IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR NETTING
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Arnold, of East Greenwich, in the State of
Rhode Island, in the United States of America, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR NETTING."
Sealed the 25th January 1861, and dated the 3rd August 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Arnold at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
August 1860.
I, BENJAMIN ARNOLD, of East Greenwich, in the State of Rhode Island, in
the United States of America, do-hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR. NETTING," to be as follows:-
It consists in constructing;. adjusting,. and operating a. series of pin bars,
carriers, spool guides, and other devices in such a manner that a fishing, net
can be made of the width usually employed, with its mesh opening in the
direction of its width, and without further manipulation or re-arrangement.
finished ready for use.
A series of bars each containing one more pin than there are meshes to
be made move in their proper order in the direction necessary for their_
respective pins to catch and retain the long twine passing through guides
& other devices by which it is drawn from the stationary revolving spools,
and regulated as required.
By their combined. operation a particular loop is

page_text: formed, which when in a certain position, a carrier moving in a raceway
severed by the interval occupied by the loop and containing another twine,
passes through, and at another caused by a further change in the position of
the pin bars, it passes back. The necessary intertwining being thus effected
the long twine is pushed off the pins and held fast in the direction of its spool,
is drawn together into a knot, the previous knot being held against and
between two pins (each attached to a sliding bar), which approaching each
other obstruct its passage until the new knot is tied sufficiently tight by the
tension, when they separate, the tension being given by a bar below.
At the next operation, the guides are moved so as to bring the loop in front
of the next carrier, which in course passes & repasses through it, and when the
knot is there formed they return to their original position. In this manner
the long twines are connected and a perfect net-work formed, while the twine
is so laid, that there is no tendency in the net to twist, as is usually the case
with those made by hand or other machines. The size of the mesh is regulated
by the relative position or distance between the upper & lower pin bar. When
parallel all the meshes will be of an equal size, but if required by adjusting
them out of parallel, meshes of a different size will be made, gradually in-
creasing from the narrowest to. the widest space between, the bars, the width
of the net will necessarily correspond with this change.
It is not intended to confine the Invention to the making of nets for fishing,
as it is equally applicable to fancy and other kinds.
By altering or adjusting the cams any ordinary knot can be made, but the
machine is arranged for tying the one known as the "fisherman's," "weaver's,"
or "seine " knot.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin Arnold in the Great Seal Patent. Office on the
2nd February 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
ARNOLD, of East Greenwich, in the State of Rhode Island, in the United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the
year of Her reign,
"did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Benjamin Arnold, Her special licence that I, the said Benjamin Arnold, my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin
Arnold, or my 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
MACHINERY FOR NETTING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the.
said Benjamin Arnold, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in.
writing under my, or their, of one 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 I, the said Benjamin Arnold, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
It consists in constructing, adjusting, and operating a series of pin bars,
carriers; spool guides, and other devices in such a manner that a fishing net
can be made of the width usually employed, with its mesh opening in the.
direction of its width, and without further manipulation' or re-arrangement
finished ready for use.
A series of bars each containing one more pin than there are meshes to be
made, move in their proper order in the direction necessary for their respective.
pins to catch and retain the long twine passing through guides and other
devices, by which it is drawn from the stationary revolving spools, and re-
gulated as required. By their combined operation a particular loop is formed,
through which when in a given position, a carrier moving in a raceway severed.
by the interval occupied by the loop and containing another twine, passes, and
when in another caused by a further change in the position of the pins, re-
passes. The requisite intertwining being thus effected, the long twine is
pushed off the pins and held fast in the direction of its spool, is drawn together.
into a knot, the previous knot being held against and between two pins (each
attached to its respective sliding bar), which approaching each other obstruct.
its passage until the new knot is tied sufficiently tight by the tension produced:
thereon, when they separate, the tension being given by a bar below..
In tying the next row the guides are moved so as to make and bring the loop.
in front of instead of the same, the next carrier which in course passes and
repasses through it, and when the knot is there formed & tied they return

