I 
 
 SEWING MACHINE: 
 
 ITS HISTORY, CONSTRUCTION, AND APPLICATION. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF DR. IIERZBERG 
 
 ILLUSTRATED By SEVEN PLATES. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 E. AKD t. S POX i. ISITKIEE. :> i'll V. 
 
 IRi.-l. 
 
2-3 35 " 
 
 Franklin Institute Library 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 Class Book ' t c445' Accession 2-335 
 
 Article V.—The Library shall be divided into two classes ; the first 
 comprising such work as, from their rarity of value, should not he lent 
 out, all unbound periodicals, and such text books as ought to he found 
 in a library of reference except when required by Committees of the 
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 those books intended for circulation. 
 
 Article VI.—The Secretary shall have authority to loan to members 
 and to holders of second class stock, any work belonging to the second 
 class, subject to the following regulations. 
 
 Section 1 .—No individual shall be permitted to have more than two 
 books out at one time, without a written permission, signed by at least 
 two members of the Library Committee, nor shall a book be kept out 
 more than two weeks; but if no one has applied for it, the former bor¬ 
 rower may renew the loan. Should any person have applied for it, the 
 latter shall have the preference. 
 
 Section 2 .—A fine of ten cents per week shall be exacted for the 
 detention of a book beyond the limited time; and if a book be not re¬ 
 turned within three months it shall be deemed lost, and the borrower 
 shall, in addition to his fines, forfeit its value. 
 
 Section S .—Should any book be returned injured, the borrower shall 
 pay for the injury, or replace the book, as the Library Committee may 
 direct; and if one or more books, belonging to a set or sets, be lost, the 
 borrower shall replace them or make full restitution. 
 
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 sion from the proper authorities, any book, newspaper or other property 
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 who may inflict any line not exceeding twenty-five dollars. 
 
 Article VIII.—No jneiqber q^'holder of seqpnd class stock, whose 
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 Reading Room. 
 
 Article IX.—If any member or holder of second class stock, shall 
 refuse or neglect to comply with the foregoing rules, it shall be the duty 
 of the Secretary to report him to the Committee on the Library. 
 
 Article X. —Any member or holder of second class stock, detected 
 in mutilating the newspapers, pamphlets or books belonging to the Insti¬ 
 tute shall be deprived of his right of membership, and the name of the 
 offender shall be made public. 
 
THE 
 
 SEWING, MACHINE: 
 
 :• - :: : : : : : : : : : :* 
 
 ,: z -.. .. 
 
 .«- - . • - - •••/•• 
 
 CONSTRUCTION, AND APPLICATION. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF DR. HERZBERG, 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY SEVEN PLATES. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 E. & F. N. SPON, 16 , BUCKLERSBURY. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. The Formation op the Seam . 1 
 
 A. —The Hand Seam: . ib . 
 
 B. —The various Descriptions oe Machine Seaming . . . . 5 
 
 The Formation oe the Stitch . 14 
 
 The Single-thread Chain-stitch . 19 
 
 The Reciprocating Hook. . . 20 
 
 The Rotatory Hook . 21 
 
 2. The Double-thread Chain-stitch . 23 
 
 The Quilting-stitch .28 
 
 Machines with Travelling Shuttle. ib . 
 
 Shuttles with Horizontal Rectilinear Motion.29 
 
 Shuttles eor Horizontal Curvilinear Motion.34 
 
 Shuttles with Vertical Curvilinear Motion . 35 
 
 Shuttles with Piked Spools.37 
 
 II. The Mechanical Arrangements oe the Sewing Machine . . 40 
 The Mechanism por Communicating Motion to the Needle . . 41 
 
 The Transmission oe motion to the Lower Mechanism . . . 46 
 
 1. The Revolving Hook.47 
 
 2. The Hook with Reciprocating Motion. ib . 
 
 3. Shuttles with Curvilinear Oscillating Motion . . .49 
 
 4. Shuttles with Rectilinear Motion . 54 
 
 5. Looper with Long Reciprocating Motion.55 
 
 The Mechanism por Imparting Motion to the Material . . . ib . 
 
 I. —Feeders Working prom Below.56 
 
 The Peed Wheel . 61 
 
 II. —Feeders working prom Above . 64 
 
 AJbV'S 
 
IV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Stitch Regulator .®7 
 
 D.—The Tension Apparatus. 
 
 Tension by Friction op the Thread. 68 
 
 Tension by Friction on the Spool.*'*• 
 
 Tension by a Roller.70 
 
 The Thread Guide. 
 
 III.— The Sewing Machine.73 
 
 A.—The Machines with Oscillating Looper eor Single-thread- 
 
 Chain-stitch.77 
 
 The Single-thread Chain-stitch Machine with Rotating Hook . . 84 
 
 Machines eor Double-thread Chain-stitch.86 
 
 D. —Machines eor Quilting-stitch, with Moveable Shuttles . . 92 
 
 1. —Singer’s System.93 
 
 2. —Hoemann’s System .99 
 
 3. — Grover and Baker’s System .102 
 
 Thomas’s System.105 
 
 The Quilting-stitch Machine with Fixed Bobbin . . . .109 
 
THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 I. THE FORMATION OF THE SEAM. 
 
 A.-THE HAND SEAM. 
 
 The seam, formed by band, by means of a needle and 
 thread, is generally intended to connect two pieces of 
 material, either in a straight or curved direction. The 
 construction of the seam itself varies according to the 
 purpose of its application. The three principal varieties 
 are: 1 . The tacking , or chain-stitch seam. 2. The whip , 
 or overcast-stitch seam. 3. The quilting-stitch seam. The 
 latter description of seam (Plate II., Fig. 17) varies in 
 appearance on each side of the material, as on the one 
 side each stitch adjoins the other; while on the reverse, 
 each stitch covers half of the preceding one. A varia¬ 
 tion of the quilting-stitch is the hack stitch (Fig. 18), 
 the derivation of which from the former is evident, 
 by imagining between each two stitches a vacant space 
 on the one side of the material of the length of a single 
 stitch, causing each stitch on the other side only to cover 
 a third of the preceding one. The whip-stitch seam con¬ 
 sists of a series of stitches running spirally round the 
 
 B 
 
 / 
 
2 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 edge of the material, close to the border of which the 
 thread penetrates. In the tacking-stitch seam (Fig. 19), 
 the thread runs alternately from one side of the material 
 to the other, leaving on both sides a vacancy between 
 each stitch. This stitch has the disadvantage of easily 
 becoming undone, as the thread can be drawn through 
 the material with great facility, owing to the small 
 amount of friction. This peculiarity makes it, on the 
 other hand, indispensable as a provisional method of 
 fastening, the thread being again capable of use. For 
 this purpose, the stitches on the one side are made long 
 (1 to 1’- in.), on the other side short (a in.). From this 
 application the stitch takes its name. This stitch has 
 also the advantage of great elasticity, is quickly formed 
 by hand, and is especially made use of in forming folds 
 in dresses, &c. The whip stitch is employed in connect¬ 
 ing the edges of two pieces of material, as it allows 
 of their being drawn close together, without forming a 
 perceptible elevation. It is mostly made use of for 
 articles of clothing, the seams of ivhich are in contact 
 with the body, as shirts, gloves, &c.; or for such articles 
 as are intended to apppear seamless, as sheets, &c. 
 There is more friction in this stitch between the ma¬ 
 terial and the thread, and it is therefore much less 
 liable to become unfastened. The quilting-stitch is the 
 strongest, and also presents the best appearance. It is 
 the most in use, and is indispensable in nearly all de¬ 
 scriptions of needlework. The stitches are generally 
 made very short on the surface of the work, and longer 
 on the wrong side, and then answer the same purpose 
 as the tacking stitch. 
 
 The first attempts which were made to accomplish 
 
THE HAND SEAM. 
 
 3 
 
 needlework by means of machines, were confined, as 
 might be expected, to an exact imitation of sewing by 
 hand. The process of gathering, especially in the ma¬ 
 nufacture of calico, was of sufficient importance to 
 induce attempts at the construction of machinery to 
 supersede manual labour. For this purpose an appa¬ 
 ratus was for a long time in use, by which the calico in 
 its passage between two fluted rollers was so folded as 
 to allow of needles, which were fixed at various points 
 of the extreme circumference of the rollers, penetrating 
 several folds of the material at once. This arrangement 
 underwent many modifications, and remained in use till 
 its final displacement by the modern sewing-machine. 
 The introduction of the needle with two points, and the 
 eye in the centre, occurred in 1755, and was primarily 
 intended to dispense with the continual inversion of the 
 needle in sewing by hand. It was, however, soon em¬ 
 ployed in the construction of machines which were in¬ 
 tended to imitate hand sewing, and nearly all machines 
 which were constructed with this view, were on the 
 principle of a double-pointed needle. The end of the 
 thread was usually fastened to the eye in the centre, 
 and the needle in its passage through the cloth Avas 
 alternately drawn baclovards and forwards by means of 
 tAVo grippers; the one above releasing its hold of the 
 needle on the latter being caught by the gripper below. 
 It Avas on this principle that the embroidering machine 
 of Heilmann was constructed, which created so great a 
 sensation at the time of its introduction, and in Avhich 
 several double-pointed needles Avere simultaneously in 
 motion. 
 
 The construction of the so-called cobblers or saddlers 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 seam , is somewhat similar (Plate VI., Fig. 19), being in 
 reality only a double-tack stitch made by two threads 
 crossing each other in their passage through the same 
 needle-hole, so that the space left on either side between 
 the stitches of each thread is covered by those of the 
 other. Of course, a needle is required for each thread, and 
 for these needles, two grippers are necessary on each side. 
 The action of the grippers is, however, far from regular, 
 which induced the construction of needles with a small 
 barbed point, similar to those employed in crochet work. 
 These penetrating the material without being drawn 
 through caught the thread, and on their return drew it 
 through the needle-hole. These needles could, therefore, 
 be fastened to a holder, and their motion regulated with 
 great certainty. To form the cobbler’s seam, the two 
 needles must work from opposite sides of the material, the 
 holes in which may, in the case of very tough materials, 
 as leather, be made by a stiletto-like instrument, to 
 prevent injury to the needles. This description of 
 machine has not, however, found much favour; and, 
 in fact, all machines in which hand sewing is at¬ 
 tempted to be imitated, whether with double or hook- 
 pointed needles, whether forming tack, whip, or quilt¬ 
 ing-stitch, are of but small practical importance. In 
 sewing by hand, the thread cannot be used of a greater 
 length than the distance the hand can be stretched 
 from the material to be sewn. The length of thread 
 must always remain very limited, and the consequent 
 frequent interruption in the work causes both delay 
 and hindrance. This disadvantage has, in machines 
 imitating hand sewing, up to the present not been re¬ 
 moved, and should even this imperfection be surmounted, 
 

 THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINE SEAMING. 
 
 two still greater difficulties would present themselves, as 
 the thread becomes much worn from its constant pas¬ 
 sage through the material, and each stitch requires much 
 time in its formation. 
 
 B.-THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 
 
 It having been soon perceived that the imitation of 
 hand sewing by machines was attended by difficulties 
 so great as to be almost insurmountable, induced the 
 discovery of some other description of stitch which 
 could be more easily effected by a machine, and which 
 should both possess the most valuable peculiarity of the 
 whip and quilting-stitches in not being liable to come un¬ 
 done, and also allow of the use of a thread at least some 
 yards long. One of the best of such seams formed by 
 a single thread is shown, Plate VI., Figs. 22 and 23. 
 The second of these differs from the first only through 
 the thread of the loops on the under side of the material 
 being twisted half round. Another seam varying but 
 slightly from the preceding is shown in Fig. 24. Its 
 appearance is not so fine and regular as that of the 
 others owing to the spaces left between the stitches, and 
 requires nearly the same quantity of thread. Its ad¬ 
 vantage consists in a smoother join on the wrong side 
 of the material. But few of such machines have, how¬ 
 ever, been constructed and come into use ; still less such 
 machines as are intended to produce the seams described 
 below, and for which a double thread is required. It 
 is true they produce a seam which cannot come undone, 
 and show on the surface a plain smooth series of stitches, 
 but the mechanical arrangements are so complicated 
 that there is but small probability of their coming into 
 
 
6 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 general use. Fig. 20 shows a description of quilting- 
 stitch with a knot in the lower side, which forms a heavy- 
 ridge, and has a very irregular appearance. This is in 
 a less degree the case in the seam shown in Fig. 25, in 
 which the loops on the lower side are more simple, and 
 the knots not so thick, while in that shown in Fig. 26, 
 the bottom thread simply connects the loops of the top 
 thread by means of a knot. The only practical perma¬ 
 nent machine stitch is the so-called machine quilting- 
 stitch, which is also formed by a double thread, and 
 which we shall in future simply call the quilting-stitch. 
 A very similar one, hut formed by a treble thread, is 
 represented in Fig. 21, in which the lower side is also 
 shown. On account of the inconveniences attaching to 
 it, it is hut seldom employed. 
 
 The seams which have been enumerated have been 
 styled permanent. By this is not intended to be said 
 that they cannot be undone, but that by simply pu llin g 
 the ends of the thread the seam does not rip without 
 the thread breaking. A permanent seam has therefore 
 the peculiarity of remaining perfectly secure and lasting, 
 even if here and there a stitch should be broken or the 
 thread worn. 
 
 Other descriptions of seams may be divided into 
 such as are easily and such as are with difficulty un¬ 
 done. The latter remain perfect if only the end of the 
 thread, or the end of one thread of such as are formed 
 by a double or treble thread, is pulled. Of these the 
 stitch invented by Grover and Baker, a description of 
 which will be given later, deserves the preference. A 
 somewhat similar stitch formed by needles passing di¬ 
 agonally through the material, which is thereby much 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OE MACHINE SEAMING. 7 
 
 weakened, is shown in Fig. 27. The stitch shown in 
 Fig. 28, belongs also to this category, is simple and 
 lasting, consumes but little thread, and presents a very 
 good appearance, but the mechanism by which it is 
 produced does not possess the necessary simplicity and 
 certainty. The same fault attaches to the stitch shown 
 in Fig. 30, which is also distinguished by durability, 
 elasticity, and appearance. It possesses the peculiarity 
 of allowing two needles to work, one within the other, 
 on the same side of the material, and has therefore been 
 applied to fastening the soles of boots to the uppers. 
 Fig. 31 can hardly be said to belong to this category, 
 being formed by two threads, the end of one of which 
 being pulled allows the seam to become unravelled, 
 while the other does not allow of it. No advantage is 
 attached to this stitch, as it consumes much thread, 
 weakens the material, and has neither a smooth nor 
 even appearance. It may be considered as the transi¬ 
 tion to the class of seams which may be readily undone, 
 the type of which is the simple chain or tambour-stitch. 
 This is the third description of stitch which has been 
 extensively practically employed, and will, therefore, be 
 specially treated of later. The following descriptions 
 may also be noticed, though partly on account of the 
 difficulty and uncertainty attending their formation, 
 partly on account of their inferiority to the chain-stitch 
 in simplicity, appearance, and consumption of thread, 
 they have scarcely any practical importance. Fig. 29 
 shows, as do all seams of this description, on the one 
 side a line of even stitches, and on the other a row 
 of interlocked loops consuming a large quantity of 
 thread, and presenting a very heavy appearance. Fig. 
 
8 
 
 THE SEWIN' 6-MACHINE. 
 
 36 differs from Fig. 37, inasmuch as the loop of the 
 chain on the lower side is apparently knotted in each 
 stitch in the former, and only in every other stitch in 
 the latter. Figs. 38 and 39 also show a series of loops 
 interlocked in each stitch, without being on that ac¬ 
 count any more durable than the simple chain-stitch. 
 We may here mention Singer’s chain-stitch machine, 
 which created so great a sensation at the time of its 
 appearance at the Paris Exhibition, on account of its 
 forming a knot to every seven chain-stitches, although 
 this did not in any way increase the durability of the 
 seam. 
 
 There remain oidy to be mentioned two descriptions 
 of seam intended to take the place of the whip-stitch 
 in hand sewing, whether this is intended to connect the 
 edges of two pieces of material, or to sew round the 
 edges of the material in order to prevent it fraying, as 
 in button-holes, &c. Seams for the first purpose, pro¬ 
 duced by a double thread, are shown in Figs. 32, 33, and 
 34. They are all modifications of the quilting-stitch, 
 produced by an alteration in the direction of the 
 stitches. Fig. 32 deserves, on account of its simplicity 
 and regularity, the preference. The seam, Fig. 35, may 
 be considered as valueless, owing to the employment of 
 five threads. 
 
 In the whip-stitch, or button-hole machine stitch, the 
 same distinction of durability exists. The button-hole 
 stitch represented in Fig. 42, which is a modified quilt¬ 
 ing-stitch, and might be produced on a common quilt¬ 
 ing-stitch machine with a slight mechanical alteration, 
 belongs to the permanent class, while Fig. 43 shows 
 one of those that are with difficulty unravelled. It is 
 
- 
 
 i 7 / ,• ' \ 
 
 THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING.' 9 
 
 also formed by a double thread, and is a slightly varied 
 imitation of the Grover and Baker stitch. In Figs. 40 
 and 41, two button-hole stitches, which can be easily 
 undone, are represented, and may be considered as a 
 modification of the simple chain-stitch, being formed 
 similarly to this with a single thread. 
 
 Much attention has been paid to the construction of 
 so-called button-hole machines, the process of making 
 button-holes by hand being both tedious and time con¬ 
 suming. All attempts, however, to construct a practical 
 button-hole machine have hitherto failed, and we are 
 thus induced to consider the causes of the non-success of 
 these endeavours. The needles which are employed for 
 sewing-machines are very thick compared with those for 
 sewing by hand, for reasons which will be explained 
 hereafter. In making button-holes in stout and firm 
 materials, which are best suited for this description of 
 ■work, the needle penetrates the material close to its 
 edge, and the large holes made by the needle in its 
 passage frequently cause the material to tear and the 
 seam to rip. On the other hand, soft materials, which 
 would not suffer from this cause, cannot be well sewn 
 on a whip-stitch machine on account of their pliability 
 and the rottenness of their edges. 
 
 In reality, the only three seams wdiich have hitherto 
 met with extensive practical application, are the simple 
 chain-stitch, the Grover and Baker stitch, and the 
 quilting-stitch seams. Though not all possessing the 
 same degree of durability, they have all the important 
 property of being produced without frequent interrup¬ 
 tions and delays from the replacement of the thread 
 consumed. The formation of the stitches of these seams 
 
10 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 also fulfils the condition, that the thread should return 
 through the same hole through which it has been passed 
 by the needle. A loop is therefore formed on the lower 
 side of the material, and is fastened in various manners, 
 according to the description of seam. The loop is either 
 fastened by the succeeding one passing through it 
 (Plate I. Fig. 17), or a second thread is specially em¬ 
 ployed for this purpose, which, having passed through 
 the loop, again returns through it, forming a second 
 loop, which is itself fastened by the following stitch 
 (Fig. 18); or sometimes the second thread runs through 
 the loops for the entire length of the seam. At first 
 sight, a similar inconvenience to that found in hand 
 sewing, would appear to arise, viz.—that the whole 
 length of the second thread must be drawn through the 
 loops of tire first at every stitch ; but these loops may 
 be readily made to admit of the passage of a bobbin on 
 which the thread is wound. 
 
 The first of the seams described in detail above, and 
 which is formed by a single thread only, is called the 
 single-thread chain-stitch, or tambour-stitch seam, and 
 each stitch of it is called a single-thread chain, or tam¬ 
 bour-stitch. The second, formed by two threads, is 
 called the double-thread chain-stitch seam ; or, after its 
 inventors, the Grover and Baker stitch seam ; and each 
 stitch, the double-thread chain-stitch, or Grover and 
 Baker stitch. The third, which is also formed by a 
 double thread, is called the quilting-stitch seam; and a 
 single stitch, the quilting-stitch. 
 
 The tambour-stitch seam, which is the simplest of the 
 three, has the advantage over the others of simplicity 
 of construction, from the fact of one thread only being 
 
TIIE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 11 
 
 employed. The seam requires about to 4 times its 
 own length of thread, which proportion is somewhat 
 increased if the stitches are made small, or if the ma¬ 
 terial is unusually thick. It easily comes undone, and 
 a single imperfect stitch, C (Plate I., Fig. 17), may cause 
 the failure of the whole seam. Such an imperfect stitch 
 may be caused by the loop of a stitch not being caught 
 by the succeeding one. This is the principle defect of 
 the tambour-stitch, and it is on this account but seldom 
 employed when strength and durability are required. 
 It has been employed for sewing sacks, &c., and when 
 perfect, has been found, from its great elasticity, to be as 
 durable as hand sewing. In calico factories it is nearly 
 always employed for connecting the pieces, and has 
 answered exceedingly well, even when only cotton thread 
 is employed. Its principal application is, however, to 
 ornamental work, for which both the upper and lower 
 surfaces of the stitch are made use of. The upper for 
 sewing cap-linings, mantles, ties, &c., the lower for these 
 articles also, but more particularly in the manufacture 
 of gloves. 
 
 The double-thread chain-stitch is, in almost every 
 respect, the transition from the tambour-stitch to the 
 quilting-stitch. Its upper surface resembles in appear¬ 
 ance the former; its lower surface presenting a kind of 
 chain, composed of two threads. It requires 5 to 6 times 
 its own length of thread (according to the thickness of 
 the material, and the distance of the stitches apart). 
 This large consumption of thread is a great drawback, 
 especially when silk thread has to be employed. In this 
 case, however, common cotton is generally employed for 
 the lower thread, so that the cost of the double-thread 
 
12 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 chain-stitch is not greater than that of the single-thread 
 chain-stitch in silk only. The former is also infinitely 
 to be preferred to the latter where durability is required; 
 as although in the case of a stitch being dropped, it would 
 be possible to unravel that portion of the seam which 
 was already completed, the seam seldom comes undone 
 through wear alone of the article sewn. An imperfect 
 stitch may occur in two ivays; either the loop of the 
 lower thread c (Plate I., Fig. 18) is not caught by the 
 succeeding one of the upper thread, in which case the 
 seam would not of itself come undone, the loop e being 
 held by the loop c, which is again held by the loop e, 
 being tightly drawn together; or the loop of the upper 
 thread b is not caught by the succeeding one of the 
 lower thread /, and in this case the loop b would be 
 entirely drawn out of the material by the tension of the 
 upper thread, as would also the loop / by that of the 
 lower thread causing the stitch g h double the length of 
 the other stitches, and containing the same imperfect 
 stitch cl, already described, which does not involve a 
 further unravelling of the seam. The double-thread 
 chain-stitch can, therefore, very well be applied where 
 durability and strength are required for articles of dress, 
 caps, cloth boots, gloves, &c.; it is also frequently 
 made use of in sewing stays, both for its appearance 
 and strength. The lower side is generally employed in 
 the decoration of mantles, caps, ties, gloves, &c., as 
 from the employment of two threads, a variety in colour 
 may be produced, as may also the effect of braiding by 
 taking the lower thread of sufficient thickness, and al¬ 
 lowing the tension to be as slight as possible. The 
 thickness of the seam on the wrong side, which causes 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 13 
 
 articles of dress to wear soon out at the point of con¬ 
 nexion, is diminished by using very fine cotton for the 
 lower thread, so that the chain has almost the appear¬ 
 ance of a single thread. 
 
 The quilting seam is the most perfect which can be 
 produced by the sewing-machine. The advantages of 
 the single and double-thread chain-stitch, are retained 
 without their inconveniences. It is true that should 
 the lower thread, which passes through all the loops of 
 the upper one, be drawn out, the whole seam would 
 become unravelled. But we are enabled, by means of 
 the loops of the upper thread, to draw the lower thread 
 into the material to be sewn, when the seam presents the 
 appearance shown (Plate II., Fig. 16 to the right-hand 
 side), which is the true machine quilting, or back-stitch 
 seam, that can no longer come undone. This further ad¬ 
 vantage is also gained, that the seam is alike on both sides. 
 An imperfect stitch can also occur in this description of 
 seam, from the lower thread not passing through the 
 loop formed by the upper one, which is then drawn 
 back out of the material, causing a stitch double the 
 length of the others, without in any way impairing the 
 durability of the seam. The thread consumed by this 
 description of seam is proportionately small, about 2± 
 times the length of the seam itself. The stitches being 
 moderately long, and the material not too stout, the 
 proportion of thread consumed by quilting, single and 
 double-thread chain-stitch seams, may be taken as 2, 3, 
 4. Another quality in favour of the quilting-stitch. This 
 stitch is, therefore, the most extensively employed, both 
 for ornamental and durable work—for shirts, coats, 
 dresses, caps, gloves, stays, shoes, saddles, in fact, for every 
 
14 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 description of sewing. These seams are all fastened off 
 by enlarging the last loop of the upper thread, drawing 
 it through the needle-hole, and tying it to the lower 
 thread. In the quilting-stitch seam, 3 or 4 stitches 
 backward answer the same purpose. 
 
 THE FORMATION OE THE STITCH. 
 
