CERTAIN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING AND PREPARING HEMP AND FLAx
Year: 1819

page_text: BUNDY'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BUNDY, of Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex, Mathematical Instrų-
ment Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Exellent Majesty King George the Third did, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at Westminster, the
First day of April, in the fifty-ninth year of His reign, give and grant unto me,
the said William Bundy, my exors, admors, and assigns, His especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Bundy, my
exors, admors, and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN MACHINERY FOR BREAKING AND
PREPARING HEMP AND FLAx;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso that if I, the said William Bundy, shall not particularly 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, and cause
the same to be inrolled in His. Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said. Letters
Patent, that then the. said. Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages
whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and become
void, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, will more fully and
at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Bundy, do hereby declare that my aforesaid Invention and improve-
ments consists, in the first place, of the machine whereof the annexed Drawing
is a perspective view; and, secondly, of other apparatus and processes,
which, together with that machine, are herein-after particularly described
and ascertained, viz*:-
A, A, A, A, is the frame of the machine as constructed of wood, but which
may be equally well formed of cast iron or other fit material, and is for the
purpose of supporting the two conical rollers B and C, which revolve freely
and independently of each other (or without touching) upon iron or steel axles
at both their ends, which are supported in the brass or other proper carriages,
as shewn in the Drawing of the machine. A third conical roller D is sup-
ported by similar carriages under the top piece E of the machine, which may
also be made of timber or metal. The aforesaid three rollers B, C, and D, are
all similar in construction, dimensions, and shape, being all frustra of cones,
with flutes or longitudinal teeth on their external conical surfaces. It is not,
however, essential to the performance of my machine that they should be all of
the same dimensions, provided they are so fixed in their carriages that the
teeth or flutes upon the upper roller may take into and act with those of the
two lower ones, and that they will all move or revolve together when the upper
rollers D is incumbent upon or lies between the two lower rollers B, C, as
shewn in the Figure and in plan at Q. These rollers may be made of metal,
and cast with the teeth of the form shewn in the detached Figure F, which is
a section through the widest ends of these conical rollers, not only to shew the
form of teeth which will be most convenient when the rollers are cast, but also
the nature of their contact when the upper roller D is depressed between the
two lower ones. The form of tooth shewn at F is not, however, essential to
the perfection of my machine, since the rollers may be made of wood, having
strips of metal let into grooves cut in such wood, while the outer edges of such
strips are rounded, and left projecting above the surface of the same, and these
will answer quite as well as the form of tooth shewn at F. It must, never-
theless, be observed, that whatever form of tooth be adopted, they must be so
shaped and disposed with regard to each other as to have considerable play
between them, in order to admit the quantity of flax stem which is intended to
be broken and prepared. The upper piece E of the machine, which carries the
upper conical roller D, is fixed or attached to the main frame A, A, A, A, by
strong hinges, or any other moveable joint, at G, and a rod of iron or other
sufficiently strong material H, H, is attached at its upper end by a joint to the
top piece E, passes through a hole near I, and is fixed at its lower end by

page_text: another joint K to the treadle or lever K, L, which turns upon the joint or
hinges M, M. A spring or weight (but I prefer a spring for many reasons) is.
applied to the machine in such manner that its action will always keep the
upper piece E, and consequently the upper roller D, in an elevated or raised
position above the rollers B and C when the machine is not in action, and of
course the end. L of the treadle will also be raised, which admits of the.
flax to be wrought or worked being introduced between the rollers, viz, over
the two lower rollers B, C, and under the upper roller D; such a spring may
be applied in a variety of ways, such as between the top piece E and the top
or platform of the machine at N, or it may be a strong spiral wire spring,
having its upper end fastened to the platform, while its lower extremity is
fixed to the rod H, H, round which it coils as at O, or it may be placed under
the end. L of the treadle, but in every case its strength must be no more than
will be sufficient to raise the upper roller D about two inches from the lower.
rollers, otherwise it will occasion unnecessary fatigue to the person working the
machine. The manner of using the machines is as follows:-The upper and
lower rollers being separated as aforesaid, a small handful of dried flax or.
hemp stems is to be introduced between them, and held extended by the
two hands, while the rollers are brought together by the pressure of the
foot upon L. While that pressure is continued, the flax or hemp is to
be drawn backwards and forwards by the hands between the rollers in
a direction at right angles to the axis of the rollers, and eventually
withdrawn by pulling with one hand only. The foot is now to be removed
until the flax or hemp is again replaced, and each end is in this way to be.
drawn several times through the machine until such ends are respectively
finished. By a succession of these operations (using the pressure of the foot
upon L each time that the flax or hemp is introduced between the rollers, and
regulating such pressure according to the progress of the work), the flax or
hemp will soon be sufficiently worked, and the fibre brought into a sufficiently.
clean and divided state for bleaching, or if it be required to spin it in the
yellow state, it may be made sufficiently fine by a longer continuation of the
same process, particularly if worked between the smaller ends of the rollers.
Indeed, in all cases, I recommend that the operation should be commenced
and continued for some time with the larger part of the rollers, and finished
5 with their smaller ends; and in this point of view, my Invention of conical
rollers will be found of great importance and use, for as the flutes, grooves, or
teeth vary in their distance from each other at all points between the large and
small ends, so it becomes almost impossible for the workman to draw the flax
or hemp through such rollers in the same track, and thus the breaking of the
"