page_text: to their original position. In this manner the long twines are connected and
form a perfect mesh while the twine is so laid, that there is no tendency in the
net to twist, as is usually the case with those made by hand or other machines:
The size of the mesh is regulated by the relative position or distance between
the upper and lower pin bár. When parallel,' all the meshes will be of an
equal size, but, if so required, by adjusting them out of parallel, meshes of a
different size will be made; gradually increasing from the narrowest to the
widest space between the bars; the width of the net will necessarily correspond
with this change.
In describing the said Invention, and its mode of construction & operation,
reference is bad to the Drawings accompanying and making part of this
Specification, and in which the same letters and marks indicate the same or
similar parts in the different Figures.
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the machine..
Figure 2, a front elevation:
Figure 3, an end elevation, showing the cams, their shafts, and levers.
Figure 4, a top view.
Figure 5; a back elevation.
Figure 6, a vertical section in the direction of the red lines e, 6, of, Figures 3
& 4.
Figure 7 is cam A, for operating the carriers a¹, having also a recess k.on its
edge, by which the holding pins on sliding bars are closed:
Figures 8, 8', represent both sides of cam B, one of which operates on pin
bar l, and the other B on pin bar Y.
Figure 9 is cam C, that moves carriage F¹ up and down.
Figure 10 D operating on pin bar Z.
33 "
Figure 11 & 11
represent both sides of cam E, E, operating on guide
carriage V, and the other E¹ upon bar 6.
Figure 12, cam F, moving pin bar ó endways; having a removable cam n..
Figure 13, cam G, moving guide carriage Vendways.
"
'
Figure 14, cam H; pin bar Y endways, having a recess and pro-,
jection upon its edge to cause pin bar / also to move endways. The point
marked at the top of each cam in setting must be directly over the centre
of its shaft, or their operation will be incorrect and without the necessary
correspondence:
Figures. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20, show the different positions of the twine;-
21, the knot.
Figures 22 shows the arrangement of the holding and feeding parts, when
the meshes are larger at one end of the net than at the other.

page_text: .
Figure 23 represents the twine carrier a¹ and the bar a that moves it.
I represents the head or end frame, in which shafts. J & K and platform R
are supported; M, an end frame, connected to the last by girts N, O, & P,
and bed plates R & Q; T, T, are uprights, connected by beam U; W, W, are
guiding plates, ou which guide carriage V and carriage F¹ slido; X, X, other
slides for carriages h¹, h", which hold pin bars, y; i, i, represent two others
for carriage j, holding bars a, a, a, which move the twine carriers a¹, a', a';
b, the frame for holding spools s, s, s; G', nippers to hold fast the spool twine;
O, the lower pin bar; c, the loop guide. The letters representing other parts
will be mentioned in the course of the description.
The machine can be increased in length, so as to make any number of
knots in width by adding more raceways 8, s, with corresponding parts, being
limited in this particular only by the strength of the material of which it is
constructed. In tying the knots alternately right and left a certain number of
the movements produced by the cams are the same for every row, while others
in tying the alternate row are the reverse of those employed in tying the
previous one. "The first or unvarying set are produced by the cams upon
shaft J, which in the tyment of each row makes a complete revolution. The
second are made the cams upon shaft K, which in the same time completes
only one half of a revolution. The other half of the cams brought into action
by shaft. K in finishing its revolution is constructed so as to produce reverse
movements when tying the next row. The parts and movements to be more
readily understood are classified as follows:-
Class I-Comprises those parts and movements used in forming the loops of
the spool twine. Figure 15 represents the first, position of the twine and parts;
it will be observed that pin bar o has passed to the left of the guide c, and
carried with it the spool twine d. In Figure 16 the guide c has moved
upwards and to the right, while pin bar o has begun its movement back to
the right, the twine between it and the end of the guide c is being caught
upon the stationary pinn; the ends of the guides being pressed, towards the
raceways s, s, for that purpose, as the stationary pins do not project so far out
as the. pins in bar o. In Figure 17 the guide chas reached the extreme
point of its upward motion, and by moving still further to the right has carried
the twine around the pin in bar l, which has moved forward to catch the twine
well on to the pin, while at the same time pin bar o has moved to the right
and carried the twine between it and the last knot over the top of stationary.
pin n; Figure 18 shows the guide c moved down and completed its move-
ment to the right, as has also pin bar o in the same direction, the loop is
now ready for the first passage of the carrier a³, of which the ends are made

