In the second place, the needle points will not be straight in the needle board. This causes the hole in the board to be worn crooked, also, the dust and oil that get into the back portion of the board has a greater tendency to bind the needles when they are not straight. The holes in the needle board at the back are counter sunk, which allows the needles to be placed in more readily when the machine is being fixed up, or when a broken needle has to be replaced.
When the hooks and needles have been fixed, the grate, needle board and needle frame adjusted, the spring box is attached and every needle is tested and made to work freely. After this is done, the griffe is placed in the machine. It is absolutely necessary that the griffe be made to lift straight, and each blade or knife must be in exact position relative to the hooks, or there will be a number of the hooks either “crowned” or not lifted when they ought to be. The griffe is made so that each side can be moved either forward or backward, but it is sometimes necessary to bend one or two blades of the griffe so as to have them straight with the hooks. Figs. [12], [13] and [14] show crooked hooks and needles.
Fig. 14.
When the griffe is set, the top of the blade ought to be just touching the hook. If the hook is pressing too hard against the blade, either the needle point must extend farther out from the needle board, or the cylinder has to press hard against the needle board when the hooks have to be pressed off the griffe. Either case is detrimental to the machine. In the first instance, the cylinder requires to pass farther out from the needle board, to allow the cards to clear the needle points when the cylinder is being turned, or there is a possibility of the edge of the card catching on the needle points, preventing the cylinder from turning, and causing misspicks. In the second instance, if the cylinder presses too hard against the needle board, the lacing is often cut, and the needles have a tendency to pierce the card where it is blank.
Fig. 15. Showing Overhead Lever Lift and Independent Batten Motion.
Having set all the inner parts of the machine, the next in order is the tying on of the neck cords. Carelessness in the setting of the inner parts so far mentioned cannot afterwards be rectified, and means the loss of years of work from the machine besides having endless trouble during the time it is working.