Nuttall's Rag Cutter.—Another type of rag cutter, and which is also suitable for cutting bagging, sailcloth, tarpaulin, Manilla and other fibres, is Nuttall's Rag Cutter, a drawing of which is shown in Fig. 5. This machine is manufactured by Messrs. Bentley and Jackson, of Bury, near Manchester, and is generally known as the "Guillotine Rag Cutter," from the principle of its action, which is that of chopping the material. The machine is adopted at many mills, and a large-sized machine has recently been put down at the Daily Telegraph mills, Dartford. A medium-sized machine will cut about one ton of rags in an hour.
Fig. 5.
Willowing.—In some mills the cut rags are conveyed to a machine called the "willow," which in one form of machine consists of two cast-iron cylinders, 2½ feet in diameter and 3½ feet wide, provided with numerous iron teeth, which project about 4 inches. These cylinders are placed one behind the other, and beneath them is a semi-circular screw, and above them a cover of the same form. This cover is also furnished with teeth, and is so adjusted that the teeth in the cylinders pass those in the cover at a distance of ½ to ¾ of an inch. In front are a pair of rollers and revolving apron, which carry the rags into the cylinders, which rotate rapidly; and the rags, which are thrown by the first into the second cylinder, are allowed to remain in them for about 20 seconds, when a sliding door, which rises three times per minute, allows the rags to be discharged into a duster. Each time the sliding door opens the revolving apron moves forward and recharges the willow with a fresh supply. The rags, after being beaten and teazed in the willow, are considerably loosened in texture, and a good deal of dust and gritty matters fall through the screen beneath.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6 represents a combined willow and duster, specially useful for waste rags and jute, but may be used for all fibres, manufactured by Bertrams, Limited, the main features of which are thus described:—"There are two drums, which have malleable-iron cross-bars and teeth, and malleable-iron harp motion below for escape of dust. The framework of the willow is of cast iron, and the sides are filled in with cast-iron panel doors, the top being covered in with sheet iron. The gear is arranged so that the willow will deliver to the duster or otherwise by self-acting motion continuously or intermittently. The feed to the willow can also be made continuous or intermittent. The drums, framework, panels, and casing being made of iron, the chance of fire from the friction of its working is reduced to a minimum. The duster, as a rule, is 12 feet long, about 5 feet in diameter, and has eight longitudinal bars of cast iron fitted between the front and end revolving rings. These bars are fitted with malleable-iron spikes, pitched and so arranged that the rags or fibres are delivered at the exit end automatically. The outside of the duster can be lined with wire-cloth, perforated zinc, iron, etc. It is driven by outside shafts and friction gear, so that there is no internal shaft to interfere with the delivery of the fibres."
Fig. 7.
Dusting.—In Fig. 7 is shown a rag-dusting machine, manufactured by Messrs. Bryan Donkin and Co., of Bermondsey, London. The cylinder of this machine, which is conical in form, to enable the rags to travel from one end to the other, whence they are ejected, revolves, as also does a second cylinder of a skeleton form, but in the opposite direction. Each cylinder is fitted with knives, or spikes—those of the outer cylinder projecting towards the centre; the knives of the centre cylinder being attached to its exterior surface: when the machine is in motion the two sets of blades pass each other so that when the rags come between them the action is that of scissors. When the rags are ejected at the end of the cylinder, they pass into another cylinder of wire, through which the dust falls and leaves them in a fairly clean condition, when they are lowered through a trap-door to the boiling room below.