NEW MILL OR MACHINE UPON NEW PRINCIPLES FOR SPINNING YARN FROM HEMP, TOW, FLAX, OR WOOL
Year: 1787

page_text: KENDREW AND PORTHOUSE'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, JOHN
KENDREW, of Darlington, in the County of Durham, Optic Glass Grinder,
and THOMAS PORTHOUSE, of the same place, Cloth Maker, severally send
greeting.
WHEREAS the said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse did, by their
petition, humbly represent unto His present most Excellent Majesty King
George the Third, that they, the said petitioners, had, by much study, labour and
expence, invented and brought to perfection a "NEW MILL OR MACHINE UPON
NEW PRINCIPLES FOR SPINNING YARN FROM HEMP, TOW, FLAX, OR WOOL," which
they conceived would be of great public utility, and the said petitioners there-
fore humbly prayed His said Majesty to grant unto them, the said petitioners,.
their executors, administrators, and assigns, His Royal Letters Patent under
the Great Seal of Great Britain, for the sole use, benefit, and advantage of
their said Invention, within that part of His Majesty's Kingdom of Great
Britain called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, for the term of fourteen years, pursuant to the Statute in that case
made and provided; and His said Majesty, being willing to give encourage-
ment to all arts and inventions which might be for the public good, was
graciously pleased to condescend to the petitioners' request, and did therefore,
by His Royal Letters Patent, bearing date at Westminster, the Nineteenth
day of June, in the twenty-seventh year of His reign, of His especial grace,
certain knowledge, and meer motion, for Himself, His heirs, and successors,
give and grant unto the said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse, their
executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole
priviledge and authority, that they, the said John Kendrew and Thomas Port-
house, their executors, administrators, and assigns, by themselves or their
deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as they, the said John
Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse, their executors, administrators, or assigns,

page_text: shall at any time 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, their said Invention within that part of
His Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called England, His Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner as to them, the
said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse, their executors, administrators,
and assigns, or any of them, should in their discretions seem meet, and that
they, the said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse, their executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should and lawfully might have and enjoy the whole
profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage from time to time coming, growing,
accruing, and arising, by reason of the said Invention, for and during the term
of years
therein mentioned, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said licence,
powers, priviledges, and advantages therein-before granted or mentioned to be
granted unto the said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse, their 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 complete and ended, according to the Statute in such
case made and provided; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that if the said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse should not par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of their said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
their hands and seals, and cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within one calendar month 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, should utterly
cease, determine, and become void, anything therein-before contained to the
contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding, as in and by the said Letter's
Patent, reference being thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, they, the said
John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse, do hereby describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
as follows, that is to say:-
The machine may be worked or used by a water-mill, horse-mill, or any
other kind of mill, and is made and used as hereafter described in the two
Drawings or Plans added hereto and figured 1 and 2, and severally marked.
There is a cylinder, as marked A in the Drawing Figure 1, three feet
diameter and ten inches broad, made of dry wood or metal, turned true, and
covered on its circumference with smooth leather, upon which are placed the
rollers marked D, covered with leather and supported in their situations by the

page_text: slits in the curved piece of wood marked K, in which the iron axis of the rollers
turns, but suffers them to press on the wheel marked A. There must be another
piece similar to the above to support the other end of the rollers. These rollers
are of different weight. The upper weight, marked D 1, is two stone, the rest
decreasing to the last, which is only two pounds weight and one half. There
is an iron fluted roller marked F, furnished with a toothed wheel at each end,
and a wood one marked G, covered with cloth, and over it a smooth leather.
There is an assisting roller, marked H, of fluted iron. These rollers are supported
by their axes turning in the slit marked 2 of the piece of wood marked M,
which is here separated from the end of the frame marked 8 to shew the
rollers and wheelwork. The rollers marked G and F are squeezed together
by means of the lever marked p and its weight marked w. The roller
marked H is pressed to the mark G by its axis acting upon the inclined plane
marked x. There is a rubbing roller covered with woollen cloth, and on its
axis is a small wheel marked I, driven by the wheel marked S. This roller
rests upon the roller marked G, and by its motion prevents any dirt or fibers
from adhering to it. There is a cloth marked N, revolving over two rollers
marked o, o, which has motion given to it from the wheel marked C, by means
of another wheel marked P. This cloth moves at the same pace as the
surface of the wheel marked A. There is a supporter, marked Y, of the
axis of the wheels marked O, P, but is removed in order to shew them; it is fixed
by its tenons in the mortises marked z, z. The roller marked B is kept in action
by its endeavour to slip down the inclined plane at the top of the piece marked
Y, thereby pressing against the revolving cylinder, and another piece similar
to this must be understood to support the other end of the roller's axis.
By the side of this revolving cloth is a table placed, of the same length:
and breadth as the cloth is, to which belong two smooth cloths or leathers
of the same size as the table. The machine being thus prepared, the
attendant or workman must take a quantity of hemp, tow, flax, or
wool, more or less, according to the fineness of the thread to be made,
and lay or spread it evenly upon one of the smooth cloths on the table,.
then placed on the revolving cloth marked N, motion being commu-
nicated to the roller marked F by wheelwork, as usual, from a water,. horse,
or other kind of mill, which wheelwork is communicated to the wheel
marked Q, on whose axis is a nut which turns the wheel marked C, and
thereby. the cylinder marked A moves, and with it all the rollers, by which.
motion the hemp, tow, flax, or wool is drawn forwards. The cloth turns down,.
marked A, under the
but the hemp, tow, flax, or wool go upon the cylinder
roller marked B, and so forward under all the rollers marked D, then falls in

