AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING: HATS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING:
HATS." A communication. '
Sealed the 22nd February 1856, and dated the 29th November 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners. of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th November 1855."
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING
HATS, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a, new process of forming a hat or hat body, a
new process of bringing the same into a proper size, and a new process of
sticking, scalding-in, and beating-up the nap of hats'; the whole constituting a
complete plan of making hats, from blowing the fur to finishing the napped
hat ready for dyeing, a series of machinery of a novel construction being.
employed for the purpose.
The fur having been cleaned in the usual manner, the Inventor proceeds to

page_text: form a bat or hat body, or what in some cases is termed a shell. For this
purpose the following arrangement is employed':-A solid fixed cone is set
upon a stationary table, and around it is an annular ring or revolving table,
closely fitting the same to avoid escape of steam. Upon this revolving ring or
table is an unpierced cono which is set over, and covers the stationary conc.
A body of hot steam is conveyed into the interior of the stationary cone; this
impinges against the cone so as to heat it, and thus the space between it and
the revolving cone is heated, and the fur is dried to a sufficient degree to harden
it, so that it may be handled and removed from the smooth cone without the
use of any in-layer. While the revolving cone is in motion a jet of steam is
caused to impinge against its outer surface and damp it. The fur is delivered
to the unpierced conc in the ordinary way, except that the mouth of the
delivering chamber is to be regulated so as to deliver the fur in greater or less
quantity on given points or parts of the cone at the will of the operator, so
that the fur may be deposited as in the operation of bowing by hand, more at
the bottoni or brim and less at the top of the cone or tip of the hat. The
pipes for steam are attached to the adjustable wings of the mouth-piece so as
to move with and be regulated by them, and are of peculiar construction
adapted to the
purpose.
"For sizing or planking hat bodies," a machine is employed, having a semi-
circular concave surface against which a vibrating beater (whose operating
face is by preference corrugated) works. There is besides a continuous or
endless apron, which runs over a friction roller, by which it is continually
advanced in the desired direction. At the bottom of the concave box or
receiver a small quantity of water just sufficient to immerse the bags of hats
is placed. At the bottom and underneath the body of water a jet of steam is
introduced to heat the water to the boiling point. A number of bats, from
one to twenty-four dozen, are introduced into bags properly confined, so that
they may be readily withdrawn from the water, there being perhaps one or two
dozen in a bag. These bags are placed within the revolving apron, and
between the corrugated beater and concave of the box within the boiling
water. The beater is then set in motion jointly with the roller carrying the
apron, when the back and forward motion of the beater beats up the bags of
hats, and the onward motion of the apron keeps the several bags in continuous
revolution, and the beater is constantly and rapidly knocking them up against
the side of the concave box. The bag of bats are next taken out, and the
attendant proceeds to croze thein in the same manner as hand and machine
formed hats usually are, that is, fold each one where it is too much fulled,
and expose them where fulling is most required; and this is repeated as often