page_text: tapering to go through the loop readily. In Figure 19 the carrier has passed
forward through the loop, the guide c has moved over to the left side, and the
carrier returned back to place through the new position of the loop has
passed its twine e around the spool twine extended from guide c to the pin in
bar, and the loop is now ready to be cast off from the pins and drawn up.
And in Figure 20, it has been cast off and drawn up around the piu in bar l
and when to a proper degree of tightness bar moves back, drawing out the
pin, leaving the knot to be made tight, making what is generally known as the
"fisherman's" or seine knot.
In order to effect the above-mentioned operation the different implements
are put in movement by the following agencies:-The guides c, c, c; are
attached to carriage V, and moved up and down by the action of cam F upon
lever f, moving rocker shaft q', whose lever operates upon knee levers i, i;
connected by bars j,j, to said carriage, and receive a motion endways from
cam G by means of lever pivoted to the lower beam P acting upon bar
m²; the lever k¹ has a slot in its upper part for the end of connecting rod 2¹
to move in; this slot is made to allow carriage V to move up and down at the
same time bar m² is moved endways in the clasps n', n¹, on said carriage. The
guides are also tipped to and from the pins by means of bar of attached to one
end of the carriage (Fig. 6) having its lower end resting upon lever k³, and
moved at the proper times in its ascent and descent by notches r, r, in that
lever, through which its end passes from one side to the other. Pin bar o held
in a recess in bed plate R. by a screw q fitting into a slot in its under side is
operated by cam F through levers and q¹ connected to bar o by the rod r¹.
Pin bar is moved forward by cam B and levers s', which is connected by rod
t¹ to the knee levers u¹, u¹, pivotted to the top of the raceways s, s, and which
are connected to the bar 7 by the rods v¹, v. This bar is also moved a little
endways by lever W₁ operated by recess X¹ on one side, and projections 2¹
upon' the other of cam II, while held against it by spring t (Fig. 5.). If
instead of the seine knot the square knot is preferred, it is simply requisite to
detach the pieces' n³, n², marked. in red lines on cam F, Figure 12. The effect'
of these is to delay the opening of the loop, which would otherwise take place
across the aperture of the raceways until after the first passage of the carriers,
by retarding the motion of the pin bar o by the inner piece, and to cause the
second opening of the loop for the return passage of the carrier to take place
at the same time that the guides c, c, cross to the other side.
Class 2 comprises the parts and movements for passing and returning the
carriers a¹ through the loops of spool twine, and for casting the loops off of the
pins when ready to be drawn up. The cams employed for this purpose move

page_text: their levers (excepting levers W', Q, which bear against the edges of their
cams), by means of friction rolls mounted upon studs, projecting from the sides
of the levers into the grooves in the sides of the cams, which push the levers
back and forth as the cams are turned, Cam A gives motion to the carriage j
by the lever 1, connected to two knee levers 2, 2, by bar 3, the knee levers
being connected to the carriagej by rods 4, 4. From this carriage projects a
row of bars a, a, a, one for each raceway s, s, s, in which they slide. These
raceways s, & are represented rectangular in shape, but may be made oval or
round, and in a horizontal position, which has been found better than a vertica!
one, in which last case the weight of the carriers filled with twine, as they
must be- raised & lowered for every row of knots, was found to retard the
operation. The bars a, a, a, are sufficiently long to reach to the front series of
raceways s', s¹, s', when the carriage j is clear forward. Each bar has upon its
end a prong or hook 3' (Fig. 234), which catches into a recess in the rear end
of the carrier a', for the purpose of drawing it back after being pushed through
the loop. When the ends of these bars are elevated the hooks 3¹ are released
from the cams and move to the rear without them. These ends are raised 'by
means of a stiff bar 5 (Fig. 4), attached to the carriage j, whose end is lifted
by projection 8 on bed plate R in passing over it. The loops are cast off of the
pins by means of the bar 6, which is placed in the recess in the bed plate R
with pin bar O, and moves ou pins in the side of that bar; the slots in bar 6 in
which these pins play being made diagonal to the front and back of the
bar, cause it to come out of the recess when pulled endways, and to return
back into it when pushed in an opposite direction. These movements are
given by cam E¹ through lever 7, which is connected to lever 8¹ on the
under side of the top girt of frame I. The other end of lever 8¹ is connected
to bar 6 by rod 9, and the pins in bar are cleared of the knots by the bar
moving back out of them by a contrary movement to that described in class 1st
for moving it forward.
!
. Class 3d comprises the parts and movements employed in drawing up the
loop to a knot, and also for taking up the netting after a row has been tied;
preparatory to tying another.
The drawing up of the loop and knot is done by bar F' on carriage Fi
which slides up and down on the slides W, W; the nipper bär G¹ may be
placed upon carriage F¹ in place of bar F¹, in which case the carriage will'
require twice the length of motion that would be necessary if placed as shown.
Carriage F is moved by the jointed levers H, H, (Fig. 5,) which are pivotted
at their upper ends to bed plate R, and connected at the lower to the carriage
by plates 1; 1; these jointed levers H, H, are connected by rods J¹ to the 'cam

