Class __J[..^1_611 Book .T3 Copyright )1°_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. # CHARLOHE SUPI CHARLOTTE, INI. C. BIRMINGHAM, ALA. SPARTANBURG, S. C. Everything in Mill Supplies Small Tools of All Kinds Carried in Stock Brown & Sharpe Tools B. & S. Wrenches Starratt^s Tools Williams Wrenches Card Gauges Weavers Combs Card Hammers Weavers Scissors Card Tubes Pick Glasses Card Tooth Pullers Reed Hooks Card Stretchers Drawing Hooks Card Sheet Markers Burling Irons Nippers Special Attention Given to Mail Orders Write for Prices H. C. CLARK, Pres. JEREiVIlAH GOFF, V.-Pres. H. W. EDDY, Treas. CITY MACHINE FLY FRAMES SCCTION BETWEEN. HEAD END AND FIRST SAMP90N Gives even tension full length of rail traverse. Improvements that No Other Make of Machine Contains. Safety Stop Motion, Improved Spindle Step, Cone Stop Motion, Daly's Differental Gearing-, Campbell Ball Bearing- Top Roll. Improvement for Driving- liifter Shaft. Woonsocket Machine and Press Co. WOONSOCKET, R. I. STUART W. CRAMER, Charlotte, N. C, Southern Agent. OUR NEW HOPPER IFOR OUR" NORTHROP LOOM With a Record of 100,000 Looms Sold, it|is no long^er necessary for us to predictlwhat these Looms will do. WE POINT TO WHAT THEY HAVE DONE The DRAPER COMPLY HOPEDALE, MASS. CATLIN & COMP'Y Broadway, Coi*. Leonard St., New York No. 345-347 No. 92 67 Chauncy Street, Boston 206 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia 605 Medinah Temple, Chicago SELLING AGENTS FOR. COTTON GOODS Grey ^ Bleached Colored COTTON YAR.NS All Numbers ^"^ Single or Twisted Skeins, Chains, Beams, Balls, Spools, Cops, Cones, Tubes AMERICAN PEELERS, SEA ISLANDS, AND EGYPTIANS Carded and Combed, also Jaegers and Silvers MASON MACHINE WORKS TAUNTON, MASS. COTTON MILL MACHINERY CARDS DRAWING COMBERS SPINNING MULES LOOMS SOUTHERN OFFICE AT CHARLOTTE, N. C. CARDING AND SPINNING A BOOK FOR PRACTICAL MILL MEN BY G. F. IVEY, Author of "Loom Fixing and Weaving." 5 • • -J > » > 3 3) 3 > !) 3 ) 1 ) } > } Published by G. F. IVEY & CO., HICKORY, N. C. Printed by Edwards & Broughton, Raleigh, N. C. LIBRARY ni CONGRESS Two Cooies Received JUL 1904 (' Oooyrfifht Entry CLASS (I XXo. No. COPY B / Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1904, by G. F. IVEY, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. c c c c c c « , H ^ n^o^ PREFACE. Several years ago I published a book called "Loom-Fixing and Weaving," which treated the subject in a thoroughly practical manner. This book has been very favorably received, and the secon4 edition is now almost exhausted. From time to time I have received many inquiries for a book on carding and spinning, written on the same general lines, but no such book could be found. To fill this demand, the present work has been written, and if by simply being read it imparts information which has been acquired by many years experience, the object of the writer has been attained. Believing that no one man possesses all of the knowledge available on the subject, I have had assistance from some of the best mill men in the country, among whom are Mr. Eben Willey, Al- lenton, E. I., and Mr. H. D. Martin, Fall River, Mass. G. F. IVEY. Hickory, N. C, July, 1904. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. — Cotton, Varieties of Cotton. Classification of Cotton. Cotton Futures. Speculation. Ginning. Saw and Roller Gins. Egyptian and Sea Island Cotton. CHAPTER II. — Bale Breakers. Mixing. Openers. Split Laps. Poor Help. Excessive Breakages. Excessive Waste. Fires. Uneven Laps. Calculations. Draft. Production. General Information. CHAPTER III.— Cards. Card Setting. Uniform Carding. Cyl- inders Rubbing. Cloudy or Uneven Carding. Electricity. Fires. Draft. Production. Constants. Table of Draft Constants for Different makes of Cards. General In- formation about Cards. Drawing Frames. Setting the Rollers. Irregular or Cut Drawing. Varnish for Rol- lers. Production. Draft. Tables of Production and Draft Constants. Draft with Metallic Rollers. General In- formation about Drawing Frames. Sliver Lap Ma- chines. Calculations and General Information. Calcu- lations and Information for Ribbon Lap Machines. Combers. Waste in Combers. Settings for Combers of Different Makes. Draft and Production. General Information. CHAPTER IV. — Numbering of Cotton Yarn. Tables for numbering Yam and Roving. Slubbers and Fly Frames Generally. Tavist of Roving. Draft. Other Calcula- tions. Table of Draft, Twist, Lay and Tension Con- stants. Cut or Uneven Roving. Tangled Bobbins. Ends Slacking Down. Hard Ends. Black Oil. Clearer Waste in Roving. General Information. CHAPTER V. — Ring Spinning. Spinning Frames Com- pared with Mules. Draft and Twist. Table of Draft and Twist Constants for five Different Makes of Ma- chines. Production Tables. Strength of Yarn. Ex- cessive Draft. Excessive Speed. Cut Yarn. Bunchy or Lumpy Yarn. Cockley Yarn. Ends Running Bad. Waste. Bobbins Wound too Low. Soft Bobbins and Soft Nose Bobbins. General Information. 12 Contents. CHAPTER VI. — Mule Spinning. Development of the Mule. The Various Motions Described. Draft and Twist. Rules for Calculating Draft and Twist. Tables of Production. Mule Cop Building. Bad Cop Noses. Cut Yarn. Squaring the Carriage. Mules for Fine Yam. General Information. CHAPTER VII. — The Spooler. Production and Speed of Spoolers. Proper Size of Spools. Big Ended Spools. General Information. Twisters. Twist of Twisted Yam. Productionof Twisters. Lean Yam. Single and Double Yam. Fuzzy Yarn. Cork-Screw Yarn. Slack Twisted Yam. Reels. Production of Reels. Loose Ends. Tangled Skeins. Packing Yam. ' CHAPTER VIII.— Warpers. Beam Warpers. Weight of Yarn on Beams. Unequal Lengths. Excessive Break- ing of Ends. Selvage Piled Up. Production. General Information. The Denn Warper. Production. Stop Motion not Acting. Slack Ends. Tight Water Bands. Broken Ends. The Cone-Winder. Production Tables. Defects in Hosiery Yam. Long Knots. Bunchy Yam. General Information. CHAPTER IX. — The Manufacture of Fine Yarn. Selecting Cotton. Pickers. Reducing Speed. Carding. Twist for Fine Work. Drawing Frames. The Flyers, Traverse and Rollers. The Tension. Overseers and Help. Creel- ing Roving. Contraction in Twisting. Spindle Bands. Rings and Traverse. Easy Drafts. Importance of Cleanliness. Carding and Spinning. CHAPTER I. Cotton. It is not the intention of the writer to discuss this question exhaustively, as it is not in the province of this book. "The Student's Cotton Spinner," by Nasmith, devotes over 80 pages to this subject, and the reader will find it treated in a very interesting and instructive manner. There are nearly fifty varieties of cotton, but in the United States very little attention is paid to this fact. An increasing amount of Egyptian cotton is used in this country, principally for making fine hosiery yarn. It is also found that Egyptian is an excellent variety for mercerizing, and a good deal is used for this purpose. American cotton is classed as follows, the first named being the best: Fair. Strict middling fair. Middling Fair. Strict good middling. Good Middling. Strict middling. 14 Carding and Spinning. Middling. Strict low middling. Low Middling. Strict good ordinary. Good Ordinary. Strict ordinary. Ordinary. The grades in capital letters are known as full grades, and those with the prefix "Strict" as half- grades. Besides these, there are quarter grades known by the prefixes "Barely" and "Fairly." These quarter grades are very seldom used in classifying. Contrary to general belief, the grade is not affected by the length of staple. Both the length and staple are used in designa- ting a particular kind of cotton, and we speak of inch and an eighth strict middling Mississippi cotton. Tinges and stains are terms frequently used in cotton reports, and usually belong under the lowest classification. The grades mentioned above are for American cotton only, and for the United States only. The Liverpool Exchange has a different classifi- cation from this, and also a different one for Bra- zillian, Egyptian, or Indian cotton. When cotton is spoken of in the cotton market, the Middling grade is meant, and the cotton con- tracts, or futures, call for this grade, although a better or a poorer grade may be delivered at a proportionate price. As a matter of fact, how- Carding and Spinning. J.5 ever, hardly one per cent of the cotton bought and sold on the New Orleans or New York Exchange is ever delivered. At or before the time of deliv- ery the buyer or seller simply makes good the dif- ference between the contract price and the price then current. In other words, the transactions are gambling pure and simply, and without doubt these transactions are largely responsible for the present inflated price of cotton (March, 1904) . However, these contracts can be used for legitimate purposes. For instance, a mill man sells 100,000 or 500,000 pounds of yarn at a price he knows will bring him a fair profit at present price of cotton. He does not know, however, that cotton will remain at this figure, and to in- sure this profit, he must buy the cotton. Under any condition, and especially if cotton is 15 cents a pound, it would take an immense amount of money to buy the cotton, and a good deal to store and insure it. He can therefore purchase the cotton he needs for future delivery, paying only the nominal sum of |1.00 a bale. When the ac- tual cotton is used it is generally bought at home, and the contract representing this cotton sold at New York. While this method is legitimate, and presents many advantages, there is no deny- ing that the ease with which a contract may be bought and sold is a temptation for speculation, which not many can resist, and on the whole, the method does more harm than good. 16 Carding and Spinning. Ginning. — Briefly stated, a modern cotton gin consists of a number of circular saws, from 60 to 90, about 10 inches in diameter, all on one shaft. These saws are about one-half inch apart, the space between them being filled by metal fin- gers. When the gin is in operation, the teeth of the saws, which are very fine, seize the fibers of cotton and carry the whole mass towards the fingers. These are too close to the saws to allow the seed to go through. The fibers are there- fore torn from the seed, and are taken off the saws by a brush and blown to any convenient point. The cotton gin, except in matters of de- tail, is exactly what it was sixty years ago. If it had developed in the same proportion as other cotton machinery, the spinner would certainly have less cause to complain, for there is no doubt that the rough treatment cotton receives does the fibers great injury. Not only are they badly broken, but the shorter fibers are rolled in little balls, which it is almost impossible to get out, especially in long-staple cotton. Egyptian cotton, and the best Sea Island, is not ginned with a saw gin, but with what is known as a knife, or roller gin. In this process the fibers are held firmly by rollers and revolving or oscillating knives scrape the seed away. This is an expensive method, but incomparably supe- rior to the other. Carding and Spinning. 17 CHAPTER II. Opening and Picking. Strictly speaking, ginning is not considered a part of cotton manufacturing, although many mills in the South operate gins in connection with their mills. The first process which claims our attention is opening. In the United States this is generally done by hand. The bagging is removed from the bales, perhaps a dozen at one time, and the cotton is piled in successive layers until the whole has been distributed. Other bales are then opened and piled on top of the first. It is considered good practice to open as many as the space will allow, and to feed from the face of the pile rather than from the top, so as to get part of each bale. This practice is of much more importance in England than in this country, for here we are much more likely to get a large quan- tity of cotton from the same locality, and pos- sessing practically the same characteristics; but even here there are advantages derived from this method. It has become the custom in recent mill construction to have the opening room in the cotton warehouse, and blow or rather suck the cotton to the mill building. This saves haul- ing the cotton to the mill, and has other advan- tages, especially for a large plant. For a small 2 18 Carding and Spinning. mill, or one on fine numbers, and therefore using but little cotton, it is of no practical benefit, as it requires the attention of two men where only one is needed by the old method. In England the common practice is to use a bale-breaker for opening the cotton. This is a machine with four sets of large rollers with very coarse fiutes, or short spikes. The catton in large armsfull is fed to this machine, and as there is a draft, of say two, between each set of rollers, it is thoroughly torn up by the time it gets through. There is now an improved bale-breaker on the market, manufactured both by Howard and Bul- lough, and Dobson and Barlow, known as the HoiDper Bale-Breaker. It is similar to the older style, except that it has a hopper instead of a lattice. Two men can put half a bale of com- pressed cotton in the hopper at a time, and in less than five minutes it will be broken in fine flakes, and done much better than by hand. One of these machines can easily open 50 or 60 bales a day, and do it thoroughly. These machines will probably soon come into general use in the larger mills. The cotton does not go direct from this ma- chine to the hopper of the opener, but by an in- clined lattice it is distributed on the mixing pile from which it is fed by hand. Openers. — A great many mill men are not so young but that they remember when cotton was Carding and Spinning. 19 fed entirely by hand. The lattice on which four laps are now placed, was marked off in sections of a yard each. A man would weigh a pound of cotton and distribute it as evenly as possible on this yard. While it was being fed he would weigh another pound, and so on indefinitely. For prob- ably fifteen years the hopper feed has been al- most universally used. It must not be taken for granted that because this machine is automatic, it will feed a uniform quantity regardless of the amount the hopper contains, and it is best to keep it from one-half to three-quarters full. So far as the writer is aware, no American builder makes an opener with other than a horizontal beater. In England practically all openers have perpendicular beaters. These are known as Crighton openers, and have conical beaters, which revolve about 900 times a minute. The cotton is fed at the bottom, and is withdrawn at the top by a current of air in the usual man- ner. The only advantage, which in some cases may be considerable, which we see in this ar- rangement, is that as the beater is entirely sur- rounded by grids, the dirt will have a much bet- ter chance to be beaten through, than in the American machine where there is less than half the grid surface. From the opener the cotton is sucked to the next machine, where it is formed into a lap. This may be done on the same machine, and as there 20 Carding and Spinning. . is an almost unlimited number of combinations of beaters, it is impossible to say exactly where the next machine begins. However, it is be- coming more and more common to have the next machine — known as a lapper or picker, and in England as a scutcher — connected with the opener by a cleaning trunk. This may be 10 feet long, but in some cases it is 50. It is of great service if kept properly clean, but we see no es- pecial benefit to be derived from the extreme lengths. It is customary to have three of these pickers, known as the breaker (a misleading term), intermediate and finisher. In some cases the intermediate is being omitted, and in all cases where extra long cotton is used, as the less this is beaten the fewer fibres are broken. TROUBLES ABOUT THE PICKER ROOM. Split Laps. — One cause of split laps, where the trouble only occurs occasionally, is too much waste in the mixing. This waste having been worked, has had the fibers all straightened out, and therefore there is not the same tendency to stick together as in raw cotton. Experience has taught us that where the mill is large enough to produce waste in sufficient quantity, it is best to run it separately and make laps of it. One of these waste laps is put on the apron of the inter- mediate, and the four laps run while this one is on the machine, containing one-fourth waste, are Carding and Spinning. 21 laid aside, and only one at a time is used on the finishing lapper. The resultant laps have only one-sixteenth waste, or 6 per cent. By using this we know that the waste is evenly mixed, and we do not know it if it is put in the mixing hap- hazard. In many mills waste is never used in the mixing for warp yarn, bat for the filling only. Another cause of split laps is too much fric- tion on the horse-head. This may occur on ac- count of the weather, or the picker -hand may put soap or belt grease on the friction strap in order to make a nice, compact lap. Probably the most fruitful cause of split laps is that the suction through both cages is equal, or nearly so. This causes the cotton to be mat- ted in two sheets, with very little to hold them together. The remedy is simple. All modern lappers have dampers, so that the draft from each cage may be regulated. Arrange these so that the greater part of the draft is from the top cage, and the defect is generally overcome. Some- times a careless operator allows the cages and air passages to become choked with waste or sand, and the draft not operating properly, trou- ble results. Occasionally the same trouble oc- curs by the air pipe leading from the fan becom- ing choked, and as they are often hard to get at, the trouble is consequently hard to discover and remedy. There is a certain patent arrangement by means of which tongues of leather or tin are 22 Carding and Spinning. placed so as to almost feed into the bite of the cages. We fail to see, however, where the effi- ciency comes in. Poor Help, — The troubles in many picker rooms are caused primarily by poor help. Many man- agers fail to realize the importance of this depart- ment, and think any green hand will do. In fact, it is usually considered the job for an unskilled man, and there are dozens of men throughout the country who apply for work, stating that they are picker-hands, who perhaps never worked a month in that department. On account of the isolated character of the work it is especially desirable to have a man in charge who can be relied on to tell the truth, and do what he is told to do without being watched. When a picker-man is told to weigh every lap and record the weight, also marking it on the end of the lap with colored chalk, many will do the recording all right, but will neglect the weighing. Excessive Breakages. — As a breakdown in the picker-room often stops the whole mill, they should be especially guarded against. In this connection, what is said above in regard to poor help is especially applicable. Breakdowns are caused by insufficient oiling and cleaning, over feeding, allowing the machine to run too long after being choked, machines out of level, or im- properly balanced beaters or fans. A very fre- quent cause of breakdowns is not watching the Carding and Spinning. 23 gears closely enough, and allowing them to run without being in gear deep enough. A beater which runs hot as the result of not being oiled, or from some unknown cause, can be frequently remedied by simply turning it end for end. On the Atherton picker, the fast-running gear which runs the bottom cone frequently breaks or wears out, especially the intermediate gear. In an emergency a 1^-inch belt will do the work un- til a new gear can be secured. Excessive Waste. — This is caused by having the grid bars set improperly. If they are set too far apart, or too far from the beater, the waste will be excessive. There may also be too great a space between the feed roller and the first bar. In setting the grids, always bear in mind that a system of grids could be devised so that there ^/ould be no waste at all. Also remember that if they are set too near the beater the fibers will be injured. The air flues may be choked with waste, causing back pressure, or there may be an insuf- ficient area in the flues or chimneys. In either case the back pressure will force the good cotton through the grids into the mote box. Fires. — Of course any one who works about a mill knows that fire is more likely to occur in a picker-room than anywhere else about the mill. For this reason all kinds of precautions are taken to guard against it. It is generally in the opener 24 Carding and Spinning. where the fire starts, but as it is directly connect- ed with the next machine, it takes but a second to communicate to it. Where the pickers are in a separate room, the fire does little damage to them, although the opening room may be practi- cally destroyed. The writer was once connected with a mill where fires occurred in the opener almost every day. The machine was carefully examined, and no hot bearings were found, neith- er was the feed roller too near the beater. It was finally noticed that occasionally sparks would be knocked through the grids. Although the beaters did not touch the rollers by three- eighths of an inch, they were separated still far- ther and the trouble was over. All this oc- curred a good many years ago, but a satisfactory explanation has never been given. The chief trouble with fire is that if it does not get out of the machine, it melts the solder of the cages and chars and roughens the interior of the cleaning trunks. Often for hours, and perhaps for days, after the fire, the cotton is inclined to choke in the trunks. If they are not fire-proof, it is sometimes desirable to make them so by lining with tin, lapped as on fire doors. Where the wood is charred, about the best thing to do is to make a brush of card clothing and scour it out, afterward using powdered soap-stone or graphite freely. When a fire occurs, it is not best to stop the whole machine, but the feed only, and the CxiKDING AND SPINNING. 25 cotton is soon all burned out. If the machine Is stopped, the screens are almost sure to be badly damaged. A chemical fire extinguisher is a valu- able adjunct to a picker-room. A pipe for live steam with outside valve is more effective than many sprinklers, especially if the room can be tightly closed. This applies to the opening-room rather than to the picking-room proper. In a mill where there is but one set of pickers, and the opener is put out of business several hours, or perhaps days, it is not necessary to stop the mill, for the cotton may be fed by hand to the next machine and the mill kept running. Uneven Laps. — Years ago a lap which was with- in one pound of the required weight was consid- ered near enough. Three years ago the require- ments had become more strict, and laps that were over one-half pound out were run again. Now, in some mills, one-half pound is considered too wide a variation. If the machine is pushed for production, the light laps may be run at the same time as the heavy ones, and fairly satisfactory re- sults obtained. The evening motion should be adjusted so that the belt is not in the center, but nearer the small end of the driving cone. It is probable that one lap on the apron may run out^ but not at all probable that an extra one will be put on, and room should be allowed for the belt to shift enough to increase the speed of the feed mechanism in order to compensate for this loss. 26 Carding and Spinning. Assuming that the evener is properly adjusted to begin with, the lack of attention in the way of cleaning and oiling will cause uneven laps sooner than any other cause. Pickers should be cleaned often, and the overseer should personally inspect them to see that it is done properly. The cages should be kept clean, or they will soon choke up around the ends. The apron must be kept at the proper tension, or it will sometimes slip and cause a thin place in the work. Another cause of uneven work is electricity. If it is present, it causes halts and dwells in the passage of the stock, and uneven laps are the result. The rem- edy is to have the room warm and sufficiently moist. calculations. The only calculations about a picker are draft, speed and production. Even these are not often necessary, as the pickers are always set with a draft of about four, and there is very seldom any occasion to change it. We might give the calcu- lations necessary to calculate the draft, but do not think the benefit derived would compensate for the space required. The speed, too, is a con- stant factor, and does not need changing unless the staple of cotton is changed, as long-stapled cotton should receive more gentle treatment than short. A calculation is often given to show the length of laps. We do not give it here for the reason Carding and Spinning. 27 that the calculated length is never the actual length. There is a slight draft between the cal- ender rollers, and the pressure tends to stretch the lap and make it longer. This stretch is not a constant quantity, but varies with the weight of the lap. It may be said in general terms to be from 2 to 4 per cent. Laps are usually made about fifty yards long, but it is best to unroll one and measure its exact length. This must be known at least approximately, in order to get the weight per yard, and this is necessary in order to calculate what the weight of the card sliver will be. If, for instance, a lap is 48 yards long, and weighs 36 pounds, or 36 X 16 = 576 ounces, one yard will weigh 576 -^ 48 = 12, and the lap is known as a 12-ounce lap. When the laps are light it is desirable to have them longer than 50 yards, and by increasing the size of nthe knock-off gear, or decreasing that of its driver, this may be readily done. If the knock- off gear has 40 teeth, and the lap weighs 36 pounds, by changing the gear to 60 teeth, the lap will be one-fourth longer and weigh 45 pounds, but still be the same weight per yard. The ma- chine will then run longer without doffing, and the laps will also run longer on the cards. Thus the production of the picker is increased, and to a certain extent that of the cards also, with less attention by the operative. Of course long laps are desirable under any condition, but if they 28 Carding and Spinning. weigh over 45 or 50 pounds, they are too heavy to handle conveniently. Production. — The calculation for production Is a very simple matter. We simply note how long it takes to make a lap, and the number of minutes divided into 60, and this quotient multiplied by the number of hours in a day's work will give the total number of laps that can be made. This multiplied by the weight per lap gives the pro- duction per day in pounds. Suppose a lap, weigh- ing 33 pounds, can be made and doffed in 12 min- utes. Then 60 -f- 12 = 5, and 5 X H = 55 laps per day. As a lap weighs 33 pounds, the daily production will be 55 X 33 = 1,815 pounds. If more production is wanted, and it is not prac- ticable to increase the weight of the lap, it is an easy matter to increase the speed of the feed by using a larger pulley. For coarse yarns, one set of pickers should easily produce 15,000 pounds per week. The finer the yarn, the lighter the lap should be, and the smaller the production. general information. When mill building is active, the builders of cotton machinery form a kind of combine to maintain prices. When there is but little building going on, there seems to be an understanding that these prices may be reduced. At present ( March, 1904) the combination prices are as follows: Carding and Spinning. 