WEAVING. 



833 



originated by Mr William Radcliffe, a cotton 

 manufacturer of Melor in the neighbourhood of 

 Manchester, about the year 1800. 



In the first dressing machine, which was invented 

 by a Mr Johnson under the superintendence of Mr 

 Radcliffe, the yarn was dressed by being drawn 

 over a revolving circular brush. This method of 

 dressing, however, did not prove satisfactory, and 

 was laid aside. Mr Johnson, afterward, on the 

 suggestion of Mr Radcliffe, endeavoured to give 

 motion to the brush in a manner similar to work- 

 ing it by hand ; and in this attempt he succeeded. 

 He caused it to slide or traverse on two spindles, 

 one at each end, communicating motion to work it 

 backward and forward by a strap ; and as the brush 

 was to act on the yarn in one direction only, it 

 was lifted off the web at the end of the stroke by 

 an eccentric. This plan was found to answer the 

 purpose tolerably well, and machines on the prin- 

 ciple of Mr Johnson's two inventions, with some 

 improvements, are those which are still chiefly 

 used by the trade. 



The dressing machine is a long frame a little 

 wider than the breadth of the web intended to be 

 dressed. One end and the centre of this machine 

 is shown in plate XCV. fig. 4.; the other end, being 

 similar, is not given. The yarn intended to be 

 dressed, is wound upon the reels a a a a. In 

 order to keep the machine working with as few 

 interruptions as possible, there is generally about 

 ten or twelve webs, of a hundred yards each, put 

 upon the reels at once. A A is the frame which 

 carries the yarn rollers a a a a, as prepared at the 

 warping mill. They are fixed at successive heights, 

 in order to keep the yarn from the one clear of 

 the other. The yarn of all the four rollers is car- 

 ried through a reed, d, formed^of brass wires, an 

 enlarged view of which is seen at fig. 6. Behind 

 the reed d is a small roller e, which revolves by 

 the friction of the yarn as it passes along, and 

 serves to collect the warp of all the beams in one 

 horizontal plane, b is a large wooden cylinder, 

 turning on friction rollers immersed in a wooden 

 trough x, which is filled with paste made of water 

 and flour boiled together, to about the thickness 

 of honey. The cylinder b is pressed by a smaller 

 one c, of iron, which is sheathed with copper, to 

 prevent its oxidizing by the paste, and covered 

 with thick woollen cloth. As the warp is drawn 

 forward, the cylinders c and b squeeze out the 

 superfluous part of the paste which had been sup- 

 plied to it from the trough x by the larger cylin- 

 der. From the cylinders c and b, the warp/ pro- 

 ceeds through the reeds D D D under the roller k, 

 up through the heddles w, and the large reed E, 

 to the yarn beam /. The portion of the warp at 

 the other end of the machine, proceeds in like 

 manner through the corresponding parts, and is 

 also wound on the yarn roll /. The lease of the 

 web is preserved by the heddles w, and to prevent 

 the threads from adhering to one another, and 

 make it easier for the dresser to separate any 

 broken ones, the warp is separated by the lease 

 rods i i i. The brushes g and h are placed one 

 above and the other below the yarn, that it may 

 be more equally dressed by being brushed on both 

 sides. They are set in motion by the levers p 

 and o, which are wrought by the connecting rods 

 q and r from cranks on the main shaft C. n, is a 

 counterweight on the opposite end of the lever m 

 n, to balance the weight of the brushes. The one 

 connecting rod gives the reciprocating motion to the 



brushes necessary in dressing, and the other regu- 

 lates their horizontal action on the yarn, and with- 

 draws them from the warp at the termination of 

 the stroke, to prevent chafing by brushing back- 

 ward and forward. The brush is seen detached 

 in fig. 5. and is always fully longer than the breadth 

 of the web. The drying of the yarn is accom- 

 plished in the following manner. Two steam 

 pipes open into sheet iron cases, indicated by dot- 

 ted lines at 4, 4. F F is a fan with three leaves 

 working between the warp, from each end of the 

 machine on its passage from the rollers k k to the 

 yarn roll /, and blowing the hot air from the iron 

 cases against the expanded warp, tends to dry it 

 very powerfully. Motion is communicated to the 

 fan, by a strap passing over the pulley B from the 

 pulley M, which latter is moved by a strap passing 

 over the pulley L (seen in dotted lines) from the 

 large pulley K, which is fixed on the main shaft 

 C, along with the fast and loose pulley I, and by 

 a belt over which from the moving power the 

 whole machine is driven. 



As the progress of the warp through the machine 

 is caused by the revolving of the yarn beam /, it is 

 evident that as its diameter increases by the winding 

 on of the yarn, the speed with which the warp would 

 pass through the machine would be thereby conti- 

 nually accelerated, and would not be sufficiently 

 dried before it was wound on the beam. In order 

 to equalize the motion, the following arrangement 

 is adopted. On the shaft C is placed a conical 

 pulley s, and on a short shaft at the under part of 

 the machine is placed a similar conical pulley G, 

 having its greater and lesser diameters in a reverse 

 direction to the former, and which is driven by a 

 strap passing over it from the cone s. This strap 

 is kept in its position on the cone s, by the guide 

 w, and by means of the handle v, moves the strap 

 from the larger to the smaller diameter of the 

 cone s, and from the smaller to the larger dia- 

 meter of the cone G, if the speed of the yarn 

 beam / is to be lessened, and the contrary way 

 when the speed is to be increased. On the same 

 shaft with the cone G, is placed a small pinion 

 (not seen in the engraving,) which works into the 

 wheel y. Fixed to the wheel y is a small bevel 

 wheel z, working into a similar bevel wheel on the 

 lower end of a shaft, sloping upwards, (indicated 

 by dotted lines,) which, by means of the bevel 

 wheels 1 and 2, and the catch 3, seen in the de- 

 tached view, fig. 7, turns the yarn beam I. The 

 small roller k with the bell attached to it, is the 

 means for measuring the quantity dressed. This 

 roller changes the direction of the yarn to the 

 beam I above it ; and therefore turns with the 

 yarn. When its diameter is known, so many 

 turns will give a certain length of piece ; and as 

 the roller works the wheel 5, so many times 

 slower than itself, every turn this wheel makes, 

 strikes the bell 6, and indicates the quantity re- 

 quired, or the length of the piece. 



In other modifications of this machine, the roller 

 b, in place of wood, is formed of cast iron cased 

 with copper, and covered with cloth in the same 

 manner as c. And instead of receiving its motion 

 from the yarn-beam I, through the medium of the 

 warp, it is driven by gearing in connection with 

 the main shaft C, whilst the yarn beam accommo- 

 dates itself by means of a friction wheel, to wind 

 up the warp, only so fast as it is permitted to pass 

 with an equable motion between the rollers b and r. 

 The brushes move backward and forward on guide- 