page_text: as is neceesary until the hat is brought into the desired size, when it is.
forwarded for the part of the process now to be described.
The third part of the process relates to the sticking, scalding-in, and
beating-up of hats. After the hat has been sized as herein-before stated it is
5 dried, and subsequently shaved or singed in the usual manner by hand. If
it is a felt hat, it is then stiffened, formed into its proper shape, and dyed.
If it is to be a napped hat, it is to be treated in like manner, when it is again
immersed in hot water; this will cause the fur to adhere to it. The body is
now placed upon a wooden or other solid cone and rotated, (next a chamber:
for the delivery of fur having its regulated mouth and steam jets as above
described.) The steam is then let upon the body, and the fur, prepared in the
usual manner, is thrown in upon the cone, where it adheres until the quantity
of nap desired is put upon the hat. The hats will have to be turned as in the
hand process for the purpose of napping the under side of the brim.
The next process, viz., that of "nesting-up," is as follows, viz. :-A soft bag
or cone of sponge or other suitable material having been prepared, upon it is
placed a flannel cloth, and upon the top of this a hat which is to receive tho
nap over this is placed another flannel cloth, and on this again another hat,
and so on until the desired number of hats is packed or nested. This may be
more or less from one dozen to twenty dozen in a nest. They are now ready
for scalding-in, which is performed as follows, viz.:-A cylinder of wire cloth
or perforated metal is provided, and is fixed so that one of its ends can be
removed to permit of the introduction of the cylinder or nest of hats. This
perforated cylinder is mounted in bearings in a steam-tight box; the hats thus
nested are then put into the cylinder, and a rocking motion is communicated
thereto, which will cause the nest of hats to roll in an opposite direction.
Steam at the required pressure is introduced into the box, and a rocking
motion is imparted to the cylinder, and continued until the nap is thoroughly
scalded-in. The plan of beating-up nap is much like the band process of
accomplishing the same result. A table, or plank as it is termed by the trade,
is provided, the plank part resting on a bed piece, and having a water-tight
box around it something larger than the plank itself. To this bed a slow
reciprocating motion to the extent of about its own length is imparted, so that
it will move to and fro under the beaters. The beaters consist of a row of
thin sticks placed in line in a rocking shaft, so that they will beat down upon
the hats or table at each rock of the shaft; that is, they rise and fall as the
shaft rocks. A quantity of hot water is placed in the box just sufficient to
float over the top of the plank, when in this and upon the plank are placed
the napped hats. A jet of steam is then let into the water to keep it hot, a

page_text: stop-cock being also provided by which to draw off the surplus water. . All
these being arranged the beater is, put in motion, beating down upon the
table, in meanwhile the plank, having been covered with hats, is also put in
motion backwards and forwards; thus, the hats are beaten continuously until
the operation is complete, and the hats are sufficiently cleaned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Offico on
the 28th May 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County.
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting....
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license, that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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
"AN IMPROVED PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING. HATS," being a communication
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that. I, tho said Alfred
Vincent Newton, by an instrument. in writing under.my hand and seal, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by tho
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention of "An improved Process of Manufacturing Hats" relates,

page_text: first, to a new or improved method of forming a bat or hat body; second, to
the mode of sizing hats, or bringing or reducing the same to a proper size
and shape; and, lastly, to a process or processes of sticking, scalding-in, and.
beating-up the nap of hats; the whole constituting a complete plan of making
hats, from the operation of blowing the fur or wool to finishing the napped
hats ready for dyeing, a series of machinery of a novel construction being
employed for the purpose.
The fur having been cleaned in the usual manner, the Inventor proceeds to
form a bat or hat body, or what in some cases is termed a shell. For this
purpose the following arrangement is employed:-A solid fixed cone is set
upon a stationary table, and around it is an annular ring or revolving table,
closely fitting the same to prevent the escape of steam. Upon this revolving
ring or table is an unpierced cone open at bottom, so that it may be placed
over and made to cover the stationary cone before mentioned. A body of hot
steam is conveyed into the interior of the stationary cone, and impinges
against the cone so as to heat it, and thus the space between it and the
revolving cone is heated, and the fur is dried to a sufficient degree to harden'
it, so that it may be handled and removed from the smooth cone without the
use of any in-layer or supporting frame or block.
While the revolving cone is in motion a jet of steam is caused to impinge
against its outer surface and damp it. The fur is delivered to the unpierced
cone in the ordinary way, except that the mouth of the delivering chamber is
to be regulated so as to deliver the fur in a greater or less quantity on given
points or parts of the cone at the will of the operator, so that the fur may be
deposited (as in the operation of bowing or working by hand) more at the
bottom or brim and less at the top of the cone or tip of the hat. The pipes
for supplying the steam are attached to the adjustable wings of the mouth-
piece of the fur chamber so as to move with and be regulated by them, and
are constructed in a peculiar manner adapted to the purpose.
The machine for sizing or planking hat bodies consists of a semicircular
concave surface, against which a vibrating beater (whose operating face is by
preference corrugated) works. A continuous or endless apron runs over a
friction roller, by which it is continually advanced in the desired direction.
At the bottom of the concave box or receiver a small quantity of water just
sufficient to immerse the bags of hats is placed. At the bottom and under-
neath the body of water a jet of steam is introduced to heat the water to the
boiling point. A number of hats, from one to twenty-four dozen, are intro-
duced into bags properly confined, so that they may be readily withdrawn from
the water, there being perhaps one or two dozen in a bag. These bags aro