29 Self-feeder connected with opener . . |600 One-beater picker . 750 Two-beater picker 1,100 Automatic cleaning trunk, per ft., 10 Thread extractor 150 00 00 00 00 00 All these machines are about six feet wide, and a full set may be put across a 75-foot mill. If there are two sets, the room should be 24 feet, or 3 bays wide; if there is but one set, and no probability of eyer being more, 16 feet, or 2 bays, are sufficient. Pickers built in America are shipped to the mill set up in sections, weighing several thou- sand pounds each. If they are English ma- chines, they are of course knocked down. These sections are assembled by a skilled machinist sent from the shop. By the terms at present in use, the mill pays for his time at the rate of |4.00 per day while he is at the mill, the machine builders paying his board and traveling expenses. The mill also furnishes him with common labor and the services of a carpenter. This rule also applies to other machines throughout the mill. Machines are not sold in the New England States on this basis, but are generally erected on the mill floors for so much, the shop paying all ex- penses. We have recently heard of one mill in the South which was equipped on this basis, but only one. The mill also pays the freight, which 30 Carding and Spinning. is practically the same from all New England shops, and to most points in the South is 50 cents' per hundred pounds. A set of pickers, with au- tomatic feeder connected with opener, and three one-beater pickers, will weigh, with boxing, about 30,000 pounds, and will cost about 13,000.00. In this case the freight is |150.00, or 5 per cent of the cost. In general terms, the cost of freight and erection is estimated at 10 per cent of the total cost. Carding and Spinning. 31 CHAPTER III. Carding, Drawing and Combing. It is the opinion of the writer, and we think of all intelligent mill men also, that carding is the most important process in the mill. If it is well done, good yarn can be produced. If it is poorly done, no amount of care in subsequent processes can make the damage good. We have in mind one of the most successful mill men in the country, who when building his first mill, put in nearly dou- ble the number of cards which was considered nec- essary. Even the machine builders told him that it was an unnecessary outlay, but he persisted, and to-day he is president of a half dozen mills. Where coarse yarns are made, good carding is not absolutely necessary, but it is very desirable ; but where fine yarn is made, it is absolutely nec- essary to have plenty of cards, and to card light. There are still a great many top-flat cards in the country, but as they wear out they are being thrown out, and none are being built. There never were many roller cards used in this coun- try, but in England they are quite popular, but are rapidly being superceded by the revolving flat. These roller cards are still used where a large production is wanted, without any special regard to its quality. They are therefore used throughout England and Europe for very coarse 32 Carding and Spinning. yarns, and are exclusively used where waste is re-worked. For batting works, they are used for carding sweepings, flyings, etc., and are capa- ble of an enormous production. Waste yarns, in the true sense of the word, are seldom made in the United States, or even in England, but principally in Germany and Italy. The coiler is not used, but the web is separated by rings on a kind of front roller, and is compressed into a form of roving, which is spun on a special mule, similar to a woolen jack. The carding process is generally repeated. We will not discuss carding at length, as this book is not intended for beginners, but for men who are supposed to know the fundamental prin- ciples of cotton manufacturing. The card is by far the most delicate machine in the mill, and requires the most attention. The card grinder must be a skillful man, and not have more to do than he can do well. It requires considerable skill to grind a card properly, but a great deal more to adjust the various parts. The flats and doffer must be set close to the cylinder. If the flats are too far off, the cotton has a tendency to roll up in little balls called neps. These neps are also formed in the gin, and it is the function of the flats to remove them instead of making more. If the card needs stripping, these neps can be seen in the web, showing that the spaces between the teeth are as full as they can hold. Carding and Spinning. 33 Card Setting, — Different carders have different ideas abont the exact setting of a card, but all agree that the doffer and flats should be as close as possible without rubbing. This depends a good deal upon the stability of the floor, and to a less extent on the make of the machine. The fol- lowing table will usually give good results : Comb 012 Doffer 005 Flats 009 Licker-in 009 Mote-knives 012 Casing 012 TROUBLES ABOUT A CARD. The principle trouble will always be to get the web uniform and free from the impurities. If a fleece can be held up before the light, and be free from this trouble, the carding may be said to be perfect. As is said above, this may be attained by careful grinding and setting. There are all kinds of ideas about how often a card should be ground. A general answer might be, when they need it. This will apply to almost any machine except the card, which should never need it. In other words, it should always be ground a little before it needs it. After a card is in good fix, it should be ground lightly once in two or three weeks. We are aware that cards are often run 3 34 Carding and Spinning. as many montlis, and one case is on record where they ran for over a year, but for the best results they should receive frequent attention. Rubbing. — Occasionally a cylinder will begin to rub against the casing or arches. This is al- most always caused by the card not being level. By a judicious use of shingles and a spirit level the trouble can almost always be stopped. It is occasionally caused by one end of the shaft wear- ing and letting that end lower than the other, even when the frame may be level. The remedy is obvious. Cloudy, or Uneven Carding,— The cotton may be well carded so far as the removal of impurities is concerned, and still be cloudy or uneven. This may be caused by split or uneven laps, dull clothing, or clothing which has been mashed in places; also by uneven setting of the doffer or flats, that is, set further from the cylinder at one end than at the other. Another point that is often unnoticed, because it does not affect the appearance of the web, is the top calender roll. On some cards it is turned by contact, and can easily be made to turn sluggishly by being choked with waste. Cans running too full also strain the sliver. Electricity. — At times this practically stops the card-room, especially with some kinds of colored cotton. A few years ago this trouble was much more prevalent than now. There are some dye Carding and Spinning. 35 stuffs which are cheaper than others, and can be used in summer time with economy, but the good dyer now knows where to look for trouble and guards against it. In recent years, nearly all mills are provided with a system of artificially moistening the air, and it is a well-known fact that moist air conducts electricity to the pipes, and thence to the ground. Where there is no air-moistening system, a very effective remedy is to let live steam into the room. If this is im- practicable, simply sprinkling the floor will gen- erally help matters. A good deal of trouble in this line will be avoided by insisting that the room be comfortably warm early in the morning. The writer has known of cases where about every- thing was tried, and the closing of the door to the picker-room had the desired effect. Fires. — Every precaution should be taken to prevent fires, but with all possible care they will sometimes occur. If the lap gets on fire, remove it and let the machine run until the cotton is all if out. If by the zeal of some operative a large quantity of water is thrown on the card, all the casing should be removed from around the cylin- der, and the machine run at full speed until dry. The centrifugal force will throw the water from the cylinder, and the air currents will soon cause the water to evaporate. A small quantity of wa- ter thrown on a card, if quickly removed, does but little or no damage. 36 Carding and Spinning. In case there is fire in the room above, and wa- ter is likely to get on tto cards, they should be immediately covered. Ii nothing else is conveni- ent, laps are always at hand and can be unrolled so as to cover the entire cards several times. calculations. There are only two calculations of any import- ance about a card — draft and production. Under ordinary conditions, the draft should be between 75 and 100. On the roller card it is frequently 125. To find the draft, consider the feed roller the driver. Then multiply the diameter of the delivery roller (in the coiler) by all the teeth in the driving gear, and divide this by the diameter of the feed roller, multiplied by all the driven gears. The quotient will be the draft. We might add here that this rule will apply to any machine where the draft is desired. To be more explicit, multiply the diameter of the small calender roll by the feed roller bevel gear, the large bevel gear on the side shaft, the large gear on the doffer (always neglect intermediate gears, which only transmit motion, but have no effect on speed), gear on calender roll which drives upright shaft, and gear on top of upright shaft for a dividend. Then multiply the diameter of feed roller by small gear on side shaft (draft gear), small gear on doffer, gear on calendar roll (near big doffer gear), bottom gear on upright shaft, and bevel Carding and Spinning. " 37 gear on small calender roller for a divisor. The quotient will be the draft required. Taking, for an example, a Mason card, the figures would be thus: l|iXl30x34x213X29x34 =83.64 2^-^X31x34x28x15X18 If this calculation were made without the draft gear 21, the quotient would be 1756.57, which is the draft constant. This divided by the draft gear will give the draft, or divided by the draft will give the draft gear. In this card the bevel gear on doffer end of side shaft is the same size as the one on doffer shaft, and both may be left out of the calculation. In other makes of cards, the bevel gear on top of upright shaft is the same as the one on coiler cal- ender roll, and may be omitted. Another, and a much quicker way to calculate drafts, is to take the weight of a yard of lap in grains and divide by the weight of a yard of sliver in grains. There are 437J grains in an ounce, and in a 12-ounce lap there are 5,250 grains. If the sliver weighs 60 grains, the draft is 5,250 -=- 60, which is 87^. There is of course a slight loss on account of waste, but this method is near enough for all practical purposes. The term "Constant,'' v> hich is here used, and which will be frequently used throughout this book, means a definite ratio between the gear and 38 Carding and Spinning. the quantity the gear is intended to control. It is almost always the product of the quantity and the number of teeth in the gear. This is always the case when the gear is a driver, but not always when it is a driven gear. In the following tables it is the draft multiplied by the draft gear, there- fore if the constant is divided by the draft gear we get the draft, and vice versa. By the use of the constant, the overseer can quickly figure a set of changes which will cover all possible de- mands. Table of Grains in one Yard of Picker Lap. 1 ounce = = 437^ grains. 1 pound = = 7000 grains. Ounces. Grains. Ounpes. Grains, Ounces. Grains. 1 437.5 8 3500 13 5687.5 2 875 9 3937. 5 13^ 5906.25 3 1312.5 10 4375 14 6125 4 1750 11 4812. 5 14^ 6343.75 5 2187. 5 11^ 5031.25 15 6562.5 6 ' 2625 12 5250 15K 6781.25 7 3062.5 12M 5468. 75 16 7000 Table of Draft Constants, 24^" Doffer. Make of Card. Compensa- ting Gear. Callender Gear. Constant. Mason 1574.35 Whitin 38 39 40 2198 Whitin 2141.80 Whitin Lowell 28"'" 29 2088. 20 1605.5 Lowell _ 1550.8 Pettee 1534. 6 Carding and Spinning. 39 Table of Draft Constants, 21^4" Doffee • Make of Card. Compen- sating Gear. Plate Gear. Bevel on Doffer. Bevel on Side Shaft. Con- stant. Mason 1756. 40 Whitin 38 38 40 2373.80 Whitin .... 2313 Whitin 2255. 26 Pettee 1534. 60 Howard & 120 120 170 mitre. 24 24 mitre. 34 34 1600 Bullough. (26K") 2300 3200 Lowell Callender Gear. 20 21 1667. 25 Lowell 1587.86 Constant -^ Draft = Draft Gear, Constant -f— Draft Gear = Draft. By the use of this table the overseer can quickly figure a set of changes for any particular card. For instance, take the first constant in the table, 1574.35. This divided by a 13 tooth gear gives a draft of 121. 10, by 14, 112. 45, by 20, 78. 71, etc. PRODUCTION. Rule. — Multiply the circumference (diameter multiplied hy 3.11^16) of the doffer in inches hy the number of turns per minute y the number of minutes in an hour^ the number of hours in a day, and the number of grains in a yard. Divide this product by 7000 (grains in a pound) ^ and by 36 (inches in a yard). The quotient will be the theoretical production. Example: if the card sliver weighs 65 grains, and a 24-inch doffer makes 12 revolutions per minnte, what is the production in 11 hours? 24X3.1416X12X60X11X65: 7000X36 40 Carding and Spinning. This works out 154, which is the number of pounds per day, from which 5 per cent should be deducted for necessary stops. A quicker way to get the production is to no- tice how long a lap of a certain weight lasts, and then calculate the number of pounds. Example: if a 35-pound lap lasts 2 hours, what is the production for 11 hours? It will be seen at a glance that it would take 6^ laps a day, and 51 X 30 -= 165 pounds. Production Table for Cards for 10 Hours, 27^'" Doffer. Number of Grains in One Yard of Sliver. Revo- lutions Per 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 Minute. Lbs. 104 Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs Lbs Lbs. Lbs 8 64 72 80 88 96 112 120 128 8.50 68 76 85 93 102 110 119 127 136 9 72 8r 90 99 108 117 126 135 144 9.50 76 85 95 104 114 123 133 142 152 10 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 10. 50 84 94 105 115 126 136 147 157 168 11 88 99 110 121 132 143 154 165 176 11.50 92 103 115 126 138 149 161 172 184 12 96 108 120 132 144 156 168 180 192 12.50 100 112 125 137 150 162 175 187 200 13 104 117 130 143 156 169 182 195 208 13.50 108 121 135 148 162 175 189 202 216 14 112 126 140 154 168 182 196 210 224 14.50 116 130 145 159 174 188 203 217 232 15 119 135 150 165 180 195 210 225 240 15.50 124 139 155 170 186 201 217 232 248 16 128 144 •160 176 192 208 224 240 256 16.50 132 149 165 181 198 214 231 247 264 17 136 153 170 187 204 221 238 255 272 Note— If the Doffer is 24|4f" , the production will be 10 per cent less than above. Carding and Spinning. 41 general information. The combination price of a 40-inch card (some are built 45 inches) is |650.00. At the present time we have heard of them being sold as low as $450.00. Grinding rollers, strippers, etc., are charged extra, and cost |214.00 a set, a. set being enough for about 25 cards. It must not be supposed that all cotton ma- chinery is built in England and America. There is a great deal built in France and other Euro- pean countries. The Alsatian Construction Company, besides building a well-known comber, manufactures a card where the flats run back- ward to the usual direction. This, of course, necessitates the flats being stripped from the rear. It is claimed for this method that the dirty flats strike the cotton first, and the carding process is finished by flats which have just been stripped, and are therefore in a condition to do the most good. It was formerly the custom to card the cotton twice, where extra good yarn was required. The writer knows of a good many mills where this is still done. It is probable, however, that one modern card can do better work than two of the old style. In carding waste, it is still the prac- tice to card double, and from the character of the material, such practice is necessary. 42 Carding and Spinning. In most of the large mills it is customary to use the card strips for making coarse yarn, a fair proportion of good cotton being mixed with the waste. A card has recently been brought out which runs the strips into a sliver, and coils it into a can. This may then be run through the drawing frame in any proportion desired. By this method, re-picking and re-carding the mate- rial is dispensed with, also a considerable amount of extra trouble in other particulars. DRAWING FRAMES. The object of a drawing frame is two-fold. First, to draw out several slivers into one, and thus reduce any unevenness which may exist in any one sliver; second, to lay the fibers approxi- mately parallel. The latter operation is the more important, and is accomplished by four rows of fluted rollers, each succeeding roller run- ning a little faster than the preceding one. The draft is generally equal to the doubling, and the almost universal custom now is to double six slivers into one, and by drawing six, to make the delivered sliver the same weight as the original. Occasionally it is desirable to increase or de- crease the weight of sliver at the drawing. This can readily be done either by changing the draft, or the number of ends. Carders have become so accustomed to seeing a draft of six, and six ends Carding and Spinning. 43 up, that they are inclined to think that any other combination would not produce good work. They forget that the drawing frame of twenty years ago usually had only three ends up, and a draft anywhere from three to eight. Drawing frames are the simplest machines in the mill, and for that reason their importance is often overlooked. The most inexperienced labor operates them, and the consequences are frequent- ly disastrous. If one end breaks on the finishing drawing, the resultant sliver is one-sixth too light. This irregularity runs in a constantly decreasing degree, but increasing length, all through the mill, and many an end on the spin- ning frame and loom comes down from no other cause. The metallic roller has now been on the market for a good many years, and is increasing in favor. It certainly gives a constant draft, and on heavy work this is attained with the ordinary roller only by heavy weighting. The metallic roller also stops a great many roller laps, saves cost of covering rollers, and gives a larger production per frame. The top clearers for the rollers receive more attention in England than they do in America. As a rule, they are of one style here, namely, flannel bands, resting on the rollers, the accumu- lating waste being removed from time to time by the attendant. Another method used in England 44 Carding and Spinning. is to place felt-covered rollers on top of the leather rollers, one between the first and second, and one between the third and fourth. These revolve as the frame runs, and take up all the loose fibers. Another method which is largely used where long cotton is necessary, is a broad band of flannel which slowly revolves over the rollers and collects the waste, which is removed either by hand or with a comb. Twelve or fifteen years ago the electric stop motion was very popular, and many are still be- ing used. However, they are so likely to get out of fix, and as one defect often interferes with a good many machines, they are becoming less fre- quently ordered. All things considered, the me- chanical stop motion is probably the more satis- factory. Setting the Rollers. — This is a subject on which a great deal of misinformation has been given. We have seen this rule printed a dozen times: "Set the centers of first and second rollers one- eighth inch further apart than the length of sta- ple," etc. Some authorities even say 1-16 inch. The front rollers are usually If inches in diam- eter, and the others 1^ inches, so if the two rollers were actually touching, their centers would still be li inches apart. How, then, could the rule apply to |-inch cotton? A much better rule is to set the bite of the roll- ers ^ inch further apart than the length of the Carding and Spinning. 45 staple for the first and second line, and increase the difference ^ inch for each succeeding set. Theoretically, two cylindrical bodies, regardless of their diameter, touch one another at only one point, but we must bear in mind that the top roller, if leather, has a flattened surface at the point of contact, and the bite extends at least 1-16 inch on each side. If the top roller is metal- lic, the bite is still further from the center on account of the meshing together of the flutes. The above rule will apply under ordinary condi- tions, but many cases arise where it is desirable to change this setting. Besides the length of staple, the setting depends on the thickness of the sliver, the speed of the machine, and the amount of draft. If the length of staple were the only consideration, the back rollers would be set the same as the front. TROUBLES ABOUT DRAWING FRAMES. Irregular or Cut Drawing. — The causes of this are many, but probably one of the most frequent is lack of oil. This may not be the immediate, but the remote cause. We have known drawing frames run for many years with irregular oiling until the saddles had worn to an exact fit on the rollers. The least little wrench to one side or another would cause the saddles to bind, and momentarily stop or retard the roller. Where shell rollers are used (and they are much better) , 46 Carding and Spinning. lack of oil is much more common, and the over- seer should have the arbors removed every Satur- day evening, and stay out until Monday, when they are oiled and replaced. The trouble con- sequent on cut-roll drawing is much too serious to omit any precaution for preventing it. Out drawing may result from bad rollers, either because they are improperly covered, or because they need varnishing. The varnishing should be done frequently, and it must not be assumed that the operative in charge is a compe- tent judge as to when rollers should be replaced. Almost every overseer has receipts for making varnish, some of which are good, and some bad. The following is used in the largest mill in Mas- sachusetts, and is a good one: Acetic acid 1 qt. Glue 8 oz. Gum Arabic 4 oz. Oil of Origanum 2 spoonsful. Chrome Green As needed. Vinegar is not as good as acetic acid, but will do. Green or blue is a better color than red ^r yellow, as it is in greater contrast with the color of the leather, and thin places can be mora quickly detected. The oil of origanum is used to make the varish dry quickly. Any volatile oil will do, as oil of cloves or oil of peppermint. Carding and Spinning. 47 Cut drawing may be caused by too great a draft between the front roller and tke calender roller. This should be just enough to keep the sliver from bagging, 'and just a little bagging is better than the opposite extreme. If this trouble is sus- pected, stop the frame, press the sliver by hand until it bags, then start it. If the slack is taken up quickly, it is evidence of too much draft. The trouble is often occasioned by damp w^eather. All mill men know that during damp weather the work becomes heavy. A great many assume that this is because of the additional weight of water absorbed. This, however, i^ responsible for only part of it. When the fibres get the least damp, they have a tendency to stick together, and be- come harder to draw. The draft is thus reduced a little at every process, and consequently the work becomes heavy. At the drawing frame, the trouble is aggravated on account of the cotton having to be drawn through the small hole in the trumpet. This makes the drawing bag between the front and calender roller, and the carder will change the draft a little. When the atmosphere becomes dry, he will probably forget about it, and the consequence will be an injurious draft. Where metallic rollers are used, a very small piece of leaf, seed or piece of broom-straw, get- ting wedged into one of the flutes will cause cut work. It is absolutely necessary to keep the roll- 48 Carding and Spinning. ers clean, and each operative should be provided with a stiff brush for that purpose. Another cause for cut or strained drawing, is filling the cans too full; when they are so full that there is decided friction against the coiler, strained work is sure to result. This is also true at the card. Excessive speed, causing top roll- ers to jump, or a bad arrangement of back cans, causing the sliver to be strained before reaching the frame, will also cause uneven work. An ex- cellent way to test the quality of drawing, is to take a few feet and tightly twist it. If it twists evenly, it is uniform. If it is not uniform, the twist will run into thin places, and can readily be detected by the eye, or by running it through the fingers. Electricity. — As in the card, this will give a great deal of trouble at times, and the same reme- dies will apply. The writer had one. case where all remedies failed. In this particular mill, the sli- ver would stick to the cans, and become so tan- gled that it was impossible to use it. Tin cans would probably have stopped the trouble, but that was impracticable. As a last resort, a half-inch steam pipe was run under the coilers just back of the cans. This helped matters a great deal, but the trouble was never entirely eliminated. Carding and Spinning. 