 The needle employed in machine sewing differs from 
 that employed in sewing by hand, as instead of having 
 the eye at the head of the needle, it is constructed close 
 to the point. The machine needle consists, therefore, of 
 a short conical point and a long cylindrical body. The 
 point must not be too stout, as it would otherwise meet 
 with too much resistance in its passage through leather, 
 pasteboard, &c. A special apparatus for piercing the 
 holes for the passage of the needles is no longer em¬ 
 ployed, and the needles are now constructed angular, 
 with two, three, or four sides for heavy work. The two- 
 edged needle has, perhaps, come most into use, the flat 
 sides of which have a direction diagonal to that of the 
 seam, and the stitches also have this direction, so that 
 the seam resembles the saddler’s seam (Fig. 23). The 
 length of the point of the needle (reckoning from the 
 eye) varies from j t to —■ in. Circumstances at times re¬ 
 quire a longer or shorter point, but as a rule, short points 
 are to be preferred, as a long point requires a longer stroke 
 of the needle, which is disadvantageous in a machine 
 which is required to work with rapidity. On the other 
 hand, long points have the advantage of allowing of 
 their being re-ground when blunt. The eye of the 
 needle is a cylindrical hole, the outer edges of which 
 aie rounded off. It is important that the interior sur- 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OE MACHINE SEAMING. 15 
 
 face of the eye should he perfectly smooth, so that the 
 thread, which does not as in hand sewing retain a fixed 
 position in the eye, but passes backwards and forwards 
 in it at each stitch, should not become frayed by the 
 constant friction, and at last break. The eye must also 
 on this account be made proportionately large, and its 
 edges rounded off, giving to it the appearance of being 
 conically enlarged on each side. Fig. 24, in Plate II., 
 shows a perfectly cylindrical eye (/) on an enlarged 
 scale, in which the thread evidently suffers more from 
 friction than in the conically enlarged eye (c). 
 
 The eye being larger in proportion to the thread than 
 that of the common sewing needle, and the size of the 
 body of the needle being conditional on the size of the 
 eye, the exterior of which must be made sufficiently 
 stout as not to weaken the needle, it follows that for 
 thread of a given thickness a stouter needle must be 
 employed in machine than in hand sewing. Owing to 
 this the hole made by the needle is too large in propor¬ 
 tion to the thickness of the thread, which though un¬ 
 important for soft materials, as cloth, silk, cotton goods, 
 &c., is a great objection when the material is tough and 
 hard, as leather. Especially when the stitches are very 
 small the material is apt to rip in the direction of the 
 seam. In the seam made by shoemakers, by means of 
 an awl, the thread not only entirely occupies the space 
 made by the awl, but is actually compressed into the 
 puncture, while the thread of a machine-made seam has 
 always more or less play in the hole made by the needle. 
 In order to assist the passage of the needle, with the 
 thread on each side of it, through the material, the 
 needle is grooved on both sides from the eye as far as 
 
16 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 the needle penetrates. The length of this groove is 
 from 7 to IT", according to the construction of the 
 machine. The depth depends naturally on the stout¬ 
 ness of the needle, but is always made as deep as pos¬ 
 sible without impairing the strength of the needle. 
 Sometimes the groove is continued on towards the 
 point yV to -§■as on the withdrawal of the needle from 
 the material the thread lies close to the needle in the 
 direction of the point. (See Fig. 21, a e.) 
 
 The needle is affixed to the so-called needle carrier , 
 the distance of the eye from which varies according to 
 the construction of the machine. As a rule, the dis¬ 
 tance should be as short as possible, never exceeding 
 1 in., except in machines in which very stout needles are 
 employed, as the shorter the needle the greater strength 
 it possesses. That part of the needle fitting into the 
 needle carrier is generally somewhat thicker than the 
 rest, and is made of the same thickness for needles of all 
 dimensions. This arrangement imparts greater strength 
 to thin needles, and also allows both thick and thin 
 needles to be so inserted that the points of either move up 
 and down in a certain fixed straight line. Many needles 
 are, however, made without being thus strengthened, 
 owing to their greater cost, whether constructed of one 
 piece or with a shank soldered on. The steel of which 
 the needles are manufactured must not be so hard as to 
 allow of their easily breaking, but must possess sufficient 
 elasticity to prevent their becoming bent. The shank 
 only, which is inserted in the needle carrier, is usually 
 made softer. The thickness of the needles varies 
 from to y'y in., according to the description of thread 
 
and material. The finest needles would break even with 
 thin leather. 
 
 The needle having pierced through the material with 
 the thread drawn tightly in the grooves on either side, 
 and commencing to ascend, the thread is retained in 
 the material by friction, and being lifted by the eye 
 of the needle, assumes the form of a loop (a, Plate II., 
 Fig. 25), which is then caught by a pointed instrument 
 for the purpose of completing the stitch. If the needle 
 is-similarly constructed on both sides, equal sized loops 
 will be formed on each side, and therefore the groove 
 on that side of the needle where the loop is intended to 
 be formed is made shorter than on the other (a b, Fig. 21), 
 causing the thread to have a tendency to more readily 
 leave the needle on this side, and to form the loop A 
 and B, Fig. 25. Such needles as are made with grooves 
 equally long on both sides more frequently make an im¬ 
 perfect loop, involving often an imperfect stitch. 
 
 The thread employed must be pliant, flexible, and 
 soft. If stiff and hard thread is employed a bend 
 (c, Fig. 25) is caused by the eye of the needle which 
 prevents the formation of the loop. Sewing-machine 
 thread must therefore not be stiff, thus excluding the 
 use of Avax, pitch, &c. Silk is better than cotton, and 
 this again better than linen thread. Another requisite 
 of good thread is evenness. If the thickness of the 
 thread varies frequently and suddenly, the loops formed 
 at such parts are generally imperfect. Machine thread 
 must also be tAvisted more than common thread. Too 
 great a twist, hoAvever, causes it to kink, Avhich is also 
 to be avoided. It is evident from the foregoing, that 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 
 common sewing-thread cannot with advantage he em¬ 
 ployed. The finish alone of ordinary thread involves 
 stiffness and a want of pliability. 
 
 Some time elapsed before the idea of forming the 
 loop by a short upward motion of the needle was 
 adopted. At first a semi-circular form was given to the 
 needle just above the eye, and above this curve a second 
 eye, both eyes being connected on the exterior periphery 
 of the curve by a groove in which the thread ran, and 
 by which the bend necessary for the formation of the 
 loop was caused. The objections to this arrangement 
 are evident. After the introduction of the straight 
 needle, a kind of gripper was invented to catch the 
 thread on that side of the needle where the loop was 
 intended to be formed, but this arrangement has also 
 been discarded. 
 
 As the first requisite in a sewing-machine is cer¬ 
 tainty in the formation of the loop, the height to which 
 the needle must rise before the mechanism intended to 
 catch the loop can commence its action is important. 
 As, however, silk more easily forms a loop than cotton, 
 and this again than linen thread, and as the shape of 
 the loop should be adapted to the point by which it is 
 intended to be caught, this height should also vary ac¬ 
 cording to the circumstances. But this would involve 
 a complication of the mechanism, and a distance of 
 
 to {- in. has been adopted, generally -§-, in. not 
 being sufficient for thread of inferior quality. 
 
 After the formation of the loop the mechanism 
 situated below the material, and which is intended to 
 perfect the stitch, comes into play. The arrangement 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 19 
 
 of this varies according to the description of seam in¬ 
 tended. 
 
 THE SINGLE-THREAD CHAIN-STITCH. 
 
 The needle with a hook point, first introduced by 
 Thimonnier, a Frenchman, in 1830, for the purpose of 
 forming the chain-stitch, has given rise to the most varied 
 constructions of tambour-stitch machines. In the machine 
 originally constructed by Thimonnier, the crochet needle 
 works from above, while below the material the thread 
 is conveyed from a spindle by means of the so-called 
 thread carrier to the hook of the needle, which conveys it 
 upwards as a loop passing the loop of the previously 
 formed stitch. The chain is thus formed on the upper 
 side of the material, while in the machines of a later 
 construction it is on the lower side, the needle working 
 from below and having a reciprocating motion, which 
 not only dispenses with a special arrangement for pro¬ 
 pelling the material, but permits of the reel conveying 
 the thread being a fixture, the thread being caught by 
 the hook alone. The American Singer, a German by 
 birth, introduced in 1854 a new principle, which is 
 still in use. His machine has on the one side an 
 eye-pointed needle, and a reciprocating hook or looper 
 on the other. A closer examination of the motion 
 of this hook shows that it consists of two motions, 
 one perpendicular to the other. These two motions 
 have also been given to two separate hooks work¬ 
 ing together, which at the same moment hold open 
 the loop of the thread. Another inventor has dispensed 
 with the horizontal vibratory motion, and introduced a 
 perpendicular one; another causes the needle to vibrate, 
 
20 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 making the hook a fixture; and a third causes the hook, 
 which is affixed to a spring, to be pushed aside by the 
 needle in its descent. Another has introduced an eye- 
 pointed needle on the one side, and a hook-pointed 
 needle, by which the thread is caught and retained till 
 the descent of the upper needle, on the lower side. 
 Machines constructed on this system are still in use, 
 one of which is delineated in Plate I.; but they are 
 being gradually displaced by more practical ones, con¬ 
 structed on the system introduced by James Wilcox, 
 in 1860. A machine of this description is represented 
 in Plate II. 
 
 THE RECIPROCATING HOOK 
 
 consists merely of a conical point (b c, Fig. 21, Plate I.) 
 with a triangular base, B. The point forms therefore a 
 three-sided equilateral pyramid. The surface cl b lies hori¬ 
 zontal, the surface cl c perpendicular, so that the latter 
 during the motion of the hook from left to right, and right 
 to left, passes close to the needle. Fig. 19, A, represents 
 the hook in its extreme position to the right, C, D, and 
 E in its extreme left. In the first position it is about 
 J- to -Js i n - distant from the needle, and is calculated to 
 arrive at this position when the needle has reached its 
 deepest point. The needle having risen about i to W in., 
 so as to form the loop, the hook has moved so far from 
 the right to the left that its point almost touches the 
 needle, being about T ’v in- above the eye, or just at the 
 widest point of the loop, Fig. 19, B. The needle rising 
 still farther, the hook continues its motion to the left, 
 catches the loop and holds it in that position, C, till the 
 needle is withdrawn from the material and reaches its 
 highest position. At this moment the material to be 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 21 
 
 sewn is moved the distance of a stitch in a direction 
 contrary to that of the hook and the needle, and the 
 needle in its descent penetrates through into the loop E. 
 To ensure this the hook, after reaching its extreme po¬ 
 sition on the left, moves in a direction perpendicular to 
 its former one as indicated by the arrow, Fig. 21, A. 
 The loop held by the hook becoming narrower towards 
 the left, it is necessary for the needle to pass as close 
 as possible behind the hook, the hack of which, e, is 
 therefore sometimes hollowed out (the hollow, e /, de¬ 
 creasing downwards) in order to allow the needle to 
 come close to the foremost end of the loop. Directly 
 the needle has caught the loop the hook is thrown back 
 so quickly that the back part of it passes T \r t° tV ' m - 
 below the eye of the needle, as it would otherwise in 
 passing so close to the needle fray and injure the 
 thread. The backward motion of the hook must there¬ 
 fore be very rapid, and as it is of advantage that all 
 the motions of a machine should be as slow and small 
 as possible, it follows that the point of the needle should 
 be as long, the hook as short, as possible. The needles 
 for these machines are therefore generally made with a 
 point of -|in. and more. The projecting point of the 
 hook T 3 -g in., or, reckoning to the hollow before men¬ 
 tioned, -pb in. 
 
 THE ROTATORY HOOIC. 
 
 We have now to consider a rotatory hook, which 
 catches the loop and holds it till the needle in making 
 the succeeding stitch has descended and passed the 
 loop. In this instance, also, the needle is calculated to 
 have risen T '- 2 in. at the moment of the hook, which is 
 
22 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 of a very pointed shape, passing T V in. behind the 
 needle, and catching the loop, which has just been 
 formed. Fig. 8, Plate II., shows the shape of the hook. 
 From a front view, A, its motion is in a contrary direc¬ 
 tion to that of the hand of a watch. B presents the 
 reverse side. Taken at the moment when its point is 
 directed upward, C gives its appearance from below, 
 D from the left, E from above, and F from the right. 
 It consists of two parts diametrically opposite to each 
 other, viz. the curved catch for retaining the loop, and 
 the cast off, having an inclination towards the axis 
 of the hook, which is intended to throw off the loops 
 for the completion of the stitch. The cast off is 
 affixed with its smaller side, «/s y 8, the sides of which are 
 almost radial to one another, to a disc attached to the 
 square of the axis of the hook. The needle having 
 risen sufficiently to allow of the formation of the loop, 
 the catch has advanced so far to the left that its point 
 passes close to the needle (Fig. 15, A), which shows also 
 the release of the previous loop. Continuing its motion 
 to the left, it penetrates the loop as shown in B, and 
 commences to move towards the right at the moment 
 the needle has completed its ascent, C. The material is 
 now moved from right to left the length of a stitch, 
 which movement is accomplished just previous to the 
 needle again penetrating it. The cast off has in the 
 mean time advanced from a horizontal to a perpendi¬ 
 cular position, D, and the front thread has slipped down 
 the inclined side off the same; the hinder thread is now 
 caught by the other side of the cast off, E, and is thus 
 inclined forward, while the thread which was previously 
 in front is now behind, and the loop, having made half 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINE SEAMING. 23 
 
 a turn on its axis, now lies in a hollow, e (3, Fig. 8, C, 
 formed by the junction of the catch and cast olf, in 
 which it is retained till the catch having penetrated the 
 new loop, it is released and drawn tight by the tension 
 of the thread. The needle having in its descent passed 
 through the old loop, has commenced to rise at the 
 moment of this being released, but is still in a position, 
 to catch and retain it. Were the old loop to be released 
 before the entrance of the catch into the new one, it 
 might happen to be again caught, and carried round 
 with the new one, which would inevitably cause a 
 breakage of the thread. The point of the needle would 
 also in this case be made as long as possible, in order to 
 make more certain of its catching the loop, were it not 
 that in its descent it would certainly strike the steel 
 hook and break. This would even be the case with a 
 point -§• in. in length, such as is commonly used with 
 these machines, were the hook not provided with a 
 grove, y , Fig. 8, E, at this point. '.From this description 
 it will be perceived that the loops on the lower side of 
 the seam have a twist of 180°, which constitutes the 
 difference between the stitch formed in this manner, 
 and that formed by the reciprocating hook. 
 
 2. THE DOUBLE-THREAD CHAIN STITCH. 
 
 The hook which catches the loop on the ascent of the 
 needle is in this case also intended to carry a second 
 thread through the loop of the upper one in such a 
 manner that the former also forms a loop, which is 
 caught by the needle in its descent passing through it. 
 For this purpose its shape is somewhat altered. Fig. 22, 
 Plate I., delineates it in A from above, B from behind, 
 
24 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 C from the front, D from the left, and E from the right. 
 It is longer than that for the tambour-stitch, and ends 
 like it in a point, its front flat surface passing close to 
 the needle to ensure catching the loop. The hook 
 cannot in this case be so pointed, as it has also to con¬ 
 vey a second thread, which passes through a hole drilled 
 in it from the back to the front. This hole must allow 
 of the thread intended for the lower chain passing 
 freely through it; \is generally taken. The thread 
 before entering this eye runs in a groove passing hori¬ 
 zontally along the exterior side of the hook, and con¬ 
 tinues through another hole drilled in the back of the 
 hook, to the reel supplying it. In the passage of the 
 hook through the loop of the upper thread, this must 
 of course slide along the groove over the lower thread, 
 and the groove is for the purpose of protecting the 
 lower thread, and preventing unnecessary friction and 
 fraying of both threads. Fig. 20, A, shows the hook in 
 its extreme position to the right with the point about 
 i in. from the needle. The construction is in this in¬ 
 stance, also, such that this position occurs at the mo¬ 
 ment of the needle reaching its lowest point. The 
 needle having risen sufficiently, about j in., to allow of 
 the formation of the loop, the hook has advanced so 
 far from right to left, that its point is close to the 
 needle (B), about to j, in. from the eye. The needle 
 continuing its ascent, the hook still advances and re¬ 
 tains the loop in its extreme position to the left (C). 
 At the moment of the needle completing its ascent, the 
 material commences to move in a contrary direction to 
 that of the hook, the distance of a stitch, and com- 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 25 
 
 pletes this movement before it is again reached by the 
 point of the needle. The needle now in its descent 
 reaches the loop of the lower thread below the ma¬ 
 terial (E), but without in this case passing through 
 the loop of the upper thread. It is on this account 
 that the hook is made longer and thinner, so as to allow 
 of its passage through the loop without carrying it 
 forward. To ensure the needle passing through the 
 loop of the lower thread, the hook must in this in¬ 
 stance also, on reaching its extreme position to the 
 left, make a slight lateral motion perpendicular to the 
 previous one c (Fig. 22). The loop itself affords a free 
 passage to the needle, owing to the hook being hollowed 
 out a little at the point of descent of the needle. The 
 loop being caught by the needle, the hook is thrown 
 back so quickly that the back part of it passes under 
 the needle. The point of the needle is generally in. 
 long, the size of the looper is shown, Fig. 22. 
 
 Attempts have been frequently made to construct the 
 looper so as to allow of its application both to the single 
 and double-thread chain-stitch. A steel piece, /, is 
 screwed on to the looper (Fig. 22, F, Plate I.), which is 
 employed for the double-thread stitch, or a steel wire is 
 passed through the holes drilled in the looper, but both 
 these methods require the hook to be longer than usual 
 from the point to the first hole, so that it is almost as 
 long as that of the tambour-stitch looper, T 3 T in. A se¬ 
 parate looper for each description of work is, however, 
 preferable, but it does not on the whole appear advan¬ 
 tageous, as will be shown later, to employ the same 
 machine for two descriptions of sewing. 
 
26 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 The double-thread chain-stitch looper has also under¬ 
 gone several modifications. It has been replaced by a 
 simple eye-pointed needle with a horizontal to-and-fro 
 motion, carrying the second thread, and forming like 
 the upper needle a loop by a slight side motion on the 
 completion of its stroke. Grover and Baker’s modifica¬ 
 tion of the double-chain-stitch (Plate III., Fig. 14), 
 originated from the needle having a curved shape given 
 to it. 
 
 The needle by its ascent causes a loop, which is 
 caught and held by the hook till the needle on its 
 return has caught the loop of the lower thread. This 
 description of double-chain-stitch hook differs but 
 slightly from the above-described looper ; it has a point 
 to catch the loop, and this point is also bored to allow 
 of the passage of the lower thread, which is conveyed 
 to the point in a groove on the outer surface of the 
 hook. The hook is almost circular, and vibrates on its 
 axis horizontally about 180° right and left. The radius 
 of its inner curve, a g h (Fig. 14, A, Plate III.), increases 
 gradually from the point T l T . to -J^-in., so that it is only 
 the point which passes close to the needle, the hind 
 part leaving the above space between it and the needle. 
 The drawings show the correct form and proportions of 
 the hook, which are seldom deviated from by the 
 makers. A line drawn from the point of the hook to 
 the centre, is calculated to fall perpendicularly on the 
 radial piece, e /, which is, therefore, parallel with the 
 direction of the point of the hook. From the point to 
 the eye is about {- in., and the eye itself, as in the other 
 hook, \ The groove running round the extreme peri¬ 
 phery from the eye, has a section of — T v"' breadth 
 
TIIB VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 27 
 
 and depth. The hinder part of the hook, d, is filed flat, 
 and also bored through in the direction cl e. The thread 
 running from a spindle passes through the opening 
 along the groove, which is covered at the point c to 
 prevent the thread leaving it, and then through the eye 
 at the point. Both the axis and the hook itself are {- in. 
 thick. 
 
 Fig. 14, A and B, show the hook in its extreme left 
 position, in which its point is distant about 4 in. from the 
 needle. It is in this position when the needle has com¬ 
 pleted its descent, and remains so till the needle by its 
 ascent has almost completed the loop, so that its point 
 on its return reaches the needle at the moment of the 
 completion of the loop. For reasons which will be ex¬ 
 plained hereafter, the loop is not complete till the needle 
 has risen in. At this moment the point of the hook is 
 still T V in. above the eye of the needle (Fig. 14, C.). 
 The needle continuing its ascent, the hook advances 
 into the loop of the upper thread, and reaches its ex¬ 
 treme position, right, at the moment of the eye of the 
 needle leaving the material (Fig. 14, E.). The hook com¬ 
 mences its return when, on the descent of the needle, the 
 eye has again reached the material. The loop of the 
 upper thread is drawn somewhat on one side of the 
 hook, so that the needle in its descent penetrates the 
 loop, m n o j), Fig. 14, F, of the lower thread formed by 
 the return motion of the hook, similarly to the side 
 motion of the needle, and still retains it when the hook 
 has finished its return. The material, of course, also in 
 this instance, is advanced the length of a stitch at the 
 moment of the needle commencing its descent. Fig. 14, 
 A to F, shows the various positions of the hook from 
 
28 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 above and below. A further but unimportant variation 
 of the Grover and Baker looper has been attempted by 
 making the axis horizontal, the principle remaining the 
 same. 
 
 The question naturally arises, whether a looper might 
 not also be constructed for the double-chain-stitch 
 having a constant rotary, instead of an intermittent 
 vibratory motion. The possibility is granted; but one 
 difficulty arises to prevent the introduction of such a 
 looper, which is this : The lower thread would, before 
 entering the hole drilled in the looper, have to pass 
 through the axis of the shaft of the looper, which would 
 much increase the difficulties attending the construction 
 of such a machine. 
 
 THE QUILTING-STITCH 
 
 is formed by the entire length of the lower thread pass¬ 
 ing through the loops of the upper thread formed by 
 the ascent of the needle. For this purpose the lower 
 thread is wound on a reel, which, passing through the 
 loop, carries the thread with it. But as the loop is not 
 sufficiently large to allow of the passage of the bobbin, 
 it must first be enlarged, which is accomplished either 
 by enclosing the bobbin or spool in a shuttle running 
 to a point, and gradually increasing in size, or a catch is 
 constructed, by which the loop is lengthened and drawn 
 over the bobbin, which in this case remains stationary. 
 The quilting-stitch machines may thus be divided into 
 those with travelling shuttle, and those with a stationary 
 bobbin. 
 
 MACHINES WITH TRAVELLING SHUTTLE. 
 
 Walter Hunt was the original inventor of this com- 
 
THE VARIOUS 
 
 bination of the eye-pointed needle and travelling shuttle. 
 The shuttle has naturally from time to time been im¬ 
 proved upon and altered in form, but the peculiarities 
 of a point by which the loop is caught, and the being 
 made as narrow as possible consistently with carrying 
 the bobbin, have always remained the same. Both 
 the point and the body of the shuttle must pass as close 
 as possible to the needle, to avoid the necessity of too great 
 an enlargement of the loop. The shuttles travel either 
 in a straight or curved line, in some cases horizontally, 
 in others perpendicularly. There are, therefore, three 
 distinct descriptions of shuttles. First, those having 
 rectilinear motion; next, those with a perpendicular 
 curvilinear motion; and, lastly, those with a horizontal 
 curvilinear motion. The old and impracticable arrange¬ 
 ment may also be noticed, in which the shuttle has a 
 continuous circular motion. 
 
 SHUTTLES WITH HORIZONTAL RECTILINEAR MOTION. 
 
 To ascertain their correct form we must examine the 
 manner of their application. The one side of the 
 shuttle generally fits close to a perpendicular surface, in 
 which a groove runs perpendicularly for the passage of 
 the needle up and down, passing therefore close to the 
 latter. Fig. 26, Plate II., shows the exterior of' the 
 shuttle. The shuttle is also sometimes constructed with 
 a point at either end, so that in its passage both back¬ 
 wards and forwards it traverses a loop of the upper thread, 
 thus completing two stitches. In Fig. 22, Plate IV., 
 where the various relative positions of the needle and 
 shuttle are shown, the shuttle is assumed to pass from 
 
30 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 left to right behind the needle so as to afford a view of 
 its interior. This is usually the arrangement, although 
 the direction is immaterial in principle. For a shuttle 
 passing behind the needle the motion must be from 
 right to left. The needle having reached its deepest 
 point, the shuttle has arrived at its extreme position, 
 left, Fig. 22, E, and its point is there to in. distant 
 from the needle; some manufacturers, however, leave 
 but a. to J-rr in. The shuttle noiv commences its motion 
 from left to right, and reaches with its point the needle 
 at the moment of the completion of the loop, Fig. 22, A. 
 In machines with travelling shuttles in which thread is 
 generally employed, the ascent of the needle, necessary 
 for the formation of the loop, is mostly made longer than 
 usual, about a in. The eye of the needle is also arranged 
 to be about a in. from the point of the shuttle, as the 
 widest part of the loop falls somewhat higher than 
 usual, owing to the increased loop forming ascent of the 
 needle. Were the ascent of the needle now to be con¬ 
 tinued, or were it to remain stationary, the lower edge 
 of the shuttle would, in passing the eye of the needle, be 
 liable to fray or break the thread. The needle is there¬ 
 fore allowed to again descend so far as to allow of the eye 
 continuing below the shuttle (Fig. 22, B) till the hinder 
 part of the latter has reached the needle (Fig. 22, C). 
 The needle then again commences its ascent, the shuttle 
 remaining stationary till the upper thread has been 
 drawn back sufficiently (Fig. 22, D) to allow of the return 
 of the shuttle without the latter coming in contact with 
 the loop. The return of the shuttle to its extreme 
 left occupies the time necessary for the completion 
 of the ascent and descent of the needle, and while the 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINE SEAMING. 31 
 
 needle is at its highest point of ascent, the material is 
 moved forward the length of a stitch. 
 
