IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND IN THE MODE OF OPERATION FOR WINDING, TARRING, SIZING, POLISHING, OR PUTTING A FINISH ON AND SINGLING MACHINE-SPUN AND OTHER YARNS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ROPE
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hiram Craven and James Speeding, both of Monk-
wearmouth, in the County of Durham, Rope Manufacturers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND IN THE MODE OF OPERATION
FOR WINDING, TARRING, SIZING, POLISHING, OR PUTTING A FINISH ON AND
SINGLING MACHINE-SPUN AND OTHER YARNS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ROPE,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hiram Craven and James
Speeding at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 29th January 1867.
We, HIRAM CRAVEN and JAMES SPEEDING, both of Monkwearmouth, in the
County of Durham, Rope Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND IN THE MODE OF OPERATION
FOR WINDING, TARRING, SIZING, POLISHING, OR PUTTING A FINISH ON AND SINGLING
MACHINE-SPUN AND OTHER YARNS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ROPE, CORDAGE, AND
LINES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION AND MATERIAL," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to improvements in preparing for rope making and
other purposes all descriptions of hemp, flax, and jute yarus, or yarns of similar.
fibre, whereby the yaru is rendered superior in finish and of greater pliancy
and durability. We take the full bobbins of yarn from the spinning frames
CD 077

page_text: and rewind the yarn on to larger bobbins by the ordinary winding frame or
any other simple and easymode; these large bobbins are placed free to revolve
in an upright rack or frame at one end of the tar trough, capable of containing
say 18 bobbins, more or less. Each yarn from these bobbins is passed through
a separate guide with a hole at bottom, placed in the middle of the tar trough,
and capable of being raised or lowered in case of nced, as, for instance, in order
to thread the yarns through the guides the latter are of course raised. When
all have been threaded they are pushed down into the heated tar and secured
in position by an iron pin; the yarns are thence severally passed through one
or more sets of hair rubbers for the purpose of brushing off the surplus tar and
at the same time laying the fibre; these rubbers are simply composed of hair
rope one anda half inches in circumference and about twelve inches long, round
which the yarns are wound two or three times between the strands. The
oftener the yarn is wound round the rubbers(which should not be placed more
than one and a half inches apart) the dryer it will be when tarred, and vice
versa. We also use coir and Manilla rope for some purposes, but hair answers
best. After passing through these rubbers the yarns are carried direct to a recl
mounted in a frame at the opposite end of the tar trough; this reel must be
of sufficient width inside to contain the whole number of yarns tarred at once,
so that on being wound the tarred yarn easily and evenly adjusts itself, and the
diameter of the reel must of course be in proportion to the quantity of tarred
yarn it is intended to hold; this reel when mounted in its bearings should not be
raised more than one inch from the ground, for convenience in removal when
full, to effect which its shaft which is movable is unshipped, and the reel by
means of two small inclines on the floor is easily rolled away; for driving this
reel a toothed wheel is slipped on the driving end of this movable shaft, which
wheel gears into another toothed wheel on the shaft driven by the motive
power; these wheels are made to change so as to keep up as nearly as possible
a uniform speed of the yarn passing through the hot tar; as the reel fills the
axial speed is reduced. When this reel is full it is removed, and the shaft
being nushipped it can easily be rolled away to any part of the building or to
the singling frame to be in readiness for singling on to the bobbins for the
forming machines. In rewinding from the reel on to bobbins for foreboard the
reel revolves close to the ground, and is easily rolled into position by two small
inclines formed of wood, and fixed on the floor, so as to raise the reel say one and
a half inches from the ground, when it drops into bearings fixed to upright
posts; the shaft also in this case is made to unship, and is removed when each
reel is empty. The reel being in position, the ends of the yarns are taken and

