A MACHINE, UPON AN ENTIRE NEW PRINCIPLE, FOR THE MAKING AND MANUFAC- TURING OF ROPES AND CORDAGE
Year: 1793

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DANIEL BELFOUR, of, Elsineur, in the Kingdom of Denmark, Merchant and
British Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did lately prefer my humble Petition unto His present most
Excellent Majesty King George the Third, thereby setting forth that, after
much labour, study, and expence, I had invented and brought to perfection
"A MACHINE, UPON AN ENTIRE NEW PRINCIPLE, FOR THE MAKING AND MANUFAC-
TURING OF ROPES AND CORDAGE," which I did conceive would be of great benefit
and advantage to navigation in general; that I was the first and true Inventor
thereof, and that the same had not been made or practised by any other person
or persons whatsoever, to the best of my knowledge and belief, and therefore
prayed that His said most Excellent Majesty would be graciously pleased to
grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His Royal Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, for the sole use, benefit, and
advantage of my said Invention within that part of the Kingdom of Great
Britain called England, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, for the term of fourteen years, according to the Statute in that
case made and provided: And whereas His said Majesty, being willing to give
encouragement to all arts and inventions which might be for the public good,
did, of His special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, by His Royal
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Sixteenth day of March, in the thirty-third year of His reign, for
Himself, Elis heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Daniel Belfour, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His special licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, my executors, administrators,

page_text: and assigns, and every of us, by myself or themselves, or by my or their
deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I or they should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after, during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend my said Invention within that part of Great
Britain called England, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, in such manner as to me, my oxccutors, administrators, and
assigns, or any of us, should in our discretion think fit, and that I, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should and lawfully might have and
enjoy tho whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage, from time to time
coming, growing, accruing, or arising by reason of the said Invention, to have,
hold, exercise, and enjoy the said licence, powers, privileges, and advantages
therein-before granted or mentioned to be granted unto me, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, for and during and unto the full end and term of
fourteen years from the date of tho said Letters Patent next and immediately
ensuing and fully to bo complent and ended, according to the Statute in such
case made and provided; in which said Letters Patent, among other things,
is contained a proviso that if 1, the said John Daniel Belfour, should not par-
ticularly 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
shand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in the High Court of Chan-
cery within one calendar month next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters, and all liberties and advan-
tages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become
void, anything therein-before contained to the contrary thereof in anywise
notwithstanding.
NOW THEREFORE KNOW YE, that I, the said John Daniel Belfour,
do, by this Instrument under my hand and scal, in pursuance of such proviso
in the said recited Letters Patent contained, and in compliance therewith,
declare, that the Plans or Drawings annexed to this Instrument, and the
description and references herein-after contained, do particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention for which such Letters Patent were
granted to me as aforesaid, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
premising and wishing it to be particularly understood that the size and
dimensions of the machines and their component parts, which are herein
described, are taken from those which I myself have used, and from which the
annexed Drawings are made, but that the machines may be made of different
sizes if required.
The effect intended to be produced by the machinery invented by me, and

