WIRE. 



thej do not bite. The nest cog which feizes the end of 

 the lever draws back the pincers, which immediately clofe 

 upon the wire, and draw it through the plate. 



A wire-mill ufually contains three fuch machines of 

 different fizes : the largeft only draws two inches of the 

 wire at each ftroke, and makes about forty-eight ftrokes in 

 a minute ; the fecond machine, four inches ; and the third, 

 fiye inches. This works quicker than the other two, and 

 makes fixty-four ftrokes per minute. This is a fimple 

 machine, but very defeftive, for much time is loft in the re- 

 turning of the pincers ; they fometimes fail to take good hold 

 of the wire, and they always make deep marks upon the 

 wire at every place where they bite, which are not more 

 than two inches diftance in the great wire, and five inches in 

 the fmaller. 



Fine wire is always made from large wire, by reducing it 

 and lengthening it out by repeated drawings. The large 

 wire is ufually manufaftured at the wire-mills in the country, 

 and fome part of it is reduced to fmall wire at the fame 

 eftabUfhments, but more commonly the large wire is bought 

 by thofe who have occafion for it, and they reduce it by 

 drawing until it becomes as fmall as it is wanted. 



The hand-machine for this purpofe, reprefented in^^. 8, 

 is extremely fimple. A is the roller on which the wire is 

 wound up ; it turns round upon a vertical pin, fixed in the 

 bench R, and to the upper end a handle B is fixed, for the 

 workman to turn it round ; E is the draw-plate, and a a the 

 pins againft which it refts. The wire which is to be drawn 

 is put upon a fmall circular reel F, which turns round upon 

 a vertical pin ; this pin is fometimes fixed in the table, or 

 otherwife in a fmall cafk containing ftarch-water, or beer 

 which has become acid. The ufe of this is to loofen the 

 oxyd from the furface of the wire, for it is neceffary to 

 anneal or foften the wire very frequently, by putting it in 

 the fire, and this produces a black coat of oxyd on the 

 furface, which will be removed when the wire is again drawn 

 through the plate, and the wire will come out bright and 

 clean. The removal of this oxyd will be facihtated by 

 fome nightly corrofive menftruum. 



Fig. 9. is a very fimple and complete wire-drawing 

 machine, to draw three wires at once. A R are two rollers 

 or barrels with cog-wheels, T V, on the ends of their axis, 

 which wheels are engaged together. S is a pinion, which 

 is turned round by means of a handle B, and gives motion 

 to the wheels T V. Both thefe wheels are fitted upon 

 round parts of the axis of their refpeftive rollers, fo as to 

 flip or turn freely round upon the fame; but a fquare is 

 formed on the axis outfide of the wheel, and a clutch or 

 catch, t or v, is fitted on this fquare part, fo as to turn 

 always round with the axis. The catch is at liberty to^flide 

 upon the axis in the direftion of its length, by means of a 

 lever W, which operates upon both catches at once. When 

 either of them is pufhed back in contaft with the wheel, it 

 intercepts two ftuds which projeft from the face of the 

 wheel, and then compels the axis and roller to turn round 

 with the wheel ; but when the catch is drawn away from 

 the wheel, then the wheel will flap round upon its axis, 

 without communicating any motion. By means of the 

 lever W, only one wheel can be engaged at once, and the 

 other muft be free. The draw-plate E is firmly fixed 

 between the two rollers, and it has a great many holes ; the 

 sollers are long enough to receive three wires at the fame 

 time. Each roller has a groove in it parallel to the axis, 

 into which a bar of metal is fitted, and will exaftly fill it 

 up. When the wires are introduced through the holes in 

 the plate, th« ends are laid acrofs this groove ; the bar is 

 then put in and fattened by a fimple contrivance, and it 



faftens the ends of the wires beneath it, fo that they become 

 attached to the roller ; then by turning the handle B round, , 

 the two wheels are put in motion in contrary direftions ; and ' 

 that wheel which is connected with its axle by its catch, 

 will turn its barrel round, and wind up the wires fo as to 1 

 draw them through the plate E. The other roller being at I 

 the fame time detached, its wheel is at liberty to turn round 

 in a contrary diretlion to the wheel, as faft as the wires arc 

 drawn off from it. When the whole length of the wires 

 has been drawn through the plate, they are detached from ' 

 the roller, the ends introduced through fmaller holes in the ; 

 plate, and fattened again to the roller ; then the lever W is I 

 fhifted, to difengage that wheel which operated before, and ] 

 engage the other. This being done, the rollers will be 

 turned in an oppofite direftion, and will wind back the 

 wires, although the handle B is turned the fame way round. , 



After the wire has been then drawn three or four times, I 

 the metal becomes fo hard and fibrous, that it would not j 

 draw any more without breaking ; it therefore requires to be J 

 heated in the fire to reftore its duftility ; for this purpofe it 1 

 muft be taken off the barrels. A roller M is provided to ' 

 wind the wire upon and draw it off from the barrel ; this ( 

 roller is turned round by a handle m, fixed on the extremity I 

 of its axis; and the wire which is wound upon it in a coil is j 

 flipped off fideways. This machine is well adapted to be 

 worked by a mill, becaufe the handle may always be turned 

 the fame way. 



Fig. 10. reprefents the machine ufed at the wire-mills 

 for reducing the wire which is to be ufed for mufical inftru- 

 ments, or for making cards for wool and cotton. The 

 rollers A are fituated in a vertical pofition, being fitted on 

 the tops of iron fpindles, which are fuftained in a vertical 

 pofition by bearings in the frame of the table or bench. 

 Thefe fpindles are kept in continual motion by wheel- 

 work fituated beneath the bench, but the fpindles are 

 round, fo that the rollers A are not turned with the fpindles, 

 unlefs any one of the rollers is lifted up upon the fpindle. 

 A crofs-bar, which is fixed on the top of the fpindle, then 

 engages with two projefting knobs fixed in the roller, 

 within a hollow recefs made at the top of it, and turns the 

 roller round. The draw-plate E is fupported by two 

 pins, as before defcribed ; and the wire which is to be 

 drawn is wound on a reel, which is put into a caflc of ftale- 

 beer grounds, or ftarch-water. The end of the wire, 

 which is put through the draw-plate, is made fatt to the 

 roller, which does not turn round as long as it is dropped 

 down upon the fpindle ; but when all is ready to begin 

 drawing, the roller mutt be lifted up, and the clutch at the 

 top of the fpindle will engage with the two knobs within 

 the hollow at the top of the roller. This puts it in motion, 

 and draws the wire through the draw-plate. The ttrain of 

 drawing is fufficient to keep the roller up upon the fpindle ; 

 but as foon as the whole of the wire is drawn through the 

 plate, the refiftance ceafes, and the roller drops down on its 

 fpindle, and becomes difengaged until the workman puts it 

 again in aftion. 



ManufaHure of Iron Wire. — Iron is a very duftile metal, 

 but requires a careful treatment in the procefs of wire- 

 drawing, becaufe it becomes very hard and brittle when the 

 fibres are greatly compreffed by repeated drawing. Its 

 duftihty muft then be reftored by heating the wire to red- 

 nefs ; this is called anneahng : it renders the wire foft, and 

 it will then draw finer and longer ; but it will foon require 

 annealing again, and fo on. 



The iron which is felefted for wire-drawing muft be of 

 good quality, to bear the requifite extenfion without break- 

 ing. It muft be of an uniform fubftance, without any grains 



of 