page_text: passed to the bobbins on the singling frame, each yarn from the reel passes
on to a bobbin in the singling frame, and completing the operation; as the
yarn comes off the reel freely and with scarcely any stoppages the beauty
and finish of the yarn is in no way injured or made rough by the process.
The apparatus for singling consists of a rectangular frame provided with a
central shaft rumming throughout its length, driven by a belt at one end. The
shaft is furnished with a number of friction rollers, by which the bobbins on
which the yarns are to be wound are driven; these bobbins are placed
parallel with and on either side of each friction roller against which they bear
with sufficient pressure to wind up the yarn.
In treating yarns size water or any other material may be substituted for
the tar, or the yarn may merely be passed through any description of rubbers
not necessarily for applying either tar, size, or other material, but merely for
acting on the yarn; in all cases each yarn is operated on singly, the finish of
the yarn being much enhanced, it is also rendered softer, smoother, and the
roundness of the thread is preserved by the yarn passing through hair rubbers
or rubbers made of coir or manilla, or any other suitable material. The
yarn is stretched in passing through the tar trough and rubbers, and its fibres
are all brought to a uniform tension, so that when made into rope it does not
give out and becomes "long jawed" when in use, but retains to a great extent
its formation as when made.
Russian, Italian, and similar fibred hemps are not deteriorated by the
process of tarring, as the yarn is made to pass quickly through the hot tar, it
being only necessary by this process that the yarn be coated with tar no matter
how quickly the per-centage of tar ultimately intended to be left in the yarn
is regulated by the manipulation of the rubbers, and if allowed to stand on the
reel, say, forty-eight hours it will be found that the tar coating not removed by
the rubbers will have penetrated the yarn, leaving the surface smooth and dry,
and the fibre as thoroughly laid as if coated with a skin. The yarn passes
through the tar and rubbers in the same direction as it is spun, consequently
the fibre is laid in its natural position, the same as if laid by the cloth of the
hand spinner, and after it is rewound from the large wheel on to the bobbins
ready for the foreboard it is obvious that the yarn will then come off the
bobbins in the same direction as it was spun, so that in all the operations of
tarring, stranding, and laying up or topping the yarn will be in the same
natural position, consequently each operation has the effect of imparting änish
and improving the appearance of the rope when completed.
The large reels receiving the tarred yarn being circular are easily removed

page_text: from place to place when full, and even supposing the reel to hold one ton of
yarn it can be rolled about with little effort to its required destination.
Rope made from yarn tarred by this method is exceedingly soft and pliable, is
very little affected by change of climate, works easily, and is consequently far
more durable than rope manufactured in the ordinary way.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Hiram Craven and James Speeding in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 26th July 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HIRAM
CRAVEN and JAMES SPEEDING, both of Monkwearmouth, in the County of
Durham, Rope Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Hiram Craven and James Speeding, Her special licence that we, the said
Hiram Craven and James Speeding, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Hiram Craven and James Speeding, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND
IN THE MODE OF OPERATION FOR WINDING, TARRING. SIZING, POLISHING, OR PUTTING
A FINISH ON, AND SINGLING MACHINE-SPUN AND OTHER YARNS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF ROPE. CORDAGE, AND LINES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION AND MATERIAL,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Hiram Craven and
James Speeding, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Hiram Craven and James Speeding, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the four Sheets of Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say)
Our Invention relates to improvements in preparing for rope making and
other purposes all descriptions of hemp, flax, and jute yarns, or yarus of similar
fibre, whereby the yarn is rendered superior in finish and of greater pliancy
and durability. We take the full bobbins of yarn from the spinning frames
and rewind the yarn on to larger bobbins in an ordinary winding frame, or by
any other simple and easy mode; these large bobbins are then placed in an
upright rack or frame at one end of a tar trough, said frame being capable of
containing, say, twelve bobbins more or less in which they are free to revolve.
Each yarn from these bobbins is passed through a separate hole at the bottom
of a guide placed in the centre of the tar trough, and capable of being raised
or lowered in case of need, such as for threading the yarns through the
guides; the yarns are thence severally passed through one or more sets of
hair rubbers for the purpose of brushing off the surplus tar, and at the same
time laying the fibre; these rubbers are simply composed of hair rope one
and a half inches in circumference and about twelve inches in length, round
which the yarns are wound two or three times between the strands. The
oftener the yarn is wound round the rubbers (which should not be placed
more than one and a half inches apart) the drier it will be when tarred, and
vice versa.
We also use coir and manilla for this purpose, but hair answers
best; after passing through these rubbers the yarns are carried direct to a
reel mounted in a frame at the opposite end of the tar trough; this reel must
be of sufficient width inside to contain the whole number of
yarns tarred at
one time, so that on being wound the tarred yarn easily and evenly adjusts
itself, and the diameter of the reel must of course be in proportion to the
quantity of tarred yarn it is intended to hold. This reel when mounted in its
bearings should not be raised more than one inch from the ground for con-
venience of removal when full, to effect which its shaft is removed, and the
reel by means of two small inclines on the floor is easily rolled away. For
driving this reel a toothed wheel is mounted on the end of its movable shaft.
which wheel gears with another toothed wheel on the shaft driven by the
motive power; these wheels are made to change so as to keep up as nearly
as possible a uniform speed of the yarn at the bobbins, and as the reel fills
the axial speed is reduced. When the reel is full it is removed, and the shaft
being unshipped it can easily be rolled away to any point or to the singling

