IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING CLOTH AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Jonathan Tindal at the Office,
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th
December 1872.
I, JONATHAN TINDAL, of the Firm of Tindal, Son, and Company,
Cloth Finishers, both of the City of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING CLOTH AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This said Invention has reference to new or improved modes and
means of pressing and finishing cloth in long lengths, webs, or pieces,
(and then rolling them on boards, spits, or spindles in a usual manner)
all so as to thus finish and prepare the cloth without folds in a better
and more regular and expeditious manner than this has heretofore been
done.
And the nature of this Invention consists in first laying or rolling the
long lengths of cloth in a great number of layers or thicknesses with a
layer or thickness of millboard or pasteboard between the layers of
cloth, all upon a pressing table formed of long rectangular shallow close

page_text: steam heated boxes planed smooth on top, and of such a width and
number laid close end to end as to suit the full width and length of the
pieces to be so laid down and pressed, as say for ordinary cloth about
thirty-two inches wide and sixty yards long. These lower hot bed
plates or boxes are all laid solidly on a low strong frame or compact
bed or foundation, preferably along the side of the wall of the long
finishing room, so that strong transverse frames of wood or iron may be
secured to the wall at the one side and to a strong longitudinal frame
and front standards on the other side secured to the foundation. These
transverse frames being put at such a distance apart that they can each
carry a screw, a lever, or other equivalent press, all sufficient to sustain
the proportion of the strain required to press the goods ranged between
them and at such a height, after the desired number of alternate layers
of cloth and millboards have been laid down over each other upon the
upper flat surface of the said heating bed plates and other ordinary thin
solid hot top plates, heated in or on an adjacent convenient heating stove
for the purpose have been laid on along the whole top surface covered
with the flat wood pressers and longitudinal and transverse strain
receiving blocks that the men will be conveniently able to work the
presses either from the lower floor bed or from a platform or floor above
the framing.
The steam boiler and boiler house may be conveniently placed outside
the said wall, and the steam led in from it to a length of pipes ranged
longitudinally along between the wall, and the edge of the steam
heating boxes with a branch pipe leading to each with a long small
pipe below having a branch pipe leading into this from the lowest
corner of each hollow box or plate to draw off the water of the con-
densed steam; and each steam and condensed water branch may if
found desirable have a controlling or regulating tap or cock fitted to it.
The webs of cloth and pasteboard are laid down by the traversing to and
fro of an improved arrangement of rolling down carriage formed of two
side frames and transverse stays or lateral frames, and carrying in
journal bearings at the lower side of the front and back of the frame a
running and bearing roller, which carries the whole weight of the
carriage running over and upon the last layers of pasteboard and cloth
which they have laid down. The upper part of the side frame carries
the roll or soles of pasteboard and cloth on and by their spindles
revolving freely in convenient bearings or slots in the frame, resting by

page_text: their own weight on the taking off and serving, bearing, and carrying
rollers before named, below which the webs respectively pass until
wound all off, when the spindles are removed at one or both ends of the
table, and replaced by other full rolls for the next traverse, these
spindles and rolls being filled and wound full for that purpose in
ordinary rolling machines.
The carriage may be guided along the edges of the bed plates either
by collars or flanges at the outer edges of the bearing and laying down
rollers, or by vertical antifriction rollers on spindles attached to the
side frames of the carriage.
It will be understood that any number of webs may be so laid down
over each other, and heated and pressed inversely, according to the
heat and pressure required to be given to them, as from twenty to eighty
thicknesses; and when so pressed and finished both the cloth and the
pasteboard webs may be wound on to their spindles again in the same
manner as they were wound down by traversing the carriage to and fro
over the long heap until they are all wound up, removing the full
rolls and putting in fresh winding boards, sheets, or spindles at the end
before each new traverse.
And although the rolls of cloth and pasteboard have been described as
resting and rolling on the surface of the carrying rollers it will be
evident that they might also roll on the surface of the pile laid down in
the same manner as the bearing rollers.
And by another arrangement the laying down carriage may run on
wheels in grooved wood or other rails placed alongside of the steam
plates, and merely allow the cloth and millboard to roll off their
spindles running in ordinary bearings at the top of the carriage; the
ends of the pieces being held as laid down by weights or otherwise while
the carriage was traversing and laying down the webs and instead of the
alternate webs of millboard between the cloth to be pressed; paper or a
union of paper and linen or cotton cloth, or linen or cotton cloth might
be used themselves, or other equivalent material.
Although the lower plates have been described as hollow and heated
by steam, they might be plain solid plates and heated by gas or other
means in hollow spaces below them.
Instead of screw or lever presses, hydraulic presses might be used,
or the pressure might be given simply by heavy weights in some cases.

page_text: A single set of rails may be placed longitudinally on the lower floor close
to the front standards of the framing carrying the presses for light
trucks to pass along, both for conveying the rolls of cloth to and from
this long finishing press and room, and for bringing and removing the
top plates to and from the heating stove; and although these top plates
have been described as solid plates it will be evident that they may be
made in the form of long shallow boxes of cast iron, and heated by
steam as the lower ones are, and made portable so as to be turned up or
traversed laterally with or on their branch steam pipes, so jointed as to
enable that to be done.