49 calculations. The calculations on a drawing frame are for production and draft. For getting the produc- tion, we multiply the circumference (diameter multiplied by 3.1416) by the speed per minute, the minutes in an hour, the hours in a day, and the weight of a yard of sliver. This is divided by 36 (inches in a yard) X 7000 (grains per pound). The quotient is the theoretical produc- tion, from which 10 per cent should be deducted for necessary stops. This is the production for one delivery, and must be multiplied by the num- ber of deliveries to get the total production. Example. — if the front roller is making 325 revolutions per minute, the sliver weighs 60 grains, and the front roller is If (1.375) inches in diameter, what is the production in 11 hours? 1.375X3.1416X325X60X11X60 36X7000. This works out 220, and 220 less ten per cent is 198. 50 Carding and Spinning. Production Table Drawing Frames, 10 Hours. Front Roller 1% Inches. Revo- Number of Grains in One Yard of Sliver. lutions Per 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 Minute. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 174 Lbs 2no 93 104 116 127 139 150 162 186 260 96 108 120 132 144 156 168 180 192 370 100 112 125 137 150 162 175 187 199 280 104 117 130 143 155 168 181 194 207 290 107 121 134 148 161 174 188 201 214 300 111 125 139 153 167 180 194 208 222 310 115 129 143 158 172 186 201 215 229 320 118 133 148 163 178 192 207 222 237 330 122 137 153 168 183 198 214 229 244 340 126 142 157 173 188 205 220 236 252 350 138 146 162 178 194 211 227 243 259 360 133 150 167 183 200 217 233 250 266 370 137 154 171 188 205 223 240 257 274 380 141 158 176 193 211 229 246 264 281 390 144 162 180 197 217 235 253 271 288 400 148 167 185 204 222 241 259 278 296 410 152 171 190 209 227 247 286 285 303 420 155 175 194 214 233 253 272 292 310 430 159 179 199 219 239 259 279 298 318 440 163 183 204 224 244 265 285 305 325 450 167 187 208 229 250 271 292 312 333 10 per cent has been deducted for stops. The above table is for frames with leather-cov- ered rollers. If metallic rollers are used, the production will be from 15 to 25 per cent greater, depending on the weight of the sliver. The lighter the sliver, the greater will be the differ- ence. Draft. — The rule for calculating the draft of a drawing frame is the same as for cards, viz., con- sider the back roller the driver; multiply the Carding and Spinning. 51 diameter of the delivery roller (calender) and all the driving gears, and divide the product by the product of the diameter of the receiving roller (back roller), and all the driven gears. As we went into this somewhat fully in reference to the cards, we will not go into the calculations in detail. The draft of a drawing frame is in four places ; between the back and third roller, the third and second, the second and first, or front, and be- tween the front and calender. The total draft is the product of these, and not the sum, as many erroneously suppose. It is customary to have the greater part of the draft between the front and second rollers. The reason for this is that where, say six slivers enter the back of the ma- chine, they form a thick strand. If much draft were wanted here, it would not only require very heavy weights on the rollers, and a great deal of power to turn them, but the draft would proba- bly be irregular. For this reason a very slight draft is used, about 1.25; between the next two rollers, the strand is not so heavy, and may be more easily drawn. The draft here is, say, 1.35. Between the next two rollers a maximum draft is used, generally between 3 and 4, say 3.50. From the front to the calender roller is a very slight draft of about 1.03. Taking these figures, and multiplying them, we find the total draft to be 1.25 X 1.35 X 3.50 X 1.03 = 6.07. 52 Carding and Spinning. Table of Draft Constants for Drawing Frame. Make of Frame. Back Roller Gear. Compen- sating Gear. Second Roller Gear. Constant Leather. Constant Metallic. Mason 24 48 123 246 209.70 212.70 215.70 172. 50 258. 60 11.75 11.74 11.73 132. 80 Mason 265. 60 Whitin .- 69 70 71 ... -- 185.6 Whitin ._ 188.1 Whitin .. 191.1 Pettee 40 60 172.5 Pettee 258.6 34 36 38 30 31 32 32 Howard & Carrier Gear .. Driving. 2d Roller 28 28 28 26 Bullouo^h t( 10.77 (( 10.78 ii 10.76 10.77 6.83 9.60 Lowell Crown Gear. 25 35 5.73 Lowell 8.10 For H. & B. and Lowell Constant X Draft = Draft Gear. For other makes Constant -f- Draft = Draft Gear. It will be noticed that the drafts for metallic rollers are about 10 per cent greater than for leather covered. The reason for this is that when the slivers first enter the machine, there is a thick strand, and the Antes can not mash the fibers down into the corresponding depressions. As the sliver is drawn towards the front roller, it be- comes thinner, and each succeeding set of rollers mash it deeper into the depressions, thus elon- gating it and making more draft. It can be Carding and Spinning. 53 readily seen that the lighter the drawing is, the more this mashing process will be from the start, and therefore the less the difference would be. If a single light sliver were run through, there would be very little or no difference in the draft on account of metallic rollers. The makers of the metallic rollers figure the amount of sliver delivered at 1 1-3 times the actual circumference of the rollers, on account of the fluting effect. This is about the correct ratio for the front roller, and for calculating production, but it will not do for drafts, because the back roller has practi- cally no fluting effect. GENERAL INFORMATION. The combination price of a drawing frame with 6 deliveries is |60.00 per delivery. With metal- lic rollers, the price is |15.00 additional. A 6- delivery frame will occupy with cans a space of 11 feet by 4J. Three frames will readily go across a 25-foot bay if set lengthway with the mill; if set across, about 12 deliveries can be put into a bay, leaving room to pass around each end. With boxing, drawing frames weigh about 450 pounds per delivery. They are now usually made so that, if desired, the can-tables are put on top of the floor, instead of being sunk in as formerly. This is a more sensible arrangement for several rea- sons. 54 Carding and Spinning. One operative can attend to about eighteen de- liveries on ordinary work. If the work be fine, the cans will empty and fill much more slowly, and more work can be done. In a rough way it may be said that one delivery of drawing (for each process) will be required for each card. Within the past few years, it has become a cus- tom in a good many mills to use only two pro- cesses of drawings for numbers under 30's. The writer has made very careful experiments in this line on 24' s, carefully testing many bobbins on each system. The result showed that the yarn from the three-process work was the stronger by from 3 to 5 per cent. .We know of similar tests having been made with the same results, and also know of opposite results having been reported. The theory is certainly in favor of three-pro- cesses, except in very coarse work where the loss of strength does not amount to much. As in other machines, 3 draft gears are sent with each machine, and if there are change gears for the calender rollers (as there should be), 3 of these are also sent. If leather-covered rollers are used, 10 per cent extra ones are sent. If the mill is small, say with only 18 deliveries of draw- ing, there will be a total of 72 top rollers. Ten per cent of this is only 7, which is not a suf&cient number. Where there are a good many deliver- ies, 10 per cent spare rollers is ample. Carding and Spinning. 55 sliver-lap machines and ribbon-lap machines. Where the work is not very fine, the card sliver is first run through one process of drawing, then through the sliver-lap machine, from which it goes directly to the comber. For finer yarns, or where better work is desired, the sliver goes di- rect from the cards to the sliver-lap machine, from which it is taken to the ribbon-lap machine before going to the comber. This is much the better system, for it is impossible to get a lap from the sliver-lap machine perfectly even across it, although it may be even lengthways. As it is formed of slivers, there is first a thick place, and then a thin one all the way across. If the shorter process is used, the lap is made 8J or 8f inches wide or sometimes wider, depending on the width of the comber. If the double process is used, the lap is 1 inch narrower, to allow for expansion in the ribbon machine. In the sliver-lap machine, from 12 to 24 slivers are run through 4 sets of rollers similar to a drawing frame, only a slight draft being used. This web is run between heavy calender rollers and wound as a lap. There is a stop motion for each sliver at the back, and also one to stop the machine when the lap is of a cer- tain length. The ribbon-lap machine is similar to the sliver- lap machine, except that 6 sliver laps are fed, and there is a draft of 6. The 6 laps are not put 56 Carding and Spinning. together until after they are drawn, as it would be impracticable to draw such a thick strand. The drawn webs are very thin and delicate to handle. After leaving the rollers, they are turned at right angle over a highly polished plate, and are run one over the other, until all are collected together and condensed into the form of a lap ready for the comber. These angle plates in damp or cold weather often give a great deal of trouble, A recent improvement has all the webs delivered from the rollers in the same direction in which they are to be calendered, and the angle plates dispensed with. CALCULATIONS. The calculations on these machines are so sim- ple, and there being so little necessity for chang- ing, we will not take space to explain in detail, but give tables below which may be foumd useful. Carding and Spinning. 57 Production Table, Sliver-Lap Machine, 10 Hours. Rev. Per Grains Per Yard of Lap Produced. Min. of 5" 200 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 800 Cal. - ,. Roll. Lbs, 337 Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 387 Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 438 Lbs. 455 Lbs. Lbs. Lbs 50 354 370 404 421 471 488 505 55 370 389 407 426 444 463 481 500 519 537 556 60 404 424 444 468 485 505 525 545 566 586 606 65 438 460 481 503 525 547 569 591 613 635 657 70 471 495 518 542 566 589 613 636 660 683 , 707 75 504 531 555 581 806 631 656 681 707 732 759 80 539 566 593 620 646 673 700 727 754 781 808 85 572 600 630 651 686 715 744 772 801 829 858 90 606 634 667 697 727 758 788 818 848 878 909 95 640 670 1 704 736 767 800 831 863 895 927 959 100 673 707 741 1 775 808 842 875 909 943 977 1010 10 per cent is allowed for stops. For approximate calculation, the production may be con- sidered to be 500 pounds per day. Draft Table, Sliver-Lap Machine. Mason. Whitin. Gear. Draft. Constant. Gear. Draft. Constant. 33 34 etc. 1.50 1.54 etc. 22 22 20 21 etc. 3.22 3.07 etc. 64.4 64.4 Mason Frame, Constant X Draft = Gear, Whitin Frame, Constant -^ Draft == Gear. 58 Carding and Spinning. Production Table. Ribbon-Lap Machine, 10 Hours. Rev. Grains Per Yard of Lap Produced. Per Min. Cal. 200 Lbs. 606 210 Lbs. 636 220 Lbs. 666 230 240 250 Lbs. 260 Lbs. 270 280 290 300 Rolls. Lbs. 697 Lbs. 727 Lbs. Lbs. 848 Lbs. Lbs. 90 757 788 818 879 909 95 640 672 703 735 767 799 831 863 897 927 959 100 673 708 741 774 808 841 875 909 942 996 1010 105 707 742 777 813 848 883 919 954 990 1025 1060 110 741 778 815 852 889 926 963 1000 1037 1074 1111 10 per cent is allowed for stops. GENERAL INFORMATION. A sliver-lap machine, including cans, occupies the space of 9' X 4:'-4t'', and weighs about 1,500 pounds. They cost |400.00, and one operative can attend to about eight machines, or to a less number and other work in addition. As these machines are only used in fine mills, where the production is small, there are seldom more than 3 or 4 machines. One machine will produce enough for 5,000 spindles on number 60's. It Y\^ill then be seen that so far as labor is concerned, it adds very little to the cost of production. What makes combed work cost so much is the large per cent of waste which the comber takes out. This, however, will be discussed later on. A ribbon-lap machine with 6 doublings occu- pies the space of about 14' x 4'-6'', and weighs from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. The list price is |1,000.00, and like the sliver-lap machine, it re- quires but little attendance. Carding and Spinning. 59 COMBERS. Contrary to general belief, the comber is not a modern machine, but was invented over fifty years ago by a Mr. Heilmann, who received 1150,000 for its use in England. The comber practically selects the long fibers from the short ones, and yarn spun from combed stock is not only much smoother, but also much stronger than if made from carded stock. In operation, a pair of rollers deliver about one-quarter of an inch of lap to the nippers. The rollers then stop, the nippers close and hold the lap while several rows, usually seventeen, of very fine needles pass through the projecting fibers and remove the shorter ones, also taking out any nep or leaf that may be present. The nippers then open, the fluted segment pulls the long fibers out and de- livers them in a thin web to other rollers, which carry them to the front of the machine. These webs, usually six, are collected, condensed and coiled in a can ready for the drawing frame. The process is intermittent, and each operation is called a nip. About 80 nips a minute is the average speed. There is also on the market what is known as a duplex comber, where there are two sets of needles and two fluted segments. This machine can be run at a speed of 120 nips, with a corresponding increase in production. The work is not as thorough as on the slower ma- chine, and is not suited for very fine work. 60 Carding and Spinning. The comber is a very ingenious machine, and requires the closest adjustment and attention in order to produce satisfactory results. It is much simpler than at first invented. At that time a 6-head comber had 564 parts. It now has from 200 to 220. SETTINGS. It is impossible to give the exact settings for a machine without taking into consideration the length of cotton to be combed. Some of the set- tings remain the same regardless of this, while others are changed for every change in length. There are also changes to regulate the amount of waste which it is desired to remove. The follow- ing tables give the approximate settings for the three makes of machines most frequently used in America : Settings of Mason Comber. Edge of fluted segment to detaching roller Feed roller to detaching roller (at bearing) Feed roller starts _ _ Edge of cushion plate to detaching roller Edge of cushion plate to cylinder combs , Nippers close ,^ Nipper screws open from bracket , Paul drops in notch wheel Leather roller touches fluted segment Leather roller leaves fluted segment Brass roller to leather roller Top combs down Top combs to fluted segment Guage. IK 20 14 19" Dial. "9" 5U Carding and Spinning. 61 Settings of Whitin Comber. Nippers open at ,,..„ 33^ Index Nippers close at 9)^ Index Lifters down at 6^ Index Lifters up at _ - 8^ Index Top Combs down 5 Index Detaching roll comes forward at 6 Index Feed roll comes forward at _ 4 Index Settings of Dobson & Barlow Comber. Clutch closes Steel detaching roll comes forward. Nippers close Star wheel begins to feed Top comb down Nippers to needles Gauge. 19 Dial. 9 5 For setting the motions somewhat in the proper order, the following suggestions will be of ser- vice: 1st. Set all segments at 1^ to 1^ inch gauge, with index at 5. 2d. Set the cushion plates the thickness of a piece of writing paper from the nippers. 3d. Loosen all nuts on rods at back, and take the springs off. 4th. Take each head separately and set cushion plates IJ inches from steel detaching roller. Then put second step of step gauge between the set screws and stand, and set nippers to segment to No. 19 gauge. Take each head separately until 62 Carding and Spinning. all have been set, replace the springs, and turn the pulley until the first row of needles comes under the nipper. It is very important to turn the needles under the nipper at this time, for if it is not done, when the comber is started the needles will be broken. ^ 5th. When the needles come under the nipper, put 5-16, or the second step of the step-gauge, be- tween the set screws and stand, and tighten on the top nuts or rods at back until the step-gauge drops out. Then tighten the bottom nuts. 6th. Try number 19 gauge between nippers and needles. If it is too close, draw off a little by means of the adjusting set screws. 7th. Set top comb from 18 to 21 gauge accord- ing to per centage in waste desired. 8th. Turn the pulley until the detaching cam brings the adjustable blocks to the lowest point, then set blocks No. 21 gauge from the brass bear- ings to the end of the leather detaching roll. 9th. Dust everything thoroughly with whiting before starting. A comber to give good results must be oiled and cleaned very carefully, and everything set over at frequent intervals. The needles must be kept in good condition and picked out frequently. They should especially be kept free of hooked ends. Like the ribbon-lap machine, the polished parts must be frequently polished in order to ob- tain satisfactorv results. Carding and Spinning. 63 Waste. — Waste for Peeler stock is usually from 15 to 17 per cent, and from Sea Island from 20 to 22. The simplest way to ascertain the per cent is to carefully remove all the stock, run the machine say half a minute, and carefully weigh in grains both waste and good cotton. Add the two weights together, and divide the number of grains of waste by the sum. The quotient will be the per cent of waste. Example. — The waste produced in half a minute is 45 grains, and the combed cotton 255 grains, what per cent of waste is removed? 45 + 255 = 300. 45 ^- 300 = 15 per cent. The amount of waste may be increased — 1st. By feeding later. 2d. By closing nippers later. 3d. By setting the top combs at greater angle. 4th. By setting the top combs nearer to fluted segments. The waste may be either run into boxes, rolled on a rod or coiled in a can. In any case it is re- worked into coarser numbers. Draft. — There are two places where there is a considerable draft, and a number of others where there is a slight draft, just sufficient to keep the sliver under tention, 1st. Between the steel roller and the first cal- ender roller. This is usuallv from 5 to 6. 64 Carding and Spinning. 2d. Between the back roller in the draw box, and the block or second calender roller. This is usually from 4 to 4 J. The total draft is from 20 to 33. The draft constant (total draft) on a Mason comber is 424.3, on a Whiting comber 424.4, and on a Dobson and Barlow 476,1. These constants are for gears as usually sent out, but of course other gears may be used, and a. different combi- nation may result. Production. — The production depends on the speedj weight of sliver, and the amount of waste removed. With 15 per cent allowed for waste, and 5 per cent for stoppages, the production will be as follows : Production Table op Comber, 10 Hours. Grains Per Yard of Combed Sliver. Nips Per Min- 40 Lbs. 37 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 Lbs. 50 56 Lbs. 52 58 Lbs. 54 60 ute. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 46 Lbs. 48 Lbs 75 39 41 43 44 56 80 40 ^42 44 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 85 42 44 46 48 50 53 55 57 59 61 63 90 44 47 49 51 53 56 59 60 62 64 67 95 47 49 52 54 56 59 61 63 66 68 70 100 49 52 54 57 59 62 64 67 69 72 74 GENERAL INFORMATION. A 6-head comber occupies a space of 13' X 3'-5", and weighs about 3,000 pounds. They cost about Carding and Spinning. 65 LOO each. The first ones offered to the pub- lic cost 11,000.00, with an additional |1,500.00 for royalty. American builders usually make them to take laps 8| inches wide, but English builders have them 7^, 8^ and 10^ inches. All Heilman combers are built almost exactly alike, regardless of the maker. Combed yarns are much stronger and smoother than carded yarns, and at the present time are worth 6 cents more per pound. The difference depends a good deal on the price of cotton. As a large per cent of the value of combed yarn is in the waste which is taken from the material, high- priced cotton means high-priced waste. 66 Carding and Spinning. CHAPTER IV. The Numbeeing of Cotton Yarn. Until the cotton passes the drawing frame, the system of numbering or weighing involves only the weight per yard, which on the lapper is ex- pressed in ounces, and afterwards in grains. Af- ter the cotton leaves the drawing frame, at each subsequent process it is drawn finer and finer and the weight of one yard is too delicate a matter to be accurately determined. It is customary to take the weight of 12 yards up to the spinning frame or mule, and afterwards 120 yards, or a multiple of it. The whole system is based on the fact that if 840 yards weigh one pound, the yarn or roving is called No. 1. If it takes twice 840 yards, or three times, or ten times, to make a pound, the number is 2, 3 or 10. If the stock is roving, it is called 2, 3 or 10 hank. If it is thread it is called number 2, 3 or 10. In England, it is referred to as counts. There is no difference whatever in the system of measuring roving and yarn. The term hank has two meanings which must not be confused. It may refer as above to the number of roving, or it may mean a definite length of stock, which is 840 yards. Of course there is a similarity in the two meanings, as number 10 hank roving contains 10 hanks (10 X 840 ) , but number 1 hank roving and one hank of Carding and Spinning. 67 roving or yarn may be the same and may be en- tirely different. The table of weight is composed entirely of the avoirdupois table and partly of Troy, and is as follows : 437^ grains (Troy) = 1 oz. (avoirdupois). 16 ozs. = 1 lb. (avoirdupois). 7,000 grains (Troy) = 1 lb. (avoirdupois). As said above, it is customary in weighing rov- ing to take 12 yards, which is l-70th of a hank, and for weight to take as a basis 100 grains, which is l-70th of a pound (7,000 grains). Twelve yards of yarn is too small a quantity, so we take 120 yards (l-7th of a hank) and 1,000 grains ( l-7th of a pound ) . If, then, we have the weight of 12 yards of roving, and wish to find the number, we have only to divide it into 100; or, if we have the weight of 120 yards of yarn and wish to find the number, we have only to divide it into 1,000. Thus, if 12 yards of roving weigh 16 grains, 100 -^ 16 = 6.25, which is the hank roving. If it were yarn instead of roving, of course 6.25 would be the number of yarn, but we would take 120 yards and divide it into 1,000, which is the same so far as results are concerned. As the overseer has frequent occasions to know the number of roving or yarn without the trouble of this division, we give below a table which ap- plies to roving and yarn alike. 68 Carding and Spinning. Table for Numbering Roving or Yarn. Num- Weight Wight Num- Weight Wight Num- ber of Wight of 12 Yards of Rov- ing. Wight ber of of 12 of 120 Roving of 12 of 120 Rov- of 120 Roving Yards Yards Yards Yards ing Yards or Yarn. Roving. •Yarn. Yarn. Roving. Yarn. or Yarn. Yarn. .20 500 2.25 44.4 5.50 18.2 182 .25 400 2.30 43.4 1 5.75 17.4 174 .30 333 2.35 42.6 6.00 16.7 167 .35 285 2.40 41.6 6.25 16.0 160 .40 250 2.45 40.8 6.50 15.4 154 .45 222.2 2.50 40.0 6.75 14.8 148 .50 200 2.55 39.2 7.00 14.3 143 .55 181.8 2.60 38.5 7.25 13.8 138 .60 166.6 2.65 37.8 7.50 13.3 133 .65 154 2.70 37.1 7.75 12.9 129 .70 142.8 2.75 36.4 8.00 12.5 125 .75 133.3 2.80 35.7 8.25 12.1 121 .80 125 2.85 35.1 8.50 11.7 117 .85 117.6 2.90 34.5 8.75 11.4 114 .90 111.1 2.95 33.9 9.00 11.1 111 .95 105.2 3.00 33.3 9.25 10.8 108 1.00 100 3.05 32.8 9.50 10.5 105 1.05 95.2 3.10 32.3 9.75 10.3 103 1.10 91 3.15 31.7 10.00 10.0 100 1.15 87 3.20 31.2 10.25 9.8 98 1.20 83.5 3.25 30.8 10 50 9.5 95 1.25 80 3.30 30.3 10.75 9.3 93 1.30 76.9 3.35 29.8 11.00 9.1 91 1.35 74 3.40 29.4 11.25 8.9 89 1.40 71.5 3.45 29.0 11.50 8.7 87 1.45 69 3.50 28.6 11.75 8.5 85 1.50 66.5 3.55 28.2 12.00 8.3 83 1.55 64.5 3.60 27.8 12.25 8.2 82 1.60 62.5 3.65 27.4 12.50 8.0 80 1.65 60.5 3.70 27.0 12.75 7.9 79 1.70 58.8 3.75 26.7 13.00 7.7 77 1.75 57.1 3.80 26.3 13.25 7.5 75 1.80 56.5 3.85 26.0 13.50 7.4 74 1.85 54.0 3.90 25.6 13.75 7.2 72 1.90 52.5 3.95 25.3 14.00 7.1 71 1.95 51.2 4.00 25.0 250 14.25 7.0 70 2.00 50.0 4.25 23.5 235 14.50 6.9 69 2.05 48.8 4.50 22.2 222 14.75 6.8 68 2.10 47.6 4.75 21.1 211 15.00 6.7 67 2.15 44.6 5.00 20.0 200 15.25 6.5 65 2.20 45.4 5.25 19.1 191 15.50 6.4 64 Carding and Spinning. 69 Table for Numbering Roving or YAHini— Continued. Num- ber of Roving or Yarn. Weight of 12 Yards Roving. Wight of 120 Yards | Yarn. | Num- ber of Roving or Yarn. Weight ^ of 12 Yards Roving. Wight of 120 Yards Yarn. Num- i Wight ber of of 12 ^ Rov- Yards ing of or Rov- Yarn. ing. Wight of 120 Yards Yarn. 15.75 6.3 63 26.00 38.4 36.25 27.6 16.00 6.2 62 26.25 38.1 36.50 27.4 16.25 6.2 62 26.50 37.7 36.75 27.2 16.50 6.1 61 26.75 37.4 37.00 27 16.75 6.0 60 27.00 37 37.25 26.8 17.00 5.9 59 27.25 36.7 37.50 26.6 17.25 5.8 58 27.50 36.3 37.75 26.5 17.50 5.7 57 27.75 36 1 38.00 26.3 17.75 5.6 56 28.00 35.7 38.25 26.1 18.00 5.5 55 28.25 35.4 38.50 26 18.25 54.8 28.50 35.1 38.75 25.8 18.50 54 28.75 34.8 39 00 25.6 18.75 53.4 29.00 34.5 39.25 25.5 19.00 52.6 29.25 34.2 39.50 25.2 19.25 51.9 29.50 33.9 39.75 25.1 19. 50 51.3 29.75 33.6 40.00 25 19.75 50.6 30.00 33.3 40.25 24.8 20.00 50 30.25 33.1 40.50 24.7 20.25 49.4 30.50 32.8 40.75 24.5 20.50 48.8 30.75 32.5 41.00 24.3 20.75 48.2 31.00 32.2 i 41.25 24.2 21.00 47.6 31.25 32 41,50 24.1 21.25 47.1 31.56 31.9 41.75 24 21.50 46.5 31.75 31.5 42.00 23.8 21.75 46 32.00 31.2 42.25 23.7 22. 00 45.4 32.25 31 j 42.50 23.5 22.25 45 32.50 30.7 1 42.75 23.4 22.50 44.4 32.75 30.5 43.00 23.2 22.75 44 33.00 30.3 43.25 23.1 23.00 43.4 33.25 30.1 43.50 23 23.25 43 33.50 29.8 43.75 22.9 23.50 42.5 33.75 29.6 44.00 22.7 23.75 42.1 34.00 29.4 44,25 22.6 24.00 41.6 34.25 29.2 44.50 22.4 24.25 41.3 34.50 29 44.75 22.3 24.50 40.8 34. 75 28.8 45.00 22.2 24. 75 40.4 35.00 28.5 45.25 22.1 25.00 40 35.25 28.4 45.50 22 25. 