page_text: frame to be in readiness for singling on to the bobbins for the " forming
machines. In rewinding from the reel on to bobbins for foreboard" the
reel revolves close to the ground, and is easily rolled into position by two
small inclines formed of wood and placed on the floor so as to raise the reel,
say, one and a half inches from the ground, when it drops into bearings fixed
to the uprights of the frame; the shaft also in this case is made to unship
when each reel is empty. The reel being placed in position, the ends of the
yarn are then passed to the bobbins of the singling frame, which is set in
motion in the usual way, each yarn from the reel passing to a separate
bobbin this completes the operation, the yarn coming off the reel freely and
with scarcely any stoppage, the beauty and finish of the yarn being in nowise
injured or made rough by this process.
The apparatus for singling consists of a rectangular frame provided with a
central shaft running throughout its length driven by a belt at one end; this
shaft is furnished with a number of friction rollers by which the bobbins for
receiving the yarn are driven; these bobbins are placed parallel with and on
either side of each friction roller, against which they bear with sufficient
pressure to wind on the yarn.
In treating yarns size water or any other material may be substituted for
the tar, or the yarn may be merely passed through any description of rubbers
not necessarily for applying either tar, size, or other material, but simply for
acting on the yarn; in all cases each yarn is operated on singly, the finish of
the yarn being much enhanced thereby, it is also rendered smoother, and the
roundness of the thread is preserved by the yarn passing through hair rubbers
or rubbers made of coir, manilla, or other suitable material. The yarn is
stretched in passing through the tar trough and rubbers, and its fibres are all
brought to a uniform tension, so that when made into rope it does not give
out and become "long-jawed" when in use, but retains to a great extent its
original formation. Russian, Rhenish, Italian, and similar fibred hemps are
not deteriorated by the process of tarring, as the yarn is made to pass quickly
through the hot tar, it being only necessary for the yarn in this process to be
coated with tar, no matter how quickly. The per-centage of tar ultimately
intended to be left in the yarn is regulated by the rubbers, and if it is allowed
to stand on the reel, say, forty-eight hours it will be found that the tar
coating not removed by the rubbers will have penetrated the yarn, leaving the
surface smooth and dry and the fibre as thoroughly laid as if coated with a
skin. The yarn passes through the tar and rubbers in the same direction as
it is spun, consequently the fibre is laid in its natural position the same as if

page_text: laid by the cloth of the hand spinner, and after it is rewound from the large
reel on to the bobbins ready for the "foreboard" it is obvious that the yarn
will pass off the bobbins in the same direction as it was spun, so that in all
the operations of tarring, stranding, and laying up or topping the yarn will
be in the same natural position, consequently each operation has the effect of
imparting finish and improving the appearance of the rope when completed.
The large reels receiving the tarred yarn being circular are easily removed
from place to place when full, and even supposing the reel to hold one ton of
yarn it can be rolled about with little effort to its required destination. Rope
made from yarn tarred by this method is exceedingly soft and pliant, is very
little affected by change of climate, works easily, and is consequently far more
durable than rope manufactured in the ordinary way.
The advantages of our improvements are as follows:-Machine-spun yarn
is admitted to be superior to hand spun so far as regards strength and regu-
larity, but its roughness has always been a great objection, produced in a
great measure by the velocity of the spindles and its passage through the
preparatory processes of spreading and drawing; this objection, however,
is most effectually overcome by our process, and as each yarn is acted upon
separately the roughness of the fibre is effectually laid and a beautiful round
and smooth yarn is produced. White yarn by our method may also be sized
or polished for use as white spun yarn, or for white ropes and other purposes.
Hand-spun yarn may also be considerably improved in appearance and finish
when tarred in single yarns by our process; the yarn finishes a better color,
is softer, smoother, and the roundness of the thread is better preserved.
Cheapness in Cost. Our process is cheaper than any other method of tarring
or sizing combined with winding and singling, as at a cost of not more than
five shillings per ton for manual labor the yarn can be taken from the spinning
frames and delivered at the foreboard ready for making into rope.
Yarn Stretched.-The yarn is stretched in passing through the tar trough,
and the rubbersand the fibres of the yarn are all brought to a uniform tension,
so that when made into rope it does not give out and become "long-jawed"
when in use, but retains to a great extent its formation as when made, which
is obviously a great advantage.
The nature of the hemp, particularly Russian, Rhenish, Italian, and similar
fibred hemps, is not deteriorated by the process of tarring as the yarn is made
to pass quickly through the hot tar, it being only necessary by this process
that the yarn be coated with tar, no matter how quickly. The per-centage of
tar ultimately intended to be left in the yarn is regulated by the action of the