page_text: boon must be much more irregular and the fibre will be much more effectually
cleansed than it can be by the flutes, grooves, or teeth of the cylinders, or other
contrivances in former use, which will probably fall frequently in the same
place upon the fibre. If it is intended that the flax shall be bleached before
it is spun, then I recommend the second part of my Invention for the
accomplishment of that process; and this consists of certain trays or cradles to
be moved in the water or other fluid to be used for bleaching or whitening the
flax or hemp, in manner following, viz:-
The flax or hemp, after been broken and worked in my aforesaid machine,
or otherwise, should be divided into small quantities of about one.ounce each.
and these should be tied loosely in the middle with a string, and in this state
laid in the trays or cradles herein-after described, and then be soaked in 'cold
soft water for a day or two, when each parcel should be worked separately
while wet through a machine precisely similar to that which has already been
described, except only that the rollers should be cylindrical, and made entirely
of wood, with metal axles, and the teeth, which will be parallel, should be
similar in form to those shewn in section at F; such operation will loosen the
gluten and coloring matter for the rinsing and wringing which must follow;
the flax must then be again disposed in a flat and smooth manner in such
trays or cradles, and again be put to soak in sufficient soft water to cover it,
in which a small quantity of soap (in the proportion of about seven pounds of
soap to each hundred weight of flax) has been previously dissolved, and in
this state it should remain for two or three days longer, and then be again
worked through the machine, and rinsed with clear water and wrung, which
will render it sufficiently clean and white for most purposes. But if it is
required to be still softer for spinning into yarn of the finest quality, it must
be boiled in a very large quantity of soft water, with the same or a larger
proportion of soap, for half an hour or more, and then be rinsed, and carefully
and thoroughly dried, after which it must be worked through the first described
breaking machine with conical rollers, to open it sufficiently for heckling or
dressing: The wooden trays or cradles above mentioned, for holding the flax
while steeping or boiling, should be shallow, being about an inch deep each,
and of sufficient length' to hold the materials; they must have open lath bot-
toms, and a single course or layer of the flax, tied in parcels as aforesaid;
occupies one tray; other trays of the same description are to be piled or placed
upon this, and so on to any convenient number of trays, until the soaking tubs
or boilers are sufficiently filled to permit the soaking or boiling without run-
ning over. These trays must be tied or otherwise attached together, and are to
be moved quickly up and down in the water, either by hand or machinery; and

page_text: by their construction it is evident the water will have access to every part
of the flax, which will have room to rise and swell without any danger of
entanglement, while by the motion the cleansing process will be much more
effectually carried on than it has hitherto been by simple washing, soaking, or
boiling without it, and which I do not consider as any part of my Invention,
the essential parts of which I confine to the use of conical rollers, disposed and
used as above described, to the manner opening the same for the reception
of the stem, and to the trays or cradles for containing the materials while
whitening, and their constant motion during the process. It is almost needless
to observe, that the trays and soaking vessels must be composed of such wood
or materials as will not stain the flax, and that the height and dimensions of
the breaking machine must be suited to the person working it. In Figure Q
the conical rollers are drawn one third of the size I find the most convenient,
viz, seven inches long in the working part, three and an half inches diameter
at the largest, and two inches diameter at their smallest ends.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bundy, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of September, One thousand eight