COTTON WASTE
ITS PRODUCTION, MANIPULATION
AND USES
BY
THOMAS T;HORNLEY
FOR SIXTEEN YEARS HEAD OF THE SPINNING DEPARTMENT AT THE TECHNICAL
SCHOOL, BOLTON
AUTHOR OF "COTTON COMBING MACHINES," "COTTON SPINNING"
(1ST YEAR, 2ND YEAR, AND HONOURS), ETC.
WITH SIXTY ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
SCOTT, GREENWOOD & SON
8 BROADWAY, LUDGATE, B.C.
1912
[All rights reserved]
PREFACE.
THIS treatise upon cotton waste is designed to be of service
to all who are directly or indirectly concerned with the pro-
duction, uses and treatment of cotton waste in any of its
forms.
The master, manager, or foreman of any ordinary cotton-
spinning mill will find in these pages many notes and dis-
cussions relating to the production, characteristics, regulation,
and treatment of cotton waste in his own factory.
A section also is devoted to a description of the weaving
and general uses. of yarns spun from cotton waste.
The work, however, deals specially with a description of
the machinery and processes involved in the cleaning, open-
ing, carding, and spinning of cotton waste, and it may be
reasonably claimed that the treatment of the subject is full,
comprehensive, and detailed.
Particularly are the processes and machinery required for
the production of condenser cotton waste yarns explained
herein ; and certainly no one interested in this line of work
ought to be without this treatise.
It has been the aim of the author to prepare a treatise
likely to prove of practical help to persons connected with
almost every section of our gigantic cotton trade, so far as
the waste question is concerned.
In these days of keen competition and strict attention to
iii
274252
IV PEEFACE.
detail, no one can afford to neglect the question of waste,
whether it be in the direction of reducing its amount, or
applying it more and more to useful and profitable purposes.
The thanks of the author and publishers are due to those
firms who have supplied some of the illustrations, and whose
names are mentioned in the text.
THOMAS THOENLEY.
BOLTON, September, 1912.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGB
THE PRODUCTION, CHARACTERISTICS, AND REGULATION OF COTTON WASTE.
The Use of Cotton Waste The Making of Waste in Cotton Mills :
Introduction The Blowing-room Various Kinds of Waste Droppings
Waste from Crighton Opener with Hopper Feeder Scutcher Drop-
pingsThe Leaf Bars Licker-in Fly The Beater Bars of Openers
and Scutchers The Schaelibaum Bars Testing for Waste Calcula-
. tions on Waste per cent Summary of Wastes Carding Engine
Waste Card Strips Long Fibre in Flat Strips The Stripping of
Flat Cards Removal of Stripping Dust Claims for Vacuum System
of Stripping Cylinders and Doffers of Cards Dust Extraction and
the Wire Clothing of a Card Vacuum System of Stripping The
Front Plate of the Carding Engine Communications on the Front
Plate Question sent to the Author Holland's Web Conductor for
Carding Engines Hand Cards Undercasings Comber Waste
The Disposal of the Comber Waste Lecture Defects in Rovings :
Their Causes and Remedies The Work on Self-acting Mules
Spinning Waste, Middle Iron Roller Laps, Fluker Rods, and Crows
for Mule Bottom Rollers Banding A Manager's Letter on Waste in
Cotton Mills The Waste Question Waste and Stop-motions for
Doubling Frames Extra Waste from Inferior Cotton Fuller Details
of Waste in Indian Mills Double Yarn on Ring-Frames . . 1-70
CHAPTER II.
TREATMENT OF BEST COTTON WASTES IN CoTTON-SPINNING MlLLS, WITH
OTHER NOTES. Treatment of Roving Waste Roving Waste Opening
Modern Roving Waste Openers Delivery of Waste Blending of
the Waste from Roving Opener Excessive use of Waste The Cylinder
Lags of Roving Waste Opener The Gearing Another Make of
Roving Waste Opener Thread Extractor Automatic Feed Process
of recovering Good Cotton from Carding Engine Strips Letter on
Cotton Mill Waste 71-88
CHAPTER III.
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. Summary of Machines
more or less used in the Treatment of Cotton Waste Possible Systems
of Machinery in using Cotton Waste Mixings Soaping Apparatus
Opening and Cleaning of Cotton Waste : General Remarks Pro-
VI CONTENTS.
PAGE
ductions The Willow Central Feature: Strong Spikes A Make
of Willow General Appearance of Willow Spiked Cylinders
Weighting of Feed Rollers Preparation System The Willow Cop-
bottom Machine Blow-room Fires Heavy Driving The Soaper
Single Cylinder, Three Cylinders, and Six Cylinders Six-cylinder
Machine Cotton Waste: Systems of Machines The Scutcher
Extra Beaters Cop-bottom Breaking Machine Single-beater Lap-
forming Scutching Machine with Hopper Feeder The Scutcher Bars
and Lap-licking Hard Ends The Crighton .... 89-129
CHAPTER IV.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. Rollers and Clearers Action of Roller
and Clearer Specification of Cotton Waste Card The Cylinder The
Wire Covering Methods of Feeding the Breaker Card Double Lap
Method Single-breaking Carding Engine Methods of Feeding the
Finisher Card The Lap Drum The Scotch Feed Tin Rollers The
Derby Doubler Derby Doubler for Cotton Waste Improved Lattice
Feed The " Fancy " and "Humbug" Rollers The Fancy Roller
Single-finishing Carding Engine Breaker and Finisher Cards
Combined with Scotch Feed Methods of Delivering Cotton Waste
from Finisher Cards The Preparation System The Ring Doffer
System Rubbers The Tape Condenser The Rubbers Patent
"Leather Tape" Condenser Waste Carding, Side Slivers Patent
for Perfecting Side Ends in Carding Engines Remarks on Cotton
Waste Girding Patent Automatic Feeding Machine for Breaking
Carding Engines Single Finishing Carding Engine with Patent
Quadruple Coiling and Can Motion Adjustment of Rollers and
Clearers Flat Card The " Humbug," " Fancy," and " Dirt " Rollers,
General Remarks The Universal Carding Principle- Universal Cot-
ton Waste Set, 72 in. wide Tape Condensers Double Doffing Ar-
rangement for Cotton Waste Cards Other Double Doffer Condensers
Condenser Bobbins The Waste Card Condenser Feed Rollers of
Card Special Rollers Preparation System Waste Carding Engines :
Double Cards Dirt Roller The Humbug The Fancy Condenser
Combined Driving for Card*: Improved Waste Slubbing Frame for
Preparatory System 130-191
CHAPTER V.
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. Peculiar Spinning Ma-
chines The Can Spinning Frame The Snindle and Cop Cup-
spinning Machine The Chapon Spinning Frame THE SELF-ACTOR
MULE. Draughting of Cotton Waste on the Waste Mule The
Headstocks Spindles and Productions Cotton Waste Mule with
Cotton Headstock Driving for Variable Spindle Speeds Three
Speeds of Spindle Stop Motions Remarks on Three-speed Driving
and Waste Mules Round of Movements in Cotton Waste Mule The
Slubbing Motion Wheel Slubbing MotionSelf-acting Mule Slub-
bing Motion Draw-back Motion Spindle Stop Motion The " Draw-
back " Motion Winding Click Motion Details Special Motions-
Gauge and Speed Ring Frame for Cotton Waste . . . 192-231
CONTENTS. Vll
CHAPTER VI.
PAGB
THE USE OF COTTON WASTE YARNS IN WEAVING. The Weaving of Cotton
Waste Yarns Woven Goods in which Yarns spun from Cotton Waste
may be used Raising Process Cleaning Cloths Double Cloth
Weave with Waste Cotton Weft Waste in Weaving Sheds Cop
Skewering .Improved Tubular Winding Machine . . . 232-245
CHAPTER VII.
VARIOUS NOTES. The Counts of Cotton Waste Yarn* Approximate Prices
of Cotton Waste Approximate Prices of Condenser Yarns Cotton
Seed Products The Condenser Rubbers Stripping Banding Over-
looking and Kinds of Waste Hard Ends Workmen Fine Counts
from Waste Cone-drum Driving for Mules Use of Stores Woollen
and Worsted Machines, Summary Carding and Spinning Machinery
Coal City Guilds Examination Question, 1909 Vigogne Yarns
Extracts from Recent Consular Reports Wastes in the Woollen Trade
Absorbent Cotton Waste in Doubling Waste in Wiping up Oil
Loose Cotton Bleaching Waste in American Mills Artificial Silk
Baine's Loss Table, 1833 New Patent Machine Fire Risk with
Cotton Waste Danger of Flannelette Candlewick Carpet Cops
Condensed Yarn Objectionable Wastes Woollen Mill Wastes
Indian Raw Cotton . . . . . . . .. . 246-272
INDEX 273-278
CHAPTER I.
THE PRODUCTION, CHARACTERISTICS, AND REGULATION OP
COTTON WASTE.
The Use of Cotton Waste.
IT has been repeatedly impressed upon our English cotton spinners
and manufacturers that certain countries abroad are far ahead of
us in regard to the utilization of cotton waste. Indeed, it may be
said that certain districts of Germany almost lead the world in
this particular direction. Not only does Germany import a fair
amount of cotton waste from this country, but also a far larger
amount from the United States. It is no more convenient to
blend the wastes from America with those from Egyptian and
Sea Islands cotton than it is to mix these widely different cottons
in ordinary cotton spinning, and the German imports of cotton
waste from America can generally be relied upon for reasonable
uniformity in this respect. In the German market there is a dis-
tinct preference for imported soft waste, and Germany appears to
be more than able and willing to absorb practically all the soft
cotton waste obtainable from France, England, and America. A
good price is often paid for the best clean, soft waste, reaching
sometimes up to 70 per cent or so of the price of raw cotton,
which is not to be wondered at when we remember that such
waste may not need opening and cleaning by the usual processes,
and will lose very little in weight. The best clean, soft waste
must not be confused with soft waste that is more or less dirty,
and is sometimes exceedingly so. In a consular report it was
stated that in 1907 Germany imported linters and cotton waste
from mills to the extent of 38,000,000 Ib. from the United
States, 14,000,000 Ib. from India, and only 1,250,000 Ib. from
England. Several countries ship some sorts of waste to Germany,
and import other kinds therefrom. Germany purchases all kinds
of cotton waste from the United States, but in particular soft wastes
such as sweepings, fly, and strips. Some of this goes to make
1
COTTON WASTE.
coarse towellings, scrubbing cloths, dish rags, cheap cotton blankets,
and flannelettes. The counts are usually very coarse say from 5's
to 5's or 6's, although the very best sorts range up to 10's or even
12' s counts. In a general way yarns spun from cotton waste are
intended for the wefts of woven goods of one description or an-
other, and the warp may be of better and finer yarn, either from
cotton, linen or other well-known textile fibre.
Eecently there has been very great interest centred in the sub-
ject of cotton-waste spinning, and it is very likely that in future
a good deal more cotton waste will be made into yarn in this country
than has hitherto bean the case. Of course, it is not to be for-
gotten that the large increase in the number of ordinary cotton-
spinning mills will have placed a larger quantity of cotton waste
on the market, and this will largely compensate for the increased
demand for waste caused by the recent extension in number of
spindles for the spinning of cotton waste into yarn of low counts
and quality. Another point to remember, however, in this con-
nexion is that a waste-spinning machine is enormously productive
not because of the high spindle speed, because this is wonder-
fully low, often only about 350 revolutions per minute, and not
even because of a high carriage speed, as a good speed is five draws
per minute. The great production in pounds weight is, of course,
due to the low counts that are spun, so that if a waste mule spinning
3's counts can produce 21 hanks per spindle per week, this will
equal 7 lb. per spindle. A cotton mule on ordinary cotton yarns
of about 30's can produce something like 30 hanks per spindle
per week, which only equals 1 lb. per spindle, whereas it would
equal 7-J- lb. of 4's yarn.
The Making of Waste in Cotton Mills. Introduction.
In the earlier days of cotton spinning on the factory system
a much larger proportion of the raw cotton was rejected as waste
at one stage or another in going through the mill processes.
Thirty years ago a great many cotton mills were very lax in their
methods of checking the waste losses, and much more good fibre
found its way into the waste bags and cans than is now the case.
It is an actual fact that within the present writer's own personal
experience when a youth, the frame overlooker of a certain well-
established and large mill regularly connived with the fireman,
and every week personally put inside the boiler fires a good quan-
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 3
tity of bobbin waste in order to deceive those in higher authority
as to amount of bobbin waste that was made. This practice had
been going on for years before it was finally exposed.
Formerly it was the usual thing, even for users of average
American cotton, to work both the taker-ins and the cylinders of
carding engines without undercasings, and to extract double or
more of the percentage of fly than is now accepted as a basis.
We expect these articles will more than serve the purpose of
showing the huge importance of properly regulating the amount
and character of the waste that is made in our spinning mills,
and also of utilizing to the best advantage the waste that is un-
avoidably and necessarily made. On the other hand, we show
that it is easy enough to reach a foolish extreme in using up too
much of the soft waste in our own mills ; but it is quite as un-
businesslike to allow too much waste to be made and sold at a
big loss.
The Blowing-Room.
Badly set and badly conditioned machines, careless and un-
skilful workpeople, and incompetent administration often cause
much more waste to be made than ought to be. Speaking
generally, the bale breakers, hopper feeders, openers, and scutchers
should produce very little fly indeed, these machines and processes
being concerned in extracting the more glaring and heavy im-
purities and undesirable matter, such as seeds, sands, leaf, stick,
and other dirt. Every effort should be exerted to obtain and
work upon the golden mean of extracting the maximum of such
undesirable refuse with the minimum of good fibre. For example,
it is well understood that the broad principle with regard to beater
bars is that if the spaces between them are too wide, the drop-
pings will be too rich or too full of fibre ; the opposite extreme
of close spaces may remedy this evil, but care should be taken to
give the sand, dirt, and seeds every reasonable opportunity of
escaping, and not being allowed to be drawn back again into the
cotton by the air currents. In this connexion it is probably one
of the most curious features in regard to openers and scutchers
that the air current is usually permitted to enter mostly through
the very same bars between which most of the impurities are
driven. Apparently, it is glaringly anomalous that we should
work under such conditions that the emission of the dirt is
4 COTTON WASTE.
restricted and checked by the admission of the air required to fill
the partial vacuum caused by the fan. As a matter of fact this
has often been noticed, and our machine makers have often at-
tempted to introduce fresh positions for admitting the air rather
than at the beater bars. All experience, however, indicates that
this is the best point for air admission in spite of this disadvan-
tage, and it therefore becomes incumbent upon all carders and
managers to be sure they have such a well-balanced fan draft or
current of air in each machine that the special requirements are
fulfilled to the best advantage. For example, it may easily
happen in a scutcher that a fan draft is so weak that the cotton
is not brought freely away from the beater to the cages, and
portions of good fibre are cut by excessive treatment, or are driven
out as waste. On the other hand, if the air current coming
through the beater bars is too strong it will not allow the lighter
impurities to pass through the bars, and the cotton is not suffi-
ciently well cleaned. Openers and scutchers should be manipu-
lated so that very little waste of any value is extracted at any
stage, except perhaps below the leaf extractor bars, and yet nearly
all the heavier impurities must be taken out before the cotton
leaves the blow-room. Numerous types of grid have been more
or less used between the beaters and cages, but after all these
experiments thin wrought-iron bars, or thicker cast-iron ones
appear to receive far and away the most adoption either as beater
or cage bars, the thin wrought-iron bars costing more, but prob-
ably giving the best results.
Various Kinds of Cotton Waste Droppit
At this stage it will be profitable to briefly describe the
various kinds of waste produced in a blowing-room, taking them
in proper sequence or order of occurrence in the mill. The first
droppings or waste taken from the very earliest stages exhibit an
extremely sandy character. This is the case for example with
much of the dirt and waste matter taken from below the bars of
the cleaning portion of the long exhaust feed trunk, whether this
dirt be removed by hand or by the automatic and slowly moving
self-cleaning lattice sometimes fitted inside these trunks. This is
again the case with the dirt taken from below the feed-box of the
hopper bale breaker. There is scarcely any seed taken out at
this stage, very fine sand or dirt forming the bulk of the weight
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 5
along with a fair proportion of bits of leaf and stick, the whole
being, so to speak, held together by a very small percentage of
fibre, which apparently" clings to the dirt, and is taken out there-
with. The writer has made close examination of such droppings
or dirt, and apparently the small percentage of fibre extracted at
this point is composed of some long fibres as well as short ones.
Neither in the long exhaust feed trunk, nor at the feed-box of
the hopper is any definite means made to drive out, beat out, or
pull out any of the waste or dirt, the latter being simply allowed
to fall out and pass through bars in cases where it is sufficiently
loose from the body of the cotton. This explains why such
a small proportion of seed, and such a large proportion of sand
help to make up the bulk of the waste extracted at this point.
More open bars and slower passage of the cotton may have some
tendency to extract a higher percentage of impurities at this
stage. It may also be pointed out that passing the cotton through
a bale opener or a lattice feeder prior to its passage through the
long exhaust feed-trunk, will not only enable the cotton to pass
more easily along the trunk, but also open the cotton sufficiently
to facilitate the falling out of the dirt in the trunk. From under-
neath the inclined spiked lattice of the bale breaker may be
gathered a small percentage of the smallest sand and dirt con-
taining possibly even a lower proportion of fibre than that from
beneath the feed-box bars of the same machine.
Waste from Crighton Opener with Hopper Feeder.
From beneath the bars of the delivery box or stripper roller of
the hopper feeder a certain amount of waste may be gathered
which contains more seed and fibre than any waste made at any
previous point. Naturally the amount of sand dropped at the
hopper feeder is much less than from the bale breaker.
It is well known that it has long been the custom to apply a
small porcupine beater to the feed part of a vertical Crighton
opener in order to prepare the cotton for obtaining the full benefit
of the cleaning and opening actions of the vertical beater.
Beneath this small porcupine beater are placed transverse grate
bars, and a fair proportion of undesirable matter is extracted at
this point. It usually contains a percentage of all the impurities
present in raw cotton, such as sand, leaf, seed, and short fibre,
6 COTTON WASTE.
but compared with the droppings beneath a blade beater contains
fewer seeds, although quite as much fibre.
From the large dirt chamber surrounding the vertical beater
itself we naturally obtain a comparatively large proportion of
undesirable matter of all descriptions usually present, but here
again we may usually note a lower proportion of seeds, and
perhaps a higher proportion of sand, as compared with the blade
beater. The blade beater apparently possesses the property of
driving out the heavier substances such as seeds better than the
steel knives of the porcupine or Crighton. Naturally a great
proportion of sand and dirt has already escaped when the cotton
reaches the blade beater, and hence the droppings from beneath
the grate bars of the blade beater appear whiter and more full of
seed than the droppings from the larger beater.