page_text: rubbers, and if allowed to stand for, say, forty-eight hours, it will be found
that the tar coating not removed by the rubbers will have penetrated the yarn,
leaving the surface smooth and dry and the fibre as thoroughly laid as if
coated by a skin. The heat carried off by the yarn by its quick passage
through the hot tar on to the reel is retained to a considerable extent, and
acts as an agent in causing the tar to afterwards penetrate the yarn.
Fibre of Yarn Laid in Natural Position.-The yarn passes through the tar
and rubbers in the same direction as it is spun, consequently the fibre is laid
in its natural position the same as if laid by the cloth of the hand spinner, and
after it is rewound from the large reels on to the bobbins ready for the fore-
board, it is obvious that the yarn will then come off the bobbins in the same
direction as it was spun, so that in all the operations of tarring, stranding,
and laying up or topping the yarn will be in the same natural position,
consequently each operation has the effect of imparting finish and improving
the appearance of the rope when completed.
Tarred yarn in bulk is easily transported from place to place on the large
reels when full from their circular form, and even supposing the reel to hold
one ton of yarn it can be rolled about with little effort to its required
destination.
Pliability of Rope made from Yarn Tarred by this Process.--Rope.
made from yarn tarred by this method is exceedingly soft and pliant, is very
little affected by change of climate, works casily, and is consequently far
more durable than ordinary rope.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
We take the full bobbins of yarn from the spinning frames and rewind the
yarn on to large bobbins A, A, in an ordinary winding frame B,B, Figure 1,
or any other simple and easy mode of winding may be adopted. The bobbins
A, A, are rotated by the aid of friction rollers a, a, mounted on a longitudinal
shaft driven by belting c at one end, as shown; the bobbins are placed one
on either side of each friction roller, being maintained in contact by their own
weight therewith, and by jointed arms which are free to rise as the quantity
of yarn on the bobbin increases in diameter. As above stated we take the
spinning bobbins d, d, from the spinning machine, and then place each bobbin
on a frame C containing twelve or eighteen spindles e,e, and from this rewind
the yarn by means of the winding frame, Figure 1, on to the twelve hobbins
A, A, of sufficient size, so that when all are full they will hold enough to
till a large reel D), Figure 2 (which shows a side elevation of the tarring