page_text: for which this Patent is taken out, is to improve the manufacture of ropes
and cordage, by making every yarn employed in the composition thereof bear
its proper and equal proportion of the stress. In order to do this, it is neces-
sary that every yarn should, at the time of its being twisted into the rope, be
kept tight to prevent its being squeezed or puckered up into the inside of the
strand, as is too much the case in ropes made upon the old principle; and to
keep them thus tight in the operation intended by this machinery, every yarn
is to be wound upon a seperate reel, which reel is so constructed as not to
yield or render out the yarn wound upon it until such yarn is, in the operation
of twisting, called forth to contribute its assistance and proportion in forming
the strand. This is the end proposed to be answered by all the machinery
mentioned in this Specification, in which all the other parts are subordinate
to the great machine represented in the Drawing annexed, and marked with
the letter A, which letter is fixed upon the upper rail of the great frame of
the machine. A great part of the effect intended to be produced consists in
winding the yarns regularly upon the reels, and to that end a considerable
part of the machinery hereafter described is particularly applied; because,
when the yarns are so wound on the reels, those reels will yield or deliver the
yarns off the great machine A, then standing still. This machine or frame
contains the reels marked B, on one of which reels a part of every rope yarn
is to be wound, the other ends of such yarn being fastened to the winch or
handle that twists the strands. This frame may be made larger or smaller
according to the quantity of reels intended to be placed in it, which quantity
of reels depend on the will of the manufacturer, agreeable to the size of the
intended to be made, as each rope yarn must have a separate reel for
itself. I have found it necessary in making one strand of a twenty-two-inch
cable, to have the frame made very strong of oak timber six inches square, to
enable it to counteract the great strain it has to bear during the twisting of
such a strand; and, for the convenience of moving the frame, four rollers
should be inserted, two under each sido of the bottom of the frame, for it to
move on, which rollers may be made of wood or metal, and should be propor-
tionate in size and strength to the dimentions of the frame itself. On the fore-
part of that frame there is to be placed, as appears in the Drawing, a grate-
work of wood and iron marked C, which moves from side to side on two
rollers marked D, which are fixed in the lower part of the great frame A,
and the gratework is guided on the top by two rollers, also marked D,
fixed in the upper part of the great frame A. The use of this gratework is
to guide or lead the yarns to the separate reels on which they are to be
wound, and to prevent the yarns from getting between the reels, and also to
rope

page_text: fill the reels with yarns properly from side to side. To produce those effects
this gratework is moved backwards and forwards by a great wheel fixed on
the right side of the great frame A, reckoning when a person stands with his
back to the frame, and which wheel is marked E. This wheel is of a singular
construction, and may be made of brass, iron, or any other hard metal as is
hereafter more fully described. This wheel is turned by one of the spindles
on which the reels are fixed, and, in the miodel from which the annexed Draw-
ing is made, the wheel is turned by the seventh spindle from the bottom
marked F, and that spindle is also turned by the general handle G, which
bandle at the same time turns all or as many of the spindles hereafter
described as the manufacturer chuses to set in motion, according to the sizo
of the rope he intends to make. The number of reels which I have used in
making of one strand, or one ninth part of a twenty-two-inch cable, has been
two hundred and ninety-seven, which I have placed in the great frame A on
eleven spindles, each spindle containing twenty-seven reels, and the heigth of
the great frame A, thus filled with two hundred and ninety-seven reels, will be
seven feet six inches, and the breadth eleven feet. Where a greater number
of spindles are introduced, the size of the frame must be increased in propor-
tion. The spindles on which the reels are fixed (one of which spindles is
marked H) are made of round iron bars of an inch and a quarter diameter,
and in length according to the size of the great frame A. They are inserted
at the furthermost or right-hand end into the great frame, and pass through
the frame at the other or left-hand end, reckoning as aforesaid, into
a plate of iron, as represented in the Drawing marked I, and to each
spindle is fixed a small handle marked K, which handles serve to turn
the spindles round for the purpose of turning the recls on which the yarns aro
wound. These spindles should be made of iron. The reels upon which the
yarus are wound may be made of wood, iron, brass, or other metal, but I have
found them best and most durable as follows:-The baril of the reel should
be of wood turned, and should be in length four inches, and in diameter three
inches. A hole must be bored through the centre sufficiently largo for the
spindles marked F to go through, so that the reel may turn round easily upon
the spindle; and on each end of the barril of the reel, to form the two ends of
each reel, an iron plato should be fixed, about one eighth of an inch thick and
six inches in diameter, so as to make the heighth of the ends of tho reels six
inches. In order that the reels, after a sufficient quantity of yarn is wound
upon them, may be confined to their own spindles, so as neither to be fixed too
fast nor moved too easily, I have introduced four springs into cach recl, which
springs are marked L, and should be made of iron or steel, about two inclics

