(404) There are spooling machines in which the operations of feeding and emptying the spools are carried out manually, but, as thread making is now mostly carried out in large establishments, their use is not great. In some cases, especially for “crochet” cottons, the thread is wound into balls. In this case it is wound on short cylinders, revolved at a slow speed, round which a flyer rotates. Through an eye in the flyer the yarn is passed, and is wound on to the cylinders by the superior speed of the flyers. To the former an alternate oscillating movement is given, by which the coils of thread are wound in coarse spirals. In the end a barrel shaped spool is formed. As a rule the “balling” machine is worked by hand, but a machine has been made by which the operation is nearly an automatic one. The use of balling machines is, however, limited, and there is not the necessity for an automatic machine, such as exists in spooling thread.
CHAPTER XIV.
MISCELLANEOUS MACHINES AND ACCESSORIES.
(405) It will be easily understood that there are a number of accessories required to complete the equipment of a mill before the machinery previously described can be fully utilised. It is neither necessary nor profitable to deal with the whole of these, but some of them may be advantageously described. Among the earliest needs in the process of spinning are the cans which are used for the reception of the sliver as it leaves the carding engine. These are made of tin sheets, which are rolled into short cylinders and soldered together, the various lengths being similarly connected. The cans are about 10 inches in diameter and 4 feet long, and are strengthened at the top and bottom by iron hoops. In spite of this precaution they are often bulged or dinted in consequence of the rough way in which they are handled. To obviate this defect Mr. Lang Bridge has for a few years past made the can with corrugations extending longitudinally of it, the additional strength thus given being advantageous without adding anything to the weight.
(406) The rollers used in the various operations of spinning and drawing are, as has been pointed out, mainly of two types. The lower lines are generally fluted and the upper lines smooth surfaced. The former are usually made of a fine grained iron, and the flutes are carefully made so as to be very smooth, their pitch depending upon the character of the work to be done. The lower lines of drawing rollers are, as was shown, continuous, and, it being manifestly impossible to make them in one length, they are jointed or coupled at suitable intervals. The coupling is made by forming the roller with a square nipple at one end and a correspondingly formed socket at the other. By fitting the nipple of one roller into the socket of the other a firm and perfect union is effected. The rollers are coupled, so that they are perfectly in line throughout, and when placed in the frame they revolve steadily. The top rollers, as previously shown, are formed in short lengths, and are smooth on their peripheries. In order to give a soft yet firm grip to the yarn, as it is delivered, it is customary to cover the top rollers with a sheath of woollen cloth and leather. This is in many cases done by hand, the cloth and leather being cut to length and formed into a sheath in this way, after which it is drawn on to the roller. Such a mode of procedure has all the defects of handwork, and a description of a complete set of machines made by Messrs. Dronsfield Brothers will not be without interest.
(407) The first of the series is shown in Fig. [215], and is employed to spread the paste upon the cloth. The cloth is fed from a roll, and can be delivered by a slight addition of mechanism in measured lengths. As it is drawn forward it passes through a paste box formed of sliding plates D, adjoining the spreading plate B. By means of the adjustable screw C the vertical position of the latter can be fixed so as to give any amount of paste required. The cloth is cut into lengths and wrapped on the roller, to which it adheres, the joint being carefully made so as to leave no gap or thick place. After this surface is prepared and dried a leather sheath is drawn over it.
Fig. 215.
(408) The leather used for covering rollers is specially prepared from sheep skins, and is very thin and soft. It is carefully polished or glazed on one side, and must be free from any roughnesses or defects. In spite of all the care bestowed on their preparation, “roller skins” are often uneven in thickness, and in order to correct this fault, the machine shown in Fig. [216] is used. The skins are cut up by a special appliance into strips of the necessary width to cover the boss of the roller, and these are subjected to a grinding action on their unpolished side. The strips are held at one end by a clamp on the drum A, which is revolved slowly, and which can be set in as desired by the wheel F and screw. As the roller A revolves, it brings the skins in contact with a grinding roller B, covered with sand or glass paper. In this way the leather is ground down to one thickness throughout the strip, and the chance of unevenness in the roller is thus diminished. A fan is fixed to draw away the dust and deposit it in a suitable receptacle. After the strips are so ground, they are passed to a splicing machine—that is, a machine in which they are cut to the necessary length to form a sheath. The edges in this operation are bevelled, so that in overlapping no thick place is formed. The splicing machine in its complete form is shown in Fig. [217]. The leather strip A is placed on the table face up, and is carried forward by the feed rollers B. The extent of the roller traverse is determined by the position of a stop D, which limits the oscillatory motion of a double clip handle C. This is made in two parts, like a pair of tongs, each end being centred on the spindle on which the wheel M is placed. By squeezing the handle together M is gripped and can be rotated. The handle C is ordinarily in the position shown, and, when it is moved forward while gripping the wheel, it carries the latter with it until the stop D is reached, when the motion ceases. Thus any length of leather can be fed by one stroke of the handle. When the leather is fed the pressing bars F are brought on to it, and the knife K held in the frame H at a suitable angle is also brought into position. H slides on a cross surface prepared for it, and by drawing it across the leather while held in position, the latter is cut to the required bevel, which remains constant throughout the whole of the working of the machine.