IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Cunliffe Lister at
the Office of the Commissioners of. Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th April 1856.
I, SAMUEL CUNLIFFE LISTER, of Bradford, County of York, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPINNING," to be
as follows:-
It is usual for the spindle to run in a brass foot; now, I propose to hold it
in a vertical position by a brass neck or necks, and to have the foot to rest
upon glass or glazed ware, or upon brass or other metal, and so arranged, that
when it is found desirable to move the foot of the spindle on to a fresh surface,
supposing the bar upon which the spindles rest to extend the entire length of
the frame, the least movement of the bar will give a fresh bearing to the foot
of every spindle resting upon it. I also make the necks, which retain the
spindles in a proper position, in two halves, and placed upon the spindle rail in
such a way, that, as they become worn, they can be readily adjusted by sliding
them together upon the surface of the rail.
Another improvement consists in making the top of the spindle to run in a
neck or bearance, somewhat similar to what is now done in slubbing frames,
only I make the top of the spindle hollow with a slit in the side, and also

page_text: an opening in the neck in which the top of the spindle runs, so that the ends
may be readily pierced up; and in order that the thread may be kept in its
proper place, I fix a small piece of wire to the frame in which the tops of the
spindles run, in such a manner as to prevent the thread from flying out of
the neck of the spindle. Sometimes I make the spindle top with a hole in it;
I mean that part which runs in the neck; in that case, when the thread
breaks, it has to be drawn through by a small hooked wire to allow of its
being pieced up. I also make the flyers hollow to give lightness and strength;
and when running at a high velocity, I place a steel ring round both flyers to
prevent the centrifugal force from throwing them out. When using spindles
with necks at the top for spinning yarns, it is evident they cannot be doffed
without some means of removing the tops of the spindles out of the necks, to
allow of the flyers being removed and the bobbins doffed; to do this readily,
I have the spindles and their supports so arranged that I can slide them all up
or. down at pleasure, sufficient to withdraw the top of: the spindle out of the
neck; or, instead of the spindles and supports descending, the frame, rail in
which the spindle tops run may be made to lift up,, so that the bobbins may
then be doffed with the same facility as when the tops of the spindles do not
run in necks, as is now the case. When spinning flax, worsted, or silk, I
find the plan now in use for spinning cotton may be used with advantage, that
of having the neck. to traverse up and down the spindle, so as to support it,
and at the same time to act as a bobbin lifter; also when running spindles at
a high velocity, it is important to combine a traversing neck, acting as the
bobbin lifter with a neck at the top of the spindle.
For spinning wool to high numbers, and especially for warp purposes, it is a
great improvement to pass it through water and spin it wet, as is now practised
when spinning flax; also when spinning cotton, great smoothness of yarn will
be given as well as strength, by passing the roving through suitable size when
being spun, and it will save the trouble and expense of sizing the warps after-
wards, as is now done. The same advantage will be found in treating wool,
also flax, in the same manner. When drawing flax and similar fibre, previous
to being spun, a better roving may be made by drawing it wet, that is, by passing
it through water in the same way as when spinning; it is especially important
for short flax, such as flax cotton, or flax reduced to nearly the same lengtli:
The cap frame may be much improved by using a flyer, instead of a cap
turning upon the top of the spindle by the friction of the yarn, or a small
wire guide may be fixed on the top of the cap, through which the yarn is
made to pass, and to turn it by friction; it must be made very liglit, and to
turn with the slightest drag of the yarn; or, what I term, an open cap, may be

