CLOTH MANUFACTURE. 



ture. 

 PLATE 



c\xx. 



Vis. ->. 



CXKX. 



Kg. 4. 



oih of drawlooms, which are all that are useu i.i Britain, 

 " excepting that occasionally employed in the manufac- 

 ture of fanciful muslins, and the lighter fabrics of silk, 

 which vary so little from the contruction of the da- 

 mask draw loom, represented by Fig. 4>, Plate CXCIII. 

 that a person why is conversant with its construction 

 might almost acquire such a knowledge of the other, 

 even by a single inspection, as would be sufficient to as- 

 certain the difference of their construction, and become 

 entirely competent both to construct and apply it to 

 practice. The draw-loom is used, where the threads of 

 the warp must be raised in such prodigious variety of 

 forms, that no machinery acted upon by distinct levers 

 of any construction could be compressed within the li- 

 mits nt space which it would be possible to allot for 

 their reception. The whole, therefore, consists of a 

 prodigious Assemblage of cordage, of which, by a judi- 

 ciom means of aff.rding rapid selection, every indivi- 

 dual part may be almost instantaneously set in motion, 

 without confusion or danger of error. Some idea will 

 be found of its construction, by examining the Plate, and 

 by the following brief explanation. 



1 The evident intention of the draw-loom is to com- 

 bine the means of a very great variety of motion in a 

 very small compass, and therefore that succession of 

 looped threads or twine?, which are called heddles or 

 liealdi in other kinds of weaving, are, in this kind, all 

 separate, and totally independent of each other. Their 

 relative position and contiguity to each other is preser 

 ved by a horizontal platform, through which they pass, 

 and which is sometimes a flat board, with a number of 

 perforations placed like tin- divisions of a diagonal scale; 

 and more frequently a tranu- of wood, with win-s cross- 

 ed over each other, the intervals between which an.->wer 

 the same purpose. This board or frame is represented 

 at CC. Above this board are placed one, two, or three 

 frames, each cuntai'.iiig number of small pullies. Tney 

 are represented at B, and their position i> that of inclined 

 planes, forming angles of 45 with the horizon, and 

 parallel to each other. All the twinea, which compose 

 the harness, pas* over these pullie ; and the farther ex- 

 tremity of each is fastened to another strong piece of 

 wood, which is represented at E. The other extremity 

 of each twine entrain* an eye for the warp to pass 

 through, which, for the sake of i,m<,.>thnes and durabi- 

 lity, in made of iron, copper and -otnetimes glass. Un- 

 der thi is hung a weight to preserve the tension of the 

 line, as represented at D. At a convenient distance be- 

 tween the pulley fianr-, ami the farther extremity or 

 table, another cord or sin pie u attached to each ot those 

 composing the honz .utal , art or tail of the harness, 

 r.nd these descend perpendicularly, and at right angles 

 to the former towards the floor. They are represented 

 at K, the middle set being tight, and in the proper 

 position for working ; the other sets slack and laid 

 asid until it becomes necessary for an alteration of pat- 

 tern to bring them into use, when they are substituted 

 in their turns, and the set which they succeed laid aside. 

 Vi nen, in the slack statr, they are secured by a clasp of 

 wood to preserve their regularity, and prevent accidents. 

 Parallel to the simples at 1 is a strung cord with a num- 

 ber of rings iiprju it, tn which smaller curds are tied, 

 which conim :trcate with the simples, and are called 

 lat/ics. Evi ry set of these lashes being selected in ro 

 tation, by the connecting cords between each set, they 

 are pul' d ;ig it whe their Action up, ,11 the harness is 

 requrid. The simple, thus pulled, dt viate.< fnm the 

 Straight line, and is consequently contracted in the di- 

 \ OL. VI. PAKT II. 



rect line of distance between its extremities ; but every Cloth 

 part of the whole apparatus being fast, excepting the 

 lower part of the harness, where the weight is suspend- 

 ed, that part, yielding to the power exerted, rises, 

 whilst the others, upon which no power is exerted, re- 

 main stationary, and thus an interval for the shuttle is 

 formed in the warp. The design paper, giving an ex- 

 act rule for the cording of the lashes, every part is thus 

 raised with regularity and dispatch by the person em- 

 ployed, and the weaver has only to work his heddles as 

 in ordinary weaving. 



Fig. 1. of Plate CXXX. represents the carpet draw- j> LATE 

 loom, which, in principle, is entirely similar to the da- CXXX. 

 mask, the variations being merely such as to accommo- tig. 1. 

 date it to the particular kind of work for which it is de- 

 signed with greater practical conveniency. The carpet 

 fabric being composed of much coarser stuff than the 

 damask, and containing a much smaller number of 

 threads, there ii little difficulty of combining all the 

 changes necessary, without requiring that compression 

 of apparatus indispensable in the damask. The harness 

 and tail part at A, B, C and D are therefore on the same 

 principle. The tail is made fast at E, as before ; but 

 the changes being comparatively few, the lashes are tied 

 at once to the tail, and, descend through apertures in 

 the horizontal board F. Each of them has a small 

 wooden handle, like that commonly suspended by an or- 

 dinary bell rope, and these being placed in pairs, to cor- 

 respond with the double fabric of cloth which composes 

 the carpet, they are successively pulled, without any 

 other trouble in selection than tnat which arises from ta- 

 king them in regular succession. In the supplementary 

 Figs. 2. and 3. the appearance of the pulley frame is ex- 

 hibited more distinctly than in either of the other fi- 

 gures. Fig. 2. represents an elevated profile of the work- Fig. 2. 

 ing part ot the draw-loom, taken from the side remote 

 from that where the harness is wrought ; A being 

 the frame work, B the pulley frame, C the perforated 

 board or harness frame, and D the suspended weights. 

 Fig. 3. IH a protile elevation of the opposite side ; B be- Fig. 3. 

 ing, as before, the pulley frame, F the descending lash- 

 es, and G the handles or bobs by which they are suc- 

 cessively pulled. See CARPET. 



The last species of draw loom which we shall notice, is 

 that which is called the patent draw-loom, although whether 

 there i really any actual patent tor it in existence or not we 

 have been unable to ascertain. Its object which, however, 

 is very imperfectly attained, is the reduction of labour, 

 by .-aving that of the child, who is employed to draw 

 the harness, and enabling the weaver, with little lo8 ot 

 time, to effect this operation .or himelt, independently 

 of the aid of another person. In this respect, its claim 

 to the possession of exclusive privilege seems very ques- 

 tionable were it disputed ; for it is a very simple and ob- 

 vious extension of the principle of the common diaper 

 harness loom, which has been known and used for very 

 many years, and, like the comm >n draw-loom, is an in- 

 vention which did not originate in Britain, nor probably 

 even in Europe. The harness part of the patent draw- 

 loom, instead of passing through a frame or frames of 

 pullies, has its tail attached perpendicularly to the roof 

 of the shop, immediat ly above the harness. The simples 

 are brought from it in a horizontal direction, and their 

 extremities fastened above the weaver's head, but at some 

 distance behind. The lashes, therefore, descend perpen- 

 dicularly, and are kept in regular order upon a cord.. 

 When they are tightened, the tail of the harness is there- 

 fore brought forward, and each cord of the tail has a. 

 4s 