25 39.6 35.50 28.2 45.75 21.9 25.50 39.3 ! 35.75 28 46.00 21.7 25. 75 38.8 i 36.00 27.7 ' 46.25 21.6 70 Carding and Spinning. Table for Numbering Roving or Yarn— Continued. Num- ber of Roving Weight of 12 Yards Wight of 120 Yards Num- ber of Roving Weight of 12 Yards ofl20i*^Tf^«^ Yards .^^y,; Wight of 12 Yards of Wight of 120 Yards Yarn. Roving! Yarn. or Yarn. Roving. Yarn. yarn. Rov- ing. Yarn. 46.50 21.5 52.00 19.2 61.00 16.4 46.75 21.4 52.50 19.0 61.50 16.8 47.00 21.2 53.00 18.9 62.00 16.1 47.25 21.1 53.50 18.7 62.50 16.0 47.50 21.0 54 00 18.5 63 00 15.9 47.75 20.9 54.50 18.4 63.50 15.7 48.00 20.8 55.00 18.2 64 00 15.6 48.25 20.7 1 55.50 18.0 I 64.50 15.5 48.50 20.6 1 56.00 17.8 1 65.00 15,4 48.75 20.51 56.50 17.7 65.50 15.3 49.00 20.4 1 57.00 17.5 66.00 15.1 49.25 20.31 57.50 17.4 66.50 15.0 49.50 ^ ^ 20.2 58.00 17.2 67.00 14.9 49.75 20.1 58.50 17.0 67.50 14.8 50.00 20.0 1 59.00 16.9 68.00 14.7 50.50 19.8^ 59.50 16.8 68.50 14.6 51.00 19.6 1 60.00 16.6 69.00 14.5 51.50 19.4 j i 60.50 16.5 69.50 14,4 Carding and Spinning. 71 slubbers and fly frames. As said in the beginning of this book, it is as- sumed that the reader is familiar with the ma- chinery in a general way, and no extended de- scription of the processes is given. So far as the useful work is concerned, a slubber is the same as a drawing frame; that is, it attenuates or draws out the strands into smaller ones. The matter of twisting and winding on bobbins is simply to facilitate the subsequent processes. The matter of twist is a very vital one, however, as on it depends not only the subsequent pro- cesses, but also the production. The spindles run at a uniform speed, and if any variation of twist is wanted, it is made by changing the speed of the rollers. There is a maxim among carders never to change twist in order to gain production. This is subject to severe criticism. We once knew of a mill where part of the spinning was frequently stopped on account of lack of roving. A new carder took part of the twist from the roving, and there was soon plenty to spare. As the solid contents of cylindrical bodies varies as the square of their diameters, and as twist is governed by the size of roving, it has become a custom to regulate it according to the square root of the number. American machine biiilders have a uniform standard of 1.2 multiplied by the square root of the number. English builders use 72 Carding and Spinning. 1, 1.1 and 1.2 for the slubber, immediate and roving frames respectively. In either case this is for ordinary cotton. Long-staple cotton can be run with much less twist. The amount of twist in fine roving is not governed so much by the running qualities of the machine, as by the ability of the roving to turn the bobbin and skewer as it is used in the spinning frame or mule. It is the opinion of the writer that very few mills run roving from 3 to 6 hank with standard twist. The roving will be too tender to turn the bobbin, and will be continually break- ing. On the other hand, it is very easy to get too much twist, which will cause a loss of produc- tion, and by its hard nature injure the rollers in the spinning frames. Under ordinary conditions, if the roving is strong enough, it will work better just at that point than if it were twisted harder. There are some spinners who claim that spin- ning runs better if the roving is twisted beyond this point, but the writer fails to see any good reason why this should be the case. For the same reason that the twist is gov- erned by the square root of the number, the lay of the roving also depends upon it. It is gener- ally calculated at 12 times the square root of the number. This matter seldom receives the atten- tion it deserves from overseers. It is true the frame will run with a very wide variation either way ; that is, it will run for a while. If the lay Carding and Spinning. 73 is not right, the tension soon gets wrong, with all its resultant evils. If it is too tight, the rov- ing may be very injuriously stretched before the attendant changes it. It is always bad manage- ment to have the attendant constantly doing this as the bobbin fills up^ and is a sure sign that something is wrong. Except for slight changes, caused by damp weather, the tension should al- ways remain the same. A fly frame has more bearing surfaces than any other machine in the mill, and for this reason should receive more careful alignment and oiling than any other. Not only does lack of oil cause friction and unnecessary power, but it is the most fruitful cause of breakdowns and consequent loss of production. When the average fixer finds a steady-pin broken, or gear loose, he usually thinks it is the natural wear of the machine, and does not stop to consider that lack of oil or bind- ing in the bearings may be the cause of the trou- ble. The primary motions of the fly frame are the same as they were forty or fifty years ago, but matters of detail have been much improved. The compound motion as now built requires much less power and attention than formerly. The spindles have better oiling arrangements, the gears may be more easily changed, and there are many other minor improvements. 74 Carding and Spinning. calculations. The three principal calculations on speeders are twist, draft and production. There are sev- eral others, as lay, tension and taper, but these, when once ascertained, are more simple, and will not be considered in detail. Twist. — If a speeder be considered for a frac- tion of a second, one end of the strand of roving is held by the rollers, while the other is turned by the flyer, and twist is produced. In practice neither end is held rigidly, and the flyer winds on the bobbin just as much as is delivered by the front rollers. This is not absolutely true, as a little more is wound as the carriage goes up, and a little less as it goes down. If the flyer turns one time, or ten times, while the rollers deliver one inch, the twist is one turn or ten turns per inch. A detailed calculation for ascertaining the proper gear to produce so many turns per inch is very elaborate, and need not be given here. The best way to ascertain the twist is to mark a bobbin and slowly turn the speeder by hand until the front roller has made one revolution. As the diameter is usually 1^ inches, one revolution vnll deliver 1^ X 3.1416 = 3.5343 inches. This divided into the turns of the spindle, say 20, = 5.65 per inch. This is known as the theoreti- cal twist, but is not the actual twist, as the 3.5343 inches is a little shorter after being twisted, and consequently the actuaJ twist is more than the Carding and Spinning. 75 theoretical. A good method to determine the actual twist is to blacken several inches of one strand of roving in the creel. After it is drawn through, the turns may be readily counted, as the blackened thread is distinct from the white one. Rule for changing twist gear when changing frofm one number of roving to another: Multiply the square of the gear used hy the hank being made, divide the product hy the hank required^ and the square root of the quotient will he the gear needed. Example. — Suppose we are making a 5-hank roving with a 28 gear. What gear will be needed for 3-hank ? 28 X 28 X 5 = 3920 3920 ^ 3 = 1806 V1306 = 36 This is perhaps the easiest way where the square root is understood. Where it is not, a simpler way is to first find the actual twist per inch being put in, when the question becomes one of simply proportion. Suppose in the above case, 2.68 turns were being put into a 5-hank roving, and in 3-hank there should be 2.08, what gear is required? Rule. — Multiply the gear now used hy the tivist heing used, and divide hy the twist required. The quotient will he the gear required. 28 X 2.68 = 75.04. 75.04 ^—2.08 = 36. This works out the same as before. 76 Carding and Spinning. For many reasons it is desirable to have a table giving the correct twist for roving, and below it is given in detail. Twist of Roving. Hank Twist. 1.2 X Hank Twist. 1.2 X Hank Twist. 1.2X Hank Twist 1.2 X rov- rov- rov- rov- ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. 1.25 ing. sq. root. .20 .54 .57 .91 1.08 1.82 1.62 .21 .55 .58 .91 1.10 1.26 1.84 1.63 .22 .56 .59 .92 1.12 1.27 1.86 1.64 .23 .58 .60 .93 1.14 1.28 1.88 1.65 .24 .59 .61 .94 1.16 1.29 1.90 1.65 .25 .60 .62 .94 1.18 1.30 1.92 1.66 .26 .61 .63 .95 1.20 1.31 1.94 1.67 .27 .62 .64 .96 1.22 1.33 1.96 1.68 .28 .63 .65 .97 1.24 1.34 1 1.98 1.69 .29 .65 .66 .97 1.26 1.35 ! 2.00 1.70 .30 .66 .67 .98 1.28 1.36 1 1 2.02 1.71 .31 .67 .68 .99 1.30 1.37 i 1 2.04 1.71 .32 .68 .69 1.00 1.32 1.38 j 1 2.06 1.72 .33 .69 .70 1.00 1.34 1.39 1 2.08 1.73 .34 .70 .71 1.01 1.36 1.40 j 2.10 1.74 .35 .71 .72 1.02 1.38 1.41 2.12 1.75 .36 .72 .73 1.02 1.40 1.42 2.14 1.76 .37 .73 .74 1.03 1.42 1.43 2.16 1.76 .38 .74 .75 1.04 1.44 1.44 1 2.18 1.77 .39 .75 .76 1.05 1.46 1.45 2.20 1.78 .40 .76 .77 1.05 1.48 1.46 2.22 1.79 .41 .77 .78 1.06 1.50 1.47 2.25 1.80 .42 .78 .79 1.07 1.52 1.48 2.28 1.81 .43 .79 .80 1.07 1.54 1.49 2.31 1.82 .44 .80 .82 1.09 1.56 1.50 2.34 1.84 .45 .80 .84 1.10 1.58 1.51 2.37 1.85 .46 .81 .86 1.11 1.60 1.52 2.40 1.86 .47 .82 .88 1.13 1.62 1.53 3.43 1.87 .48 .83 .90 1.14 1.64 1.54 2.46 1.88 .49 .84 .92 1.15 1.66 1.55 2.49 1.89 .50 .85 .94 1.16 1.68 1.56 2.52 1.90 .51 .86 .96 1.18 1.70 1.56 2.55 1.92 .52 .87 .98 1.19 1.72 1.57 2.58 1.93 .53 .87 1.00 1.20 1.74 1.58 2.61 1.94 .54 .88 1.02 1.21 1.76 1.59 2.64 1.95 .55 .89 1.04 1.22 1.78 1.60 2.67 1.96 .56 .90 1.06 1.24 1.80 1.61 2.70 1.97 Carding and Spinning. 77 Twist of Roving — Continued. Hank rov- Twist. 1.2 X Hank rov- Twist. 1.2 X Hank rov- Twist. 1.2 X Hank rov- Twist 1.2 X ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. 2.73 1.98 3.93 2.38 5.44 2.80 7.04 3.18 2.76 1.99 3.96 2.39 5.48 2.81 7.08 3.19 2.79 2.00 3.99 2.40 5.52 2.82 7.10 3.20 2.82 2.01 4.02 2.41 5.56 2.83 7.15 3.21 2.85 2.03 4.05 2.41 5.60 2.84 7.20 3.22 2.88 2.04 4.08 2.42 5.64 2.85 7.25 3.23 2.91 2.05 4.11 2.43 5.68 2.86 7.30 3.24 2.94 2.06 4.14 2.44 5.72 2.87 7.35 3.25 2.97 2.07 4.17 2.45 5.76 2.88 7.40 3.26 3.00 2.08 4.20 2.46 5.80 2.89 7.45 3.28 3.03 2.09 4.23 2.47 5.84 2.90 7.50 3.29 3.06 2.10 4.26 2.48 5.88 2.91 7.55 3.30 3.09 2.11 4.32 2.49 5.92 2.92 7.60 3.31 3.12 2.12 4.36 2.51 5.96 2.93 7.65 3.32 3.15 2.13 4.40 2.52 6.00 2.94 7.70 3.33 3.18 2.14 4.44 2.53 6.04 2.95 7.75 3.34 3.21 2.15 4.48 2.54 6.08 2.96 7.80 3.35 3.24 2.16 4.52 2.55 6.12 2.97 7.85 3.36 3.27 2.17 4.56 2.56 6.16 2.98 7.90 3.37 3.30 2.18 4.60 2.57 6.20 2.99 7.95 3.38 3.33 2.19 4.64 2.58 6.24 3.00 8.00 3.39 3.86 2.20 4.68 2.60 6.28 3.01 8.05 3.40 3.39 2.21 4.72 2.61 6.32 3.02 8.10 3.42 3.42 2.22 4.76 2.62 6.36 3.03 8.15 3.43 3.45 2.23 4.80 2.63 6.40 3.04 8.20 3.44 3.48 2.24 4.84 2.64 6.44 3.05 8.25 3.45 3.51 2.25 4.88 2.65 6.48 3.05 8.30 3.46 3.54 2.26 4.92 2.66 6.52 3.06 8.35 3.47 3.57 2.27 4.96 2.67 5.56 3.07 8.40 3.48 3.60 2.28 5.00 2.68 6.60 3.08 8.45 3.49 6.63 2.29 5.04 2.69 6.64 3.09 8.50 3.50 3.66 2.30 5.08 2.70 6.68 3.10 8.55 3.51 3.69 2.31 5.12 2.72 6.72 3.11 8.60 3.52 3.72 2.31 5.16 2.73 6.76 3.12 8.65 3.53 3.75 2.32 5.20 2.74 6.80 3.13 8.70 3.54 3.78 2.33 5.24 2.75 6.84 3.14 8.75 3.55 3.81 2.34 5.28 2.76 6.88 3.15 8.80 3.56 3.84 2.35 5.32 2.77 6.92 3.16 8.85 3.57 3.87 2.36 5.36 2.78 6.96 3.17 8.90 3.58 3.90 2.37 5.40 2.79 7.00 3.17 8.95 3.59 78 Carding and Spinning. Twist OR UoYmG— Continued. Hank rov- Twist. 1.2 X Hank rov- Twist. 1.2 X Hank rov- Twist. 12 X Hank rov- Twist. 1.2 X ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. ing. sq. root. 9.00 3.60 11.10 4 00 13.50 4.41 16.10 4.81 9.05 3.61 11.16 4.01 13.56 4.42 16.17 4.83 9.10 3.62 11.22 4.02 13.62 4.43 16.24 4.84 9.15 3.63 11.28 403 13.68 4.44 16.31 4.85 9.20 3.64 11.34 4.04 13.74 4.45 16.38 4.86 9.25 3,65 11.40 4.05 13.80 4.46 16.45 4.87 9.30 3.66 11.46 4.06 13.86 4.47 16.52 4.88 9.35 3.67 11.52 4.07 13.92 4.48 16.59 4.89 9.40 3.68 11.58 4.08 13.98 4.49 16 66 4.90 9.45 3.69 11.64 4.09 14.04 4.50 16.73 4.91 9.50 3.70 11.70 4.10 H.IO 4.51 16.80 4.92 9.55 3.71 11.76 4.12 14.16 4.52 16.87 4.93 9.60 3.72 11.82 4.13 14.22 4.53 16.94 4 94 9.65 3.73 11.88 4.14 14.28 4.53 17.01 4.95 9.70 3.74 11.94 4.15 14.34 4.54 17.08 4.96 9.75 3.75 12.00 4 16 14.40 4.55 17.15 4.97 9.80 3.76 12.06 4.17 14.46 4.56 17.22 4.98 9.85 3.77 12.12 4.18 14.52 4.57 17.29 4.99 9.90 3.78 12.18 4.19 14 58 4.58 17.36 5.00 9.95 3.79 12.24 4.20 14.64 4.59 17.43 5.01 10.00 3.79 12.30 4.21 14 70 4.60 17.50 5.02 10.05 3.80 12.36 4.22 14.76 4.61 17.57 5.03 10.10 3.81 12.42 4.23 14 84 4.62 17.64 5.04 10.15 3 82 12 48 4.24 14.91 4.63 17.71 5.05 10.20 3.83 12.54 4.25 14.98 4.64 17.78 5.06 10.25 3.84 12.60 4.26 15.05 4.66 17.85 5.07 10.30 3.85 12 66 4.27 15.12 4 67 17.92 5.08 10.35 3 86 12.72 4.28 15.19 4.68 17.99 5.09 10.40 3.87 12.78 4.29 15.26 4 69 18.06 5.10 10.45 3.88 12.84 4.30 15.33 4.70 18.13 5.11 10.50 3 89 12.90 4.31 15.40 4.71 18,20 5.12 10.55 3 90 12.96 4.32 15.47 4.72 18.27 5 13 10.62 S.91 13.02 4.33 15.54 4.73 18.34 5.14 10.68 3.92 13.08 4,34 15.61 4.74 18.41 5.15 10.74 3.93 13.14 4.35 15.68 4.75 18.48 5.16 10.80 3.94 13.20 4.36 15.75 4.76 18.55 5.17 10.86 3.95 13.26 4.37 15.82 4.77 18.62 5.18 10 92 3.97 13.32 4.38 15.89 4.78 18.69 5.19 10.98 3.98 13.38 4.39 15.96 4.79 18.76 5.20 11.04 3.99 13.44 4.40 16.03 4.80 18.83 5.21 Carding and Spinning. 79 Lay and Tension Gears.— The rule for finding tliese is exactly the same as for the twist ; either rule will give the same result. Draft. — The rule for finding the draft is the same as given for cards, viz. : Rule. — Consider the back roller the driver. Multiply all the driving gears ^ and the diameter of the front roller for a numerator ^ and divide the product hy the product of the driven gears, and the diameter of the hach roller as a denomi- nator. Take, for instance, a frame having the follow- ing gears : Driving gears — Driven gears — Back roller, 50. Change gear, 36. Crown gear, 80. Front roller gear, 22. Diameter of front roller, 1^" — consider it 9 (eighths). Diameter of back roller, 1" — consider it 8 ( eighths ) . 9 X 50 X 80 ^5.7 (about) = draft. 8 X 36 X 22 Note. — The front roller of a slubber and inter- mediate is usually IJ inches = 10 (eighths). In practice the draft of these machines is cal- culated by the net results. If one hank roving is fed to a machine, two ends being run together, which would make the hank .50, and 2.50 hank is produced, the draft is evidently 2.50 -v- .50 = 5. 80 Carding and Spinning. We had intended giving the draft and other change gears for all the most important makes of roving frames, but find that if carried out it would make the book entirely too large. We therefore give only the constants, from which the overseer can readily make a table to suit his pe- culiar needs. Table of Constants. Providence Frame. Size. Twist Draft. Tra- verse. Tension. Cone Gears. Taper Gears. 12X6 S 32.81 157.50 21.60 22.80 28, 29, 30 18,19,20 llXSiS 32.81 157.50 21.60 22.80 28, 29, 30 18, 19, 20 10X5 S 32.81 157.50 24.50 28.28 37, 38, 39 17,18,19 9x4iS 41.17 157.50 32.88 34.25 28,29,30 16,17,18 10X5 I 39 76 157.50 26.20 35 28 37, 38, 39 17,18,19 9x4i I 49.71 157.50 34.50 42.80 28, 29, 30 16,17,18 8X4 I 52.92 170.27 49.20 46.00 28, 29, 30 14,15,16 8X3^1 63.25 170.27 52.80 56.10 28, 29, 30 14,15,16 7X3iR 68.03 170.27 53.60 68.03 33, 34, 35 14,15,16 7X3 R 82.82 170.27 64.20 76.30 33, 34, 35 13,14,15 6X3 R 82.82 170.27 64.20 76.30 31,32,32 13,14,15 6X2^ J 88.73 170.27 91. 84. 33, 34, 35 13, 14, 15 5X2iJ 94.63 170.27 80. 132. 35, 36, 37 12, 13, 14 4iX2i J 94.63 170.27 88. 132. 35, 36, 37 12,13,14 Constant -^Draft=Draft Gear. Constant-f- Twist per inch=Twist Gear. Constant -T- Twist per inch=Traverse Gear. Constant -T- Twist per inch=Tension Gear. Note — Some builderri refer to traverse as lay, and to tension as contact. Carding and Spinning. 81 Table of Constants, Woonsocket Frame. Size. Twist. Draft Lay. Lay. Contact. Contact. Cone Gear Cone Gear. 12X6 32.689 175 19. 676 20. 023 29. 962 34.1136 33 33 11X5^ 32. 689 175 19. 676 20. 023 29. 962 34.1136 33 33 10X5 28. 994 175 18. 327 17.074 29. 949 27. 509 43 40 9X4K 28. 994 175 18. 327 17. 074 29.949 27.509 43 40 10X5 40.59 175 24. 635 25.286 39.384 33.714 43 40 9X41^ 40.59 175 24. 635 25. 286 39. 384 33.714 43 40 8X4 50.337 180 38. 178 29. 698 43. 127 45. 254 31 31 8X31^ 60. 404 180 38.178 33.940 43.127 45.254 31 31 7X33^ 71.19 180 50.456 44.72 57.664 67.08 30 30 7X3 71.19 180 50. 456 44.72 57.664 67.08 30 30 6X3 71.19 180 50. 456 49.749 57. 664 86.231 30 36 6X21^ 146. 918 180 79. 184 79. 196 127.260141.42 36 36 5X21^ 146.918 180 79. 184 79.196 127.260141.42 36 36 4X2M 146.918 180 79.184 79. 196 127.260141.42 1 36 36 Note. — The second set of figures for Lay, Contact and Cone are for new frames equipped with Daly's Differential motion. Constant -r- Draft = Draft Gear. Constant -J- Sq. Root of No. = Lay Gear. Constant -^ Sq. Root of No. = Contact Gear. Constant -f- Twist per inch = Twist Gear. 82 Carding and Spinning. Table of Constants, Saco-Pettee Frame. Size. Twist. Draft. Tra- With "Ten- With Com- Cone verse. Gears. sion. Gears. pound Change Gear 12X6 49.98 201.51 18. 249 38&47 30.41 60&50 19 16 llXSi 43.93 201.51 29.43 38&47 35. 632 55 & 55 21 16 10X5 43.93 201.51 29 38&37 43 30&55 21 19 9X4i 43.93 201.51 29 38&47 44 55&55 21 19 10X5 43.93 201.51 29 38&47 44 55&55 21 19 9x4i 43.93 201.51 29 38&47 44 55&55 21 19 8X4 62.08 190.90 44.33 25&60 52.65 55&55 26 19 8X3i 62.08 190.90 57. 164 20.&60 77.44 55&55 32 19 7X3i 123. 83 190.90 57. 164 20&60 77.44 55 & 55 32 19 7X3 131.10 180.30 99.43 14&71 101.98 55&55 33 19 6X3 131.10 180.30 99.43 14&71 101.98 55 & 55 33 19 6x2i 131.10 180.30 105.32 14&71 117.57 50&60 33 19 5X2i 131.10 180.30 98.03 14&71 183.41 35&75 33 19 Note. — The traverse and tension constants are correct only when the given combinations of years are used. Other com- binations are sometimes used. Constant -f- Draft = Draft Gear. Constant -f- Twist per inch = Twist Gear. Constant -r- Sq Root of No. = Traverse Gear. Constant -^ iSq, Root of No. = Tension Gear. Carding and Spinning. 83 Table of Constants, Lowell Frame. Size. Draft. Twist. Tension. 13 X6 148.93 31.25 28.80 11 X5i 148.93 31.25 28.80 10 X5 148.93 30.24 38.6 9 X4i 148.93 30.24 38.6 10 X5 I. 189.18 37 49 38,4 9 X4i I. 189.18 37 49 38.4 8 X4 170.27 50.9 52.7 8 X3i 170.27 67.59 66. 7 X3i 170.27 90.13 99.6 6 X3 170.27 130.17 115.6 6 X3 170.27 120.17 139.4 5 X2i 170.27 120.17 137.4 4iX3i 170.27 120.17 187.4 Gear on Rack Shaft. 40 40 56 56 56 Lay. 38.4 38.4 31. 31. 35. 35. 42.5 78. 75.4 148. 148. 162.88 162.88 Note — The Draft Constant is figured for 100 Crown Gear. Constant-^ Draft=Draft Gear. Constant-!— Twist per inch=Twist Gear. Constant-4- Twist per inch=Tension Gear. Constant -i— Twist per inoh=Lay Gear. Production. — The calculation for production is very simple, being only a matter of speed of the front roller. It seems to us to be a waste of time to calculate this speed from that of the main shaft, as it is a very easy matter to count the actual speed or to get it with a speed indicator. Rule. — Multiply the circumference of the front roller by the speed per minute^ the minutes in an hour, the hours in a day, and the number of spin- dles in a frame. Divide the product by 8^0 mul- tiplied by 86 and the number of roving. 84 Carding and Spinning. Example. — Suppose a frame has 120 spindles on 4-hank roving. What is the production per day of 11 hours, if the front roller makes 140? 3.53 m X 3.14) X 140 X 60 X 11 X 120 840 X 36 X 4 = 323 pounds. This is the theoretical production. The actual production will be from 10 to 20 per cent less, depending on the skill of the operative and a number of other conditions. All speeders have clocks to register the number of hanks run per day. To calculate the pounds from the hank clock, multiply the hanks by the number of spindles, and divide by the number of roving being made. In the above example, sup- pose the clock registers 10.5 hanks. Then 10.5 X 120 -f- 4 = 315 pounds. On account of a change in the number of yam, it is frequently necessary to increase the produc- tion on the speeder, or perhaps on the intermedi- ate or slubber. This can often be done by making the roving a little heavier, and increasing the draft on the next machine. If a speeder is mak- ing 10 pounds per day of 1-hank roving, it will make 11 pounds of .90-hank, which multiplied by the whole number of spindles, will be a consider- able increase. This can not always be done, as the next machine frequently has all the draft it can stand, but in many cases it can be done to advantage. It would seem to som^ superfluous Carding and Spinning. 85 to mention this, but the writer once knew a super- intendent of a 20,000-spindle mill who had never thought of it, and knew of another superinten- dent who increased the production of his prede- cessor over a thousand pounds per week by a very slight increase in the weight of the roving. Below is given the production of speeders for different numbers, both in hanks and in pounds. This table is based on a stoppage of 15 minutes per set. If the frame is short, it can be doffed in less time, and there will be fewer stops on account of ends breaking. On the whole, the table is rather too high, and the production can not be attained except under very favorable cir- cumstances. On long-staple cotton, where the twist is less than standard, it can frequently be exceeded. 86 Carding and Spinning. m P O ffl O 1— ( i> o o o M H o Q O o ft O 0) o C3 ft 00 0) O ft o I— ( 05 o ft m o ® ^H q 1^ o <^ O 1^ 5-1 P^ o-^ o "S f-i . PI i:DiO CCiCOrjHC5i005C00? OOOSOOt-OOO CQC^t-HtHt-It-It-I-i— I 10c6c500500J>i><:0 0505C3-t-HTHTHOOO TH0i0S00i>?DC5O'* C5-I— ItHt— It— iT— It— ItHt—I COOOSOilO'>*05J>J>00 05 -^ 05 CD '^ O'j O 05 00 i> 05 O? 1-1 1-1 tH T-H tH i>O«5001Oi-iaiJ>'^O CQCQtHtHi-J-t-JoOOO ■t-l-iH-r-tTrHT-lrHT-lTHT-l-'-< OGOOSCOOD'^OO-i-l'^O <:DcOT-iooot-<:D«o»oio Oi O^ 03 C5 T-l tH.t-I t-H tH tH t'COTHOOt-OCQQO OOt-Jt-H-^OSIOCOt-^OS lO-^COC^-pH-rHrH-i-l i>l010OC0O«DTH0q -i-HC^OJC^t-HtHOOOS i>OOlOOOlO'^'^00 CCl05C?-i-Hi— It-Hi— It— ItH fe. (U o lOCDt-OOOSOO-r-IC^O^COCO'rH-^lOlO a o > 12;^P^- &c oooooooooooooooo C3C0Tj00C5OT-iC5C0^iOCDi> o c8 ft 02 o ;h cS ;-< o X CD O CS ft. 72 o a 00 cT o (S 1-^ r— I O ;-i P O ;h ® J. H I Eel O Carding and Spinning. 8T O ft No. of Pounds 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 I 1 1 1 1 ) 1 1 ■ r 1 1 1 1 1 1 .111111 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 !' 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -^ O t-O C0J>05 "CO-i-HGSOOO^t-OJ COCOlO-=iH"<*i ' -i-H No. of Hanks JoOOiOlCOCOOOCO j-rH-i-iosioc^O'as^ io6odi>i>?>!>i:d<;d Rev. of Front Roller. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I Ic^coo^ooioosio 'C005C^tHOO0505 1 tH tH -I— 1 tH 1— 1 1— i 6 o a 1— 1 No. of Pounds 05 CO ' ' ' ' ' ' ' •^ T-i OD <^ ^ C^ T-i Oi Oi 1 . . 1 1 1 1 c^i c5 th th r-H th th '';;;;;;; No. of Hanks «D'*O5i>'TH-i-iJ>'<#C0 ' ' '' < • " OS OS 00 00 00 00 i> i> t> 1 1 ! 1 1 1 1 Rev. of Front Roller. 1 ' ' I 1 ' ' I 1 lO O 05 -^ 00 CO J> C5 C5 ...1.11 lO lO CO CO 03 03 tH T-I T-I I 1 i 1 1 1 1 ft o No. of Pounds. ' '• 1 'iOS»0'^051005-^Oi>10-^ 1 I 1 no lO '^ CO CO 05 C5 C? -i-H tH 1- No. of Hanks I ' '■> I J> CO T-l 00 «D C5 CO CO J> lO C3 1 , , i-rHT-l 1-1 00005 O50O00X 1 ■ < Rev. of Front Roller. 1 ■ 1 .'?ocoTHCOioicO'*^a5^ 1 1 1 i-rH 005 00 £>0 »0^ CO (>? CQ 1 1 1 1 (J5 Ci>TH00-rHiO J^COtHOOOOOCOOIO 05C5C5C3THTH-t-n-lT-l Twist Per Inch. O^t^QOOOOSOOOO^O^OOi-i^tOi^OSCSOOSCSOCOOS'* CCiCOxtH10i>0000050CQ-^10C000050-rH05COCD3>0»-r-ICO^i:0 T-^'--^T-^T-^^-^T^T-^rHC^(^i(^^(^i<^i(^■i(^jcococococ^ Numb'r of Roving. OiOOlOOlOOiOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO o^ OO^lOJ>OCOiOOlOOlOO»OOiOOOOO o oo o •rH-rH-i-li-IC .£>00050'-H CQCO^ O T— 1 l-< 1— 1 tH 1— 1 ■!— 1 88 Carding and Spinning, troubles encountered in running roving FRAMES Cut or Uneven Roving. — Assuming tHat the drawing is all right, the most fruitful source of this trouble is lack of oil on the rollers. The worst case the writer ever saw was from this cause. For some reason the slubber tenders had been changed several times within two weeks, and none of them had oiled the rollers. Before the trouble was located a large quantity of stock was in process, and an immense amount of bad work resulted. The front top rollers should al- ways be shells, and every Saturday evening they should be removed and the arbors wiped dry. On Monday when they are replaced they, as well as the middle and back rollers, should be care- fully oiled. It sometimes happens that from the lack of oil on previous occasions, the saddles and stirrups have worn to an exact fit, and if the rollers get the least bit out of alignment they will bind and stop imomentarily. This will of course cause cut roving. Very bad work has also resulted from one or two teeth being broken from a gear, sometimes by design, and when the blank space comes around, the middle or back roller stops a little, while the others go on. Occasionally, for one reason or another, a few of the roller weights are taken off, and when replaced are put back wrong, that is, the heavy ones are put on the Carding and Spinning. 89 roller wliere the light ones were. This will cause trouble which is very hard to locate. Ex- cessive draft will always cause uneven roving. The question will of course arise, what draft is excessive? A general rule is that 4, 5 and 6 should be the maximum on slubber, intermediate, and fine frames respectively. If jacks are used, not over 6^ should be drawn. This is not a rigid rule, and circumstances may arise where these drafts may be exceeded. In process of time, gears may break or wear out, and be replaced by others of a slightly dif- ferent size. This may throw the distribution of drafts wrong, and cause a great deal of trouble. Where shell rollers are used, and two of an un- equal size are put on the same arbor, the larger part of the weight is evidently on the ends, and as the roving traverses back and forth over the heavily and lightly weighted parts, the draft is sure tQ, be affected. When the top rollers are not in line with the bottom rollers, bad work is likely to result, and besides shorten the life of the roller from 25 to 50 per cent. All cap-bars should be set with a gauge, which is simply two boards nailed at hight angles to each other. The wider one, which rests on the steel roller, has project- ing fingers, which are spaced exactly as the top rollers are to be spaced. These fingers fit into the nebs of the cap bars, and when they are tightened every roller will be in exactly the same position. 