The grate bars surrounding a large Crighton beater are made
of different shapes as per requirements. As a matter of first cost,
the cheapest bars are those cast in sections, which can be readily
put in place or taken out again. The alternative thin wrought-
iron bars take a good deal of handling, but there are people who
insist on having them. The section cast-iron bars are made
with smaller apertures and thicker metal facings between the
apertures when it is required to restrict the amount of waste
extracted at this point, the thickest metal and smallest holes
being used in cases where the Crighton is used for the re-treat-
ment of cotton waste. While referring to the different kinds of
waste extracted from a Crighton opener and scutcher combined
we may say that it is becoming the practice to use 24 inch
diameter porcupine cylinder instead of 16 inch diameter, as.
was formerly the case.
Scutcher Droppings.
As before stated, the droppings from beneath the blade beater
of a scutcher present a contrast to any other waste in respect of
containing such a large proportion of seed, this being true either
of the finisher, the intermediate scutcher, or when a blade beater
forms part of an opener combination.
In the writer's opinion the blow of a blade beater is more
searching than that of any other form, and certainly more than
the 4-inch knife or blade, now almost universally adopted on the
large cylinders of openers. At the same time there is little doubt
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 7
that this blade beater is more likely to cut or injure the fibre
than almost any other form used in connexion with an opener
for cotton. For the latter reason some users of long staple
cotton have ceased to use a blade beater at any position, and so
long as the seeds can be extracted by the extra use of hoppers of
porcupine beaters there is much to be said in favour of this
system. For all ordinary cottons it is the opinion of the writer
that at least one blade beater should be used because of its more
decided and searching action on the cotton, and there being
scarcely any possibility of any portion of cotton escaping repeated
and powerful blows from a blade reaching the full width of the
machine. It is a curious fact that in examining the waste be-
neath the blade beater the heaviest waste, such as seeds, will be
found to be driven into the farthest corners of the dirt box, this
fact being partly due to the ease with which such droppings can
overcome the resistance of the entering air, and partly due to the
ability of the beater to drive a comparatively solid body like a
seed farther than such light substances as cotton fibres. Com-
pared with the total weight of droppings gathered from beneath
a blade beater, the proportion of fibre is distinctly small, but
there is at this point a good proportion of bits of stick and broken
leaf.
The Leaf Bars.
The waste immediately following the beater droppings is that
from beneath the bars which extend from the beater to the cages.
It is customary to apply a dead air box beneath these leaf bars
for the sole purpose of preventing the admission of air at this
point, which would be likely to interfere with the free passage of
cotton from beater to cage, and also to give a better chance for
leaf, short fibre, or any impurities to drop out between these leaf
bars. As a natural result we find the waste at this point to con-
tain a good deal more fibre and a good deal less seed in proportion
to the total weight of the waste, than at the beater bars. Partly
because of having a comparatively small dirt box between the leaf
bars and the dead air box it is customary to drop the bottom door
of this box every two or three hours, and this checks the tendency
of fly to choke up the leaf bars.
All kinds of patent bars have been tried at this point, but it is
doubtful whether any better cleaning bars can be used than the
8 COTTON WASTE.
wrought-iron ones. If laid traversely across the machine there is
perhaps a better chance for these bars to scrape out the sand, but
some people prefer them to be laid at right angles to the cages,
or parallel with the sides of the machine, this at any rate being
the contrary method adopted for the beater bars.
Formerly, instead of these stationary leaf bars, Messrs. Crigh-
ton used a very slowly traversing lattice, and this travelling lattice
is now applied often by a well-known machine firm beneath the
ordinary bars, and additional thereto. The object of this travelling
lattice is to dispense with the necessity for dropping the door
every two hours or so, since the dirt dropped on top of the lattice,
drops off and upon the floor as the lattice creeps slowly round.
Licker-in Fly.
There is a close resemblance between the droppings gathered
from beneath the licker-in of a carding engine and that gathered
from the various positions of an opener or scutcher. As a matter
of fact, the licker-in may be described as the beater of a card,
and more especially so since the metallic taker-in displaced the
old leather covered taker-in. Proportionate to the total weight of
waste extracted at this point, there is more fly or waste fibre than
sand, leaf, or seed, as compared with the opener or scutcher waste,
and probably the chief explanation of this point lies in the fact
that the vast bulk of all the impurities has already been driven
out in the blowing-room machinery. Beneath the licker-in is the
final position in cotton-spinning machinery at which we may ex-
pect to find any quantity of sand or seed, or other heavy impurities,
although the total weight or percentage of waste made at this
point is almost always less than that extracted by the flats.
Either flat strips or cylinder strips contain an infinitely smaller
proportion of sand, leaf, or other impurities than licker-in drop-
pings, while at the same time there is a much greater proportion
of fly or fibre in the former. Licker-in droppings, when good
undercasings with close bars are used, are not really of very much
more value in waste spinning than are some of the wastes from
the scutcher. On the contrary, the other wastes of a card,
whether they be card front fly or any of the strippings, are of
considerable value in waste spinning, as waste goes.
Thirty or more years ago, before the device of Joseph Bennett,
of Whitfield, Glossop, began to be applied to carding engines, i.e.
THE PEODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 9
the feed plate, along with the metallic taker-in, it was customary
to allow all the droppings from the licker-in free scope to fall on
the floor, and not to prevent this by undercasings ; and in those
days licker-in fly was of far more value for the purposes of waste
spinning than it is at present.
If we examine a card back full of waste we shall find the upper
portions reasonably fibrous, with the bottom portions full of the
heavier impurities.
The Beater Bars of Openers and Scutchers.
Probably no part of an opener or scutcher for cleaning and
opening cotton has been more the subject of discussion and in-
vention than the grate bars beneath the scutcher beater and
beneath the first portion of a horizontal opener beater. The
number of bars to be used, the exact shape of these bars, the ex-
act angle of the bars, their distance apart from each other, and
their distance from the path of the beater have been frequent
points of discussion, and many arrangements have been experi-
mented with.
A question one may reasonably ask is, why have comparatively
thick cast-iron bars been so often preferred in place of thinner
bars of better material. It is a matter of fact that scores of blow-
ing-room machines have recently been fitted with thin steel bars
beneath the beater, such bars having originated abroad, and
brought all the way to our Lancashire mills. The practice in such
a case is to take out the existing bars beneath the beater, place a
spiked comb bar next to the feed roller, and follow this by pos-
sibly fourteen or more thin steel bars on a scutcher or a greater
number on an opener. The comb bar may have possibly one row
of spikes for Sea Islands, two rows for Egyptian, and four rows
for other cottons (see fig. 1, p. 12).
There can be no doubt that the introduction of these patent
bars has frequently led to extra cleaning of the cotton when the
same has been of a somewhat dirty character. Special packings
are used at the ends of these bars to give them a suitable angle,
and there are one or two little special details of arrangement.
Apart from all this one is led to ask Why have our English
spinners not insisted on thin steel beater bars being supplied by
our machine makers, instead of the comparatively clumsy thick
ones we often find in use ? We are inclined to think our spinners
10 COTTON WASTE.
would have been willing to pay the extra cost if they had realized
the extra benefit resulting from having more cleaning edges in
the same space, and yet better openings for the dirt to escape.
It may be laid down in a general statement that what we
want in beater bars is the provision of the maximum number of
cleaning bars, the best shape and angle of bars for permitting the
escape of the droppings, and for permitting the air to enter for
the fan draft, without also permitting any re-drawing-in of the
dirt and undesirable matter. Thick bars do not lend them-
selves to the best attainment of these desirable features, especially
when used in the very limited space available between the feed
rollers and bottom of the beater chamber in connexion with a-
double- or treble-bladed scutcher beater. If cotton is to be per-
manently at a higher level of price then greater attention must
be devoted to beater bars, leaf bars, licker-in undercasings, flat,
stripping plates, and any points which greatly affect the quantity
and character of the waste made at the blowing-room and carding
machinery.
We also want beater bars so fitted into position that it is almost
impossible for the angle or adjustment of the bars to be disturbed
during working, and we are afraid some of our spinners have
paid rather too much attention to cutting the machine makers-
down in price, and too little attention to such important points as-
these. As a rule a machine-maker naturally likes to make
machines that he can be proud of, but he may as well shut up
shop if prices do not provide a reasonable profit, and spinners
should remember such points as these.
An important point to remember is the effect on the air cur-
rent of any alterations in the beater bars, and we are of opinion
that this particular feature is often overlooked. If the beater
bars of a scutcher are so altered or changed that a greater volume
of air can find its way through the bars, this is bound to exercise
an effect on the air exhaust problem. Cases have occurred where
much trouble has arisen in this particular direction. We have
never to forget that we have the apparently anomalous procedure
of the chief intake of air on a scutcher occurring at the very
beater bars through which the larger proportion of the heavier
impurities are expelled by the force of the beater assisted by
gravity. As a matter of fact the intake of air at this point is of
material service in preventing the escape of too much good fibre
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 11
along with the undesirable matter. Experiment has demonstrated
that no better position for the intake of air has yet been found,
and it is no haphazard reason that is responsible for the apparent
anomaly.
It is a curious fact attested to by persons who have watched
the actual occurrence that some of the lighter dirt expelled from
the upper bars of an opener or scutcher, has often been attracted
back again into the good cotton at the lower bars, and therefore
the angling and adjustment of the bars should be such as to
prevent this. In some cases division plates have been introduced
with advantage between the upper and lower portions of the bars,
and this point is perhaps worthy of more attention, although
some firms have discarded the same after trial.
It need hardly be said that apart from the kind of bar that is
employed it will usually be found the better practice to have a
reduced angle and closer bars for the cleaner cottons than for
dirtier cottons, but after all this usually only means taking out
one or two bars for the dirtier cottons, leaving fewer bars to-
spread over the same grate-bar area.
Probably the leaf bars between the beater and the cages are
of less importance than the beater bars, but even these have been
the subject of much experiment in regard to shape and setting,
although after all a favourite type is the thin straight bar.
The Sohaelibaum Bars.
Eeferring to the figure, which represents the arrangement
complete, it will be observed that the cotton is drawn by means-
of the pedal B and feed-roller A to the beater D, which latter
revolves at the usual high speed. The cotton is pressed against
the beater and taken away by the friction set up. It is asserted
that by this means the cotton is not subjected to a sharp blow,
because of the rapidity with which the beater arms follow each
other. The friction thus set up electrically excites the fibres,
and causes them to form into curls or coils. These latter are
taken out by the comb E, which is fixed underneath the pedals
B, the pressure of the beater causing the fibres to pass rapidly
through the points thereof ; and to ensure this work being done
thoroughly, the comb is made in one piece. Connected with this
comb is an angle-iron F, which steadies and strengthens
the plate. The catch-edge bars follow immediately after the
12
COTTON WASTE.
comb, and are laid in segmental brackets supported from the
sides of the machine. At the end of the grid a dead-plate M is
fixed, which is perforated so as to allow any light dirt to fall
through; and to prevent any draught at this point the space
below is made air-tight. Means are also provided for regulating
FIG. 1. Feed-roller. Schaelibaum Bars.
the draught about the grid, so that the spaces between the bars
are always free for the dirt to pass through without danger of
the cotton going along with it. We may add that the fixing of
the grids to ordinary machines is easily done, and need not
interfere with the ordinary mill arrangements.
Testing for Waste.
It is important in a spinning mill that the exact weight of
cotton passed through the various processes should be reasonably
well recorded. The weighing of all finisher scutcher laps affords
in a way one method of totalling up the weights, but it is not
a customary thing to weigh the cotton at different stages such as
cards, combers, draw-frames and fly-frames as this would be a
very troublesome thing to do. Dependence rather is placed upon
testing for waste in the blow-room, at the cards, and at the
combers. Also upon the calculation of weights put through
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 13
based upon the readings of the indicators at the various bobbin
and fly-frames.
Finer the counts of yarn spun, lower the weights put through,
and more highly priced the raw cotton and spun yarn become
and the more likely will it be for intermediate weighings of
material to be profitable. Comparisons of weight of cotton used,
and weight of yarn obtained from spindle point, extended over a
suitable period of time, afford a proper indication of the percent-
age of waste over all. The waste returned from any set of
machines may afford a method of testing the waste per cent
locally.
Calculations on Waste per Cent.
On numerous occasions the writer has been written to and
spoken to with regard to difficulties connected with percentage
problems. Two or three calculations are given below which will
exemplify one section of such problems. It is in waste and wages
calculations these points become of most importance. In actual
practice in spinning mills it is a more or less frequent occurrence
to thoroughly clean the openers, scutchers, and cards, and to pass
a certain weight of new cotton through the same in order to as-
certain the amount of wastage due to droppings and invisible loss.
Case L
100 Ib. weight of new cotton is passed through the opener,
scutcher, and card, and there is a loss of 4 per cent in the opener,
2 per cent in the scutcher, and 6 per cent in the card. Find the
loss in Ib. weight at each stage, and also the total loss per cent,
1. In the first operation it is clear that 100 Ib. loses 4 Ib. since
this equals 4 per cent.
2. In the scutcher, however, 2 per cent loss does not mean
just 2 Ib. since 96 Ib. loses 2 per cent.
.*. If 96 Ib. lose 2 per cent, what will be the loss in Ib. weight ?
3. At the carding engine we pass through 96 Ib. less 1'92 =
94'08 Ib., and this loses 6 per cent. What is the Ib. loss ?
To restate the case we say: If 100 Ib.glose 6 Ib., what will
94-08 lose ?
14 COTTON WASTE.
4. We have a total loss in Ib. as shown below :
4*0 Ib. at opener.
1'92 Ib. at scutcher.
5-6448 Ib. at card.
11-5648 Ib.
We are now in a position to show where the apparent anomaly
occurs that is often a little perplexing to students and mill men.
By the terms of the question we lose altogether 12 per cent, and if
we start with 100 Ib. and lose 12 per cent we should lose 12 Ib.
But we have shown that only 11 '5648 Ib. are lost. How is this ?
The answer simply is that per cent loss is not equal to Ib. loss
in actual figures at scutcher and card. Take the card in particu-
lar. Six per cent is lost here, but clearly this is not 6 Ib. but only
a little over 5-J- Ib. If 50 Ib. lost 10 per cent it would not be 10 Ib. ,
but only 5 Ib. In this example, therefore, we have the percent-
age figure greater than the actual Ib. loss. It is not 100 Ib.
which loses 12 per cent in one operation, since the 6 per cent loss
.at card is only lost on 94 '08 Ib., which is practically 6 Ib. less
than 100.
Case II.
The position may be stated by a second example which still
more nearly approaches actual mill practice, and is probably a little
more difficult to understand. Suppose 100 Ib. of raw cotton be
passed through the opener, scutcher, and card, and losses are deter-
mined as follows : Opener 4 Ib., scutcher 2 Ib., card 5 Ib. What
is the per cent loss in each case, and what is the total loss per
cent?
1. Since at the opener 100 Ib. loses 4 Ib., this is clearly 4 per
cent.
2. At the scutcher 96 Ib. loses 2 Ib., what is the per cent loss ?
i5{2- 2-08 per cent.
t/D
3. By the time the cotton reaches the card it has lost 6 Ib.,
and therefore 94 Ib. are put through the card, and lose 5 Ib. in
waste, leaving 89 Ib. of good sliver. What is the per cent loss at
the card?
100 x 5 K 00
= 5'32 per cent.
t/4:
:So far everything appears very self-evident and simple. But now
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 15
again we have an apparent anomaly. We have found the losses
to be as below :
Actual
weight.
100 Ib. fed to opener gives . 4 per cent = 4 Ib.
96 Ib. fed to scutcher gives 2'08 per cent = 2 Ib.
94 Ib. fed to card gives . 5 '3 2 per cent= 5 Ib.
Total 11'4 per cent = 11 Ib.
The question is : What is the total per cent loss ? We at once
say 11*4 per cent, as we have just calculated and totalled. But
we started with 100 Ib. of cotton, and now we have 89 Ib. left, so
from this point of view we would say at once 11 per cent repre-
sents its total loss. In a way it could be argued that both are
correct. It must be noticed that per cent loss in both examples
totals higher than Ib. loss.
A third example may be taken in which the comparison is
taken right through a mill spinning combed yarns.
Example III. 100 Ib. of raw Egyptian cotton is passed
through all the processes and made into yarn. It is found there
are the following losses in waste :
In the blowing-room . 5 per cent.
At the carding engine . 4 per cent.
At the combing machines 15 per cent.
Frames and mules . . 4 per cent.
Now ascertain the loss in Ib. at each stage, the total loss in Ib.,
and the total loss per cent.
1. In blow-room 100 Ib. loses 5 per cent., which equals 5 Ib.
2. At the cards 95 Ib. loses 4 per cent.
' '' ?^Ai =3-8 Ib. loss at cards.
3. At the combers 91 '2 Ib. loses 15 per cent.
' 91 ' 2 * 15 = 13-68 Ib. at combers.
1UO
4. At the later processes 77'52 Ib. loses 4 per cent.
/. 77*52 x 4
--3-10 Ik loss.
The total losses in Ib. and per cent are shown below :
16 COTTON WASTE.
Per Cent. Lb.
5 5
4 3'8
15 13-68
4 3-10
28 per cent. 25'58 Ib.
The question naturally asked is : We start with 100 Ib. and
finish with 74'42 Ib., so how can we lose 28 per cent ? The whole
explanation of all these cases rests on the fact that the losses in all
intermediate stages are not made on 100 Ib. weight, but on some-
thing less.
Summary of Wastes.
In a particular case the following detailed and tabulated list of
wastes from the various parts of a card was obtained from good
American cotton :
Cylinder and doffer strips 1'6 per cent.
Licker-in fly . . .1*0 ,,
Cylinder fly . . . '3
Card-box fly . . . "2
Feed-roller waste, etc. '6 ,,
Flat strips . . .2*3
Total . . 6'0
This is a rather larger percentage than is often extracted from
American cotton at the carding engine. In the case of carded
Egyptian, however, the percentages often range higher than the
above, and the following is given as an actual example entering
into the writer's own experience :
Cylinder and doffer strips . .1*9 per cent.
Fly from beneath taker-in . .1*1
Fly from beneath cylinder . . '2
Fly from beneath card-box . . '3 ,,
Waste from clearer at feed-roller, etc. '7 ,,
Strips from the flats . . . 3'0 ,,
Total . 7'2
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 17
In these examples no account is taken of invisible loss.
It will not be out of place at this point also to give some idea
of the proportions of waste of the different sorts to be found in all
departments of a mill, and again it will be done best by giving an
actual example. The waste from the blowing-room may come
under the general term of droppings, and all of the visible waste
in the case under notice totalled 3 "9, while in addition there was
an invisible loss of 1 1 per cent. At the carding engine the total
strips from the flats was 2 '8 per cent, and all other card waste
came to 3 '4 per cent. Combers were not used in this particular
case, so that no machine after the card made any great weight or
per cent of waste. The summary will be best indicated in tabular
form, as below :
Blowing-room visible waste . . . . 3 '90 per cent.