 In the above construction of the shuttle an inter¬ 
 mittent motion is necessary, which prevents the applica¬ 
 tion of the common treadle and crank. By lengthening 
 the heel of the shuttle, so as to allow the motion of the 
 shuttle to the right to be continued till the needle has 
 ascended sufficiently to allow of its free return, we are 
 enabled to apply the crank motion, particularly as this 
 possesses the peculiarity of retarding its motion at the 
 moment of turning the centre. 
 
 Attempts have also been made to simplify the motion 
 of the needle. As before described, the needle on the 
 completion of the loop must again descend so as to 
 allow of its eye being below the lower edge of the 
 shuttle during the side motion of the latter. This can 
 be avoided by so arranging that the eye of the needle, 
 at the moment of the completion of the loop, is already 
 below the shuttle, Plate IV., Fig. 22, A. The point of 
 the shuttle must in this case be bent downwards, so that 
 the requisite distance, as before mentioned, still con¬ 
 tinues between it and the eye of the needle. The 
 surface of the shuttle must be perfectly smooth and 
 polished to allow of the thread slipping freely over it. 
 It is constructed of steel of about ~ to At Fi. thick. The 
 thinner it is, the more room in the interior, the larger 
 the bobbin can be, and the longer a thread can be 
 carried. The bobbin consists of a steel axis, a b, Fig. 
 28, Plate II., the ends of which a and b are hardened, 
 and to Avhich two round discs are affixed, between which 
 the thread is wound. These discs are rounded off on their 
 interior surface, so that in winding the thread each 
 
32 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 layer may lie evenly on the preceding one. The pivots 
 of the bobbin run in two sockets, one of which is drilled 
 in a small piece of steel brazed to the front end of the 
 shuttle, the other in a sliding piece which is pressed 
 forward by a spiral spring. The hinder pivot of the 
 bobbin is first introduced into e, and the other then 
 slides in a groove into the other socket. The bobbin is 
 thus prevented from shifting longitudinally, and can at 
 the same time revolve freely without much friction. 
 The sliding piece has also been inserted in the front 
 part of the shuttle, Fig. 29, which arrangement allows 
 of the bobbin being made longer, and has therefore 
 mostly been adopted. The shuttle is also generally fur¬ 
 nished with a cover, but this is unnecessary as long as 
 the flanges of the bobbin do not come in contact with 
 the surface along which the shuttle has to pass. To 
 regulate the pressure of the sliding piece on the pivot of 
 the bobbin, it has been proposed to insert a sunk screw 
 at the back of the shuttle to compress the spring as 
 much as necessary. This arrangement, however, shortens 
 the length of the bobbin. The pivots and sockets are 
 very liable to wear unevenly, causing the bobbin to 
 wriggle, and attempts have therefore been made to in¬ 
 troduce in their place axles working in circular bearings, 
 Fig. 26. The exterior surfaces of the flanges of the spool 
 aie in this case also rounded off so as to cause the least 
 amount of friction when brought in contact by the tension 
 of the thread, alternately with one or other of the bear¬ 
 ings. The diameter of the axles is from - 1 - to T V in. The 
 difficulty is in this case to prevent the bobbin shifting 
 longitudinally, and thus causing irregularity in the ten¬ 
 sion of the thread. In fact the desideratum in the construc¬ 
 tion of the shuttle and bobbin is to allow the tension of the 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP SHUTTLES. 
 
 33 
 
 thread to be varied at will without being liable to acci¬ 
 dental alterations. A greater power being necessary to 
 overcome the friction of the spool, as the thread runs 
 off, owing to the diminished leverage, it follows that the 
 tension of the thread itself must vary according as the 
 spool is more or less full. This variation does not allow 
 of the axis of the bobbin being made thin so as to take as 
 much thread as possible on the spool, and it is therefore 
 generally made T V to At i n - diameter. Springs pressing- 
 cither on the flanges of the bobbin, or the thread itself 
 have been tried, but these are only applicable to bobbins 
 running in bearings, the disadvantages of which arrange¬ 
 ment have been before shown, and the construction in 
 Fig. 29 has therefore been generally adopted. The 
 friction of the bobbin is, however, not sufficient for the 
 tension of the thread, and the exterior of the shuttle is 
 therefore provided with a row of eyes, i h, through which 
 the thread is passed. Their diameter is generally At in., 
 so as to allow the thickest thread to pass freely through 
 them, and they must be perfectly smooth and without 
 sharp edges. The thread is conducted through these 
 holes, either alternately from the in to the outside, or 
 passes through each eye from the exterior, being carried 
 thither through the slit, h, parallel with the eyes. This 
 increases the tension of the thread and enables it to be 
 regulated by passing the thread through a greater or 
 less number of eyes. The thread is not conveyed direct 
 from the bobbin to the eyes, as this would again in¬ 
 crease the variation in its tension, but passes through 
 a slit, /, in the lower surface of the shuttle over the 
 upper edge, g, into the eyes. The upper part of the 
 shuttle is rounded off where the thread passes over to 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 prevent the thread coming in contact with the shuttle 
 race and becoming frayed. This is the simplest manner 
 of stretching the thread as required; other methods 
 have been tried, but the above described has always 
 again been reverted to. 
 
 The original shuttle presented a rectangular section, 
 and the spool lay loose in it, so that the thread fre¬ 
 quently became entangled and sudden alterations in the 
 tension occurred. 
 
 SHUTTLES FOR HORIZONTAL CURVILINEAR MOTION. 
 
 The shuttle in this arrangement runs with one side 
 against a cylindrical surface in which is the vertical 
 groove for guiding it. The shuttle can retain the shape 
 previously described, except that its surface running on 
 the cylinder, or at least its point, m n, Fig. 26, must be 
 rounded off A new description of shuttle of a cylin¬ 
 drical form, Fig. 30, has, however, come into general use. 
 It is constructed as thin as possible, to h- in., with a 
 solid point, and cut off at its heel at an obtuse angle. 
 The point is also rounded off on the side next the guide 
 plate, forming the surface, A, which serves to keep the 
 shuttle, which would otherwise be apt to turn on its 
 axis, in its right position. This shape might also be 
 applied to shuttles having a rectilinear motion, by slightly 
 altering the form of the point. A slit, A, is made on 
 the side opposite to the surface, A, 1"' in width, parallel 
 to the axis, and running nearly the whole length, 
 of the shuttle. This is intended to guide the steel- 
 plate, c e, by which it is entirely filled, and to which 
 two cylindrical plates are attached at right angles, the 
 011 e > 9i as a cover to the shuttle, and for the one pivot of 
 
the spool to work in, and the other to support the box, cZ, 
 containing the spring for the moveable socket, /. The 
 thread on leaving the spool passes through the curved 
 opening, i k, and then through a series of eyes in the 
 plate, Z to, which is brazed on parallel to the axis on the 
 top surface of the shuttle, so that the one side of it runs 
 along the guide plate of the shuttle, and assists in keep¬ 
 ing the latter in its correct position. To insert the 
 spool in the shuttle it is first placed in the holder, the 
 end of the thread passed through i k from the interior, 
 and the holder is then slipped into the shuttle. The 
 chief advantage of this description of shuttle is that the 
 needle need not descend so low, as there is no edge 
 round which the thread can twist. The needle has also 
 not again to descend, after completing the loop, to allow 
 of the passage of the shuttle through the loop, but only 
 to stand still, or may even slowly continue its ascent; 
 but must, at the moment of the shuttle quitting the 
 loop, still be some distance from its extreme point of 
 ascent. 
 
 SHUTTLES WITH VERTICAL CURVILINEAR MOTION. 
 
 For this motion the shuttle itself must be curved 
 correspondingly to the arc of the circle described by it, 
 Fig. 27. It is evident that this description of shuttle 
 cannot contain so large a spool as the straight shuttle 
 above described, and attempts have therefore been made 
 also to employ the latter for vertical curvilinear motion, 
 but without success, as the eye of the needle must then 
 always remain below the lower edge of the shuttle; this 
 increases the necessary length of the shaft of the needle, 
 which should always be round. A straight cylindrical 
 
 d 2 
 
36 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 shuttle would answer better, and is occasionally em¬ 
 ployed. To enable tlie curved shuttle to accommodate 
 a larger quantity of thread the spool has also been 
 entirely discarded, and the thread is laid in a kind of 
 ball or cop loose in the shuttle, which is then enclosed 
 on all sides. It is necessary in this case for the thread 
 to be very carefully wound by means of a peculiar con¬ 
 trivance. The thread runs from the interior of the 
 ball, but is so apt to get entangled that this arrange¬ 
 ment has come but little into use. The shuttle runs in 
 grooves varying in shape according to the direction of 
 its motion, and is put in operation by a so-called shuttle 
 driver. It is evident that the entire length of the 
 shuttle having to pass through the loop, it cannot be 
 connected with the driver, which must therefore only 
 act on such parts of the shuttle as are for a time free 
 from the loop, viz. : at the commencement of the ad¬ 
 vancing and the end of the returning motion on the 
 heel, and at the commencement of the returning and 
 the end of the advancing motion on the point of the 
 shuttle. In the original arrangement, therefore, two 
 drivers were made use of, which were, however, soon 
 combined by drilling a hole in each extremity of the 
 shuttle, in which two corresponding catches of the 
 shuttle driver fit, the one relinquishing its hold when 
 the other commences its action. In 1849 Morey intro¬ 
 duced the shuttle driver now in use in which these two 
 studs are omitted, consequently dispensing with the 
 corresponding holes in the shuttle, and which consists 
 of a lever with a projection at either end, by which the 
 shuttle is alternately driven backwards and forwards. 
 The shape of these projections has undergone many 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP SHUTTLES. 
 
 37 
 
 alterations, instances of which will be adduced. The 
 driver has been still more simplified by applying it 
 to the heel only of the shuttle, in place of at its front 
 and back extremities; to the heel of the shuttle a pro¬ 
 jecting lip is attached forming a socket for the reception 
 of the nose of the hammer-shaped reciprocating driver. 
 
 This arrangement cannot, however, be recommended, 
 as it allows the point of the shuttle too much play in 
 an upward direction. As unimportant variations, may 
 be mentioned the construction of the driver for various 
 sized shuttles, the imparting to it a slight return motion 
 to allow of the loop slipping freely from the shuttle, 
 as also by the application of a crank motion to propel 
 the shuttle faster in its advance than its return, so as-, 
 to shorten the dwell of the needle in its deepest position. 
 To avoid the friction of the thread on the exterior- 
 surface of the shuttle, and the necessity of the needle 
 standing still, by which the application of a crank motion- 
 is precluded, a moveable hook attached to the driver- 
 lias been introduced, which catches the loop, and holding 
 it open allows of the passage of the shuttle without the 
 thread of the latter coming in contact with the loop. 
 This may be considered as the transition to 
 
 SHUTTLES WITH FIXED SPOOLS. 
 
 The spool on which the thread, by which the loops of 
 the upper thread are fastened, is wound, has in this 
 arrangement only a revolving motion. A hook catches 
 the loop and draws it over the spool. This hook, or 
 looper, has either a reciprocating or rotating motion. 
 The former is, however, but seldom employed owing -to 
 the complicated arrangements necessary, and develop- 
 
38 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 ments of the rotating looper appear to he the direction 
 in which we must look for further improvements in the 
 construction of sewing-machines. 
 
 The spool, Fig. 10, A B C, Plate VII, is so constructed 
 that the thread of the loop slips easily and without 
 friction over it, and owing to its answering the purpose 
 of a shuttle it is not unfrequently so called. It consists 
 of two halves brazed together formed of steel plate \ to 
 thick, well turned and polished, and the thread 
 passes through the slit formed by the edges of the two 
 halves. The slit is usually in., as this description of 
 machine is mostly employed for fine work, and the 
 edges must of course be rounded oft’ so as to avoid 
 fraying the thread. There are two requisites in the 
 construction of the spool, viz. to allow as much interior 
 space as possible, and to avoid too great a difference in 
 the circumference of the thread when the spool is full 
 and nearly empty. The spool is therefore generally 
 made broader towards its axis, having generally 2"' 
 as its greatest breadth, and the axis itself varies from 
 f to y of the diameter of the spool, which is between 
 14 to 15'". To still further diminish the friction of 
 the loop passing over the spool, the axis is sometimes 
 sunk as in C, Fig. 10, Plate VII. The spool is contained 
 in a hollow on the front side of the looper, so that the 
 surface of the former exposed to view, q, Fig. 7, appears 
 as a continuation of the front surface of the looper. 
 The shape of this hollow, r s, is shown in the drawing. 
 Between the hinder surface of the spool and that of the 
 hollow is a space of in. 
 
 The needle having ascended T V in., the point of the 
 looper rotating in the direction of the hands of a watch, 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OE SHUTTLES. 39 
 
 reaches tlie needle -§. to yV in. above its eye, big. 22, A, 
 and the needle continuing its ascent, the point pene¬ 
 trates still further the loop, Fig. 22, B, till the latter can 
 slip no further on the projecting point, big. 22, C, and 
 therefore falls into the groove, e f. Fig. 7, which runs 
 round the periphery of the cylindrical surface of the 
 looper, becoming narrower and shallower till it termi¬ 
 nates in the vertical surface g. The farther the looper 
 advances the longer the thread of the loop is extended 
 in the groove, while the one side of the loop is com¬ 
 pelled to slip behind the spool, and the advance being 
 continued, Fig. 22, D, the thread conveyed by the groove 
 reaches the above-mentioned vertical surface, and slips 
 from it over the front surface of the spool. The loop has 
 now reached a perpendicular position, Fig. 22, E, twisted 
 diametrically round the spool, and would, the motion of 
 the looper being continued, slip still farther to the left, 
 passing over the spool, and at once quitting the looper, 
 were it not for the so-called break acting against the cir¬ 
 cumference of the looper, Fig. 22, A, by which the loop is 
 retained till the point of the looper has entered the fresh 
 loop, Fig. 22, B, and there is no longer any fear of the 
 old loop being again caught. The loop is freed from 
 the break on the vertical surface of the looper reaching 
 the latter, and leaving sufficient space for the thread 
 to pass. The second point of the looper is only of 
 secondary importance. A portion of the thread of the 
 loop slips over its front surface, Fig. 22, E, when the 
 loop commences to leave its perpendicular position 
 and approaches the break, which being reached, the 
 hinder thread of the loop slips off this second point, 
 which is calculated to reach the needle at its deepest 
 
40 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 point of descent. It is therefore evident that the looper 
 must have travelled the distance of the two points from 
 one another, while the needle has ascended t L- to T V in. 
 Their distance from one another will therefore be 4- in., 
 
 o / 
 
 if we reckon them to be di in. from the centre of the 
 looper. If the diameter of the looper is in., it follows 
 that the points are -L- to in. distant from the extreme 
 periphery of the looper. The hinder surface of the 
 second point is also flat, but lies a little more forward 
 than that of the first, so as to allow of sufficient space 
 between it and the needle (j,-'"). This arrangement was 
 first introduced by the Americans, Wheeler and Wilson, 
 though not exactly as has been described, having under¬ 
 gone many modifications and improvements. 
 
 In some machines the spool has a reciprocating motion 
 given to it in the direction of the axis of the looper, 
 which is in this case hollow to allow of the passage of 
 the spool. 
 
 II. THE MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE SEWING- 
 
 MACHINE. 
 
 It has been shewn that all sewing-machines have a 
 needle operating from above, and a contrivance below 
 operating with it, the motion of each being dependent on 
 that of the other. The mechanism by which the necessary 
 motion is imparted to the needle is separated from that 
 of the lower portion of the apparatus by the so-called 
 serving plate , containing the needle hole , through which the 
 needle passes in its ascent and descent. The material to 
 be sewn rests on the sewing plate, and is advanced the 
 length of a stitch after the completion of each stitch by 
 
THE NEEDLE MECHANISM. 
 
 41 
 
 means of the feed motion. There is also an arrange¬ 
 ment for regulating the tension of the thread. Affixed to 
 the sewing plate, at a distance varying from 3 to 12 in. 
 from the needle hole, is a bent arm, or overhanging 
 bracket, the head of which terminates above the needle 
 hole and serves to support part of the mechanism. The 
 height of the head from the needle hole varies from 
 1 to 5 in., but is generally above 3 in. A line drawn 
 from the needle hole to the base of the arm is called 
 the axis of the machine. Looking from the needle hole 
 towards the base of the bracket are the right and left 
 sides of the machine. The bracket is affixed to the 
 hinder part of the machine, the needle hole is situated 
 in the front. 
 
 THE MECHANISM FOR COMMUNICATING MOTION TO THE 
 
 NEEDLE. 
 
 The needle has an ascending and descending motion 
 perpendicular to the sewing plate, and is affixed to the 
 lower end of a shaft working in perpendicular guides, 
 and called the needle carrier. To compensate for the 
 wear by friction of the guide plates, the needle carrier 
 shown in Plate VI., Figs. 1 and 2, „ Kp , allows of the plates 
 being adjusted to it by means of a screw, the friction 
 being also much lessened. The shape shown, Plate V., 
 Fig. 10, is almost equally good, but is surpassed by that 
 of Fig. 9, Plate IV. The one prism-shaped guide of 
 the carrier is a fixture, while the other, admitting of a 
 slight horizontal movement, can be tightened up by a 
 screw when either the carrier or the guide has become 
 
42 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 worn. Both right-angled and cylindrical carriers are 
 very liable to work loose. 
 
 The needle is attached to the carrier by a screw in 
 various manners. In Plate IV., Figs. 1 and 2, it is 
 shown fastened in a groove running parallel to the axis 
 of the carrier by the head of a square bolt passing 
 through the carrier, and tightened by a screw and nut. 
 In Fig. 1,. Plate \ I., it is fastened by a wedge, P , to which 
 a screw is attached. In larger carriers the needle is 
 fastened in a perpendicular bore provided with a set 
 screw, o, Plate V., Fig. 1. In round carriers, or such 
 as have their lower extremity round, a nut, B, Plate II., 
 Fig. 12, with a conical bore, compresses the cone-shaped 
 slotted end of the carrier on the needle. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary that the needle should be 
 perfectly parallel to the axis of the carrier, and should 
 this not be th'e case when fitted, it must be bent in the 
 right direction, and the shanks of the needles are there¬ 
 fore generally left untempered. 
 
 The needle carrier must be constructed as light as 
 possible, consistent with the necessary solidity, but owing 
 to the friction even then attendant on its use, the needle 
 has been attached to the end of a lever, 6 to 8 in. in 
 length, moving in a perpendicular plane. This is in 
 fact the first arrangement, the needle carrier having 
 been first introduced in 1846. It is chiefly employed 
 for light work on account of the weakness of the needles, 
 owing to the curved form which must be given them 
 corresponding to the arc described by them. As this curve 
 must exactly correspond to that described by the end 
 of the lever, this description of needle is generally pro- 
 
THE NEEDLE MECHANISM. 
 
 43 
 
 vicled with a flat shank to prevent the needle from 
 turning. 
 
 Motion is communicated to the needle by means of a 
 shaft, with either a crank worked by hand, or a fly¬ 
 wheel connected by driving bands with a treadle. This 
 shaft is called the main or driving shaft, and is always 
 horizontal. Its position varies, being in some machines 
 above, in others below the sewing plate; it is also placed 
 sometimes parallel, sometimes perpendicular, to the axis 
 of the machine. The means of transmission of motion 
 from the main shaft to the needle also vary, a crank 
 being generally sufficient, otherwise an eccentric slot is 
 employed. 
 
 There are therefore eight various combinations which 
 will be described below. 
 
 The main shaft lies above the seioing plate, parallel with 
 the axis of the machine , and motion is transmitted by means 
 of a crank. Instead of an ordinary crank a round 
 plate, or disc, is generally affixed to the front end 
 of the main shaft, having a projecting stud passing 
 through one end of a connecting rod, the other end of 
 which is attached to the needle carrier. As it is gene¬ 
 rally advantageous to cause the needle to dwell at its 
 highest and lowest points of motion, the connecting rod 
 is usually made short in proportion to the length of the 
 crank—it is frequently not more than 4 - in. longer than 
 the latter. 
 
 The main shaft lies above the sewing plate, parallel to the 
 axis of the machine , and motion is transmitted by means of 
 an eccentric slot. This arrangement is similar to the 
 one just described, except that the disc is provided 
 on its front surface with an eccentric slot in which a 
 
44 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 friction roller, attached by a pin to the needle carrier, 
 works. (See machine shown in Plate I.) In this instance 
 the slot revolves while the pin has the ascending and 
 descending motion. In Plate IV. a machine is shown 
 in which the roller is attached to a pin in the disc, 
 while the needle carrier itself is slotted. 
 
 The main shaft lies above the sewing'plate perpendicular 
 to the axis of the machine and motion is transmitted by a 
 crank. It is evident that in this arrangement the main 
 shaft must be placed in the rear of the bracket, as its 
 transmission gearing would otherwise diminish the space 
 for the passage of the material to be sewn. This position 
 of the main shaft also requires the circular motion of 
 the crank changed, by a connecting rod, into a rectilinear 
 one to be transmitted to the needle carrier by a lever. 
 If the guide of the connecting rod is perpendicular the 
 lever must be straight, if diagonal or horizontal, a bent 
 lever must be employed. In the first case, Plate VII., Fig. 
 24, the shaft would be placed but a slight distance above 
 the sewing plate; in fact, it would be most advantageous 
 in machines having the main shaft perpendicular to 
 their axis to place it below the sewing plate. In the 
 second case the back of the machine would have to be 
 disproportionately lengthened, and this arrangement is 
 therefore but seldom employed. 
 
 The main shaft lies above the sewing plate perpendicular 
 to the axis of the machine , ancl motion is transmitted by an 
 eccentric slot. This slot is constructed in the plate at¬ 
 tached to the front end of the main shaft, and the 
 transmission roller forms the end of a lever communi¬ 
 cating motion to the needle carrier. The arrangements 
 
THE NEEDLE MECHANISM. 
 
 45 
 
 vary slightly, according as a straight or bent lever is 
 employed, but the principle remains the same. 
 
 The main shaft lies beloiv the sewing plate, parallel to the 
 axis of the machine, and motion is transmitted by a crank. 
 The crank is affixed to the back end of the shaft, and 
 gives motion by means of a universal joint to a con¬ 
 necting rod moving in a perpendicular plane, to the 
 other end of which the end of a horizontal lever is 
 attached by which the motion is transmitted to the 
 needle carrier. See Fig. 29, also machine shown in 
 Plate II. 
 
 The mean shaft lies below the sewing plate, parallel to 
 the axis of the machine, motion being transmitted by means 
 of an eccentric groove. (See machine shown in Plate Y.) 
 The groove is in this instance on the exterior of a 
 
 o 
 
 cylinder attached to the main shaft, and the roller 
 transmitting the motion to a bent lever has a recipro¬ 
 cating motion, almost rectilinear, horizontal to the sur¬ 
 face of the cylinder, Plate VII., Fig. 30. The path of 
 the roller is a flat curve, the plane of which is perpen¬ 
 dicular, parallel to the axis of the shaft, and touching 
 the cylinder in a straight line from which the curve 
 described deviates but slightly. To reduce this deviation 
 as much as possible, the lever arm to which the roller 
 is attached, as also the diameter of the cylinder, are 
 made as large as possible, and the curve described by 
 the roller is so arranged that its extremities are just the 
 same height above the point of contact as its centre is 
 below. 
 
 The main shaft lies beloiv the sewing plate, perpendicular 
 to the axis of the machine, and motion is transmitted by a 
 
46 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 cranJc. The principle of this construction, Figs. 31 and 
 32, does not differ from that shown in Figs. 24 and 25. 
 The proportions of the parts alone vary. 
 
 The main shaft lies below the seioing plate, perpendicular 
 to the machine axis , ancl motion is transmitted by an eccen¬ 
 tric groove. This arrangement, Figs. 33 and 34, also 
 corresponds with that shown in Figs. 27 and 28, except 
 that the straight lever shown in Fig. 27 is replaced in 
 Fig. 33 by a lever bent at an obtuse angle, and that the 
 proportions of the various parts differ. Assuming the 
 main shaft in the front part of the machine, the lever takes 
 the form of ID . By giving the roller the rotating, the 
 groove the reciprocating, motion, and making the groove 
 rectilinear, we obtain the form of arrangement shown 
 in Plate III. 
 
 In most of these arrangements motion is transferred 
 to the needle carrier by a lever which is attached in 
 various manners. Either the end of the lever has a 
 slot, in which a stud attached to the needle carrier 
 travels, or a short connecting rod is employed. This 
 arrangement with levers alone makes it possible to dis¬ 
 pense with the needle carrier, and to employ curved 
 needles. As, however, when curved needles are made 
 use of, the fulcrum of the lever must he but slightly 
 above the sewing plate, a straight lever is inadmissible. 
 In Plate VII. a machine of this description is shown 
 according to the plan of Fig. 31. 
 
 THE TRANSMISSION OE MOTION TO THE LOWER MECHANISM. 
 
