MACHINES TO
Year: 1794

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
HART STEVENSON, Spinner of Linen Yarn by Water Machines, at Kirkland,
in the County of Fife, North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fifteenth day of November, in the thirty-fifth year of His
reign, upon the petition of me, the said Walter Hart Stevenson, has given and
granted unto me, and my executors, administrators, and assigns, His Majesty's
special license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Walter
Hart Stevenson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and every of them,
by myself or themselves, or by mine or their deputy or deputies, servants or
agents, or such others as I, the said Walter Hart Stevenson, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of
His. Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called England, His Dominion of
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "MACHINES TO

page_text: HECKLE, PRESS, AND PREPARE FLAX AND HEMP BY WATER, STEAM, OR HORSE MILLS,
OR BY ANY OTHER MOVING POWER, FOR THE PURPOSES OF SPINNING," in such
manner as to me, the said Walter Hart Stevenson, my executors, administra-
tors, and assigns, or any of them, should in our discretion seem meet, and that
I, the said Walter Hart Stevenson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should and lawfully might have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity,
and advantage from time to time coming, growing, and arising by reason of
the said Invention, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said license, powers,
privileges and advantages therein-before granted or mentioned to be granted
unto me, the said Walter Hart Stevenson, my 'executors, administrators, and
assigns, for and during and unto the full end and term of fourteen years
from the date of the said Letters Patent next and immediately ensuing, and
fully to be compleat and ended, according to the Statute in such case made
and provided; in which said recited Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso, obliging me, tho said Walter Hart Stevenson, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to causo a particular description of the naturo
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one calendar month
next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as
by the same, relation being thereunto had, may more fully and at large
appear.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Waltor Hart Stevenson, do hereby declare that my said Invention of Machines
to Heckle, Press, and Prepare Flax and Hemp by Water, Steam, or Horse
Mills, or by any other Moving Power, for the Purposes of Spinning, is and is
performed as follows, that is to say :-
Figure First of the plan annexed to these Presents, being a perspective
Drawing of the vertical heckling machine:-A, the heckling machine, which
may be made any size, from five to ten or twelve feet diameter; (b), the pallat
frame; (c), the sliding frame; on the bottom rail of which the flax or hemp
is held by two jointed pieces (d, d), having a small motion at the center for
the more readily hooking them under the catch (c) on the sides of the sliding
frame. The heckling cylinder being put in motion, the pallat frame (c) is
raised up by the cheeks (f), which are so placed on the edge of the heckling
cylinder, that the frame (6) falling on at the back of the cheeks (f) brings
the flax or hemp down upon the heckles, when it is pressed into the teeth by
a brush, fixed on the lower side of the under rail of the frame (b). The

page_text: action of the pallats (9) in the crown wheel (h) is produced' by the cheeks
(f) raising the frame, (6), and thereby letting down the sliding frame (c) at
the escape of every tooth of the crown wheel, and regulates the approaches
of the flax or hemp upon the heckles. The sheeve (i), having a cleek in it,
and a rotchet wheel upon the same axis, is for winding up the frame (c) when
the flax or hemp is first put in. The great difference between the length of
the longest hemp and the shortest flax renders it impossible to fix the dimen-
sions of a machine of this kind for very long hemp. It can hardly be too
large, the heckles being placed at a proportionate distance, either on the
circumference of a cylinder or at the extremity of as many arms as there are
heckles. To prevent confusion, the framing (two upright posts (h) excepted)
is left out of the Drawing, and the number of heckles are confined to seven,
for the same reason, but it will be found more convenient to use double thé
number of heckles. A rack and pinion in place of the roller (6) may be
substituted with advantage, and two hooked levers, acting alternately in
catches placed on the frame (6), may be used instead of the crown wheel and
pallats. The number of handfulls of flax or hemp put into the frame (c) at
one time will depend on their size and the breadth of the heckling cylinder
which is not confined. In heckling or dressing Saint Petersburgh twelve-
head flax for coarse yarn, a heckle between a first and second will be found
sufficient to perform the work by one operation; but if finer dressing is
required, similar machines with second, third, fourth, &c. heckles may be
used. Motion from the great work of the mill is communicated at the nutt
(m), but may be acted upon by various other means.
Figures Second and Third of the plan annexed to these Presents being a
perspective Drawing without the framing, and a ground plan of the horizontal
heckling machine A, the heckle (b, b, b, b, b, b, b, b), the drawing rollers (c, c,'c, c),
the conducting rollers (d, d, d, d), the cans (e, e), the feeders (f), the drawing
binder (g). The drum that communicates motion from the great work of the
mill to the binder (f), which, having a pinion on the lower end of its shaft,
drives the spur wheel (h), and the pinion (i) on the upper end of its shaft
gives motion to the heckle A by the segments (4) affixed to the lower side of
the heckle. The binder shaft, having a conical nut (1) on the upper end,
gives motion to two horizontal shafts (m, m,) by the nuts (n, n), which shafts,
having other conical nuts on them, drive the drawing rollers (b, b, b, b, b, b,'b, b;)
at the upper end on the smaller drawing rollers. There are 'four wheels 'and-
nuts (0, 0, 0, 0,) driving the feeders (e, e). The machine thus in motion, the

page_text: flax or tow is laid upon the heckle A, and the ends, by means of the pins
in the feeders (e, e,) is conducted to the rollers (b, b, b, b, b, b, b, b), which
being placed at different distances from the hecklo 'A, the flax and tow is
extracted therefrom, as represented in the perspective, Figure Second; tho
rollers (b, b, b, b, b, 6, 6, 6,) being pressed together by means of bended levers
and weights, which are left out in the Drawing to prevent confusion.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Hart Stevenson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of December, in the thirty-fifth year
of His Majesty's reign, and in the year of our Lord Christ Ouc
thousand seven hundred and ninety-four.
W. HART (L.B.) STEVENSON.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the within-named
Walter Hart Stevenson (being first duly stamped)
James Gilchrist; of the City of Edinburgh, one of the Clerks, to- His
Majesty's Signet in Scotland; maketh oath and sayeth,, that he, this deponent,
was present and did see Walter Hart Stevenson, Spinner of Linen Yarn, at
Kirkland, in the County of Fife, North Britain; sign and-scal, and as his act
and deed deliver, the Dee Poll or Instrument bereúnto annexed, purporting
to. bo a. Specification or description of a new Invention, for which; he has
obtained, His Majesty's Royal Letters Patont under the Great Scal: of Great
Britain, intended to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery;;
and that James. Moffatt, in the said City.of Edinburgh, and in-the, County of
Edinburgh, North Britain, Writer, was also present, and did, seo. the said
Walter. Hart Stevenson sign, seal, and deliver the said Deed Poll or Instru-
ment; and that the name W. Hart Stevenson, set and subscribed to the said
Deed Poll or Instrument, is the proper. handwriting of the said Walter Hart
Stevenson, the Patentee; and the name James Moffatt; set and subscribed on
the back of the said Deed Poll or Instrument, as one of the witnesses to the
said. Walter Hart Stevenson's signing, scaling, and publishing the same, is
the proper handwriting of the said James Moffatt; and that the name James

page_text: Gilchrist, set and subscribed as another of the witnesses
handwriting of this deponent.
Sworn before me, one of the Bailies or Magistrates
of the City of Edinburgh, and one of His Majesty's
Justices of Peace in and for the County of
Edinburgh, this Tenth day of December, in the
year Seventeen hundred & ninety-four,