Blowing-room invisible loss . . . .110 ,,
Flat strips 2'80
Other wastes from cards .... 3 '40 ,,
Total amount of bobbin waste . . . 0'76 ,,
Total amount of clearer waste, including under
clearer of mules ..... 1*43 ,,
Card-room sweepings . . . . .1*10 ,,
Oily waste and spinning-room sweepings . O'oO ,,
Various other items ..... 0*60 ,,
Total lo'59
It must not be taken that the foregoing classification of the
various kinds of waste is adopted by all firms, as the system varies
somewhat with different firms. Bad cotton, high speeds, careless
or unskilful operatives, dry, frosty weather. The prevalence of dry
east winds, machinery out of order, and other circumstances, al-
ways tend to increase the percentages of wastes, while the opposite
conditions tend to reduce the amount of waste below what may be
taken as a fair average. In cases where a spinning firm also winds
or reels the yarn there is also the item of reelers' or winders'
waste to be considered, and this often is no mean consideration,
as the yarn having reached this stage has had all the money spent
on it, and yet waste yarn will not command as good a price as the.
best card-room wastes.
18 COTTON WASTE.
Carding Engine Waste.
Keverting briefly to the special subject of waste produced at
the carding engine, we may note that this machine is the most
prolific in the making of waste of any machine in the mill, provid-
ing the comber is not used. The waste of a carding engine over
all generally ranges between the limits of about 4 per cent and 8
per cent, but, of course, about 18 or 20 per cent of waste is taken
as a good basis for a Heilmann comber.
Licker-in droppings are quite dirty, and. of ten rival some of the
wastes or droppings extracted at the opener or scutcher, but all
other waste from this point onwards contains only a small propor-
tion of the worst impurities, such as sand, seed, leaf, or motes.
Even the flat strippings and the cylinder and doffer strippings
of the card, as well as the fly consist for the most part of fibre
which is most useful for one purpose or another afterwards.
Card Strips.
Broadly speaking, the waste from a carding engine is divisible
into two chief parts, fly and strips. Strips are the wastes that are
positively stripped or pulled from the fine wire teeth of cylinder,
doffer, and flats by the aid of special mechanism. The term " fly "
comprises practically all the waste of a card that is driven off, or,
so to speak, flies off any of the working parts and finds its way
to the floor beneath the back, middle, or front portions of the
machine. Above we may have given a much fuller division of
the card wastes than just merely fly and strips. Apart from the
droppings beneath the licker-in, which are full of motes, leaf,
sand, and other undesirable matter, the other wastes of a card
present a much similar appearance, being composed for the most
part of fibre, which is by no means all of short staple.
Card strips form one of the most important items in the busi-
ness of a soft cotton waste dealer indeed, the most important
item apart from comber waste. It is good usable waste, which
is afterwards cleaned and applied to very important uses, being
readily convertible into low counts of yarn, especially when
operated by a proper waste spinning plant.
There is a very close resemblance between flat strips and
cylinder or doffer strips, there being in each case a fair propor-
tion of motes, leaf, and stick present in the waste, but not very
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 19
much sand, as the latter for the most part drops to the floor, and
readily leaves the cotton when the fibres are so very well separ-
ated between the feed-roller and the licker-in, or between the
licker-in and the cylinder.
Long Fibre in Flat Strips. .
A good proportion of the strips will be found to consist of
short fibre, and really it is short fibre that we want to extract at
this point. As a matter of fact, however, it is equally true that a
good proportion of the strips also consists of good fibre. The
present writer has for many years past contended that the card-
ing engine was a very imperfect machine in regard to its in-
ability to sufficiently discriminate between short and long fibre, so
as to retain the latter while rejecting the former. There is doubt-
less considerable truth in the contention that long fibres adhere
better to the teeth of the cylinder because of their greater length,
while the shorter ones will more readily move from the cylinder
teeth to those of the flats ; but there is no doubt that much good
fibre also is transferred to the flats, and is then extracted as waste.
In like manner many of the short fibres penetrate between the
cylinder teeth better than the long ones, and are not removed by
the doffer, but remain to be cleaned off as brush strips ; but it is
only too true that here also the action is more or less imperfect,
and many good fibres follow the same path as these shorter ones.
That the card is utterly unable to extract the major proportion
of the short fibre, whatever the settings and working conditions
may be, is proved by the fact that any ordinary Heilmann cotton
comber, with average settings and working conditions, operating
on Egyptian cotton, will extract something like 18 per cent or so
of waste nearly all of it being short fibre after the card has
done its best with the cotton. The trouble with the card is that
in making it take out a greater percentage of short fibre, you also
almost invariably make it extract a greater amount of short fibre.
As regards the flat strips, there are two principal methods of
increasing the percentage of these. In the first place the speed
of the flats may be increased, this being usually followed by an
immediate increase in the amount of flat strips. It is well estab-
lished that the flats under average conditions will become reason-
ably well charged with strips, however fast they are made to
traverse, and there is no such law as that faster flats bring out
20 COTTON WASTE.
proportionately thinner strips. For American cotton about two
inches per minute is often used as the speed for flats, and almost
double that for Egyptian, so that on the average a much greater
weight of flat strips is produced from Egyptian cotton than from
the same weight of American cotton. The second chief method of
increasing the weight of flat strips is to move the upper edge of the
front or stripping plate farther away from the cylinder. As a rule
this is a pretty certain and very ready method of increasing the
weight of flat strips, but there is much difference of opinion as to
why this particular effect should be produced. Some effect may
be exercised also upon the flat strips by the adjustment of the
back plate above the licker-in.
In order to get good clean work from the card, one of the first
essentials is to keep all the wire sharp, smooth, andi level across,
and also to have the stripping and grinding operations regularly
and efficiently attended to. If the various working organs of the
machine, such as cylinders, flats, and doffer, are allowed to be-
come overcharged with dirt and fly, or these parts are set too far
from each other, or the wires are dull, the quality of the carding is
bound to suffer proportionately.
The Stripping of Flat Cards.
The revolving flat carding engine has always succeeded in
attracting a good deal of attention on the part of inventors and
practical mill men, and there is generally some patented idea or
other about this card which is at the current moment commanding
the attention of the trade.
Patent brushes for clearing the flats and patent combs for aid-
ing in the same work have been introduced with a great deal of
success during the last fifteen years or so.
For twenty years or so special forms of mechanism for grinding
flats from their working surfaces have been applied, and their
relative merits and demerits have been discussed a good deal.
More recently still various forms of strap forks for carding
engines have received considerable adoption, and these again have
been superseded in interest by the question of locking motions for
the front stripping doors of revolving flat cards. The present
writer has never known of any other detail of mechanism, or any
form of patented device that has so rapidly and so extensively been
made the subject of letters patent in connexion with the cotton
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 21
trade than in the case of locking motions for the stripping
plates of carding engines. The subject has been a burning one,
many mills having had as many as half a dozen different
motions under trial. If a mill had forty cards they could nearly
have had a different motion on every individual card if they
had been so disposed, although two or three of these locking
motions apparently stand out as superior to the greater proportion.
Even more recently still the attention of practical carders is
being directed to the question of removing the dust created dur-
ing stripping of cylinder and doffer at the very moment when such
dust is being created, instead of permitting the same to settle on
the machines and floors, and into the lungs and nostrils of the
strippers and grinders.
Removal of Stripping Dust.
Perhaps it is not too much to say that all the above specified
improvements and new devices patented and otherwise, are over-
shadowed in interest by the very latest novelty of them all in
connexion with the revolving flat carding engine. The question
of dust removal during stripping is such a very serious one that it
has been the subject of discussion at meetings of -the 'Trades Con-
gress, and questions have been asked in assembled Parliament on
this particular point. Parliamentary legislation has been made
on this point to reduce the evil. There are several devices now
on the market for removing the stripping dust, and a good many
have been more or less adopted, although they undoubtedly add
to the apparatus required in the card-room. But the latest
claimant in this connexion does a good deal more than remove
the dust created by stripping it goes in for preventing any such
dust being created.
A mere statement of the claims made for the new device for
stripping flat cards on the vacuum system is almost staggering to a
practical carder, and we will just recapitulate these without in the
slightest degree committing ourselves at this point as to the ad-
visability of adopting the same.
Claims for Vacuum System of Stripping Cylinders and Doffers
of Cards.
The claims made by Cook & Co. for their new stripping method
may be enumerated as follows :
22 COTTON WASTE.
"The card cylinders and doffers stripped entirely by suction
rotary brushes are dispensed with, and nothing is brought into con-
tact with the card wire. Less time occupied in stripping cylinders,
consequently more frequent strippings can be made, thus obtain-
ing the best carding conditions. No stripping brushes. No dust
removal plant necessary. No door locking motions required.
No damage to card clothing. Longer life of card clothing. A great
saving of time in stripping. No stoppage of cards. A gain of 8
per cent in production. Better carding. Less waste and less labour.
No danger of accidents with strap forks or belts when stripping."
Taking item for item and going over the list and endeavouring
to realize what each item may mean, will serve to convince any-
one that in this new method of stripping the cylinders and doffers
of carding engines we are face to face with a device which contains
great possibilities, and whose potential development is at least full
of interest. There are many interests involved in the adoption of
a device such as this one some of them mechanical, some affect-
ing the health of the workers, some affecting the amount of labour
and the work of the operatives, others affecting the quality of the
waste, the quality of the work produced, and last, but not least,
the ventilation of the room and the cleanliness of the machinery.
Dust Extraction and the Wire Clothing of a Card.
It is to be presumed that a certain amount of dirt and dust is
certain to be always found in raw cotton, and it is scarcely to be
expected that this should be extracted from the cotton in the mill
without more or less entering the atmosphere at the mills. Natur-
ally it is in the earlier cleaning and opening processes that the dust
makes itself manifest, and it hardly gives any trouble at all in any
process after the carding engine. Bale breakers were at first in-
stalled without fans and dust extractors, but it was soon found best
to apply these. From one point of view it is remarkable that the
blowing-room should be more free from the dust problem than the
card-room, but of course this is readily explained by the very general
adoption of the fan draft principle directly to the machines. One
cannot help but admire the beautiful manner in which the suction or
blowing principle is adopted in an opener or scutcher so as to help
the cotton forward, and also to extract the fine dust without the
latter entering the atmosphere. It is not to be wondered at that
inventors at different times have considered the application of the
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 23
pneumatic principle to an ordinary carding engine, but the tend-
ency for detrimentally affecting the fine web or fleece of cotton,
the difficulty of extracting the impurities from the card teeth, and
the proper disposal of the dirt, have until recently proved to be
great obstacles to the adoption of any such system in Eng-
land, except in a more or less experimental fashion.
It is the usual practice to strip a card three or four times a
day, and on each occasion quite a cloud of dust is created which
is bad for the machine, the quality of the yarn, and the health
of the workpeople. It has always been a very common thing for
many grinders and even carders to leave their trade at a com-
paratively early age owing to chest and asthmatic troubles, largely
due to the dust discharged into the atmosphere of the card-room
during the stripping and grinding processes. Speaking in a
general sort of way, it may be said that stripping occurs twenty
times as often as grinding, so that stripping dust is a far greater
evil than grinding dust, although with equal quantities grinding
dust is probably the more injurious owing to its metallic character.
Effective ventilation of the card-room by the use of fans placed
in the side walls of the building has much improved the atmos-
phere in many of our mills, although this system is by no means
free from defects.
During the last two or three years it has become very gener-
ally acknowledged that the only correct method of removing the
stripping dust is to do so at the very moment of stripping, and
accordingly we now have various more or less successful apparatus
for the purpose. In some cases the dust is removed by apparatus
acting on the vacuum principle ; in other cases by the operation of
quickly revolving fans, and there is usually some form of hood
or dust collector brought into close contact with the card while
the stripping brush is being used. At the time of writing (No-
vember, 1911) mill inspectors are insisting on the use of these
appliances. 1
Vacuum System of Stripping.
Let it be clearly understood that it is in this feature of actually
doing the stripping that this system differs from the others, and
it is a very great difference indeed. It must remain for those
1 As first test cases, about August, 1911. four Rochdale firms were sum-
moned for not having applied any such mechanism.
24 COTTON WASTE.
directly concerned in the working of our spinning mills to judge
for themselves in respect of the desirability of immediately apply-
ing any such system, having regard to all the circumstances
of the case. At any rate, we cannot be wrong in calling attention
to this new stripping method, and in giving some sort of explana-
tion of its construction, objects, and operation. So far as the
writer is aware a stripping brush of one sort or another has
been regarded as the most essential apparatus in regard to cylinder
and doffer stripping since the earliest days of cotton spinning.
This new system, however, revolutionizes the stripping operation,
inasmuch as the brush is practically done away with, and this
carries with it several possible advantages apart from prompt re-
moval of the dust and loose bits of fibre so often found in the
neighbourhood of carding engines. In various ways during recent
years we have become more or less familiar with the principle of
cleaning by high-pressure vacuum, and in this connexion reference
is made to the use of Booth's patents for vacuum cleaning in textile
factories. Briefly described, it may be said that for the purposes
of stripping the cylinder or doffer a nozzle is traversed across the
face of the cylinders or doffer as the case may be and a sufficiently
powerful inrush of air is obtained from a high-pressure air pump,
so that strips, dust, dirt, leaf, portions of seed, or other usual
constituent parts of the card strippings are drawn into the nozzle.
The dust and strippings are drawn through iron piping to a suitable
receptacle in an effective manner.
It is well known that factory inspectors have two special
features in view in respect of cotton carding engines at the present
moment : (1) To secure the application locking motions for the
front or stripping doors. (2) To secure better atmospheric condi-
tions by effective and prompt removal of the dust created in the
operations. It is a singular fact that this apparatus attains both
objects in a manner half incidental and quite in addition to the
performance of the stripping operation by air current instead of
by revolving brush.
Take, for example, the stripping of the cylinder which is done
from the back or feed of the card by the vacuum system, so that
the front stripping door is not needed, and may be screwed fast
by set screws which would not be touched at all for supplying
purposes. We understand that this meets all the requirements of
the factory inspectors in this particular direction.
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 25
From the receiving chamber a main pipe of 1^ in. diameter is
run into the card-room and adjacent to the cards, and fixed as re-
quired on the ceiling, on the floor, or possibly on the ceiling of
the room below the card-room. In positions convenient exten-
sion pipes are coupled to the main piping, to which one end of
a flexible tube is connected, the other being attached to the
cylinder or doffer nozzle on the card during stripping. The
cylinder nozzle is a permanent feature of every carding engine,
and is mounted on a suitable traversing mechanism, somewhat
after the principle of the Horsfall. The point or mouth of the
nozzle is made to run along a narrow slot cut in the fixed back
plate of the carding engine. Special brackets are used to receive
the cylinder nozzle mechanism, but for the doffer nozzle the
usual grinding brackets may be utilized. The doffer nozzle is
made to operate above the doffer comb on top of the doffer, and
this is clearly the best position in every way, because there is
little cotton at this position of the doffer.
As regards the stripping action on the cylinder, this occurs
above the licker-in at the point where the cotton fibres are passing
along from licker-in to doffer, and this is obviously not without
its disadvantages. The writer, however, was informed that after
repeated trials above and below the licker-in, the higher position
was found to be distinctly the better, all points considered. The
mechanism of the doffer nozzle is portable unlike that for the
cylinder and may be carried from card to card. In both cases
revolution and traverse are obtained from a rope pulley driven
from a convenient pulley on the card. Each nozzle is fixed so
that the mouth is about ^ in. away from the wire of the card,
or a sufficient distance to ensure that no actual contact is made
with the wire. This removes the danger of possible injury to
the wire by repeated contact of wire of stripping brush with wire
of card.
Briefly put, the constituent parts of the mechanism consists
of suitable rope pulleys and brackets, nozzles with traversing
arrangements, flexible tubing, iron piping, an air-tight iron cylin-
der for receiving and retaining the strips, and finally an air-
pump. The pump is of the high-pressure type, containing fast
and loose pulleys, and can be fixed in any convenient part of the
mill where there is a driving shaft making at least 100 revolutions
per minute. If used for cleaning as well as stripping the pump
26 COTTON WASTE.
might be working practically all day, but if for stripping only, then
only intermittent use would be required.
The receiving chamber is a large iron receptacle, possibly
10 ft. high by 3 ft. 6 in. diameter, made air-tight, and with a
suitable door for cleaning out the strips as required. Filtering
arrangements are used, to prevent the dust fibre, etc., from getting
into the pump cylinders, there being a pipe connexion from the
pump to the air-tight chamber. The pump and receiving chamber
will probably in most cases be found near together, but this
is not an essential feature, and the receiving chamber can be
placed in any position suitable for the deposition of the strips.
It is possible to use as many as three cylinder nozzles or two
for the doffers at the same time, the other suction pipes being
well sealed up for the moment by taper rubber plugs. All of the
matter constituting the strips may be drawn through the nozzles
and pipes with the cards running full speed, and it is claimed that
even in stripping the cylinder the amount of good cotton taken
with the strips is so very small as to be practically a negligible
quantity, figures being given to support this view. With doffers,
of course, there is no question of taking good fibre through the
pipes owing to stripping above the comb. In cases of fine spin-
ning and high qualities of yarn, if there was any fear of good cotton
going through when stripping the cylinder the side shaft could be
put out of gear without putting the main driving belt on the loose
pulley.
The Front Plate, of the Carding Engine.
There can be no doubt that the question as to why does
moving the top edge of the front or stripping plate farther from
cylinder cause more flat strips can be argued from various points
of view, and most people who have considered the matter will
concede the point to be a somewhat puzzling one.
There are many men who may be rightly deemed shining
lights in the cotton-spinning business, either from a theoretical
or practical standpoint, who frankly admit they are by no means
entirely satisfied as to the exact reason for the result produced.
It is not because they are short of ideas on the subject, nor is it
because they have not made observations and experiments touch-
ing this point, but rather because results vary, and objections
can be urged against any theory or explanation yet advanced.
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 27
It is probable that factors which enter into this problem are :
(1) centrifugal force, (2) air currents, (3) the adjustment and con-
dition of such parts as the flats and back plate, (4) the bite
between the front plate and the cylinder or " the nip ".
One argument put forward to explain why setting front plate
farther from cylinder causes more flat strips may be explained as
follows : If the top edge of front plate is put closer to cylinder it
breaks up the air current better that is lying close to the cylinder
and taken along with it. By thus breaking up the air current
the fibres of cotton have a better tendency to stand out from the
cylinder and can be taken from the doffer better by the cylinder.
The net result is that the cylinder is kept cleaner, the cotton
penetrates and sticks to the cylinder wire better, so that less is
taken off the cylinder by the flats, thus reducing the flat strips.