 The arrangements below the sewing plate vary much 
 in different machines. They may be thus classified: 
 Those with a rotating motion, including the revolving 
 
THE MECHANISM OF 
 
 47 
 
 hook of the single-thread chain-stitch machine, and the 
 revolving looper of the quilting-stitch machine, and 
 those with a reciprocating or oscillating motion. 
 These latter may be again divided into those with cur¬ 
 vilinear and those with rectilinear motion. Those with 
 a curvilinear motion describe either an arc with a very 
 small angle, as the looper of the single-thread chain- 
 stitch machine, and the similarly constructed double¬ 
 thread chain-stitch machine, or an arc with a larger 
 angle, as in machines with travelling shuttles ; or, lastly, 
 almost a perfect circle, as the looper of the double¬ 
 thread chain-stitch machine of Grover and Baker. 
 
 I. THE REVOLVING HOOK 
 
 is always attached to the end of the main shaft, which 
 must therefore in this arrangement be below the sewing 
 plate, and the mechanism for communicating motion to 
 the needle must be arranged accordingly. (See machines 
 shown, Plates II. and VII.) 
 
 II. THE HOOK WITH RECIPROCATING MOTION. 
 
 This hook makes, as previously described, a short 
 motion from left to right, and then a still shorter lateral 
 one; a pause occurs, and it then retraverses the same 
 path. The motion from left to right and right to left 
 is called the main motion, the other the side motion. 
 The latter is effected in the following manner: The 
 looper is affixed to a double-jointed lever swinging in 
 a horizontal plane by means of a hinge, the axis of 
 which is perpendicular. Lines drawn from the centre 
 of the hinge to the point of the looper, and to the ful¬ 
 crum of the lever, form an obtuse angle with its opening 
 to the right. A spring, Jc, attached to the lever and 
 
48 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 pressing against a projection, h, of the looper (Plate I., 
 Figs. 21 and 22), the so-called heel, endeavours to diminish 
 this angle, but can only effect this in a limited degree on 
 account of the pin i. The looper having concluded its 
 motion from left to right, a part of it impinges on the 
 pin m, and the lever continuing its motion, the point of 
 the looper must move forward in the direction of the 
 arrow. The side motion need therefore not be brought 
 into consideration. The crank motion is inapplicable 
 in this arrangement, and an eccentric groove must im¬ 
 part the necessary motion. The main motion must 
 always be in the same direction as the movement of the 
 material to be sewn, perpendicular to the axis of the 
 machine. We have therefore only four arrangements 
 to consider, according as the main shaft is above or 
 below the sewing plate, parallel or perpendicular to the 
 axis of the machine. By taking into consideration that 
 tne plane of oscillation of the looper might be perpen¬ 
 dicular the number of arrangements might be increased 
 to eight, but only the four following will be described: 
 
 The main shaft lies above the serving plate , and parallel 
 to the axis of the machine. The plane of oscillation of the 
 looper is horizontal. At the rear end of the shaft is a 
 disc with an eccentric slot, in which a roller rotates, 
 attached to the end of a lever vibrating in a plane per¬ 
 pendicular to the axis of the machine. Plate VII., Fig. 
 3o. The hinder end of the lower lever presses against 
 the end of the lever vibrating horizontally. The roller 
 therefore only comes in contact with the interior side 
 of the eccentric groove, and a plate of an eccentric 
 form is therefore frequently substituted. (See arrange¬ 
 ment of machine in Plate I.) 
 
THE SHUTTLE MECHANISM. 
 
 49 
 
 The main shaft lies above the sewing plate , and perpen¬ 
 dicular to the axis of the machine. The plane of oscillation 
 of the looper is horizontal. A cylinder is attached to the 
 shaft in which is the groove. The hinder end of the 
 lower lever is turned upwards, and supports on a vertical 
 pin the roller running in the groove perpendicularly 
 below the main shaft. (Plate VII., Fig. 36.) 
 
 The main shaft lies below the sewing plate perpendicular 
 to the axis of the machine. The plane of oscillation of the 
 looper is horizontal. This arrangement differs but little 
 from the preceding ones, except that the end of the 
 lever need not be turned up. 
 
 The main shaft lies below the sewing-plate, parallel with 
 the axis of the machine. The plane of oscillation of the 
 looper is perpendicular. The disc with the eccentric 
 slot is attached to the end of the shaft and the roller 
 between the looper and the pivot of the lever, Fig. 37. 
 If, however, it is intended to give the vibrating motion 
 to the groove, the roller is attached to a crank plate on 
 the main shaft, Fig. 38. 
 
 3. SHUTTLES WITH CURVILINEAR OSCILLATING MOTION. 
 
 The shuttle is situated at the end of a lever describing- 
 
 o 
 
 in its motion an angle of generally 45 to 60 deg., but 
 seldom exceeding 90 deg. The lever vibrates either in a 
 vertical or horizontal plane, and the chord of the arc de¬ 
 scribed can be parallel or perpendicular to the axis of the 
 machine, of course always in a horizontal plane. As 
 the main shaft can also be parallel or perpendicular to 
 the axis [of the machine, the position of the chord of 
 the arc to the main shaft must be either parallel or per¬ 
 pendicular. Taking into account that the shaft can 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 either be above or below the sewing-plate, and that the 
 motion can be imparted either by a crank or eccentric 
 groove, sixteen different variations can occur, the prin¬ 
 cipal of which are described below. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is horizontal, the main shaft lies 
 below the sewing-plate , parallel to the chord of the arc of 
 oscillation , and motion is transmitted by means of an 
 eccentric groove. The groove is situated either on the 
 plane surface of a disc on the main shaft, Plate VII., 
 Fig. 39., or on the circumference of a cylinder attached 
 to the shaft, Fig. 40. In both cases a two-armed lever 
 transmits the motion by means of a connecting rod to 
 another two-armed lever which is straight when the 
 groove is in a disc, and bent when the groove is in a 
 cylinder. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is horizontal, the main shaft lies 
 above the sewing-plate perpendicular to the chord of the arc 
 of oscillation , and motion is transmitted by an eccentric 
 groove. A two-armed straight lever transmits the mo¬ 
 tion from the eccentric grove, by means of a connecting- 
 rod, to a second lever actuating the shuttle. This latter 
 lever is single when the grove is in a disc and the main 
 shaft is perpendicular to the axis of the machine, Fig. 
 41. It is two-armed and bent when the groove is in a 
 cylinder, and the shaft runs parallel to the axis of the 
 machine, Fig. 43. If the groove is in a cylinder and 
 the shaft perpendicular to the axis of the machine, 
 the lever assumes dimensions presenting considerable 
 difficulty. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is horizontal, the main shaft beloio 
 the sewing plate, parallel to the chord of the arc of oscilla¬ 
 tion, and motion is transmitted by a crank. The shuttle 
 is situated on the long arm of a bent lever, the short 
 
THE SHUTTLE MECHANISM. 
 
 51 - 
 
 arm of which is joined to the crank by a connecting- 
 rod. As the crank is very short a simple crank-pin 
 would be sufficient, lever and connecting-rod being 
 joined by a universal joint, Fig. 44. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is horizontal , the main shaft 
 below the sewing-plate parallel to the chord of the arc of 
 oscillation and motion is transmitted by an eccentric groove. 
 This combination allows of the very simple arrangement 
 shown in Figs. 45 and 46, the latter of which is par¬ 
 ticularly applicable when the shaft is parallel to the 
 axis of the machine. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is horizontal , the main shaft 
 below the sewing-plate perpendicular to the chord of the arc 
 of oscillation and motion is transmitted by a crank. The 
 shuttle is placed at the end of a straight two-armed 
 lever, the short arm of which is attached to the crank 
 by means of a connecting-rod, both ends of which are 
 fitted with universal joints, except when it is very long, 
 when a simple cylindrical crank-pin will be sufficient, 
 Fig. 47. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is horizontal , the main shaft be¬ 
 low the sewing-plate perpendicular to the chord of the arc 
 of oscillation and motion is transmitted by an eccentric 
 groove. The shuttle is situated at the end of the longest 
 arm of a bent lever to the other arm of which the roller 
 is attached, running in the groove of a cylinder, Fig. 48. 
 See also arrangement of machine, Plate V., Figs. 20 and 
 21 . 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular, the main shaft 
 above the sewing-plate parallel to the chord of the arc of os¬ 
 cillation and motion is transmitted by a crank. The lever 
 carrying the shuttle is attached to a horizontal shaft 
 
 e 2 
 
52 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 running parallel to the axis of the machine, and to the 
 hinder end of which a short lever having a horizontal mo¬ 
 tion is attached receiving motion from the crank by 
 means of a connecting-rod with a universal joint. This 
 arrangement, Fig. 49, is, however, only practicable when 
 the shaft is perpendicular to the axis of the machine. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular , the main shaft 
 above the sewing-plate parallel with the chord of the arc of 
 oscillation and motion is transmitted by an eccentric groove. 
 To the main shaft a cylinder is attached with a groove 
 giving motion by means of a roller to a lever with per¬ 
 pendicular motion. Parallel to the axis of this lever is 
 a shaft below the sewing-plate, to the front of which is 
 attached the lever with the shuttle, the other end being 
 -connected with a small lever bent upwards, and connected 
 with the end of the lever carrying the roller, Fig. 50. 
 This arrangement can only be employed when the main 
 shaft is perpendicular to the axis of the machine. Other¬ 
 wise the lower end of the lever carrying the roller is 
 joined to the shuttle-lever by a connecting-rod, Fig. 51. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular , the main shaft 
 above the sewing-plate perpendicular to the chord of the arc 
 of oscillation and motion is transmitted by a crank. This 
 combination can only be effected when the shaft is paral¬ 
 lel to the axis of the machine. The crank-pin is attached 
 to a horizontal lever by means of a connecting-rod at¬ 
 tached to the hinder end of a shaft haying the shuttle- 
 lever at the other end, Fig. 52. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular , the main shaft 
 above the seising-plate perpendicular to the chord of the arc of 
 oscillation and motion is transmitted by an eccentric groove. 
 The construction, necessary in this case, is similar to that 
 
THE SHUTTLE MECHANISM. 
 
 53 
 
 shown in Figs. 50 and 51, substituting for the cylinder 
 a plate with eccentric groove, Figs. 53 and 54. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular , the main shaft 
 below the sewing-plate , parallel with the chord of the arc of 
 oscillation and motion is transmitted by a crank. The con¬ 
 struction necessary in this case is similar to that shown 
 in Fig. 49, except that the shaft is below the sewing- 
 plate. This arrangement cannot, however, be recom¬ 
 mended, as the connecting-rod must be so much shortened 
 that the friction of the joints becomes disproportionately 
 increased. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular , the main shaft 
 beloiv the sewing-plate , parallel with the chord of the arc of 
 oscillation and motion is transmitted by an eccentric groove'... 
 If the main shaft is perpendicular to the axis of the ■ 
 machine, a cylinder with the eccentric groove is at¬ 
 tached to it, by which a short perpendicular lever is- 
 put in motion, communicating with the hinder end of 
 a shaft to the front end of which the shuttle is affixed, 
 Fig. 55. The lower lever-shaft can be also so shortened 
 that both levers fall together, and the roller is attached 
 to the shuttle-lever direct. If the shaft is parallel to the-- 
 axis of the machine the cylinder with the groove in it; 
 puts a short lever moving in a perpendicular plane in 
 motion. This is again connected by a rod having a hori¬ 
 zontal motion -with a corresponding point of the shuttle- 
 lever by a hinge, Fig. 56. Dispensing with the connect¬ 
 ing-rod the two levers become united, and the roller is 
 attached direct to the shuttle-lever. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular, the main shaft 
 beneath the sewingplate, perpendicidar to the chord of the 
 arc of oscillation and motion is transmitted by an eccentric 
 
54 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 groove. This construction is similar to the foregoing, 
 substituting for the cylinder a disc in which is the 
 groove, Figs. 57 and 58. In this case the oscillating 
 motion is frequently given to the groove, the rotating 
 motion to the roller, especially when the groove is recti¬ 
 linear. 
 
 The plane of oscillation is perpendicular , the main shaft 
 below the sewing-plate , perpendicular to the chord of the arc 
 of oscillation , and motion is transmitted by a crank. The 
 crank pin is connected by a rod having a horizontal mo¬ 
 tion to a suitable point of the shuttle lever. 
 
 4. SHUTTLES WITH RECTILINEAR MOTION. 
 
 The shuttle is propelled, as before described, by the 
 driver, which is attached, in the case of shuttles with 
 curvilinear motion, to the end of a lever arm. With 
 shuttles, however, having rectilinear motion, the driver 
 generally consists of two parts, the one for imparting 
 motion to the shuttle, the other, the so-called slide, serv¬ 
 ing as a guide. They are attached by means of screws. 
 The section of the slide like that of the needle-carrier, to 
 which it may be compared, varies considerably. The 
 shapes most in use are shown, Plate IV., Figs. 1 and 18; 
 Plate V., Figs. 1, 14 and 15; Plate VI., Fig. 9. The 
 horizontal race in which the shuttle runs is either paral¬ 
 lel or perpendicular to the axis of the machine ; and as 
 the main shaft can also be parallel or perpendicular to 
 the axis of the machine, it must also be either parallel 
 or perpendicular to the shuttle-race. The shaft can also 
 be either above or below the sewing-plate, and motion 
 can be transmitted either by a crank or eccentric groove, 
 making in all eight varieties of construction, details of 
 
THE FEED MOTION. 
 
 55 
 
 which are, however, unnecessary, as those previously 
 given may be readily modified to suit the rectilinear 
 motion, it being only necessary to connect the lever, to 
 which, in shuttles with curvilinear motion, the shuttle 
 was attached, by means of a rod to the shuttle-driver 
 slide. In many cases the lever may be entirely dispensed 
 with by attaching the connecting-rod to the shuttle- 
 driver slide by means of a hinge, especially when motion 
 is transmitted by a crank, as shown (Plate IV., Fig. 1; 
 Plate V., Fig. 1). If the eccentric groove is used the 
 roller is attached to a prolongation of the slide, which 
 much simplifies the arrangements (see plate VI., Fig. 4). 
 
 5. LOOPER WITH LONG RECIPROCATING MOTION. 
 
 The double thread chain-stitch looper of Grover and 
 Baker reciprocates on a perpendicular axis, and describes 
 almost a perfect circle. The following is the arrange¬ 
 ment now generally employed for communicating mo¬ 
 tion to the looper: To the axis of the looper a small 
 cylinder is attached, round which an eccentric groove 
 runs and a roller attached to the end of the p shaped 
 needle-lever imparts a reciprocating motion to the cylin¬ 
 der. Latterly this arrangement has been somewhat 
 modified by employing a nut instead of the roller, and 
 giving the groove a screw form. 
 
 THE MECHANISM FOR IMPARTING MOTION TO THE 
 MATERIAL. 
 
 The material to be sewn is advanced at the comple¬ 
 tion of each stitch the length of a stitch. The sewing 
 plate itself is constructed generally of cast-iron, less fre¬ 
 quently of brass or steel; but the sewing hole is almost 
 
56 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 invariably constructed in a piece of steel screwed into 
 the plate, as the friction of the thread would otherwise be 
 apt to enlarge the hole. This sewing-hole plate is made 
 as thin as practicable ; as the thinner this is the less dis¬ 
 tance need the lower mechanism be from it, and the 
 shorter the needle. It is never more than T ' T in. thick, 
 frequently only in. The hole’must only be suffi¬ 
 ciently large to admit of the free passage of the thickest 
 needle with the thickest thread that is to be employed, 
 as, if it is too large, the material is apt to be drawn 
 down into it during the descent of the needle, and if too 
 small, the thread is liable to fray and break. Machines 
 for sewing thin materials, as shirt-fronts, &c., have a 
 sewing-hole of ± diameter, and the size increases 
 according to the thread employed up to in. for sewing 
 sail-cloth. The most usual sizes are between in. and 
 tV in- The sewing hole must be well rounded off, and 
 is generally enlarged downwards so as to give play 
 to the thread and cause as little friction as possible. 
 
 The material is held down by the so-called presser 
 during the formation of the stitch, and at the completion 
 of the stitch, is advanced by the feeder the length of a 
 stitch. This feeder is roughened on its surface, and is 
 situated beneath the presser and rising out of the sewing- 
 hole plate, advances, carrying the material with it. 
 Sometimes the feeder is dispensed with, and in this 
 case the surface of the presser foot is roughened, and it 
 is so constructed as to make the necessary advance. The 
 mechanism has therefore to be arranged for 
 
 I.-FEEDERS WORKING FROM BELOW. 
 
 The presser, in this case, consists of an iron rod, to 
 the lower end of which a steel piece is screwed, called 
 
the foot. As the pressure requires to be applied as 
 near the needle-hole as possible, it would appear most 
 advantageous to place the presser immediately above 
 the hole, leaving in it an aperture sufficiently large for 
 the passage of the needle and thread. This, however, 
 prevents the requisite direction being given with exacti¬ 
 tude in other than straight seams, and a slit is therefore 
 made in the foot rather wider than the diameter of the 
 sewing-hole, or a piece of glass having a hole in it is 
 inserted in the foot. A guide-plate is however now 
 generally attached by screws to the sewing-plate, and 
 the foot of the presser is so constructed that its side only 
 slightly projects over the sewing-hole, and a semi-circular 
 groove in this side allows of the passage of the needle. 
 The presser foot is always situated on the front side of 
 the sewing-hole, as otherwise the material would have 
 to pass through the aperture between the bracket-arm 
 and the sewing-plate. The presser rod is placed either 
 to the right or left of the needle-carrier. In machines 
 whose axis lies crossways, the rod is placed to the left 
 so as not to impede the view of the person working. 
 See machines shown, Plates II., III., IV., and Y. 
 
 The rod itself may be either round, square, or rec¬ 
 tangular. In the first two cases the lower end of the 
 rod is made square and fitted with a screw or matrix, 
 and the foot fitting on the square is attached by a screw 
 to the rod. Seep, Fig. 2, Plate V.; S, Fig. 2, Plate II. 
 If the rod is rectangular the foot is generally spliced on 
 and attached either by rivets or a screw, see Plate IV., 
 Fig 2. A round rod works in two sockets, and is pre¬ 
 vented from turning by a small stud working in a 
 vertical slot, Plate VII., Fig. 16 ; Plate II., Fig. 2. 
 The pressure is applied by means of a spiral steel spring 
 
58 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 encircling the rod and pressing against the before-men¬ 
 tioned stud, Plate III., Fig. 2. This arrangement is 
 also made use of with square rods, the spring in this 
 case pressing direct on the foot, Plate V., Fig 2, and 
 the rod working in sockets; rectangular rods, on the con¬ 
 trary, generally work on one of the perpendicular sides 
 of the bracket-arm, Plate IV., Fig. 2. 
 
 To place the material to be sewn in its right position 
 the presser must be raised, which is effected by an ec¬ 
 centric attached to a lever. This eccentric is either 
 attached to the presser itself, or to the arm of the 
 machine. Various modes of application are shown, 
 Plate II., Fig. 12, A a, Plate III., Figs. 1 and 2 ; Plate 
 IV., Fig. 2; Plate V., Fig. 2, and Plate VII., Figs. 1 
 and 2. The presser is raised from T 3 T to f T in. accord¬ 
 ing to the thickness of the material to be sewn. The 
 distance is always made as small as practicable, as the 
 length of the needle increases in proportion so as to 
 prevent the needle carrier coming in contact with the 
 foot. The feeder itself consists of a flat rectangular 
 roughened steel plate which, rising from an opening in 
 the sewing-hole plate, advances the material the length 
 of a stitch, then sinks and returns to its former position. 
 A feed-wheel, the circumference of which is roughened, 
 is sometimes employed, to which an intermittent cir¬ 
 cular motion is given. The feed-plate has a breadth of 
 from -fls to i in. according to the material to be sewn, 
 and is generally \ in. in length. Sometimes the part 
 behind the sewing-hole is made narrow, Plate VII., 
 Fig. 12. The flutes of the surface of the feed-plate 
 have the sectional form of a right-angled triangle having 
 its hypothenuse in the direction of the motion of the 
 
THE FEED MOTION. 
 
 59 
 
 material, and vary in fineness, some being T V in. from 
 each other, and f of this in depth, others being so fine 
 that 3 or 4 are contained in a line. The opening in the 
 sewing-hole plate is of exactly the same breadth as that 
 of the surface of the feed-plate, and of a length equal to 
 that of the latter and the length of the stitch to be 
 made. The roughened plate is attached to a larger 
 piece to which motion is applied by the co-called feed 
 eccentric which is affixed to the main shaft, and consists 
 generally of two separate eccentrics, the one commu¬ 
 nicating the ascending and descending, and the other 
 the to and fro motion. It ivill be perceived that in 
 this arrangement the main shaft must be below the 
 sewing plate. In Fig. 2, Plate II., the feeder, CC., 
 slides on the pin bolt round which it has also a slight 
 circular motion. The same principle is employed in the 
 arrangement shown in Plate V., Fig. 2, but in this case 
 the sides of V, a section of which is shown in Fig. 7, 
 serve as a guide to the feeder. In Fig. 21, Plate VII., 
 the feed-plate is attached to the end of a lever turning 
 horizontally on, a b, running in regular guides. 
 
 The horizontal motion is given to the feeder by 
 attaching a horizontal plate against which the eccentric 
 presses. The return motion is effected by a spring. 
 
 The shape of the eccentric varies according as the 
 direction of the feed is parallel or perpendicular to the 
 main shaft. In the first case the face and the circum¬ 
 ference of the eccentric give respectively the up and 
 down and to and fro motions, in the latter two separate 
 eccentrics are employed for each motion. The advance 
 of the material must take place when the needle is at its 
 highest point, so that it neither bends the needle nor is 
 
60 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 retained by it. Another reason for causing the advance 
 to take place at the moment of the needle commencing 
 its descent, is that the thread has then already attained 
 its maximum amount of tension which would have pre¬ 
 viously been too much increased by a forward motion 
 of the material and would have caused the latter to be 
 drawn together. The rise of the feeder takes place just 
 previous, and the fall just subsequent to the advance of 
 the material. The advance of the feeder in the case of 
 shuttle machines takes place when the shuttle has half 
 penetrated the loop. 
 
 The rise and fall of the feeder is generally T '— in., half 
 above, half below the surface of the sewing plate. 
 
 Attempts have been made to communicate to the 
 feeder simultaneous rise and advance, as also fall and 
 return motion. The roughened foot is attached to a 
 lever, a b, Fig. 16, Plate III., consisting of two parts, a 
 and b, connected by a hinge. The motion of b is, how¬ 
 ever, circumscribed by a pin, c, below the fulcrum, 
 striking the lever, a, when the angle formed by the two 
 arms approaches 180 deg. A weak spring attached to 
 6, and pressing against a, retains the lever in this posi¬ 
 tion until its resistance is overcome. The lever, a , being 
 raised by an eccentric in the direction of the feed, the 
 roughened plate rises, presses against the lower side of 
 the material and advances with it. On the lever, a, 
 commencing its return, the spring connecting a and b, 
 yields, the angle of the two levers is diminished, and 
 the roughened plate returns below the material without 
 pressing against it. This arrangement is simple, but is 
 not sufficiently accurate, and has therefore not been much 
 adopted. 
 
THE FEED MOTION. 
 
 61 
 
 THE FEED WHEEL. 
 
 For the purpose of communicating an intermittent 
 motion the wheel is provided with a flange of about 
 i in. in height, and -§■ in. thick, to which is affixed 
 a kind of break, one of the simplest forms of which 
 is shown, Fig. 14, Plate IV. The spring, dee, is con¬ 
 structed of a somewhat larger diameter than that of 
 the flange, so that when inserted in it it has an outward 
 pressure. The two ends, d and e, are hinged on to a lever, 
 d, f having a radial position. The lever end,/, moving 
 in the direction of the arrow, the spring is extended, and 
 pressing on the flange, carries the wheel with it. On 
 the return of the lever end the spring contracts and is 
 carried back without moving the wheel. The pressure 
 of the presser on the material would alone suffice to pre¬ 
 vent a return of the wheel; but a spring is also fre¬ 
 quently employed, pressing either against the edge or side 
 of the wheel. This latter arrangement is shown in Fig. 14, 
 Plate IY. The side of the wheel on which is the flange is 
 covered with a plate, g, brazed on to the pivot on which 
 the wheel works, so as to prevent the spring from flying 
 out. Another and earlier arrangement is shown in Fig. 
 15 ; it consists of a disc, m, n, having a circular motion 
 independently of the wheel, but rotating on the same 
 pivot. This disc has two prolongations almost diame¬ 
 trically opposite to one another, to the one of which Jc, a 
 to and fro motion, is imparted, while to the other, l, a 
 spiral spring, / is attached, pressing the moveable 
 pin, d, against the inner surface of the flange. This 
 pin, d, rests against m, n , its rounded end fitting into 
 a hollow in the same. The lever, Jc, being moved in the 
 
62 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 direction of the arrow, the pressure of cl against the 
 flange is increased proportionately, as the direction of cl 
 is more or less radial, and the ensuing friction causes 
 the wheel to follow the motion of m n. The spiral 
 spring connecting cl with l initiates the pressure which 
 is increased by the movement of the lever. On the 
 return of the lever end, k, the pressure of d against the 
 flange ceases, and a spring applied, as before described, 
 prevents the return of the wheel. For the sake of cer¬ 
 tainty, a second pin, c, similar to d, is employed, having 
 a somewhat different action. It contains a notch, p, 
 fitting over the flange and rests with its other end in a 
 hollow in the centre, m n. A flat spring g, attached to 
 the prolongation Z, and pressing against c, near the 
 flange, causes the latter to catch in the notch, p. 
 The friction thus caused between c, and the wheel is 
 increased by the motion of k, in the direction of the 
 arrow, so that the wheel must follow the motion of m n. 
 On the return of k, the pressure between the flange and 
 the inner surface of the notch p, ceases, and the friction 
 is diminished to a degree preventing the return of the 
 wheel. To obviate any lateral motion either of the 
 wheel or disc on the axis, a small spiral spring, not 
 shown in the drawing, is applied, pressing against both. 
 