page_text: placed within the revolving apron, and between the corrugated beater and
concave of the box in the boiling water. The beater is then set in motion
jointly with the roller carrying the apron, when the back and forward motion
of the beater beats up the bags of hats, and the onward motion of the apron
keeps the several bags in continuous revolution, and the beater is constantly
and rapidly knocking them up against the side of the concave box. The bag
of hats are next taken out, and the attendant proceeds to "croze" them in
the same manner as hand and machino formed hats usually are, that is, to
fold each one where it is too much fulled, and expose them where fulling is
most required; and this is repeated as often as is necessary until the hat
is brought to the desired size.
Instead of sizing or felting the bats in hot water or water warmed by
steam as before mentioned, they may be operated upon in cold water, in
which event it will be necessary before placing the hats or hat bodies in the
sizing machine to submit them to the action of certain chemical substances,
which will materially assist in causing the fibres of the hat body to felt. The
chemical ingredients to be employed for the above purpose is a saponaccous
compound, into which the bat body must be dipped previous to being placed in
the sizing machine. The mode of preparing this compound will be hereafter
explained, and after the hat bodies have been operated upon for a sufficient
length of time in the sizing machine, the saponaceous liquor is drawn off, and
hot water supplied in order to wash out all the saponaceous matter from the
hat bodies, after which the hats or hat bodies may be dyed or colored in the
usual manner.
The third part of the process relates to the sticking, scalding-in, and
beating-up of hats. After the hat has been sized as herein-before stated it is
dried, and subsequently shaved or singed in the usual manner by hand. If it
is a felt hat, it is then stiffened and formed into its proper shape, and then
dyed. If it is to be a napped hat, it is to be treated in like manner, when it is
to be again immersed in hot water; this will cause the fur to adhere to it.
The body is now placed upon a wooden or other solid cone, and rotated
opposite to the delivering aperture of the fur chamber, the mouth of which is
capable of being regulated, and is provided with steam jets as above described.
The steam is then let upon the body, and the fur (prepared in the usual
manner) is thrown in upon the cone, where it adheres until the quantity of
nap desired is put upon the hat. The hats will have to be turned as in the
hand process for the purpose of napping the under side of the brim.
The next process (viz., that of nesting-up) is as follows:-A soft bag or conc
of sponge or other suitable material having been prepared, a flannel cloth is

page_text: placed upon it; upon the top of this is placed a hat which is to receive the
nap; over this is placed another flannel cloth, and on this again another hat,
and so on until the desired number of hats is packed or nested. The number
may be more or less from one dozen to twenty dozen in a nest. They are now
ready for scalding-in, which is performed in the following manner:-A cylinder
of wire cloth or perforated metal is provided, and is fixed so that one of its
ends can be removed to permit of the introduction of the cylinder or nest of
hats. This perforated cylinder is mounted in bearings in a steam-tight box;
the hats thus nested are then put into the cylinder, and a rocking motion is
communicated thereto, which will cause the nest of hats to roll in an opposite
direction. Steam at the required pressure is introduced into the box, and a
rocking motion is imparted to the cylinder, and continued until the nap is
thoroughly scalded-in. The plan of beating up the nap is much like the
hand process of accomplishing the same object. A table, or plank as it is
termed by the trade, is provided; the plank part resting on a bed piece, and
having a water-tight box around it, something larger than the plank itself.
To this bed a slow reciprocating motion to the extent of about its own length
is imparted, so that it will move to and fro under the beaters. The beaters
consist of a row of thin sticks placed in line on a rocking shaft, so that they
will beat down upon the hats or table at each rock of the shaft; that is, they
rise and fall as the shaft rocks. A quantity of hot water is placed in the box
just sufficient to float over the top of the plank, when in this and upon the
plank are placed the napped hats; a jet of steam is then let into the water to
keep it hot, a stop-cock being also provided by which to draw off the surplus
water. All these parts being thus arranged, the beater is put in motion and
made to beat down upon the table, meanwhile tho plank, having been covered
with hats, is also put in motion backwards and forwards; thus the hats are beat
continuously until the operation is completed, and the hats are sufficiently
cleaned.
Having briefly explained the nature and object of the several processes
whereby it is proposed to make hats, I will now proceed to describe the
machinery or apparatus whereby the several processes are carried out, refer-
ence being made to the accompanying Drawings; in which Fig. 1, Sheet I.,
is a plan view of the machine for forming the hats or hat bodies; Fig. 2 is a
side elevation; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section; and Fig. 4 is a transverse
vertical section in the line B, B, of Fig. 1. A, A, is a solid surfaced cone,
which is firmly fixed upon its own table B. An annular table or ring C is so
arranged that it may revolve around the fixed table B. These two tables should
be so placed together that there will be no escape of steam between the revolving