page_text: lever K, operated by cam C. The bar Y which holds the last row of knots is
made in two parts or bars w, w³, one of which slides upon the other, each
having a row of pins projecting from its edge, corresponding in number and
position with the raceways; the upper pins have a slight downward inclina-
tion and the lower one an upward, so that in sliding the two rows can come
nearly or quite in contact; 'between these pins the twine of the last mesh is
held close to the last row of knots, which are drawn. up snug to the front of
the pins by bar Z at the upper end of the mesh. The sliding motion of the
bars w, w, is produced by the action of the recess k in the edge of cam A
upon lever Q, connected by rod R' to the knee lever.S", of which the upper
end is connected by bar T' to the knee lever U¹; pivotted to the upper part of
bar Y, while the other is connected to the lower part of Y by rod a"; this rod
is furnished with a nut and screw in order to adjust it, so as to bring the pins
in the two parts more or less near as the twine used is fine or coarse. By the
action of cam B¹ and lever M¹ connected by rod N₁ to the knee levers o', ',
pivotted to the lower ends of the carriages ", "; these knee levers move the
bar by means of the pins z,, in their angles, working in the slots y, y, in the
bar, so that it receives a back & front motion; the slots-y, y, are made to
allow the bar Y to slide endways, which movement is caused by cam H acting
upon lever P, connected by rod 71 to the bar. The bar Z, which draws up
the finished netting, is moved up and down by cam D, operating lever L³, con-
nected by rods b, c, to the knee levers V₁, V₁, which are pivotted to the top
beam U, and whose lower ends are connected by short straps f",f", to the
levers d, d, these being connected by the rods ,, to bar Z. The spring
gon rod will allow the cam lever I³ to be moved by cam D its usual dis-
tance, whether the mesh being made is large or small, for the smaller the mesh,
the less will be the motion downwards of bar Z, while in moving up, it always
goes so far as to bring the long arms of the knee levers V₁, V, and straps ff",
nearly in straight lines with each other. In this way, when the knots. are being
tightened by bar F, the strain of holding the netting is taken off of lever L'
and thrown directly upon-beam U. :
Class 4th shows the parts & movements for regulating the size of the
meshes. The carriages h", ", are. attached and held to the standards ", "
by the screws 1, 2, which also move and adjust them at the requisite
distance from the bar 1. These standards are firmly fastened to the slides
X,X, and have upon their upper ends bevel geer wheels 1, 2, operated by geer
wheels, or rod m", which extending out through the end of beam U,
is turned by crank, so that without stopping the machine the size of the
mesh or length of twine between the knots can be varied by turning the
"

page_text: screws,, by means of the geer wheels. The bar Y sliding in standards
Y, Y, and placed upon the carriages holds the last row of, knots, and its
distance from pin har l, around whose pins the next row will be drawn up,
governs the length of the sides of the meshes, and is regulated by raising
or lowering the carriages upon the screw 21, 2, as just mentioned. The bar
located near the top of the carriages is held about twice the distance from
bar Y, that the latter bears to bar l, for the reason that there is a whole
mesh between the first two,. and but one-half a mesh between the last
(Fig. 22), as shown by the red lines.. To obtain & adjust this relative
distance, the levers d", d¹¹, are pivotted, at about one-third of their length
from the end by which they are moved, so that when by moving up the car-
riages the distance between the bars Y and Z is increased one-fourth of an inch;
the middle pivots of levers d", d", are also raised with bar Y the same
distance, and as their short ends are held at a fixed distance from beam U, the
long ends will draw up bar Z a distance in proportion-to their lengths, and thus
maintain it in its relative position to the other bars. By loosening one of the
standards and turning its screw 2" alone, its carriage can be set lower than
the other; this will decrease the size of the mesh regularly from its side of the
netting to the other (Fig. 22).
:
I have avoided mainly the use of springs or weights in my machine,
although many of the movements might be effected by them, but as great
certainty and accuracy is required have preferred to employ cams, in order
that the motions should be positive in producing the reverse movements, as
well as for the direct ones.
The operation of the machine in making a net with the "seine" knot, may:
be described as follows:-The end of the spool twine is drawn through the
nipper G, then through the bar F' (unless the nippers are placed on carriago:
F) up through the, hole made in the upper ends of the guide c, and passing.
the interval-between the severed raceway S, S', to the bar Z, where is fastened-
to the end of carrier twine a³, and both of them secured to the pin on the
bar. Motion given to main shaft J is also communicated by geer wheels:
,,, to shaft K and its cams. The pin bar o moved endways carries by
its pins the spool twine to the left of the guide, Fig. 15, which is then
moved up on its carriage V, its upper end being at the same time pressed
toward raceway S to enable the stationary pin to come in contact with and
catch the twine (Fig. 16), and continuing up is passed around the pin in bar t-
(Fig. 17) while that bar is moved forward for the purpose, and the guide:
takes a side motion to the right, simultaneously the pin bar o
begins to
return, and causes that portion of the twine between it and bar to be turned

