposed the one to
the other, so that by these means the circular clamps are opened or advanced
towards each other at pleasure; and as these plates work on the travis board,
the clamps move the bobbins backward and forward on the spindle, so as to
lay the yarn evenly upon it. In like manner, Figures 13 and 14 may be varied
by forming the upright shaft or pillar d in halves instead of in one piece, and
using, instead of the standard b, two standards to support the two halves of d,
one of such standards being fixed on one sliding plate, and the other upon the
other. And as the several methods above described of tempering the bobbins
have never been in use, we claim them as new, and we apply either the one or
the other, as we think proper, to both the roving and spinning frames and the
bobbins of those respective frames; and we also apply either the one or the
other to the bobbins which contain the rovings, so as to regulate the delivery
of the roving to the spinning frame in a regular manner, and so as to prevent
any irregularity or slackness in the roving as it leaves the bobbins. The
peculiarity and novelty in our spindles and flyers consists, as has been already

page_text: shewn, in the eye of the spindle or Hyer, whichever may be used, to receive
the yarn from the delivery rollers; for the forination and situation is applicable
to all spindles and flyers, as well as to the spindle we have here shewn, in
which our object has been to combine, as far as possible, a steady central twist
and draft for the yarn, with facility in piecing up the broken ends. The steady
central twist and draft is obtained by causing the yarn to revolve on its ow
axis, with as little centrifugal action as possible, and this motion is obtained
by the formation and situation of the eye of the spindle or flyer, whichever it
is that receives the yarn from the delivering rollers. The use of the diagonal
cut has been already explained, and the eye of a spindle or flyer, formed and
placed as described above, we claim as new.
To return, then, to our roving frame, Figure 12, in which we have already
stated that there is nothing claimed as new, except the eye of the spindle or
flyer, and mode of tempering the bobbin. The same parts in Figure 12 are
designated by the same letters as are used in the description of them in Figures
14 and 15. a, the traverse board; b, fix'd standard; c, screw on which shaft
d is supported; f,f,f, supports of spindles and wharle; 9, spindle; h, flyer;
i, bobbin; k, wharle driven by a band passing round a drum a, Figure 12; but
as there is nothing new in our mode of driving our machinery, it is not neces-
sary to describe either the mode indicated in Figure 12 or any other mode,
every known method being left open to the election of the machinist that has
to construct the frame.
Figures 25 and 26 represent the system of our spinning frame, Figure 25
being a side, and Figure 26 a top or bird's-eye view of a frame with six
spindles, the intermediate spindles being omitted to enable us to show the
mode we have adopted for driving the machinery; and in that part of the frame
containing the system of rollers we claim nothing new, except that we occa-
sionally form our front or delivery rollers of glass, which we form with a ground
surface; and the application of glass to this purpose we claim as new. And we
also occasionally introduce into the eye of the spindle a glass tube or lining,
or form the same of glass, which we also claim as new. For this purpose the
use of glass in both the roller and eye of the spindle being for the purpose
of more effectually resisting the friction of the thread, and as in our
spinning frame we adopt the same system and arrangement of and for the
spindle, flyer, and bobbin, that we have already described in our roving
frame, varying the size of our spindles, flyer, and bobbin according to the size
of the yarn we are spinning, it is unnecessary here to repeat what has already
been described.
In the mule, stretching frame and jenny, intended to be used for spinning

page_text: fine yarn, the same arrangement of rollers is adopted as in the spinning frame;
and as in that we claim nothing new except the occasional use of glass for our
front or delivering rollers; we have not introduced into the Drawings that 'part
of the machine, which would be only a repetition of the system of rollers con-
tained in Figures 25 and 26; but in that part of the machine which carries the
spindle a material variation is made from the mule, stretching frame, and jenny
in common use for spinning cotton, inasmuch as that we have placed our
spindle horizontal and in a direct line with the throat of the delivery rollers,
whereas the ordinary mode is to place them in an angle varying in its obtuse-
ness with the plane of the floor on which the machine stands, according to the
opinion of the operator,' and in many instances placed almost perpendicular,
the object of which positions are the prevention of the yarn after it has been
received on to the spindle being drawn off again in the retrogade action of the
traversing part of the machine. But these positions are attended with a conse-
quence that is fatal to its success in spinning flax, hemp, and waste silk, inas-
much as it produces a greater degree of twist at the point of the spindle than
is carried throughout the whole length of the draft up to the throat of the
roller, and which, from the unyielding nature of the substances, flax, hemp,
and waste silk, never become sufficiently equalized. To prevent this incon-
venience and imperfection in the process, it is that we place the spindle of our
mule, stretching frame, and jenny horizontally, by which means the twist from
the point of the spindle runs up immediately to the throats of the delivery
rollers uniformly and evenly; and to prevent the yarn already received on to
the spindle coming off again from its horizontal position, and to give twist to
the yarn, we have cut a spiral shoulder and groove in the point of the spindle,
which, acting in an opposite direction to the twist, and terminating at the very
point on which the spindle turns upon its own axis, retains the yarn steadily
in its position, and, as in the spindle of the spinning frame, prevents much
centrifugal motion in the yarn. That part of the spindle on to which the
yarn is received we form of metal not liable to be decomposd by wet; and to
facilitate the removing of the cop from the spindle, there are attached to the
sides of it two springs, which, projecting below the bottom of the cop, may be
compressed to the sides of the spindle, and by that means so reduce its cir-
cumference as to permit the cop to slip off easily.
In Figure 27 n represents the spindle, and o, o, two supports, which, with
corresponding supports through the length of the mule, stretching frame, or
jenny, sustain bearings and collars in which the spindles are supported and
work; P, the handle and arms supporting and governing the wire used for the
purpose of laying the yarn on the spindle and forming the cop. 9 an upright

page_text: for the purpose of supporting the handle directing the wire; r the warle which
turns the spindle by the band passing to the pulley's s, which is fixed on the
shaft t, and which may be driven in the manner indicated in Figure 27, or in any
other manner the machinist chuses to adopt. Figure 28 represents the spindle
with the springs and spiral shoulder and groove, but we occasionally use the
spindle with the spiral shoulder and groove without the springs, though the
springs greatly facilitate the removal of the cop without deranging the order of
the yarn. The formation of the spindle with the spiral shoulder and groove,
and the application of the spiral shoulder and groove to a bobbin, cap, or tube,
occasionally fixed upon the spindle, and position of the spindle with regard to
mules, stretching frames, and jennics, we claim as new. In our process for
roving and spinning the short fibres of flax, hemp, and waste silk, technically
cally called tow and waste silk, we pursue the same course of management
after the tow and waste silk is taken from the carding machine as we have
before described respecting flax when it arrives at the gill roving frame, to
which it is removed from the carding machine, and from the gill roving frame
is taken to the spinning frame, mule, stretching frame, or jenny, as already
described in regard to flax. And we claim the use of such of our Inventions
as are thus applicable for the manufacture of the broken and short fibres of
flax, hemp, and waste silk, in the same way as we use and claim them for the
more perfect and longer fibres of flax, hemp, and waste silk.
And we, the said Alexander Lamb and William Suttill, do hereby declare the
above to be our Specification, and that we verily believe that this our Speci-
fication doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or disguise, with
the said proviso-in our said herein-before in-part-recited-Letters Patent;
wherefore we do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and priviledge to
our said Invention.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alexander Lamb and William Suttill,
have hereunto severally set our hands and seals, this Thirteenth day
of May, in the seventh year of the reign of His Majesty King George
the Fourth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and twenty-six.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord 1826, the aforesaid Alexander Lamb and William
Suttill came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statutes made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.