90 Carding and Spinning. In a previous paragraph, we called attention to the necessity of having the proper tention be- tween the front rollers and the flyers. If there is a draft, it will certainly be irregular and cause irregular roving. We once knew of a new frame being started where this draft was so great that a change in the draft gear had but little effect on the weight of roving, and for some time the overseer and sujierintendent were literally at their wits end to know where the trouble was. When roving is cut at regular intervals it is easy to trace the cause. If the thin places are about 3J inches apart, it is very likely there is a bad lap on the top roller, which is a very frequent cause of trouble. If the spaces are, say, a foot apart, they are probably caused by a bad middle roller. The whole question is one which should receive the closest attention from the overseer. Tangled Bobbins. — This trouble may be, and frequently is, caused by an improper taper. As is explained under calculations, the layers of roving should be so that they will just touch, the proper number per inch being twelve times the square root of the number of roving. Each suc- cessive layer should have one row less, so that each strand will lay in the hollow formed by the two strands directly under it. If the taper is too steep, with rough treatment some of the strands will slip off. Tangled bobbins are fre- quently made by the frame failing to change, and Carding and Spinning. 91 the traverse running over or under. On frames using a screw-builder motion, like the Provi- dence, Woonsocket or Lowell, the spiral spring may be out of fix, but more frequently the end of the sliding jaws have become so worn that the motion does not change at exactly the proper time. This trouble may be overcome by filing the arm, and putting on a steel plate, which of course has a square end. In time the bevel gears either on the upright shaft or the top cone shaft, may become worn so that the teeth fail to engage. This may frequently be remedied, at least tempo- rarily, by raising the upright shaft and putting packing in the step. A copper penny is the ex- act size, and answers the purpose well. If it is the large or skip gear which is worn, as usually only two or three teeth are affected, it may be made as good as new by changing from a right- hand to a left-hand frame. By this means, the teeth on the opposite side of the skip, which are not worn, are brought into use. If the ratchet-gear builder motion is used, such as is generally on English frames, the arms which cause the change, sometimes called trig- gers, become worn so that they are not exactly square. Round corners will cause the motion to change at irregular times, and a bad taper is the result. When they first begin to wear, they may be filed square, but soon become too short, and have to be replaced. In setting this motion. 92 Carding and Spinning. care must be taken that when the carriage is in the center, the poker-stick, or toothed lever, be exactly level. Ends Slacking Down. — When the ends suddenly slack down and tangle at the flyer, a cone belt has either broken, or a gear slipped. It is when the ends slack and perhaps not tangle badly, that the real trouble is encountered. This may often be caused by the cone-belt slipping. For a test, some one may tighten the belt by pressing the cone down with the foot. If this is not the trou- ble, it may be a set screw slipping. If a trial with a wrench fails to find a loose one, all the im- portant gears in the train from the compound motion to the bobbin may be marked with chalk or a punch, and the frame again started. This will show where the slip is. If the trouble al- w^ays occurs at a certain point in the lift, it is good evidence that a motion somewhere is bind- ing, and causing the cone-belt to slip. It is some- times necessary to disconnect the whole bobbin Unotion, and turn the compound by hand until the trouble is located. Most of the trouble of this nature is the result of careless oiling. The oiler may think he is oiling every place, but it does not take long for an oil-hole to get choked with lint, and the oil wasted. Hard Ends. — This is the general name for the trouble when the roving comes through without being drawn. It is usually caused by bad piece- Carding and Spinning. 93 ing in the previous process. When an end breaks down, the speeder-tender in piecing it up gener- ally wets the end so it can be readily threaded through the eye of the flyer. If this wet and twisted end is not broken off before piecing up, when it comes to the next machine it will not draw. It is not unusual for the speeder-tender to put in twice the usual twist in order that the roving may easily stand the strain of threading it through the flyer. Even if the wet end is broken off, the roving will often fail to draw. The remedy is to have the attendant put in just as little twist as will enable him to piece up the ends. There will also be hard ends when the rollers are set too close for the length of staple. Two rollers, having hold of the fibers at the same time, it is obvious that they will not be drawn. The remedy is to have the rollers further apart. The front and middle should be set so that the bite is 1-16 inch further apart than the length of the sliver. The middle and back roller may be 2-16ths. For further explanation, see "Setting of Drawing-Frame Kollers.'' There is a great deal written about excessive drafts, but very little about deficient drafts. As a matter of fact, there can be too little draft on the speeder, and when this is the case hard ends, or undrawn roving, is the result. Where only 94 Carding and Spinning. a sample is wanted, the trouble may be stopped by taking the weight off the middle roller. Black Oil.. — This is a trouble always to be guarded against. A certain amount of oil may get on the roving when oiling the rollers, but this is not the chief trouble. In all well-regulated mills, the speeder-tenders are required to oil the spindles after the first doff in the morning. As the frame runs, more or less lint will stick to the oily spindles, and when the frame is again ready to doff, there will be a small collar of oily lint around the spindle at the top of the bobbin. If this is thrown off carelessly in the box with the roving, it is almost sure to stain it. The remedy is to remove the oily waste before doffing. Of course it is some trouble, but where the goods are fine, a yard is worth something, and one black thread may throw the whole piece into seconds. Where the goods are not so fine, this trouble is not so likely to occur, as a frame doffs too often to accumulate waste. These black specks can not always be readily removed before doffing, and can frequently be seen on the roving in the creels. The speeder-hands or spinners should be trained to carefully pick off all they see. Yellow oil may get on the cotton at almost any time. It must be carefully guarded against Yellow crayon should not be used, as it is often mistaken for oil. For a similar reason very Carding and Spinning. 95 deep colors should not be used, as they will cer- tainly show in the finished cloth. Clearer Waste in Roving. — This may be avoided by having the clearers picked more often. It is of great importance that this be done, for if not the waste will occasionally be licked up by the roving, or it may drop in a mass to the roving and make a heavy slub. This will usually break back at the spinning frame, but if it does not, a long thick place is made in the yarn. On long- staple cotton this trouble is much more preval- ent, as the rollers are too far apart to help hold the waste together. Irregylar Size Bobbins. — Where there are sev- eral makes of frames in use it is frequently the case that there are bobbins which may fit other frames, but are not exactly the same diameter. This is a very important matter, for with two sizes on a machine, it is impossible to keep the tention right. The attendant may tighten it on account of a dozen ends running slack, and there- by strain the roving on all the rest of the spindles. The machine builders will furnish blue prints, showing the exact size of the bobbins, and these should be used. All bobbins should be wired, and in a coarse mill where they are handled fre- quently, they should have a metal base. These cost a good deal more, but are much cheaper in the end. 96 Carding and Spinning. general information. The price of speeders vary greatly. The com- bination price for machines of standard length is as follows : 12X6 inch slubber, 60 spindles $13 10 11 X5i inch slubber. 60 spindles _ 12.29 10X5 inch intermediate, 72 spindles 9.97 8X5 inch intermediate, 96 spindles. 7.22 7X3i inch roving, 144 spindles -.. 6.00 6X3 inch roving, 160 spindles 5.57 If the machine is shorter, the price per spindle will be more, and if longer, less. .When a mill is organized, it is ascertained how many spindles of a certain machine will be needed. The whole number is then divided atmong so many machines, a uniform number of spindles for each machine being kept in mind. Slubber spindles vary by four, intermediates by six, and fine frames by eight. If the lengths are irregu- lar, the cost will be more. The length of ma- chines should be governed, partly at least, by the labor required to run thdm. Thus, a 90- spindle slubber on coarse work wou^d be rather too much for one hand, and not enough for two. It must be borne in micd also that a short ma- chine will produce more per spindle than a long one, as it is stopped so much less. A slubber on .50-hank roving will make about eight doffs per day. Fifteen minutes per set, or two hours per day, are allowed for stoppages. We know of a Carding and Spinning. 97 28-spindle slubber tbat requires only five minutes per set for stoppages, and thus produces 15 per cent more than the longer machine. While speaking of slubbers, it may be said that it is a very poor plan to have the cans running empty at random. A much better plan is to have one-third or one-fourth run out together. The attendant can then replace them and have more time for other duties than if he were continually looking for' ends to run out. Koving frames are now made so that they will stop when so many yards have been run. The tender on the next machine can then creel a whole row at the same time, and not be continually piecing up short ends as at present, or wasting a great deal in creeling, as is allowed in some mills. It is the custom in New England to have doffers in the card-room just as in the spinning-room, and where there is enough work to keep them busy, there is no question about the economy of having them. The weight of fraimes vary so much that we will not attempt to give any schedule. English frames are heavier than American, and the Providence frame lighter than others on account of the ab- sence of the carriage weights, which the balanced carriage dispenses with. When English frames are used, there is no use of paying freight, and 45 per cent duty on the weights, as they are just as cheap here. The roller and other weights average about 2,000 pounds per frame. 7 98 Carding and Spinning. The length of frames may be found by multi- plying the space by one-half the number of spin- dles and adding 3 feet for gearing. The width is 3 feet. If the balanced carriage is used, l'-4" should be added to the length. English frames are sometimes built with gearing at both ends. In this case, I'-IO" should be added. Three sets of change gears, and 5 per cent of spare rollers are furnished' without extra charge. English builders do not furnish so many spare rollers, but furnish duplicates of the parts which are the most likely to be broken. All speeders, and for that matter other ma- chinery, should be carefully lined up after being run about a year. By this time the walls have settled and the floor timbers sprung about all they ever will. The frame will then run a num- ber of years without further attention. For the slubber, intermediate, fine frame and jack, about 50, 60, 75 and 100 spindles will ab- sorb a horse power. Carding and Spinning. 99 CHAPTER V. Ring Spinning. In the processes just described the useful ac- tion of the machine was simply drawing the sliver finer and making it even. Cleaning, evening and assorting the long fibers belong to processes pre- ceding the roving frame. Cleaning, however, is a continuous process, and does not stop even at the loom. We now come to the processes by which the finished yarn is made from the roving. This is done by three methods, viz., mule, ring and throstle spinning. The latter is very rarely found in this country, and is being quickly super- ceded in England. There is no question as to the superior quality of yarn spun on this ma- chine, but it is too slow for modern ideas. For practical purposes, the spinning is either done on the ring frame or on the mule. There are advantages in both methods, and for certain pur- poses one machine is better than the other. In England, the spinning frame is not so universally used as in this country. The reason is probably due to a great extent to their system of manu- facture. The carding and spinning is done in one mill, and the weaving, or manufacturing as they call it, in another, often in a distant part of the country. It becomes inconvenient to ship 100 Carding and Spinning. bobbins back and forth, but as a cop is spun on a small paper tube, the shipping of cops does not amount to much. As is said above, many things might be said in favor of both methods. For the spinning frame it may be said that it occupies less space than a mule, that it gives a larger production, that it costs much less to operate, and that it can be operated by women and children. In New Eng- land, a reason apart from all these that has caused many mules to be replaced by spinning frames, is a well-organized, and at times arbi- trary, union aimong mule spinners. Taking these causes somewhat in detail, we find that two mules having 500 spindles each would occupy a space 88' X 20' = 1,760 square feet, or 1.76 square feet per spindle. Four spin- ning frames of 250 spindles each would occupy a space, counting alleys, of 800 square feet, or .80 square feet per spindle — only 45 per cent as much as a mule. In the matter of production, a mule on number 30's will produce .2 pounds per day per spindle. A spinning frame will produce .216 pounds per day, a gain of 8 per cent. For spinning 30's on a mule, the spinner will have to be paid from |1.50 to |2.00 per day, against |1.00 on the spinning frame, a difference of 50 to 100 per cent. For fine yarns, this difference is not so great. On the other hand, a mule consumes a horse- Carding and Spinning. 101 power for 160 spindles, against 75 for a spinning frame, a gain of over 100 per cent. The cost of supplies will be slightly in favor of the mule, as there are no travellers or bobbins. Mules cost about |2.70 per spindle, against |3.00 for spin- ning frames, another advantage in favor of the mule. However, the chief item in its favor is that a mule is absolutely necessary for spinning very fine yarns, and that for soft yarn it pro- duces much better thread than the spinning frame. On the whole, the verdict seems to be in favor of the spinning frame, and within the past ten years many thousand mule spindles have been replaced by frame spindles. In a spinning frame, the roving is drawn out from 6 to 15 times its length by three lines of rollers exactly as in roving frames. The twist is put in by revolving spindles as in a roving frame, but the winding is altogether different. It could be done in the same 'manner, and the fact that the process is similar is shown by the fact that coarse yarn is sometimes made on a roving frame. This was largely done some years ago when the Southern farmers, to break up the bagging trust, used covering for their cotton woven from coarse yarn, in many cases made on a roving frame. Many pages might be written concerning the use of the traveller, but we will assume that the reader is suffilf iently familiar with its action to 102 Carding and Spinning. readily understand its use. There is still an erroneous idea in the minds of some that the traveller puts in the twist. The fact that this is not true is clearly shown by the mule where there is no traveller. If anything, the traveller retards the twisting. After evenness, the next essential of good yam is strength. This is accomplished by twisting, which is done in two ways, the intermittent as in the mule, and the continuous as in the spinning frame. Each is superior for certain purposes. On the mule, a strand of roving is delivered to the spindles, which gradually recede from the rollers, twist being put in while this is being done. The velocity at which the spindles recede is a little greater than the delivery of the rollers, creating a distance draft, which always runs to the thin places and leaves the thick ones un- twisted, or at least this would be the case if there were no carriage draft. Owing to this, the soft places where there is no twist and no strength, are drawn out and an even thread is produced. This gain is only used in spinning fine numbers. For very coarse numbers, the gain is the other way. The end of the stretch is reached a little before the spindles have ceased to rotate, so that after the yarn is evened a cer- tain amount of twist is put in, which is evenly distributed to every part of the yarn. On the spinning frame, the thin places remain as they Carding and Spinning. 103 come from the roller, but receive a proportionate amount of the twisty and consequently strength is put in where it is most needed. For this rea- son frame-spun yarn is usually a little stronger than mule spun. In England the mule is still recognized as the standard spinning machine. Fifteen or twenty years ago its use was almost universal in New England, and to-day there are many thousand spindles in Lowell, New Bedford and Fall River, though in the latter city a large number have been replaced by ring frames. In the South, about a dozen mills out of over 500 have mules, no one mill having over 15,000 or 20,000 spindles. CALCULATIONS. As in the roving frames, the principal calcu- lations are for twist, draft and production. As in roving, the twist in yarn is based on the square root of the number. Even with this basis there are several multipliers, depending on the use for which the yam is intended, and also de- pending on the machine on which it is made. Thus 4.75 times the square root is standard twist for warp when spun on the ring frame, 3.75 if spun on the mule, 3.25 for filling on the mule, 3.50 for filling on frames, 2.75 for yarn to be twisted and 2.50 for mule-spun hosiery yarn. It will be readily seen that the system is some- what complex. Within the past few years there 104 Carding and Spinning. has been a difference recognized between the twist for mules and for ring frames. This differ- ence has existed all the time in practice, but each machine builder hesitated to publish a table giv- ing more twist, and consequently lower speed, than others, and many mill men have been dis- couraged and lost their positions because they were not able to make the frames run at the twist and speed given in catalogues. We give below a table for twist on the new basis. Twist Tables. Counts Frame Frame Mule Twist Hosiery- Yarn. or Num- Warp Filling Filling for bers. Twist. Twist. Twist. Doubling. 1 4.75 3.50 3.25 2.75 2.50 2 6.72 4.95 4.60 3.89 3.53 3 8.23 6.06 5.63 4.76 4.33 4 9.50 7.00 6.50 5.50 5.00 5 10.62 7.83 7.27 6.15 5.59 6 11.63 8.57 •7.96 6.73 6.12 7 12.56 9.26 8.60 7.27 6.61 8 13.43 9.90 9.19 7.78 7.07 9 14.25 10.50 9.75 8.25 7.50 10 15.02 11.07 10.27 8.69 7.90 11 15.75 11.61 10.78 9.12 8.29 12 16.45 12.12 11.26 9.52 8.66 13 17.12 12.62 11.72 9.91 9.01 14 17.77 13.10 12.16 10.29 9.35 15 18.39 13.56 12.59 10.65 9.68 16 19.00 14.00 13.00 11.00 10.00 17 19.58 14.43 13.40 11.34 10.31 18 20.15 14.85 13.79 11.66 10.60 19 20.70 15.26 14.17 11.98 10.89 20 21.24 15.65 14.53 . 12.30 11.18 21 21.76 16.04 14.89 12.60 11.46 22 22.27 16.42 15.24 12.89 11.73 Carding and Spinning. 105 Twist Tables — Continued. Counts Frame Frame Mule Twist Hosiery or Nnm- '' bers. Warp Filling Filling for Twist. Twist. Twist. Doubling, X Ctl u.. 23 22.78 16.79 15.59 13.19 11.99 24 23.27 17.15 15.92 13.47 12.25 25 23.75 17.50 16.25 13.75 12.50 26 24.22 17.85 16.57 14.02 12.75 27 24.68 18.19 16.89 14.29 12.99 28 25.13 18.52 17.20 14.55 13.23 29 25.58 18.85 17.50 14.81 13.46 30 26.02 19.17 17.80 15.06 13.69 31 26.44 19.49 18.10 15.31 13.92 32 26.87 19.80 18.38 15.55 14.14 33 27,28 20.11 18.67 15.80 14.36 34 27.69 20.41 18.95 16.03 14.58 35 28.10 20.71 19.23 16.27 14.79 36 28.50 21.00 19.50 16.50 15.00 37 28.89 21.29 19.77 16.72 15.21 38 29.28 21.58 20.03 16.95 15.41 39 29.66 21.86 • 20.30 17.17 15.61 40 30.04 22.14 20.55 17.39 15.81 41 30.42 22.41 20.81 17.61 16.01 42 30.78 22.68 21.06 17.82 16.20 43 31.14 22.95 21.31 18.03 16.39 44 31.50 23.22 21.56 18.24 16.58 45 31.86 23.48 21.80 18.45 16.77 46 32.21 23.74 22.04 18.65 16.96 47 32.56 23.99 22.28 18.85 17.14 48 32.90 24.25 22.52 19.05 17.32 49 33.25 24.50 22.75 19.25 17.50 50 33.58 24.75 22.98 19.44 17.68 51 33.92 24.99 23.21 19.64 17.85 52 34.25 25.24 23.44 19.83 18.03 53 34.58 25.48 23.66 20.02 18.20 54 34.90 25.72 23.88 20.21 18.37 55 35.22 25.96 24.10 20.39 18.54 56 35.54 26.17 24.32 20.58 18.71 57 35.86 26.42 24.53 20.76 18.87 58 36.17 26.66 24.75 20.94 19.04 59 36.48 26.88 24.96 21.12 19.20 60 36.79 27.11 25.16 21.30 19.36 106 Carding and Spinning. The calculation for twist is as follows : Rule. — Consider the whirl the driver. Multi- ply the diameter of the whirl by all the driving gears and the circumference of the front roller, and divide the product into the diameter of the cylinder^ multiplied by all the driven gears. If the whirl is f , consider it 3, and also put the diameter of the cylinder in fourths. If it is 7", put it 28. If the whirl is |-", use 7 in the calcula- tion, and 56 for the cylinder. Example, — Cylinder 7'% whirl f ", cylinder gear 25 teeth, stud or crown gear 100 teeth, twist gear 56 teeth, front-rollers gear 112 teeth, what is the twist, with 10 per cent allowance? „ 28 X 100 X 113 = 23.77 3 X 25 X 56 X 3.14 23.77 less 10 per cent, = 21.40. As in other calculations, the twist multiplied by the twist gear equals the twist constant. The best way to ascertain the twist is to mark a bobbin and count the number of turns it makes ¥/hile the front roller revolves one time. Divide the number by 3.1416, and the quotient is the actual twist per inch. When calculating the twist, allowance must be made for slippage of bands, and for size of bands. It is obvious that a band fitting in a V-shaped groove will turn the whirl where the greatest pressure is. This is not at the bottom of the groove, but somewhere between it and its greatest working diameter. Carding and Spinning. 107 No two builders agree concerning this loss of twist. Some put it at 8 per cent, some at 10, and some at 13. In the tables this allowance is usually made in stating the relation of the cylin- der to the whirl. If the calculations are made by gears, this difference complicates matters, but if made by the above method, the results are actual. It has long been known by good spinners that small bands were better than large ones, one of the chief reasons being that they give Inore twist, as their effective diameter is nearer the bottom of the groove. Table OP Twist Constants. Mason Frame. Diam^ of Whirl. Diam. of Cyl. Rela- tion. Cylin- der. Gear. Crown Gear. Front Roller Gear. Cir. of Roller. Con- stant. 13—16 7 7.75 18 92 112 3.1416 1342.20 13—16 7 7.75 24 90 112 3.1416 984.30 13—16 7 7.75 30 90 112 3.1416 787,20 13-16 7 7.75 36 84 112 3.1416 612.60 13—16 7 7.75 52 68 112 3 1416 343 20 3- 4 7 8.125 18 100 112 3.1416 1529.10 3— 4 7 8.135 18 130 84 3.1416 1490.70 3— 4 7 8.125 18 92 112 3.1416 1407.30 3— 4 7 8.125 24 90 112 3.1146 1032.30 3— 4 7 6.125 30 00 112 3.1416 825 90 3— 4 7 8.125 35 70 112 3.1416 550.00 7— 8 7 7. 36 84 112 3.1416 553.20 5 per cent is allowed for slippage and 13 per cent for size of bands. Constant -^ Twist=Twist Gear. 108 Carding and Spinning. Table of Twist Constants. Howard & Bullough Frame. Diam. of Whirl. Diam. of Cylin. Rela- tion. Cylin. Gear. Jack Gear. Front Roller Gear. Con- stant. 3— 4 7 8.14 21 86 84 891.63 3— 4 7 8.14 21 96 84 995.31 3 4 7 8.14 21 106 84 1098.98 3— 4 7 8.14 17 106 84 1357.57 13—16 7 7.60 29 72 84 504.51 13—16 7 7.60 21 76 84 735.42 13—16 7 7.60 21 86 84 832.18 13—16 7 7.60 17 72 84 860.64 13-16 7 7.60 21 96 84 928.95 13—16 7 7.60 21 106 84 1025.71 13—16 7 7.60 17 86 84 1027.99 13—16 7 7.60 17 106 84 1267.06 7- 8 7 7.12 39 72 84 351.70 7— 8 7 7.12 29 72 84 472.98 7— 8 7 7.12 21 72 84 653.17 5 per cent is allowed for slippage and 8 per cent for size of bands. * Constant-^ Twist=Twist Gear. Table of Twist Constants. Saco-Pettee Frame. Diam. of Whirl. Diam. of Cyl. Rela- tion. Cylind'r Gear. Jack Gear. Front R. Gear. Constant 3-4 7 8.25 38 124 108 926 3 4 7 8.25 30 132 65 751 13—16 7 7.75 38 124 108 870 13—16 7 7.75 30 132 65 706 7—8 7 7.25 38 124 108 814 7—8 7 7.25 30 132 65 660 3 4 7 8.25 38 124 94 806 3—4 7 8.25 30 132 108 1249 13—16 7 7.75 38 124 94 757 13—16 7 7.75 30 132 108 1173 7—8 7 7.25 38 124 94 708 7—8 7 7.25 30 132 108 1097 3~4 7 8.25 54 108 65 342 13—16 7 7.75 54 108 65 321 7—8 7 7.25 54 108 65 300 No allowance for slippage, and 10 per cent for size of bands. Constant -i— Twist = Twist Gear. Carding and Spinning. 109 Table of Twist Constants. Whitin Frame. Diam. of Whirl. Diam. of Cyl. Rela- tion, Cylind'r Gear. Stud Gear. F. Roller Gear. Constant 3 4 6.25 7,44 22 88 108 1022.70 3 4. 6.25 7.44 36 74 108 525.60 7—8 6.25 6,47 22 88 108 889.20 7—8 6.25 6.47 36 74 108 456.90 3-4 6.25 7.44 55 55 108 2.55,60 7—8 6.25 6.47 55 55 108 222.30 3—4 7 8.33 55 55 108 286.20 3 4 7 8.33 22 88 108 1145.10 3—4 7 8.33 36 74 108 588.30 7—8 7 7.25 22 88 108 996.60 7—8 7 7 25 36 74 108 512.10 13—16 7 7.68 22 88 108 1055.70 13—16 7 7.68 36 74 108 542.40 13—16 7 7.68 55 55 108 264.00 7—8 7 7.25 55 55 108 249.00 3-4 8 9.52 55 55 108 327.00 7—8 8 8.28 55 55 108 284.40 3 4 8 9.52 22 88 108 1308.60 3-4 8 9.52 36 74 108 672.40 7—8 8 8.28 22 88 108 1138.20 7—8 8 8.28 36 74 108 584.70 13—16 8 8.91 22 88 108 1224.60 13—16 8 8.91 36 74 108 629.40 13—16 8 8.91 55 55 108 306.30 No allowance for slippage, and 10 per cent for size of bands. Constant -:— Twist = Twist Gear. 110 Carding and Spinning. Table of Twist Constants. Lowell Frame. Diam. Gear of on Whirl. Cylin. 