Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Serving Rope for the Rigging of Ships.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1888
Specification Accepted, 29th Mar.. 1888
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Serving Rope for the
Rigging of Ships.
I, THOMAS JOHNSON of 1, Havelock Road, Southsea, in the County of Hants,
Retired Chief Boatswain, Royal Navy, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in the apparatus for serving rope for the
rigging of ships for which Letters Patent were granted to me dated the 29th September
1885, No. 11,014, the objects of the present improvements being to provide means
for serving the rope with two threads of spun yarn simultaneously, for allowing the
rope to be served to be more easily and quickly placed in the apparatus and for
effecting the automatic movement of the apparatus along the rope while the latter is
being served. Also to adapt my mechanism for automatically taking the necessary
turns out of the spun yarn to an ordinary hand-serving mallet.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
how it can be carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a machine or apparatus for serving rope
for the rigging of ships provided with means for serving a rope with two threads of
spun yarn, for facilitating the application of the machine to and its removal from
the rope and for automatically moving it along the rope according to my present
improvements.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal elevation.
Figure 4 a plan, and
Figure 5 an end elevation showing my mechanism for automatically taking the
necessary turns out of the spun yarn adapted or attached to an ordinary hand-serving
mallet.
Similar letters in all the figures represent similar or corresponding parts.
In carrying out the improvements illustrated in figures 1 and 2, I construct the

page_text: other and each having a bevil wheel b; the yarn from each holder or bracket passes
round the serving mallet or block c to the rope in a similar manner to that described
in the Specification of my said former Letters Patent; the two parts of the divided
toothed wheels n and o and their bosses i, i and bearings, are connected together
by hinges one of which is shown at d in figure 2 and are provided with catches or
fastenings e, e which can readily be opened to allow of the admission of the rope to be
operated on.
The catches or fastenings e, e consist of spindles f, f having heads 9, 9 which will
pass through slots in the lugs h, h of the bearings, when the spin.lles are turned
into one position but which take under the said lugs when turned into the position
shown in figures 1 and 2 of the drawings; j, j are handles for turning the said
spindles and heads.
I form the serving mallet or block with a projection a' which by bearing against
the spun yarn k, k¹ as it is wound around the rope causes the apparatus to move
along at a speed proportionate to that at which the rope / is being served.
m is a screw passing through the frame of the machine and serving to lock the
gearing to the said frame just before removing the machine from the rope and when
the machine is not at work.
In order to serve a rope with spun yarn by means of a machine of this construction
the serving mallet or block c and the other parts of the machine must be in the
position shown in the drawings and be secured in that position by means of the set
screw m; the divided toothed wheels n and o can then be opened to receive the ropo
to be served; the divided toothed wheels are then closed and secured; the end of the
yarn from the lower bobbin k is first passed through the fairlead p and then over the
rope Ito the tension g whilst the yarn from the other bobbin k¹ is passed directly
through the tension ; the two threads are then passed together around the serving
mallet or block c and rope two or more times and are then passed through the
clearance in the left-hand bearing and fastened to the rope in the usual manner when
serving a rope by hand.
The set screw m must then be withdrawn from the wheel o and the whole is then
ready for the serving operation.
Instead of employing toothed gearing for operating my improved machine I some-
times find it advantageous to use chain gearing for this purpose.
When adapting or attaching my mechanism for automatically taking the necessary
turns out of the spun yarn to an ordinary hand serving mallet as illustrated in
figures 3, 4, and 5, I fix each of the brackets a, a carrying the spun-yarn bobbins k
and to a bevil wheel b gearing with a bevil wheel n in the manner and for the
purpose herein before described when referring to figures 1 and 2, but the wheel n
in this case is not divided because the rope is not intended to be passed through it.
The bevil wheels b, b and n are pivotted to a frame r fixed to an ordinary hand
serving mallet c.
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The wheel n has fixed thereto a barrels around which the threads of spun yarn as
they come from the bobbins k, k¹ are wound two or more times before passing around
the mallet c and rope l. The thread of yarn from the bobbin k after passing around
the said barrel is conducted over a shoulder t formed on the handle of the serving
mallet c which shoulder serves to guide the yarn direct to the mallet and rope as
clearly shown in figure 3. The other thread of yarn from the bobbin k' after passing
around the barrel is led direct to the serving mallet by passing round the base of the
handle u.
al is the projection for automatically moving the apparatus along the rope.
By this combination of bobbin rotating mechanism with a hand serving mallet,
when the serving mallet c, by means of its handle u, is moved around the rope the
yarn as it is served to the rope will rotate the barrels and through the medium of
the bevil wheels n and b, b, the holders or brackets a a of the bobbins k and k¹ will be
rotated, thereby taking the necessary turns out of the spun yarn.
Although I have described and shown the apparatus provided with two bobbins of
spun yarn a single bobbin can be employed if required. I do not however recominend

page_text: this because as will be evident the rope cannot be served so rapidly as if two bobbins
are employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. Providing apparatus for serving rope for the rigging of ships with two separate
yarn holders or brackets placed opposite each other and each having a toothed pinion
whereby two threads of spun yarn are fed to the rope simultaneously, substantially
as herein before described and represented in figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying
drawings.
2. Providing the two parts of the divided toothed wheels of apparatus for serving
rope for the rigging of ships with hinges and catches or fastenings, substantially as
and for the purpose herein before described and illustrated in figures 1 and 2 of the
accompanying drawings.
3. Providing the serving mallets or blocks of apparatus for serving rope for the
rigging of ships, with a projection adapted to bear against the spun yarn as it is
wound around the rope, substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
4. The use in combination with a hand serving mallet for serving ships' ropes with
spun yarn of bobbin rotating mechanism such as that herein described for auto-
matically taking the necessary turns out of the yarn as it is wound around the rope,
substantially as setforth.
5. The improved apparatus for serving rope for the rigging of ships herein before
described and represented in figures 1 and 2 and figures 3, 4, and 5 respectively of
the accompanying drawings.