page_text: and a half in length, one quarter of an inch in breadth, and one eighth of an
inch thick in the middle, and smaller towards each end. Two of these springs
are fixed into each end of the barril of the said reel in the inside. One end
of each spring is fixed fast into the barril of the reel. The other end is
moveable, and is governed by a screw marked M, which, by being turned
towards the right, closes the two ends, and thereby fixes the recl faster to the
spindle, or, being turned the other way, opens the two ends, thereby allowing
the reel to move more freely. A Drawing of the inside of one of the ends of
one of the reels is included among the Drawings annexed. At the distance of
four inches from the right-hand end of each spindle, reckoning as aforesaid,
and of nine inches from the left-hand end of each spindle, upon such spindle is
placed a screw nut for the purpose of screwing all the reels on their spindles
close together, or giving them greater liberty, and also for keeping the reels in
their proper places; and to give effect to these nuts, each end of each spindle
must be made wormed, so as to articulate with the screw or worm in the
inside of each nut. The nuts are described by the letter O, and may be made
of iron, brass, or other hard metal, but I have found those of brass the best;
and they should be made in the shape of a X, and about four inches
diameter, so as to be moved by the hand without a key or any other instru-
ment. To prevent the spindles from bending or breaking or giving way
during the operation of twisting the strand, I have fixed the standard*P,
which should stand perpendicularly, and as near as possible in the middle of
the great frame A, and be fastened into the upper and lower parts of the great
frame A. This standard should have holes in it at proper distances, sufficiently
large for each spindle to go through, which standard I recommended to be
made of iron, three inches broad and half an inch thick, placed edgeway's as
near in the centre of the machine as can be. Its heigth, of course, must
depend on the heigth of the great frame A. It should be inserted into the
top and bottom rails of the great frame, or fixed either by nails or screws, or
in any other manner the manufacturer chuses, so as to make it fast. To pre-
vent the reels from carrying each other round, there should be placed between
every two reels upon the spindle a round piece of brass, with a hole through
it so large as to let it pass freely round the spindle without being confined to
it, three inches in diameter, one eighth of an inch thick at that part which is
nearest the spindle, and reduced gradually smaller to about half its thickness
at the outer edges. It may be made of iron or any other hard metal, but I
am of opinion brass will answer the purpose best. The handles described by
the letter K, which are fixed on those ends of the spindles that come through
the great frame A for the purpose of turning the spindles round, are made of

page_text: iron, about ten inches long, a little curved outward that they may pass cach
other; and each handle may be turned separately or all together by the iron
plate I, through which plate are holes sufliciently large to receive the end of
each handle, and which plate may be taken off or kept on at pleasure by
of the smaller
removing the screws which fix it to the upper and lower
handles K, which screws may be made of iron or any other hard metal. The
bandles K should be about half an inch in diameter, and may be made either
round or square; and at that end of the handle where the spindle is introduced
a square or other hole must be made for the spindle to go through, which may
be fastened by a pin or screw, or rivetted. The plate I, through which the
ends of all the small handles K pass, should be made of iron, and be about one
inch and an half broad and a quarter of an inch thick: its length must
depend upon the number of spindles there are to be turned by it. The smaller
handles marked K may be made in the form of the handle of a corn or coffee
mill. The size of the frame in which the gratework of wood and iron
marked C is fixed must depend on the size of the great frame A. It should
stand perpendicular, and its breadth and heighth must be less than the breadth
and heighth of the frame A, because it must move backwards and forwards in
the front of the frame A; and it should be less in breadth than the breadth of the
inside, or clear of the frame A by the length of one of the reels, and lower than
the clear of the heighth of the frame A, so as to work freely upon and under the
four rollers before described. The frame of the gratework C should be made
of oak wood; and about three inches square from the top to the bottom of this
frame, in a perpendicular direction, should be fixed as many upright bars of
iron as there aro numbers of reels on cach spindle. These upright bars are
marked Q, and should be distant from each other about three inches. They
should be about one inch broad, one quarter of an inch thick, and to stand
with their flat sides towards the reels, being fixed on the frame B by nails or
screws, through which bars must be as many holes proportioned on each bar
according to the whole number of reels on the machine, the lower part of
which holes must be lovel with the upper part of the barril of the reel, and as
large in heighth as the sides of the reels are from the upper part of the barril
to the edge of the plate at the end of the reel, and sufficiently large in breadth
to admit a common rope yarn to pass through them with a rough knot upon
it. In order to confino these bars in their proper places it is necessary to have
two or more cross bars of wood or metal marked R, which may bo mado
stronger or weaker according to the size of the machine; but I have found
them sufficient when made of oak wood three inches squarc. The rollers D,
on which the frame or gratework. C moves at the bottom, and which keeps it