 Figs. 1, 2, and 4, show the usual construction of the 
 break. It consists of a kind of nipper catching the 
 flange of the wheel constructed with two arms, p and 
 £, connected by a hinge. One of these arms, p, runs in 
 a guide attached to the nave of the wheel, so as to 
 allow of a slight horizontal motion. The two arms are 
 almost at right angles to each other, one being nearly 
 horizontal, the other nearly vertical. On the lower end 
 of the vertical arm moving in the direction of the arrow, 
 
THE FEED MOTION. 
 
 the cam of the arm g (a, Fig. 11) presses against the ex¬ 
 terior surface of the flange, as does also the cam, Fig. 4, 
 attached to the other end of the arm p (see Fig. 6.) 
 The spring <r Fig. 2, pressing the arms apart initiates the 
 pressure. On the return of the lever end, g, the pres¬ 
 sure against the flange ceases and the wheel remains 
 stationary. 
 
 It will be perceived that all these descriptions of breaks 
 are so arranged that motion is transmitted to the wheel 
 by a lever-end acting on the break. To communicate a 
 reciprocating motion to this lever-end an eccentric plate 
 is attached to the main shaft, the return motion being 
 effected by a spring, e, as shown in Fig. 15. 
 
 The axis of the feed-wheel is not a fixture but is in¬ 
 serted in a kind of fork, which can be raised or lowered 
 at will, so that the roughened surface may neither pro¬ 
 ject too much nor lie too deep below the surface of the 
 sewing-plate, as in the latter case the material would not 
 be caught, and in the former it would be raised above 
 the needle-hole, causing imperfect stitches owing to the 
 material rising with the needle. 
 
 The dimensions of the feed-wheel vary; but it is not 
 advisable to have too great a difference between the 
 diameter of the roughened periphery and that of the 
 projecting flange, as any irregularity in the working of 
 the break would affect the length of the stitch propor¬ 
 tionately to the difference between their diameters. As 
 a rule a diameter of 3 to 4 in. is given to the roughened 
 periphery, and to 3-p to the break flange. 
 
 The feed-wheel is not adapted for work with curved 
 seams, and is therefore mostly employed in large 
 machines for heavy work, with straight, or but slightly 
 curved seams. 
 
64 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 II.-EEEDERS WORKING EROM ABOVE. 
 
 It has been already mentioned that in these arrange¬ 
 ments the pressure and feed motion are combined. The 
 motion of the feeder is in a direction perpendicular to 
 the sewing-plate and the axis of the machine. The 
 feeder, resembling in form the presser before described, 
 works on a pivot, the latter being also free to slide per¬ 
 pendicularly corresponding in principle to the feed 
 motion from beloAv, shown Fig. 2, Plate II. The 
 slot in the feeder giving the perpendicular motion is 
 in the upper end of the arm, a stud affixed to the 
 bracket passing through it. To prevent any lateral 
 motion of the presser foot, the arm of the feed motion 
 is made rectangular, and works in a slot made in the 
 head of the bracket (see Fig. 2, Plate II., and Fig. 10, 
 Plate VI.). The presser and presser foot are frequently 
 constructed in one piece, but, more generally, as shown 
 in Fig. 7, Plate VI., are two distinct pieces hinged 
 together so that the lower serrated surface of the foot is 
 at an angle of 15 to 20 deg. to the sewing-plate, by which 
 means a greater regularity of pressure is obtained, espe¬ 
 cially where the surface of the material is uneven owing 
 to seams or other causes. 
 
 Motion is communicated to the feeder from the main 
 shaft by the so-called feed eccentric consisting of two 
 separate eccentric cylindrical cams, by one of which 
 the rise and fall, by the other, the horizontal motion of 
 the feeder is effected. This feed eccentric is attached 
 to the main shaft, and the arrangements vary according 
 as the shaft is above or below the sewing-plate, parallel 
 or perpendicular to the axis of the machine. On ac- 
 
THE FEED MOTION. 
 
 65 
 
 count of its greater simplicity the arrangements with 
 the main shaft above the sewing plate and parallel to 
 the axis of the machine is to be preferred. In this case 
 the feed eccentric (d, Fig. 2, Plate I.) is attached to the 
 front end of the main shaft, and consists usually of 
 only one eccentric cylinder effecting the horizontal mo¬ 
 tion, the other being replaced by a roller working in the 
 revolving disc, l, and acting when in its highest position 
 on the single-arm lever, /, the forked end of which is 
 connected with the arm of the feeder, a b, by a pin. 
 The descending motion of the feeder is effected by a 
 spring shown in Fig. 1. The forked lever, f is some¬ 
 times dispensed with, and a flat spring is attached to the 
 head of the bracket-arm, and presses the feeder down, 
 except when it is itself raised by the roller, when it 
 carries the feeder along with it. The horizontal motion 
 is communicated to the feeder by the eccentric by 
 means of the so-called pendulum, e, having its fulcrum 
 on the head of the bracket, and a roller at its lower 
 end, Avorking on the eccentric. As before mentioned, 
 the material must commence its adA 7 ance Avith the de¬ 
 scent of the needle, and cease before the point has 
 reached the material. The feeder is not raised till the 
 lower mechanism has caught the loop of the upper 
 thread ; then follows the return horizontal motion, on 
 the completion of which the action of the feeder on the 
 material again commences. The arrangements are not 
 so simple when the main shaft is differently situated. 
 The feeder itself remains as before and the feed eccentric 
 is also attached to the shaft; but OAving to the distance 
 of the eccentric from the feeder a lever becomes neces- 
 
66 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 sary for transmitting the motion. The arrangement of 
 
 this lever, shown Fig. 1, Plate VI., remains the same, 
 
 whether the main shaft is above or below the sewing- 
 
 © 
 
 plate, provided it is perpendicular to the axis of the 
 machine. One of the two cams constituting the feed 
 eccentric is cylindrical, on which a roller, attached to 
 the end of the two-armed lever, v z h revolves. The other 
 end of the lever is connected with the feeder arm, and is 
 held down either by a spiral spring or elastic band, 
 thus causing the pressure of the feeder on the material, 
 as also its descent after being raised by the action of the 
 stud, s, of the eccentric on the lever. The surface of 
 the second cam is provided with a spiral slot, in which 
 a roller, v, works, communicating a to and fro motion to 
 the lever, w, the axis of which is parallel to that of the 
 machine, and consists of a spindle, e, Fig. 15, the front 
 end of which carries a second lever, b d, affixed to which 
 is a stud parallel to the axis, pressing against the feeder, 
 and causing its advance. The return motion is effected 
 by a spring, Fig. 10. 
 
 The length of the lever arms, w and z ,x (Figs. 1 and 
 3), varies according as the main shaft is above or below 
 the machine axis. 
 
 It is evident that the greater the rise of the feeder the 
 greater the compression of the spring, and the more 
 power therefore requisite. On this account machines 
 having the feed motion above the sewing plate re¬ 
 quire more power than those with the motion below. 
 On the other hand, owing to the intermittent pressure, 
 curves and angles can be made with much greater 
 facility in the seam. 
 
THE STITCH REGULATOR AND TENSION APPARATUS. 6 7 
 
 THE STITCH REGULATOR. 
 
 The principle of the various appliances for regulating 
 the length of stitch is the same, the feeder being detained 
 towards the completion of its return motion by a projec¬ 
 tion attached to some part of the framework of the ma¬ 
 chine. Either this projection is moveable, or, as shown in 
 Fig. 2, Plate I., a set screw (k) in the feeder itself regu¬ 
 lates the length of the stitch. When the feed motion is 
 effected by a wheel with serrated periphery, the connect¬ 
 ing-rod is so constructed as to be lengthened or shortened 
 as required. The best regulators, and which are most 
 in use, are constructed with scale attached, and consist 
 of an eccentric disc against which the feeder strikes on its 
 return motion. The scale is marked on the periphery 
 of this disc, and as the disc is turned to increase or 
 diminish the length of the stitch, indicates the number of 
 stitches contained in an inch. This arrangement is 
 shown Fig 16, Plate IV., Fig. 11, Plate V., Fig. 6, 
 Plate VII. 
 
 Fig. 4, Plate II., and Fig. 8, Plate VI., show arrange¬ 
 ments without a scale, in which the eccentric disc is 
 regulated by a lever handle. 
 
 D.—THE TENSION APPARATUS. 
 
 The necessary tension is given to the thread either by 
 applying friction direct to the thread itself, or to the 
 spool on which it is wound, or to a roller over which 
 the thread is made to pass in its passage from the spool 
 to the eye of the needle. 
 
 f 2 
 
68 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 TENSION BY FRICTION OF THE THREAD. 
 
 An apparatus constructed on this principle is shown 
 Plate IV., Figs. 1 and 5. To a knee, f, affixed to the 
 bracket of the machine a horizontal metal cylinder, s, 
 is attached, to 2 in. in length, and { to 1 in. in 
 diameter. To this fixed cylinder a thin metal disc, a, is 
 screwed, which is capable of being easily turned, and 
 whose diameter is -f to -§- in. greater than that of the 
 cylinder. The thread passes through an eye in the 
 projecting part of the disc, round the cylinder, through 
 a second eye in the knee to the reel, w. These eyes are 
 constructed either of glass or porcelain, to prevent the 
 thread cutting grooves in the metal disc or knee. The 
 number of turns of the thread round the cylinder can 
 be regulated by the disc, d, which is kept fixed by the 
 spring, u. 
 
 In Fig. 5, Plate V., the thread is conducted between 
 two discs, v and n, either of metal or glass, the upper of 
 which is pressed against the lower by a spiral spring, y, 
 regulated by the screw z. The disadvantage of this 
 arrangement is, that variations in the thickness of the 
 thread affect the tension, on which account linen thread 
 cannot be well employed, being spun much more un¬ 
 evenly than silk or cotton. 
 
 TENSION BY FRICTION ON THE SPOOL. 
 
 In this arrangement a kind of drag is applied to the 
 flange of the spool, which is constructed of boxwood, 
 with a tolerably large diameter and proportionately 
 small flanges, one of which is about in. thick, to allow 
 of the pressure of a spring regulated by a screw. The 
 
APPLICATION OP TENSION. 
 
 69 
 
 spring is frequently covered, at the point of contact with 
 the spool, with a small piece of felt or cloth to soften the 
 friction. The same rule applies to the dimensions of the 
 spool as was given in the description of the shuttle 
 
 spool. 
 
 A better arrangement is shown, Fig. 26, Plate I. The 
 spool, 6, revolves on the axis, a, which is screwed to the 
 machine. A spiral spring, cl, encircling this axis, presses 
 against the spool. The pressure of the spring, and 
 therefore the tension of the thread, is regulated by the 
 set screw, e. Discs of cloth or felt, g and h, above and 
 below the spool serve to soften the motion, and a metal, 
 ring, /, is introduced for the spring to press against. The* 
 same arrangement is shown in Fig. 6, except that the 
 spiral spring is replaced by a flat one, c, the pressure of 
 
 which is regulated by the screw, cl. 
 
 To avoid applying the friction to the wood of the- 
 spool, the latter is sometimes affixed to a conical metal 
 axis, to the conical points of which pressure is applied! 
 
 A bent spring, a, Fig. 5, attached to the framework 
 of the machine, carries the axis of the spool, and the 
 pressure is increased or diminished by the screw, c, 
 attached to the bolt, b. A modification of this arrange¬ 
 ment is shown in Fig. 7, Plate II. The spool is fitted 
 on a hollow cylindrical axis, e, revolving round another 
 fixed axis. The ends of the hollow axis are bored out 
 conically, so that the one end fits on the cone, b, attached 
 to the fixed axis, while in the other the cone turned 
 on the piece, g, is inserted. The piece, g, is also hollow, 
 and is prevented from turning on the cylinder by a 
 small screw fitting in the groove, c, of the axis. A ring 
 
70 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 of ^gutta-percha, h, replacing a spiral spring, presses 
 against g, the pressure being regulated by a screw. 
 Similar arrangements are shown, Figs. 16 & 1, Plate VI. 
 
 TENSION BY A ROLLER. 
 
 The thread is in this case carried over a special, so- 
 called pension roller, and is frequently first stretched 
 before reaching the roller by means of an arrangement 
 shown in Fig. 4, Plate II., consisting of a hollow cylin¬ 
 der with a slot, d, in it, and containing two plugs be¬ 
 tween which the thread passes. The lower one, a, is 
 pressed against the upper one, b, by a spiral spring, c. 
 The tension-roller has a deep slot round its circum¬ 
 ference diminishing in depth, so that the thread, however 
 fine it may be, catches on it, causing the roller to rotate. 
 A drag is applied to the roller by means of a flat or 
 spiral spring. 
 
 In Plate VII., Figs. 3 and 20, a tension apparatus of 
 this description is represented. The spool, b , revolves 
 round a spindle, and the thread after passing the preli¬ 
 minary stretcher, c, is passed once round the tension- 
 roller, d, and conveyed to the eye of the needle. The 
 roller revolves round a cylinder, k, fitted on the square- 
 fixed axis, g, but capable of sliding in the direction of 
 the axis. Washers of felt or cloth on either side of the 
 roller serve to soften the motion. Pressure is applied to 
 the moveable axis, k, by a spiral spring, e, regulated by 
 the screw f. 
 
 THE THREAD GUIDE. 
 
 Ihe tension apparatus being affixed to the bracket- 
 aim of the machine, the thread is conveyed over the 
 
THE THREAD GUIDE. 
 
 71 
 
 head of the bracket through an eye provided for this 
 purpose to the eye of the needle. Assuming, now, the 
 machine in work and the needle at its highest point, 
 with the thread tightly stretched, the needle commences 
 its descent without altering the tension or position of 
 the thread till it reaches the material; it then carries 
 the thread with it, unwinding the thread equal to double 
 the distance from the surface of the material to the 
 lowest point reached by the eye of the needle.. The 
 needle having reached its deepest point, the action of 
 the tension apparatus ceases, and the formation of the 
 loop below the material commences, and on its comple¬ 
 tion is caught by the lower mechanism and more or less 
 extended or lengthened, more or less firmly held and at 
 last released. In many cases indeed the loop is held till 
 the needle in making the succeeding stitch has reached 
 its lowest position, and again formed a loop which has 
 been caught by the lower mechanism. It is evident, 
 therefore, that more thread is unwound for the forma¬ 
 tion of each stitch than is necessary for the stitch itself. 
 The consequence of this would be that the loop would 
 remain as formed; as, though fresh thread would be re¬ 
 quisite for the formation of this succeeding stitch, the 
 friction of the cloth is mostly found to be greater than 
 that of the tension apparatus. Only m thm open 
 materials is the formation of the succeeding stitch suffi¬ 
 cient to take up the slack of the previous one. 
 
 We have seen that at certain periods both the needle, 
 as also the lower mechanism, consume thread, and that 
 both at certain periods release a portion of the thread in 
 use. It might occur that the needle required thread 
 just at the moment of the release of the same length of 
 
72 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 thread by the lower mechanism, and in this case the 
 guide before described would be sufficient for the forma¬ 
 tion of a good stitch. This happens, however, only 
 approximately, the needle consuming at certain moments 
 part of the thread released by the looping apparatus, 
 and vice versa; but this joint action is never sufficiently 
 perfect to prevent the formation of small loops on the 
 lower surface of the material. 
 
 It is therefore evident that a special apparatus must 
 be employed by which the excess of thread necessary 
 for the formation of the stitch, but not for the stitch it¬ 
 self, can be withdrawn. This is effected bv simply 
 prolonging and shortening the path described by the 
 thread in its passage from the tension apparatus to the 
 eye of the needle. The path being shortened, a portion 
 of the thread is at liberty for the formation of the next 
 stitch • and on the completion of this stitch that portion 
 of the thread which is released is withdrawn by pro¬ 
 longing the path of the thread. This lengthening and 
 shortening is generally effected by giving a reciprocating 
 motion to the eye, or bridle-rod, through which the 
 thread passes. This motion is dependent on that 
 of the needle and the looping apparatus, and was, 
 therefore, formerly imparted by an eccentric groove in 
 a disc attached to the main shaft; but owing to the 
 difficulties attendant on obtaining exactitude by this 
 means it is at present but seldom employed, and the 
 moveable eye is connected either to the needle-carrier 
 or lever. 
 
 The arrangement of the guiding-eye will be further 
 treated of under the head of each description of machine. 
 
, , , , 
 
 THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTION'S, OF, MACHINES: 73 
 
 
 III.-THE SEWING MACHINE. 
 
 Having described the mechanism of the various com¬ 
 ponent parts of the sewing-machine, special arrange¬ 
 ments of these parts will now he treated of. It is evident 
 that owing to the various methods of construction the four 
 principal parts of the sewing-machine may be combined 
 in very many different ways. Their combination is, how¬ 
 ever, limited to a certain extent, inasmuch as not every 
 arrangement, as, for instance, that of the feed motion, is 
 adapted to the other mechanism, say of the needle. For 
 certain purposes also the sewing plate requires to be 
 specially adapted, involving corresponding arrangements 
 of the lower mechanism and feed-motion. This is par¬ 
 ticularly evident in machines intended to be employed 
 in sewing hollow articles, in which case the sewing- 
 plate must be as narrow as possible in the direction of 
 the feed-motion, thus precluding the use of a shuttle 
 working otherwise • than parallel to the axis of the 
 machine, and rendering almost impracticable the appli¬ 
 cation of the feed-motion from below in consequence of 
 the limited space. 
 
 With but few exceptions all sewing-machines have 
 but one main shaft, and the arrangements of the upper 
 and lower mechanism and of the feed-motion are also 
 dependent one on the other. The position of the main 
 shaft may therefore be considered as influencing the 
 whole of the arrangements. As a rule the feed-motion 
 from below requires the main shaft to be placed below 
 the sewing plate, while the feed-motion from above re¬ 
 quires the shaft to be above the sewing plate and parallel 
 
74 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 to tlie axis of the machine. Sometimes two main shafts 
 are employed, the one above, the other below the sewing 
 plate, in consequence of the facilities afforded in impart¬ 
 ing motion to the needle by a shaft situated above the 
 sewing plate, and the advantage of simplicity in the 
 arrangements of the lower mechanism when the position 
 of the shaft is below it. These two shafts are of course 
 connected, generally by cog-wheels, sometimes also by 
 cranks and connecting-rods. 
 
 In the arrangement of the mechanism facility of access 
 to all parts must be provided for, both for the purpose 
 of applying oil to the parts exposed to friction and of 
 easily counteracting such irregularities in the action of 
 the machine as may occur. 
 
 Machines to which motion is imparted by hand are 
 generally screwed down to a table or bench (not re¬ 
 quiring a special frame), but such machines are but 
 little in use, as only the left hand is free for guiding 
 the cloth, Avhile the right soon becomes fatigued from 
 the labour of turning. Nearly all machines are, how¬ 
 ever, provided with an arrangement for turning by 
 hand, which is generally made use of, both to set the 
 machine in motion, and also to retard or stop it. 
 
 Nearly all machines are now constructed with a 
 treadle, connected to a crank, either on the main shaft 
 or the shaft of a fly wheel, from "which motion is com¬ 
 municated to the main shaft by driving bands. The 
 first arrangement in which the main shaft only makes 
 one revolution with each rise and fall of the treadle, is 
 only applicable when, by means of cog wheels, several 
 (three to six) stitches are made to one revolution of the 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 75 
 
 shaft. In this case it is necessary for the shaft, having 
 the smallest wheel, to be provided with a fly wheel to 
 compensate for the irregularity in motion. 
 
 The framework of the machine, which is now gene¬ 
 rally constructed of iron, consists of a bed plate of 
 about 2 to 2| feet in length by U to 2 feet in breadth, 
 resting on two vertical frames provided with feet and 
 connected together by wrought-iron bars. 
 
 The treadle is constructed either of wood or iron, and 
 is affixed to a horizontal axis, so that the axis is either 
 below the middle of the sole of the foot when the latter 
 is placed upon it, or behind the heel. In the first case 
 the pressure proceeds from the front part of the foot 
 only, while in the latter the whole of the leg, including 
 the thigh, is brought into play. It is difficult to assign 
 the preference to either arrangement. The axis lying 
 below the foot divides the treadle into two parts, the 
 front of which is double the size of the hinder. This 
 axis consists of a wrought-iron rod connecting the two 
 legs, about 2 to 3 in. above the ground. The angle 
 of oscillation described by the treadle does not ex¬ 
 ceed 30 deg., and when the point of the foot is in its 
 lowest position, the treadle still makes an angle of 
 about 10 deg. with the ground, so that the sole of the foot 
 never reaches a horizontal position. When the axis is 
 placed behind the foot it consists of a wrought-iron rod 
 about 1 to 2 in. above the ground, connecting the two 
 front feet of the frame. The angle of oscillation of the 
 treadle may be taken at somewhat less than 30 deg., and 
 the treadle is in its loivest position nearly horizontal. 
 It is thus evident that the first arrangement is best 
 
76 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 adapted for a sitting, the latter for a standing, posi¬ 
 tion. 
 
 The treadle is generally constructed with two straps 
 for the reception of the feet, and is attached to the 
 connecting rod by a hinge, which is a universal joint, 
 when the axis of the treadle is not perpendicular to the 
 axis of the fly-wheel or to the main shaft. 
 
 When the treadle is of iron, two projections are gene¬ 
 rally cast on to the hinder part, which are bored out for 
 the axis to pass through, and the treadle is prevented 
 moving laterally by washers and pins running through 
 the axis. Figs. 20 and 21, Plate III., show this arrange¬ 
 ment for two feet—Figs. 11,12 and 14, Plate I, for one 
 foot, when the axis lies beneath the foot; in Fig. 21, 
 Plate IV., an iron treadle is shown; in Fig. 18, Plate 
 III., a wooden one, the axis of both of which is behind 
 the foot. 
 
 The position of the fly-wheel shaft depends naturally 
 on that of the main shaft. If the fly-wheel shaft is 
 parallel to the axis of the treadle, it is provided with a 
 double crank, and works either in bushes, fitting into 
 the two legs of the frame (Plate III., Figs, 20 and 21), 
 or on points screwed through the legs (Plate III., Fig. 
 18), and so arranged that they become drawn tighter 
 by use. (Plate IV., Fig. 21.) 
 
 When the fly-wheel shaft is at right angles to the 
 axis of the treadle, a very simple universal joint is made 
 use of, consisting of two rings of round wrought-iron 
 (Plate IV., Fig. 21), one of which is attached to the 
 treadle, the other to the lower end of the connecting rod. 
 
 Having concluded these introductory remarks, the 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 77 
 
 construction of the various kinds of machines will now 
 be described seriatim. 
 
 A.—MACHINES WITH OSCILLATING LOOPER FOR 
 SINGLE-THREAD CHAIN-STITCH. 
 
 The machine shown in Plate I., Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, is 
 one of somewhat antiquated construction, with feed 
 motion from above. The space for the passage of the 
 material is not more than 7-§-in. The axis of the 
 machine runs from the left to the right-hand side of 
 the worker, so that the right hand may easily reach the 
 handle of the driving-band wheel. The direction of 
 the feed motion is away from the worker, from the 
 front towards the hinder part of the machine. The 
 bent lever, r s t, carrying the looper t, admits of the lower 
 part of the machine being constructed very narrow, so 
 as to allow of materials of a hollow shape being sewn 
 on it. The bracket is about 2 to 4 in. above the sewing 
 plate, which is capable of enlargement by a flap h, Fig. 
 13. The driving shaft having a diameter of Lin., and 
 parallel to the axis of the machine is situated in the 
 upper part of the machine, which is connected with the 
 lower part by four screws. Between the sewing plate 
 and the oscillating looper is a space of to in. The 
 fulcrum of the lever to which the looper is attached is 
 situated immediately below the centre of the sewing 
 plate, and works on the pin s, which is screwed through 
 the sewing plate. The pin, u, against which the looper 
 strikes for the purpose of making a lateral motion, is 
 also provided with a screw so as to be advanced 
 according as either it or the part of the looper striking- 
 on it become worn away. The hinder part of the 
 
78 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 loopei’ lever (r, Figs. 1, 3, 4) consists of a thin quad¬ 
 rangular piece, projecting \ to f in., so that it is in 
 contact with the lower end of the lever q, oscillating 
 horizontally on a pin attached to the hinder part of the 
 bracket, and the upper end of which is provided with a 
 roller, acted upon by the eccentric o, affixed to the 
 driving shaft. The spring a, pressing the hinder end of 
 the horizontal lever from left to right, causes the ends 
 of the two levers to remain in contact, and the roller of 
 the perpendicular lever to remain on the eccentric. It 
 is evident that the length of the oscillation of the looper 
 point is entirely dependent on the shape of the eccen¬ 
 tric. The distance, however, of the point, at the com¬ 
 mencement of its movement, from the needle, can 
 be readily altered by a screw inserted in the lower end 
 of the perpendicular lever. By lengthening the screw 
 the distance between the looper point and the needle is 
 lessened; the looper also sooner strikes the projecting pin, 
 thus increasing the length of the lateral movement. 
 These two set screws are therefore the principal means 
 of regulating the machine. 
 