page_text: from its straight line by coming in contact with pin n, and that between it
and bar Y to pass over the said pin n, continuing its movement to the right,
while the guides descend moving also to the right, so that the twines are held
(Fig. 18) in a proper loop for the carriers to pass through. For this purpose
the carriage moves forward pushing the carriers through the loops into race-
way S¹, by means of bars a, a, a, hooked on to them. When the carriers aro
most through the loops, the end of bar 5 on the carriage comes in contact
with projection 8, tips the carriage & disengages the bars a, a, a, in order
that they may be drawn back without the carriers. When sufficiently retired
the guide C receives a movement to the left, carrying the twine between it
and bar across the space just occupied by the carrier, and the carriage again
comes forward, but pushed a little further forward than before. The end of
bar 5 passes clear over projection 8, and falling down on its return passes
under it, so that the carriage is tipped down so that the hooks of the bars fall
into the recess in the carriers, and thus draw them back through the loop in
its new position. The bar 6 is now raised out of its recess, and pushes off the
twine from the pins in bar o and stationary pins n. The bar F¹ through
which the twine passes is then pushed down, and draws upon. the twine, so
that the nippers G₁ closing upon it hold it tight while the loop is drawn up
around the pins of bar (Fig. 29) by the descent of bar F, which continues
until the pins in 7 are withdrawn, & the knot is drawn tight (Fig. 21). By
the straightening of the jointed or toggle levers H, H, any desired amount of
strain may be employed in tightening the knots. When this strain has been
removed by the reverse motion on the lêvers the bar Z descends, at the same
time bar Y is pushed forward, so as to clear the netting from the Z pins,
and also endways to bring the netting right for these pins to catch under the
row of knots that previously lay between the two bars. When bar Z reaches.
bar Y the latter begins a backward motion, so as to carry the netting on to
the pins of the former, which at same times begins to ascend; as Y continues
to pass back the parts W, W', slide apart sufficiently to separate their pins
and release the twine held in the knot obstructed by them. Bar Z continues
its motion drawing up the netting until nearly in place, when bar Y previously
obtaining its right position again comes forward, and taking the diverging
twines just above the row of knots last tied between its pins closes them, and
bar Z, in finishing its motion upward draws said row close up under said pins.
After the pin bar has moved back and before it comes forward, it is
moved endways, so that each pin may be on the right of the carrier twine it
acts with.
Having now described my Invention and the manner of its operation, I.

page_text: would observe that I do not confine myself to the manner in which the
various implements are operated, as these may be modified or different modes
substituted. Those above described I consider the best when so many move-
ments are produced all relative to and in combination with each other. Nor
to the particular knots specified, as similar alterations to that employed in
changing from the "seine" into the "square" knot, or other slight modifi-
cations may produce others; but what I do claim and desire to secure under
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st, the construction and combination substantially as described' of the
various implements employed to form a loop.
2d, the construction and combination of apparatus for passing the twine
through the loop substantially as described.
3d, a machine constructed and operated substantially as described, for
making a net irrespective of the kind of knot used in tying the mesh.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Arnold, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, on this First day of November, A.D. One thousand
eight hundred and sixty.
BENJAMIN ARNOLD. (L.S.)