ROPE-MAKING. 



heads ; a flip-rope is alfo ufed in carting off a vefTel, till got 

 into the tide's way, &c. 18. Swab-rope is made faft to the 

 eye of the f wab, to raife it out of the water. 1 9. Tiller- 

 ropes are the ropes by which the tiller is worked by means 

 of the fleering-wheel. 20. Top-rope is the rope that is 

 reeved through the (heave-Tide in the heel of the topmall, 

 to raife it by its tackle to the malt -head. 21. Yard-ropes 

 are only temporarily uf»d to heave the yards on board. 



Ropes are diflinguifhed by being either cable-laid or hawfer- 

 laid : the former are compofed of nine ftrands, viz. three 

 great ftrands, each of which is compofed of three fmaller 

 ftrands, and each containing an equal number of threads : 

 and a rope, cable-laid, eight inches i 1 circumference, has 

 333 threads, equally divided, and laid into nine ftrands : 

 the latter is made with three ftrands, each of which contains 

 3 certain number of rope-yarns, in proportion to the fize 

 of the rope required. A rope hawfer-laid, eight inches in 

 circumference, has 414 threads, equally divided, and laid 

 into three ftrands. Thirty fathoms of yarn make eighteen 

 fathoms of rope cable-laid, and fo in proportion. Thirty 

 fathoms of yarn make twenty fathoms of rope hawfer-laid, 

 and fo in proportion. Ropes of from one to two and a half 

 inches in circumference are hawfer-laid ; of three inches to 

 ten inches, either hawfer-laid or cable -laid ; and from ten 

 inches to anv greater dimcnfion, always cable-laid. 



Twice-laid cordage is made of call rigging, as fhrouds, 

 flays, mooring and other' cables, which, if not much worn, 

 will make good ropes for netting fhips' fides, worming and 

 woolding for cables, fpun-yarn for feizing, worming for large 

 ftays, feizing for ftrops of blocks, fmall cable-laid ropes 

 for warping (hips, ratlines, fcaffolding-ropcs for dock yards, 

 &c. 



When the yarn of this old fluff is overhauled, a little 

 thin tar fhould be poured on it, which will make it pliable 

 and lie better. The yarn unfit for knotting will pick into 

 oakum for caulking. 



To open 3 cable, for making it into fmall ropes, hang the 

 ftrands upon three hooks in the tackle-board, ftretch it out 

 tight upon the hooks in the fledge, and heave till they are 

 untwifted ; then draw out the yarn. 



The procefs of making fmall ropes is fimilar to making 

 large ones, except the twilling and doling, which are done by 

 a back-frame wheel or a table-wheel. Seethe next article. 



Row.- Making, the art of preparing hemp, and fpinning 

 it into yarns or threads, and twilling thofe threads into 

 flrand.-, and laying thofe ftrands into cordage of the 

 largefl fize, as the fmallell kind is called cord or twine 

 fpinning. 



Before we proceed further, it may be neceflary to inform 

 our readers of the different forts of hemp proper to be made 

 life of in the manufacturing of cordage. Of all the hemps yet 

 produced at our Englifh markets, the Ruffian hemp has proved 

 to he the belt ; it is grown in the fouthernmofl parts of 

 Ruffia, and fhipped for England from the ports of St. 

 Peteriburgh ;:id Riga. The befl lort is Riga rhine hemp : 

 the next in qualitv is termed Pcterfburgh clean hemp. Thefe 

 two are confidered the beft forts of hemp to be uled in 

 making the ftrongeft cordage. 



The firfl procefs in the art of rope-making is, Hatchelling 

 the Hemp. 



Hatchelling the hemp, is the combing or clearing the 

 ends, which elfe, in fpinning, would run in with the long 

 hemp, and fo preparing it ready for the fpinner ; in the 

 procefs of which, care and particular attention mud be paid 

 by the hatchellers that they do not ule too great a quantity 

 ot oil, as in fuch cafe it will prevent the yarn from imbibing 



it« proper proportion of tar, and thereby prove a ferioue 



injury. 



N. B. A fmsll quantity of train-oil, fay one pint to every 

 hundred weight, fprinkled or daubed with a wad on the 

 hemp, facilitates the hatcheller's bufinefs exceedingly, and 

 is very necefTary when the hemp is fomewhat too dry, as the 

 fpinners are better able to perform their bufinefs when it 

 has received fuch alliftance. 



The fecond and principal procefs to be attended to in thf 

 manufacturing of cordage, is Spinning the Yarn. 



In fpinning, particular attention mud be paid by the 

 fpinner that the yarn be fpun even, folid, and round ; to ac- 

 complifh which, he mull fpin with a ftrong even grip of the 

 hand, taking care not to make his yarn larger in one place 

 than in another, nor make a praftice of fpinning too much 

 in a hurry ; and the fpinning-wheel muft be kept turning a 

 conftast regular pace, otherwife the yarn fo fpun will lofe 

 its principal fupport, which is its proper turn, or twifl, and 

 will be little itronger than a parcel of flraight hemp laid 

 together, which would break in warping or ftraining up. 

 The following regulations mud be attended to in fpinning. 

 Every fpinner is to fpin out of the bell hemp fix threads, 

 one hundred and fixty fathoms long, for a quarter of a day's 

 work ; but he is to fpin out ot the hemp which eompofe the 

 bands by which the bales of hemp are bound together, no 

 more than four threads, one hundred and fixty fathoms long, 

 for one quarter of a day's work. To every twelve fpinners 

 there are allowed two hatchellers, one wheel-turner, and one 

 wheel-tender: the wheel-tender's bufinefs is to fplice the 

 threads, and wind them on winches. The latter mentioned 

 perfons are paid in the fame proportions as the fpinners, that 

 is, according to what work is done upon the wheel, only with 

 this difference, the fpinners are paid feven-pence per quarter 

 for their work, the hatchellers, wheel-turner, and wheel- 

 tender, only fixpence. 



Each thread of the under-mentioned fizts of yarn to the 

 fpinning mark, (was. 160 fathoms,) fhould weigh as fol- 

 lows : 



lbs. 07.. drs. lbs. 02. drs. 



16 4 O O 21 3 O 4 



17 3 12 4 22 2 14 9 



18 3 8 14 23 2 12 8 



19 3 5 14 24 2 IO IO 



20 3 3 3 25 2 8 15 



The third procefs to be attended to in the manufacturing 

 of cordage, is Warping the Tarn. 



Warping the yarn, is the flretching the yarns, previoufiy 

 to their being tarred, all to one given length, which, in full 

 length rope grounds, is two hundred fathoms, and putting 3 

 flight turn or twifl into it. The ufual method is to warp the 

 yarn either in whole or half hawls, which is done by putting 

 the number of threads you mean to draw down at once in a 

 bite, into a block with one (heave, (the one end of the bite 

 of yarn being Faft at the upper end,) which being drawn 

 down and fixed over the end of a hook made fail to a poll at 

 one hundred fathoms diftance from the warping port, forms, 

 when opened, a length ot two hundred fathoms, as above- 

 mentioned. The number of half bites, or blocks of yarn, 

 contained in a whole or half bawl, is to be governed, in a 

 great meafure, by the li. 1 of the yarn to I"- warped, — as, for 

 in (lance, 16 to 19-thread yarn is warped three hundred and 

 thirty-fix thread) in a hawi, 20 to 25-thrcad yarn is warped 

 four hundred threads inn hawl. In winding the yarns on the 

 winches after 1 hey are fpun, it i* moll ufual to wind them on iu 

 companies of tour in a company ; but a> that method can- 

 1 X 2 