page_text: in its place at the top, may be made of wood or metal, and should be fixed on
pins to the great frame A, having grooves in the center which fit on the upper
and lower part of the frame C. And on the right-hand side of the said frame
is fixed a connecting iron, marked S, for the purpose of communicating to the
frame C the motion given by the wheel E, which iron S must be fastened to the
frame of the gratework C at about one third of the heighth from the bottom
on the right-hand side, so as to connect it with the wheel E. The length of
the iron S from the side of the frame C on which it is to be fixed should be
about twelve inches, and one inch square, having on the back part of it,
towards the wheel E, two projecting arms, about three inches in length, one at
the end and the other near the centre. On these two arms the side plates T,
which are fixed on the great wheel E, operate as the wheel E goes round,
thereby giving the gratework the necessary motion to slide the frame C from
right to left and back again, in order to fill the reels with yarns equally,
as before mentioned. The plates marked T on each side of the great
wheel E should be made of iron or steel, and should be fixed
upon the great
wheel E about one inch within its circumference, and their thickness should
be about half an inch; their breadth in the broadest part should be equal to
the length of the body of one of the reels on which the yarns are wound,
tapering gradually towards each end till they become level with the surface of
the great wheel E, on which they are fixed; and their length must depend
on the size of the great wheel E, which is to be regulated by the magnitude of
the machine. On a machine capable of containing the quantity of reels suffi-
cient for making one strand of a twenty-two inch cable, the great wheel E
should be two feet in diameter and about half an inch thick, which wheel
should be of iron, and it may be either open or solid on its circumference. It
must be divided into teeth at distances proper for receiving those fixed on the
end of the seventh spindle from the bottom before mentioned, which protrudes
through the end of the frame A to act upon the great wheel E, so that it
may receive motion sufficient to cause the gratework C to move from side to
side a space equal to the thickness of a common rope yarn each time the
reels on which the yarns are wound go once round, by which means the reels
can be properly filled; and consequently the reels need not be any larger
than to hold the quantity of yarn which is twisted up in making the first
strand of a rope; as by example, suppose in the common method of making
ropes one sixth part of the yarns is twisted up in the operation of making.
the first strand (say of yarns one hundred and thirty fathom long), then or
this machine must be wound thirty fathoms of each yarn; so that instead of a
sledge moving forwards, as in the common way, as the strand is twisted, this