3- 4 24 13—16 24 7— 8 24 3— 4 30 13—16 30 7— 8 30 3— 4 40 13-16 40 7— 8 40 3- 4 50 13-16 50 7- 8 50 3— 4 63 13-16 63 7— 8 63 3— 4 91 13—16 91 7— 8 91 3— 4 24 19—16 24 7— 8 24 3— 4 30 13—16 30 7- 8 30 3— 4 40 18—16 40 7— 8 40 Stud Gear. 91 91 91 85 85 85 75 75 75 120 120 120 108 108 108 80 80 80 91 91 91 85 85 85 75 75 75 Front Roller Gear. 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 91 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 Cons- tant Qi Inch Cylin. 801.60 749.40 702.80 599.00 560.40 525.20 396.40 370 80 347.40 507.60 475.00 445.00 362.60 339 20 315.40 185.60 174.00 163 00 Con- stant 7 Inch Cylin. 891.8 824.4 773.6 666.2 6214 578.4 440.8 411.6 383.8 564.6 527.2 490.2 403.4 376.4 350.2 208.8 193 179.6 784.0 731.8 680.6 585.8 546.8 508 6 387.6 361.8 336.6 Cons- stant 8 Inch Cylin- 1011.3 948.9 889.5 755.7 708.9 664.5 500.1 469.2 439.8 No allowance for slippage, and 9 per cent for size of bands. Constant -4— Twist=Twist Gear. Draft. — For calculating the draft of a spinning frame, the rule is the same as for other machines, viz. : Rule. — Consider the hack roller the driver; multiply the diameter of the front roller and all the driving gears together for a numerator; mul- tiply the diameter of the hack roller ^ and the Carding and Spinning. Ill driven gears for a denominator. The quotient will he the draft. Example. — Diameter of front roller, 1" or 8 — 8. Diameter of back roller I. Crown gear 80. Front roller gear 30. Back roller gear 74. Draft gear 25. 8 X 80 X 74 = 9.04 7 X 30 X 25 9.04 X 25 (Draft gear) = 226. = Constant. Table of Draft Constants. Mason Frame. Diam. F. Diam. B. F. Roller Crown B. Roller Constant. Roller. Roller. Gear. Gear. Gear. 1 1 30 140 84 447.90 1 1 30 128 84 409.50 1 7 s 30 116 84 371.10 1 1 30 84 84 268. 80 1 7 8 30 78 84 207.90 Constant -^ Draft = Draft Gear. Table of Draft Constants. Whitin Frame. Diam. F. Diam. B. F. Roller Stud B. Roller Roller. Roller. Gear. 28 Gear. Gear. 7 8" 84 84 7 8" 30 84 84 7 30 168 84 7 30 60 84 1 30 120 84 Constant. 288.0 268.8 537.6 192.0 384.0 Constant -h Draft := Draft Gear. Table of Draft Constants. Saco-Pettee Frame. Diam. F. Roller. Diam. B. Roller. F. Roller Gear. Stud Gear. B. Roller Gear. Constant. 1 1 7 ¥ 1 25 16 70 79 84 84 268.8 474.0 Constant -^- Draft = Draft Gear. 112 Carding and Spinning. Table of Draft Constants. Howard & Bullough Frame. Diam. F. Diam. B. F. Roller Crown B. Roller Constant. Roller. Roller. Gear, Gear. Gear. 1 7 27 72 89 271.23 1 7 ■g 27 90 79 300.95 1 1 27 90 89 339. 04 1 . 7 ■g 21 72 89 348.73 1 1 27 108 89 406.85 1 7 21 90 89 435.91 1 1 21 108 89 523. 10 Constant -H Draft = Draft Gear. Table of Draft Constants. Lowell Frame. Front Roller Gear. Stud Gear. Back Roller Gear. Middle Roller Gear. Constant. 20 20 70 70 70 70 104 104 104 64 64 64 64 64 15 and 35 15 and 30 15 and 25 50 54 55 56 75 79 84 50 54 55 56 58 21 21 21 200. 216. 20 220. 20 30 224. 297. 30 30 '312.9 332.7 20 182.8 20 197.4 20 201. 20 205.8 20 210.2 Geared at both ends. 14 14 14 20 20 20 5.00 5.833 7.005 New style, Constant^— Draft=Draft Gear. Old style, Constant XDraft=Draft Gear. Production. — The production of a spinning frame is calculated from the front roller just as for a roving frame. Carding and Spinning. 113 Rule. — Multiply the circumference of the front roller by its speed per minute^ number of minutes in an hour, and number of hours per day, and divide by SJj-O multiplied by 36 and the number of yarn. Example. — A frame on number 30's has a front roller speed of 115 turns per minute. What is the production per spindle in 11 hours? 3.14 X 115 X 60 X 11 = .262 pounds. 840 X 36 X 30 A deduction of 10 per cent is usually made for doffing, cleaning, etc. All machine builders give in their catalogues a table for production for both warp and filling. It is the opinion of the writer that these tables are too high, especially for filling. While we know that under the most favorable condi- tions these figures are attained, we are confi- dent that a large majority of the mills fall far short. It is true that many mills claim to be getting 90 per cent production, but when these claiims are investigated, it is often found that they are based, not on the speed at which the front roller is supposed to run, but on the speed it is running. In other words, the spinner has put in sufficient twist to make the work run per- haps unusually well, and then bases his produc- tion on the reduced speed. For many years the writer made it a point to get the published pro- 8 114 Carding and Spinning. duction. This was done by giving the spinners not more than six sides, and keeping them hard at work. For a number of years it has become more and more difficult to keep good spinners, and where it is necessary for them to keep con- stantly at work to keep their ends up, they have to be paid more, and even then the mill will often lose more in a week on account of frames being stopped, than it would lose in a year by keeping them running at a slightly reduced speed. As we said above, the over-estimation of pro- duction is especially true on filling frames. Spin- ning frames in England are used for warp, and for filling mules are used almost exclusively. The standard twist for mule-spun filling is 3.25 times the square root of the number, and until the last few years this was still published as the standard for frame-spun filling. As a matter of fact, it is wholly impracticable to run filling frames at this twist, and at the speed usually called for. If it is necessary for the filling to be very soft, the speed of the frame should be re- duced, and if it is not necessary, the twist should be increased. In the following table for filling yarn we have calculated the twist at 3.50 times the square root of the number, and have reduced the speed about 10 per cent from that usually given. It is better and cheaper for the manufac- turer to buy a few more machines than to have over-worked or over-paid spinners. * Carding and Spinning. 115 In the table for filling yarns tlie twist is fig- ured at 3.50 times the square root of the number up to No. 30's. After this number, on account of longer cotton being used, the twist is gradually reduced until at No. lOO's it is only 3.09 times the square root. Production of Ring- Warp Yarn, 10 Hours. No. Twisty Rev. Rev, Lbs. No. Twist Rev. Rev. Lbs. of Per of of Per of Per of of Per Yarn. Inch. Roller. Spin- dles. Day. Yarn. Inch. Roller Spin- dles. Day. 4 9.50 154 4600 2.160 33 27.28 110 9500 .195 5 10.62 152 5100 1.715 34 27.69 109 9500 .186 6 11.63 150 5500 1.407 35 28.10 107 9500 .180 7 12.56 149 5900 1.198 36 28.50 106 9500 .173 8 13.43 148 6300 1.051 37 28.89 104 9500 .166 9 14.25 147 6600 .919 38 29.28 103 9500 .159 10 15.02 146 6900 .829 39 29.66 101 9500 .153 11 15.75 143 7100 .740 40 30.04 100 9500 147 12 16.45 142 7400 .685 41 30.42 99 95U0 .142 13 17.12 141 7600 .623 42 30.78 98 9500 .137 14 17.77 139 7800 .572 43 31.14 97 9500 .132 15 18.39 138 8000 .529 44 31.50 96 9500 .128 16 19 00 137 8200 .492 45 31.86 94 9500 .125 17 19.58 134 8300 .455 46 32.21 93 9500 .121 18 20.15 133 8500 .428 47 32.56 92 9500 .117 19 20.70 132 8600 .399 48 32.90 91 9500 .113 20 21.24 131 8800 .378 49 33.25 90 9500 .110 21 21.76 130 8900 .355 50 33.58 90 9600 .108 22 22.27 128 9000 .335 55 35.22 86 9600 .0943 23 22.78 125 9000 .314 60 38^.79 84 9800 .0845 24 23.27 124 9100 .298 65 38 30 81 9800 .0750 25 23.75 123 9200 .283 70 39.74 77 9700 .0665 26 24.22 122 9300 .272 75 41.14 74 9600 .0592 27 24.68 119 9300 .258 80 42.78 70 9400 .0527 28 25.13 117 9300 .244 85 43 79 66 9200 .0471 29 25.58 116 9400 .233 90 45.06 63 9000 .0427 30 26.02 115 9400 .223 95 46.30 60 8800 .0385 31 26.44 113 9400 .212 100 47.50 57 8600 .0352 32 26.87 112 9500 .205 116 Carding and Spinning. Production Table of Ring-Filling Yarn, 10 Hours. Rev. Rev. Rev. Rev. No. Twist of of Lbs. No. Twist of of Lbs. of Per Front Spin- Per of Per Front Spin- Per Yarn. Inch. Roller dles. Day. Yarn. Inch. Roller dles. Day. 4 7.00 164 3600 2.173 33 18.99 120 7100 .207 5 7.83 161 4050 1.708 34 19.05 119 7100 .200 6 8.57 160 4325 1.435 35 19.23 118 7100 .193 7 9.26 159 4625 1.221 36 19.50 116 7100 .186 8 9.90, 157 4900 1.059 37 19.77 114 7100 .175 9 10.50 155 5125 .927 38 20.03 113 7100 .171 10 11.07 154 5350 .836 89 20.30 111 7100 .163 11 11.61 152 5525 .750 40 20.55 110 7100 .160 13 12.12 150 5700 .687 41 20.81 109 7100 .154 13 12.62 148 5850 .624 42 21.06 108 7100 .149 14 13.10 146 6025 .575 43 21.31 107 7100 .144 15 13.56 145 6175 .530 44 21.56 106 7100 .139 16 14.00 143 6250 .488 45 21.80 104 7100 .135 17 14.43 141 6400 .456 46 22.04 103 7100 .130 18 14.85 139 6475 .424 47 22.28 102 7100 .126 19 15.26 137 6575 .397 48 22.52 100 7100 .122 20 15.65 135 6650 .377 49 22.75 99 7100 .118 21 16.04 134 6750 .355 50 22.98 98 7100 .116 22 16.42 133 6850 .335 55 24.10 94 7100 .101 23 16.79 131 6925 .317 60 25.66 90 7100 .090 24 17.15 130 7025 .302 65 25.79 87 7025 .080 25 17.50 129 7075 .286 70 26.75 84 7025 .072 26 17.81 128 7075 .272 75 27.71 81 7025 .065 27 18.16 127 7075 .262 80 28.16 78 6925 .060 28 18.51 126 7100 .250 85 29.04 75 6825 .054 29 18.83 125 7100 .236 90 29.39 72 6650 .049 30 18.89 124 7100 .230 95 30.19 70 6650 .045 31 18.92 123 7100 .226 100 30.50 68 6575 .043 32 18.94 122 7100 .219 Strength of Yarn. — ^At the Atlanta, Ga., Textile School elaborate tests were recently made on many samples of yarn, varying the twist on either side of the standard. The result showed conclu- sively that yarn is strongest with the standard twist. If more than standard is put in, except in very short cotton, the yarn is not strengthened but weakened. Carding and Spinning. 117 The following table, which is considered the standard, is taken from Draper^s Catalogue, and shows the result obtained by testing samples from 225 representative mills. There is also what is known as an English standard, but it is so elastic and unreliable that we do not publish it. Breaking Strength of Warp Yarn. 1 .-#.... 15 115.1 29 59.2 43 42.2 57 33.4 2 16 108.4 30 57.3 44 41.4 58 32.8 3 '53()"5' 17 102.5 31 55.6 45 40.7 59 32.3 4 410.0 18 97.3 32 54.0 46 40.0 60 31.7 5 330.0 19 92.6 33 52 6 47 39.3 61 31.3 6 275 20 88.3 34 51.2 48 38 6 62 30.8 7 237.6 21 83.8 35 50.0 49 37.9 63 30.4 8 209.0 22 79.7 36 48.7 50 37.3 64 30.0 9 186.5 23 75.9 37 47.6 51 36.6 65 29.6 10 168.7 24 72.4 38 46.5 52 36.1 66 29.3 11 154.1 25 69.2 39 45.5 53 35.5 67 28.8 13 142.0 26 66.3 40 44.6 54 34.9 68 28.5 13 131.5 27 63.6 41 43.8 55 34.4 69 28.2 14 122.8 28 61.3 42 43.0 56 33.8 70 27.8 TROUBLES IN THE SPINNING ROOM. Weak Yarn. — There is only one trouble that is more frequent than this, and that is the general one of bad-running work. Weak yarn may result from weak cotton. In America, we handle very little except American cotton, and the strength of the many varieties is not studied as closely as it is in England. However, it is no unusual thing to find a mill spinning yarn that is too fine for the cotton used. It is absurd to expect number 40's made from ordinary cotton to break at the stand- ard weight. For warp yarn we think the limit has been reached when 30's is made from ordinary 118 Carding and Spinning. upland cotton. For many purposes, strength is not essential, and we know of number 42's filling being successfully spun from South Carolina cotton. Of course it is customary for the spin- ner to blame the carder for uneven roving, and what is written under that head is largely appli- cable here. Even with good roving it is very easy to make weak yam. Excessive Draft. — For warp yam, we do not think that the draft should exceed 12, or at most 13. We are of course aware that this draft is often exceeded, but for the best results we should confine it to this limit. For filling, where strength is not so essential, 14 and even higher may be drawn. This is assuming that the roving is dou- ble. With single roving the draft should be less than 10. A few years ago it was a common ar- gument among spinners as to which were the more desirable, single or double roving. We now hear very little about it, and it is almost uni- versally conceded that it is much better to have it double, although it will cost more. This does not apply to coarse yarns, for they are sufficiently strong to stand high speed and need no special doubling to increase their strength. Excessive Speed. — We have spoken of this at some length on a previous page, and will only add that it not only keeps the spinners working harder, but also by undue chafing against the traveller and separator, weakens the yarn. In Carding and Spinning. 119 mills where they make sewing thread the ideas of speed are very conservative. Worn travellers also have a bad effect on the yarn. This is especially true where the yarn is rather coarse. On fine yarn, the travellers break just as soon as they are worn, and consequently need but little attention. On medium or coarse work, the travellers should be changed at regular intervals. For ordinary numbers, this should be done every three weeks. The spinners should not be expected to do this, as they have neither the time nor the judgment necessary. When it is done it should be under the supervision of a competent man. Many rings have been ruined by breaking off the travellers with the top roller. In general terms, it may be said that anything that tends to make the work run bad will weaken the yarn, for the cause which makes the end break will not break it every time, but will weak- en it many times when it does not break. When it does break, and is pieced up by the spinner, it is seldom as strong at the splice as it is at other points. Assuming that the roving is good, we believe that the most prolific source of bad run- ning work is the top rollers. They may be either worn, fluted, dry, or choked with waste. It is true that it costs something to cover rollers, but it is no economy to use one after it has caused an end to break. The steel rollers should be frequent- ly oiled. They run at such different speeds that 120 Carding and Spinning. it is impossible to give a rule wliich will apply to all conditions. The ends of the top rollers need not be oiled, after the frame has been run a few imonths, except when a new one has been put on. They need but little oil, and get that when the spinner is cleaning them with oily fingers. The saddles should be oiled either with the well- known tin tube and sponge, or with a Thompson can with a very small opening. We are sure a great many rollers are spoiled, and a great deal of bad work results from the careless use of oil. The rollers should be cleaned twice daily. With modern frames, where the bearings extend above the cap bar, they are much easier to keep clean than formerly. The spindles should be oiled every two weeks. If we were sure they were all oiled, once a month would be sufficient, but for fear some are neglected it is best to be on the safe side. This is an unpleasant job, and it is a good plan to have a box put on rollers, so that the boys can sit down and roll the box along as they oil. They will then be comfortable, and not near so apt to neglect the work. We believe that a large proportion of spindles are improperly set. The machine erectors usually run the ring-rail half up and set the spindles in the center. This is not the proper way. They should first be set when the rail is near the bot- tom. It should then run to the top, and if the spindle is not in the center, it is proof that it is Carding and Spinning. 121 not plumb, and should be papered up. After this it should be again run down and see if the rings are still in the center. Spindles and rings should be set once a year without fail. Slack bands make a great of trouble for the spinner, as well as for the weaver. Eoving bands do not stretch as much as yarn bands, and are much better. The second hand or overseer should go over the bands occasionally and see if they are too loose. They need attention especially after several days of very damp weather, which draws them tight, and when they dry out many are too slack. A worn guide, or one that is not over the cen- ter of the spindle, will make bad work. They should be set while the spindle is running, as modern spindles are in a slightly different posi- tion when running and when standing. It is well to notice the spindles carefully. One which vibrates is apt to cause trouble. The step may need adjusting, the bolster may be broken, or the spindle itself bent. A bad ring may be used for some time, especially on coarse work, but it will soon ruin enough travellers to pay for an- other one. Besides this, every time a traveller breaks some waste is made, and a weak place is made in the yarn. Eings should be cleaned occa- sionally. Some overseers claim that the travel- ler bears only on a very s^nall part of the ring, and the traveller itself will keep it clean. This 122 Carding and Spinning. is a mistake, and for thorough cleaning the rails should be put into a box of concentrated lye. If practicable, let them remain in the bath all night. They should then be rinsed in hot water, after which they will dry in a few minutes. Cut Yarn. — This might be classed under the head of uneven yarn, as the terms are almost synonymous. If it is not known on which frame the yarn is spun, examine all draft gears, as one or more teeth may be broken out. Sometimes the gears are not set deep enough, and slip a tooth occasionally. Where the gears are worn, they are likely to be put too deep in gear, which causes the rolls to jump or vibrate. On old frames the squares in the end of roller may be worn so as to slip occasionally. This is only on back rollers, for if it occurs on the front roller, the trouble will be apparent at once. A piece of traveller or part of a broken tooth may acci- dentally, or purposely, find its way between the teeth of the draft gears, causing the roller to jump at that point. Bunchy or Lumpy Yarn. — This may be caused by bad piecing. Either the scavenger rollers or the clearer boards may get too full, and the waste drop down on the roving. This is especially likely to happen when spinning long cotton, as the rollers are then farther apart. The frames should be stopped while the ceiling is being brushed down. In many mills the frames are Carding and Spinning. 123 covered while this is done. Weight hooks rest- ing on the back boards will make bunchy yarn. Occasionally a front roller is crooked. This will make a thick and a thin place at every revolution. A great deal of lumpy yarn is made by spinners when wiping off the thread board. This seems to be a necessary evil, but careful spinners will greatly diminish it. They should not be allowed to fan off with their aprons or to blow off the lint through a bobbin. Spiral or Corkscrew Yarn. — See this treated under twisters. Ends Running Bad. — ^A spinner may observe all the foregoing points, and yet the ends run bad. What, then, is to be done? The numbers may be too light; size 16 or niore bobbins per day of each kind of yarn ; have the carder give you each day 8 roving bobbins, and size the yarn from these in addition to the bobbins taken at random. This will enable the spinner to know what to expect, and a careful record should be kept of these numbers. Do not jump at conclusions be^ cause one set of bobbins is light. Weigh a large number before changing the draft gear, but if too much is light or heavy, do not hesitate to make a change. There is a foolish idea in some mills that all changes of this character should be made in the card-room. There may be insufficient moisture in the room, or electricity may be giving trouble. Warming 124 Carding and Spinning. the air and getting it moist will stop this diffi- culty. If there are no air moisteners, a sprink- ler will do a great deal of good. Spinners must bear in mind that warm air will hold in suspen- sion much more moisture than cold air. Bad work may be caused by a bale or several bales of unusually short or bad cotton. Find out how much of this there is. If there is only a little, a few extra hands will enable the room to pull through. If there is a good deal, put in more twist or reduce the speed, or both. If it is a spinning mill only, the speed may be easily re- duced at the engine. Cockley Yarn. — in a very general way it may be said that long-staple cotton is the cause of this, although it is not always so. There are some varieties of cotton more harsh and wirey than others, and consequently more difficult to draw. Sometimes roving being twisted too hard will cause it. We know of a mill where the spinning was running unusually bad when a new overseer took charge. Investigation showed that the speeders were running unusually well, and fur- ther investigation showed that the roving was twisted too hard. The old spinner had trouble with cockley yarn, and had spread the rollers one-eight inch in order to remedy it. The extra twist was taken from the roving, the rollers closed up, and the spinning ran fifty per cent better. Carding and Spinning. 125 By far the most frequent cause of cockley yam is that there are just a few long fibers in a cross section of roving. One end of these fibers is held by the middle roller, while the other end is beyond the bite of the front roller. The bobbin is consequently pulling the thread down as fast as it is delivered by the front roller, but the mid- dle roller, having hold of these fibers, holds them back, and the other fibers, being delivered by the front rover, and not being taken care of by the bobbin, bend back on themselves and form a kink. If a piece of yarn having one of these kinks in it is carefully untwisted and the fibers examined, it will be readily seen where the trouble is. The remedy, however, is not so simple. It will at once occur to the average man that the rollers should be spread, and if this is done the trouble will disappear. But, as stated before, other trou- bles may take its place, and the next day, or the same the stock may be short, and the rollers too far apart. It may be said that cockley yarn occurs more frequently in yarns spun from staple cotton, that is cotton more than one inch long. A remedy which never fails, is to have the saddle for the front and back rollers only, no weight being on the middle roller. We know of a large mill which Imade the change after everything else had been tried and failed, and the results were all that could be desired. It may be said that the trouble only occurs on filling, but this is 126 Carding and Spinning. only partially true. It does not occur so fre- quently on warp, because the warp is usually coarser, and the greater pull of the traveller pulls the kinks out as fast as made, and if it does not, the tension on the yarn in the spooler is likely to, and it is not noticed in the cloth. We know of one mill which for months kept several sets of looms weaving nothing but cockley filling, and every yard woven was sold as seconds. Waste. — This is classed as a trouble in the spinning room, and perhaps an overseer is criti- cised on account of it more than for any other one thing. The trouble is not so much in making waste, for that is inevitable, but in taking care of it after it is made. Nothing discounts a spin- ner so much as to have his floor littered up with waste. It is hard to keep the spinners from throwing white waste on the floor, but there is no reason why they should not be trained to do so the same as they are trained to keep roving bob- bins, top rollers, or any other material they han- dle. Not only is the habit untidy, and tends to make the spinner careless in other matters, but much of this waste becomes mixed with dirt and oil and is sold for a trifle. As sweepings it is worth about three-quarters of a cent, and as good cotton from 10 to 15 cents. The best way to keep it off the floor is to insist that the spin- ners have pockets in their aprons at least 8" X 4". If they do not have them, do not allow them Carding and Spinning. 127 to work until they get them. By the time these pockets get full, they become somewhat in the way, and serve as a reminder that it is time to empty them. Where they empty them, also, has a bearing on the appearance of the floor. An ex- cellent waste box is about 18'' high and made from 12" boards set up on end. In the top is a round hole, 4^" in diameter. These boxes can be packed, and made to hold a great deal, and there need be no occasion for their running over. However, with the most careful system, some good cotton will be swept up as waste. This is supposed to be carefully picked out and returned to the picker-room. As a matter of fact, it is often carelessly done, and the writer knows of a case in the past few months where over 500 pounds of good cotton was picked out of a few bales of sweepings. A good plan is to have the good waste picked out, but not have the sweep- ings put in the waste box until they are inspected by the second hand or overseer. Spinners very often leave the room with their pockets full of waste. Some of this is scattered about the village, and much of it finds its way into pillows and quilts. About the best way to stop this is to have a man stationed at the out- side door, and require every spinner whose pocket is not empty to go entirely back to the spinning- room. A very little of this has the desired effect. The clearer waste should be kept separate from 128 Carding and Spinning. the sweepings, as it is worth three or four times as much. Putting it into a box to itself will also tend to keep the floor clean. Just here it may be said that the waste from the dust rolls of the cards can be put with the clearer waste. It is the same kind of stock, and is worth as much. Bobbins Wound Too Low. — This trouble might be appropriately classed under the head of "Waste," for it is certainly a fruitful source of it. Not only is the yarn on the bobbin frequent- ly wasted, but the groove by which the bobbin is held in the shuttle, being full of yarn, the bobbin will not fit properly, and causes a break-out in the loom. A careful weaver could prevent this, but even then the bobbin is generally too big to go into the shuttle, and together with others is sent back to the spinning-room, where it is wasted by being cut or reeled off. These bobbins are almost always the result of carelessness of the doffers. They should be trained to glance under the ring rail after every doff, and never to leave a frame until all the bobbins are down. Many of these bobbins fail to fit, because they have been wet or steamed and the wood has swollen. Such bobbins should all be laid aside, and reamed. The Draper Company has recently patented a clutch for the bobbin, which by centrifugal force firmly binds the bobbin when the spindle is running, but when not running the arms of the clutch re- main in a normal position, and the bobbin is Carding and Spinning. 