Operation of Narrowing
The first thing we would do after hanging on our weights would be to rack over one needle to give that end of the sleeve a smooth selvage finish. We would now put on five rounds, after which we would begin to narrow. Stopping the carriage on the left side of the machine, we would take the decker and place the hooks of the three end needles, in the back plate on the right, in the eyes of the three points of the decker, draw the needles up until the stitch dropped down below the latch, then push them down to their first position. We find that the stitches have dropped off over the end and free of the needle on to our decker. We now carry the stitches in toward the center one needle, hook on to these three needles and pull them up through the stitches, being careful not to pull them up so far that the stitches will drop down below the latches. After this has been done we have the end needle without a stitch and therefore pull it down where it is out of operation.
We go through this same performance on the front needle plate, right side, then move the carriage over to the right and do the same with the left side. It is obvious that when we have finished we shall have put four needles out of operation, or what would count as two in the width of the garment. We would repeat this after every five rounds for twenty-five rounds, so at this point our sleeve would be ten needles narrower than when we started, although we would have put out of operation twenty needles in narrowing. It is customary to reckon only with the needles of one plate, as the wales of one side only are counted in the width of a rib fabric.
Shaping a garment in this manner leaves a selvage edge for joining, consequently when the garment is finished the seams, when properly put together, are small with an appearance much like a wale in the fabric. They also have the same stretch or elasticity as the fabric.
Fig. 44.
Outline of Fashioned Sleeve.
Fig. 44 is an outline of approximately the shape the sleeve should be when finished and shows the direction of the wales and the places where the ones doubled up terminate. This is shown on one side and edge only, although the other side and edge would be the same.
It is understood, of course, that the sleeve is shown opened up flat, and in being put on a garment would be doubled over and the edges joined on the underside of the arm. To reduce the size from the forearm to the wrist or cuff it is usual, in sweaters, to depend on the change to the plain rib stitch, for as explained previously the plain rib will come out much narrower than the half or full cardigan with the same number of needles and the same yarn. In underwear and theatrical tights it is customary to fashion down the forearm to the cuff.
Many knitters consider it good practice to reverse this formula in fashioning; that is, to start at the cuff in order to have the rack stitch on the end of the cuff to save the hand finishing. In this event the narrowing operation as described would be reversed, or a widening operation.
This is done by pulling up the three end needles and pushing them down until the stitches drop off on to the decker, as in narrowing, but instead of setting these stitches in towards the center we would push up another needle and set them out one. This would leave the fourth needle without a stitch, so we would pick up the previous stitch, which had been cast off of what is now the fifth needle and raise it up and hook it over the fourth. This is done with one point of the decker. After having done this on both plates and on both sides of the sleeve, while we would have pushed four needles up into operation, we would have widened only two.
Where it is not considered an advantage to have the widening stitches show, this operation may be expedited quite a little by using the hook shown at b in Fig. 42, which is a convenient size to handle, about one-eighth inch in diameter by 6 inches long. By this method we push up into operation the new needle and simply catch with the hook the previous stitch cast off of the end needle and hook it on to the new needle on the four corners as before described. It is best to do this one needle at a time with a course between, taking the one on the plate that contains the inside needle.
CHAPTER VII
Automatic Flat Latch Needle Machines—Single Lock
The term “automatic” as applied to this class of machine means that all the changes are made automatically, as from plain stitch to half cardigan or full cardigan, or vice versa, changing colors to make striped work, making the rack stitch and back to plain rib, changing from rib to tubular or jersey stitch, making the French rack, etc. All these changes may be made at any predetermined place in the work without any attention from the operator. The machines discussed up to this point may be presumed to have been hand machines, that is, operated by manual power. Therefore, all changes of the stitch, yarn, racking, etc., may be done to advantage at the proper time and place by the operator as the machine requires his whole attention anyway.
A prerequisite of an automatic machine is the operating of the machine by other than manual power, therefore automatic machines are first of all what are called power machines. This does not imply by any means that all power machines are automatic, but rather that all automatic machines are power machines.
Fig. 45.
Dubied Automatic Single Lock Machine.
Fig. 45 shows an automatic single-lock machine built by Dubied & Co. in Switzerland, designated as Type VD, which is a very good example of the automatic machine. It is operated by the belt A, Fig. 46, which runs it by a pulley of the clutch type which is located back of the machine. The proper movement is conveyed to the carriage through a pair of sprockets and chain as shown in Fig. 46, at m. The carriage is connected to the driving chain at point m, by the connection rod n, which obviously must follow the chain back and forth around the sprockets. This arrangement gives the carriage a uniform movement during the time it is operating the needles and is generally conceded as superior to the crank system of driving.
The letter G, Fig. 45, indicates the lever for throwing in the clutch to start the machine, and F is the crank for turning the machine by hand. This crank does not turn when the machine is run by power but hangs in the position shown. The letter S shows the main or controlling chain and 1 and 2 indicate the racking chains. These will be taken up in more detail later. Letter B indicates an ingenious counter arrangement for counting the rounds, which permits the use of very short chains and will be explained in due course. H and K are yarn carriers, of which there are five altogether. The others are on the back and cannot be seen plainly. T is the yoke or bridge which holds the two sides of the carriage together. There is no physical connection between the two sides of the carriage at the point where the locks are attached, but the connection is made through extensions which can be seen, and through this yoke.
