WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 



the other end of the cord is faftened to a block of wood, 

 whioh is fcrewed to the flat of the lower blade, and rifes up 

 to a proper height. By deprefling this handle, the (hears 

 are clofed, and make their cut with the greateft facility, 

 the elafticity of the bow returning the handle. 



The manner of cropping with thefe (hears is as follows : — 

 The piece of cloth is laid down in folds upon a plank or low 

 bench placed on the ground, and the end is drawn acrofs a 

 table or bench, which is covered with cloth, and ftufFed with 

 horfe-hair, like a cu(hion. The cloth is ftretched out flat 

 upon the furface of the table, and is retained by hooks and 

 weights. Two workmen are employed to (hear a piece of 

 cloth ; they place the lower blades of their (hears fiat on the 

 furface of the cloth, with the line of the edge in the direc- 

 tion of the length of the piece ; one of the (hears is laid on 

 the edge or lift of the cloth, and the other exaftly in the 

 middle of the breadth of the cloth. The bows and ftems 

 of the (hears projeft over the edge of the table, and the 

 workmen place themfelves at that edge. Each man guides 

 the fliears with his left-hand, and makes the cut with his 

 right. To hold the (hears by, a ftiort (lafF is la{hed to the 

 bow of the (hears, and fecured by a ftay to the lower blade ; 

 its direftion is nearly parallel to the back edge of the upper 

 blade. The workman puts his arm through the bow as far 

 as the elbow-joint, then lays the fore-arm flat againil the 

 ftaff, which he grafps with the hand ; and in this way he has 

 • great command of the (hears, leaving the right-hand at 

 liberty to work the handle which clofes the (hears. This 

 handle is moved backwards and forwards with great rapidity, 

 to make cuts or chps on the cloth, and between every cut 

 the lower blade is moved a fmall fpace on the cloth, to cut 

 in a fre(h part. 



The art of fliearing confifts in moving the (hears with 

 great regularity and parallelifm, fo that every part of the 

 furface (hall be equally cropped. The clofenefs with which 

 the (hears cut is regulated by weights laid upon the flat of 

 the lower blade ; thefe prefs the blade down into the foft 

 cufltion on which the cloth is fpread, fo that the fur will 

 ftand up more above the edge of the blade. 



As the two (hearers advance in their work, their (hears 

 proceed acrofs the breadth of the piece of cloth, and when 

 the man who began in the middle has worked to the lift of 

 the cloth, the other who began at the lift will have worked 

 to the middle, where the firft began ; the whole breadth is 

 now (horn, and they remove the (hears, and draw the piece 

 of cloth forwards acrofs the table, to obtain a frefh furface 

 to work upon. 



For (hearing common cloth, it is cut wet the firft time, 

 then it is dre(ied again with teafels, dried on the tenter, and 

 cut again in a dry ftate three times over. 



Shearing-Frame. — The moft common machine ufed in 

 York(hire is only applied to give motion to the fame kind 

 of (heairs as are ufed for cropping by hand, and is ufually 

 called the (hearing-frame. At the fide of the table or cu(hion 

 on which the cloth is fpread, a long ftool is placed, having 

 grooves at the edges to guide the wheels of a carriage, to 

 which the (hears are affixed by their bows. There is a 

 carriage for each pair of (hears, and they are flowly and 

 gradually moved along the ftool, by a cord which winds 

 upon a roller turned by wheel-work ; and at the fame time, 

 the handles of the (hears are continually pulled by a cord 

 conneAed with a fmall crank, which turns round very ra- 

 pidly. The diredion of the cuts is the lengthways of the 

 piece of cloth, and the two pair of (hears advance acrofs 

 the breadth of the piece until a whole breadth is cut ; the 

 machine is then (lopped, the (hears removed, and the piece 

 of cloth (hifted upon the table. Thefe (hearing-frames 



operate very well, but require great care and attention to 

 make the different cuttings join, in order to cut equally over 

 the whole furface. 



The machine invented by Mr. Harmar of Sheffield was 

 of this defcription ; his firft patent was in 1787, and another 

 in 1 794. At one period his machines were in general ufe, 

 but the prefent (hearing-frames, although of the fame kind, 

 are very much fimplified, and work equally well. 



y1 perpetual Shearing- Machine is reprefented in Plate III. 

 Woollen ManuJaSure ; it is ufed in the weft of England, and is 

 beft adapted for narrow cloths. The (hears lay croffwife over 

 the piece, which is drawn regularly beneath the (hears in the 

 direftion of its length without any interruptions ; hence it is 

 called a perpetual (hearing-machine. 



The (hears, E E, are the fame as what we have already 

 defcribed. Each pair is fattened acrofs the frame by means 

 of a piece of vifood, to which the lower blade of the (hears 

 are fcrewed ; immediately beneath this blade is the cu(hion 

 to bear the cloth, which paffes between the blade and the 

 cufhion. The piece of cloth is wound round the roller C, 

 upon the end of which is a wheel N, and a lever M, which 

 bears up againft the lower part of this whetl with fo much 

 friftion as to make the cloth ftrain tight in drawing off from 

 the roller. The cloth firft pafTes uvur a rail B, from which 

 it proceeds in an horizontal direftion benfath the two pair 

 of (hears E E, then turns over another rail at the other end 

 of the frame, and defcends to a roller D, which is turned 

 flowly round by the machinery, in order to wind up the 

 cloth. 



The machine is put in motion by the endlefs ftrap round 

 the drum F upon a (haft, which proceeds all the length of 

 the mill. The ftrap turns the pulley G upon the end of 

 the fmall horizontal fpindle H : in this fpindle two cranks 

 are formed at a and b, which are conneAed, by wires 7 

 and 8, with the handles 9 and 10 of the (hears E, fo as to 

 give them a continual motion, and make a cut of each pair 

 of (hears every time the fpindle H makes a turn. The mo- 

 tion of the machine can be ftopped by releafing the lever P, 

 on which the bearing of the fpindle is fcrewed : when the 

 lever P is depre(red, and kept down by the catch, as repre- 

 fented in the drawing, the endlefs ftrap is drawn tight, fo 

 as to turn the fpindle ; but if the catch is removed, and the 

 lever raifed up, the ftrap becomes loofe, and flips round 

 upon the pulley without turning it. A fmall pulley is 

 fixed upon the fpindle at I, to receive an endlefs ftr^p 

 which palTes round a larger wheel J. Upon the fame axis 

 with this are three other pulleys of difierent diameters, 

 which receive a ftrap 2, and give motion to three fimilar 

 pulleys fixed upon a fpindle 3 : the latter fpindle has a 

 pinion on the end of it, which works a bevelled wheel fixed 

 on the end of the roller D, and thus it is turned (lowly 

 round. The three pulleys on the fpindles 3 and J are 

 placed reverfed to each other, that is, the fmalleft pulley 

 on one is oppofite to the largeft on the other ; by this 

 means, the fame ftrap 2 may be (hifted, and will work on 

 any of the three pair of pulleys, but each one will com. 

 municate a different degree of movement to the roller D, 

 and confequently to the cloth, fo as to draw it quicker or 

 flower, and make the fucceffive cuts of the fliears at a greater 

 or lefs diftance afunder at pleafure. 



The cuftiions which bear up the cloth againft the (hears 

 are moveable on centres of motion, and are capable of being 

 raifed or lowered. When they are lowered down, the cloth 

 can be readily introduced beneath the lower blades of the 

 (hears ; and when raifed up, they prefs the cloth up to the 

 (hears, and the force of this prelTure can be regulated by 

 turning a fmall handle. In many machines this motion is 



applied 