page_text: machine is fixed fast, and as the strand is twisted from the opposite ends of
the yarns, each wheel moves round, and delivers its yarn faster or slower
according to the circle which each yarn occupies in the strand, whereby a very
considerable saving in the yarn will be found by the quantity left on the reels
of those yarns which lie in the inside part of the strand. A rope thus
made, by each yarn being kept tight from one end of the strand to the other
in the twisting, will not only receive a very considerable degree of additional
strength, but will be much less liable to stretch, and it will at the same time,
from its compactness, keep the water out much better than a rope made on
the old principle; it will wear longer, 'and be less subject. to what is called
meg or break in the partial manner called by seamen stranding, which means
one strand giving way before the other; and, from the proofs 1 have made, all
ropes from the circumference of two inches upwards receive more than one
fourth part of additional strength from this process, and which increases as
the ropes are mado larger; so that I apprehend a twelve inch cable made
after this manner will answer all the purposes of one of fifteen inches mado
in the common way independant of the saving in the materials. The wheel E,
so frequently mentioned, is placed on the side of the great frame A on a round
bolt or spindle of iron marked V, about eight inches long and one inch in
diameter, upon which bolt or spindle the wheel turns round; and in order
to use the wheel E so as to move the gratework C from side to side, in case
the seventh spindle should be broke or not be wanted to be used, on 'the
outer end of the barril or nave of the wheel E may be fixed a handle to turn it
without the use of the teeth on the projecting part of the seventh spindle on the
back of the left-hand side of the great frame A, through which the ends of each
spindle come; it is necessary' to have a book or stop for the purpose of fastening
each handle after a sufficient quantity of yarn is wound on the recls, so that the
spindles may remain immoveable during the operation of twisting the strands,
while the reels work perfectly free and independent of each other round the
spindle. It is also necessary to fix on each reel a picco of line or leather
fast at both ends, the bite of which is to be put through the holes of the
gratowork in the uprights marked Q for the convenience and dispatch of
fasteuing the yarns thereto, which line or leather should be of such a length
as to be conveniently reached "(say from two to three feet); and'in order to
have them always handy after the spare yarn is taken from them, a bolt or
piece of wood may be put through the bites of those which the size of the
rope may not require to be used, to prevent them from being drawn through
the gratework and thereby create confusion among the reels. At the back
ends of the lower parts of the great frame A should be fixed straps or .bolts

page_text: for the purpose of fastening it, to prevent its moving forwards during the
operation of twisting the strands, and if it should be thought necessary for the
better strengthening and securing the spindles, more than one of the upright
standards P may be used; but if that is done it will render a proportionably
greater number of the nuts O necessary for the regulating the situation of the
reels on the spindles.
The above is the explanation of the construction and effect of the principal
parts of the machinery used in this operation; what follows relates to the
detached parts of the machinery which are necessary, according to my plan,
to compleat the whole.
The machine which I call the separating machine No. 1, is for the
purpose of keeping each yarn free and separate from the others during the
operation of twisting the strands, and there may be one of these separat-
ing machines for every fifteen or twenty fathoms of yarn to be twisted at
the option of the manufacturer. It is to stand loose for the convenience
of being moved when necessary, and its size must depend on the size
of the great machine A; but for the strand of a twenty-two inch cable I
found it necessary to have its breadth three feet, and its heighth four feet six
inches. The standards or sides marked No. 2 may be made of wood four
inches broad and two inches thick, the rest of the frame in due proportion. In
the inside of both of the standards or sides No. 2 must be a groove two inches
broad and three quarters of an inch deep from the top to within two inches
of the bottom of the standard, to admit the frame No. 8 to be slid up and
down if thought necessary; and the two standards No. 2 may also, if thought
proper, be connected at half their heighth from the bottom by a hinge, so that
they may fall down outwards in order to give more room in the ropewalk;
and when in use these sides may be kept fast by a small hook, bolt, or pin
at each side. The frame No. 8 must be made to fit the groove in the
standard No. 2, and be half its heighth, into the bottom of which frame
should be inserted and fixed bars of wood or metal marked No. 4; but I
prefer wood on account of its being lighter. Each of these bars should be as
high as the frame No. 3, and about one inch square, having a space betwixt
each of about one quarter of an inch. The frame No. 3 should be open at
the top, like the teeth of a comb, for the convenience of admitting the yarns
to be dropped in without the trouble of reeving them through. And to
facilitate the doing of this, on one side of those bars there should be as many
small bolts or rods made of round iron about one eighth of an inch diameter,
as p No. 5, as there are spindles in the great machine A, so that each yarn
may be separated from the other, and these rods are to be put through holes
"