At any rate this theory possesses the merit of greater novelty
than some others, but the present writer must not be understood
to commit himself to a belief in its correctness. Presumably its
correctness would need to be shown up by the amount of cylinder
strips also becoming less, and it is doubtful whether two or three
days' testing of the same would show any appreciable difference.
Some good men consider that air currents have more to do
with this problem than has centrifugal force, but there are other
quite as good men who consider centrifugal force to be the lead-
ing factor in the problem, and still others who contend against
both theories.
A second possible explanation has been offered as follows.
There is always a tendency for a quickly revolving body to throw
off anything that may be upon its surface owing to the effects of
centrifugal force. This being so there must be a tendency for the
cylinder to throw off the fibre that it carries from taker-in to
doffer, a tendency which is more or less resisted by the back and
front plates and also by the flats themselves. If the front plate
is set farther away at its top edge it permits this tendency to be
developed more strongly at the final point of contact surfaces,
and hence the flats succeed in bringing away more fibre as waste.
Against this explanation is that the flats are charged with fibre
from the very commencement, and therefore do not thus take
away the extra fibre as suggested. Moreover, a very closely set
front plate can in some cases be made to almost prevent flat strips
altogether, although by taking flats out over the cylinder it can
28 COTTON WASTE.
be proved that they are charged with fibre at that point. Accord-
ing to this argument, therefore, it is easy to answer the statement
that a wide setting permits fibres to leave the cylinder for the
flats by asking, How can this be so when the flats are already
charged prior to reaching this point ?
Other reasoning and explanations upon this point are connected
with the question of external air currents affecting the fibres at
the front plate, also air that may enter at the sides of the machine.
It has been argued that when air gets in at the sides of the card,
it is attracted by the cylinder, and may affect the edges of the
fleece of cotton more especially. Cases have occurred in which a
front plate which refused to permit strips to be made on one card
gave quite satisfactory results when transferred to another card.
In many cases the flat strips have been appreciably affected by
alterations to the back plate.
Communications on the Front Plate Question, sent to the Author.
1. Front Plate of Carding Engine. I should be glad to have
the question of front plate of carding engine discussed, and here-
with I contribute my quota. I have been personally connected
with a fair amount of experimenting on this question as to the
effect of front plate on the flat strips. In a certain case there
was a card which gave a great deal of trouble with the weight of
strips, and although I put the plate to practically touch the cylinder,
the strips came out altogether too thick, and no amount of humour-
ing the front plate would stop this. We did not find the law to
apply that setting the front plate closer reduced the strips in this
case. Being determined, if possible, to get at the root of this
matter, an experienced fitter was put on the job for about three
days, and he altered and tested front plate in various ways,
blocking up air passages, putting a strip of wood and iron across
the plate to prevent air from getting in, but still no change was
made in the strips, and the fitter went away. Afterwards I did
my best in the matter, and, singular to say, I found in this case
at least it was neither the front nor the back plate that was
wrong, but the cylinder. I believe if the cylinder had been
correct the front plate would have acted properly. This leads
me to another version of what causes the flat strips to be altered
in thickness besides what you have put in your article, and I am
obliged to use the word " suction," as containing the explanation.
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 29
The flats are loaded with fibres as long as they remain on the
cylinder. Immediately they leave the cylinder the fibres on the
flats come under some influence which draws them more or less
from the flat wire to the cylinder wire. This we can prove by
putting the front plate so close as to have flats coming out bare
of any strips and loading the cylinder. Does not this prove that
centrifugal force of itself does not affect flat strips ? My point is
this : The front plate, assisted possibly by centrifugal force, acts
as a suction plate. We have a current of air generated by the
cylinder, we have a plate which we put closer to the current of
air, and by this means obtain more suction if I may use the
word of strips from the flats. If we get a perfectly covered
cylinder, and perfectly covered flats, and a perfect plate prac-
tically speaking I mean the drawing power is strong enough to
clean the flats of all fibres. This is only one of the points affect-
ing the front plate and flat strips.
2. Front Plate of Carding Engine. Does the setting of front
plate affect the quality of the strips from the card ? One of your
correspondents says no, but I think 99 per cent of carders will
think otherwise. All practical experience proves that the position
of front plate does affect the quantity of strips. But how ? This
is what we want to get at. I believe that centrifugal force and
air current explanations are all off. We cannot get inside a card
to see it work, and in my opinion there is no need if we grasp the
essential conditions that prevail. What are these conditions ?
1st. A revolving cylinder covered with card wire with the business
point of the card tooth leading. 2nd. Flats over the top of the
cylinder, also covered with card wire, but the business points of
the card teeth in the opposite direction to the wire on the cylinder.
3rd. Next we have the cotton fibres carried forward by the cylinder
card teeth against the opposition of the flat card teeth. The
cylinder wire is therefore the comber and the flat wire the retainer.
Now, when the flat is leaving the cylinder the fibres in the flat
are being combed forward by the cylinder card teeth, and the
fibres come in contact with the front plate. Now if you set your
plate an inch away from the cylinder there will be no bite between
the plate and the cylinder wire ; but set your plate close and then
you get a keen bite. This bite controls the amount of flat strips.
One of your correspondents says he has seen cards in which the
alteration of the front plate did not affect the strips. May I point
30 COTTON WASTE.
out that in such a case the flat when leaving the cylinder is not
near enough to the point of the front plate. On most cards this
can be altered by dropping the brackets that carry the front flat
shaft. 1
Hollands Web-Conductor for Carding Engines.
This appears to have been applied to cotton cards since about
1870 or sooner, and is a most excellent little device now universally
adopted, although it would appear the inventor did not patent
the arrangement or derive material benefit from it.
It consists of a very smooth flat plate, held by one or two
studs possibly 2-J in. or so in front of the mouth of the trumpet.
It forms a guide plate for the fine web of cotton before the
latter enters the trumpet. The web-conductor is grooved at the
outer portions but raised in the centre, and helps greatly in collect-
ing the loose web into a more condensed order before the cotton
is formed into a sliver at the trumpet.
The conducting plate has a very excellent effect in keeping
the selvedges of the web in condition, and thus restricts the amount
of waste and the number of slubs formed at this particular part
of a card. The conductor has a good effect in gathering in the
loose fibres of the web and preventing waste in any part of the
web.
Very light selvedge guides of a somewhat similar shape have
been often used, or draw-frames between the rollers with good
effect on the sliver.
Selvedge guides are used in several positions on the draw-frame
and lap machine, or ribbon machine, in order to prevent exces-
sive increase in the lap width, with accompanying bad selvedges
and waste.
Hand-cards.
Nearly forty years ago a well-known authority on cotton
spinning wrote as follows :
" Formerly cylinders were stripped by hand with what is termed
a hand-card, which is a board with a handle about half the width
of the cylinder and having a piece of card sheet nailed to it.
" This is still used to some extent and has a pernicious effect
1 The author does not commit himself either for or against the above
principles.
THE PEODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 31
in loosening and opening the wire on the cylinder. Another
method of doing this is to turn the cylinder slowly backwards by
hand and gather the strips upon a clearer, which is turned at
the same time in the opposite direction. The latter method avoids
damaging the cards upon the cylinder, but it does not get out the
motes which are clutched in the wire of the latter."
Under casings.
And again : " The casing of cylinders underneath has now
become very general, and is absolutely necessary for short staple
cottons and for present speeds. Various opinions prevail as to
the kind of undercasing it is best to employ. Those made of
tinned flat iron soldered to three segments are simple, cheap,
and good, but this plan does not admit of any variations at the
spinning mill when once applied, therefore the following is to be
preferred. This is made of sheet iron plates bent to the curve
of the cylinder and pierced with oblong small holes about 1 in.
long by J in. wide.
" Casings should be set close to the cylinder and ought not to
be wider than the width of the wire on the cylinder as they work
better this way than when made the width of the frame. Some
spinners have their carding engines only partially cased, preferring
to make a little fly to possible discoloration of the yarn."
" Any kind of casing tends somewhat to discolour the yarn, but
in other respects they are economical.
" The discoloration of the yarn arises in a great measure from
the particles of metal which fly off when the cards are ground up
with emery and particularly when hand-strickles are used.
" If two rows of cards be worked with and without undercasings
there is a great difference in the appearance of the yarn, showing
up in stripiness and a bluish tinge when undercasings are used."
" Smooth well-made web-conductors placed in front of the
trumpet of the calendars help to reduce waste by keeping the
selvedges of the web well under control.
" It is a very common thing for a front cross rail to be placed
just under the doffer or so near to it that waste tends to accumu-
late on the rail and after a time becomes picked up in small portions
and is carried round by the doffer into the web. By the same
means the fine web beneath the doffer often becomes ruffled and
patchy."
32 COTTON WASTE.
Comber Waste.
It is well known that comber waste is a very important item
indeed in mills which go in for the production of really good
combed yarns. When it is remembered that with single combing
alone as much as 20 per cent of the total cotton supplied to the
combers may be rejected as waste stuff for which possibly 15
pence per pound may have been paid in days of high prices
an idea may be formed of the cost and importance of this sub-
ject.
It is well known also that the draw and lap machine or
ribbon machine is an optional machine for use in front of the
comber instead of a special draw-frame for the purpose. Until
a few years ago the amount of adoption of the ribbon machine
scarcely appeared to warrant its introduction a matter of possibly
thirty years ago. During the last few years, however, this machine
has very rapidly increased in public acceptance, and there is little
doubt that the extensive adoption of the Nasmith and Heilmann
combers requiring wide heavy caps has exercised an important
influence in this direction.
Granting that the use of the ribbon machine diminishes the
per cent of good fibre extracted as waste at the comber, may we
not also suggest that in days of high-priced cotton the argu-
ment for using the ribbon machine instead of the special draw-
frame possesses additional force since the preservation amongst
the good slivers of 100 Ib. of extra fibre costing 15 pence per
pound, means so much more than 100 Ib. at 7d. or 8d. Items
such as these are sufficient to turn the scale in cases of machines
which are Wavering in public estimation, as the ribbon machine
was for a number of years.
The Disposal of the Comber Waste.
The most orthodox arrangement for disposing of the waste at
the machine has been to have rectangular boxes placed on the
floor behind the machine, each box serving for two heads, and the
waste being simply dropped from the doffer combs into the tins.
At regular intervals the waste may be pressed down into the
boxes to prevent too rapid overfilling, and possible danger of
some of the waste being taken back into the machine.
Mr. Sylvanus Anderton well known in cotton-spinning cir-
THE PEODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 33
cles in the Bolton district as an expert on combers some time
ago devised a neat little tin arrangement fitted near the doffer,
which helps to keep the comber noil down in the proper recep-
tacle, and greatly diminishes the risk of any of the waste touching
the doffer and being carried back into the range of the principal
acting organs of the comber.
The most ambitious and most revolutionary arrangement of
recent years, however, in regard to the disposal of the comber
waste, consists in the application of what is known as Koth's
patent aspirator, upon the adaptation of which eminent ma-
chinists have expended a good deal of time, skill, and money.
The well-known doffers, covered with strong wire in a leather
foundation, and also the doffer combs, are entirely dispensed with.
An arrangement is fitted which possesses points of resemblance
to those employed on openers and scutchers for disposing of
the air and fine dust. The removal of the waste is effected by
a current of air. The combing cylinders and quickly revolving
brushes for cleaning the cylinder needles of all the waste material
remain as before, but the combing cylinder and brush for
each head are partially enclosed with a special casing, and the
waste thrown off from each head is deposited upon the perforated
portion of a cylinder. In other words, the casings have com-
munication with a cylindrical filtering screen which extends the
whole length of the machine, from the centre of which it has
communication with the forced draught apparatus. The air' duct
placed at the back of the machine is connected with an exhaust
fan. The successful accomplishment of this particular idea should
remove an eyesore from the cotton combers, should keep the
combers cleaner, should quite obviate the smaller troubles such
as waste picking up again into the machine, and ought to leave
the work if anything cleaner. It remains to be seen how much
this device will be adopted.
Below is reproduced by kind permission of the lecturer a good
proportion of a lecture recently delivered at the Bolton and
Manchester Technical Schools, by Mr. Norman Jones, Examiner
in Cotton Spinning to the City of Guilds of London Institute.
In this lecture many points affecting the production and
regulation of cotton waste are admirably treated, in so far as Sea
Islands and good Egyptian cottons are concerned in the blow-
room and carding engines.
3
34 COTTON WASTE.
Lecture.
We have now to consider the second important feature of the
machine, viz. its cleansing efficiency and the factors affecting it,
which are chiefly : (1) the relative areas of the cylinder and that
portion of its circumference which is occupied by the grid bars
and hood respectively; (2) the number, section, angular setting
and spacing of the grid bars ; and (3) the establishment of the
correct ratio which must be maintained between the induced air
currents generated by the fan and the velocity of the blow given
to the cotton, together with the speed and volume of the air dis-
placed by the rotation of the cylinder. For the first of these cir-
cumstances it may be stated that in machines of modern con-
struction, 20 per cent of the cylinder circumference may be allotted
to the hood or casing prior to the point of commencement of the
grid bars, and 50 per cent of the circumference to the grid bars
themselves. The shape and setting of these bars are governed
by several factors, the chief of which are : (1) the nature of the
material to be acted upon ; (2) the amount of impurities contained
in it ; and (3) the relative amount of opening and cleaning to
which the cotton has been subjected at different positions in its
passage over the grid bars, and the difference in the character of
the impurities which are ejected at these points. The object of
the bars should be at first to arrest the cotton sharply, and the
section of the first few bars should be such as to hold the cotton
for a very brief period after its impact, thus allowing the impurities
to free themselves readily, and by presenting angular faces to the
detached tufts of cotton, which tend to prevent their rapid pass-
age over the bars, causes them to be struck oftener by the blades.
As the cleaning proceeds, the necessity for this sharp impact and
progressional obstruction becomes less ; the bar angles should be
made less acute, so that, as the cotton is driven forward by the
combined action of beater and fan, it is subjected to a series of
gentle vibrations, which finally develop into a slight scraping action,
as the now opened cotton passes over the final section of the bars.
The action or effect produced on the cotton varies therefore in
accordance with the changes in section of the bars, so that the
angle made by the bar faces becomes of the utmost importance,
and should receive a corresponding amount of attention. When
.these angles have been satisfactorily established, the full cleaning
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 35
efficiency of a set of bars can only be realized when the air current
passing through the spaces between the bars is correctly adjusted
to the bar sections, and in acccordance with the effects which the
angular setting of the bars is designed to produce upon the material.
Theoretically, the air current passing into the machine through the
grid bar apertures at any point should be just sufficient to detach the
cotton from the bar edges and keep it inside the beater chamber.
As the sections are changed, and with* the angles made by the bar
faces becoming less acute, the force and volume of the air current
necessary to detach the cotton becomes less, and should be reduced
in approximately the same ratio as the reduction in the holding
capacity of the bars. The advantages derived from the reduction
of this air current are very great, as it allows lighter impurities to
be ejected from the cotton which could not possibly have made
headway against the strength of the current necessary to detach
the cotton from bars of more acute angles.
The realization of these effects can be attained by dividing out
the beater chamber into sections, corresponding to the different sec-
tions of bars used, so that the series of bars of different sections
may be isolated from each other. These divisions can be readily
applied in the form of sheet-iron folding doors, easily removable
for cleaning purposes, and the subdivision of the entire chamber
may be arranged to form two or three chambers as may be neces-
sary. It is not advisable to carry this farther than three sub-
divisions for various reasons. Each division should communicate
with the external atmosphere through examination doors provided
with draft control regulators. TKese latter should be regulated to
govern the air supply in decreasing volume as the cotton becomes
more open and the impurities to be extracted become finer. These
subdivisions also serve a useful secondary purpose, as they break
up the local circular air currents which are generated by the meet-
ing of the fan and beater currents inside the chamber, and
which in a chamber not subdivided or fitted with baffling plates,
transfers a constant stream of impurities from the upper to the
lower series of bars, where they re-enter the machine and pass
forward. For the actual design and spacing of the grid bars them-
selves there is much divergence of opinion ; the methods employed
differ considerably even when intended for use under similar cir-
cumstances.
It is not possible in a short space to detail the many factors
36
COTTON WASTE.
which influence these arrangements, but the following method of
construction possesses the advantage that it has been evolved from
practical experiments, and is specially adapted to the previous data
supplied on this type of opener working the cottons under discus-
sion. Let A represent the circle described by the tip of the cylinder
blades and B the circle of grid bar edges. The distance between
FIG. 2. Angles of Beaten Bars.
the circles should be -f$ in. to f in. Assuming the edge of the first
bar to coincide with the point C, then through C draw DE tangential
to beater circle A. On CE construct the angle EOF of 30 and
project the line FC to G. Through X (the centre of the beater
circle) draw XH at right angles to FG. With centre X and radius
XH draw the circle U, which will be the construction circle to
which all the upper bar faces must be tangential for bars of similar
section. From C mark off CK 1 J in. long, and from X draw the
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 37
radial line XK, intersecting the line DE at L, this completes the
bar CKL. For the second bar, mark off on the circle B a distance
MN of 4- in. N is commencing point for the second bar. Join
NX and bisect the line at O. With centre O and radius NO,
cut the circle A at P, and the circle IJ at Q. Project lines through
N from P and Q respectively. These lines will then be tangents
to their respective circles, and the bar may again be completed by
a radial line from X passing through S. For the bars of the second
section the construction is similar except that the angle EOF is
45. The bars of the final section are also similarly constructed,
but with angle EOF 50. On analysing this construction it will be
noted that two of the bar faces are similar in each instance, the
difference being in the angle made by the face line CF with the
tangential line to beater circle CE. The reasons for this are as
follows : The tufts of cotton struck by the cylinder blades are
projected forward in a line tangential to the blade circle, so that
the bar face CE following the same course presents the least pos-
sible obstruction to the flight of the impurities, hence the reason for
adopting this method of construction for the whole series of bars.
For lower cottons this line would be made to fall away from the
beater a few degrees more than the tangential line, which would
increase its keenness, but this is not to be commended for the finer
cottons. The angle EOF is highly important, as it determines the
cleaning capacity of the bar to a very great extent. The more
acute this angle the more tenaciously will the bar cling to the
cotton driven on to it, and the efficiency will thus be determined
by the effects produced by the interaction between the bars and the
cylinder blades. Acute angles retain the portions of cotton for a
comparatively longer period than more obtuse angles, thus allowing
the impurities time to fall, preventing too rapid passage of cotton
through the machine, and causing it to be re-presented to the
cylinder blades oftener, all of which tend to open and clean the
cotton to a finer degree. On the other hand, too great keenness in
the bar angle scrapes and deteriorates the fibre, makes good waste,
and if the retentivity of the bar is too great causes overcrowding,
with consequent stringing and cutting of the material if the fan
draft is not excessively powerful, which, of course, defeats the
object of the bar entirely.