page_text: and stationary tables. D is a hollow cone with a solid or unperforated surface,
and is placed upon the revolving table C, so that it may revolve with it. Steam
pipes are adapted to the mouth of the conducting table E of the fur chamber,
and from these a jet of steam or hot water, or both together, is caused to issue
in such a direction that the jet of steam or water will impinge directly upon
the cone D, so that in its revolution the whole surface of the latter will be
subjected to the force and action of the steam or water. By applying steam to
the interior of the cone A it becomes heated, and thence radiates the heat
to the space between the cones A and D, so that it may heat the outer or
revolving cone D. By this means the fur is damped by the steam and water
from the pipes F, and is dried by the heat of the steam in the space. between
the cones A and D. It will be understood that the heat within and the
atmosphere without each contribute to dry and harden the hat as it continues
to revolve.
The apparatus for picking and blowing the fur is shewn at E, I, and:I;
II being the picking cylinder; this picks the fur and throws it to the brush J,
which in turn throws it out through the delivering chamber E, on to the wet
solid cono D. A shaft K receives motion in the usual way, and by means of
gearing imparts motion to the picker cylinders II and brush I, as well as to
the cone D, or rather its annular table or ring C. Upon the outside of the
framing is placed an apparatus for raising and lowering the delivering end of
the chamber E, so as to deposit more or less fur on any one part of the cone
at the will of the operator who works it by hand. A lever L (Fig. 2) is fixed
upon the side of the chamber E, which is hung upon its own shaft M, so that
it may rock upon it. A second lever N is fixed to the side of the frame, and
is provided with a cam O, and thus by raising the lever N, the cam O
will raise the chamber E, while its own weight will cause it to fall on being
reliever.
.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-A quantity of fur or wool, as
the case may be, just sufficient for making one hat is placed in the boxes or
hoppers P, P, and the machine being set in motion this fur falls on to the
picker H, and is thrown to the brush I, and from thence to the wet cone D,
Steam having previously been admitted to the interior cone A, the two cones
have become heated; steam being also supplied to the tubes F in front of and
forming, part of the delivering chamber E, so that the flying fur will be fully
surrounded by a jet of steam as it is thrown forward to the cone D; thus the
steam wets the cone and fur together as it falls on to the cone, and while the
cone is revolving the heat from within dries the fur on the side of the cono
furthest from the steam. The thus dried hat may then be slipped off the conc