 Attached to the front end of the main shaft in front 
 of the bracket is the disc, /, with an eccentric groove 
 communicating motion to the needle carrier, h. In 
 front of the disc is attached a small eccentric, cl, with a 
 cylindrical surface, imparting the to and fro motion to 
 the feeder, as also a roller for effecting the rise of the 
 feeder, calculated in this instance at T 5 T in. Assum¬ 
 ing the thickest material required to be sewn on this 
 machine to be ~ in. in thickness, the needle carrier must 
 not be allowed to descend so low as to touch the feeder 
 
THE YAEIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 79 
 
 foot; calculating tlie thickness of this foot at T ~ in., the 
 needle carrier, in its deepest position, will be -f in. above 
 the surface of the sewing plate. Assuming, also, that, 
 as is the case in the drawing, the point of the looper is 
 a in. below this surface, that at the moment of the loop 
 being caught the eye of the needle is -f- in. below the 
 looper point, and that the rise for the formation of the 
 loop is -§ in., it follows that the length of the needle 
 from the needle carrier to the eye is 8 a If, then, the 
 needle carrier rises this distance, the eye of the needle 
 will just be clear of the surface of the material. Taking 
 the point of the needle as a in. long, it will therefore be 
 necessary for the carrier to rise still 4to enable the 
 needle to entirely clear the material. The total rise of 
 the carrier will therefore be 12a hut 13 are 
 generally given. This does not, however, alone deter¬ 
 mine the position and size of the eccentric slot by which 
 motion is communicated to the carrier, Fig. 10. A line 
 which is at all points equi-distant from both edges of 
 the slot, is called its middle line, and everything de¬ 
 pends on its form. The middle line of a circular slot 
 is a circle. Let a diameter of this circle be drawn, also 
 intersecting the centre, o, of the eccentric disc; this 
 diameter is divided by o into two parts, M and N, the 
 difference of which, M - N, is equal to the rise of the 
 needle carrier. N also represents the shortest distance 
 of the circle, being the middle line of the slot from 
 the centre of the eccentric disc. Let, then, r be the 
 radius of the roller running in the slot, N - r is the 
 shortest distance of the inside edge of the slot from the 
 centre of the disc. Attached to the disc is, however, a 
 
80 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 small feed eccentric, the greatest radius of which is -Ag¬ 
 in. It must, then, be at least is - r = T 7 — in. The 
 rollers have, however, a diameter of f in., so that r = T 3 ^ 
 in., from which it results that N = -| in. But, as before 
 shown, M - N = in., therefore M = -| += 1-ix i n ., or 
 the diameter of the slot middle line. D = M + N = 2 tt 
 in., in the place of which put D = 2-i-in., making the 
 radius R-lin. 2"'. For the distance of the centre of 
 the disc from that of the groove we have therefore R - 
 N = 1 in. 2in. = 5-TThe breadth of the slot roll 
 is of course dependent on the diameter of the roller; its 
 depth is ^in. 
 
 The eccentric situate at the hinder end of the main 
 shaft, and by which motion is imparted to the looper, 
 is bordered by two concentric arcs of unequal radii, 
 running together by irregular curved lines. The differ¬ 
 ence between the radii of the two arcs determines the 
 length of the stroke of the looper, the latter increasing 
 proportionately with the increase of difference. 
 
 The dimensions of this eccentric have therefore to be 
 determined, for which purpose the distance of the move¬ 
 ment of the looper must be first ascertained. This 
 distance may be divided into three; the first the distance 
 of the looper point from the needle before commencing 
 its motion = t in., the second the distance from the 
 needle to the pin effecting the lateral motion = in., and 
 thirdly the distance of the lateral motion. To produce 
 this lateral motion the axis of the looper must make a 
 side movement of t in. To reduce the above quantities 
 to the motion of the looper axis, we must multiply them 
 with the quantity ~ , m being the length of the lower 
 lever from its fulcrum to the looper point, n the length 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 81 
 
 from the fulcrum to the axis of the looper. In the case 
 before us m = 5| in., and n = 4| in., therefore £ = T » x in., 
 
 and the total length of the stroke of the axis of the looper 
 = a + a = 0,534 in., for which 4 in. is taken. The arms 
 of the horizontal and perpendicular lever are made of 
 the same length, so that the difference of the before- 
 mentioned concentric arcs determining the circumference 
 of the eccentric = -§- in. 
 
 The needle carrier having reached its deepest point, 
 that is when its roller stands at a in the slot of the 
 needle-carrier eccentric, the roller, m, of the hinder per¬ 
 pendicular lever must leave the smaller arc of the looper 
 eccentric. The transition to the larger arc will, there¬ 
 fore, have to commence in a. For the sake of simplicity 
 Ave will assume the roller of the hinder perpendicular 
 lever to move, not in a curve, but in a straight line, 
 o , m , passing through the centre of the eccentric. The 
 needle having; risen 4 in. the roller of the needle carrier 
 has reached and the shaft has described the angle cc o (3 
 as has also the looper eccentric. At this moment, hoAV- 
 ever, the looper must also have advanced a in. This 
 determines the point (3, if Ave make o Q = o a + a in. We 
 therefore draw the line « @ and continue it spirally round 
 the centre of the eccentric into the larger arc. On con¬ 
 tinuing the revolution the looper remains at its extreme 
 point, receding quickly Avhen the needle point has caught 
 the loop. The longer the return motion is deferred the 
 more certain is the loop to be caught; but it must take 
 place sufficiently early to allow of the point of the looper 
 passing beloAV the eye of the needle at a distance of t a 
 in. to -jA- in. At this moment the roller of the needle 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 carrier stands at s, the centre of the roller of the looper 
 eccentric, through which the clotted line a . • . . 
 passes, is also at e, and this point, s, will he j, in, from 
 the smaller arc. The smaller arc, a must therefore he 
 lengthened by C e, the latter haying a radial direction. 
 The shape of the eccentric is therefore dependent on the 
 line thus described, its outer edge running parallel to this 
 line at a distance equal to the radius of the roller. The 
 eccentric has, at the point at which the quick return 
 motion of the looper occurs, a sharp edge causing a 
 jerk, to obviate which an eccentric groove is frequently 
 made use of, thus dispensing with the spring pressing 
 against the horizontal lever. The looper eccentric is 
 moveable, being fastened only by a set screw to the axis. 
 A slight shifting of the eccentric in the direction of 
 the motion of the shaft causes the looper to recede 
 earlier, but also to reach the needle sooner, thus in¬ 
 creasing the distance between the upper surface of the 
 looper from the eye of the needle when making its re¬ 
 turn motion, also diminishing the rise for the formation 
 of the loop and increasing the distance between the 
 point of the looper and the eye of the needle at the mo¬ 
 ment of the loop being caught. A contrary motion 
 produces, of course, contrary results. 
 
 The eccentric cylindrical surface of the feed eccentric 
 also consists of two concurrent concentric arcs. At the 
 point where the eccentric is screwed on to the shaft the 
 latter is \ in. in diameter, the radius of the smallest arc 
 is therefore taken at -} in., thus giving j T in. thickness to 
 the eccentric, which is found sufficient, the eccentric 
 being constructed of steel. Assuming the greatest 
 length of a stitch to be \ in., the motion of the eccentric 
 must be \ in. as it presses against the feeder centrally 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OE MACHINES. 83 
 
 between its fulcrum and the roughened foot. The 
 radius of the larger arc is therefore made -§- to -fy in. 
 When the roller of the needle carrier has reached m 
 the feed eccentric must commence its action on the 
 feeder. The feeder being placed on the left side of its 
 eccentric, m is the point at which the smaller curve must 
 commence to merge into the larger one. 
 
 This transition is effected by a line running at a 
 tangent to the smaller arc, and slightly curved at the 
 point of concurrence with the larger one. This transi¬ 
 tion line must be so constructed as to shorten the feed 
 motion as much as possible, that is, the centre angle 
 mi o m 2 = between which this line lies, must be as 
 small as possible. The transition line effecting the return 
 motion of the feeder is constructed of the same shape as 
 the foregoing, the return requiring also to be effected as 
 rapidly as possible. During the return the feeder must 
 remain in its highest position, and it therefore follows 
 that the lower boundary of the forked lever, c cl, which 
 lies between a centre angle = y, must be a curve. This 
 curve \ v 2 resolves itself on both sides into horizontal 
 lines. The distance of the roller, b, from the centre of 
 the eccentric disc is dependent on the extreme position of 
 the forked lever. The exact position of the roller on the 
 eccentric is ascertained from the condition that the feeder 
 commences to rise when the looper has caught the loop 
 securely. This corresponds to the moment at which the 
 roller of the needle carrier has reached the point v in the 
 slot. The position of the roller being fixed, the point at 
 which the stroke of the feeder is completed and at 
 which the horizontal return motion must commence is 
 easily determined. From this follows the position of 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 the point n x on the feed eccentric, at which the second 
 transition line from the larger to the smaller curve must 
 commence. 
 
 THE SINGLE-THREAD CHAIN-STITCH MACHINE WITH 
 ROTATING HOOK. 
 
 The drawing in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, Plate II. describes 
 a single-thread chain-stitch machine with rotating hook 
 and feed motion from below. The upper and lower parts 
 of the machine are cast in one piece, and the main shaft, 
 b, lies beneath the sewing plate, parallel to the axis of the 
 machine. A connecting rod, h, attached to the hinder 
 -end of the shaft transmits motion by means of an 
 eccentric to a bent lever, i, the front edge of which is 
 attached to the needle carrier, k. The shape of the 
 hook has been already described; it is attached to a 
 stud about T V to in. in diameter, and \ in. in length, 
 fitting into the front end of the shaft, and fixed by a set 
 screw. The eccentric, which is cast in one piece, with a 
 small driving-wheel and fly-wheel (Fig. 5), is attached 
 to the hinder part of the shaft. A guide ring, g, is 
 screwed on to the shaft close to the bearing, preventing 
 it from shifting in the direction of its axis. 
 
 A slot, c, is made in the front end of the needle- 
 carrier lever, into which a horizontal pin, i, Fig. 12, fits. 
 This pin is in the form of a screw, the head of which 
 prevents a side motion of the lever, and Avhich, pro¬ 
 longed and working in a slot in the bracket head, pre¬ 
 vents the round needle carrier from turning. The 
 presser is constructed in a similar manner to the 
 carrier. Its foot is screwed on, and a spiral spring 
 pressing against the bracket head effects the pressure. 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OE MACHINES. 
 
 85 
 
 The sewing plate (Fig. 6) consists of a thin steel plate, 
 affixed to the lower part of the machine by means of 
 two screws, b. The main shaft projects \ in. be¬ 
 yond the lower part of the machine, and this end is 
 turned off in an eccentric form, and fits into a square 
 hole in the feeder, c, Fig. 2. Close in front of the feeder 
 is the looper, and on its right the stitch regulator. 
 
 The hook has a diameter of 8"'. Assuming the 
 sewing plate to be -l- thick, and the point of the hook 
 in its highest position to be still T V in. from the lower 
 surface of the plate, it follows that the distance of the 
 axis of the main shaft from the surface of the sewing 
 plate = 5\"'. The loop-forming rise of the needle being 
 taken at T Vi n -) and the distance of the eye of the needle, 
 from the looper point at the moment of the latter catch¬ 
 ing the loop at also T q- in., it follows that the eye of the- 
 needle when in its lowest position must stand 3y" v 
 below the surface of the sewing plate. Taking 2as 
 the extreme thickness of the material to be sewn, and 
 
 2 for the length of the point of the needle, the eye of 
 
 the needle must be raised at least 4above the sewing-- 
 plate, to enable the needle to clear the materiaE 
 Allowing, therefore, 4y it follows that the rise of the 
 needle carrier must be 4-§- + 3^"' = 8 'A The length of 
 
 the needle from the carrier to the eye is equivalent to the 
 distance of the eye from the sewing plate, the thickness 
 of the material and that of the presser foot, which is 1 
 making in all Gybut 7 are generally allowed. The 
 proportions of the arms of the needle-carrier lever are as 
 
 3 to 1, the rise of the eccentric must, therefore, be 2f"', 
 or the distance of the centre of the eccentric from the 
 axis of the main shaft ly . The radius of the eccentric 
 
86 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 is composed of this distance, of the length of the radius 
 of the circumference of the main shaft al* in., and of the 
 thickness of the smallest side of the eccentric 1"', alto¬ 
 gether 4i The diameter of the eccentric is therefore 
 9'". The greatest length of stitch is to be Ain.; the dis¬ 
 tance of the centre of the feed eccentric from the axis 
 of the main shaft must, therefore, be in. The stud 
 of the looper being a. in. in diameter, the axis of the 
 feed eccentric falls on it, and the radius of the feed 
 eccentric may, therefore, be taken at 1 a The open¬ 
 ing in the feeder in which the feed eccentric works is 
 5 square. In Fig. 13 the feeder is drawn separately. 
 
 MACHINES FOR DOUBLE-THREAD CHAIN-STITCH 
 
 May be divided, as before mentioned, into two classes. 
 Machines of the first class are very similar to the single¬ 
 thread chain-stitch machine with vibrating looper, and 
 •were first introduced in France, while those of the 
 second class originated in America. 
 
 We have already examined the formation of the chain- 
 stitch by means of two threads, and remarked that the 
 motion of the looper corresponds exactly to that of the 
 looper of the single-thread chain-stitch machine. The 
 motion of the needle is also subject to the same condi¬ 
 tions. On this account the whole of the mechanism of 
 a single-thread chain-stitch machine can be employed in 
 the construction of the double-thread chain-stitch ma¬ 
 chine ; the shape of the looper alone varies, which in¬ 
 volves an alteration in the length of the motion from 
 left to right, and therefore also in the shape of the 
 looper eccentric. The length of the movement of the 
 looper is in this case also composed of three parts, viz. 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OE MACHINES. 87 
 
 the distance of the looper point from the needle at the 
 commencement of its motion, which is taken at -§- in., 
 the distance of the movement of the looper from the 
 needle to the stud = -fu in., and the length of the lateral 
 motion = in, reducing the two first motions to the 
 fulcrum of the looper by multiplication with a, the pro¬ 
 portion of the distances of the looper fulcrum and 
 looper point from the fulcrum of the lever looper, A4~ in. 
 results as the side movement of this point, which is also 
 the difference of the radii of the concentric curves of 
 which the surface of the looper eccentric is composed. 
 This difference is, however, generally increased to -§- in. 
 
 The tension apparatus for the lower thread is placed 
 below the sewing plate on the hinder side a (Fig. 1, 
 Plate I.); for facility of access an opening, indicated by 
 the dotted line z : is left. The axis of the tension appa¬ 
 ratus lies horizontal from left to right, the thread runs 
 forward in the direction of the lower lever and enters 
 the looper from left to right. On account of the short¬ 
 ness of the oscillations of the looper, hardly any more 
 thread is drawn from the spool than is consumed in the 
 completion of the stitch. A moveable thread guide is, 
 therefore, unnecessary. In commencing the sewing the 
 lower thread must be first drawn from the looper point 
 through the stitch hole. 
 
 The double-thread chain-stitch machine of Grover 
 and Baker is represented in Plate III. in two vertical 
 sections (Figs. 1 and 2), and as seen from above (Fig. 
 3). The main shaft, y, is perpendicular to the axis of 
 the machine and below the sewing plate. Affixed to it, 
 between its two bearings, is a small driving-wheel of 
 1 in. in breadth, and 2 in. in diameter, and to its right 
 
88 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 end is attached a disc, serving as eccentric for the free 
 motion from below, and carrying a small roller in. in 
 diameter, working in a slot of the lever arm, c, and 
 communicating motion to it. This lever arm, c, is a part 
 of a two-armed lever having its fulcrum at d, its 
 other arm, e, carrying the curved needle. The needle 
 is inserted in a semicircular groove in the needle lever, 
 and held fast by a set screw. The lever shaft, d, works 
 on screw points, and is placed as close as possible to the 
 sewing plate, so that the curved needle may enter the 
 material at as near a right angle as possible. These 
 screw points facilitate the adjustment of the needle to 
 the centre of the needle hole. The width of the slot at 
 the extremity of the lower lever arm, c, is equal to the 
 diameter of the roller working in it, viz. -| in. The 
 length of this slot is rather greater than that of the rise 
 of the needle, which is calculated as follows: In conse¬ 
 quence of the peculiar arrangement of the moveable 
 thread guide, hereafter to be described, the upper thread 
 is held taut while the needle accomplishes the first T 3 T in. 
 of its ascent, and no loop can therefore be formed till 
 this distance is completed. The ascending needle lever 
 then also carries the thread with it in proportion as it 
 rises, and thus, to produce a perfect loop, the needle 
 must traverse twice the distance which would other¬ 
 wise be necessary. To this distance must be added 
 T V in., the distance of the looper point from the eye of 
 the needle at the completion of the formation of the 
 loop ; qfi in., the distance of the looper point from the 
 needle hole plate, T V in., the thickness of the latter, 
 the greatest thickness of the material to be sewn, din., 
 the length of the needle point reckoning from the eye 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINES. 
 
 89 
 
 and lastly, T V in., the height of the needle point above 
 the material when at its extreme elevation; lp in. 
 therefore results as the rise of the needle. The half of 
 this, or in., is the distance of the roller communicating 
 motion to the needle lever from the centre of the disc to 
 which it is affixed. Deducting from the above-men¬ 
 tioned distances the length of the needle point, -f in., 
 and the rise of the needle point above the material, 
 -j-Cj-in., and adding T y in. as space for the presser foot 
 between the material and the needle lever when in its 
 deepest position, 1 in. results as the length of the needle 
 from its eye to the point at which it is inserted in the 
 lever. The looper, vibrating similarly to the balance- 
 wheel of a watch, is attached by a screw to a spindle 
 T 5 T in. in diameter, the upper end of which works in a 
 collar, q., while the conical-pointed lower end works in 
 a socket capable of adjustment by a screw. This spindle 
 is provided Avith a spiral groove constructed as folloAvs : 
 The round spindle is filed flat on two diametrically op¬ 
 posite sides, for its entire length, so that its section has 
 the shape of the shaded part in Fig. 6, Plate III., and 
 the centre part of it is then spirally tivisted at an angle 
 of less than 45 deg. The section of the spiral part of 
 the spindle will, of course, be the same as that of the 
 remaining portion, and the spindle is caused to rotate 
 by the steel plate a , Fig. 6, in which is a slot corre¬ 
 sponding to the section of the spindle. This plate fits 
 into a groove, b. Fig. 5, in the loAA’-er end of the lever 
 arm, c, Fig. 1. The length of the spirally-grooved part 
 of the spindle is calculated from the arc described by 
 the looper, Avhich is -f of an entire circle. The grooves 
 of the spindle rising at an angle of less than 45 deg. the 
 
90 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 plate must rise exactly as much as the length of the arc 
 described by the radius of the section of the spindle. 
 The arc described by the looper being two-thirds of an 
 entire circle, the length of the spindle required to be 
 grooved = f of a circle having a diameter of -/%- in. = -§- in. 
 At the completion of the loop, the looper has already 
 commenced to rotate, and the point has moved r in. for¬ 
 ward, corresponding to a rise of the plate of - r - = -iq, 
 or nearly T X T in. The lower straight part of the spindle 
 would, therefore, be yy + T 3 T — xV = iV d'i. in length, the 
 upper straight part - fV - i = i in. To the feeder 
 (Fig. 2) is attached the roughened foot, and at /, a steel 
 knee-piece working on the eccentric, and having at its 
 left extremity a slot, in which the stud b fits, serving both 
 as guide and pivot to the feeder. Between a projection 
 on the lower side of the sewing plate, cl, and one on the 
 upper side of the feeder, c, is a spiral spring, by which 
 the feeder is kept in contact with its eccentric. In 
 another slot of the feeder (a) is the stitch regulator, the 
 arrangement of which is shown in Fig. 13. It is centred 
 on a screw, d, and presses, by its elasticity, the stud, e, 
 at its other extremity, into the holes, f by which it is 
 secured in its position. The surface of the feed eccen¬ 
 tric is so constructed that the roughened plate com¬ 
 mences its motion for the length of the stitch at the 
 moment of the needle reaching its highest point 
 and being about to descend. Just before the feeder 
 commences the horizontal motion it rises T n in., and 
 immediately the horizontal motion is completed it again 
 descends T V in., and makes its return motion while the 
 main shaft is completing its revolution. The shape of 
 the cylindrical surface of the feeder is shown in Fig. 7, of 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OE MACHINES. 91 
 
 the grooved surface in Fig. 8, in which the spiral grooves 
 are represented by d, e, a, c, d. In both drawings 
 those parts of the surface which are at the same moment 
 in contact with the feeder are marked with the same let¬ 
 ters. While a b, Fig. 7, by which the transition of the 
 curve, d, e, a, into the layer curve, b c, is effected, raises 
 the feeder 7 V in., a 5, in Fig. 8, prevents the horizontal 
 motion of the feeder, which commences between b and c. 
 During this time, b c, of Fig. 7, prevents the vertical 
 motion, and only on the completion of the horizontal 
 motion between c and d, Fig. 8, is the descent possible, 
 on the completion of which the return motion is effected 
 between d and a, Fig. 8, during which the curve, d 7 e, a , 
 Fig. 7, retains the feeder in its lowest position. The 
 presser, Z, Figs. 1, 2, and 10, consists of a bent steel 
 plate, working in a guide in the head of the bracket arm, 
 in which is also the socket for the reception of a spiral 
 spring acting on a pin brazed on to the presser. In the 
 upper end of the presser is a slot, in which the disen¬ 
 gagement, x, works. The presser, together with the 
 spiral spring and disengagement, must be inserted in 
 the bracket arm before this is screwed on to the bed 
 plate of the machine. The presser foot has a forked 
 shape, dependent on the shape of the serrated plate, 
 Plate III., Fig. 4. The shape of the opening in the 
 needle-hole plate is dependent on the shape of this plate 
 and the size of the longest stitch to be made. The 
 needle hole has a diameter of T V in., and is enlarged on 
 its lower side, Fig. 9. 
 
 The reel, on which is the lower thread, runs loosely 
 on a thin, horizontal spindle attached to the lower side 
 of the table; from it the thread is conveyed to the 
 
92 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 tension apparatus, io ) Fig. 3, and from thence to the 
 looper. 
 
 The same tension apparatus is applied to the upper 
 thread, which, however, is then conveyed through a 
 slit in the rod k, round which is a thin spiral spring of 
 brass pressing the thread gently in an upward direction. 
 This arrangement is shown in full size, Fig. 12. A 
 T-shaped steel plate, h, Fig. 11, together with another 
 similar-formed piece, but with only one arm, are attached 
 by a screw to the needle lever. Their projecting arms 
 are covered with cloth at their point of contact, and be¬ 
 tween them the thread coming from the spiral spring 
 is held tight when the needle has completed -p- in. of its 
 ascent, as otherwise the thread would be held taut by the 
 spiral spring, thus preventing the formation of the loop. 
 This apparatus, rising however with the needle lever, 
 draws the thread with it, only however to the extent of 
 half the quantity set free by the ascent of the needle, 
 and it is on this account that the ascent of the needle 
 for the formation of the loop must be made double as 
 long as would otherwise be necessary. 
 
 D.—MACHINES FOR QUILTING-STITCH, WITH MOVEABLE 
 
 SHUTTLES. 
 
 The first machine of this description was constructed 
 in 1834, in America, by Walter Hunt; but although 
 the principle was the same as that now employed, yet 
 defects in the mechanical arrangements prevented its 
 application till 1846, in which year Elias Howe intro¬ 
 duced a similarly-constructed machine with great suc¬ 
 cess. This machine was still further improved upon by 
 Singer, of New York, who first introduced the method 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 93 
 
 of imparting motion to the shuttle by a crank and con¬ 
 necting rod. 
 
 1. singer’s system. 
 
