WORSTED MANUFACTURE. 



it, muft defcribe a circle when the crank revolves: in 

 confequence, the rollers /, which are at the lower end of the 

 frame, will move in a curve, as ftiewn by the dotted lines. 

 It is an oval or diftorted ellipfis, with the longeft diameter 

 horizontal. 



At the fame time the fluted rollers circulate in this orbit, 

 they are in continual motion on their own axis, by the 

 communication of wheel-work before defcribed, and they 

 draw the (liver of wool down the tube g ; the end of the 

 {liver, which projeAs from below the rollers, hangs down 

 from them in a lock, and by the motion of the crank-lather 

 this is thrown againft the points of the teeth in the comb- 

 table. At the period when the wool is thus thrown on the 

 teeth, the rollers are moving nearly in an horizontal direc- 

 tion, fo as to draw the wool in the direftion of the length 

 of the teeth, and they penetrate the wool ; but as the rollers 

 proceed in their elliptic orbit, they begin to rife and draw 

 the wool upwards away from the teeth in an inchned direc- 

 tion, as is evident by tracing the dotted courfe marked out 

 for the rollers. By thus drawing up the wool between the 

 teeth, a portion of the wool will be left in them ; the rollers 

 then rife up rapidly in their oval courfe, and the wool is 

 raifed quite above the teeth ; the rpllers then move forwards 

 to make another ftroke, and during fuch advance, the 

 rollers, being in continual motion, draw forwards the (liver 

 of wool, and the end hangs down ready to be la(hed on the 

 teeth of the comb next time. 



The motions of the fmall comb K muft be next defcribed. 

 The whole machine receives its motion by means of a wheel 

 or pulley c. Jig. I, upon the axis of the crank for the 

 laflier G ; D and E are the bevelled wheels by which the 

 other crank is turned ; at the extreme end of the axis C is 

 a pinion, which turns a bevelled wheel L, and on the axis of 

 this is a wheel turning two others M M of equal fize ; on 

 the extremities of the axes of the wheels M M are two 

 cranks //of equal radii, which are both jointed to an iron 

 bar m m, and both turning round together in the fame direc- 

 tion, they caufe the bar to move in a direftion parallel to itfelf, 

 and every part of the bar defcribes a circle equal to the radius 

 of the cranks. The fmall comb K is fixed to this bar, and 

 partakes of its motion, whereby the points of its teeth are 

 carried horizontally into the wool contained in the teeth of 

 the great comb, then rife upwards and draw through the 

 fibres, in order to comb them. 



In order to remove the little comb when it becomes 

 filled with wool, it is attached to the bar m by means 

 of a comb-holder or focket L, which has a groove at 

 each end to receive the little comb, and it can be 

 mounted or withdrawn at pleafure. This focket L is 

 moveable upon a horizontal pin fixed at the end of the 

 bar m, fo that it can be turned with either end upwards ; 

 and as the little comb can be fixed at either end of the focket, 

 a fpare comb is placed in the upper groove of the focket, 

 whilll the lower groove holds the comb which is in ufe ; but 

 when this becomes filled with wool, which it has gathered 

 from the comb-table, the focket L is inverted by turning it 

 half round upon its centre-pin, and by this means the fre(h 

 comb is brought down into ufe, and the other can be taken 

 away to clear off the wool from it. There is a fmall bolt 

 fixed to the pin on which the focket L turns, which can be 

 fhot into a notch when the focket is in a perpendicular pofi- 

 tion, and will then hold the focket faft from turning, and 

 keep the comb in a proper pofition for its work. In this 

 way, the little comb can be taken away and replaced by a 

 frefh one as often as is neceffary, without flopping the ma- 

 chine, for the fmall comb does not move very quick. The 

 fame boy who attends to change the combs, when aecedary, 



alfo lets up the wool iu the great comb-teet!i with a fn:vail 

 fcraper, fo that the fmall comb will penetrate through it 

 with more certainty and effeft. The plane of the rows of I 

 teeth in the fmall comb is not horizontal, or parallel to the 

 teeth of the combing-table, but inclined thereto, fo that 

 thofe teeth of the fmall comb wliich firll come into action 

 upon the wool do not penetrate deeply into it ; but as the i 

 comb-table turns round, the wool advances beneath the; 

 fmall comb, and is operated upon thofe teeth which go . 

 deeper, and the laft teeth of the comb go as deep as thev 

 can, not to touch the teeth of the comb-table. 



The wool is now combed, and only remains to be drawn 

 off in a continued (liver; this is done by the drawing-off: 

 rollers N, which are fluted iron rollers, placed horizontally, 

 over the comb-teeth, and nearly in the direftion of a radius 

 of the comb-table : they are fupported in an iron frame, and 

 are turned round by a pair of bevelled wheels from a vertical 

 axis P. This axis extends the whole height of the machine, 

 and is put in motion by means of a pair of bevelled wheels, 

 and an obhque axis Q, which is turned by a bevelled wheel • 

 and pinion on the extreme end of the axis of the firft crank- 

 la(her. 



The great comb receives its motion from the perpen-, 

 dicular axis P, which turns a large wheel T by a pinion on , 

 the lower end of it : on the upper end of the axis of this 

 wheel is the pinion which works in the ring of teeth; 

 withinfide of the comb-table : in this way, a very flow motion 

 is given to the comb-table. There are two pair of drawing-, 

 o(F rollers N, fituated clofe together, and parallel to each 

 other ; the firll pair are put in motion as we have defcribed, 

 and the back pair are turned by means of equal cog-wheels, 

 fo that they move with the fame velocity. 



The wool upon the comb-table is gathered in the hand, 

 to form a fliver, and the end is introduced between the 

 rollers, which continually draw off the wool as the comb- 

 table turns round. After palling through both pairs of, 

 rollers, the fliver is condufted through a forked iron, then 

 through a round wooden tube, and is at laft delivered by: 

 two plain wooden rollers R into a tin can placed beneath, 

 to receive it. Thefe rollers are alfo turned by bevelled, 

 wheels on the perpendicular axis P. The drawing-olF 

 rollers only take away the long wool, the fibres of which 

 are long enough to reach to the rollers. The two rollers 

 compofing the front pair of drawing-off rollers are not 

 placed immediately over each other, but the upper roller 

 overhangs the lower one, fo that the plane in which the' 

 axes of the upper and lower rollers are both fituated is in- 

 clined at about an angle of 45 degrees to the plane of the. 

 comb-table : by this means, the wool is drawn off from the 

 comb, at an angle of 45 degrees, to pafs between the rollers. 



The noUs, i. e. the (hort wool and broken fibres, which 

 will not reach the drawing-off rollers, remain in the teeth of-, 

 the comb-table, and alfo as much of the long wool as is on 

 the lower fide of the comb, and thefe are called backings : 

 both are taken off by a, boy, who is fcated for that purpofe 

 within the circle of the comb-table ; he firft draws off the 

 backings from beneath the comb, and then, with one hand 

 above the teeth, and the other below, he draws off the noils, 



Thefe two forts of wool are handed to a boy on the 

 outfide of the machine, who puts them into feparate boxes. 

 The backings are filled on the fmall combs before they are 

 put into the machine, and become fomewhat combed by the 

 aftion of the fmall comb : when the fmall combs are re- 

 moved from the machine, the wool upon them is further 

 combed by hand, and then drawn off from them in a con- 

 tinued fliver, by means of an additional piece of machinery, 

 which is at the fide of the machine. 



This 



