834 



WEAVING. 



rods fixed to a frame turning on a centre, and re- 

 reiving an up and down motion from a wiper; the 

 reciprocating motion being communicated to them 

 in a similar manner to that of the machine already 

 described. 



The invention of the dressing machine forms a 

 new era in the history of our subject. When it 

 was applied to the power loom, weaving by ma- 

 chinery became gradually more and more success- 

 ful, but neither the dressing machine, nor the 

 loom, were brought at once into their present state. 

 They gradually underwent modifications and im- 

 provements ; changes were made in them without 

 number, and now the two machines have been 

 brought into such a state of perfection, that warps 

 of 100 hanks per Ib. are dressed and woven by 

 power through reeds so fine as 1800, and with wefts 

 of 100 to 1'20. There seems, however, not to be a 

 very clear understanding in the trade, that the pro- 

 cess of dressing should be carried on in such a man- 

 ner as to strengthen and save the yarn during its 

 performance, and keeping this object in view, to 

 arrange means to produce the utmost possible 

 quantity. The yarn with this view, should be 

 placed in a position, so as to sustain the least 

 strain in the action of dressing. The best posi- 

 tion for this purpose is to place it in a hori- 

 zontal line in the machine. The arrangement, 

 however, in the engraving, although it is very 

 objectionable on account of the increased strain 

 on the yarn, is very common, and is adopted only 

 for supposed convenience. The next considera- 

 tion is, that those moving parts that come into 

 contact with the yarn must be smooth in their 

 action. The most important of this kind in 

 the machine is the brush. It should be per- 

 fectly steady in sweeping over the yarn, that 

 there may be no breakage from harshness of ac- 

 tion. This motion in all the machines is more 

 or less objectionable. As the yarn comes from 

 under the action of the brush wet, and therefore 

 very weak, nothing should be suffered to come in 

 contact with it that can be avoided. In the most 

 of dressing machines, as well as in the engraving 

 before us, the rods for the lease are placed in this 

 part of the yarn, and therefore ruffle and weaken 

 it by unnecessary friction. This is bad arrange- 

 ment, and may be easily avoided. 



The dressing machine is attended by one man, 

 and at present dresses yarn for about twenty looms. 

 The number of looms, however, that the machine 

 may supply, depends a good deal on the kind of 

 goods made. In the weaving of silk, the prepara- 

 tion of the yarn is merely that of picking it off the 

 knots, and spreading over it a small quantity of 

 thin glue. The dressing machine therefore, in 

 this manufacture, is useless, as well as in the 

 woollen. In the linen manufacture, however, 

 where dressing is necessary, the machine may be 

 used as advantageously as in the cotton. 



Sizing is another method of preparing the yarn 

 for the loom without the machine. It consists 

 merely in hardening the yarn by boiling it in starch, 

 which is paste very much diluted. Various me- 

 thods have been patented for accomplishing this 

 purpose ; but the following may be given as a gen- 

 eral outline of the process: The yarn is passed 

 through a trough of boiling size, and is led between 

 squeezing rollers situated in the liquor, by which 

 means it becomes thoroughly saturated. On emerg- 

 ing from the sizing vat, the yarn passes between an- 

 other pair of rollers, and falls into tin receptacles, 



from which it proceeds on to the drying ma- 

 chine. The drying machine consists of an exten- 

 sive series of metal cylinders placed horizontally, 

 heated to a very high degree of temperature by 

 means of steam, and revolving with a regular mo- 

 tion. The yarn is introduced at one end of the 

 series, and winds round about from one cylin- 

 der to another, until it is delivered at the op- 

 posite end in a perfectly dry condition. One ma- 

 chine will size yarn for about 1000 looms. Sizing 

 is preferable to dressing for all yarns under No. 40, 

 and will doubtless ultimately supersede that pro- 

 cess with the coarser numbers. It possesses the 

 following very important advantages, which will 

 not be slow in recommending themselves to every 

 practical person. It has been found by experience 

 in some extensive factories, that sized warps are 

 much less liable to breakage during the process of 

 weaving than dressed ones, and consequently pro- 

 duce a superior cloth. It has also been found, 

 that each loom produces a larger quantity of cloth 

 with sized than with dressed warps, a result which, 

 it is very natural to suppose, would arise from the 

 less frequent breaking of the yarn. The process 

 of sizing, however, has not yet been rendered avail- 

 able for fine numbers; for these, therefore, whe- 

 ther of cotton or linen, dressing must still be re- 

 sorted to. 



The power loom has been very partially applied to 

 either the linen, silk, or woollen manufactures ; and 

 with far less success than the means are capable of 

 yielding. To employ it successfully in the weaving of 

 these fabrics, requires a very intimate knowledge of 

 the subject, and more mechanical ingenuity and com- 

 mand of means, than is readily found in one per- 

 son. Much of what has been done in this depart 

 ment, has been the result of experimenting with 

 very little knowledge, and this expensive and un- 

 certain course of proceeding has probably, by 

 reaction, repressed the introduction of improve- 

 ment. 



In the weaving of sailcloth, to which the loom 

 was early applied, it bad no success. The great 

 difficulty in weaving this kind of cloth, is to get 

 on the weft, and this difficulty was endeavoured 

 to be overcome by increasing the speed of the 

 lathe in striking home the shot. Mere speed, 

 however, would produce a shaking and insufficient 

 action on such fabrics. What was wanted was 

 weight in the lathe, which should be exceedingly 

 heavy and strong. The general fault of the power 

 loom is, that the lathe, and indeed, the whole loom 

 is too light for the heavy fabrics. The pacing of 

 the web, too, should be carefully attended to. 

 Much of the beauty of the work depends on suffi- 

 cient pacing. It gives a firmness and fullness to 

 the look of the cloth, which it never loses. In 

 weaving very heavy goods, either of cotton or 

 linen, and the rule holds in light goods as well, the 

 pacing should be carried as far as not to injure the 

 yarn, and thereby produce breakage. The framing 

 of the loom should therefore be sufficiently strong, 

 and the lathe so heavy, as not to be in the slightest 

 degree disturbed by the stroke on the fell. The 

 stroke should be a dead one ; given when there is 

 no opening in the shed. The shed should he 

 opened smoothly, and the proper time for opening 

 it is just when the lathe strikes the fell. There 

 is a slackening of the web produced by the stroke, 

 which, when taken advantage of in the opening of 

 the shed, greatly diminishes the strain both on the 

 yarn and beddles. There is nothing peculiar in 