It is thus obvious that bars of very acute angles, if used, must
be few in number. In the second set of bars, the change of section
38 COTTON WASTE.
consequent upon the alteration of the angle EOF to 45 has a very
important effect. In the first place its obstructive effect is de-
creased, and in the second place its capacity for retaining the
material inside the machine is increased. The latter development
is necessitated to a certain extent by the cotton having been
opened out to a finer degree, and is directly due to the change
in the bar angle EOF, causing the point E, which represents the
intersection of the face line CF by the tangential line CE, to be
nearer the point C in the second set of bars than in the first,
and nearer still in the third set. This point represents the
farthest outer position on to which the cotton can be thrown,
theoretically speaking, and bringing this point nearer to the edge
C of the bars makes it increasingly difficult to throw good material
through the apertures.
Before leaving this phase of the subject one very important
feature must be noted, viz., that all through the various changes
of bar sections, the spaces between the bars remain the same, viz.
in. It might on first consideration appearthat this practice
would conduce to the passage of good material through the bar
spaces, especially as the general practice is to reduce the apertures
towards the final sections of the bar system ; but for the cottons
under discussion, with the conditions previously described and the
bars arranged as demonstrated, no good material is wasted. On
the other hand, with the different sections of bars divided to form
two or more chambers, and the air currents efficiently controlled,
the extraction of finer impurities during the latter stages is greatly
increased by the additional area provided for their exit. Before
leaving the subject of the opener, it should be stated that under
the foregoing conditions the cotton should not be subjected to
more than one beating, so that the single cylinder machine with
lap part is amply sufficient, the double opener being much too
severe for these cottons.
In the second process of preparation, viz. scutching, the clean-
ing is continued, and at the same time the finished result should
be the foundation upon which the subsequent regularity of the
product is built. The cleaning in this machine is due primarily
to the action of the bladed beater and its auxiliaries, the grid bars,
cages, and fan. The action of the bladed beater is more thorough
than that of the cylinder beater, as it strikes its blow simultane-'
ously across the full width of the machine, thus driving out im-
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 39
purities which have escaped the picking or rough combing action
of the cylinder. This action of the bladed beater is also produc-
tive of much evil if its characteristics are not carefully studied and
their effects noted. In the present instance, and for Sea Islands
and the finest grades of Egyptian cotton, the diameter of the
beater should not exceed 16 in., as the surface speed of larger
diameters when striking the same number of blows is apt to be-
come excessive. The restrictions as to surface speed, previously
described in connexion with the opener, limit the speed of the 16
in. beater to 800 and 1000 revolutions per minute for Sea Islands
and fine Egyptian cotton respectively. The inter-relation between
the blows per inch, speed of feed, and weight delivered to the beater
per unit time are also important, and certain conditions are estab-
lished by practice which must not be exceeded. Thus for Sea
Islands cotton the blows per inch turned through by the feed-roller
must not exceed 20 to 25, and the weight of the combined laps on
the creeper should not exceed 1'20 oz. per yard per inch width of
lap fed. For the fine Egyptian cotton the blows may range up to
30 per inch, with an average weight fed up equal to 1*40 oz.
per yard per inch in width. These conditions give a linear speed
of feed equal to 64 to 68 in. per minute for Sea Islands and fine
Egyptian cottons respectively.
One of the most important considerations in the treatment of
fine cottons by a bladed beater is the setting of the distance from
the nip of feed rollers to the path of the blade, and for these
cottons, fed up at the speed and weight ratios previously given,
a setting of If to If in. from centre of the feed roller to the edge
of the beater blade when in the same horizontal plane gives good
results. This setting cannot be fixed arbitrarily for every instance,
even for the same cottons, as other local circumstances tend to
modify it within certain limits. A very good practical method of
checking the effects of a setting deduced from a theoretical con-
sideration of the leading factors, is to study the fringe of the lap
which projects through the feed rollers. For the cottons under
discussion a lap fringe of from 2 J to 3 in. long, measured from roller
nip to extreme edge, should be in constant projection from the
rollers, and the beater action should not shorten this fringe. The
extra length of lap projecting through the nipping point over and
above the setting distance, is due to the lap being bent round the
circumference of the bottom roller by the beater action, and to
40 COTTON WASTE.
avoid abrasion of the material a feed roller should never be used
for fine cotton which will not allow a full T 5 ^ in. to f in. clearance
between the blade edge and its nearest point when set the correct
distance from the roller centres.
The manner in which the cotton is removed by the beater
should be carefully studied, and in connexion with this the follow-
ing details should receive attention. The beater setting having
been decided, the feed roller should be weighted sufficiently to
compress the material being fed to such a degree that the lap
fringe develops a tendency to spring away from the surface of the
bottom feed roller, and project itself into the path of the revolving
blades. This weighting, however, must not be carried to excess,
and, speaking generally, a weight of approximately 10 to 12 Ib.
per inch width of feed will be found sufficient for the densities of
feed previously given.
Under these circumstances, the first point on the lap fringe to
receive the impact of the beater is at a distance of about 1 in.
from its extreme edge. The beater striking this point drives back
the fringe, and passes along it, its resilience due to the compression
between the feed rollers forcing it against the beater blade, and
thus causing the fibres to be removed from its extreme edge, which
is naturally thin and the resistance to extraction considerably less.
Immediately the blade passes, the flexibility of the fringe causes it
to again project itself forward to receive the next blow, the action
of the feed motion, of course, automatically restoring the amount
of material removed by the blades, thus maintaining uniformity
in the length under treatment. The removal of the fibre under
these conditions is effected in the most suitable manner possible,
and with the minimum amount of strain and damage, as the re-
silience of the fringe and its ability to move away from the beater
ensures almost perfect inviolability. On the other hand, if the
setting distance is too close, or the diameter of the feed rollers too
large to give a proper clearance, the result is a crushing or chopping
of the material between the circumference of the bottom feed
roller and the beater blade, which is denoted by the fringe of the
lap showing a very abrupt change of section with an irregular
straggling edge, in which rolled up fibre and artificial nip are
readily discernible.
In all cleaning machines in which the material is fed in lap
form, the exact manner of the removal of the successive units of
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE.
41
material as deduced from a close study of the immediate section
of the mass from which they have been extracted, is of paramount
importance to the successful manipulation of the machine, and
forms in practice a most valuable and unfailing guide to the
realization of the highest efficiency. The maintenance of a uni-
form fringe, accompanied by uniform reduction in its section, also
increases the efficiency of the beating or cleaning action, as the
impurities are worked downwards by the repeated blows of the
FIG. 3. Angles of Grid Bars for Scutcher.
beater into the thinner sections of the fringe, when they are more
easily driven out.
The construction of the grid bars in the scutcher must also be
arranged in accordance with the more open condition of the cotton
and its extraction in finer particles. The construction following
upon the same principles as previously detailed for the opener is
indicated in Fig. 3, where the angle EOF is made 50 as in the
final sections of the opener bars. The face CF is tangential to the
beater circle as in the previous instances, and the lower side of each
bar is radial to the beater circle. The practical advantages derived
42 COTTON WASTE.
by constructing the lower face of every bar radially to the centre
of beater circle are very great, as it gives symmetry to the bar
system, provides excellent facilities for the passage of impurities
outwards, and greatly facilitates the setting of the bars to their
correct angular positions respective to the beater circle, if for any
reason they have been removed. For fine cottons the section of
bar shown in Fig. 3 may be used throughout the entire set in the
scutcher, and the spacing may be arranged as follows :
Assuming 15 to 18 bars in the set, the first eight may be
spaced f in. apart, the next four bars yV m - apart, and the rest
-J in. The first bar may be set ^ in. from the nearest point of the
bottom feed roller, and all the bar edges nearest to the beater, a
distance of T V in. away from the beater circle. For coarser cottons
these particulars and settings would differ considerably, the bar
angles being much more acute and ranging up to 35, which in-
volves a different method of construction entirely ; but for the
cottons forming the subject of these remarks, the previous arrange-
ment gives good results without injuring the fibre. It is also good
practice to divide the beater chamber in this machine into two
separate divisions, and admit a lesser volume of air to the one
section, thereby increasing the cleaning efficiency.
The further cleaning and removal of impurities is now under-
taken by the card, whose action is much more refined than that
of the preceding machines, and is admirably adapted to the re-
quirements of the material at this stage. In the practical carding
of fine cottons there are several circumstances to be observed and
anticipated if the fibre is to emerge from the process without
injury, as the relatively higher factor of cohesiveness existent in
cottons of longer fibres greatly augments the difficulties of their
effective separation. Having formed the material into a suitable
lap for presentation to the card, the first subject for consideration
is the method of feeding to the taker-in, in order to obtain the
greatest efficiency from the action of that most important organ.
The results obtained from the treatment of the lap by the taker-in
are dependent upon several factors, the chief of which are : (1) the
pitch, shape, number, and surface speed of the teeth ; (2) the
mass of the material fed per unit time and the ratio existent
between these two circumstances ; (3) the profile of the feed
plate, which, in conjunction with the linear speed of the feed, de-
termines the duration of the combing action ; (4) the shape of the
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE.
43
mote knives, and their angular disposition with the surface of the
taker-in, and their respective distances from the feed plate from
each other and from the undercasing of the taker-in ; and (5) the
constructional features of the undercasing, the shape of the bars,,
the setting, and the influence of the local air currents generated in
the taker-in chamber.
Taking the first of these items, viz., the clothing of the taker-
in, the dual duties of the teeth must be considered, viz. , the open-
ing out of the tangled mass of fibres in the lap and the carrying
forward of minute bunches of fibre to the cylinder. The teeth
must, therefore, be so shaped that these functions will be satisfac-
FIG. 4.
torily performed, and for the cottons under treatment a profile as
indicated in Fig. 4 gives excellent all-round results. In this form
of clothing the circumferential pitch of the teeth is '25 in., the
working depth '156 in., the angle which the carrying face of the
tooth makes with the vertical (angle ABC) 15, and the angle of
the tooth from the line of its front edge (angle CBD) 35. This
profile of tooth when worked at a speed suitable for the cotton,
develops sufficient retaining power to allow of the use of a fairly
open grid, thus providing facilities for the extraction of minor im-
purities. For fine cottons sufficient opening out is accomplished
(provided all other conditions are normal) by spirals of 1 in. pitch,
with 6 in. complete threads on the taker-in surface. This gives a
pitch of 16 between adjacent threads.
44
COTTON WASTE.
The profile of the feed plate is shown in Fig. 5, and its leading
characteristics are as follows : The horizontal axis of the taker-in
passes through the nose of feed plate at approximately the position
at which the fibres are liberated from the nip of the feed roller,
and the distance between the teeth of the taker-in and the face of
feed plate at this point (A) should not be less than Jth of an inch
when the lower portion of the plate is set to a 5's gauge from the
teeth. The angle made by the face of the plate AB relative to the
circle of the taker-in should be such that the teeth first touch at a
point D (1 J in. from A), and leave again at a point E (1-J in. from A).
FIG. 5. Undercasing and Mote-Knives of Carding Engine.
The bearing distance of taker-in teeth to feed plate is thus from D
to E, the teeth being at their greatest depth at the point X, mid-
way between D and E. This should be tested practically when
changes have been made in the length or angular disposition of
the face of the plate, by smearing the face AB with some kind of
marking substance, moving the plate up to the taker-in until it
touches lightly, and then turning the taker-in gently by hand,
afterwards noting the effect on the face of the plate, where the
marking substance should be removed for the distance specified.
The face AB should be continued a full J in. beyond the point E,
where the marking by the taker-in teeth finishes, thus giving a
length of AB equal to If in. It is highly important that the face
THE PKODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 45
of the plate be continued beyond the point E, as if a form of plate
be used in which the point B coincides with or is higher than the
point E, the percentage of good fibre ejected at this stage will be
considerably higher than would be the case with a feed plate on
which the face was extended well beyond this point.
The extension of this face beyond the point at which the taker-
in teeth definitely cemmence to leave it when following their path
of circular movement, greatly facilitates the retention of the fibre
by the teeth, on account of the angular face of the feed plate
following to a certain extent the contour of the taker-in surface,
and thus lessening the distance between the points of the teeth
and the face of the plate.
The angle made by the mote knives is a very important feature,
and is responsible for much of the clearing out of fine impurities.
It is not possible to state any definite degree of angle which will
suit every instance, as circumstances vary to an extent which
makes the standardization of this setting impossible. Por normal
feeds and speeds, and for long-fibred cottons, worked with takers-
in covered with teeth as previously indicated, a good method is to
arrange the two faces of the bars G and H tangential to circles of
6^ in. and 9^ in. diameter respectively ; this setting proving the
most effective out of an extended trial of several combinations of
angles. The distances between the feed plate and the knives,
between the knives themselves, and between the second knife and
the undercasing, also have an important influence upon the result,
and very good all-round results are obtained by keeping all these
distances within the length of *7 times the average length of the
fibre, which in the present instance limits the distance between
the first two of these settings to 1J in. The taker-in undercasing
may be extended to within f in. of the. second knife. The bars in
the undercasing may be fixed as indicated, with J in. clear space
between each bar, and constructed with the receiving face set at
an angle of 45, with a radial line from the centre of the taker-in.
The edges of the bars must be rounded off and highly polished, and
the undercasing, mote knives, and feed plate set as closely as
possible to the taker-in.
The examination of the lap fringe after it has been subjected
to the action of the taker-in, is a good practical method of ascer-
taining the suitability of any given combination of taker-in speed,
profile of feed plate, and speed and weight of the feed per unit
46 COTTON WASTE.
time. When the fibres are being removed under the best condi-
tions, the lap should taper off uniformly from full thickness to a
thin fringe of fibres, which should present a level and unbroken
edge. The extent of the tapered section should not be too short,
and should average for these cottons from 1^ in. to If in. If the
section of the fringe shows very abrupt reduction it may indicate
that the feed plate incline is either too short or has insufficient
clearance from the teeth of the taker-in at its upper edge for the
weight or mass of fibres presented.
If the edge of the fringe is very irregular, with gaps at intervals,
the probable causes are too great a length of incline from the nipping
point to the point of release ; too quick a speed of feed relative to
the surface speed of the taker-in ; insufficient weighting of the
feed roller ; or the roller and the feed plate out of alignment with
each other, thus failing to establish a perfect grip on the lap across
its full width, which results in " plucking " and very irregular re-
moval of the material. Under any circumstances, if a uniform
fringe is not permanently maintained, a higher percentage of good
fibre will be found in the droppings than would be found normally.
The arrangements of speeds, drafts, and production vary
slightly according to circumstances, and in the working of super-
fine cotton a knowledge of the limiting factors is of great assistance
when the necessity for adjustment occurs.
The first feature in this respect which demands attention is
the maximum permissible speed of the constant speed organs, viz.
taker-in and cylinder. These speeds are, of course, limited by the
nature of the material, and in the present instance should not ex-
ceed 900 and 1900 ft. per minute for the taker-in and the cylinder
respectively. The speeds of the variable speed organs, viz. the
feed parts and the doffer and its connexions, are governed by
various factors, amongst which are (1) The ultimate counts of
sliver required relative to the count of the lap fed ; (2) the pro-
duction required from cards, and the number of cards available
relative to this total production ; (3) the maximum density of the
feed per unit time which the nature of the material will allow
without deterioration ; and (4) the minimum surface speed of the
doffer which will clear the cylinder efficiently.
Taking this from the point of view of the best practice for fine
cottons, the considerations affecting the quality of the product
.should be the first to receive attention, and in this respect the
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 47
feeding of the material becomes of paramount importance. The
density of feed per unit time is in turn dependent upon the
charging or distribution of material upon the surface of the cylin-
der, and for fine cottons this factor is readily found by experiment.
For fine Sea Islands cotton the weight fed should not exceed
15 to 16 grains per minute per inch width of lap, with a linear
of feed spread of from 5 to 5^ in. per minute. For fine Egyptian
cotton the weight fed may range up to 18 grains per minute per
inch width of lap, at approximately the same rate of speed. These
factors should not be exceeded, as with the speeds and particulars
previously given the charging of the cylinder under these condi-
tions reaches the maximum safe density at which the fibres may
be transferred from cylinder to flat and flat to cylinder without
straining and rolling up into nep. The resistance which is offered
to the transference of the fibres thus alluded to, should be as far as
possible the resistance of the wire itself, and should not be increased
by the extra resistance imposed by a mass of contiguous fibres.
In respect to the doffer speed, it is usually conceded that this
is subservient to the weight per yard of the sliver required, and
whilst this theory under certain circumstances might be correct,
it may also in other instances be equally incorrect. The speed of
the doffer should as far as possible be governed by the weight fed
per unit time. It may be assumed that for a certain distribution
of fibre on the surface of the cylinder, a certain speed of doffer
surface containing a given number of points will be found to
effectively clear the cylinder. It is, of course, not possible for
any speed of doffer to absolutely clear the surface of a cylinder as
it passes, on account of the very limited area of the surfaces in
contact, the great contrast between the speeds of these surfaces
and the natural cohesiveness existent between the fibres buried
in the cylinder wire and those on the surface. These circumstances,
along with others of a more or less variable character, make the
entire stripping of the cylinder every revolution an absolute im-
possibility, and this is clearly demonstrated by the time taken by
the cylinder to discharge its superfluity when the feed is stopped.
It is therefore self-evident that the slower the speed of the doffer
for a given weight of feed, the greater will be the number of fibres
carried past it, and as a natural consequence the greater will be
the working density of the fibre on the cylinder surface ; thus
tending to overcard and strain it.
48 COTTON WASTE.
For the conditions and feed weights as previously indicated,
the surface speeds of the doffer for Sea Islands and fine Egyptian
cottons should not fall below 55 to 58 ft. per minute. It is not
an uncommon occurrence when the output of a card is adjusted
to give the same total production of a lighter sliver, to find that
the increased doffer speed for the same weight of feed results in a
diminution in the percentage of flat strips. This is on account of
the increased efficiency of the doffing action, as if fibres are con-
stantly passing the doffer, the inevitable result is the retention of
good fibre by the flats. This same defect may also be the result
of wide setting between the doffer and the cylinder, by neglect of
stripping at consistent intervals, and by dull wire. The speed of
the flats is also a very important consideration, as it affects not
only the quality of the carding but the percentage of waste ex-
tracted. No definite rule can be stated, the speed being purely
dependent upon local circumstances and the condition of the cotton
under treatment in respect to cleanliness. The average speed for
superfine cottons usually ranges from two to three inches per
minute. The action of the flats is one of great interest, and should
be carefully studied in conjunction with the cotton under treat-
ment. The rate of presentation of clean flats to the cylinder at
that point at which the cotton contains practically the whole of
the impurities which the flats are expected to extract, governs to
a very appreciable extent the cleanliness of the resultant sliver.