129 free. This device will also prevent spindles be- ing sprung and bolsters broken by the doffers when an extra tight bobbin is found. Its chief merit of course is to prevent the bobbin rising when the frame is running. This is an ever-pres- ent trouble on high-speed spindles, and may be caused either by badly fitting bobbins or by vibra- ting spindles, but in nine cases out of ten it is caused by yarn being wound about the base of the spindle, preventing the bobbin from binding properly. The experience of the writer has been that the bobbins stay down better on the Whitin spindle than on other makes. With the best system, a good many tangled and the ill-shaped bobbins will be returned from the weave-room. If the mill is of suf&cient size, it will pay well to get a quiller and run all these pieces into full-size bobbins. The yarn if cut or reeled off is worth about 6 cents per pound, but if put into shape to weave, from 20 to 30 cents. Not only is it a great saving in this respect, but it has been found by experience that the spinner will be more careful of the shape of his bobbins, and that the quantity of the bad ones will be re- duced fully one-half. Soft Bobbins and Soft Nose Bobbins.— We once knew of a large mill where there was great com- plaint on account of the filling knocking off in the looms. A rigid investigation showed that they were using a traveller that was too light. 9 130 Carding and Spinning. Further investigation showed that the spindles and rings were so badly set that they had to use light travellers, or the ends would not stay up. After the spindles and rings were re-set, they were enable to use a traveller two numbers heav- ier, and the complaint stopped. Soft bobbins on warp frames are frequently caused by their not being doffed as soon as full. Sometimes only the nose'of the bobbin is soft, and will snarl in the shuttle. This is usually caused either by the builder cam being worn and allowing a pause in changing, or by too much back-lash in the builder motion. The effect of this back-lash is heightened if the ring rails are too evenly balanced. The rails should be heavy enough to go down quickly, or light enough to go up quickly. The speed of the ring rail may be too slow. It should move fast enough to pre- vent the coils of yarn riding on each other. After the wind reaches the highest point, it should descend rapidly so as to firmly bind the previous layer. Some spinners change the traverse so as to go up fast and down slow, claiming that the quick downward stroke tends to jerk the ends down. This tendency does not amount to any- thing, and may be disregarded. Soft twisted filling is less liable to tangle than hard twisted, as it will mash into the yarn previously spun and bind more firmly. A light traveller will also cause bad noses, es- Carding and Spinning. 131 pecially in connection with high speed. Tlie yarn is not wound tight enough, and the centri- fugal force throws the layers out and loosens them. GENERAL INFORMATION. The length of spinning frame is found by mul- tiplying one-half the number of the spindles by the space, and adding 2' 3''. The width may be 36" or 39" as is desired. If the space is ample, a 39" frame is preferable, as the bands are longer, and have a better bearing surface on the whirl. English frames are much longer than they are usually made in America, often having over 400 spindles. They usually have two cylinders 10" in diameter, and are frequently belted in the center. Instead of clearer boards, they have clearer rollers on the top rollers, similar to a mule. These rollers lie between the front and middle roller, and are turned by friction. Separators are called anti-ballooners in Eng- land, and have not attained the degree of excel- lence they have in this country. Ballooning is not an unmixed evil, but helps turn the traveller. If the yam is allowed to balloon, a heavier trav- eller can be used, which for several reasons is de- sirable. Among some mill men there is a ten- dency to dispense with separators, especially with fine yarn, by making the space between 'the spin- dles greater. For filling fames it is customary to have this extra space and to dispense with sep- 132 Carding and Spinning. arators. This is not the result of any special de- sign, but is merely incidental. The cost of a spinning frame is based on a 2f '' space, and for all numbers, except very coarse ones, the ring is IJ'', allowing ample room on each side. About li spindles occupy a square foot of floor space, so that 5,000 spindles would occupy 4,000 square feet. Spinning frames are sold at what is known as a base price per spindle. At present this price is |3.25. Separators are 10 cents ex- tra. Shell front rollers 5 cents, and Dickson's saddles 2 cents. Extra heavy spindles or wide space is also extra. There is also an extra charge for boxing of 2 per cent of the total cost, includ- ing extras. Spinning frames are driven with any size pul- ley or belt desired. We do not think that less than a 12-inch pulley or a 3-inch belt should be used for a frame of over 200 spindles. It is true, they often have smaller dimensions, but the belt has to be kept so tight that it quickly wears out, and also wears the bearing. The power required to drive spinning frames depends greatly upon the speed, and increases at a greater ratio. The Draper Company has made exhaustive experiments, and has found that a horsepower will run 137, 94, 76, and 67 spindles at 7,000, 8,000, 9,000 and 10,000 revolutions re- spectively. Of this power the bare spindle ab- Carding and Spinning. 133 sorbs more than half, the various elements being as follows: Cylinder, bands and bare spindles 54 per cent. Average yarn load _ 16 per cent. Average traveller pull 22 per cent. Rollers, traverse and gears 8 per cent . 100 For ordinary cotton the front rollers are 1" in diameter, and the middle and back |^". The front roller is made larger partly to support the heavier weight and partly so that it does not have to turn so fast to make the surface speed. For India cotton the front roller is |^", as the cotton is so short the rollers could not get close enough together if they were of the usual size. For some purposes the front rollers are made 1 1-16" and 1 1-8'' in diameter. In England, filling frames or mules are always made to give yarn the reverse twist. There is some science in this, as the fibers have been twisted the opposite way in previous processes, the tendency is for them to remain that way. When the twist is reversed, the fibers will not lay so close together, and the yarn is what is called oozy, and gives a softer feel to the cloth. It is also claimed that the fibers being laid in a different way gives the yarn a different color, owing to the direction in wlbich the light strikes it. It is a well-known fact in weaving that stripe effects are made in cloth by having right- and left-hand twist alternate. 134 Carding and Spinning. CHAPTER VI. Mule Spinning. About one hundred and thirty-five years ago, or to be more exact, between 1764 and 1768, James Har graves invented a spinning machine called the spinning jenny. It consisted of a row of vertical spindles, driven by bands from a cylin- der, which was driven by a large band from a hand wheel. The roving was drawn away from the spindles by a slide, and when drawn out twist was put in by turning the spindles. The slide was then reversed and the twisted yam was wound on the spindles. About the same time, Arkwright invented a spinning machine, which on account of its being driven by water power, was called a water frame. It had a set of rollers for drawing out the roving, and the yarn was wound on a bobbin by means of a flyer. About ten years after this, Samuel Crompton invented a machine which retained the drawing-out and winding features of the jenny, but had the rollers of the water frame. From the fact that it retained features of both machines, and was in this respect a hybrid, it was called a mule, a name which it has retained ever since. The first mules were called hand mules, not because they were run by hand, but because many of the motions now done automatically Carding and Spinning. 135 were then done by hand. On this account, a very skillful man was required to attend to the various details, and only one machine could be run by an operative. Many successive improve- ments were made, until now all the motions are automatic, and the machine is known as a self- acting mule. The action of the mule is very complex, or rather the mechanism. Three lines of rollers draw out the roving just as in a spinning frame. Here the similarity ceases. When the rollers begin to deliver the roving the other end is held by the spindle, which is only a few inches from the rollers. As the roving is delivered, the car- riage holding the spindles gradually recedes for about five feet, the spindles in the meantime rap- idly revolving, thereby putting in the twist. The rollers do not deliver the yarn quite as fast as the carriage recedes, and an additional draft takes place, which is known as the gain, and is usually about three inches. This action, as was explained in the previous chapter, has a very important bearing on the quality of the yarn. When the carriage stops, the rollers stop deliver- ing the yarn, but usually the spindles run a little longer and complete the twisting process. This twisting process contracts the yarn, and if it is very fine will break it, unless there is a mechan- ism to compensate for the contraction. There is now from 60 to 66 inches of twisted yarn between 136 Carding and Spinning. the spindles and the rollers, and also a few inches wound in a spiral on the spindles between the top or nose of the cop and the top of the spindle. In order to uncoil this, the spindles run backward a few revolutions, after which the carriage starts back towards the rollers much more rapidly than it came out. While this is taking place, the spindles are slowly turning and winding the slack yarn, which is guided by two tight wires stretched the entire length of the carriage, and known as the fallers and counter-fallers. The whole process from the time the carriage leaves the rollers until it returns, is called a "draw'^ in England, and a ^^stretch'' in this country. A very little reflection will show how compli- cated the machine is. The rollers must stop at exactly the right time. The carriage motion must be square with the head-stock. The back- ing off must be exactly right, and the filler mo- tion must be suited to the shape of the cop, or the yarn may be stretched on one hand or kinked on the other. The problem is somewhat similar to that of winding roving on a bobbin constantly increasing in diameter, for of course the base of cop is larger than the apex. Then, too, the base is wound on a cop tube, which is usually a true cylinder, and after the base is wound provision must be made for the taper of the spindle. The spindles, too, have varying speed. As they begin to revolve, the speed is gradually accelerated, and Carding and Spinning. 137 is diminished as the carriage nears the beam. Taken as a whole, the mule is probably the most complicated machine in existence, besides which a Linotype or Northrop loom is a mere toy. Were it not for the fact that such a vast industry depends upon it, it would never have received the attention necessary for its present develop- ment. The very fact that so many are concerned in its success, has given it the benefit of many inventors. Were its manufacture a monopoly, it is safe to say it would not have attained its pres- ent degree of excellence, but there always being at least half a dozen large machine builders at work on them, a great many inventions are tried where one meritorious one is adopted. CALCULATIONS. The calculations in mule spinning are more complicated than in ring spinning, and there are a number of methods of arriving at the same re- sult. We give below what we consider the sim- plest methods for the most necessary calcula- tions. Draft. — Where very short cotton is being spun, there is no gain in the carriage, and the calcula- tion is exactly as for ring frames. 138 Carding and Spinning. Driving. Driven. Diam. of front roller 8 (eigMllS) Diam, of back roller 7 Back roller gear 60. Draft gear 45. Cro^^n gear 120. The front roller gear 30. 8 X 60 X 130 = 9.14 = Draft. 7 X 45 X 30 Draft constant = draft multiplied by draft gear. To find the draft when there is a gain in the carriage : If the roller delivery is 60'', and the to- tal stretch is 64'', making a gain of 4", the draft is evidently 1 4-60, or 1.066. We found when con- sidering the draft in the drawing frame that the total draft is the product of the separate drafts, so in the above example the total draft is 9.14 X 1.066 = 9.74. To find the draft in the rollers when the num- bers to be spun, the gain, and the hank roving are known: Rule. — Suhtract the gain from the total stretch. This gives the amount to he delivered by the rollers. Multiply this by the numbers required, amd divide by the product of the stretch multi- plied by the hank roving. Example. — Number to be spun 40's, hank rov- ing 5, stretch 64", gain 4", what draft is required in the rollers? 64 — 4 = 60 60 X 40 = 7.05 = Draft. 64 X 5 Carding and Spinning. 139 Table of Draft Constants. Mason Mule. Inch. Diameter of Front Roller 1 Diameter of Back Roller | Front Roller Gear 30 Change Gear Crown Gear 110 Back Roller Gear 70 Constant -..-293.40 Inch. Diameter of Front Roller 1 Diameter of Back Roller | Front Roller Gear 30 Change Gear Crown Gear ...- 130 Back Roller Gear . . 70 Constant,.. -346. 58 Constant h- Draft = Draft Gear. Table of Length and Weight of Cops. Gauge of Mule. 2 If 1* If Lengtli of Cop. 8 8 71 Weight of Cop. 1200 grs. 1000 600 500 Gauge of Mule. Length of Cop. -LT6 H 1 3 U 6 5f :5f Weight Cop. 350 300 350 200 To find the number of stretches in a cop : Rule. — Multiply the weight in grains by the number of yarn and SJfO^ and divide by 1,000^ This will give the number of yards in a cop. Mul- tiply this by 86 for the number of inches and di- vide by the number of inches in a stretch. Example. — How many stretches in a cop of 30's made on 1^' space, stretch 64''? Eeferring to table, we find that the cop will weigh 600 grains. 600 X 30 X 840 =2160 yards. 7000 2160 X 36 = 77760 inches. 77760 = 1215 stretches. 64 140 Carding and Spinning. To find the change gear on builder screw : Rule. — Divide the numher of stretches in a cop hy the number of thread in use on the screw. Table of Constants for Builder Gears. Mason Mule. Space Threads in Weight of For 60 Inch For 64 Inch of Mule. Use. Cop. Stretch. Stretch. 2 53 1200 1.69 1.56 If 52 1000 1.38 1.29 ^ 52 600 .83 .78 1| 52 500 .55 .52 li^ 52 350 .48 .44 li 52 300 .42 .39 1t\ 52 250 .34 .32 li 52 . 200 .27 .26 Constant X No. of yarn = Gear. TWIST. The twist in mule-spun yarn varies greatly ac- cording to the purpose for which it is intended and also according to the quantity of cotton. As we stated in a previous chapter, the usual custom is as follows : Hosiery yarn, the square root of number X 2.50. Yarn for doubling, the square root of number X 2.75. Filling yarn, the square root of number X 3.25. Warp yarn, the square root of number X 3.75. When the mule is running, the easiest way to get the twist is to get the speed of spindles by means of a speed indicator on cylinder shaft. This number divided by the inches in a stretch gives the twist being put in. When it is desired to calculate the twist, it becomes a very difficult Carding and Spinning. 141 matter to make a universal rule. In fact, such a rule is impossible, for various makes of mules have different arrangements for driving the spin- dles and rollers. The following is the method of getting the twist for a Mason mule where the rim pulley is at the back, and will apply to any mule with similar arrangement of gears: Example. — Diameter of rim pulley, 16 inches; diameter of cylinder, 6 inches; spur portion of spur and bevel compound gear, 50 teeth; bevel gear on front roll sleeve, 48 teeth; diameter of spindle whirl f '' ; diameter of pulley on cylinder shaft, 10 inches; speed change gear, 30 teeth; bevel portion of spur and bevel compound gear, 24 teeth ; cir. of front roller, 3.1416 in. Then- is X 6 X 50 X 48 . = 12.73 .75 X 10 X 30 X 24 X 3.1416 This is the theoretical twist, from which de- ductions must be made for size of bands and also slip of bands. To change the twist gear when changing num- bers, the rule is the same as for other machines, viz., square present gear, multiply hy numbers required^ divide by the number being spun, and extract the square root of the quotient. 142 Carding and Spinning. production. The production of mules is not altogether like other machines depending on the twist. When a change in the numbers is desired, there are two places where the twist is changed. It may either be done by changing the rim wheel, which will change the speed of spindles, or the speed gear may be changed, changing the speed of the roll- ers. The latter method is usually adopted, ex- cept when very wide variations are desired. The following table gives an average speed, which under favorable conditions is sometimes exceed- ed. It is calculated for a ten-hours run, and an allowance has been made for necessary stops. Carding and Spinning. 143 Production Table for Mules, 10 Hours. Ci±. J. 1 TT 1 1~\ Pounds Per Day. ' Number "■ of Yarn. Stretches Hanks Per Per Minute. Spindle Without With 5 Per 64 Inches. Per Day. Roller Motion. Cent Roller Motion. 6 6.00 6.85 1.14 1.20 8 6.00 6.85 .85 .89 10 6.00 6.85 .82 .85 12 6.00 6.85 .57 .59 14 5 50 6.28 .45 .47 16 5 50 6.28 .39 .41 18 5.50 6.28 .35 .36 20 5.50 6.28 .31 .33 22 5.50 6.28 .28 .29 24 5.50 6.28 .26 .27 26 5.25 6.00 .2S .24 28 5.25 6.00 .21 .22 30 5.25 6.00 .20 .21 32 5.25 6.00 .18 .19 34 5.25 6.00 .17 .18 36 5.125 5.85 .161 .170 38 5.125 5.85 .153 .161 40 5.00 5.71 .141 .148 42 5.00 5.71 .135 .141 44 4.75 5.42 .121 .128 46 4.75 5.42 .116 .123 48 4 50 5.24 .108 .113 50 4.50 5.24 .103 .110 52 4.25 4.85 .091 .097 54 4.25 4.85 .089 .093 56 4.25 4.85 .085 .090 58 4.25 4.85 .083 .085 60 4.125 4.71 .078 .083 62 4.125 471 .075 .078 64 4.125 4.71 .073 .076 66 4.125 4 71 .070 .073 68 4.00 4.57 .066 .070 70 4.00 4.57 .065 .068 72 4.00 4.57 . .063 .066 74 4.00 4 57 .061 .063 76 4.00 4.57 .060 .061 78 4.00 4.57 .058 .060 80 4.00 4.57 .057 .059 144 Carding and Spinning. Mule Cop Building. — Cop building in the true sense of the word, must not be confused with building cops on an old mule that has been fixed time and again. In order to understand the sub- ject, it is necessary to understand the principle on which the machine operates. There is a dif- ference in this respect between different makes of mules. When a man attempts to file a coping rail or plate, he must first know what principle is used on the mule he is to work on. On an auto- matic engine lathe, the reverse of the pattern being set just where the tool post will pass it, it what is called the direct principle. In this case there is a hollow place on the pattern presented to the adjusting part of the tool post, and it will form a bulge on the piece being turned, or a bulge on the pattern will form a depression. However, if the action of the cutter in the tool post is worked on the double action principle, a correct counterpart of the piece to be turned must be in front of the tool post. The action of the rail in the mule is similar. If the motion to the fallers is direct, when there is a hollow in the rail it will produce a bulge in the cop, but if the action is transmitted to the fallers through dou- ble-acting mechanism, it will have the opposite effect on the cop. We must bear in mind that the length of the nose will be the perpendicular height between the highest and lowest part of the rail. It is possible to upset all calculations by Carding and Spinning. 145 having part of the rails flattened, rounded or hollowed, so that the fallers are almost brought to a standstill, and no mathematical equation can determine exactly where the yarn will be wound. We know that if the faller is retarded while it is passing the highest part of the rail, it will wind too much at that point. We also know that the superfluous coils will fall over each other and we get "run under'' cops. From the highest point in the front coping plate, generally marked as the standard, and the highest part in the back plate, also so marked, the lengthening out of the nose will be regulated until the cop bottom is fully built, and the plates will at the same time be on the point of the true inclined plane on both plates alike, and thus maintain a straight-bodied cop during the rest of the set. Although the quadrant has an important part to play in the building of a cop, that part will be fully discussed a little further on. The writer has heard and read a great deal of advice as to how to build a well-shaped cop by moving the plate in or out a little. Of course this will shorten or lengthen the nose, but it is not the proper place for that adjustment. This should be adjusted by the screws in the rail intended for that very purpose. Moving the back plate in or out has been the beginning of a great deal of trouble with mule cops. One plate is brought to the straight incline before the other, and the 10 146 Carding and Spinning. inexperienced man will attempt to correct the trouble by filing the plate. If this has been done, the plates should be put back, and when they have been turned well down on the straight in- cline, the length of the nose can be adjusted by the adjusting screws in the rail. The faller should now be set at the right height on the spindle by the slot and screws in the faller leg. Care must be taken that the center of action in the faller will be between tha spindle bolsters and where the faller stops up. If this is out of posi- tion one way, it will build thick at the bottom and thin at the top; if the other way, thin at the bottom and thick at the top. Bad Cop Noses. — The causes for these are le- gion. A great many bad cops are made through ignorance, and also a great many by neglect, or in order to make the work easier for the spinner. Sometimes when the yarns are spun from short or weak cotton, they will not stand much strain, and the operative will run the quadrant chain too high, paying off too much slack yarn. This will make soft cops, for if there is too much weight on the under faller to get the cops fairly firm, it will be so high just before the mule reaches the back stops, that it would require the nose peg to be well down in the slot in the quadrant arms in order to take up the slack yarn and make a firm, evenly-tapered nose. This being the case the spin- ner allows it to go slack, and hence we have soft Carding and Spinning. 147 noses. All kinds of tender yarns need very careful handling in spinning as well as in other processes. There are many kinds of goods which require this tender yarn, and we must have it made with good noses. In order to do this, we must have as few faller weights as can be run with. The quadrant chain must not be too high. The quad- rant must be set so that it will give a medium wind. If the quadrant has too many teeth out from the pinion forward, the under faller rising too high, the winding will commence too slack, but will finish too tight, and there will be too much pressure on the weak yarn. Some of the ends may be broken, but a great many more will be strained. On the other hand, do not have the quadrant too far front, or it will start winding too tight and end too slack. The mean between the two extremes must be found, so that the under faller will ride about an inch above the spindles' points until just before the carriage gets in. It will not require much nose peg to take up the slack yarn caused by the short distance the faller has to rise after unlocking. There must be good judgment used in adjusting the faller chain. If the mule has an automatic tightener, it should be adjusted so as to follow the yarn closely dur- ing backing off. It must not press too much, or it will build a long, thin nose, laying too many coils on the point of cop at each stretch. If the adjusting of the faller chain has to be done by 148 Carding and Spinning. hand, the spinner must be taught to notice it every time he passes it, and turn the screw for that purpose a little each time, but to do it fre- quently. He must also be taught to keep the rim band at a nice tention, and not too slack, or the carriage will bounce out as though the belt were too tight. If it is too tight it will act as a break on the cylinder shaft during winding. Either of these extremes will have a bad effect on the yarn. The proper adjustment of the drawing-in scrolls will have considerable effect on the noses. If the scroll is too far back, with the thicker part of the scroll taking hold of the drawing up, the carriage will start off too abruptly, putting a sudden strain on the yarn and probably break- ing many ends. It will also get to the smaller part of the scroll just as the carriage should keep up a steady pace. This will retard the car- riage in such a way that any one standing at the mule end can notice it hanging a little. This will not only tend to cut the yam, but prevent the fallers from making a clean nose. Like set- ting the quadrant, the mean between this and starting the carriage off too slow must be care- fully found. The carriage must start off easily but firmly, keeping up a steady speed and get- ting the necessary retardation at the proper time. We must especially avoid sudden changes of tension, and the carriage should get to the back Carding and Spinning. 