Improvements in Treatment of Sisal Hemp and Analogous Fibres for Textile Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Treatment of Sisal Hemp and Analogous Fibres
for Textile Purposes.
I, ALPHEUS WOODS MONTGOMERY, Manufacturer, a citizen of the United States of
America, residing at University Buildings, Washington Square, East, in the City of
New York, in the County and State of New York, United States of America,
do hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Sisal fibre is obtained from a leaf in which the fibres grow separately, each
completely surrounded by, or imbedded in the fleshy or pulpy material of the leaf.
The leaf is cut while green and is in that condition passed between rollers, by means
The
of which the plant is crushed and as much of the pulp as possible squeezed out.
fibres are then washed and dried, and are in the condition of sisal-or sisal hemp, as
it is sometimes called-of commerce. It will be observed on the examination of sisal
treated in this way that the fibres are reduced to their ultimate fineness; or, in other
words, that each fibre is separate from its fellows. These fibres are not, however, yet
in condition for spinning. By no means all of the pulp is removed from the fibre by
squeezing and washing the leaf, as above set forth. Indeed, a very large amount of
pulp still adheres to it, quite firmly attached to and almost, if not entirely, surrounding
and inclosing the individual fibres. In this crude sisal or sisal hemp only from six to
cent. of the entire mass is pure fibre; the rest is dried pulpy.or woody material.
Now, before the sisal hemp is made into rope, twine and other articles of
manufacture in which it is used, it is necessary to separate.and remove as perfectly as
possible this dried pulpy coating. It is also desirable to render the fibre, by the-
application of oil, emulsion or other lubricant, limber and pliable, since the raw sisal
The oil has also the
is naturally harsh, stiff and not well adapted to use in the arts.
ten
per
effect of rendering the fibre insensible to atmospheric changes and more durable.
The method now employed for accomplishing these results, is, substantially, to apply
oil or lubricant to the fibre after the major part of the pulp has been separated there-
from by squeezing and washing and the fibres reduced to their ultimate, but before

page_text: the fibre has been completely cleaned by the removal of the residue of the pulp, so
as to be in condition for spinning. The sisal thus oiled is passed through machines,
such as heckling machines, breakers, spreaders, and drawing frames, which clean the
fibre and prepare it for the spindles. While this treatment has the effect of removing
to a certain degree the remaining pulpy matter, it is open to serious objections. In
the first place the oil, emulsion or other lubricant being applied to the fibre while it
is still encased in its pulpy coating, does not properly act upon to soften or make
pliable the fibre itself; in the second place, the pulp absorbs the oil and makes it less
fragile, or less readily disintegrated, and causes it to adhere to the fibre and prevents
the machine properly disengaging it; and lastly, the oil which is absorbed by the
pulp is wasted when the pulp is separated from the fibre.
The object of my present invention is to avoid the objections above pointed out, and
by a simple process to diminish the cost of preparing and working the material, to
improve the treatment of the hemp and also the quality of the cleaned fibre and the
articles manufactured of it.
The process I prefer to employ in accomplishing the above result may be thus
described; I take sisal after its ultimate fibres have separated from each other, but
while each is still encased in its thin coating of dried pulp, and I pass it through the
ordinary combing or heckling machines, and spreaders and drawing frames, or other
suitable device, and thereby disintegrate and loosen from the fibres their pulpy coating
which when dry is broken and removed as dust, and I continue working it while still
dry through the preparatory machines until it has been sufficiently cleaned and all.
foreign matter removed therefrom and the fibre properly combed. Other devices than
those described may be employed for cleaning the fibre; but I have found in practice
that the ordinary hetchelling machines are efficient for this purpose. I then apply as
evenly as possible, the oil, emulsion, or other lubricant, which is readily absorbed by
the clean fibre and its maximum effect insured.. For this purpose I prefer to attach
to one of the last preparatory machines in which the hemp is worked before going to
the spinners an oil sprinkler, or other suitable device, by means of which the lubricant
is evenly and satisfactorily applied.
The advantages obtained by the use of my improved process over those heretofore
employed are: (1) a saving of oil is effected, since none is wasted in the treatment
of the pulp, which is removed before the hemp is in condition to be worked into
manufactured articles; (2) a fibre is produced which is more pliable and more
thoroughly protected against moisture and other atmospheric conditions which tend to
attack and destroy it, since the pulpy coating is removed therefrom and the fibre
directly brought into contact with and subjected to the treatment of the oil when
it is applied (3) a fibre is produced which is cleaner and more perfectly free from
foreign matter, since the dry treatment readily removes particles of disintegrated
pulp which would adhere to and fail to be removed from the surface of the fibre in
the presence of, or when combined with oil; (4) a saving in labor is effected both
in the treatment of the fibre and in working it up into manufactured articles.
It will, of course, be understood that my invention is not limited in its application
to the treatment of sisal hemp, but may be applied to other analogous fibres under
similar conditions.
In their natural state, and especially in the condition in which they are found in
plants from which they are obtained, vegetable fibres are generally bound or held
together, and more or less surrounded or enclosed by resinous, glutinous, pulpy or
woody matter; 1 am aware that it is not new to treat plants, or the fibre containing:
portions thereof, while in a dry condition, by machines operating to remove this matter
and to divide and separate the fibres. So far as I am aware, however, this treat-
ment is effected only for the purpose of obtaining the fibres in a form which admits
of their subsequent utilization, and for the purpose of effecting a subdivision or
separation of the fibres from each other. In the practice of my invention, however,
the fibres have been reduced to their ultimate fineness before I begin the treatment
herein described, the said treatment being adapted for fibres which have previously
been separated from each other, but which require further cleaning.

page_text: Having described my invention, I claim :
The process substantially as herein described of cleaning sisal and analogous fibres
and preparing the same for spinning after the ultimate fibres have been separated
from each other and the preliminary cleaning effected, which consists in combing or
heckling said fibres to remove the remaining foreign adhering matter before oil has
been applied thereto and of subsequently oiling said fibre.
Dated this First day of Apr 10.
ALPHEUS WOODS MONTGOMERY.
By Cheesbrough & Royston,
15, Water Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agents.