If a card be run bare and the cylinder and doffer stripped so that
no charged surfaces exist upon any of the carding organs, the card
started in this condition, and again stopped when the sliver has
attained its average weight per yard, much valuable information
may be gathered by turning the flats back and analysing the flat
strips in their various positions. It will be found that, providing
the flats have been properly set down in the first instance, very
few (if any) of the larger impurities have passed the first four or
five flats. The charging of the flats is heavier at the feed than at
the delivery end, as might naturally be expected and the percentage
of good fibre is considerably greater in the initial than the terminal
sections of the flats, the strips on the initial section of the flats
being much more loosely held than those in the latter sections.
The most striking feature is the absence of any of the heavier im-
purities in the flat strips after the first few flats, which throws a
very interesting light upon the action of the flats on the cotton.
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 49
In connexion with the above experiment, it must be remembered
that all the flats were uncharged or bare to commence with. The
inferences which may be drawn from this experiment are : (1)
That the cotton as received by the cylinder from the taker-in is
brought forward in the form of minute tufts of fibres clinging
together, rather than in individual fibres as is often supposed.
These small tufts are arrested by the first flats, and retained until
they are straightened out and removed by the cylinder. The
heavier impurities having been arrested by the flats are retained
by them, being firmly embedded in the flat wire as a result of the
extraction of the fibres to which they are attached, these being
drawn away from them through the wire of the flat, that is, through
the heel. (2) That the presentation of good fibre to the cylinder
by the flats continues for a certain period after the flats have be-
come fully charged at the feed end, and this period is dependent
upon the speed of the flats, the weight of the feed, and the quality
of the cotton. Simultaneously with this removal of good fibre,
the flats are intercepting other fibres on the cylinder surface, so
that as a result of this mutual interaction the composition of the
flat strips changes as the flats follow their normal course. The
longer fibres having greater affinity for the quickly moving points
on the cylinder than for those on the slowly moving flats are carried
forward, whilst the shorter fibres and impurities tend to take their
place and remain. (3) The efficiency of the flats gradually dimin-
ishes as they approach the termination of their course over the
cylinder, and this loss of efficiency may be allotted to two dis-
tinct circumstances, which, however, influence each other in a very
decided manner. In the first place, the "loading" or accumula-
tion of material on the wire surface of the flat, naturally reduces
its available number of intercepting points, thus lessening its
effectiveness in dealing with the fibres on the cylinder. In the
second place, the character of the strip itself as the flat nears the
completion of its path over the cylinder further reduces its efficiency
in the following manner : It was previously stated that, in a card
actually at work, the flat strips are equally as heavy at the feed as
at the delivery end. There is, however, this difference, that the
flat strips at the feed end are almost wholly composed of good
material which is readily transferred to the cylinder, thus freeing
the flat and enabling it to intercept other fibres to replace them.
The flat strips at the delivery end are composed of fibres which
4
50 COTTON WASTE.
have been intercepted, and on account of their shortness the cylin-
der has been unable to transfer them. The interaction between
flat and cylinder thus becomes less, owing to the decrease in the
quantity of transferable material held by the flat, and which at the
same time prevents the flats in the latter sections from exercising
more than a nominal intercepting action on the material held by
the cylinder. This further emphasizes the necessity for close ob-
servation and regulation of the supply of clean flats to the cylinder
in accordance with the waste to be extracted from the material
under treatment, and the best practical method is to adopt a speed
which gives a strip of sufficient density to strip cleanly, without
clinging to the flat wire.
In the carding of fine cottons very heavy flat strips should
always be viewed with a certain amount of suspicion, as they are
usually one of the first signs of grave deterioration in the action
of the machine, and this indication should never be neglected.
Excessively heavy flat strips, if not due to the causes previously
enumerated, may be due to too slow speed of the flats, or to wide
setting of the front fly plate. The latter procedure is sometimes
resorted to by the uninitiated to produce a heavier strip, and is
very much to be depreciated. It may invariably be detected in
the appearance of the flat strips as they fall away from the strip-
ping comb, by the "bridging" or connexion of flat strips to each
other by a network of good fibre. If this setting be carried to
excess the strips may be pulled bodily away from the film of good
fibre, thus proving it to have been extracted subsequent to the
formation of the flat strips, and its position relative to the flat
strips shows that it has been taken from the cylinder entirely.
Finally, for the very best Sea Islands cotton, flats not less than
2 in. wide, If in. on the wire, should be used ; whilst for the
lower qualities of Sea Islands and best Egyptian cotton, the
If in. flat, 1 in. wide on the wire may be used. The " heel " in
both instances should not be less than '038 in. per each inch of
width.
Passing to the final cleaning process in the preparation of
cotton for fine spinning, viz. combing, it may be stated that this
is the only process which exercises a discriminatory or selective
action upon the material. It is this propensity which makes this
process invaluable, and makes it by far the most important of the
entire series of preparatory processes. It differs also from the
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 51
preceding cleaning processes in the fact that, during combing, the
fibres are held at each end in alternate sequence, and subjected
to a sufficient strain to check their natural curling tendency.
This governing action is not relaxed until the fibres are incorpor-
ated in the sliver, thus resulting in absolute^ parallelism of its
component fibres. The efficacy of the combing operation is not
wholly dependent upon the action of the machine itself, but is
greatly influenced by the method of presentation of the material
This latter factor is one which varies considerably, according to
the character of the material and the results required ; but for
the finest cottons the most suitable method is to present it in the
form of as light a lap as the production required from the machines
will allow.
This system favours the extraction of nep, which generally
exists to a very great extent in the finest cottons, where its ab-
sence is most desired. It is also found that in these cottons the
neps adhere very tenaciously to the fibre, and this disadvantage is
accentuated by the fact that the long, fine fibres are more easily
strained than shorter, and consequently thicker, fibres would
be. The balance of advantages are thus easily on the side of
lap feeding in the form of light laps, and for the best results the
weights should not exceed 18 to 20 and 24 to 28 grs. per yard
per inch width of lap for fine Sea Islands and Egyptian cottons
respectively. For these cottons, also, machines wider than 8^- in.
in the lap are not to be commended, as the production of an even
fleece or web from a lap wider than this at the weights per yard
specified, becomes a matter of great difficulty on account of its
extremely delicate nature.
Defects in Rovings Their Causes and Remedies.
Summary of Defects. (1) Uneven rovings ; (2) soft rovings ;
(3) hard rovings, or rovings having too much twist; (4) dirty
rovings or rovings containing nep and small portions of leaf ; (5)
stretched rovings ; (6) cut rovings ; (7) rovings containing slubs ;
(8) stained rovings ; (9) single rovings ; (10) thickened rovings.
1. Causes of Uneven Rovings. These may be caused through
the circuit or passage from rollers to bobbin not being free enough,
or through faulty action of differential motion, or slippage of cone
belt, or binding of the racks and rack pinions. Uneven rovings
may, however, be caused by uneven slivers ; also when short fibre
52 COTTON WASTE.
is present to a great extent in the raw cotton, or through deliberate
mixing of long- and short-fibred cottons.
Remedies, Examine flyer and see that it is thoroughly clean.
Pass a strand of some material covered with French chalk through
flyer leg and thus clean it. Examine differential motion, see that
all parts are well lubricated. Examine all wheels of which it
is composed for broken teeth, etc. See that they are properly in
gear with each other. Make cone belt sufficiently tight to avoid
excessive slippage. Examine racks and rack pinions as to their
efficient working. See that the slivers put up at slubbing frames
are uniform. We could not avoid the presence of short fibres in
the raw cotton as these are present more or less according to the
circumstances under which the cotton is grown. We could ab-
stain from mixing long and short cottons and this would certainly
give better results.
2. Causes of Soft Rovings. Insufficient twist in the rovings ;
weights falling and not being seen, or weight being disconnected
from weight hook ; defects in roller coverings.
Remedies. We should of course put on a less twist wheel, i.e.
one having a less number of teeth, thus affecting all parts of the
frame with the exception of the twisting spindles, which would
remain the same, thus giving the desired effect.
See that the rollers are properly weighted, all weights being
connected to the rollers by the weight hooks.
Channelling of the front top rollers, due mostly to faulty traverse
motions may allow the rovings to come through too freely. Put
in fresh rollers with good coverings. Make traverse motion so to
work that we shall obtain best results.
3. Causes of Hard Rovings. -These may be caused by having
too much twist, we should therefore put on a twist wheel having
a greater number of teeth and obtain the reverse of what we got
with the change in second case. Top rollers binding is a common
cause.
4. Causes of Neppy, Dirty and Leafy Rovings. Nep is present
to a greater or lesser extent in all cottons. It consists of very small
portions of fibre which curl up into very small specks and after-
wards mix with the rest of the fibres, making it difficult to extract.
Dirt and leaf ought not to be present in the roving to any great
extent, unless something is very wrong ; however, we often find
small portions of both.
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 53
Remedies. We might see to it that flat, cylinder, and doffer
clothing on the card were in good condition, so as to take out
the maximum amount of nep, the settings being kept good.
There is, of course, a less tendency for the nep to find its way
into the roving when combers are used, because the fibres are
treated more positively. If these conditions are fulfilled it will
undoubtedly minimize the amount of dirt and leaf.
We may, however, pay heed to air current and dust flues in
openers and scutchers, and the mote knives and licker-in on the
card. See also that there is every facility for the dirt falling out
at each process.
5. Causes of Stretched Rovings. Eovings are stretched through
the rolling effect produced by the wheels of the swing motion when
the lift travels one way, by a wrong size of ratchet wheel or cone
belt in wrong position.
6. Causes of Cut Eovings. Kovings may be cut or thin places
made (1) through rollers becoming dirty and clogged; (2) also
through neglect of oiling, flutes or uneven surfaces on leather-
covered rollers.
Remedies. Clean through the rollers top and bottom and see
to proper lubrication thereof. Take out all defective rollers and
replace with rollers recovered and varnished.
7. Causes of Rovings Containing Slubs. These are often caused
by fibres clinging together with moist matter of one kind or another,
being more present in carded than combed rovings. They are also
caused through neglect of cleaning top and bottom clearers at
regular intervals.
N.B. In " Draw-frames and Fly-frames," 6s. net., by the pres-
ent author, this subject is very fully discussed.
The Work on Self-Acting Mules.
Excessive breakage of threads from any cause inevitably leads
to excessive loss in waste. Some of the leading causes of bad
spinning are referred to below, and the remedy in each case is fairly
obvious. Naturally, the primary requisite is the use of cotton
sufficiently good for the counts and kind of yarn that has to be
spun. If the cotton is much below the standard required there
will be bad spinning and inferior yarn, although these detrimental
effects may be often diminished by running the carriages out more
slowly or putting more twist in the yarn.
54 COTTON WASTE.
It is a very bad sign, and it is an awkward feature to deal with
when some of the threads are so tight as to be breaking while
other threads at the same time are running into snarls. Putting
too much gain of carriage in or too much "ratch" often cause ex-
cessive waste and bad spinning, these extremes being resorted to
in order to keep snarls out.
It is possible to cause extra thread breakages by excessive
twist and not accompanying this with suitable regulations of carriage
tension. Unlevel rovings, many bad ends in the rovings, rovings
too weak through over-stretching, or else short of twist, or other de-
fects in the bobbins, or in the creels, may cause excessive breakage of
bobbins, and this makes it difficult for the operatives to keep up
with their other work. It is absolutely essential for the production
of good work that a minder and his piecers shall be able to keep
up with the work, and not have to keep stopping up in order to
get straight again. When a good average minder cannot do so it
is time things were improved somewhere. Every good spinner
knows that it is a first law with him that he must not get behind
with his work, as it may easily multiply against him in the way
of cops wanting pushing up after the threads have run down for
a time, roller laps wanting pulling off, and roller laps causing other
threads to break. Even in the case of bad spinning it is easier for
the operatives to keep up with it than to keep getting behind, and
then attempting to get straight again.
In order to produce the minimum of waste the bobbins in the
creel must be run off as near as possible, and not taken off and cut
or pulled to waste when quite a lot of roving remains on the bobbins.
It is necessary that minders and piecers should work on a good
system in regard to re-creeling, doffing, cleaning, and other duties,
and in particular care should be taken not to have too much of this
kind of work coming on at one time. Method in creeling, doffing,,
cleaning, and in particular in regard to piecing up will enable a
slower man to beat a quick one who has no good method. It is
surprising how far piecing up one or two ends every draw will go
towards keeping up the ends if done systematically and all the
time. After ends have been run down for a time, the cops must be
pushed up exactly level with the others, as pushing the cop up
the spindles too far will lead to the threads breaking in the wind-
ing on, while if not pushed up sufficiently there will be nicked cops.
It is rather better to push up such cops before piecing the threads as.
THE PKODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 55
the opposite practice slakens the end a trifle. Many operatives
pick the first thread from the spindle points as the carriage moves
up, but this pulls good yarn from the cops, and increases the waste ;
but operatives should always be ready to piece up as soon as the
fallers unlock.
Frosty weather is very bad for cotton spinning, and will often
cause excessive thread breakage, or so affect the threads that the
latter will break either in spinning, backing-off, or winding-on.
The judicious use of special humidifying apparatus, combined with
sufficient heating, often show up to the greatest possible advantage
in dry, frosty weather, or when dry east winds prevail, in prevent-
ing excessive breakage of_threads. Cotton is very susceptible to
variations in heat and humidity^ and absence of a reasonable amount ^
of these always plays IsaxTTiavoc with the spinning.
In backing-off it is advisable to have a uniformity and balance
between the unwinding of the threads from the spindles, and the
descent of the winding faller wire, or otherwise there may be ex-
cessive thread breakages and waste due to this point. Both in
backing-off and in winding-on there is often excessive thread
breakage due to very heavily weighted salmon head levers, or
due to the excessive application of the nosing motion, or to ex-
cessive inward speed of carriage, or to the nut of the governing
motion not moving sufficiently high up the arm. Also during the
backing-off and running-in badly set faller wires may lead to
thread breakage and waste, and during winding-on it is quite
possible for defective cop shaping to effect all this.
A fruitful cause of cut yarn, broken threads, and consequent
waste is very late faller unlocking, or having the carriage out of
the square or straight line, so that it comes against the back-stops
in an irregular manner. Anti-snarling motions or hastening, or
" fine rim motions " applied too keenly may all lead to extra waste
and work due to excessive breakage of the threads.
In following the routine of piecing up an operative should
follow each mule up each time there are broken threads, and for
this purpose reasonable pains should be taken to have one mule
keep up with the other. Bobbins taken out too soon make waste,
and equally bobbins allowed to run bare involve extra waste.
Motions are available for stopping one mule of a pair from gaining
on the other, but these do not appear to be very much adopted.
Even when no threads are broken a good spinner will often follow
56 COTTON WASTE.
a mule up in order to pick a bit at a roller or a clearer, and this
helps when a hurrying time comes along. Breaking bits or pieces
of bobbins out either means excessive waste in pulling or cutting
these off, or else it means creeling and making piecings twice over
in putting the piecings in again.' The management should help
the spinners to the utmost in this respect, so as to keep the roving
bobbins of one size and prevent creels from coming out together.
Piecers should be trained to make short piecings, and as soft as
possible, so they don't break again, since bad bobbin piecing alone
may be responsible for many thread breakages and increased waste.
Waste is often made by operatives breaking ends of long roving
piecings off. Often also by roving being pulled off the bobbins
and thrown on the floor, and roving tenters should not doff with
the lifter at the end of traverse so as to leave roving ends near the
ends of the bobbins, and thus falling off.
After piecing up a broken thread the finger should be run
along the spindle to lay the slack end closer to the bobbin, and
prevent lashing of other ends or re-breaking in backing-off. Bun-
ning the finger down the spindle in such a case appears to lay the
end closer to spindle than running the finger up, and practice will
show which answers best in any particular case, but either will do
if properly attended to.
Nicked cops and odd soft cops are serious defects in mule yarn,
and are very often the spinner's fault and should be checked in
every reasonable way. Usually nicked cops are the result of
threads being allowed to remain broken for some time, and then
pieced up without the cops being pushed up, this often showing
a double carelessness. Slack strings are chiefly responsible for
odd cops being thicker and softer than the bulk of the cops, and
the yarn from such cops will be naturally weaker and much softer
twisted than the bulk. Usually nicked cops and those made from
slack strings have to be put into the rejects, and sold as waste
cops, or else made up into spindle banding.
Slack spindle bands, greasy spindle bands, slack rim bands,
dirty spindle footsteps and bolsters are frequent causes of bad
spinning, broken threads, and waste. What are termed "thick "
and ." single " portions of roving inevitably lead to extra work, and
waste , at the spinning machines, such defective rovings originat-
ing at the intermediate or roving frames by three back bobbins
running together, or two front ones in the case of " thick " rovings,
THE PBODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 57
or one only going forward instead of two at these machines in the
case of " single ". The cardroom people should protect the spinner
in these respects in order to keep the waste down to a minimum.
In order to reduce the amount of work and waste during
doffing to a minimum the operatives should see that all the ends
are pieced up before doffing, because each broken end will require
winding-on as well as piecing up after doffing. The counter faller
should be put down to the best position for allowing sufficient
slack yarn for pushing the cops up, but not enough to entangle
the threads with each other, the latter being a very likely thing
in the case of pin cops and narrow spindles gauges. Also when
winding-on the doffing thread, and when finally running the mule
up after doffing, care is needed to keep the threads at best tension
without being either too slack or too tight. Upon re-starting take
particular care to have the quadrant nut of correct height in order
to avoid snarled yarn on the one hand or threads breaking through
over-tension on the other hand. All these points affect both the
number of thread breakages and the amount of waste that is pro-
duced.
Pasting, whipping, and tubing are the three recognized
methods of obtaining good cop bottoms, and the first two
especially need skilful and careful attention in order to limit
the waste made in winding, reeling, or weaving when the cops
have to be skewered. A great amount of waste has been caused
by soft, crushed up cop bottoms, with imperfect apertures in them.
Oops should be laid straight in the skips, and the noses should
not be bent too much in the doffing process.
Bad cop noses often lead to excessive waste in the subsequent
processes, and are often due to such circumstances as cop noses
being built up too thickly, or nosing motions not applied keenly
enough.
Cracked empty bobbins at the roving frame often lead to the
first layer of roving on a bobbin coming up dirty and oily, and also
sometimes bobbins are damaged in transit from roving frame to mule
xjreel. Cops getting on the floor, too much thin oil being put on
the rollers, are other causes of stained and oily yarn and extra waste.
Every effort should be made to have the top and bottom
clearers lapping nicely at the spinning machines, remembering that
loose fibre and accumulations of fibre frequently make bad ends
-and increase the waste.
58 -COTTON WASTE.
Spinning Waste, Middle Iron Rotter Laps, Fluker Rods, and
Crows for Mule Bottom Hollers.