page_text: used with advantage. I form it by means of two or three metal rings fastened
together; it may be made stationary or to turn upon the spindle the same as
the flyer. It is also highly useful to have the bobbin lifter in cap frames to
act as a movable neck and support the spindle. The foot of the hollow
spindle in cap frames should not exceed the one-eighth of an inch, so as to
reduce the friction as much as possible. The cap frame at present is only
used for spinning worsted, but I find it may be used with advantage to spin
cotton, wool, and flax.
Another improvement consists in mixing the noils of wool or hair with
cotton, and then combing them; also in mixing the noils of silk with cotton
or with the noils of wool or hair, before being combed; also mixing the noils
of silk with wool or hair, either before or after being combed, as these
mixtures will be found highly useful in giving valuable yarns.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Cunliffe Lister in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
CUNLIFFE LISTER, of Bradford, County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Cunliffe Lister, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Cunliffe
Lister, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Samuel Cunliffe Lister, 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 "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN SPINNING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Samuel Cunliffe Lister, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should parti-
cularly 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Cunliffe Lister, do hereby declare'
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
:
It is usual for the spindle to run in a brass foot; now, I propose to hold it
in a vertical position by a brass neck or necks, and to have the foot to rest
upon glass or glazed ware, or upon brass or other metal, and so arranged, that
when it is found desirable to move the foot of the spindle on to a fresh"
surface, supposing the bar upon which the spindles rest to extend the entire
length of the frame, the least movement of the bar will give a fresh bearing
to the foot of every spindle resting upon it. I also make the necks, which
retain the spindles in a proper position, in two halves, and placed upon the
spindle rail in such a way that as they become worn, they can be readily
adjusted by sliding them together upon the surface of the rail.
Another improvement consists in making the top of the spindle to run in a
neck or bearance, somewhat similar to what is now done in slubbing frames,
only I make the top of the spindle hollow with a slit in the side, and also an
opening in the neck in which the top of the spindle runs, so that the ends
may be readily pieced up; and in order that the thread may be kept in its
proper place, I fix a small piece of wire to the frame in which the tops of the
spindles run, in such a manner as to prevent the thread from flying out of
the neck of the spindle. Sometimes I make the spindle top with a hole in it;
I mean that part which runs in the neck; in that case, when the thread
breaks, it has to be drawn through by a small hooked wire to allow of its
being pieced up; I also make the flyers hollow to give lightness and strength,
and when running at a high velocity, I place a steel ring round both flyers to
prevent the centrifugal force from throwing them out. When using spindles
with necks at the top for spinning yarns, it is evident they cannot be doffed
without some means of removing the tops of the spindles out of the necks to
allow of the flyers being removed and the bobbins doffed; to do this readily I
have the spindles and their supports so arranged that I can slide them all up
or down at pleasure, sufficient to withdraw the top of the spindle out of the
neck; or, instead of the spindles and supports descending, the frame rail in
which the spindle tops run may be made to lift up, so that the bobbins may
then be doffed with the same facility as when the tops of the spindles do not
run in necks, as is now the case. When spinning flax, worsted, or silk, I find
the plan now in use for spinning cotton may be used with advantage, that of
having the neck to traverse up and down the spindle so as to support it, and
at the same time to act as a bobbin lifter; also when running spindles at a

page_text: high velocity, it is important to combine a traversing neck acting as the bobbin.
lifter, with a neck at the top of the spindle.
For spinning wool to high numbers, and especially for warp purposes, it is a
great improvement to pass it through water and spin it wet, as is now practised
when spinning flax; also when spinning cotton, great smoothness of yarn will
be given as well as strength, by passing the roving through suitable size when
being spun, and it will save the trouble and expense of sizing the warps after-
wards, as is now done. The same advantage will be found in treating wool,.
also flax, in the same manner. When drawing flax, and similar fibre, previous:
to being spun, a better roving may be made by drawing it wet, that is, by passing
it through water in the same way as when spinning; it is especially important
for short flax, such as flax cotton, or flax reduced to nearly the same length. :
The cap frame may be much improved by using a flyer instead of a cap.
turning upon the top of the spindle by the friction of the yarn, or a small wire
guide may be fixed on the top of the cap, through which the yarn is made to
pass, and to turn it by friction; it must be made very light, and to turn with the
slightest drag of the yarn; or, what I term an open cap, may be used with
advantage. I form it by means of two or three metal rings fastened together.
It may be made stationary or to turn upon the spindle the same as the flyer.
It is also highly useful to have the bobbin lifter in cap frames to act as a
moveable neck and support the spindle. The foot of the hollow spindle in
cap frames should not exceed the one-eighth of an inch, so as to reduce the
friction as much as possible. The cap frame at present is only used for spinning
worsted, but I find it may be used with advantage to spin cotton, wool, and.
flax.
Another improvement consists in mixing the noils of wool or hair with cotton,:
and then combing them; also in mixing the noils of silk with cotton or with
the noils of wool or hair before being combed; also mixing the noils of silk
with wool or hair either before or after being combed, as these mixtures will
be found highly useful in giving valuable yarns.
Having thus described the nature of my Inventions, I will now proceed to:
explain the method I adopt to carry them out.
Figure 1 shows a throstle spindle partly in section, and with the improved
arrangements for supporting the spindle applied thereto. a, a, is the spindle
revolving in necks at 6 and c; these necks are constructed in two pieces, as.
shown at Figure 2, secured to the rail by nuts d, d, so as to be both capable of
adjustment when they have been worn by the friction of the spindle a. The
foot of the spindle a is turned to a fine point, and is supported on a surface of
glass, porcelain, or metal, placed between the projections g on the foot rail, and.