page_text: without again wetting, as is the common way with fur that is blown on to the
cone dry; thus, no cloth is necessary to be wrapped around it, nor yet any inlayer
or supporting form required to take it off the cone, as is the common way.
In reference to this part of the Invention, I do not claim forming a hat
5 body upon a solid or other cone or former, the fur being blown or otherwise
put upon the same from a suitable delivery chamber; but what I do claim is,
the process described of steaming the fur while it is being deposited upon tho
cone or other former, and at the same time drying it by the heat inside com
bined with the action of the atmosphere, by which the hat becomes hardened
while forming, so that it may be removed from the former without wetting or
wrapping, and thus delivered in a dry state. I also claim the use or applica-
tion for the purposes above set forth of the revolving cone or former D, with
its annular table or ring C, and the stationary heated cone A, and the jets of
steam, to whatever other arrangement of machinery for making hat bodies they
may be applied.
The machinery or apparatus for felting hats, and sizing them or reducing
them to the proper size is shewn in the several Figures of Sheet II. of the
accompanying Drawings; in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the machine,
and Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same. 'A tub or vat a is supplied with
hot water, and this water is kept hot by the admission of a jet of steam or
'some other suitable means. Within this tub a is a vibrating beater b, with
its two sides slightly hollowed, and its face corrugated, as shewn at d in Fig. 2"
and also in the detached view, Fig. 4, which represents one of the faces of the
beater. This beater is hung upon a shaft c, and is connected by means of
the rod f to the rocking lever g, having its fulcrum at h. At or near the top
or opposite end of the lever g is a second connecting rod i, which, being
attached to the crank k, receives motion from the said crank. A pulley upon
the main shaft by means of a belt gives motion to a pulley m of the crank
shaft. Motion being thus communicated to the crank shaft k the latter
revolves, and through the above-named parts causes the beater 6 to vibrato
on its axis to and fro.
The box tub or vat a may be made in one or more compartments, but the
Drawings represent four in one machine, with two sets of arrangements
throughout, and each beater has its two opposite sides arranged, so that each
will alternately beat against a revolving apron n, in which the hats are placed,
so that they will by the continuous onward motion of the apron always be
changing their position while the machine is in operation. At either 'side,
opposite the beater and connected with the sides of the tub, are the adjustable
plates or beater heads q, corrugated in a manner similar to the sides of the

page_text: beater itself; these are adjustable, so that the space between them and the
beater b may be increased or decreased at will; and for this purpose, nuts o
(Figs. 1, 2, and 3,) are fixed at the back, and through these nuts o, o, pass
the adjustable, screws p, properly secured to the beater heads 9 (see Figs. 2
and 3). When a greater quantity of hats is to be operated upon at once
the chamber a may be enlarged, and when fewer hats are put in the space, it
may be reduced. By this means the beater heads may be brought to act equally
on a large or small body or number of hats.
The body of hats will be seen at r (Fig. 2), and a quantity of hats, say,
from one to six dozen, are (flattened and in mass) placed in a bag (for the
more conveniently withdrawing them, when it is desirable to do so). This
bag is then placed in the interior of the apron n (Fig. 2), and by the revo-
lution of the roller or cylinder & the apron revolves, and keeps the bag of hats
constantly changing its positions, while the beater b is striking the mass of
hats contained therein.
Supposing it be desired to employ the cold process of felting or sizing, tho
vat a, instead of being supplied with hot water and jets of steam, as just
explained, must be supplied with cold water, and the hats or hat bodies before
being nested for the sizing machine must be dipped into a liquid preparation
composed of the following ingredients: One pound of expressed oil of tallow,
to which add two ounces of potash, dissolved in one pound of hot soft water.
These materials are to be boiled together, and when cold add half a pound of
china clay, and when thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients, add one
ounce of spirits of ammonia. When these materials have been thoroughly
mixed again the mass must be submitted to a moderate heat. It may be
necessary to vary the proportions of the above ingredients. according to tho
nature of the wool or other material to be operated upon; I do not therefore
intend to confine myself to the precise proportions.above set forth.
Having prepared a saponaceous composition of the above description, the
workinan must take a batch of hat bodies and dip them in the saponaceous
Jiquid, and when well saturated, the hat bodies are to be folded and rolled up,
and placed in a bag, which must be then placed in the endless apron n of the
sizing machine, which, as before mentioned, will have been supplied with cold
water. When the hat bodies have been submitted for a sufficient length of time
to the action of the sizing machine, the operation of which will be presently
described, the cold water must be drawn off' from the vat a, and hot water run in
in place thereof; then upon rolling and beating the hats in the machine for a
short time longer the saponaceous composition will be washed out of them,
when they will be ready for dyeing or blocking, as may be desired.