On these machines the fabric is not held down by weights, hanging thereon, as in the hand machines, but by what is called a take-up roller which has means provided for adjustment to keep the desired strain on the fabric at all times. The weights which are in plain view are to hold the fabric up to and in close contact with the take-up roller through a frame with a small roller on the fabric side of the frame and the weights on the outside, which work on the lever and fulcrum principle.
An automatic machine must have a pattern chain of some kind or character to operate its automatic functions. Means provided which will be explained in what follows cause the desired change to be made at the proper time and place. The machine under discussion has a main or controlling chain made up from wire links which may be taken out or added to at will, each link measuring about 6 inches crosswise of the chain and about one-half inch lengthwise of the chain. This chain is carried by a sprocket roller at the top and is held down on this roller by its own weight, though there are guards over each end to keep it from jumping off in case of emergency. This sprocket roller is turned the distance of one full link by the carriage depressing the lever J, and through this medium acting on the rocker shaft I (Fig. 45) which extends the length of the machine to the sprocket roller. The latter is in turn moved the distance of one link by a pawl and ratchet.
Fig. 46.
Automatic Mechanism, Dubied Machine.
In Fig. 46 we have a view of this main chain at S, with the levers on which it acts shown at a to h. These levers swing on a small shaft, at the point where they appear to end, near the center of the machine. Instead of ending there, each has an extension on the other side of this shaft which extends at an angle and reaches quite close to the chain. These levers, though only about three-eighths of an inch wide, are arranged so the angular extensions underneath come in line laterally with each other and crosswise of the chain, or lengthwise of the machine, and they, together with the space between, cover practically the whole width of the chain. These levers swing freely crosswise of the machine, but are fixed lengthwise, therefore the positions of the upper ends can be very easily moved toward the front or back of the machine, but are stationary in the direction in which the carriage moves.
Keeping this in our mind, we will now refer to the main chain shown in Fig. 46 at S. It will be noted that there are a number of studs affixed to the chain which project up above the chain proper. These studs may be put on at any desired spot and taken off at will. It is quite obvious that if we fix a stud on this chain at a spot in line with one of the levers, let us say at lever a, when the chain has moved forward to the point where this stud comes under the angular extension of the lever the position of the top of the lever would be changed. And this new position would be fixed until the carriage has been moved to the other end of the machine and turned the chain one more link. Then the lower end of the lever will drop off the stud and be returned to its former position by a spring.
It is essential that the reader get these explanations of the different parts and their functions well fixed in his mind in order to understand intelligently the relation of one to the other.
Fig. 47 is a drawing of the cams and cam plates, and Fig. 48 shows the top of the carriage with the cams or locks mounted underneath. In the Dubied machine this part of the carriage on which the locks are fixed is detachable, and either side may be taken off separately, which arrangement is very convenient at times. At the left of Fig. 48 will be seen several slides, designated by small letters, which extend through the locks at different points between the cam plate and the carriage proper, and some on the top of the carriage. These are the essence of the automatic control of the stitch forming mechanism. This principle is followed in all automatic machines of this type, although the different builders vary in the details of construction and in the methods of moving these slides, as well as the manner of operating on the cams and yarn carriers.
Fig. 47.
Cam Arrangement of Dubied Single Lock Machine.
Fig. 48.
Top Side of Carriage Directly Over Locks or Cams, Dubied Single
Lock Machine.
These slides make the proper cam or yarn guide changes by being pushed in or pulled out, as the case may be, and this is done by the levers indicated by the letters a to i, Fig. 46. Each slide is provided with a flat spot or shoulder, as indicated at m and o, Fig. 48, which pushes them in upon coming in contact with the proper lever as the carriage reaches the extreme left end and is clear of the needles. In order to have these slides moved in just the proper distance there are projections from the carriage underneath the slides with beveled ends, part of which may be seen in Fig. 48 at k and i, which push the levers off the before-mentioned shoulders and release the slides at just the proper time. To explain the drawing out of these slides, it will be noted that each slide has an enlarged part or head and all have at least one right angled shoulder on the inside of the head; some have two.
It will also be noted that each one has under it a guard or extension from the carriage, which is fixed to the carriage and is stationary, as e and p. This extension also has an enlarged part or head on the outer end, but it is different from the heads on the levers in one respect, this head has sloping shoulders on both ends instead of the right angled shoulders that are on the inside head of the slides. Where a fixed guard or extension has a sloping shoulder on both sides (not ends) they will be found to be at different distances from the carriage.
The right angled shouldered heads on the slides are made in this way so that when the proper lever (Fig. 46) is placed in its path, which is done by the studs attached to the main chain S, it will slide over the head and drop in back of the shoulder as the carriage moves to the left, and when the carriage moves to the right the lever catches on the shoulder and draws it out until the lever is released by being pushed out by the sloping shoulder of the extension underneath. When the fixed extension has a sloping shoulder on both sides at different distances from the carriage proper it will be found that the slide also has a right angled shoulder on both sides. This indicates that this slide may be moved to any one of three different positions, therefore has a choice of three different functions it may perform in the automatic changes.