149 stops just as the fallers unlock, without jerks. The inclined slide on the floor under the "salmon head" that holds the f aller weights must be prop- erly adjusted. There should be from one- half to three-quarter inches from the face of the sal- mon heads, so that the under f aller may just hold the yarn when the mule is backing off. The others should just touch, and the inclines should be of that pitch so that the salmon heads will slide evenly down until they all bear equally on the yarn without any jerk or sudden change of tention. This adjustment is for weak yarns. Stronger yarns will require a slightly different arrangement. The good spinner will have but little trouble along these lines, and the above is written for those who do. There are some makes of mules where the quadrant can not be adjusted to get a steady wind for all kinds of work. One tooth is too much either way. There are other mules where the position of the quadrant can be change by the bands almost to a hair's breadth. The rail is so constructed on some mules that it is very difficult to finish off a nose on tender yarn. The writer, when spinning hosiery yarn and coarse filling for cotton flannel, has taken out the rails and planed them off gradually for five or six inches from nothing down to one-quarter inch, and found that it helped matters a great deal. The fallers went up quicker at the point 150 Carding and Spinning. and left a loose coil just above the nose, giving a good finish. Many new mnles are now built this way. Cut Yarn. — In discussing this we will assume that the roving is all right, but will warn the spinner that he is expected to watch the roving carefully and call the carder's attention to any defect. There are a great many causes for cut yarn. One of the principal ones is improper set- ting of the gears. A great many men have the idea that gears should be set as deep as possible. They were never made with this intention, and if set just deep enough, will give a much smooth- er motion than if they bottom. Gears which are badly worn should never be used on the rollers. They are put into gear so deep that the rollers have a trembling, jerking motion which is very injurious to the yarn. The majority of the causes which tend to make cut yarn on the mule will also cause it on the ring frame, and have been fully discussed under that head. There are a few causes which are peculiar to the mule, and among them is that of having the belt too tight. When this is the case the carriage bounces out from the beam with a sud- den jerk. This is especially the case just after dofftng, when the spindles turn easier on account of the lighter loads. It will also occur when the carriage is not square. In these days, when there is a great push for production, there is a Carding and Spinning. 151 great tendency to run belts too tight. This is bad on the yarn, especially when there is a small rim band. When the mule is very long, with a perpendicular driving belt, and perhaps short at that, a small top pulley and but little contact on the driving pulley, the belts must be tight in order to do the work. In this case, it is a good idea to put a pinch of powdered starch on the belt every three or four minutes for about a half an hour. By this time the spindles begin to get weighted, and the belt will be all right. Squaring the Carriage. — This part of mule work seems so simple that almost any boy in the room thinks he can do it, but there are times when it is not such an easy job. It is all very easy when we know that the top band has stretched and allowed the carriage to go too far in. It is nec- essary then to tighten the top band, but care must be had that the carriage is not too near the beam, leaving only a few inches of the under rope off the scroll. When we turn the back shaft and lift up the mendozen when the carriage gets out, we will find it will spring back some, and the car- riage will still be out of square. Again, the other top band may be already too much forward, allowing very little of the incline on the drawing- out scroll to come into play. In this case, the carriage will strike out too hard, or the reverse may be the case. A good plan, when we know the bands are all right and the carriage is square. 162 Carding and Spinning. is to put a chisel mg^rk through the end of the back shaft at the mule end. Afterward, when we come along and see that the mule is not square we can tell at a glance if the back shaft needs regulating by the middle band before working at the end. A good man can often do better work while the mule is working than by stopping it and using his rule. Mule men should train their eyes well, and can tell by looking at a carriage if the bands are properly adjusted. Sometimes the carriage may appear to be out of square when it is really not the case. Examine the back coup- lings, the drawing out scroll fastenings, keys and set screws, lift up the mendozen, slack off all the drawbands, twist the shaft well at every joint or scroll, and you will often find the evil which has bothered many men for weeks. GENERAL INFORMATION. Mules are usually set across a mill and occupy the whole space, except perhaps three feet on each side for a passway. The number of spindles will depend on the available space. A rule to obtain the length is to multiply the space by the number of spindles and add 6 feet. Thus, a mill 100 feet wide would take mules of 530 spindles if 2-inch gauge, and 550 if H inch. These mules would be rather short, and it would be better to have a mill 125 or 150 feet wide. A pair of mules, hav- ing a 64-inch stretch, occupy a space of about 18 Carding and Spinning. 153 feet from back to back of creels, and 20 feet from back to back of head-stocks. As these dodge one another, a 22-foot space will allow sufficient room for creeling, etc. It will be seen then, that mules occupy about two square feet of space per spindle, or something over twice as much as spinning frames. Mills built for mules usually have the bays wider than if built for a spinning frame. If the bays have the usual 8-foot span, there will either be a good deal of waste of space, or the mules will have to be lengthways with the mill, which is not so good an arrangement on account of the creels shutting off the light. Until twenty or twenty-five years ago, numbers finer than 100 were spun on hand mules, as it was found very difficult to build a mule that would spin the fine numbers automatically without stretching the yarn. Now, however, the self-act- ing mule can spin 300's as well or better than it could spin 100 a few years ago. For experi- mental purposes, as high as 2000's have been spun, but for practical purposes 400's is about the limit. For spinning fine numbers special attachments are put on the ordinary mule. The principal mo- tions for this purpose are as follows : Jacking out, or causing the carriage to run out very slowly during the last few inches. Eoller motions, or the delivery of a few inches of yarn while winding and twisting. 154 Carding and Spinning. Double speed, or two sets of pulleys on counter shaft and rim shaft. These are to give the spin- dles a slow speed when the carriage is running out, and a much quicker one when it reaches the end of the stretch. Koller bearings for fallers and counter-fallers. Single boss rolls, or only one thread for each boss. Second, or after-stretch motions. Electricity is now being used by some of the European builders for driving the mule, a motor being placed on the carriage and one on the head- stock. Motors have been used to some extent in driving spinning frames also. We do not mean for driving the shafting, for that is being done in in a dozen mills in North and South Carolina, but driving the frames direct, a motor being placed between two frames and connected to each by friction clutches. The first mill in which this was tried on any considerable scale gave the plan a bad name from which it has never recov- ered. It was known that about 2-| horse power was required to run a frame, so a motor of 5 horse power was put in for two frames. The en- gineer failed to consider the fact that while 2^ horse power would run a frame, it took at least double that to start it, and the plan was a com- plete failure until much larger motors were in- stalled. A mule of If-inch space, having 468 spindles, Carding and Spinning. 155 costs $2.68 per spindle. The weight per spindle is about 20 pounds, practically the same as for spinning frames, or perhaps a little less. A horsepower will run from 125 to 150 spindles. It will be seen that they are much more economical with power than a spinning frame. The casual observer would suppose the opposite to be the case. The difference lies in the fact that on the mule the spindle motion, which absorbs more than half the power, is intermittent. Then, too, the mule has no traveller pull, which is nearly one-fourth of the load of a spinning frame. 166 Carding and Spinning. CHAPTER VII. Processes Subsequent to Spinning. spooling. Unless it is to be dyed, yarn spun for filling goes direct from the mule or spinning frame to the loom, and we will not treat of it further. Yarn for other purposes is either coned or spooled, and as most of it is spooled, we will con- sider this first. A spooler is so simple a machine that its importance is often lost sight of. The cost of spooling per pound often exceeds the entire cost of carding. A great deal of bad work is often done at the spooler, and considering the amount of skill required by the operator, the spooling process will stand as much intelligent supervision as any department in the mill. A few years ago long knots were the chief trouble about spooling, but now practically all the mills use the Barber knotter, and this trouble is elimi- nated. Within the past few months a knotter has been imported from England which sells for $1.25, and seems to do the work effectively. In England, the spoolers are required to tie weav- ers' knots. CALCULATIONS. The only calculation about a spooler is for pro- duction. This varies a great deal with the skill Carding and Spinning. 157 of the operative, and on other conditions. The writer is satisfied that a great deal of bad yarn is caused by its being strained at the spooler. Warp yarn should possess as much elasticity as possi- ble in order to enable it to stand the sudden and severe strain of shedding and beating up in the loom. If the yarn is spooled at high tension, which is almost synonymous with high speed, much of this elasticity is taken out and the weav- ing suffers. If we take a spool 4 inches in diam- eter with IJ-inch barrel, a little calculation will show that when the spool is full, not counting the piling-up process, it is winding between 2 and 3 times as fast as when empty. If the spindles run 800 revolutions per minute, the yam is wind- ing at the rate of 280 yards, or 25 times as fast as it is being spun. For the best results, the spindles should never run faster than 800 revolu- lutions, and even a slower speed in many cases would be beneficial. With a slower speed, the spooling does not cost any more, but simply calls for more spindles. 158 Carding and Spinning. Production Table : FOR Spoolers, 10 Hours. Spools. Revolutions of Spindles. No. of Weight Num- Spinn'g Spin- ■■■' of Yarn ber of 750 800 900 dles to T A«.^>«.4-1« Diame- ter. on Spool. Yarn. one Liengtii. Spooler Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. Spin. ' 8 10.7 11.5 12.9) 10 8.6 9.2 10.3^ 12 6 in. 5 in. 30 OZ. -< 12 14 7.2 6.2 7.7 6.6 8.6) 7.4) 16 5.4 5.8 6.5^ 13 r 18 4.8 5.2 5.8) 20 4.3 4.6 5.2) 22 3.9 4.2 4.7 V '14 6 in. 4 in. 19 oz. i 24 3.6 3.8 4.3) 26 3.3 3.6 4.0) 28 3.1 3.3 3.7^ 15 30 2.9 3.1 3.5) 32 2.7 2.9 3.3) 5 in. 4 in. 16 OZ. \ 34 2.6 2.8 3.1 t 16 [ 36 2.4 2.6 2.9) ' 38 2.3 2.4 2.7 i 2.6 f 2.4 17 A ^ * m * 11 oz. 40 2.2 2.3 4|in. 3^ in. ■• 44 2.0 2.1 18 50 1.8 1.9 2.1 19 C 60 1.5 1.6 1.8 20 4iin. 3iin. 9oz. \ 70 1.3 1.4 1.5 21 ( 80 1.1 1.2 1.3 22 j 90 |100 1.0 1.1 1.2 23 Sin. 2f in. 4oz. .9 1.0 1.1 24 Carding and Spinning. 159 If the length of yarn on a spool is desired, multiply the weight in ounces by 437^ to reduce it to grains, and divide by 840, multiplied by the number of yarn. Fine numbers will weigh and measure more in proportion than coarse numbers on account of the strands lying closer together. A good deal of energy is sometimes lost trying to change the traverse so that the yarn will lay closer together, enabling more yarn to be put on a spool. All that can be done is to get a mean between the full and empty spools, and arrange the traverse so that when the spool is half full the coils are as close together as possible with- out riding. To be mathematically correct, half full means when half the number of bobbins have been wound, and not when half the available di- ameter is full. It is sometimes necessary to change a spooler from a 6-inch traverse to a shorter one. On the Whitin spooler, or any other where the traverse is worked by a gear, the change is effected by changing the number of teeth in proportion to the change desired in the traverse. If the pres- ent gear has 18 teeth, and is running a 6-inch tra- verse, it takes three teeth for each inch, and 15 teeth will make a 5-inch traverse. On some spoolers the change will have to be made by shortening the rocker arms. One of the principal troubles about a spooler is running the spools so full that the yarn is 160 Carding and Spinning. liable to tangle off. A good way to prevent this is to have a board put just back of the spool the whole length of the frame, just thick enough for a full spool to go on. With this arrangement, when the spool gets full enough, the friction on the board will stop it, and it can be replaced by an empty one. Waste. — A great deal of waste is frequently made by one head of the spool coming off, which is usually caused by letting the spool fall. A preventive is always better than a cure, and the best preventive is to use spools bound with raw hide. They cost about 3^ cents more than the ordinary kind, but are certainly worth the dif- ference. In a mill where number 20's was made and the spools used very often, a lot of 1,200 of these spools were used for nearly three years, only one breaking, while the ordinary kind were being broken every day. However, all mills do not have these, and where a spool holds a pound of yarn it is too great a waste to throw it away. If the yarn remains solid and has not begun to tangle off, the end of the spool can be coated with tallow, which when it hardens will make it firm enough to be run off. This would not work very well if the yarn were to be dyed. But for white work it is all right. If only part of the head is broken, a nail can be driven into the barrel so as to keep the yarn from tangling. Carding and Spinning. 161 Big- Ended Spools. — These are usually caused by having the traverse nearer one end than the other. In order to have a barrel-shape to the spool and get more yarn on it, it is customary to have the traverse from l-16th to l-8th inch short at each end. Where this distance is not equal at both ends, an ill-shaped spool is made. This is not al- ways the cause. On some spoolers the lifting rods are lifted by chains running over rollers. If the rollers are placed so that the chain is not exactly parallel to the lifting rod, a cone-shaped spool will be formed. GENERAL INFORMATION. Spoolers are usually built with 100 spindles, but can be had with any number from 40 to 200. The length can be ascertained by multiplying one-half the number of the spindles by the space, which should be three-quarters of an inch more than the diameter of the spools, and adding one foot. The width is about 4 feet 9 inches, includ- ing bobbin boxes. Spoolers cost about |3.00 per spindle, and weigh from 30 to 40 pounds per spin- dle. About all machine builders now make them with metal creels and boxes, which are much better than wooden ones. About 300 spin- dles will absorb a horsepower. An operative usually attends to one side of the spooler, which is generally 50 spindles. On very coarse yarn two will be needed for one side, giving 25 spindles to each. It is always well to determine before- 11 162 Carding and Spinning. hand about how many spindles an operative can keep up for the number of yarn it is proposed to make, and order the length accordingly. Thus, if number sixteens were to be spun, 50 spindles would be too much for one hand and not enough for two. TWISTING. Twisting in England is usually done on a mule which is called a twiner. They are gener- ally made with a movable carriage, but some- times with the carriage stationery and the creel movable. The English were slow to appreciate the advantages of the ring spinning frame, and slower still those of the ring twister. They call the latter a ring doubling frame. On worsted and silks, where the cost of the material is great, the doubling is often done on a separate machine — a doubling spooler — so that the waste is not nearly so great. Cotton mills usually spool the yarn separately, and do the doubling on the twister. On two-ply work, the number of twister spindles is about one-half that required for spinning. The essential features are the same as in a spinning frame, the only differ- ence being the rollers and creels. Calculations, — There are only two calculations about a twister, viz., production and twist. These are intimately associated with each other, the less the twist the greater being the production. Carding and Spinning. 163 Twist. — The rule for twist of ply yarn gener- ally used in England is the same as for warp on the spinning frame, viz., 3.75 times the square root of the number. By the number we mean the number after it is twisted, 50's twisted 2-ply will make 25. The square root of 25 is 5, and 5 times 3.75 is 18.75. Yarn twisted by this stand- ard will not kink but look round and even. In America, more twist is usually put in, there be- ing three so-called standards. These are 4, 5 and 6 times the square root of the number of the yarn after it is twisted. For convenience of reference, we give on the following pages the production, twist and speed for all ordinary conditions. 164 Carding and Spinning. Production and Twist Tables for Twisted Yarn. TWO PLY. o. of Yarn to be Twisted. m O

o ©S 2^1 « D3 m H ^02 H a; 32 H (1,02 6 4500 1.73 6.93 138 3.98 8.66 110 3.18 10.39 92 2.67 7 4750 1.87 7.48 135 3,34 9.85 108 2.69 11.22 90 2.22 8 5000 2. 8. 183 2.87 10. 106 2.29 12.00 88 L91 9 5200 2.12 8.49 130 2.50 10.61 104 2.01 12.73 87 L67 10 5300 2.23 8.94 126 2.18 11.18 101 L75 13.42 84 L46 11 6500 2.34 9.38 124 1.96 11.73 99 L57 14.07 83 L30 12 5550 2.44 9.80 119 1.71 12.25 95 1.38 14.70 79 L15 13 5650 2.54 10.20 117 1.57 12.75 94 L25 15.30 78 L05 14 5750 2.64 10.58 115 1.43 13.23 92 L14 15.87 77 .96 15 5900 2.73 10.95 114 1.31 13.69 91 1.06 16.43 76 .88 16 6000 2.82 11.31 113 1.22 14.14 90 .98 16.97 75 .81 17 6000 2.91 11.66 109 1.12 14.58 87 .89 17.49 73 .74 18 6050 3.00 12.06 107 1.03 15.00 86 .82 18.00 71 .69 19 6100 3.08 12.33 105 .96 15.41 84 .77 18.49 70 .64 20 6150 3.16 12.65 103 .91 15.81 82 .78 18.97 69 .60 22 6800 3.31 13.27 101 .80 16.58 81 .64 19.90 67 .54 24 6500 3.46 13.86 99 .73 17.32 80 .58 20.78 66 .49 26 6650 3.60 14.42 98 .66 18.03 78 .53 21.63 65 .44 28 6800 3.74 14.97 96 .60 18.71 77 .48 22.45 64 .40 30 6900 3.87 15.49 94 .55 19.37 75 .44 23.24 63 .37 32 7000 4.06 16.00 93 .51 20.00 74 .41 24.00 62 .34 34 7000 4.12 16.49 90 .46 20.62 72 .37 24.74 60 .31 36 7000 4.24 16.97 87 .42 21.21 70 .34 25.46 58 .29 38 7000 4.35 17.44 85 .39 21.79 68 .32 26.15 57 .26 40 7000 4.47 17.89 83 .37 22.36 66 .30 26.83 65 .24 50 7500 5.00 20.00 79 .28 25.00 64 .22 30.00 53 .19 60 7500 5.47 21.90 73 .22 27.39 58 .17 32.86 48 .15 Note— The above table is for 1% inch roller, per cent more turns. 1% inch should make 9 Carding and Spinning. 165 Production and Twist Table for Twisted Yarn. THREE PLY i «• DO o 5 1 Sq. Root X 4. Sq. Root X 5. Sq. Root X 6. « 'O Square R of Twis Yarn. ^0.1 1— 1 o -t-5 115 Production of spoolers 158 Production of warpers 192 Reels 178 Ribbon-lap machines 55 Ring spinning , 99 Roller gins 16 Rollers, setting 45 Rollers, top 210 Rubbing of cards 34 Selecting cotton 206 Setting cards 33 Settings of combers ., 60 Setting rollers 44 Single yam 173 Slack twist 176 Sliver-lap machines 55 220 Index. PAGE. Slubbers 71 Speed of beaters 207 Split laps 20 ^poioling I. .1 156 Squaring the carriage 151 Strength of yarn 117 Tangled bobbin© , 90 Tangled skeins 182 Tension of fine roving 211 Traverse 213 Twisting , 162 Twist constant for twisters 168 Twist constants, yam 107 Twist of roving 74 Twist of ply yarn 163 Twist for fine work 210 Twist tables 76 Twist of yarn 140 Uneven carding 34 Uneven laps 25 Varnish for rollers 36 Warpers 185 Waste, combers 63 Waste, spinning-rooim 126, 160 Waste, pickers 23 Weak yam 117 Weight of beams 187 Weight of oops 139 Yarn, production 115 Yarn slipping , — 202 Yarn, strength of 117 Yam, twist 104 The Transmission of Electric Power. By LOUIS BELL. Price, $3.00. This book is everywhere acknowledged to be the authority on the subject and is now in its third edition. It is a large book, having 632 pages and 285 illustrations. It not only gives full details of the construction of many trans- mission plants, but very thorough and valuable information as to the genera- tion of power, including chapters on Water-powers, Boilers, both Water-tube and Tubular, Corliss Engines, Steam, Turbine, etc. Anyone who has unde- veloped water-power or who contemplates electric transmission will find this book invaluable. Tables for the Denn Warper. By EUGENE CROSS. Price, $1.00. This book gives over 1000 combinations of gears, for making cuts from 35 to 100 yards long. By its use an overseer can tell at a glance what gears to use for any required length. Much time may be saved and mistakes are impossible. Loom-Fixing and Weaving. By G. E. IVEY. Price, $1.25. This book is now in its second edition, and is probably the most widely sold of any textile book published in America. It is written on the same general lines as "Carding and Spinning," and deals with the subject in a way easily understood. It not only treats of the common loom, but has an entire chapter on the Draper and Northrop Loom. It tells how to fix looms and also gives all the calculations relating to plain cloth construction. A dozen copies are often sold in one mill, all the loom-fixers as well as the overseers and superin- tendent getting a copy. A circular giving the table of contents and full infor- mation regarding it will be sent on application. The Students Cotton Spinner. By JOSEPH NASMITH. Price, $3.00. This is an advanced treatise on carding and spinning, including mule spin- ning, and is not recommended for beginners unless they have a fairly good education. It is a book of 600 pages and 250 illustrations, and is largely used in textile schools. It is very thorough, going down to the bottom of the princi- pal involved. It devotes its entire space in explaining fully every detail, and brings up many points which would entirely escape the notice of the average mill man. Besides being instructive in every sense of the word, it is exceed- ingly interesting, and no carder, spinner, or superintendent should be with- out it. Cotton Mill Commercial Features. By D. A. TOMPKINS. Price, $5.00. This book is intended for mill oflacers and superintendents. We do not ad- vise overseers to get it, although there are many things in it that would bene- fit them. Every mill officer should have a copy, and to those who intend building it is invaluable. It treats of cotton mills from a commercial stand- point. How to organize a company. How to baild. What it will cost. What the machinery will cost. What goods to make. How to calculate the proba- ble profit. How the relative cost of labor, fuel, and cotton will afl"ect the profit. How to dispose of the goods, in short, it gives the information a mill man needs on these lines. TVe handle many other books besides those mentioned above, and are prepared to furnish any textile book on short notice. All books sent prepaid on receipt of price. G. F. IVEY & CO., Hickory, N. C. Cngirveers, Founders and Machinists. RA MACHINERY. opa Driving e most economical method of Driving Cotton Mills a specie Shafting, Patteys, Hangers, Mate Pulleys, Belt Tighteners, Ring Oiling Babbitted Bearings, Floor Stands and Couplings. • Gears of All Kinds* IfimiBlE SPEED MECHiilSMS 141 Liberty St. NEWYORK. Allegheny Ave. W. of 17th St. PHILADELPHIA. EVAN ARTHUR LEIGH 232 Summer Street, i^ Boston, Mass., U. S. A. IMPORTER OF Textile Machinery, Etc. Sole Agent for the United States and Canada for MESSRS. PLATT BROS. & COMPANY, Limited, OF OLDHAM, ENGLAI^D. By Far the Largest Makers of Textile Machinery in the "World. Piatt's Cotton, Woolen and "Worsted Machinery. Piatt's 'Ne-w Patent Cotton Comtoer, 8 heads 12" wide laps, Trill easily comb 700 lbs. per -week of Egryptian cotton, and other classes of cotton in proportion, -when rnnningr at only 88 nips and can be speeded up to ■ 1 00 nips if desired. Piatt's Woolen and Worsted Cards— Special desig-ns. Piatt's MiQes for Cotton, Woolen and ^Vorsted. Sole Makers of Bro-wn's Patent Carding- Rollers for W"ool— give Tvoolen yarn a worsted appearance. Piatt's Special Machinery for making- Eng-lish and French Worsted Yarns. Piatt's Special Machinery for making- Cotton Waste into Yarns. Also Sole Agent for United States and Canada for MESSRS. MATHER & PLATT, Salford Iron Works, MA:N'CHESTER, E:N"GIiA]S"D. Bleaching-, Dyeing- and Finishing- Machinery and Archbutt- Deeley System of Softening- and Purifying- Hard Water. The Best System on the Market. Wool Washing- and Drying- Machines. Garnett Machines. French and Eng-lish tapping- Machines. Sykes' Card Cloth- ing- for Cotton. Critchley's Card Clothing- for ^Voolen and Worsted. Yarey's Fallers. Harding-'s Pins and Circles. Dronsfield's Grinders and Emery Fillet. Comber Aprons, Condenser Aprons, Etc. TEXTILE MACHINE ASSOCIATION, Limited, Flax, Hemp and Jute Machinery. GEORGE lilODGSON, Limited, Bradford, Looms for Worsteds. Etc. THE AUTOMATIC FEED!>iG MACHINE COMPANY, Feeders for Fibres of all Classes. Saco & Pettee Machine Shops BUILDERS OF Improved Cotton Machinery^ SHOPS AT Newton Upper Fata.s, Mass.; Biddkford, Maine. A. H. WASHBURN, Southern Agent. Charlotte, N. C. WE MAKE Automatic Feeders, Openers, Breakers, Intermediates, Finishers, Revolving: Flat Cards, RailTvay Heads, Drawing's Frames, Slutolbers, Intermediates, Roving- Frames, Spinning Frames, Spoolers, Etc. All parts are made on Special Tools, and are exact duplicates. CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. ■■"■" tyiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiw A H ^* * CHARLOTTE, WASHBURN N°^™ CAROLINA. COTTON and EQUIPMENT. Write for prices and estimates. Everything needed for the complete equipment of Cotton Mills to Manufacture YARNS AND WOVEN FABRICS. Selling Hamilton Corliss Engines, Water Tube and Return Tubular Boilers. Contracts taken for Steam Plants complete, erected. Bneqtxalled in Efficiency, Simple in Construction, Strong and durable in all its Parts. HUNDREDS USED IN TEXTILE MILLS. If Interested in Water Power Development, Write for large Illustrated Catalogue. . MORGAN SMITH COMPANY, YORK. PA.