page_text: so that it may be moved, and thus present a fresh surface to the font of the
spindle.
Another improvement, when running at high speeds, say about three thousand
revolutions, is to make the flyers of spinning frame spindles hollow, so as to give
greater strength and lightness, and at the same time to make smoother yarn.
The flyer should be made similar to those now used in cotton roving frames,
only much lighter, of course in that respect being in proportion to the spindle,
and the speed at which it has to run. The hollow arm of the flyer should have
a nick or opening, so as to admit the yarn, which is better to be placed a littlo
on one side to prevent the yarn flying out. The action of the yarn would then
be as follows. After coming out of the rollers to pass through a corkscrew,
'tweedler, or otherwise, as is well understood, and then through the hollow flyer
on to the bobbin. If the flyers have a disposition to expand or to fly asunder,
I then place a circular hoop of steel round them, and so connecting them
together, and thus preventing the flyers from expanding. When spinning flax,
worsted, or silk, I find the plan now in use, as for cotton spinning, of having
the bobbin lifter to act as a traversing neck, and so supporting the spindle
better than is now done.
· Another important improvement consists in passing worsted and cotton
rovings through size, in a similar manner to passing flax through water before
being spun. The trough containing any suitable size should bo placed just
behind the drawing rollers of the spinning frame, similar to the water trough
in flax frames, by which the yarns will be much improved, especially for warps,
saving all the trouble now attendant upon sizing warps before being wove.
Wool, and more particularly alpaca, & certain descriptions of hair rovings may
also be passed through water, especially hot water without sizing, and then spun
wet with advantage, in the same way that flax and cotton are now spun.
I will now proceed to describe my improvements in cap frames. Figure 3
shows a throstlo spindle, constructed so that the flier is caused to revolve by
the revolution of the bobbin. g is the fixed spindle, and h the flier, moving
very freely around the top of the fixed spindle g; i is the bobbin, and i the
bobbin tube, which causes the bobbin to revolve, and by means of the. yarn
carry with it the flier h; the yarn being laid in the bobbin i by the friction and
inertia of the flier h. Sometimes I prefer to use an open cap, as shewn at
Figure 4, being a vertical and horizontal section of a cap, having openings in
it 2, 2.
Another improvement consists in mixing the noils of wool or hair with
cotton, and then combing them. The combined fibres should first be well
carded or otherwise, so as to make good and suitable slivers for the after-process

page_text: of combing, which should be effected upon such machines as are usually used
for combing cotton, being better adapted for the purpose than ordinary wool
combing machines. I also find that the noils made in combing silk may be
mixed with advantage with wool or hair, either before or after being combed;
they should be treated, as before described, by carding or otherwise, so as to
make suitable slivers for combing, and then combed together or separately, and
then mixed; these mixtures will be found highly useful in giving valuable
yarns.
First, I claim the means of adjusting the necks of spindles, and also the
supports of spindles, as described.
Second, I claim the use of hollow fliers for spinning when running at high
velocities.
Third, I claim passing the rovings of cotton, wool, or hair, and flax through
suitable size before being spun, as described.
Fourth, I claim spinning worsted wet, whether made from wool, alpaca, or
hair.
Fifth, I claim the drag flier, as shown and described, whether for spinning
or roving.
Sixth, I claim mixing the noils of wool or hair with cotton before being
combed, and then combing them.
Seventh, I claim mixing the noils of silk with wool or hair, or the noils of
wool or hair before or after being combed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Cunliffe Lister, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
JAMES HAMILTON,
Of Manningham,
County of York.
S. C. LISTER. (L.S.)