page_text: The operation of the machine is as follows:-A bag of hats is placed in
cach compartment of the machine, and upon giving motion to the machine
the beater vibrates and comes with some considerable force against the
apron n containing the bags of hats, and forces them back against the beater
fronts or heads q, before referred to. The tub or vat a must be well supplied
with hot water, and this must be kept hot (if the hot process is employed),
for which purpose a jet of hot steam is admitted near the bottom of the tub,
and some other convenient place is provided to allow the surplus water, which
may accumulate by condensation, to pass off. Thns the water being kept hot,
and the rolling and beating continued, the hat or hat bodies will be fulled in a
similar manner to the hand operation of sizing or felting hats. When the
work has, in the judgment of the operator, been worked sufficiently, he will
withdraw the bags (having first stopped the machine), and then "croze"
them in the usual manner, after which the operation will be repeated until the
hats are fully felted and brought by the fulling to the proper size.
Under this head I claim the arrangement of beaters acting in and under
water, so that in their motion they shall impinge against the immersed body
of hats, whether this precise machine be used or some equivalent thereto. I
also claim the use of the vibrating beater 6 in combination with the adjustable
beater heads q and the revolving aprons n, and also the use of the saponaceous
compound with cold water, as above explained.
The machine for sticking the nap or causing the nap to adhere to the hat
is constructed very much upon the same principle as that already described
for making the bat or felt. I have, therefore, only shewn two sectional views
of the machine, as these Figures will be quite sufficient to explain this part of
the present improvements.
Fig. 1, Sheet III., is a longitudinal vertical section, and Fig. 2 is a trans-
verse vertical section, of the napping machine. The case into which the fur
or nap is placed so as to be transferred to the hat has its middle part straight,
and from this part tapers towards each end, thereby forming a double conc.
This cone is seen at a in the Drawings, and extending from the middle or
straight part of this case is a trunk or spout 6; the inside of this case is
provided with pickers or projecting pins c to act with and cross similar
pickers on the conical revolving barrel d, presently to be referred to. This
barrel d is seen best in Fig. 2, and the middle part thereof is depressed to
make room for the picked fur, so that it may be taken up by the brush f;
beyond this middle part the barrel is formed into two cones, as seen in Fig. 2,
having pickers to mash with the pickers in the case. A brushf having a
revolving motion is placed in the trunk b, and receives the picked fur from

page_text: At
the pickers g at the depressed part of the barrel d, and this brush throws the
fur or other material out through the trunk and on to a cone in front.
the front end of this trunk are placed tubes p for the purpose of forcing steam
on to the hat body which has been placed on the revolving cone; these tubes
may be made with holes perforated in the side nearest the cone, and they are
made with projecting flanges so as to place cloth between them, and by
screwing to open or close them at will, so as to govern the quantity of steam
that may be required to wet the body and fur properly. Motion is given to
the barrel d by a pulley and belt, and this motion is 'transmitted to the brush
fin the common way. A lever i, with a weight on its end, is used as a belt
tightener, as will be well understood.
The case a, with the trunk or delivery spout b, form one piece, and are so
arranged as to swivel on the central shaft k while the cylinder d and brush f
are revolving.
This part of the apparatus is so arranged and constructed that the trunk
may be raised or lowered at the end nearest the cone, for the purpose of
supplying more or less fur on different parts of the cone at the will of the
operator, the mouth of the trunk being so shaped as to deliver less fur at the
top and more at the bottom. The trunk is raised and lowered by means of a
lever in the same way as in the felting machine already described. The main
shaft o, which communicates motion to the whole machine, has upon it a
screw P that works in the wheel 7 which is fast with the shaft r. At the
opposite end of this shaft r is the wheel s, which gears with the wheel t on
the vertical shaft u, and has its bearings in a stationary standard v, and
supports the cone on its upper end. This cone being a solid one, and fast
with the shaft u, revolves with it. At the top of the case a at either end is
a box or hopper y to receive the fur, and these hoppers have cones, which
may be opened or closed, to increase or diminish the draft of air which will
be caused by the revolving picker and brush, these having a very rapid
motion, while the cone only requires a slow steady motion.
The operation of this machine is as follows:-Steam is to be supplied to
the tubes through a flexible hose, as at x, and the picker barrel d and brush
f, as well as the cone, are to be set in motion. A felted hat body is then
placed, in a wet state, upon the cone, the steam keeping it in its wet condition
by impinging directly against it. A quantity of fur is then supplied to cach
hopper, when it will be caught as it falls by the pickers of the revolving
barrel d, and is carried to the depressed middle of the cylinder; when the
particles are separated by the picking it will thus receive, the brush f will
take it from the depressed pickers g, and throw it out on to the wet hat body,