page_text: between the rollers marked G, F, turns under the roller marked G, and over
the roller marked H, which, as it gives the rollers hold of the hemp, tow, flax,
or wool in two places, enables them to drag forward the long fibers thereof,
tho' many of them are to draw from under the marks. 4 or 5 of the pressing
rollers marked D. It then falls into a canister marked R; and as by.the wheel-
work the rollers marked F, G, H, move three times faster than the cloth and
cylinder, the sliver must be three times longer than when presented. By the
time this is drawing, the other cloth is filled with hemp, tow, flax, or wool, as
before, and laid upon the revolving one, laying the hemp, tow, flax, or wool
over the end of the other, which goes forward as before, and thus a continued
sliver is produced as long as the machine continues its motion. But in order
that this sliver may come out of the canister marked R without entanglement,
it must pass through an instrument marked 5, placed over the rollers marked
F, G, its open side marked T, to the cylinder at mark 4, supported by its ends
marked V, V, in the slits marked W of the before-described pieces marked K.
The apperture marked X is so small as to press the fibers close to each other
in their passage through it previous to their passing the rollers, by which
means they remain pressed side by side in the sliver and will not entangle.
These thick slivers are drawn smaller by a similar process, and in the same
manner as used for cotton, but the machines for drawing are all of the same
structure as the above, except that they have no revolving cloth. The slivers
are applied to the cylinder under the roller marked B, which draws it forward,
under all the rollers as before described, drawing it out or lengthening it every
fresh machine through which it passes, till it be small enough for the spinning
machine. It must be remarked, that the cylinders are made less in diameter
according to the different smallness of the sliver intended to be drawn upon it.
At the first, whilst the sliver is at its greatest thickness, the cylinder is required
to be three feet diameter as above-described; the next, rather less; and so on
to the last, which is only two feet. The apperture at the bottom of the con-
tractor belonging to each machine is also made one third part smaller than
another in succession from the greatest to the smallest cylinder, as also the
drawing rollers marked F, G, H, are farthest from the pressing roller marked D
in the largest cylinder and nearest at the smallest cylinder. At the largest
cylinder the distance is about nime inches, and the smallest about four inches;
but their distance cannot in all cases be fixed, as it depends on the different
length of the fibers of the hemp, tow, flax, or wool, long requiring the distances
mentioned, and short ones requiring the distances much shorter than is here
specified. The above several lettes or marks are in the Drawing figured 1.
The following several letters or marks are in the machine figured (2). The

page_text: spinning machine, as to its drawing principle, is the same as the drawing
machines. The slivers are presented to it in canisters, marked A in the
Drawing figured 2, and drawn over a cylinder marked B, covered with rollers
marked D. The fibers which are to form the thread are drawn from the
cylinder by the rollers marked C, the under roller of which is made of fluted iron;
the other of wood covered with leather. They move six or eight times faster
than the cylinder marked B are enabled to draw the hemp, tow, flax, or wool
forward from under the pressing rollers marked D, by being squeezed together
with the weights and crooks marked a, a, hooked to the small part of the
rollers marked c, c. There is a belt of smooth cloth marked E, moving on two
rollers which are turned by the wheel marked F, on the axis of the fluted
roller, the opposite end of which, as at the mark G, is a nut which turns the
wheel marked H, on whose axis is another nut turning the wheel marked I,
and thereby the cylinder marked B with all its rollers. These rollers move in
curved pieces of wood or metal marked K, which, to prevent confusion, are
not represented in their places. They have slits in them in which the roller's
axis are guides, but so deep as at all times to suffer the rollers to press upon
the cylinder. These rollers are covered with cloth and leather. The top rowler
is about ten pounds weight, decreasing to the sixth rowler, which is only
about one pound weight. The yarn is twined by the spindles marked L, and
rubbed over the wet cloth belt if spinning linnen yarn; but if spinning worsted
yarn, the belt must be removed that it may not touch it as it passes to the
spool, which it coils round as fast as the rollers let it out. The spindles
marked L are turned by a belt from the wheel marked M, which derives its
motion from the mill, and by a wheel on its axis communicates it to the roller
under the mark C, by the wheel marked F, and so to the rest, as above
described. The hemp, tow, flax, or wool, is turned in the same manner as
cotton is by mills.
In witness whereof, the said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse have
hereunto set their hands and seals, the Twenty-first day of June, in
year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven.
the
TAT

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of June, in
the twenty-seventh year of the reign of His Majesty King George the Third,
the said John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse came before our said Lord the
King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all
and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.. And
also the Instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
several Statutes made in the sixth year of the reign of the late King and
Queen William and Mary of England, &c.,. and in the seventeenth and
twenty-third years of the reign of His Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the said Twenty-first day of June, in the year last above-written.