page_text: bored in the three upright parts of the framo No. 3, marked No. 6. On the
end of each rod should be small knob or head, and upon the rods immediately
within their knobs or heads must be placed a plato No. 7, with as many
holes in it as there are rods, through one of which holes ench rod is to pass,
which plate I find best made of iron; it should be so long as to take in the
ends of each rod, and of sufficient strength to bear the rods, being all drawn
out at once if required; upon which plato may be placed handles large
enough to receive a man's hand, in order to draw out the plate and rods
all at once. These rods should be at equal distances according to the size of
the frame, as they are intended to keep the yarns from falling upon or mingling
with each other, and if they are at the distance of one inch it will be found
sufficient to prevent confusion. The reason why these rods should be thus
loose, is for dispatch; as by example, before the ropemaker begins to work,
all those rods are to be drawn out of the machine No. I, and as the men or
boys employed carry the yarn along they are to drop the yarns between the
bars No. 4. As soon as a yarn is put between every bar, then the lower-
most rod is to be put into its place; after which the next row of yarns is to be
put in, then the second rod is to be put into its place; and so on till the wholo
number of yarns which shall be required to be used shall be dropped in. The
use of the plate No. 7 is as follows:-When the twisting of the strand is
begun, and the top minor (an instrument used in twisting) (the nature and
use of which is herein-after described) approaches towards the machine No. 1,
one of the workmen is to draw all the rods out at one time, by which means
the yarns are entirely free of the machine, and no impediment is occasioned
in the operation. He is then to draw out the pin No. 8 which keeps the
frame No. 3 in its place, whereby that frame falls to the bottom in the
grooves, as before described; and if occasion requires he is to unhook or loosen
the hooks No. 9, by which means the upper part of the standards No. 2 fall
down outwards, and thereby give more room in the ropewalk. According to
the length of the rope intended to be made, more than one of theso separating
machines are to be used in the same manner; and I find by experience that
one separating machine at every fifteen fathom is sufficient, but the number
should be proportioned to the distance each yarn is kept from the other,
because the farther the yarns are separated from each other, the fewer of these
separating machines are required.
To prevent the strand from being twisted too quick, I have introduced
an instrument which I call the top minor, marked U, which is inserted
between the yarns, and keep each yarn separate from the rest, it moving
along as the strand is twisted. The top minor U should be made of

page_text: strong tough wood, which 1 have found best of elm or oak, and the
shape and utility as follow:-In shape it resembles a sugar-loaf, but is
not so peaked at the small end, but at the broad end exactly of the
same form as per Drawing U. Round the broad end should be fixed
a hoop of iron, which is let in level with the wood, which hoop must be
made according to the size of the top. To this hoop should be fixed
small projecting pieces of iron, their length about two inches, their breadth
about one inch, and their thickness in the middle about one eighth of an
inch and something smaller; towards each edge they should stand at tho
distance from each other of one quarter of an inch, or more if possible to be
allowed, which must depend on the size of the rope to be made; otherwise in
making the strands of a great cable its size will be increased so as to render
it cumbersome to use; as, per example, a top minor of about nine inches dia-
meter at the broad end will be of a size sufficient for the twisting a number
of yarns to make a strand of a twelve-inch cable; whereas to make a
twenty-two inch cable, it will require one of twenty-four or twenty-six inches
diameter; and when the whole quantity of cavities between the spikes of the
top minor are not wanted, the yarns can be placed betwixt every second or
third so as to render but few of these top minors necessary in a ropewalk.
Its length should be the same as the diameter at the broad end, and it should
decline away towards the small end. At one fifth of its length from the
broad end should be fixed either into it or through it two handles for the
purpose of guiding it as the strand is twisted, by which means it may bo
impelled forward or kept back so as to cause the strand to be twisted harder
or more open at the option of the workman; and the reason of its being so
stunt (as I call it) at the small end, is, that it may not jam among
the yarns,
and from its shape, and being greased before it is placed among them, it will
be found to require very little assistance, but will move forward as the strand
is twisted. If, in making the strand of a large rope, it is thought too large or
cumbersome to be governed by hand, it may easily be fixed on a small slerige
to relieve the workman, which sledge, if necessary, can have a small winch
in it, upon which winch rope may be used fastened to the opposite end of
the ropewalk, to heave the sledge and the top minor along with it forward as
wanted. Various other methods may be substituted for the purpose of pre-
venting the strand from twisting until it has received that position the work-
man wishes, such as pieces of wood with holes bored in them, small machines
divided in a similar manner or something like the separating machine before
described, or by the external application of a ring or other circular instrument,
or any other shape, so as to press upon the strand and prevent its receiving