page_text: where it adheres by the joint effects of the impinging of the steam and the;
wet of the body. The operator, by raising or lowering the trunk b, deposits,
the fur where he desires. It will be understood that the brim or inside is.
thus stuck with fur at one time, and then the hat body is turned so that the
outside may in turn be napped in a like manner all over, as required; the hat,
being now completed, the same operation will be repeated on each succeeding,
hat which may be placed on the cone after the removal of its predecessor. It
may not be improper here to remark that the sticking of naps has; always
heretofore been done by hand labor, and by a very tedious process, taking an
hour to nap a single hat, whereas by the use of this machine a hat may be
napped in about one minute.
After the hat bodies have been napped the nap must be "scalded in," which
process is carried on in the following manner:-Upon a soft bag or cone of
sponge or other suitable material is placed a flannel cloth, and upon the top,
of this is placed a hat upon which the nap has been stuck, and upon this
another flannel cloth and then another hat, and so on until the desired number
of hats are packed or nested; this may be more or less from one dozen to
twenty dozen in a nest. They are now ready for "scalding-in." This is:
performed in the machine shewn. in Sheet III., at Figs. 3, 4, and 5. Fig. 3
is a transverse vertical section; Fig. 4, a side elevation; and Fig. 5, a plan
view with the top or cover removed: A cylinder of wire-cloth or perforated
metal A, made in such a manner that one of its ends can be removed
so as to introduce the cylinder or nest of hats, is mounted horizontally in
suitable bearings; this perforated cylinder is arranged so as to have journals B
upon each of its ends or heads. The hats thus nested are then put into the
cylinder A, and upon causing the cylinder to rock on its centres the nest of
hats will be made to roll in an opposite direction. The cylinder is contained
in a steam-tight box C, having the necessary journal boxes, and at or near
its bottom a jet of steam of the desired heat and pressure is introduced.
There is a stop-cock D near the bottom of this box, by which any water
which will become condensed may be drawn off, as contact with water might
tend to wash the nap from the body. All these being provided, a rocking
motion to and fro is communicated, as aforesaid, to the perforated cylinder
while in the confined steam box (by means of a pinion worked in a rack), and
this is to be continued during the option of the operator, and until the nap is
thoroughly scalded-in.
In reference to the apparatus for "sticking-on" and "scalding-in" the nap
on hats, I claim the combination of the solid cone with the adjustable trunk
of the napping machine, so that the fur may be properly delivered on to the

page_text: felted hat body for the purpose of sticking the nap thereon by the joint means
of throwing the fur from a brush and the impingement of a jet of steam or
hot water upon the hat to be napped.
I also claim the form of the picker cylinder, as described, having its two
conical ends to pick the fur, and a depressed middle to receive the fur and
deliver it to the brush, so that it may be thrown through the trunk and on to
the revolving cone, all of which is fully set forth.
I further claim the process and machinery or apparatus shewn and
described for "scalding-in" the nap.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year"
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON (L.S.)