 Singer’s machine is shown in Plate IV., Figs. 1, 2, 3, 
 and 4. It has two driving shafts parallel with the axis 
 of the machine, one of which is above, the other below 
 the sewing plate. Cog-wheels are generally affixed to 
 these shafts, driven by a larger wheel, which is generally 
 cast in one piece with the sheave of the machine. This 
 arrangement is shown in Fig. 18, Plate III. The fol¬ 
 lowing arrangement is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, Plate 
 IV. To the hinder-ends of the two driving shafts are 
 attached two sheaves of 3-| in. diameter, each provided 
 with a stud, at a distance of H in. from its centre. A 
 perfectly similar sheave works on a pin attached to the 
 lower part of the machine, parallel and at the same 
 level as the lower driving shaft, and at a distance of 
 4-L in. from it. The studs of these three discs are con¬ 
 nected together by a cast-iron triangle, communicating 
 the rotary motion of the lower to the upper sheave. 
 To prevent the occurrence of a dead point, the third 
 disc is introduced; for a dead point occurring in the posi¬ 
 tion of the tivo main shafts, as is shown in Fig. 3, Plate 
 IV, the loAver shaft still presses against the stud of the 
 third disc, and this pressure is transmitted to the upper 
 sheave, and an equable motion is thus produced. In 
 the front of the upper shaft is a disc having a roller 
 attached,'working in a kidney-shaped groovein the needle 
 carrier. The shuttle is propelled by a crank on the 
 lower shaft by means of a connecting rod. The driver 
 is, as shoAvn in Fig. 1, constructed of two pieces screwed 
 
94 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 together, the lower of which has a long continuation the 
 lower end of which is exactly on a level with the lower 
 shaft, so that the connecting-rod, acting on this end, 
 moves in a horizontal direction. The driver has, on 
 both sides, projections, between which the shuttle lies; 
 the one on the left side, a, Fig. 18, acting on the heel of 
 the shuttle remains a — T 3 _ in. from the guide plate, 
 which facilitates the tightening of the loop of the upper 
 thread when the shuttle has passed through it, as the 
 thread of the loop must pass between the projection, o, 
 and the heel of the shuttle. The front projection, b, 
 fits into a corresponding cavity, p. in the upper surface 
 of the shuttle point, and effects the return motion of the 
 shuttle. The latter has about -A- in. play between the 
 two projections of the driver, so that when the projec¬ 
 tion, a , is in contact with the shuttle, there is sufficient 
 space between the projection, 6, and the shuttle point 
 to allow the thread of the loop to pass freely, as shown 
 in Fig. 22, A. This shape of the driver has the advan¬ 
 tage over others which will be described later, that the 
 pressure of the projection on the point does not cause 
 an increase of friction between the shuttle and the 
 guides. The driver is sometimes constructed of brass, 
 sometimes of cast-iron. 
 
 The shuttle has a length of 2 '- in. Its point being at 
 the commencement of the motion, a in. distant from the 
 needle, Fig. 22, E, and its heel having at the conclusion 
 of the stroke exactly escaped the needle, Fig. 22, C, 24 in. 
 result as the length of the motion of the shuttle, giving 
 1 a in. for the length of the driving crank. The needle after 
 penetrating the material enters a groove in the shuttle 
 guide, intended to protect the needle, and varrying 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OP MACHINES: 
 
 i l 
 
 from At to T V in. in width, and of at least the same 
 depth. The needle must fit into the groove so that the 
 shuttle passes close to it without touching. If the 
 needle is too far back the shuttle is apt to miss the loop, 
 and if it projects either it or the shuttle point is liable 
 to injury. If we imagine the shuttle in the middle of 
 the loop of the upper thread the thread would he caught 
 between the shuttle and the guide, the latter is therefore 
 slightly hollowed out, k, Fig. 18. 
 
 To determine the form of the kidney-shaped groove in 
 the needle carrier we must revert to the motion of the 
 needle and shuttle which are dependent one on the 
 other. The piece containing the groove is shown in 
 Fig. 20. The centre of the roller driving the needle 
 carrier describes the line k c cl e. In Fig. 19 the 
 inner circle shows the path described by the roller. 
 The outer one, that described by the crank, imparting 
 motion to the shuttle. The direction of the motion is 
 shown by the two arrows, and the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 
 and 5, the cotemporary positions of the roller and crank, 
 to which again the relative positions of the needle and 
 shuttle in Fig. 22, A, B, C, D, andE, correspond. The 
 line Jc c cl e consists of three parts, of two straight lines, 
 k c and d e, and of a curved line, c cl. It is evident 
 that the points k and e must be at the same distance 
 from the perpendicular axis of the needle carrier as the 
 roller is from the axis of the upper main shaft. Imagin¬ 
 ing the roller to commence its motion at k, it will, on 
 arriving at 5, have depressed the needle carrier, h, 5. 
 On passing 5 it again raises the needle and has, on 
 arriving at 1, raised it sufficiently for the formation of 
 the loop, so that the needle can remain stationary. As 
 
96 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 the ascent necessary for the formation of the loop is 
 T-in., the difference between 5 h and 1 c must also be 
 i in. The length of 5 h is ascertained from the position 
 of 5 in the circle described by the roller, and this is de¬ 
 termined by the curve, 5 k, being half a right angle. 
 The length of 5 h being found it follows that 1 c = 5 7t, 
 --i-in., and from this the position of 1 is determined. 
 The corresponding point in the crank circle is derived 
 from the condition that the shuttle must have accom¬ 
 plished the first in. of its motion when the needle has 
 formed the loop. The needle commences slowly to 
 ascend when the shuttle has completed its motion, at the 
 moment the shuttle has reached the point shown in B, 
 Fig. 22. This gives the position of 2 on the crank, and of 
 the corresponding point on the roller circle, from which 
 follows the end, d, of the curve described round the 
 centre, b (a b = 1 c.), with the diameter of the roller 
 circle. The line d c forms the rectilinear continuation 
 of this curve, so that the central line of the kidney-shaped 
 groove is now complete. The shuttle having completed 
 its advance the needle rises, Fig. 22, C, and having 
 reached its highest point, 4, the shuttle has already 
 commenced its return motion, Fig. 22, D, which being 
 completed, the needle has again reached its deepest 
 point, Fig. 22, E. It now only remains to determine 
 the diameter of the circle described by the roller. The 
 ascent of the needle is composed of the distance neces¬ 
 sary for the formation of the loop, and the diameter of 
 the before-mentioned circle, or the diameter is equal to 
 the difference of the ascent of the needle, and the portion 
 necessary for the formation of the loop. We must, 
 therefore, first determine the distance of the ascent. 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 97 
 
 The depth of the shuttle is J* in., its upper edge is T Vin. 
 below the needle-hole plate, which is T V in. thick ; as¬ 
 suming, then, that the eye of the needle, when in its 
 deepest position, is i n . below the lower edge of the 
 shuttle, the thickest material to be sewn to be in., the 
 point of the needle a in. long, and required to be, when 
 in its highest position, T w in. above the material, it 
 follows that the total distance of the ascending motion 
 is 1 fin., and deducting f in. for the ascent necessary 
 for the formation of the loop, the diameter of the above- 
 mentioned circle results = If in. 
 
 The disc, on which is the roller communicating mo¬ 
 tion to the needle-carrier, is permanently attached to 
 the end of the upper shaft ; the crank, however, by 
 which the shuttle is actuated, is fastened by a screw to 
 allow the regulation of the period of the shuttle point 
 in its advance reaching the needle. 
 
 The feed motion is effected by a wheel, provided with 
 the arrangements before described. The one end of the 
 shaft carrying the two levers, one of which is attached to 
 the connecting-rod, the other to an eccentric on the lower 
 main shaft, runs on a bearing, Fig. 4, attached to the 
 framework of the lower part of the machine, while the 
 other works on the point of a screw, so as to allow of 
 the shaft being easily removed and replaced. This shaft 
 is frequently of cast-iron, in one piece with the levers. 
 The eccentric transmitting motion to the feed mechanism 
 also consists of a crank, Fig. 17. The lever, v, Fig. 2, 
 actuated by this eccentric, has attached to its upper sides 
 a perpendicular stud, coming periodically in contact 
 with the spiral stitch-regulator. The eccentric rise on 
 the crank (cr, Fig. 17) results from the proportions 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 of the lever arrangement, and from the greatest length 
 of stitch which has been taken, as -{- in. in -f in. 
 
 The stitch-regulator, Fig. 16, is provided with an index- 
 plate, a, and is set by a corresponding key, c. The 
 construction of the presser has been before described. 
 The tension apparatus consists of a roller round which 
 the thread is wound more or less often, Figs. 1 and 5, 
 and the reel, w, carrying the thread, runs loose on an 
 upright spindle. 
 
 Attached to the lower shaft is a driving-wheel, e, Fig. 
 1, the diameter of which is four to five times smaller 
 than that of the corresponding driving-wheel, k, Fig. 
 21, on the fly-wheel shaft. The driving band is H to 
 2 in. in breadth, and the upper driving-wheel is 2 in. in 
 diameter. If, however, the two shafts are connected by 
 cog-wheels, both the upper and lower driving-wheels 
 have a diameter of 5 in., and the revolutions of the cog¬ 
 wheels are as 5 to 1, or 4 to 1. The cog-wheels are 
 divided into \ in., so that the strength of the teeth is {- in. 
 on the periphery, with a width of \ in. 
 
 Machines of this construction are capable of making 
 700 stitches a minute, even on the thickest mate¬ 
 rials, as leather, and are, therefore, much employed 
 in the manufacture of .shoes, saddlery; and on account 
 of the large space available for the passage of the 
 material, are particularly adapted for sewing mantles, 
 coats, etc. 
 
 In commencing the sewing the machine is allowed to 
 make one revolution before the material is inserted, so 
 that the upper thread, the end of which is held in the 
 hand, may catch the lower thread and draw it through 
 the needle-hole. 
 
TIIE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 99 
 
 2. hofmann’s system. 
 
 The arrangement of this machine is shown in Figs. 1 
 and 2, Plate V. The space for the passage of the mate¬ 
 rial is only 7 in., and the material passes from the right 
 to the left of the machine. There is only one main 
 shaft lying below the sewing-plate, parallel to the axis 
 of the machine, working on bearings, the hinder one of 
 which is conically enlarged on both sides to prevent the 
 shaft from shifting in the direction of its axis, and must, 
 therefore, be provided with a cap. The shaft itself is 
 provided near its front end with a crank, to which is 
 attached a connecting-rod, imparting motion to the 
 shuttle-driver. To the hinder end of the shaft is at¬ 
 tached a cylinder with an eccentric groove, g, Figs. 1 and 
 2, acting upon a bent lever, k l m, either communicating 
 motion to the needle-lever by means of a connecting-rod, 
 or acting direct on a stud affixed to the needle-lever. 
 
 The shuttle, shuttle-race, shuttle-driver, &c., are con¬ 
 structed similarly to those of the machine last described, 
 except that the point of the shuttle lies higher ~ i* 1 - 
 above the lower edge of the shuttle, so that a in. may be 
 given for the formation of the loop, and -§ in. for the 
 distance of the shuttle-point from the eye of the needle 
 at the moment of the loop being caught. The distance 
 traversed by the shuttle is, therefore, in this case 2-f in., 
 and the crank on the main shaft must therefore be 1 a in. 
 When the needle is at its deepest point its eye is in. 
 below the lower edge of the shuttle ; the shuttle is T 7 Ti - in. 
 in depth; the distance of the upper edge of the shuttle 
 from the ~ 7r in. thick needle-hole plate is -jA- in. As¬ 
 suming a in. for the thickest material to be sewn, Ain. 
 for the needle-point, and T J „ in. for the distance the point 
 
 h 2 
 
y j. 
 
 of the needle is withdrawn from the material, lyb in. 
 results as the total rise of the needle. Deducting from 
 this {- in. the length of the needle-point, and in. for 
 the distance of the needle-point from the material, and 
 adding y in, for the space necessary for the presser, 
 between the needle-carrier and the material, 1 in. re¬ 
 sults as the length of the needle from the needle-carrier 
 to the eye. 
 
 To describe the path of the eccentric groove, let us 
 imagine the surface of the cylinder as a plane, 
 arms of the bent lever connecting the groove with the 
 needle-carrier being proportioned as 6 to 5, the roller 
 must describe five-sixths of the distance traversed by 
 the needle, and it therefore follows that the middle line 
 of the groove, moving from right to left, must always 
 rise and fall five-sixth of the distance of the motion of 
 the needle. Assuming the needle to be at its lowest 
 point, the roller will stand at 1, Fig. 17. The inner 
 circle shown in Fig. 16 presents the path described by 
 the crank, and the numbers correspond with those in 
 Fig. 17, indicating the relative position of the crank, 
 while those on the straight line in Fig. 16 indicate the 
 position of the shuttle. On the shuttle advancing to 2, 
 the crank has also made a similar advance, as has also 
 the roller, so that the corresponding ordinate must be 
 1\"'. While the point of the shuttle is entering the loop 
 the needle must again have descended |-in. ; but the 
 distance, 23, corresponding to the curve, 23, described 
 by the crank, the curved piece, 23, results. The needle 
 now remains stationary till the shuttle has penetrated 
 the loop ; this corresponds to the curve, 34, or the dis¬ 
 tance, 34. The needle must then rise sufficiently quick 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 101 
 
 to allow the eye of the needle to have ascended above 
 the needle-hole when the cylindrical point of the shuttle 
 has reached the perpendicular groove in the shuttle- 
 race. This occurs when the crank has traversed the 
 curve, 45 , corresponding to the distance, 45. The 
 needle then ascends till it reaches its highest point and 
 descends, so that it reaches its lowest point on the 
 completion of the revolution of the cylinder with the 
 eccentric groove. The fulcrum of the bent lever is per¬ 
 pendicular above the central position of the roller, and 
 the roller being attached to a lever, and, therefore, 
 moving in a curve, the lever must be made sufficiently 
 long to allow the roller to rise the same distance above the 
 level of the axis of the main shaft as it descends belowv 
 
 The feed motion from below consists of a serrated 
 plate put in motion by the feed eccentric, 7 , attached to 
 the main shaft. This eccentric is composed of two 
 eccentric cylindrical surfaces joined together, Fig. 16. 
 The one by which the ascent of the feeder is effected 
 must have a radial difference of T V in., the other of \ in.,. ; 
 the length of the longest stitch. The shaft being irw 
 in diameter, the radius of the smallest curve may be 
 taken at yy- in. from which the other radii may be easily 
 determined. The rise, advance, and fail of the feeder 
 succeed each other rapidly. The feeder commences to 
 rise with the surface, a b; this rise terminates on the 
 point, b, standing perpendicular above the axis. 
 
 At this moment the advance commences; at the point 
 b, when the angle, b 0 b, is a right angle, the transi¬ 
 tion of the cylinder to the greater radius must take 
 place. On the point c reaching the position occupied 
 by b, at the commencement of the advance, the advance 
 
102 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 is completed, and the descent commences, that is, the 
 point c, is then perpendicular above the axis. When d 
 has reached this position the return can commence, that 
 is at the point d (Ad o d is a right angle; Z 603 = 405) 
 the transition from the larger to the smaller curve takes 
 place. 
 
 3. GROVER AND BAKER’S SYSTEM. 
 
 The construction of these machines being similar to 
 that of the one just described, only the mechanism of 
 the lower part is shown in Plate V. The bracket arm 
 is hollow, and is attached to the bed by four screws. 
 The driving shaft is below the sewing-plate, paral¬ 
 lel to the axis of the machine, and runs on bearings, 
 the hinder one of which is provided with a cap. At¬ 
 tached to the hinder end of this shaft is a fly-wheel, with 
 which a driving-sheave is combined, and also two cy¬ 
 linders Avith eccentric grooves, transmitting motion, one 
 to the shuttle, the other to the needle carrier. The 
 bent lever, by Avhich the shuttle is actuated (Figs. 20 and 
 21 ) has attached to it the driver, constructed of cast- 
 steel. The shuttle race, which must be curved, corre- 
 ponding to the motion of the shuttle and driver, is 
 represented in Fig. 19. 
 
 A screw bolt, g, Figs 20 and 21, forms the fulcrum of 
 the shuttle lever, and is screAved on to a piece of wrought- 
 iron attached by tAvo screAvs to the seAving-plate. The 
 proportion of the lever arm carrying the driver and 
 the roller is as 3 to 1, so that the curve described by the 
 eccentric grooves communicating motion to the shuttle 
 is three times flatter than it Avould be with arms. 
 
 The bent lever,, transmitting motion from the other 
 eccentric to the needle carrier, and vibrating in a per- 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 103 
 
 pendicular plane, has two arms, the length of which are 
 proportioned as 6 to 5, and works on the pin, /, Fig, 24, 
 screwed to the bracket arm. It is entirely covered by 
 the hollow bracket, the left side of which is closed by 
 
 a slide fastened by two screws. 
 
 The grooves of the eccentric are so arranged, that for 
 every revolution of the driving shaft two strokes of the 
 needle and of the shuttle are completed, therefore also 
 two stitches. The shuttle is 2 y in. in length, and its 
 point being, when in its extreme position, to the left, 
 x in from the needle, the length of the motion of the 
 shuttle will be 2-f- in., and the vibrations of the lever 
 roller will, therefore, only be 10 . The diameter of 
 
 the cylindrical part of the shuttle is 1 in., and between 
 it and the X V in. thick needle-hole plate is a space of 
 T V The shuttle point lies, therefore, T 5 T in. below the 
 surface of the sewing plate, and the needle eye, when in 
 its deepest position, is -fk in. below the surface, reckon¬ 
 ing 1 for the ascent necessary for the formation of 
 the loop, and 4 ,- in. for the space between the shuttle 
 point and needle eye on the formation of the loop. 
 Allowing further x in. for the thickest material 
 to be sewn, T 3 T in. for the length of the needle point 
 calculated from the eye, and 4 in. for the space re¬ 
 quired to be left between the needle when in its 
 highest position, and the material, 1 in. results for the 
 rise of the needle carrier ; which is, however, generally 
 taken at in. 
 
 The grooves of the eccentric, Figs. 22 and 23, are 
 composed of two perfectly similar halves, and it is there¬ 
 fore only necessary to describe the path of one of them. 
 The grooves have a motion in the direction of the arrow; 
 
104 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 the rollers will, therefore, move in these grooves in a 
 contrary direction, so that we may commence with the 
 corresponding point, 1. The points reached by the 
 rollers at corresponding periods are always in a curve 
 of 90 deg. from one another. While the rise necessary 
 for the formation of the loop is being effected by the 
 needle, which moves for this purpose to 2, the shuttle 
 point has advanced in., so that it has reached the 
 needle, that is the groove of the shuttle eccentric has 
 risen T V in., and arrived at 2. While there the shuttle 
 is advancing till it has completed its advance at 3. The 
 needle has remained stationary to the same point, and 
 the shuttle then ceases its motion till the needle has 
 risen to 4. The shuttle then commences its return 
 which is complete to 5, in the same time as the needle 
 finishes the ascent to its highest and again descends to 
 its lowest point at 5. 
 
 The feed motion from below consists in a moveable 
 plate set in motion by a feed eccentric attached to the 
 main shaft by a set screw. This eccentric must naturally 
 also complete two advances to each revolution of the 
 main shaft. The construction of this eccentric, Fig. 18, 
 has been already described. 
 
 The driving sheave, attached to a small fly-wheel 
 situate at the hinder end of the main shaft, has a dia¬ 
 meter of 4 to 5 in., while that attached and cast in one 
 piece Avith the large fly-Avheel, the shaft of which is 
 beloAV the seAving-plate, has a diameter of 8 to 10 in. 
 Each revolution of the main shaft completing two 
 stitches, it therefore folloAvs that four stitches are com¬ 
 pleted to each ascent of the treadle, or about 700 
 stitches to a minute. 
 
A hi Vjb'v 
 
 THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACIIIN^§.-.. 105 , 
 
 v/v * Y < 
 
 THOMAS S SYSTEM. 
 
 V V 
 
 These machines are arranged for sewing materials 
 having a hollow form, and the lower part b, Figs. 1, 2, 
 3 , and 4, Plate VI., therefore, consists of a thin, narrow 
 arm projecting horizontally above the surface of the 
 table, to which it is attached by the screw, passing 
 through a tripod u, on its hinder end. The axis of the 
 machine is parallel with the arm, and the upper part, c, 
 of the machine is connected with the lower by two 
 strong -fin. screws, t. The main shaft, u, lies behind, per¬ 
 pendicular to the axis of the machine, and somewhat 
 below the sewing plate, which latter is about 5 in. above 
 the lower part of the machine. Attached to the shaft 
 on the right side of the axis of the machine is a large 
 disc with two eccentric grooves, the one elfecting the 
 motion of the needle, the other that of the shuttle. 
 On the left side is the feed eccentric, p q, imparting 
 motion by a combination of levers to the feed above. 
 
 The driver, c, Figs. 4, 5, and 9, constructed of brass, 
 seldom of iron, works in guides of which the slot, k /, 
 Fig. 1, -§- in. broad, and 1 in. deep, may be considered a 
 continuation. In this slot k works, in. in length, 
 having attached to it at one end the roller, m, on a hori- 
 zontaT pivot, at the other end, connected with the driver 
 by a round rod, h, Tin- hi diameter. 
 
 A wrought-iron lever a, y [ 3, with two equal arms, 
 the fulcrum of which is y, transmits the motion of the 
 second eccenti’ic groove to the needle lever. For this 
 purpose the hinder lever-arm carries a roller, a, on a 
 horizontal pin, the other lever arm being forked and 
 acting on a stud projecting horizontally from the needle 
 carrier, v p. 
 
106 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 The length of the shuttle is here also 2 f in., and its 
 stroke, 2{- in. The shuttle being T ' g - in. in depth, its upper 
 surface being in. distant from the lower surface of the 
 needle-hole plate, which is also -J 3 - in. thick, the thickest 
 material being f in. allowing f in. for the needle point, 
 iV in. for the space left between the needle point and the 
 material, and -pg in. for the space between the eye of the 
 needle and the lower edge of the shuttle, If in. results 
 as the length of the stroke of the needle carrier. Taking 
 into consideration that the feeder foot requires f in. 
 space between the material and the lower part of the 
 needle lever, lin. results as the length of the needle 
 from its point of insertion to its eye. 
 
 The corresponding positions of needle and shuttle 
 afford the data for the construction of the eccentric 
 slots. We begin with those parts of the grooves corre¬ 
 sponding to the moment at which the needle and shuttle 
 commence their motion. Assuming fin. as the dia¬ 
 meter of the main shaft, and f in. as the diameter of 
 the roller, the inner and smaller groove by which the 
 shuttle is driven will be in. from the centre of the 
 disc at the point where it is nearest to it, and (the throw 
 of the shuttle being 2\ in.) 3 X 3 T in. where it is at its 
 greatest distance from it. The rollers of the needle 
 lever and shuttle driver occupy at corresponding periods 
 the positions indicated on their respective slots by corre¬ 
 sponding numbers. We commence with the points 1, 
 placed at an angle of 90 deg. from each other, as are 
 all the other corresponding points. We will describe 
 the roller of the needle lever as “first” that of the 
 shuttle driver as “ second ” roller. The first roller having 
 reached the point 2 , the radius of which is shortened 
 
 mmm 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 107 
 
 i 
 
 1 2 
 
 _ -i r in., the distance of the rise necessary for the for¬ 
 mation of the loop, the second roller has also reached/ 
 the point 2, the radius of which is shortened fin., aa^. 
 the shuttle point was at first -f «>• removed from th 
 needle. The path 23 of the first roller is symmetrica 
 with 12, the needle sinking the same distance as it had\A 
 risen • in the same time the second roller has reached 
 point 3, the radius of which is again shortened the 
 length of the shuttle point as the cylindrical part of the 
 shuttle must then just have reached the needle. The 
 groove of the second roller now continues to approach 
 the centre of the disc to point 4, corresponding with 
 the position of the shuttle after the completion of its 
 stroke. Till this moment, the needle has remained sta¬ 
 tionary, on which account 34 of the path of the first 
 roller is circular shaped. From 4, the larger groove 
 has only to fulfil the condition that its radius shall 
 diminish as much as requisite, increasing on its 
 return to point 1. The groove can therefore be sym¬ 
 metrical, and the axis of symmetry is found by connect¬ 
 ing the centre of the disc with point 2. The point a of 
 the groove, where the smallest radius occurs, must also 
 lie in this axis. When the first roller has reached point 4, 
 the shuttle must stand still till the eye of the needle 
 has reached the sewing plate, this corresponds to the 
 point 5 in the groove of the second roller. The piece 
 45 of the inner groove consists, therefore, of a concentric 
 curve. The inner curve from 5 having no other condi¬ 
 tion to fulfil but that its radius should again increase to 
 point 1, may also be made symmetrical. The curve 45 
 is halved, this central point connected with the centre 
 of the disc, giving the axis of symmetry. The con- 
 
108 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 centric curve 1 e having the radius, 0 1 is described. 
 The choice of the point 1 is of importance for the size 
 of the exterior curve. It is of course brought as near 
 the inner curve as possible, but only so near that there 
 may be at least d in. between the two grooves at their 
 nearest points. 
 
 The disc is screwed on to the shaft which runs on a 
 bearing 2 in. long. The other end of this shaft carries 
 the feed eccentric, pq. Attached to the extreme end of 
 the main shaft is the driving sheave. 
 
 The feed eccentric imparts motion to the feeder by 
 means of a two-armed lever, y* z v, moving in a perpen¬ 
 dicular plane, having its fulcrum at z, and a lever shaft, 
 e, Fig. 15, running on screw points. The feeder arm, x, 
 Fig. 1, runs in a slot in the bracket arm, in. broad 
 and •§■ in. deep, and is forked at its upper extremity. A 
 flat spring presses against the feeder from left to right. 
 The front end of the lever vibrating perpendicularly is 
 attached to the feeder, being pressed downwards by a 
 spiral spring -attached to £ and At its hinder end, 
 on a horizontal pin, is a roller travelling on the cylin¬ 
 drical edge of the eccentric, thus effecting the rise and 
 fall of the feeder. The lever shaft , Fig. 15, that is a 
 shaft running parallel xvith the axis of the machine, has 
 attached to both ends, and perpendicular to it, levers, 
 the one of which, a, carries a rotating roller, c, work¬ 
 ing on the second screw-shaped surface of the feed 
 eccentric, while the other, b, has affixed to its lower end 
 a horizontal projecting stud, shown in Fig. 12, pressing 
 the feeder from right to left, effecting its backward and 
 forward motion. The stitch regulator acts on the 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 109 
 
 hinder lever of the lever shaft, and the arrangement is 
 shown clearly in Fig. 8. 
 