page_text: an improper twist, to serve the purpose or intention of the top minor; for
unless tho strand is regulated in the twist, and kept exactly in the position in
which it is to remain, the good effects proposed by this Invention will be in
a great degree defeated; therefore it is not of any consequence in what manner
it is so regulated, so long as that point is accomplished. The reason why I
prefer the top minor, as here described and marked U, to any other mode
is, that it may be put among the yarns, and thereby save considerable trouble,
and when it is done with it can be easily taken out again. The length of the
handles to be affixed to the top minor may be optional, from one to two feet
and a half, and they may be either fixed into it or run through it, and should
bo of iron two inches and a half in breadth, half inch thick in the middle,
rather thinner towards the edge.
is fixed, to the third.
To prevent the strand when it is twisted from untwisting again, I
have found it necessary to have a contrivance which I call nippers.
marked W, which are to be screwed fast on that end of each strand
which has received its proper twist, and, before it is loosened from the
great machine A, and placed on the great winch commonly used for the
purpose of twisting the three strands into one; and these will also serve to
conduct the strand exactly towards the great winch, so as to prevent one
strand being longer than the other, and they should be made of iron suffi-
ciently strong to bear the strain that may be requisite, which is no more
than to hold the strands tight after twisting. In the bite of these nippers
the strands must be fixed fast by a screw, and the nippers must be properly
secured in the frame. As soon as one strand is fixed to the great winch, the
sledge with the nippers may be slipped under the next strand; and when that
The thickness of the nippers in the shank should be
about an inch in diameter, and the hole in the sledge through which it is fixed
sufficiently large to admit its being turned round with caso. Its shape should
be as per letter W, and it may be fixed into the upper or cross bar of the sledge
on the fore part of the great winch (at the distance of six, ninc, or twelve
inches from the shank of the same) heretofore used in twisting the three
strands into one; but the nearer it is fixed the shorter the neck need be to
convey the strand to the winch. The taw X may be made to open suffi-
ciently to receive one strand of the largest rope, as it may be screwed together
so as to confine the smallest, and it may be made either round or square.
In order to facilitate the general work, as each ynrn must be placed separately
on a reel on the great machine A, it would be better to have a great num-
ber of whole yarns wound on separate wheels distinct from those which
are placed on the spindles always ready for use, and the yarns may be wound

page_text: on those reels by boys, women, or old men, as soon as the yarns have gone
through the tar and are sufficiently dry. The size of these distinct or spare
reels must depend on the length of the yarn, and they should be made of light
wood with a hole through and sufficiently large to receive a bolt on which
they can run round with ease, at one end of which bolt there should be a
handle fixed, and as the reels are put on one by one there should be a small
brass or iron ring put between each, so as to prevent one reel from pulling
the other round, similar to those between the reels on the spindles in the
great machine A. The use of these reels with the yarns thus wound will
be easily perceived to be to facilitate the winding the yarns from them
on to the reels on the spindles in A, and the number of them must be pro-
portionate to the size of the rope intended to be made, and the strength of
those who are to carry them; and when the intended quantity of reels are
put on the bolt another handle may be easily put on to the other
end of it to keep the reels on, and make it more convenient to carry.
When the number of reels are so placed, the end of each yarn must
be fastened to the bite of the cords or leather straps fixed on the reels
in the great machine A, then the intended quantity of yarn from the other
reels on the bolt must be wound on the reels in the great machine A, while
those who bear the reels on the bolt walk on gradually towards the other end
of the ropewalk, permitting the reels to run round and quit the yarns as
they go.
When the reels on the great machine A have received as
much yarn as is intended to be put on them, let the other ends of the yarn
be fastened to the twisting winch, as usual, at the opposite end of the
ropewalk. It will always be adviseable, in winding the yarns on to the reels
in the machine A, to begin with the lower rows of those reels, on account of
placing or dropping the yarns properly into the separating machine, and it
will be also adviseable to wind on to the reels in the machine A as many
yarns at one time as there are reels on one spindle, because, a whole spindle of
reels being turned by one handle, time and labour will both be saved.
In order to place the yarns in the separating machine with the greater case,
the conductor marked Y will be found useful, and it may be made of wood of a
sufficient length to admit small pins to be fixed into it at the distance of about
one quarter of an inch from each other, between which the yarns may be
placed as soon as they are wound on the reels upon the machine A, and two
boys can with the conductor borne between them, follow those who carry the
yarns along, and by that means the yarns will be placed much sooner a
more regularly in the separating machine.
As few ropemakers have occasion to make cables larger than eighteen inches

