CHAIN WOK K. 



72i 



he had in vain solicited at home. Thin, wl. . 



1 ii. i\ claim *s having given hirth t<i 

 tljr mventoi of tliis most important ard useful en- 

 gine, it in to ! it mankind an- ind-. bled for 

 avtng ever been matured and rendered practically 

 useful. 



No description or representation of any of the va- 

 rious mocking- fumes in use, is to be found in any 

 mechanical work hitherto published, as far ati the 

 writer of this article has been able to learn ; and what 

 littK- is said of it in former Dictionaries of Arts and 

 Sciences, is confined to the meagre and unsatibfactory 

 notice that such an engine exists, without the most 

 distant attempt to describe either the nature of its 

 co struction, or the principles of its operation. It 

 has been customary to apologise for this omission, by 

 representing the stocking frame as a machine im- 

 mensely complicated in its parts, and very difficult 

 both to represent and to comprehend. The stocking- 

 frame unquestionably presents this aspect to a stranger 

 Upon a cursory inspection, especially to one who is not 

 previously intimately acquainted with the theory of 

 mechanics, and the practical application of the laws 

 and principles of motion. Yet in reality many com- 

 pound engines exist much more complicated in their 

 operation, which have been the subjects of reiterated 

 discussion and description. The reason of the appa- 

 rent complexity of the stocking frame is by no means 

 to be ascribed either to the number or to the com- 

 plexity of its motions, for these are neither numerous 

 nor complicated ; but to the great number of its parts, 

 and to the necessity which exists of compressing these 

 into a very small compass, in order to fit them for 

 th< operation required. The principle by which a 

 ingle loop is formed embraces the whole ; and it is 

 not the difficulty of forming one, but the necessity 

 of forming many at the same time, that creates the 

 apparent complexity. 



There are now a great variety of different frames 

 in use for producing various ornamental kinds of ho- 

 siery, and it woul-l vastly exceed all reasonable limits 

 to enter into a detailed description of each. A few, 

 therefore, of those which differ most materially from 

 each other, have been selected, as specimens ; and for 

 an illustration of these the reader is referred to Plate 

 CXXXVlll. The first, which indeed forms the ba- 

 sis of the whole, is that used for weaving or knitting 

 plain hosiery, and is the common stocking frame. 



Common Stocking Frame. 



Common Of this engine a profile elevation is given in Fig. 



stocking 1, the various parts of which are as follow. The 

 framing is supported by four upright p> sts, general- 

 ly of oak, ash, or other hard wood. Two of these 

 ! ' posts appear at A A, and the connecting cross rails 

 are at CC. At B is a small additional piece of fra- 

 ming, which supportb the hosier's seat. The iron- 

 work of the machine is bolted or screwed to the up- 

 per rails of the frame work, and consists of two parts. 

 The first rests upon a sole of polished iron, which 

 appears at D, and to which a great part of the ma- 

 chinery is attached. The other part, which is gene- 

 rally called the carriage, runs upon the iron sole at 

 D, and is support* d by four small wheels, or trucks 

 as they are called by the workmen. At the upper 

 VOL. \. PART. ir. 



Pig. i. 



part of the back standard of iron arc joints, one of 

 which *|. it titled a frame, 



one side of which is tern extending to H. By mean* 

 of these joints, the ei.d at H maybe drprvssed 

 the hosier'* haudt, and it returns, when relieved, by C 

 the operation of a strong spring of tempered i: 

 acting between a cross bar in the frame, and another 

 below. The action of this spring ts very apparent 

 in Fig. 8. In the front of the frame, immediately Pig. I. 

 opposite to where the hosier sits, are placed the 

 n:-elles which form the loops. These needles, or ra- 

 ther hooks, are more or less numerous, according to 

 the coarseness or fineness of the stocking ; and this, 

 although unavoidable, proves a very considerable a- 

 batement of the value of a stocking frame. In al- 

 most every other machine, (for example those employ, 

 ed in spinning or weaving), it is easy to adapt any 

 one either to work coarser or finer work as it may be 

 wanted. But in the manufacture of hosiery, a frame 

 once finished, is limited for ever in its operation to the 

 same quality of work, with this exception, that by 

 changing the stuff, the work may be made a little 

 more dense or flimsy, but no alteration in the size or 

 quantity of loops can take place. Hence where the 

 manufacture is extensively prosecuted, many frames 

 may be thrown idle by every vicissitude of demand ; 

 and where a poor mechanic can purchase his own 

 frame, he is for ever limited to the same kind of 

 work. The gage, as it is called, of a stocking frame 

 is regulated by the number of loops contained in three 

 inches of breadth, and varies very much, the coarsest 

 frames in common use being about what are termed 

 F lurteens, and the finest employed in great extent about 

 Forties. The needles are of iron wire, the manufac- 

 ture of which is very simple; but long practice in the 

 art is found necessary before a needle-maker attaint 

 that dexterity which will enable him both to execute 

 his work well, and in sufficient quantity, to render his 

 labour productive. The process of making the nee- 

 dies is as follows. Good sound iron wire, of a pro- 

 per fineness, is to be selected ; that which is liable tq 

 split or splinter, either in filing, punching, or bend- 

 ing, being totally unfit for the purpose. The wire 

 is first to be cut into proper lengths, according to the 

 fineness of the frame tor which the needles are design- 

 ed, coarse needles being considerably longer than hne 

 ones. When a sufficient number (generally some 

 thousands) have been cut, the wire must be softened 

 as much as possible. This is done by laying them in 

 rows in a fiat iion box about an inch deep, with 

 a close cover; tlv box being filled with charcoal 

 between the strata of wires. This box being pla- 

 ced upon a moderate fire, is gradually heated un- 

 til both the wires and charcoal have received a mode- 

 rate red heat, for were the heat increased to what 

 smiths term the white heat, the wire would be ren- 

 dered totally unfit for the subsequent processes which 

 it has to undergo, both in finishing and working. 

 When the box has been sufficiently heated, it may be 

 taken from the fire, and placed among hot ashes, un- 

 til both ashes and box have gradually cooled ; for 

 the slower the wires cool, the softer and easier wrought 

 they will be. When perfectly cool, the next procrss 

 is to punch a longitudinal groove in the stem of every 

 needle, which receives the point or barb when deprei- 

 ed. This is done by means of a small engine worked 

 4 Y 



Method f 



