CLOT IT 



knot tied opon it. An instrument calli-d a comh, tr n 

 " itt resemblance lo one, is also suspeiu' 



_ ur>on centre*, and moves upon a fulcrum like a lever, the 



teeth of th comb being at a very imail distance before 

 the knoti on the tail, and inclined upwards in a curvo 

 like the terth of rke. When the simjilc are tight. 

 ene<l, which the weaver doei with his left hand, those 

 * of the tail to which they are attached are pulled 

 Forward, and lodged between the teeth of the comb. The 

 other extremity of the liver being then pulled down, the 

 teeth rise, and by taking hold of the knots, litt all those 

 cordi in the tail which are between the teeth. The lower 

 end of the comb lever is secured by a knot on the cord 

 flipping into a notch, and secured there until it becomes 

 necessary to relieve those cords, and pull up a frrsh set, 

 which ii done by lowering the comb, and proceeding as 

 before. The comb is the only point in which this ap- 

 paratus deviates in the least from the old diaper mounting. 

 From the strength of the stuff, whether linen or 

 woollen, of which damasks and carpets arc woven, this 

 seems to open an admirable and extensive field for the 

 npi'Iieation at weaving by power. The writer of this 

 article has turned his attention much to the sub- 

 iect, and is confident that the object in view could 

 be very easily effected by an apparatus somewhat si- 

 milar in principle to what he has successfully employed 

 in another branch of the manufacture, and which he is 

 only prevented from detailing by the length to which 

 this extensive article has unavoidably led him. For the 

 woollen, which requires no dressing, and is strong and 

 heavy in the fabric, it is peculiarly adapted. The re- 

 ference letters are as follow : (This Figure is given at 

 the bottom of one of the Plates of CROSS TEXTURE.) 

 A, distinguishes the upper rail or cape of the loom, 

 which is shewn in profile ; B is the roller or beam upon 

 which the warp C is stretched; D is the perforated board 

 or frame which regulates the cords of the harness; E is the 

 front mounting or beddles, which the weaver works by 

 Iris feet, and the eyes of which, being somewhat longer 

 than the whole aperture of the warp which receives the 

 shuttle, raises a part of what is above, by the harness, 

 and sinks a part of what is below, thus forming the re- 

 1 flushing upon the upper and under pans of the 

 fabric, as will appear by the crossings of the warp threads, 

 and which arrangement is common to every species of 

 harness work, of whatever description ; F is the lever 

 which contains the comb, and which is operated upon 

 by the cord and handle G. The beam which receives 

 the cloth when the operation is completed, is represented 

 at H. All the varieties of fanciful weaving are founded 

 upon principles similar to the above. The mode and 

 apparatus necessary for opening the warp may be varied 

 to infinity, and it would be impossible to enter into the 

 detail necessary for every individual part. This exposi- 

 tion of some of the most complicated operations, how- 

 ever, includes most of the general principles upon which 

 the construction of looms depends. 



fonrtruc- The last subject connected with the construction of 

 nun f looms which we can introduce, is the application of me- 

 chanical power to the operations of weaving, which is 

 still in an infant asd imperfect state. Such elucidation 



rLATE . r i e i i 11 i 



CXCV. a * we can K 1 * 6 ' tnl8 P art * lne 8UD j ect > wl " "' niore 

 perspicuous, both to the common and professional reader, 

 by referring him to Plate CXCV. 



Wiper '" tn; i 1 ' a t e Fig- ! represents the profile elevation 



loom. of that kind of power loom, which was first used in 



FLITI Scotland at the Milntown print field in Dumbartonshire, 

 cv - and which wan introduced by the late Mr Robert Miller, 

 r 't- ' who took a patent for its use, which, we believe, it not 



vrr . rTrnF. 



xpiri-d, a'lhnugh loom:; of thii description, whether 

 sirictly within the range of the patent or not we do not 



il to ascertain, havr been used in various pa; 

 the country. The motions of this, and all power looms, 

 may tv r-duced to three, viz. 



1st, That which, by operating on the hcddles, opens 

 the warp to receive the shuttle which inserts the woof. 



Sid, That which generates the oscillatory motion of the 

 lay and reed, for striking home the woof after insertion, 

 to form the texture. 



3d, The alternate motion by which the woof is insert- 

 ed, by succes-ively driving the shuttle from one side of 

 the web to the other, whilst the warp remains open. 



Desides these three principal motions, a fourth is ; 

 by which the cloth is gradually wound upon the receiv- 

 ing beam, and fresh warp presented, without impeding 

 the progress of the other operations of the loom. 



The whole of these operations take their primary im- 

 petus from the revolution of an iron horizontal shaft, 

 which extends across the loom, and one end of which ap 

 pears at A. The impetus for the different motions is 

 taken by either four or six treddles; a horizontal plan 

 of 4 is given in Figure .>. If six are required, they 

 may be added, one being placed on either side of those 

 represented in the Figure. Of the four represented, pj g ' 

 the motion of the hcddies is effected by that in the 

 centre r.umbered 1, and those of the lay by 2. Those 

 of the shuttle are given by 3 and 4. The whole motions 

 are given by eccentric wheels called wipers, of the geome- 

 trical construction of which, as they are applicable to an 

 immense and boundless variety of machinery, we shall 

 take the present opportunity to give a cursory account, 

 referring to Figure 6. _ ; g 



The mechanical operation of the traverse, or wiper, 

 depends entirely upon the divergence or convergence of 

 the various parts of the rim to or from the centre of mo- 

 tion, and hence it may be assimilated to the mechanical 

 power and effect of the inclined plane, being merely an 

 inclined plane applied to a circle. As in its formation 

 the inclination of the plane may be infinitely varied, it 

 becomes capable of producing every variety of uniform 

 accelerated or retarded motion, and by judicious combi- 

 nation, not only the ratio, but the direction of the motion, 

 may be infinitely varied. It is only with the first of 

 these properties that we have in this article any connec- 

 tion; tor in the operations of weaving, uniformity of mo- 

 tion, in as far as it is competent to the purpose, is pecu- 

 liarly desirable, from the circumstance of its operating 

 with the least possible stress upon the warp, a matter of 

 the first and most indispensible importance. For the 

 construction of an equable and uniform traverse, the Constmr- 

 following simple practical instructions seem all that are lion of the 

 necessa/y, to render it applicable to weaving by power, travcrw, 

 Let the circle ab be constructed of any convenient di- or w 'P tr 

 mentions, but the larger the better where there is suffi- 

 cient room to contain it in its working position, and from 

 the centre draw a great number of radii at equal distan- 

 ces through the circumference, and produce them to the 

 length required. On the outer part of the circle set off 

 a distance on the produced line cd, equal to the whole 

 range which the revolution of the wheel on its centre is 

 required to produce upon any body acting by pressure 

 against it. The two diameters at right angles t>> each 

 other will then be similar to the transverse and conjugate 

 axes of an ellipse. The whole range of motion being 

 thus expressed by the excess of the outer above the in- 

 ner circle, the whole may be divided either into equal 

 parts for uniform motion, or into such geometrical pro- 

 portions, as will effect the acceleration or retardation re- 