One of the differences in detail in regard to mules designed for
fine spinning from Egyptian cotton and those designed to spin
lower numbers from American cotton may be found in connexion
with the method of keeping the front bottom rollers clean and of
licking up the waste made by broken threads. A mule differs from
a bobbin and fly frame in the important respect that the mule need
not be stopped to piece up the threads which more or less break in
the ordinary way apart from the question of a " sawney ". The
soft, untwisted cotton coming from the rollers when individual
threads are broken must not, however, be permitted to make iron
roller laps.
There are chiefly two rival methods of doing the work under
discussion, viz. the fluker rods and the short " crows " or " sticks ".
For the most part it is accepted that the short crows are the best.
for all mules in which there is lever weighting of the rollers with
saddle wires passing down between the front and second rollers.
Formerly these crows were used simply in the bare wood, and in
that state were particularly easy to clean. Possibly about thirty
years ago the practice of covering these wood under clearers with
flannel began to be extensively adopted, with the result that their
work is done much better, although they may be somewhat harder
to clean.
The fluker rod consists of a long polished iron rod, revolving a
short distance below the front and middle top rollers, driven by a
pair of small pinions from the front roller. Each fluker roller
reaches the length of half a mule. Now here is a point worthy of
attention on the part of practical men in regard to fluker rods. By
using just two pinions for driving, the fluker rod is made to turn
inwardly or with its top surface moving always towards the middle
iron roller, and this is the usual method. It is quite possible,
however, to effect a vast improvement in regard to middle iron
roller laps by introducing a carrier between the two pinions, and
thus making the fluker rod revolve in the opposite direction, or
have its top surface coming away from the middle iron roller. It
is only fair to point out, however, that all is not for the best in
making such a change, and it is perhaps not to be recommended
except in extreme cases of trouble with middle iron roller laps a-
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 59
by no means uncommon occurrence in fine spinning with compara-
tively large roller drafts.
Perhaps the greatest defect of the suggested method of driving
the fluker rod consists in the tendency for the rod to help loose
fly and bad ends through the rollers, whereas in the more estab-
lished method the tendency is to hold such defective work back,
and to take the same round the fluker rod.
A little reflection will make it clear that an outward rotation
of fluker rod will tend to lift up from the iron roller any broken
ends, whereas the rotation inwardly tends always to hold such
broken ends nicely down. The best known remedy for excessive
licking of middle iron laps in cases of fine spinning is to take all
the weight off the middle top roller, and then set the centres of
front and middle rollers well inside the length of the staple., In this
way the shorter fibres are helped better forward from middle to
front roller without much injury to the long fibres. It goes with-
out saying that keeping the drafts down to a moderate limit is a
good remedy for middle iron roller laps, and this is sufficient to
prevent this trouble from development to any great extent in using
American cotton with single roving. With double rovings, how-
ever, it is often an awkward matter to keep the drafts down at the
mule, while the cotton is reduced to a fine grist, and the fibres are
so much separated they will easily follow the bottom iron roller.
In many cases the use of iron pickers is prevented by the
management for middle iron roller laps, whereas the use of the
softer brass pickers may possibly be encouraged.
Referring again for a moment to the question of fluker rods, it
may be pointed out that a most important reason for their adoption
is to be found in the fact that it is usual to weight the short front
top rollers of a fine mule by hooks reaching down the front, and
these hooks are greatly in the way of wood " crows " or sticks
when the latter are required to be cleaned. In some districts
.vhere operatives used to American cotton have gone on Egyptian
fine spinning it has been deemed best to use the crows, and also
use inside weight hooks.
Banding.
Due to slack strings, nicked cops, pulled out bottoms, spoiled
noses, and similar defects, there is often an appreciable weight of
spoiled cops, unfit for the usual market for good yarn, but still
60 COTTON WASTE.
suitable for use in the yarn form instead of being broken up into
cotton waste. As stated, a very large proportion of such cops is
used up in making ropes and spindle banding, in some cases
being sold for this purpose to banding manufacturers, but in
other cases the banding, not the ropes, is made at the spinning
firm.
There are specially convenient machines available for making
banding of either the solid or the tubular kinds.
Obviously the ordinary solid banding may be made on. well-
known doubling lines by winding, doubling, and twisting a suf-
ficient number of threads together. Both tubular and solid
banding are extensively used in the spinning 'trade and the tubu-
lar is considered to be the more durable, especially if the knots
are tied in a sufficiently careful and skilful manner.
Tubular banding may be said to have a hollow core and the
braid is made on a different principle from the solid banding,
having more a plaited character, obtained by crossing and re-
crossing several yarns together on a special machine. The
development of technical education has brought into power in-
telligent foremen who can superintend such accessory processes.
A Manager s Letter on Waste in Cotton Mills.
Approached on the subject a manager friend of the writer's
wrote as follows :
"The waste that is produced in a cotton-spinning mill is a
very important item indeed. Unless the utmost attention is
given to this matter by the management on the one hand, or the
workpeople on the other hand, there will be a very serious loss,
some of which could have been avoided. It is absolutely neces-
sary that every precaution be exercised in this respect and rea-
sonable strictness is essential. At the openers and scutchers
nothing should be allowed to be driven out except such undesir-
able matter as seeds, sand, heavy dirt, leaf, or other similar
.stuff, with a very limited amount of fly. Any excess of fly should
be at once checked by closing the bars or other means.
" There has always been a tendency for the carding engine to
take out good fibre, and both the fly and the strips should be
checked to every reasonable extent. In cases where the quality re-
quired in yarn is not particularly good the flats should be run very
slowly and the stripping plate kept pretty closely set. In other
THE PEODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 61
cases the flat strips should be either combed or a good price
obtained for them from waste dealers. There are very few cases
indeed in which it is worth while to run modern carding engines
without undercasings to licker-in and cylinder. The can tenters
or lap tenters should always guard against lap end waste and front
sliver waste, and neither at cards, combers, nor draw-frames
should extra soft waste be made by cans choking up and running
over, although this danger is not great, except at the card, owing;
to the use of stop motions on the other machines. Usually it is
advisable to keep the rollers of the draw-frame nicely varnished
in order to reduce waste in roller laps and on the clearers. The
creel bobbins in all the fly-frames, mules, and ring-frames should
be run off as bare as possible, and careful supervision is always
needed on this point, since many operatives have a bad habit of
making excessive roving waste. Whenever waste is made and
there is no means of quite eliminating it it should be kept off
the floor as far as may be convenient, or at least very quickly
picked or swept up again. Top clearer waste, roller lap waste,
crow waste, and roving waste, especially, come under this last-
remark. The different kinds of waste produced at the various
machines, such as lap ends, sliver waste, fly from undercasings,
strippings, clearer waste, and sweepings should be kept separate,,
and careful picking should follow any mixing which may have
occurred from any cause. Dirt boxes, waste tins, or other re-
ceptacles for waste, should be provided wherever required."
" The waste of the various spinning mill processes constitutes
an important item in mill statistics.
"Between the weight of cotton used and the dry yarn spun
there is in spinning an average loss of something like 10 per cent
with good carded American. This is variable according to the
grade of cotton used and heavier also when Indian or Egyptian
are used, as compared with Sea Islands, and Boweds cottons.
When double carding or combing are done there is the extra per-
centage of waste due to these extra processes.
" In the blow-room the largest item of waste and almost the
only item is formed by what are termed droppings.
" Should a line drawn at a tangent to the path of the beater
pass directly through the space between the bars, the maximum
of droppings is obtained so long as the bars are unaltered other-
wise.
62 COTTON WASTE.
" The fly taken through the air tubes from the blow-room
machinery to the fan chamber or dust cellar is very worthless and
yet is sometimes sold as ' Fan fly '.
" The bag pickings from the tares of the cotton bales are fre-
quently used among other cottons but are sometimes sold. When
they are used every care must be taken to avoid picking bits of
jute bagging.
" In regard to card -room sweepings this is a somewhat elastic
item, and sometimes an appreciable gain may be obtained by more
stringent discipline in this connexion.
" Spinning-room sweepings should be kept free from the top
clearer, under clearer, bobbin waste, and banding waste, all of
which are of higher value.
" Increase of crow or under clearer waste is an indication of
worse spinning and reduced quality of yarn.
" About 1901 prices of -some sorts of cotton waste were so
low that it was scarcely worth while to bag the commoner sorts.
While in 1909, 1910 and 1911 high prices ruled for waste."
The Waste Question.
Formerly it was considered a sufficient achievement if yarn and
cloth could be produced from the raw material even at great ex-
pense and loss in waste of raw material or in expenditure of almost
.unlimited human energy.
To-day it is necessary to economize both as far as can be made
practicable.
The days of no undercasings to the taker-in and cylinder of
a card are over for all ordinary work, and labour is economized
by the use of machinery. We require to produce a particular
kind of yarn or of cloth from a particular kind of cotton, with a
minimum waste loss in order to make a profit.
At the time of writing June, 1911 we have been for some
time troubled with a shortness of raw cotton, and this has made
the cotton-waste question of greater importance than ever before.
In a certain test made in Georgia it was found that about 10
cotton bolls out of every 100 were more or less diseased, while it
was estimated that it took about one hundred thousand bolls to
make a bale of short staple uplands cotton.
Undeveloped seeds are responsible for a good deal of waste, as
inferior fibre is attached to immature seeds, and portions of such
THE PEODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 63
seeds often find their way into our cotton supplies in considerable
bulk.
One American writer says : " With these 10,000 coloured and
defective spots and 400,000 motes to the bale, a sample always
grades from one to two grades lower than the same sample with-
out them ".
It has been estimated also that rapidly running and defectively
adjusted saw-gins are responsible for the cutting and breaking of
about 3 per cent of the American cotton crop.
In the case of cotton made into yarn and cloth in the Southern
States of the American Union, it has been found in some cases
more profitable to use cotton that has not been pressed into heavy
compact bales, such bales being in some cases available when the
spinning and growing localities have not been so far apart as to
make the cost of transit for unpressed cotton too great.
Waste and Stop-Motions for Doubling Fratnes.
All doublers more or less experience the need of an automatic
stop-motion for doublers and twisters and particularly those who
are engaged in the fine two-fold business. Considerable waste
is caused by the broken end wrapping round one of the two ex-
pression rollers before being detected by the attendant. Even if
a broken end does not make a roller lap it may become entangled
with an adjacent thread and produce the still worse evil of four-
fold which is so much expensive waste. A great deal of these
fine two-folds yarns is used in the lace trade and again in the
weaving trade in the production of such goods as dress-pieces,
velveteens, good linings and such like, and if short lengths of
four-fold are allowed to pass into such goods, their value may
be seriously depreciated. For the most part reliance is placed
upon the care and skill of the operatives, and upon the use of
the doubling winding frame for keeping these evils down to the
lowest limits, and without doubt a good deal can be done in this
direction. For all that, there is still room for the adoption of
an automatic stop-motion on twisting frames to stop delivery of
any individual thread when such is broken.
In one example a drop-wire or cradle, made of steel, hardened
and tempered, and enamelled or copper plated, is carried by, and
swings loosely upon, the pivots of each short top expression
roller. The front portion of this drop-wire or cradle is of such
64 COTTON WASTE.
a shape that the yarn after passing under the bottom roller and'
over the top one is hooked under the needle and holds the same
up. Upon the thread breaking, the front portion of the drop-
wire, hitherto held up by the yarn, falls down or turns round on
the pivots of the top roller, so that a wedge-shaped portion enters
between the top and bottom rollers.
As a result the top roller is tilted backwards out of connexion
with the bottom one and delivery of thread is arrested. This
arrestation is rendered more certain owing to the top roller
falling against the cap-bar recessed for the purpose and trap-
ping the thread between roller and cap-bar, the trapping action
being increased by any pull there may be on the thread.
Moreover the tilting backwards of the short top roller also
tends to draw the loose leading end of the broken thread out of
the way of entanglement with the adjacent bobbins and threads.
Even if the broken thread does become entangled with the
real one, it will probably either break itself free or it may pre-
vent the unbroken end from being drawn forward on its bobbin,
thus causing the same to become slack and allowing the second
cradle to come into stopping position, in which case the ends-
may twist together for a moment until the second is broken off,
and four-fold is prevented.
An additional merit claimed for this device is that, when an
end breaks and the roller tips over, a sufficient length of thread
is left hanging from the top roller for tying-up purposes, and as-
the thread does not run off the top roller end all that is necessary
for re-tying is to lift the roller back into position. Waste is.
diminished by the prevention of roller-laps. There is also a
benefit gained by the surface of the rollers being damaged by
cutting roller laps off; such injury is bad for working after-
wards.
Extra Waste from Inferior Cotton.
The profits to be obtained from using a cheaper cotton, and
yet maintaining the quality of yarn, and good working of the-
cotton, are so very obvious that unfortunately it is a frequent
occurrence, among those not fully realizing the bad effects, for
such to purchase inferior and more wasty cottons.
Using unripe cotton and unequal mixtures of cotton whether
done at the gins, presses, stack mixing in the cotton room, or
THE PEODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 65
at the lattice of the bale-breaker will always result in more
fibres flying off the bulk and lodging on the roller- beams, even
in the case of mules and ring- frames, apart from losses in the
earlier stages.
In the use of Indian cotton, either in India or elsewhere,
there is often a tendency to use almost any kind of dilapidated
opening machinery, which gives unsatisfactory opening and
cleaning and yet permits too much good average fibre to escape.
For such cottons also there is sometimes not sufficient testing
and supervision exercised to check inferior deliveries or cotton
not up to sample.
Beater bars and leaf bars in the blow-room, and undercasings
on the cards, particularly require skilful and careful attention and
adjustment in order to keep the waste in proper bounds.
Eeferring to this matter an excellent writer on practice in
Indian mills says :
" In a mill producing medium quality of 20's from a mixing
of fully good Khandeish and Guzerat cottons the dead loss (by
which is meant the unusable stuff that is sold in cartloads pro-
duced mostly from the blow-room machines, or the willow and
hard and oily yarn waste that is not used over again for lower
counts) should not exceed at the most 14 per cent in well-
managed concerns. It should be about 8 per cent in the blow-
room, 3 per cent in the card-room, 2 per cent in the spinning-room
and 1 per cent in the reeling-room.
" The dead loss includes cotton required for the working of
lower counts of yarns, such as 10's and 12's from such waste only
as is produced in the mill. These figures may be slightly varied
in accordance with the cottons and the climatic changes that
occur so frequently in the Bombay mills, the invisible loss being
more when the dry easterly winds are blowing, as they have the
effect of taking away the natural moisture from the fibres, which
are set flying and nothing useful can be gathered from them.
" In the case of mixings prepared specially for warps in weav-
ing mills this dead-loss percentage is generally higher by about
2 per cent, owing to the seedy nature of the cotton that has to be
used for these mixings. In the case of a mill wholly equipped
with ring-spinning this total should be less by ^ or J per cent
owing to the saving in reeling waste. . . ;
"The quantity of usable wastes in Indian mills ranges from
5
66 COTTON WASTE.
10 to 14 per cent in accordance with the class of cotton and
climatic conditions, in all well-managed concerns, and should
economically be used over again with an admixture of about 50
to 60 per cent of shorter stapled cottons for about 10's and 12's.
The good wastes of cards and draw-frames could well be used over
again in the same class of mixings from which they were produced.
Good supervision and careful hands will give reduced waste per-
centage. Sometimes in Indian mills it is found with slovenly
managers and workers, that bits of clean cotton are spread on
the floor, trodden about and finally consigned to the oily sweep-
ings and almost given away."
Fuller Details of Waste in Indian Mills.
One division of cotton-spinning mill waste might be as fol-
lows :
1. Blowing-room and card-room waste.
2. Spinning-room waste.
3. Waste from the reeling and bundling departments.
Subdivision of the wastes might be as follows :
(1) Mixable waste, (2) half mixable, (3) non-mixable. Mixable
waste includes such as can be used over again in the mixings if
treated to a certain amount of opening.
The second requires a good deal of opening and cleaning and
loses a good deal of its weight before it can be re-used.
The non-mixable waste must be sold for what it will fetch.
Droppings of Indian cotton in the blow-room are of somewhat
different grades, those from the exhaust opener being of a very
dirty nature, and very little usable stuff can be got from this waste
even if treated in the willow.
The waste that comes from beneath the small porcupine
beaters often used in front of a Crighton beater contains good
fibre stuck fast to the seeds which are often driven out at this
position.
Following this the largest quantity of droppings from the beater
chamber of the vertical Crighton and this is often rather good for
droppings. Various kinds of grids have been used for the verti-
cal opener, and the kind of grid is of considerable importance.
Minimum loss of good fibre and maximum extraction of seed and
dirt is the desideratum to be aimed at.
The droppings from the scutcher, even with Indian cotton, may
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 67
usually be opened and cleaned in the willow and used over again,
but the percentage should only be low if satisfactory grate bars
are used, and sometimes it pays to clean such waste before
selling.
"The total dead loss of blow-room waste in Indian mills
depends chiefly upon the class of cotton used and may vary from
12 to 18 per cent, but when cleaned over again the clean drop-
pings fit for being used over again might be from 4 to 8 per cent,
leaving the dead loss to be from 8 to 12 per cent. The principal
cause of the heavy loss lies in the amount of seed in the cotton
used."
Lap waste is usually returned behind the openers with the
good cotton. It is scarcely wise to put in a large quantity of
these lap ends at one time as this detrimentally affects the working
of the cotton afterwards. Systematic re-use of all good waste
is required rather than quite omitting the waste for a time and
using a lot altogether.
Having all such waste weighed and then spread in layers over
a stack mixing is one of the best methods in regard to such re-
usable waste.
Imperfect operation of full-lap knocking-off motions at the
finisher scutchers, the use of bad lap rods, careless piecing of the
laps behind the cards, large stocks of laps accumulating, and
conical building of laps, due to irregular fan draughts and lap-
licking, are causes of lap waste.
It should not be permissible in these days of hollow lap rollers
to leave the skewering of the laps until after the lap roller has
been withdrawn, as this inevitably leads to more or less stabbing
of the laps and pushing away portions of the cotton from the cores
of the laps. Better tail ends and subsequent piecings of the laps
result from the proper practice of inserting the lap rods before
removing the hollow rollers. A check should be placed upon
putting in a fresh lap when there yet remains a yard or two of
the old one on the lap rod. Lap waste, even in Indian mills,
should not exceed J per cent of the good cotton.
Fly is the next semi-usable waste found underneath the cards.
It consists largely of neps and short fibres. Its quantity depends
upon the class of cotton in process, the state of the card fillets and
that of the undergrids. The chief aim in this connexion is to
allow just sufficient to fall out as may be required for the quality
68 COTTON WASTE.
of the yarn. Wire out of condition, bad design and improper
setting of undergrids, will allow good fibre to escape. In. some
Indian mills licker-in undercasings are dispensed with, but this
makes too much waste.
Licker-in droppings make the worst waste from a card, that
from beneath the cylinder and doffer being of a better character.
