CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHODS OF MANUFACTURING ROPES AND CORDAGE
Year: 1799

page_text: GRIMSHAW'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOIN
GRIMSHAW, of the Township of Bishop Wearmouth, in the County of Durham,
Rope Maker, being one of the people called Quakers, send greeting.
WHEREAS the present King George the Third, by His Letters Patent,
bearing date the Second day of August, in the thirty-ninth year of His reign,
did give and grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His
special licence that I, the said John Grimshaw, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, during the term of fourteen years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the Kingdom of Great
Britain called England, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHODS OF
MANUFACTURING ROPES AND CORDAGE;" in which said Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso, obliging me, the said John Grimshaw, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, to be inrolled in the High Court of Chancery within one month next and
immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Grimshaw, do by these Presents describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as follows,
that is to say:-
My Invention, or improvements, consist of the following particulars-1", in
the dressing or splitting the hemp preparatory for spinning; 2d, in winding
up the yarns; 3dly, in preparing the yarns for tarring; and 4thly, in laying or
forming the ropes and cordage and the strands thereof.
And 1, in dressing or splitting, the hemp preparatory for spinning. My

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improvement herein is by conducting the hemp to or upon certain wheels or
rotary hackles, invented by Richard Fothergill, and described in his Specifica
tion, inrolled in the High Court of Chancery on the Tenth day of May, Ouc
thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, or to or upon any other wheels, or
rotary hackles, through or betwixt conical rollers, and thereby distributing the
fibres of the hemp with more uniformity, safety, and expedition, than can be
done by hand. The Figure, N° 1, in the margin of these Presents, represents
two conical rollers b, a, and d, c, in contact with each other; and the Figure,
No 2, in the margin of these Presents, shews how the same may be applied; b, d,
representing the end view of the two conical rollers in Figure 1, which by their
motion conduct the hemp E to and feed the rotary hackle marked a, b, part
of which, from d to a, is left open, in order to shew the action of the teeth
upon the hemp; and f, g, is a pulley fixed to the roller-d; and x, x, is another
pulley fixed to the wheel a, b, and i, i, is a strap going round them, for the
purpose of giving the rollers and wheel their relative motions.
And 2, in winding up the yarns. My improvement herein is by causing
the yarns, during the process of winding, to pass over .or-betwixt cylindrical
rollers kept in contact with each other, and thereby conducting the yarns
more equally.in length upon the bobins, or reels, than, is generally done by
the common methods of winding now in use. Figure No 3, in the margin
of these Presents, shews how the winding,may be performed. A, B, is a bobin
or reel, drawing the yarns f, g, betwixt, and over the rollers a, b, c,,kept in
contact with each other, and by which they are measured of an equal length.
And 3, in preparing the yarns for tarring. My improvement.is, .1, by
.winding, the yarns from the bobins or reels upon a large cylinder or reel in
ra spiral direction, and by that means forming the warp. or haul without
extending them out in a rope ground as, is usually, done; and 2d, by putting
into the mass of yarns, after they are..so...wound or warped, the required
quantity of twist,, by means of a revolving, cask, platform; reel, or bobin.
Figures No 4 and 5, in the margin, of these Presents; shew, how these opera-
tions may be performed. In Figure. No 4, A, B, represents the cylinder or
reel winding the yarn a from, the bobin.c, the yarn being, conducted upon; the
cylinder by the moveable blocked, which slides freely backwards and forwards
on the rail e, f, being conducted by the line or cord g, h,..to which it is
attached, and this line or cord winding on and, off the axles, alternately
over the pullies.m, m; and, in Figure, No.5,e, h, is a revolving cask,
supported by the block a, b, which by the rotary motion from the wheel
c, d, twists the yarns f, received,. from the reel, A, B, after the same come
over the pulley, g; A,,B, in, this,Figure. 5, representing an end view of the

page_text: cylinder or reel A, B; in Figure 4; and by reversing the process of these
operations, above described,, the yarns. may be separated after being tarred:
And 4th in laying or forming the ropes or cordage." My improvement is
by the adding to the machine invented by the said, Richard Fothergill (which
is:described in his said Specification, and represented by the Drawing, No.14,
inrolled therewith), la revolving top or strands guide where the strands
unite and form the rope, thereby conducting the strands and keeping the
same more steady; and 2dly, by adding to the same machine a cylinder of
sufficient size to draw away the rope and wind it round itself in a continued
spiral direction without suffering the rope to fold on itself whereby the rope is
laid or formed. more accurately, by its being prevented from slipping, than when
drawn off by a pulley or sheave only, and the length ascertained by the revolu-
tions of the cylinder. Figure No. 6, in the margin of these Presents, shew the
nature of this Invention or improvement. A, B, C, D, represents part of the said
Richard Fothergill's said machine, invented by him for laying the rope. a, b, c,
represents the revolving top or strand guide, over which the strands d, e, (and
as many others as are intended to be in the rope pass and unite at the point
of the top or strand guide; m, m, m, m, m, represents the rope passing
from the top or strand guide over the pulley o, and conducted on the cylinder
E, F, by the moveable block or slide g, h, i, which moves freely on the rail K,
and by means of a part at i projecting towards the cylinder, is pushed
forward by the rope as it winds on at p, and then by its action against the
rope at the part g, h, guides it forward and prevents its winding on itself;
and E, F, is the cylinder winding up and measuring the rope as the same
is laid by means of the connecting wheels and axles r, s, t, v, w, and a, a, the
proportions of which must be regulated by the thickness of the:
rope intended
to be made; and which cylinder and its apparatus, above described, I also
apply in a similar manner for making or forming the strands, in drawing
them separately from the bobins or reels during the operation of receiving
the twists, and thereby forming the same and measuring their lengths at the
same time without the necessity of extending the yarns on a rope walk.
The Drawings of Figures 1, 2, 4, and 5 are on a scale of one-eighth of an
inch to a foot, and of Figures 3 and 6 are on a scale of half an inch to a
foot; but the dimensions may be varied, according to circumstances, and the
different motions may be given by the usual rotative powers.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Grimshaw, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine.
JOHN GRIMSHAW. (L.S.)

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AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twentieth day of
August, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid John Grimshaw came
before our Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided...
Inrolled the Twenty-third day of August in the year above written.