 The feed motion just described only allows of the 
 material when of a hollow shape, as coat-sleeves, uppers 
 of boots, &c., being sewn round. But it is often neces¬ 
 sary to sew these articles also longitudinally, and a 
 second feed motion is therefore introduced, by which 
 the material is advanced from the front towards the 
 hinder part of the machine. This feeder is similarly 
 constructed to the one just described, having for its 
 guide the perpendicular groove, K in the head of the 
 bracket. The shape of this feeder is shown in Fig. 11, 
 
 while that of. the first is represented in Fig. 10. A 
 spring pressed feeder f.fowkpds. .t-foe ^ front of the 
 
 machine, and for .the purpose erf-imparting life a-’eqitisite 
 motion, the front fever of-the le-yer. shaft has afiixeVl to 
 its lower end, d, Fig. 12, not only. fiie".Ahd, c, but also 
 a conical piece, e, acting upon the second feeder, and 
 giving it a forward motion. Of course both feeders 
 cannot be employed at the same time. 
 
 This machine is especially applicable to saddlers’ 
 work, the manufacture of boots, shoes, &c. The feed 
 motion from above allows of very sharp curves being- 
 made, which are requisite in ornamenting the fronts of 
 shoes, slippers, &c. 
 
 THE QUILTING-STITCH MACHINE WITH FIXED BOBBIN. 
 
 The lower part of the machine, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, 
 Plate VII., consists of a cast-iron plate, a, provided with 
 two bearings, b and d, in which the main shaft works, 
 carrying the looper, j\ constructed of steel. Between 
 
110 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 these bearings is a cast-iron cylindrical piece, p s cast in 
 one piece, with the feed eccentric, y, and the eccentric, r, 
 for imparting motion to the needle by means of the 
 needle lever, q s, working on the screw points, v v. 
 
 Close beneath the sewing plate, above and parallel 
 to the main shaft, is the wrought-iron piece, s s, working 
 in a guide in the direction of the shaft. This piece 
 (shown in Fig. 21) has a slot in the same direction, in 
 which is a steel tongue, the right end of which is the 
 serrated feeder foot, c, Avhile the left end is fastened by 
 a pin, e, in the slot. The rise of the tongue is effected 
 by the feed eccentric pressing against the projection, b, 
 the descent by its own weight. The forwarct motion is 
 effected by the. .eccentric preying .against the (farrier, s s, 
 and" The fretarja; b'y-a- spiral spring. . The stitch regu¬ 
 lator, 8, Figs. 1,^2,. 3j-and Fig-,; 6, ^provided with an 
 index, is inserted in the- sewing plate to the left behind 
 the feeder carrier. 
 
 The break or drag, Fig. 5, pressing against the cylin¬ 
 drical surface of the looper, consists generally of a small 
 brush, less frequently of a piece of leather, and is at¬ 
 tached by the screw, cl, to an iron piece in the plate, a, 
 which is screwed on to the right side of the right bear¬ 
 ing, so that the brush may act upon the looper as before 
 described. 
 
 The spool or the shuttle is fitted in a recess of the 
 looper, and to prevent its falling out, the so-called eye¬ 
 piece is employed, Fig. 8, consisting of a circular cast- 
 iron ring having the same axis as the main shaft, 
 attached at right angles to the carrier, d, on the lower 
 surface of which is the guide, c, working in a corre¬ 
 sponding slot in the bed-plate. This carrier is affixed 
 
THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF MACHINES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 to the becl-plate by a thumb-screw, and has at its hinder 
 end a projection, f which is also provided with a screw 
 by which the distance of the eye-piece from the looper 
 is regulated. 
 
 The spool has a diameter of 14 which is also that 
 of the periphery of the eye-piece. To facilitate the 
 passage of the thread, the eye-piece is filed flat at the 
 points, b and c; 6, the section of which is shown, is the 
 point at which the thread enters between the spool and 
 the eye-piece, while c is the point at which the loop is 
 detained by the drag, and drawn tight. 
 
 The eccentric, Fig. 15, attached to the main shaft, 
 actuates by means of a connecting rod the lower end of 
 the perpendicular arm of the needle lever. Ihis arm 
 is not, however, cast on to the lever axis, but so screwed 
 on that it can be lengthened or shortened at will by 
 means of a -§- in. screw, t, Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The rise of 
 the needle can be thus regulated, as also the space 
 between the eye of the needle and the looper point, at 
 the moment of the latter entering the loop of the upper 
 thread. 
 
 The needle hole, Fig. 12, has a diameter of T V in., 
 and is enlarged conically in a downward direction. It 
 is the termination of the slot, a b, T V in. in breadth, by 
 means of which the lower thread is conducted through 
 the needle hole before commencing to sew. 
 
 The two screw points, on which the needle lever 
 works, serve to keep the needle true to the centre of 
 the needle hole. The needle lever vibrates on the left 
 side of the bracket head, and generally has the tension 
 apparatus, g f, attached to its hinder end close to its 
 fulcrum. 
 
112 
 
 THE SEWING-MACHINE. 
 
 The driving wheel attached to the fly-wheel shaft is 
 7y in. in diameter, enabling 1000 stitches to be com¬ 
 pleted in a minute. Owing to the slight tension neces¬ 
 sary, very thin thread can be employed, and these two 
 qualities, combined with the almost perfect noiseless¬ 
 ness of the machine, make it the most adapted for use 
 in private families, and for every description of light 
 work. It is, however, the most difficult to learn the 
 use of, and great nicety is required in the construction 
 of the various parts. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 
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E. & F. N. SPON 
 
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 Museums, the Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862, and 
 the best English and Poreign Works, in a series 
 of 100 plates containing many hundred examples, 
 by R. Newberry, 4to, cloth, 30s. 
 
 PERPETUAL MOTION.— 
 
 Perpetuum Mobile, or Search for Self-motive 
 power during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, 
 illustrated from various authentic sources in 
 papers, essays, letters, paragraphs, and numerous 
 patent specifications, with an introductory essay 
 by Henry Dircks, C.E., with numerous engravings 
 of machines, crown 8vo, cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 “A curious and interesting work. Mr. Dircks chief purpose was 
 to collect together all the materials requisite to form a record of what 
 has been done, or attempted, rather m this curious branch of quasi 
 science and most instinctive in one sense it is. Mr. Dircks’volume 
 is well worth looking into; it contains a vast deal of entertaining 
 matter.”— Builder. 
 
 RAILWAYS. 
 
 Railway Practice, a collection of working plans 
 and practieal details of construction m the Public 
 Works of the most' celebrated Engineers, com¬ 
 prising Roads, Tramroads and Railways, Bridges, 
 Aqueducts, Viaducts, Wharfs, Warehouses, Roofs 
 and Sheds, Canals, Locks, Sluices, and the various 
 
List of Books Published by 
 
 Piers and Jetties, Tunnels, Cuttings, and Embank-^ 
 ments, "Works connected with, tbe Drainage of 
 Marshes, Marine Sands, and the Irrigation of 
 Land, Water Works, Gas-works, Water-wheels, 
 Mills, Engines, &c., by S. C. Brees, C.E. Text 
 in 4to, with 279 plates in folio, together 2 vols. 
 half-bound morocco, £3 10s. 
 
 RAILWAY MASONRY.— 
 
 The Guide to Railway Masonry, containing a 
 complete Treatise on the Oblique Arch, by Peter 
 Nicholson, third edition, revised by R. Cowen, 
 C.E., with 42 plates, 8vo, cloth, 9s. 
 
 ROPEMAKING.— 
 
 A Treatise on Ropemaking as practised in public 
 and private Rope-yards, with a description of the 
 manufacture, rules, tables of weights, &c., adapted 
 to the Trade, Shipping, Mining, Railways, 
 Builders, &c., by R. Chapman,_ formerly foreman 
 to Messrs. Huddart and Co., Limehouse, and late 
 Master Rope Maker of H.M. Dockyard, Deptford, 
 18mo, cloth, 2s. 
 
 SCREW CUTTING.— 
 
 Screw Cutting Tables for the use of Mechanical 
 Engineers, showing the proper arrangement of 
 Wheels for cutting the threads of screws of any 
 required pitch, with a Table for making the Uni¬ 
 versal Gas Pipe Threads and Taps, by W. A. 
 Martin, Engineer, royal 8vo, oblong, cloth, Is., 
 sewed, 6d. 
 
 SCREW PROPELLER.— 
 
 The Screw Propeller, what it is, and what it 
 ought to be, by R. Griffith, 8vo, sewed, 6d. 
 
 SEWING MACHINE.— 
 
 The Sewing Machine: its History, Construction, 
 and Application, translated from the German of 
 Dr. Herzberg, by Upheld Green, illustrated by 7 
 large lithographic plates, royal 8vo, ornamental 
 boards, 7s. 6d. 
 
 SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS.— 
 
 Transactions of the Society of Engineers, 1860 
 to 1862, plates, 12mo, sewed, 7s. 6d. The volume 
 for 1863, just ready, cloth. 
 
List of Books Published by 
 
 STEAM BOILEES.— 
 
 The Modern Practice of Boiler Engineering, con¬ 
 taining observation on the Constructions of Steam 
 Boilers, and remarks upon Furnaces, used for 
 Smoke Prevention, with a chapter on Explosions, 
 by Robert Armstrong, C.E., revised with the 
 addition of Notes and an Introduction by John 
 Bourne, Esq., with engravings, fcap. 8vo, cloth, 2s. 
 
 “The collected experience of a practical Engineer, who, for thirty 
 years of his life has directed his attention to the construction of Steam- 
 Boilers and Eumaces, is a valuable addition to the stock of Engineering 
 knowledge, and it will be generally more appreciated because it is 
 condensed within so small a volume as the one before us .”—Civil 
 Engineer and Architects’ Journal. 
 
 STEAM BOILERS.— 
 
 Steam Boiler Explosions, by Zerah Colburn, 
 8vo, sewed, Is. 
 
 STEAM ENGINE.— 
 
 Practical illustrations of Land and Marine 
 Engines, shewing in detail all the modern im¬ 
 provements of High and Low Pressure, Surface 
 Condensation, and Super-heating, together with 
 Land and Marine Boilers, by N. P. Burgh, 
 Engineer, 20 plates in double elephant, folio, 
 cloth, with text. £2 2s. 
 
 STEAM ENGINE.— 
 
 Rules for Designing, Constructing and Erecting 
 Land and Marine Engines and Boilers, by N. P. 
 Burgh, Engineer, Royal 32mo, roan, 4s. 6d. 
 
 STEAM ENGINE.— 
 
 The Steam Engine, for Practical Men, containing 
 a theoretical investigation of the various rules 
 given in the work, and several useful. Tables, by 
 James, Hann, A.I.C.E., and Placido and Justo 
 Gener, Civil Engineers, 8vo, cloth, 9s. 
 
 “To the practical and scientific Engineer, and to the Assistant 
 Engineer, who aspires to pass his examination for chief with credit to 
 himself, and the Service, we can cordially recommend the work. 
 
 The Nautical Standard. 
 
 
 
 
F. N. Spon, 16, Btjcklesbuby, London. 
 
 STEAM NAVIGATION.— 
 
 High-speed Steam Navigation and Steamship 
 Perfection—Can perfection be defined in the form 
 of a Steamship, a Propeller, or _ any other 
 mechanical contrivance ? a proposition for the 
 solution of the Scientific World, and for the 
 consideration of the British Admiralty, by Robert 
 Armstrong, of Poplar, 8vo, sewed, Is. 
 
 SUGAR MACHINERY.— 
 
 A Treatise on Sugar Machinery, by N. P. Burgh, 
 Engineer, with 16 plates drawn to a large scale, 
 royal 4to, cloth, 30s. 
 
 SURVEYING.— 
 
 An Introduction to the present practice of Sur¬ 
 veying and Levelling, being a plain explanation 
 of the Subject and of the instruments employed, 
 illustrated with suitable plans, sections, and 
 diagrams, also with engravings of the Field In¬ 
 struments, by S. C. Brees, C.E., 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 SURVEYING.— 
 
 A practical Treatise on the science of Land and 
 Engineering Surveying, Levelling, estimating 
 quantities, &e., with a general description of the 
 several Instruments required for Surveying, 
 Levelling, Plotting, &c., and Illustrations and 
 Tables, by H. S. Merrett, royal 8vo, cloth, 16s. 
 
 TRADE OF NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.— 
 
 History of the Trade and Manufactures of the 
 Tyne, Wear, and Tees, comprising the papers 
 prepared under the auspices of a Committee of 
 Local Industry, and other documents of a similar 
 character, read at the second meeting in New- 
 castle-on-Tyne of the British Association for the 
 advancement of Science, revised and corrected by 
 the writers, second edition, 8vo, boards, 3s. 6d. 
 
 TURBINE.— 
 
 A practical Treatise on the construction of the 
 Turbine or Horizontal Water-wheel, with seven 
 plates specially designed for the use of operative 
 Mechanics, by William Cullen, Millwright and 
 Engineer, 4to, sewed, 6s. 
 
 
 
 
List of Books Published by 
 
 TURNING.— 
 
 Turners’ and Fitters’ Pocket-book for calculating 
 the change wheels for screws on a Turning Lathe, 
 and for a Wheel-cutting Machine, by J. La Nicca, 
 18mo, sewed, 6d. 
 
 TURNING.— 
 
 The practice of Hand-turning in Wood, Ivory, 
 Shell, &e., with Instructions for turning such 
 works in Metal, as may be required in the practice 
 of Turning in Wood, Ivory, &c.; also, an Appen¬ 
 dix on Ornamental Turning, by Francis Canapin, 
 with wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth, 6s. 
 
 WAGE TABLE.— 
 
 Delany and Okes’ Wage Table for Engineers, 
 Shipbuilders, Contractors, Builders, &c., from 
 one-quarter of an hour, in regular progression to 
 nine and three-quarter hours, from one day to 
 ten days, at one shilling to eight shillings per 
 day, on one sheet, Is. 
 
 In 2 vols ., royal 8 vo, half morocco, neat, price £3 3*. 
 
 APPLETON’S 
 
 DICTIONARY OF MACHINES, 
 
 MECHANICS’ ENGINE-WORK, AND ENGINEERING, 
 
 WITH 4000 ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, AND 
 
 MANY STEEL PLATES. 
 
 £§ E CSOKT3D EDITION. 
 
 London : E. & F. N. Spon, 16, Buckleksbuby. 
 
Royal 4to, cloth, Illustrated by 84 Plates of Furnaces andMachinery, 
 price £3 10s,, 
 
 THE IRON MAIUFACTURE OF 
 GREAT BRITAIN, 
 
 THEORETICALLY AND PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED; 
 
 Including Descriptive Details of the Ores, Fuels, and Fluxes, employed; 
 the Preliminary Operation of Calcination ; the Blast, Refining and 
 Puddling Furnaces; Engines and Machinery ; and the various Pro¬ 
 cesses in Union, &c. 
 
 By WILLIAM TRURAN, C.E., 
 
 Formerly Engineer at the Dowlais Iron Works, under the late Sir John Guest,Bart, 
 subsequently at the Hirwain and Forest Works, under Mr. Crawsliay. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Revised from the Manuscript of the late Mr. W. Truran, 
 
 By J. ARTHUR PHILLIPS, 
 
 Author of “ A Manual of Metallurgy,” *• Records of Mining,” &c,; 
 
 AND 
 
 W. H. DORMAN, C.E. 
 
 OPINIONS OP THE PRESS. 
 
 “The book treats of every detail connected with the arrangement, erection, and practical 
 management of Iron Works, in the most minute and careful manner; and the various oree 
 and the materials employed in reducing the ores, and in producing the metal in its various 
 stages up to the finished metal—in the form of Rails, Merchant Bars, Rods, Hoops, and 
 Plates—are most thoroughly and scientifically dealt with, and in the most intelligible 
 manner brought before the reader.”— Artixan , October, 1862. 
 
 1 “The most complete and practical treatise upon the Metallurgy of iron to be found 
 in the English language .”—Colliery Guardian , November 29, 1862. 
 
 “ Mr. Truran’s work is really the only one deserving the name of a treatise upon, and 
 text-book of the Iron Manufacture of the Kingdom. It gives a most comprehensive and 
 minute exposition of present practice, if the term may be applied to Iron Manufacture as 
 distinguished from strictly professional subjects. The Author does not go out of his way to 
 theorise how Iron should or may be made, but he describes how it is made in all the Iron 
 Districts of the Kingdom.”— Engineer , December 26, 1862. 
 
 “ It has seldom fallen to our lot to introduce to the notice of the scientific public, a more 
 valuable work than this. It is evidently the result of long, careful, and practical observation, 
 and it forms at once a glorious monument to the memory of its author, and an excellent 
 guide to those who are directly and indirectly interested in the great subject of which it 
 treats.”— Mechanics' Magaxine , Sept. 26, 1862. 
 
 “ To the valuable character of Mr. Truran’s work, we fully referred upon the publication 
 of the first edition, and we cannot say more in praise of the very handsome volume before 
 us, than that whatever information was wanted in the former has now been carefully 
 supplied, and that the whole work appears to have been subjected to an amount of careful 
 revision which has rendered it as near as may be perfect, and consequently gives it a just 
 claim to the highest position as a standard work upon the Metallurgy of the Metal of which 
 it treats. Scientific knowledge and practical experience have been brought to bear in its 
 production, and all the valuable elements of each have been most judiciously combined.”— 
 Mining Journal , September 20, 1862. 
 
 London: E. and F. N. SPON, 16, Buoklorsbury. 
 
 

Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 irt 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - -■ - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 L 
 
 V ?g- -?2 ggggr. 
 
A 
 
 ><■> 
 
 
 
 Third edition, Svo, cloth, price 9s., 
 
 n.r.i s'nmr.i) with mmeikhs emriti\'«s ov smee isb woob, 
 
 ■ N ELEMENTARY TRE VTISE 
 
 ^ ON 
 
 01! T H 0 0 It A PHIC PROJECTION; 
 
 BEING A NEW METHOD OF TEACHING 
 
 Ebe Srtcncc of |ffccljamtal anb (%ghiwmj gracing, 
 
 INTBHPEl) FOTl THE iNSTRUCTION OP'ESPINEEES, ARf'TIITECTS, BUILDERS, SMITHS, MASONS, 
 AND HIM CEE AYERS, AND FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 By WILLIAM BINNS, 
 
 Assoc. Inst. C.E.; 
 
 f.atc Master of the. Mechanical Drawing Class at the Department of Science and Art , and at the Government School of 
 Mines: formerly Professor of Applied Mechanics at the College for Civil Engineers. 
 
 LONDON: E. & F. N. SPON, 16, BUCKLEBSBURY. 
 
 bodies, but bow tow 
 thoroughly! We ro¬ 
 of the present “El- 
 graphic IV<; ir-ei ion 
 scientific sc-no sue:- 
 of education : !e-l 
 College of i.V.-b Vr.:, 
 practice hi ci: rs tea.- 
 sent work. 
 
 Mr. Bit ns has tre 
 and masterly ujamic. 
 
 OPINIONS OF 
 
 An Elementary Treatise on Orthographic Pro¬ 
 jection: being a New Method of teaching the 
 'Science of Mechanical and Engineering Draw¬ 
 ing. By William Binns, Assoc. Inst. C.E. 
 
 How many authors of a “ Guide to Perspective 
 Drawing,” “APractical Draughtsman’s Book of 
 Industrial Designs,” “An Engineer and Ma¬ 
 chinist’s Drawing Book,” or "Complete Hand- 
 Book to Orthographic Projection,” profess to 
 thoroughly elucidate and make plain to the 
 meanest capacity the principles and practice of 
 orthographic, or tin- osional projection of sold 
 
 . * Mil this professed object 
 
 i>cr Mr. Binns, the ;*.ut lior 
 ntary Treatise on Ortlio- 
 : .;>n most ably, and in a 
 c . pract -imr hi.; syv mvi 
 < dlesson- at the I‘ d <-v 
 : a, -art o his tlmivi ■ ’ r 
 ; s i-ti.»bodv • us ;hc pge- 
 
 ! 's subject in t». practical 
 __ , t , _ okling theoretical disqui¬ 
 sitions on tin art, and giving direct a rid.applicable 
 examples, advancing progressively from the cor¬ 
 rect orthographic projection of the most simple to 
 the more complex forms, thus clearing away the 
 mist from the mind of the student, and leading him 
 gradually to a correct and thorough appreciation 
 of what he has undertaken, and to that which it is 
 his desire to attain. 
 
 We trust Mr. Binns will follow out the design 
 which he has commenced and announced in the 
 present work by applying his system of treatment 
 to the more advanced subjects for delineation by 
 orthographic projection.— The Artisan. 
 
 Mr. Binns here undertakes to teach the elements 
 
 of mechanical and engineering drawing. 
 
 He very properly insists that, in a subject like this, 
 the student shall make himself master of all pre¬ 
 ceding parts before proceeding to subsequent por¬ 
 tions. The Author’s explanations are full and 
 clear, and his book forms one of the best intro¬ 
 ductions to the stn'-v »«, which it treats that no 
 have met with. i : <e Practical Mechanic's 
 Journal, 
 
 The subject of ( Irthog-.aphic Projection is, as M r. 
 Binns exptesses it, “ the A. B C of that description 
 of drawing which Is universally adopted as a means j 
 of represen lina ali kinds of engineering structures, j; 
 as well as articles in the process of manufacture.” 
 
 The present w ork comprises the Author’s course j! 
 of instruction, form, s ly at the College of Civil E»- j 
 gineers at Putney.,:^-.: now at the Government 
 Department of f aience and An. . . . It bears 
 throughout:» vide,.' . of that.careful consideration 
 o pup*** fiffie ;>* 1 which ’•e.sulfsfruui crpvrifu.e; 
 ill teaet.ing. The exam pc'* are v. : *o : i *i,clearly 
 
 Mr. L 
 
 the United K 
 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 worked out, and the work generally shows that the 
 writer has in a high degree that perceptive faculty 
 which often serves instead of systematic study m 
 giving insight into geometrical principles.— Civil 
 Engineer and Architect's Journal. 
 
 This treatise, by the master of the Mechanieal 
 Drawimr Class at the Department of Science and 
 An. and ai th 'Jovt-rmnent School of Mines, is 
 •really a practical work. Engineers may possibly 
 not. recognise their ordinary method of delineating 
 machinery under the term, “ Orthographic Projec¬ 
 tion,” bur it. is more dofinuc-aud explanatory than 
 the usnai ter;r. i* Moo ban seal Drawi ng.” . . . . 
 V*A cannot l.-eVt r , Mr. Binns’ ‘‘New 
 
 Method of Teaching'’ drawing than in his own 
 words (see L i j ice, p. v.). ... The book 
 contains very numerous plates, excellently de¬ 
 signed. drawn, and engraved ; and arranged so as 
 to unfold quite clear of the book when referred to. 
 \Ve o’wji .v sj >-• hty ammatical inaccuracies; 
 in vne » • * . 1 book can scarcely be im¬ 
 
 proved.- The /•'. in: 
 
 In giving om educational institutions a more 
 practical character, geometrical drawing must be 
 especially provided for. Looking at Mr. Binns’ 
 work (which has just been published), and looking, 
 on tlie other hand, at our schools of art, mechanics’ 
 institutions, aud elementary schools, we cannot 
 say that such essential and practical knowledge is 
 adequately inculcated; and yet there is hardly a 
 profession or trade connected with the engineer, 
 the machinist, the architect, the builder, the 
 mason, bricklayer, carpenter, joiner, cabinet 
 maker, which does u ■■■ absolutely require an 
 acquaintance wb -* th* .'-'t. In fact, the lower we 
 go the more dr this kn nvledge seem imperative, 
 for the lower workmen can better do without 
 writing, if not without reading, than he can 
 without a knowledge of drawing; and to the 
 master it is as essential as either of the other 
 common acquirements. It should be begun at the 
 elementary school; if not it should be taught to 
 adults in special classes. . 
 
 The author of this work, now spoken of, bemga 
 pm :-tl ni«’*,b,-;;.. - in J.S4G Professor of Applied 
 Mechanics m (.'.-liege for Civil Engineers 
 ';i;(*v, a i:< !• : - ght geometrical drawing 
 
 i .. Latterly he has been 
 
 master of the mechanical drawing class at the 
 Department of Science and Art, and at the 
 Govenn.eut School of Mines. It is a noteworthy 
 feature in Mr. Binns’ book—and wo suppose we 
 may say system—that his great endeavour is to do 
 without copying from the “fiat,” and to bring the 
 student to the practical projection of buildings or 
 
 machinery. . , 
 
 Of the work, which is practical in character, we 
 dial! : k more fully on another occasion .—The 
 
 PitiUfng News. 
 
 ... i,, a, ■ . ; fid opcroV m in all the Art Schools of 
 
 ii/joc