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CLOTH MANUFACTURE. 



ITU lunr. 



PlT 



cxcv. 



fit- 9. 



Oath chanical apparatus obvioiuly susceptible of very great 

 improvement. 



The first of these machines has been used both in Eng- 

 land and in Scotland, in some manufactories, but has not 

 come into general practice. It originated in a large work 

 erected at Stockport in Cheshire ; the second was intro- 

 duced by Mr J'>hn Montrith at Pollockshnws ; and the 

 third by Mr James Duulop at Barrowtield, near Glas- 

 gow. 



Stockport Dressing Machine. 



In Fig. 9- ' profile elevation of the principal work- 

 ing parts of this machine, which is introduced more be- 

 cause it is the first attempt of the kind, and as an illus- 

 tration of the first approach to mechanical improvement, 

 than for any real merit or utility which it possesses, as it 

 is evidently both complicated and imperfect in many re- 

 spects. The frame-work at AA consists of two similar 

 parts, meeting in the centre, where the receiving beam 

 E, which is afterwards to be carried to the loom, is pla- 

 ced. The yam, in this process, is not warped upon a 

 mill, but certain portions of it are wound from cops or 

 bobbins, upon separate beams or cylinders, which are 

 carried to the dressing machine, where they are placed 

 horizontally at the extremities at CCC ; and in this in- 

 stance six of these (three at either side) are supposed to 

 be combined, for the purpose of forming one warp. 

 From the beams at C, the warp is carried over the two 

 directing pullies at DD, and received on the roller E. 

 The mucilage is placed in a trough placed under the 

 beams, which, being entirely similar in principle to the 

 plan in Fig. 10. is omitted in this part of the Plate. The 

 brushing of the warp is effected by four brushes of a 

 length sufficient to cover the whole breadth of the sur- 

 face, two of which act above, and two below. They are 

 marked BBBB, and receive their motion by means of a 

 double lever GG, from a crank at F. The shaft is kept 

 always parallel to the horizon, by its connection with 

 the balance-levers on each side of E. The drying part 

 of the operation is effected by the revolution of wooden 

 fanners at H, previous to the warp being received on the 

 beam at E. Before reaching the receiving-beam, the 

 warp passes through a pair of hcddles, or health, to pre- 

 serve the lease, and these are kept slack, that they may 

 not break the warp in the passage. When a web is 

 dressed, it is taken to the loom, and another set of hed- 

 dles, containing the thrum, or remainder of a finished 

 web, are substituted, and a new warp being twisted to 

 the thrum, the operation proceeds. A great, and per- 

 haps irreparable defect iu this operation, is its immense 

 friction; for, in order to preserve the regularity of the 

 warp, it is divided by a succession of reeds, which is a 

 clumsy and injurious expedient ; for the dressing is much 

 luu'.i.-d off, ami the warp frequently broken by the fric- 

 tion of the reeds, especially when clotted by the muci- 

 lage. 



Pollwkshavs Dressing Machine. 



Pollock- To improve this machine, that introduced at Pollock- 

 thaw dm- shawk by Mr Munleith was invented, and in some re- 

 spccts it is certainly very superior to the former. It will 

 be seen iu Fig. IU. This machine, like the former, con- 

 sists of two parts, meeting in a common centre, where it 

 is wound upon the beam, hum which it is afterwards to 

 M n. The motion is taken from the moving power 

 ' upon the same axia, with which is a small 

 hind the small circle near the 

 centre. This operating by means of ajiothe bevel- wheel 



I'L4TI 



t.g. 10. 



also concealed, turns the upright iron-spindle B, by 

 which the four brushes are set in motion. The bevel- 

 wheel at B operates upon that at C, and gives motion to 

 two horizontal shafts extending longitudinally along the 

 machine. Those at DD on each eiid move two cylin- 

 ders covered as brushes, which operate upon the warp. 

 The beam G contains the yarn previously toils being dres- 

 sed, and the mucilage is supplied by its revolution in the 

 trough, as represented in the Figure. Another roller may 

 be beneficially placed above it, to rub off any redundant 

 quantity, and return it into the trough. The drying part 

 of the operation is effected by the revolution of the fanners 

 EE upon their own axes ; and this motion is taken from 

 the wheel A, by bands passing over the directing- pullies 

 at F. The motions given to the brushes, and those to the 

 fanners, are so contrived, that either may proceed while 

 the other is at rest, so that the warp may be neither too 

 hastily nor too slowly dried. After passing over the di- 

 recting rollers at HH, the dressed warp is received lie- 

 low upon a beam concealed by the large wheel A. The 

 warp in this machine is also kept regular by passing 

 through reeds, which is a serious objection to it. Iu 

 this machine, the brushing is effected in a much neater 

 form than in the former ; but the other objections being 

 still unobviated, render it at least problematical, whether 

 it may ultimately be found valuable, unless very much im- 

 proved. 



Barronifield Dressing Machine. 



The last attempt with which we are acquainted, is 

 that made by Mr Duniop, at Barrowfield, which com- 

 bines part of the common operation, and does little more 

 than supersede the labour of fanning by the hand. It is 

 represented by Fig. 11. In this machine, the warp is ta- 

 ken from the beam at B, and received upon that at A 

 after being dressed. Here nothing more than that di- 

 vision of labour, which keeps one man constantly em- 

 ployed in dressing the yarn which is to be woven by ano- 

 ther, is attempted. Every part of the operation, viz. 

 clearing the warp, picking and brushing it, is as much a 

 manual operation as that done in the weaving loom. The 

 warp is in the same way divided by rods, and these are 

 brought down by clearing the warp with a comb, as in 

 common weaving. The brushing being finished, the 

 operator saves merely the labour of fanning, by setting 

 the fanners below in motion by mechanical power, com- 

 municated by the band GG. The fanners at C are in. 

 closed in a thin box D, and thus the current of air which 

 in the other machines diverges in every direction, is en- 

 tirely directed to one part of the warp, escaping through 

 an aperture in the box, represented by the dotted line. 

 Tliia aperture is successively directed upon every part of 

 the warp by the revolution of the traverse-wheel I", which 

 acts by pressure upun the lever E, connected with the 

 lower part of the box by aj.>int. The rotatory motion 

 may be given to the traverse by the oblique shall H, 

 which will receive it from the axis ot the fanners. The 

 use of the box in this machine seems judiciously to con- 

 fine the current of air to that line of direction where it is 

 lueful. The facility of picking the warp is aluo of im- 

 portance ; for no machine can ever be- made to effect 

 that by physical means, which is the result of the meta- 

 physical operation of the mind. Were the means of 

 brushing by power added, which might be easily done, 

 the attendance of one m.m would be sufficient for all the 

 picking generally required in three or four machines; 

 and in this case the umniion might bf rendered a> far 

 useful a, the defect m the chemical part will admit. 



Cloth 

 umfac 

 turc. 



Barrow- 

 field dres- 

 sing ma- 

 chine. 

 PLT 

 CXCV. 

 Fig. II. 