page_text: apparatus) with tarred yarn. This reel D may be made to hold ten, fifteen,
or twenty hundredweights of tarred yarn, more or less as may be required,
therefore supposing the large reel I be made to hold twelve hundred-
weights of tarred yarn, and the winding frame constructed to single twelve
yarns, the bobbins A, A, on to which the white yarn is wound from the
spinning frame bobbins must be large enough to hold, say, eighty to ninety
pounds of white yarn; we may state, however, that it is not absolutely
necessary to have the bobbins A, A, so large, but we recommend it, as a great
saving of time will be thereby effected, and it will prevent frequent stoppage
during the tarring. When the bobbins A, A, are full of white yarn they are
removed from the winding frame B, Figure 1, and placed in a vertical rack
or stand E at one end of a tar trough F, Figure 2; each yarn is then passed
through a separate hole in guides c¹,d', the latter having holes at bottom, and
which is fitted to move up and down in the tar in case of need in the centre of
the trough; the guides c, d, are raised for the purpose of threading the yarn,
and when all have been threaded the guides are replaced in position in the tar
trough and secured by pins; each yarn is then passed through one or more sets
of hair rubbers G, G, formed of hair rope, placed not more than one and
a half inches from each other, and about twelve inches in length, and thence
direct on to the large reel D, which should not be more than eighteen inches
in width on the inside for twelve threads, so that the tarred yarn easily and
evenly adjusts itself on being wound thereon. The hair rubbers G serve for
brushing off the surplus tar, and at the same time for laying the fibre of the
yarn; the yarns are simply wound two or three times round the hair rope f;f,
between the strands; the more times the yarn is wound round the rubbers the
drier it will be when tarred, and a contrary effect is of course produced by
fewer turns round the rubbers; coir rope and Manilla rope may also be used
for rubbers in some cases, but hair is preferable. We heat the tar by means
of steam pipes from the boilers; it may, however, be done by the ordinary
fire under the bottom of a copper boiler if thought more practicable. The
apparatus is driven by steam, the tarring machine reel D having motion
imparted by a belt from an overhead shaft, as seen in the side and end views
of the tarring apparatus, Figures 2 and 3. The shaft H on which is mounted
the large reel D is removed when the latter is filled, another reel being then
On the
mounted in the bearings I on which to wind more yarn, and so on.
driving end of the shaft E is fitted a toothed wheel K, which gears with
another toothed wheel Lon a shaft R, provided with fast and loose pullies S, S,
and driven by a belt M from an overhead pulley aud shaft N connected with

page_text: per
the motive power. These wheels are changed for others of different diameters
at the desired times, in order to wind the yarn as nearly as possible at a
uniform speed on the bobbins. As the reel D fills the speed is reduced by the
change wheels; other known means may also be adopted; the yarn may pass
through the tar at the rate of from sixty to one hundred fathoms iniuute.
The reel D is mounted so that the rim may be be about one inch from the
ground, so that when full it may be easily removed and the shaft unshipped,
it can then be rolled away to any part of the building, or to another winding
frame, Figure 4, in readiness for singling on to the bobbins for the forming
machine. A girl winding from the large reel Don to a twelve-bobbin winding
frame, Figure4, would easily single about thirty hundredweight of tarred yarn
per day, and as the yarn comes off the reel so freely and with scarcely any
stoppage the beauty and finish of the yarn is in no way injured by this process.
In rewinding from reel D on to bobbins for "foreboard" or closing machine the
reel is fitted to revolve close to the ground, and is easily rolled into position
by the aid of two small inclined planes g, g, when it drops into bearings 0,0,
fixed to the uprights P, P, of the framing; the shaft also in this case is made
to unship, and is removed when each reel is empty. When the reel is in
position the ends of the yarns are passed to the bobbins T, T, of the winding
frame, Figure 4, which is set in motion in the usual way, the yarns freely
passing from the reel D on to said bobbins T, T.
Having described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we declare that what we claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,
First, the general arrangement and mode of operation of the apparatus
herein-before described and represented in the Drawings hereunto annexed for
tarring, sizing, polishing, or finishing and singling yarns in the manufacture of
rope, cordage, and other similar goods.
Secondly, we claim the mode herein-before described of finishing and laying
the fibre of either white or tarred yarns by the application of tar, size water,
or other matter, and passing the yarns singly through hair rubbers, or rubbers
of other material, all as herein-before described.
Thirdly, we claim the application of hair for rubbers, as herein-before
described, whether used for a single yarn or a number of yarns combined.
Fourthly, we claim the method herein-before described of winding the
tarred yarns in a body on a large reel for the purpose of allowing the gradual
absorption of the tar after it is wound on such large reel.
Fifthly, we claim the winding of a number of yarns on a large reel, as

page_text: herein-before described, either after tar, size, or other material has been
applied thereto, or when white untreated yarn may have been passed through
any description. of rubbers for the purpose of rubbing laying, and smoothing
the fibres of the yarn, as described.
We also claim winding a number of yarns on to a large reel, and sub-
sequently singling them from such large reel by means of an ordinary winding
frame, all as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Hiram Craven and James Speeding,
have hereunto set our bands and seals, this Eighteenth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.