page_text: diameter, the generality of them will, in my opinion, find a machine that will
contain two hundred reels for making one strand large enough; but this will in
some measure depend on the thickness of the yarns. It will be proper to have
three of these machines, because then all the three strands of a cable may be
twisted at one time, and thereby greater regularity effected. Those who make
no larger than a sixteen inch cable in diameter, will find a machine that contains
one hundred and sixty reels large enough, allowing always for the different thick-
ness of yarns; but when a twenty-two inch cable is to be made, it will be neces-
sary to have the quantity I have mentioned in the former part of this Specifica-
tion, viz³, two hundred and ninety-seven reels, although by this improved method
of laying the yarns together, by which each yarn is made to bear an equal strain,
I am fully persuaded that an eighteen inch cable will be found to answer all
the purposes of one of twenty-two inches made in the common way; and in
consequence, there will be a saving of a considerable quantity of the yarns
which will be found left on the reels, which in the usual mode of twisting
would have been all wound up into the strands, and which in a large cable
will amount to a very important quantity. Or if it should be still wished to
use cables and ropes of the same dimensions as hitherto, a prodigious encrease of
strength, compactness, and durability will be found in strands twisted by this
machine. The ropes made by this machine should be wrought by steady and
well-practised workmen, and when they come to lay the three strands into one,
they should endeavour, by all means in their power, to turn at both ends of the
ropewalk with an equal motion, so that no more twist may be taken into
the first strands than when the top minor passes through them, for, by any
considerable alteration in twisting either too slow or too quick, part of the
improvement intended by this process may be defeated; for, if twisted too quick
at the end towards which the top approaches, the outside yarns will receive
more strain on them than they ought to have, and if too slow, the inside yarns
will be affected in a similar manner; therefore it is necessary to be attentive
to this part of the process, and as the sledge, through which they twist the
strands, as well as the machine A, both stand fast during the laying the yarns
into strands, it may not be amiss to have a small bell over each with a line
fixed to it, and conducted along the top of the ropewalk within reach, to give
notice to the men at the other end when to stop. Every part of the manu-
facturing of cordage and ropes in general may be executed in the manner
hitherto practised, except this of twisting the yarns into the first strands,
whether for the purpose of making what are commonly called "water-laid
ropes," or "shroud-laid ropes;" and the hemp may be drest and the yarn spun
and tarred in the usual manner. In making smaller ropes, three strands can

page_text: e made on one machine, according to the number of yarns which may be
equired. It must also be observed that in twisting the strands there must be
top minor for cach, all of which should be carried along at one timo equal
o each other, that the three strands may have an equal texture.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Twenty-fifth day of March, in the thirty-third year of the reign of our
Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the grace of God of Great
Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, and so
forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and
ninety-three.
JOHN DANIEL (L.s.) BELFOUR.
AND BE IT REMEMBRED, that on the same Twenty-fifth day of
March, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid John Daniel Belfour
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-seventh day of March, in the year above written.