Jacquard Weaving and Designing

by T. F. Bell

Fig. 47

A quicker method of preparing lingoes is as follows:—Two upright pieces of iron, as A, A, [Fig. 47], are fastened on a board, or on a bench or table. A cut is made in each of these, so as to hold a piece of flat wire such as is used for coarse reeds. This wire is pointed at one end, so that by taking a handful of mails they can easily be gathered up on it. It is then placed in position, as shown at B; the mails, D, are shown on it, and C is a spool containing twine for the hangers. By rubbing the end of this twine with wax, so as to stiffen it, and gathering all the mails on the wire evenly together, the end of the twine may be run through the holes in all of them at once. This end is fastened, and with a hook, as shown at F, the twine can be drawn through the mails, beginning at the one farthest away from the spool, and passing from one to the other in succession, looping the twine round the pin E, which should be at such a distance from the mails as is required to make the hangers the proper length. If many mails are to be threaded at once there should be two or three pins as E, so as to avoid too much slope from them to the mails, which would increase the length of the hangers. The twine can be cut when the mails on the wire are completed, and the other ends of the mails turned round and treated similarly for the sleepers; but the pegs will require to be shifted, so as to get the required length of twine. When finished, these can be cut also, and the wire tied up in a convenient place, so that the lingoes may be hung on, as before described. The sleepers can then be knotted, if required to be.

After the lingoes are thus prepared the twine is frequently varnished, and sometimes twisted so as to prevent that of the hangers from rising up through the hole of the mail and getting in between the two halves of the yarn when the shed is crossing. This frequently happens if anything prevents the lingo from dropping. A common method of twisting them is for a boy to give them a coat of flour-paste or a light coat of varnish, then, having them hung on a rod which passes through the loops of the sleepers, he takes a handful of the lingoes, and, placing them on his knee, rolls them round with his hand till they are sufficiently twisted, then lets them hang down, and proceeds with another handful.

When the paste or varnish on these is set they can be well varnished. About two inches at the top of the sleepers must be left without varnish, to leave it soft and pliable for tying the neck to; the knots on all the sleepers must be brought up to about the point before they are twisted or varnished. When the lingoes are thus prepared and dry they can be tied in bunches, to be used as required.

Some do not varnish the twines till the harness is all mounted, and then varnish it all over. Others do not varnish at all. In this case the hangers are not twisted, and for light open sets of harness they need not be twisted at any time.

LINGOES OR LEADS

For pressure harness work the weights for drawing down the harness were originally made of lead, about the length and thickness of a thin pencil, but tapering to the lower end. The weight varied with the number of ends to the mail, the strength of the yarn, and the weight of the cloth to be made, ranging from 10 to 18 per lb., or lighter if for fine hand-loom work. For a linen damask as formerly made, with 6 or 8 threads in the mail, a very heavy lead was required, even in the hand loom, whilst a fine cotton two-thread harness would do with a comparatively light lingo. Strips of lead cut from sheets were used for lighter weights; these were then reduced to the proper size for drawing them through holes in steel plates. Now, lingoes for power looms are made of wire, and for ordinary damask or full harness work should range from 25 to 40 to the lb.; for heavier work, such as linen towels, worsteds, &c., 16 or 18 per lb., according to the weight of the fabric, are required. Lighter ones answer for hand looms: Murphy mentions as light as 110 per lb. for the centres of shawls, but 35 to 60 per lb. will be more frequently found. 25’s to 30’s are a good size for power looms; 12 in. long for 25’s or 30’s, 14 in. for 16’s or 18’s, and 16 in. for 10’s or 12’s are good lengths.

When there is a great slope in the border twines of a harness, it is often necessary to put heavier lingoes on it than on the centre, to keep the warp down. Of course, the less weight that has to be lifted is always a saving of power, and easier on the harness; therefore it is better to have two sizes of lingoes than to have them all weighty enough for the borders.