Cotton Weaving and Designing / 6th Edition

by John T. Taylor

The picking mechanism in a pick-and-pick loom may be either over or under pick. In the former the picking tappets are sometimes moved on the shaft by a clutch arrangement. In the latter the top of the picking treadle is movable. As the under pick is perhaps the best adapted for this loom, we will describe it.

FIG. 88.

[Fig. 88] is a side view of the loom, and the top of the picking treadles consists of a metal plate with the “shoe” S of such a shape as to give the required force and character to the pick. This metal plate works round a pivot, P. The treadles at both sides of the loom are the same in this respect. At the back of the loom a rod, R, is connected to the extreme ends of the loose plates or the treadles, and when one plate is on the treadle, the other is fixed off its treadle, as shown in [Fig. 89]. The consequence is that when the picking bowls come round (there are two bowls on the bottom shaft at each side of the loom) the loom will pick always from that side where the loose plate is on the treadle, and at the other side, where the plate is off, the bowls will pass over the treadle without touching it. By moving the rod R sideways, the plates may be moved alternately off and on their treadles.

FIG. 89.

FIG. 90.

If the loom has four boxes at each side, it may be necessary to pick four times in succession from one side of the loom, and by a simple arrangement the picking can be regulated at will. The mechanism for moving the rod R sideways is shown at [Fig. 90]. Inside the loom framework a lever, L, is centred at C, and by a combination of levers is connected to the rod R, which is the rod referred to in the previous diagrams. A strong spring keeps the plates right for picking from one side, but when it is required to pick from the other the lever L is lifted, which moves the rod R sideways and moves the plate off one treadle and on the other. A chain is used for lifting the lever L, and the star wheel A is turned by two pins on the wheel B on the bottom shaft of the loom, or by one pin if on the crank shaft, thus causing the star wheel to be turned one division every pick. The loom may thus be made to pick four times from the right side, three from the left, twice from the right, and so on, of course always taking care that the shuttles are there to be picked.