722 



C PI A I N W O R K. 



Hosiery 

 Work. 



PLATE 

 OXXXVII1. 



.Fig. 11. 



Fig. 



Method of 

 fitting the 

 needles for 

 the frame. 



Machinery 

 for form- 

 ing the 

 loops.^ 



by the power of a screw and lever. The construction 

 of these engines is various ; but a profile elevation of 

 one of the most simple and commonly used will be 

 found in Fig. 11. It consists of two very strong 

 pieces of malleable iron, represented at A and C, and 

 these two pieces are connected by a strong well-fit- 

 ted joint at B. The lower piece, or sole of the en- 

 gine at C, is screwed down by bolts to a strong board 

 or table, and the upper piece A will then rise or sink 

 at pleasure upon the joint B. In order that A may 

 be very steady in rising and sinking, which is indis- 

 pensible to its correct operation, a strong bridle of 

 iron, which is shewn in section at E, is added to con- 

 fine it, and direct its motion. In the upper part of 

 this bridle is a female screw, through which the for- 

 cing screw passes, which is turned by the handle or 

 lever D. To the sole of the engiue C is fixed a bol- 

 ster of tempered steel, with a small groove to receive 

 the wire which is to be punched ; and in the upper 

 or moving part A, is a sharp chisel, which descends 

 exactly into the groove, when A is depressed by the 

 screw. These are represented at F and H. At G 

 is a strong spring, which forces up the chisel when 

 the pressure of the screw is removed. The appear- 

 ance of the groove when the punching is finished, will 

 be rendered familiar by inspecting Fig. 13. When 

 the punching is finished, the wires are to be brought 

 to a fine smooth point by filing and burnishing, the 

 latter of which should be very completely done, as, 

 besides polishing the wire, it tends greatly to restore 

 that spring and elasticity which has been removed by 

 the previous operation of softening. The wire is next 

 to be bent, in order to form the hook or barb ; and 

 this is done with a small piece of tin plate bent double, 

 which receives the point of the wire, and by its breadth 

 regulates the length of the barb. The stem of the 

 needle is now flattened with a small hammer, to prevent 

 it from turning in the tin socket in whichitis afterwards 

 to be cast ; and the point of the barb being a little cur- 

 ved by a pair of small plyers, the needle is completed. 



In order to fit the needles for the frame, they are 

 now cast into the tin sockets, or leads as they are 

 called by the workmen; and this is done by placing 

 the needles in an iron mould, which opens and shuts 

 by means of a joint, and pouring in the tin while in a 

 state of fusion. In common operations, two needles 

 are cast into the same socket. The form of the 

 needle when complete and fitted to its place in the 

 frame, will be seen in Fig. 7 which is a profile sec- 

 tion of the needle-bar exhibiting one needle. In this 

 Figure, a section of the presser is represented at F ; 

 the needle appears at G, and the socket or level at 

 K. At H is a section of the needle-bar, on the fore- 

 part, of which is a small plate of iron, called a verge, 

 to regulate the position of the needles. When placed 

 upon the bar resting against the verge, another plate 

 of iron, generally lined with soft leather, is screwed 

 down upon the sockets or leads, in order to keep 

 them all fast. This plate-and the screw appear at I. 

 When the presser at F is forced down upon the barb, 

 it sinks into the groove of the stem, and the needle is 

 shut; when the presser rises, the barb opens again 

 by its own elasticity. 



The needles or hooks being all properly fitted, the 

 next part of ths stocking frame to which attention 

 ought to be paid, is the machinery for forming the 

 loops ; and this consists of two parts. The first of 



Hosiery 

 Work. 



these, which sinks between every second or alternate 

 needle, is represented at O, and is one of the most 

 important parts of the whole machine. It consists 

 of two moving parts ; the first being a succession of 

 horizontal levers, moving upon a common i.entre, and 

 called jacks, a term applied to vibrating levers in va- 

 rious kinds of machinery as well as the stocking 

 frame. One only of these jacks can be represented 

 in the profile Fig. 1 ; but the whole are distinctly 

 shewn in a horizontal position, in Fig. 2 ; and a 

 profile upon a very enlarged scale is given in 

 Fig. 3. The jack shoxvn in Fig. 1, extends hori- Fig. 1, 

 zontaily from O to I, and the centre of motion 

 is at R. On the front, or right hand part of the jack, 

 at O, is a joint suspending a very thin plate of po- 

 lished iron, which is termed a sinker. One of these 

 jacks and sinkers is allotted for every second or alter- 

 nate needle. The form of the sinker will appear at 

 S, Fig. 3 ; and in order that all may be exactly uni- fig. 3. 

 form in shape, they are cut out and finished between 

 two stout pieces of iron, which serve as moulds or 

 gauges to direct the frame- smith. The other end of 

 the jack at I is tapered to a point; and wken the 

 jacks are in their horizontal position, they are secured 

 by small iron springs, one of which is represented at 

 I, each spring having a small obtuse angled notch to 

 receive the point of the jack, against which it presses 

 by its own elasticity. In Fig. 3. the centre is at R ; 

 the pointed tail is omitted for want of room, the 

 joint is at O, and the throat of the sinker, which 

 forms the loop, is at S. The standards at R, upon 

 which the jack moves, are called combs, and consist 

 of pieces of flat smooth brass, parallel to and equi- 

 distant from each other.. The cross bar RR, which 

 contains the whole, is of iron, with a perpendicular 

 edge or rirn on each side, leaving a vacancy between 

 them, a space to receive the bottom part or tails of 

 the combs. The combs are then placed in the bar, 

 with a flat piece of brass, called a countercomb, be- 

 tween each, to ascertain and preserve their distances 

 from each other. These countercombs are exactly 

 of the same shape as the combs, but have no tails. 

 When both combs and countercombs are placed in 

 the bar, it is luted with clay so as to form a mould, 

 into which is poured a sufficient quantity of melted 

 tin. When the tin has had time to cool, the counter- 

 combs having no tails, are easily taken out, and the 

 combs remain well fastened and secured by the tin, 

 which has been fused entirely round them. Thus 

 they form a succession of standards for the jacks ; 

 and a hole being drilled through each jack and each 

 comb, one polished wire put through, serves as a 

 common centre for the whole. 



The jack sinkers being only used for every alter- 

 nate or second needle, in order to complete this part 

 of the apparatus, a second set of sinkers is employed. 

 These are, in form and shape, every way the same as 

 the jack sinkers, but they are jointed at the top into 

 pieces of tin, all of which are screwed to the sinker 

 bar H, {Fig. 1.) ; and thus a sinker of each kind 

 descends between the needles alternately. By these 

 sinkers, the loops are formed upon all the needles, and 

 the reason of two sets different in operation being em- 

 ployed, shall be assigned in describing the mode of 

 working the frame. The presser of the operation, 

 of which something has already been said, appears at 

 F $ and of the two arms which support and give mo- 