Strips always contain good fibre.
Waste from the various bobbin and fly-frames is of the re-
usable kind even in the same mill, but should be slightly opened
in the machines specially designed for the purpose. It is not
the best practice to open this kind of waste on the Willow or even
on the ordinary scutcher, although some do it on the ordinary
opener with reasonable success. The scutcher blade-beaters tend
to string the cotton and unduly weaken the fibre. Unless very
judiciously and carefully mixed, it is probably the case that re-use
of bobbin waste, even after special treatment, tends to weaken the
yarn, because the excessive treatment of the cotton fibres has
tended to weaken them. In regard to the fly-frames in Indian
mills it has been found that causes of excessive waste are the
use of inferior cotton, insufficient twist in the rovings or slub-
bings, carelessness in regard to the change wheels and wrappings,
ratching of the ends in winding-on, bad distribution of the roller
drafts, unskilful fitting and adjustment of the parts, excessive
speeds of spindle, use of bad oil, or inattention to oiling and
cleaning. Again quoting the writer above referred to :
" A prolific cause of extra waste in many Indian mills is due
to the carelessness of frame attendants in allowing pieces of good
waste to lie on the floor until it is trodden on and made dirty.
The floors are often so greasy that the waste becomes quite spoiled
which would otherwise be suitable for the same or lower counts
of yarn in the same mill. In many cases tenters of bobbin and
fly-frames are made to wear large canvas pockets for holding
the clean waste and these should be used for the proper purpose. It
is quite common for the top and bottom clearer waste on fly-frames
to average from -J- to f per cent, or even more in bad cases, and
this waste is quite unusable in the mill and must be sold. Other
non-mixable waste from the frame-room consists of sweepings
which may be divided into better and worse sorts.
" In the spinning-room it is probable that the chief item con-
sists of underclearer waste or ' crow ' waste as it is often termed
THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON WASTE. 69
in Lancashire or ' Bondas ' in India. Naturally this waste repre-
sents very considerable loss to the concern, owing to its having
gone through all the mill processes. An excessive amount of this
waste may indicate the use of a very poor quality of cotton, or
careless and unskilful work in making the rovings or creel bob-
bins, or gross carelessness of the spinners in allowing broken
threads to remain broken to an inordinate extent. This is inevit-
ably accompanied by great loss in production from the spinning
machines, since the waste really should have gone into yarn, as it
is practically free from impurities. Eeduced wages and extra
work also lead to the spinners and piecers absenting themselves.
" There are very many varieties of Indian cotton and reckless
changing and mixing of these often leads to the evils just referred
to, while another prolific cause is the frequent changing of the
atmospheric conditions. The proper use of artificial humidifiers,
and proper care and use of the hygrometrical instruments will
do a good deal towards minimising the variations in climate.
Coarse rovings which require large roller drafts, inattention to
cleaning, oiling, and repairing the rollers, unskilfulness in the
adjustment of the rollers, and excessive spindle speeds are other
causes of excessive clearer waste. Clearer waste from 20's yarn
is very often used over again for 10's or 12's yarn, and is generally
very clean and soft. There may be trouble with hard ends, but
machines are available even for extracting these if it be considered
advisable. It is probable that these hard threads are much more
prevalent in underclearer waste from mules than from ring-frames
because of the great length from spindle point to rollers in a
mule with the carriage partially or entirely run out when the
threads break. This feature is accentuated by the fact that a
mule spinner removes his waste in lumps over the end of the
clearer taken out for the purpose, whereas a ring-spinner may pull
the waste off in bits without removing the clearer. Calculated
on the weight of yarn spun, clearer waste from ring-frames may
reach 3 to 3^ per cent, and on mules 2 to 2 per cent in Indian
mills for about 20's."
" Roving waste is an appreciable item from spinning machines,
being due to ' single ' and * thick ' rovings pulled off the bobbins,
loose ends of roving made in creeling and in piecing broken bob-
bins, remnants of roving cut off the bobbins when the latter are
nearly run empty, nearly empty bobbins knocking about the floor.
70 COTTON WASTE.
Eoving waste may reach -J- per cent or more on the weight of yarn
produced.
"A third distinct item of waste from mules and ring-frames
consists of hard waste, under which heading may be included
spoiled cops, small portions of cops or cop bottoms, piecing-up
waste and waste due to having breakdowns in which all the
threads have been broken. Careless doffing, and threads remain-
ing broken for a time and then making nicked cops or run under
cop bottoms are causes of such waste, as also may be the use of
bad starch for the cop bottoms or careless application of the
same. Hard waste may be used over again in those mills
provided with machinery specially adapted for the purpose and
is frequently sold at a fair rate for this purpose. Eeeler's waste
belongs to the same category as spinner's hard waste."
Double Yarn on Ring-frames.
The restriction and prevention of this has often troubled
foremen over ring-frames everywhere, and is much more trouble-
some when rollers have two threads per boss than with single
thread bosses. Even with good spinning it is necessaiy to use
good, well-rounded and well-covered clearers to reduce double
yarns to a minimum. If clearers are worn or rough at the ends
they may cause double yarn, because if a thread breaks the clearer
does not take it properly and there is a tendency for broken
threads to run on adjoining spindles. A slight amount of
cotton on the traveller clearer will break a thread and the latter
may then catch in the next thread and cause double. If the
steel rollers are very forward in relation to the spindles there is
an increased tendency for broken threads to run into the next
threads and make double. High-speed rollers throw broken
threads on next threads more than low speeds.
CHAPTER II.
TREATMENT OF BEST COTTON WASTES IN COTTON SPINNING
MILLS, WITH OTHER NOTES.
Treatment of Roving Waste.
THE best bobbin waste may fairly rank as an example of cotton
waste, being nearly as valuable as some raw cotton, for the reason
that whatever deterioration the fibre may sustain from more or
less double treatment in order to extract the twist and sufficiently
re-open the cotton, it will be largely counteracted by the fact
that almost all the dirt, impurities, moisture, and other weight-
reducing parts, will have been practically eliminated before the
cotton has been converted into roving. This has always been
more or less recognized, and a great many spinning firms have
always followed the practice of using up their own bobbin waste
for the same counts of yarn as originally intended. Until recent
years, however, the means commonly put into practice for re-
opening the roving waste and for mixing it with the fresh cotton
were very crude, and not at all calculated to produce the best re-
sults in the mill processes and in the finished yarn. For example,
it has been an occasional practice to devote a certain amount of
time on a specified day to the purpose of passing the roving
waste through one of the ordinary blowing-room machines, and
then to mix the waste with the new cotton. In other cases the
roving waste has been more or less carefully or it may be
carelessly spread upon the cotton mixings, and treated in ex-
actly the same way as the ordinary fresh cotton in all the
blowing-room machines and the cards in succession. As a matter
of fact, some such practice is even now occasionally adopted,
although to an infinitely less extent than formerly. The present
writer has frequently spent time in picking small pieces of bobbin
waste from the flats at the carding engine, after the same had
gone through the opener and scutcher, and had passed beyond
the action of the licker-in of the card.
(71)
72 COTTON WASTE.
Roving Waste Opening.
One of the strongest developments of recent years in connexion
with the re-using of cotton waste in the same mills has been the
adoption of specially-designed machines for the first treatment of
bobbin waste, either combined with special means for properly
blending the reopened roving gradually and continuously with
the new cotton, or leaving the waste to be spread on the mixings
by hand. In regard to the actual opening of the bobbin waste
some spinners have just been content with rigging up a rough
machine with any kind of beater which they happened to have on
the premises, or could get for next to nothing. In other cases
either an ordinary carding engine has been kept on the treatment
of roving waste continually, or else certain alterations have been
made to the card to suit the waste. Passing the waste about
three times through an ordinary opener has been found satis-
factory with some firms and is considered to preserve the strength
of the fibres very well.
Modern Roving Waste Openers.
After any amount of experimenting and testing, it has been
generally agreed that the best treatment for bobbin waste con-
sists in putting it through a machine which has for its central
feature a cylinder covered with a multitude of fine-pointed
spikes, very much after the style we have described for the
treatment of cop bottom or hard waste. Indeed, this kind of
beater or cylinder appears to be rapidly becoming pre-eminent
for the re-linking of almost any of the finer textile wastes into
which either twist at the roving frame or final spinning twist has
been imparted. Certain machine-makers have obtained quite a
reputation for this kind of machine, and others of the leading tex-
tile machinists are recognizing that a permanent and extended
position for modern roving waste openers is assured, and have
begun to make the machines.
In a manner of speaking, the accepted form of roving waste
opener may be said to consist essentially of a beater of the kind
above referred to, combined with apparatus and mechanism for
properly feeding and delivering the waste. Almost invariably
the feed and delivery appear to proceed at a very slow rate, which
admirably suits the required condition of only very gradually
TREATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 73
mixing the waste with the fresh cotton, while it also permits of
extended treatment of the cotton by the cylinder.
Referring now to a specific example which the present writer
examined at work, this machine was fitted with a licker-in, a
feature not found in all of these roving waste openers. " There
can be no doubt that the application of the licker-in will very
considerably increase the ability of the machine to thoroughly re-
open the waste, and especially if a good quantity of waste is
passed through in one week, thus limiting the capacity of the main
cylinder. The licker-in aids in attaining the definite object of
opening the waste to such an extent that it can be blended with the
raw cotton, and passed therewith through the openers and scutch-
ers without fear of having much, if any, trouble with the waste
at the carding engine, and without damaging the card wire. As
to whether the waste will in any way make the finished yarn worse
will depend upon the amount used in proportion to the raw cotton
weight, the kind of yarn that is the accepted standard, and general
attention to details. The feed-lattice of the machine is 3 feet
long by 22| inches wide. The waste is fed to the licker-in by a
single feed-roller and pedals, the latter being carried on an eccentric
shaft, which helps in maintaining a strictly parallel arrangement
of all the pedals with the face of the taker-in. It is considered
that this system of pedals is an improvement on the system of
using two coarsely fluted feed-rollers, as it prevents the cotton
from being pulled from the feed-roller in tufts when there is a thin
place in the feed. This is practically an imitation of the practice
that some people found beneficial in regard to the feeding of the
cotton to some bale-breakers of the roller type, before such
machines were displaced by Hopper bale-openers. Absolute
rigidity of the principal working organs is essential in a machine
of this kind, and all the facings, joints, pedestals, and brackets are
steady-pinned in position where it is deemed advisable. The
taker-in as well as the cylinder is fitted with self-lubricating
bearings. This taker-in is 9 J inches diameter, and is built up on
the metallic principle, with sufficiently hard and tempered teeth.
Its average speed is much greater than that of the taker-in of a
carding engine, reaching, as a matter of fact, up to about 1300
revolutions per minute, as compared with more like 400 revo-
lutions per minute on a card. In this particular example the
cylinder is two feet diameter, and is covered with beech lags, fitted
74 COTTON WASTE.
with tempered, polished teeth. The lags are firmly bolted to the
cylinder, and have their ends secured by two wrought-iron rings.
It may be explained that the opened waste is stripped from the
taker-in by the cylinder, and this transference of fibres exercises
a beneficial influence in opening the cotton. After leaving the
cylinder, the cotton waste passes on to a strong wire cage, and
thence upon a delivery lattice, and in a great many cases loosely
upon the floor, or into skips, ready for mixing with the raw
cotton. Such a machine is made by Messrs. Brooks and Doxey
and is shown in Figs. 6 and 7.
Delivery of Waste.
Eegarding the delivery of the opened waste, however, it will
be worth while to give a little space to a special consideration
24' CYLINDER
DELIVERY LATTICE /^^^\ 4"PRESS ROLLER
12-CAQF ' /Jr^T^&r* AT; ... / FEED LATTICE
4" LATTICE BLOC
FIG. 6. Roving Waste Opener.
of this point. As a matter of fact, practice varies considerably in
regard to this detail. The original method, as above mentioned,
of delivering the cotton loosely upon the floor, and afterwards
mixing it with fresh cotton, has been seriously objected to by
some people, and recently it has become a very common practice
to have the opened roving waste delivered directly to the exhaust
opener, or else to the mixing lattices or the hoppers.
Blending of the Waste from Boving Opener.
It must be understood that under the general term of " roving
waste opener " we have a machine which serves equally for the
bobbin waste from slubbers, intermediates, rovers, or mules,
although the thinner and harder twisted roving waste requires
more treatment than slubbing waste, so that while 50 Ib. per
hour of slubbing waste could be opened effectively, only about
half that weight of roving waste could be opened. In any case,
TREATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 75
there has always been more or less annoyance and trouble con-
nected with the blending of considerable quantities of opened
bobbin waste with the raw cotton when the waste has been
delivered on the floor or in skips from the roving opener, and
afterwards mixed with the cotton. Difficulty has arisen in obtain-
ing a thorough and equal blending and incorporation of the waste
with the raw cotton, and the introduction of Hopper bale-openers
and feeders increased rather than diminished this evil, particularly
in cases in which the stack mixing of cotton had been abandoned.
Method 1. Assuming the Hopper bale-breaker to be used,
but no stack mixings to be made, the usual way is for the attend-
ant to pass a certain amount of the opened waste along with the
raw cotton into the bale-breaker. Experience has demonstrated
that average results are not reliable from this practice as many
attendants do not take pains to feed the waste in always equal
proportion. Perhaps to a somewhat less extent the same objec-
tion applies if stack mixings are made and the waste is passed
into stack mixings along with the raw cotton. The objection
applies much the same if the waste is first made into separate
laps upon the scutcher, and then these laps unrolled and spread
across the mixings. It is self-evident to anyone possessing any
knowledge of cotton spinning that unequal blending of the waste,
which causes some card laps and slivers to contain a good pro-
portion of the waste, while other laps and slivers contain scarcely
any waste, can only lead to irregular work at the machines, and
an irregular finished yarn. Whatever the standard of quality
aimed at in spinning cotton yarns, it is a cardinal principle that
all reasonable pains should be taken to maintain that standard as
uniformly as possible. All this is now well understood by our
cotton spinners and machinery makers, and during recent years
two or three systems have been more or less extensively adopted
by which uniform and continuous blending of the waste and raw
cotton is obtained by mechanical means.
Method 2. In the case of this second and more improved
method of mixing the waste with the raw cotton, a delivery pipe
is connected with the roving waste opener, and is also connected
with the main cotton conducting pipe or long exhaust feed trunk
of the exhaust opener. The waste enters into this trunk slowly
and continuously, and in this way a very intimate blending of
waste and new cotton is obtained. In a specific example the
76 COTTON WASTE.
roving waste is passed through a waste opener fitted with a
regulator to aid in uniform feeding, but which is optionally ap-
plied. Preferably this machine is also fitted with a suitable
stopping and starting arrangement, and is connected by means
of long rods, levers, and wires to the feed parts of the exhaust
opener and the long exhaust feed-trunk, so that there shall be
simultaneous stopping and starting of all these parts. The waste
opener delivers the waste to a tin pipe 4 in. or so in diameter,
which is pieced up directly to the 9 in. diameter principal exhaust
feed-trunk. A stop valve is applied to the 4 in. waste pipe, so
that waste and air can easily be shut off from entering at this
point. It may be as well to point out that the combination of a
waste opener with an ordinary cotton opener does not compel the
coupling up of the 4 in. pipe to the exhaust 9 in. pipe, since the
4 in. pipe may deliver its waste contents directly to the beater
chamber of almost any kind of large beater or cylinder.
Method 3. It may be claimed that an advantage of No. 2
method is that the opened waste does not need to be passed
through the hopper feeder or be placed on the mixing. There
are many people, however, who prefer to have the opened waste
incorporated in with the stack mixing if such be used, and even
if it be not used prefer mixing of the waste at an earlier stage
than in Method 2. As a consequence a third method has been
somewhat extensively adopted during recent years. In this case
a very slow delivery lattice arrangement is provided for receiving
the opened waste from the waste opener, and is itself made to
deliver the waste to some part of mechanism or lattice work which
conveys the new cotton from bale opener to stack mixing. For
example, a double elevating lattice may lift the waste and deposit
the same slowly and uniformly upon the distributing mixing
lattices at any convenient point. Yet, again, in a particular case
recently examined by the writer, the opened waste was delivered
upon the bottom delivery lattice of the hopper bale-breaker, and
was then taken up by the elevating lattices along with the raw
cotton. As a slight deviation from this particular practice, it is
possible to arrange a delivery to the waste opener, and have this
pipe leading to a condenser on the hopper bale-breaker, or the
hopper feeder, when the roving waste opener can be placed con-
veniently in position near the particular hopper machine used for
the combination. In reference to the cylinder, it is more or less
TEEATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 77
the practice to have the cylinder cover fitted with a self-locking
motion, which prevents the cylinder cover from being opened
when the machine is working, and on the other hand prevents
the cylinder from being started again while the cover is up.
Excessive Use of Waste.
A short time ago the writer had submitted to him a sample
of American cotton in order to give an opinion as to the suita-
bility of this cotton for spinning a certain count of yarn, because
very bad spinning was being obtained from the cotton. Incident-
ally it transpired that all the crow laps from the spinning machines
were being extensively used up in the mixings of raw cotton.
This appears to be a typical case of the misguided re-use of waste
in the spinning mill. A firm using raw cotton not good enough
for the yarns to be spun, and then depreciating it by inter-mixing
up all the underclearer waste from the spinning machines with
the raw cotton. There is a vast difference between crow-lap
waste and roving waste, the latter being quite free from hard
threads, while the crow-laps are full of the same. This is so true
that a separate and special machine is used for separating the
hard ends from the underclearer waste of mules and ring frames,
and we will briefly describe this machine later on.
The Cylinder Lags of Roving Waste Opener.
We have stated that a typical modern roving waste opener
consisted of a feed lattice, press rollers, feed roller, pedals below
the feed roller, a 9 in. or 9^ in. taker-in, a 24 in. cylinder, a
stripping plate, a 12 in. cage, and a delivery lattice. A well-
known machine is made by Messrs. Brooks and Doxey, and
these makers are prepared to supply any one of three grades of
spiked lags for the principal cylinder :
1. Lags with round polished steel teeth of coarse pitch.
2. Lags with flat polished steel teeth of coarse pitch. It is
claimed these lags have greater opening power on the cotton
waste than lags with round teeth.
3. Lags with flat polished steel teeth of fine pitch. It is
claimed that these lags have the greatest opening power of any
kind, and their adoption is strongly advised for treating rovings
from Egyptian cotton, and especially if these are as high in counts
as 12 hank, or finer.
78
COTTON WASTE.
It may be noted that the cage above referred to and the delivery
lattice are dispensed with if the roving waste opener is linked by
a delivery pipe to a condenser fixed on the hopper bale-breaker or
hopper feeder. (See Figs. 6 and 7.)
The Gearing.
The receiving pulley on the cylinder shaft is usually 12 in.
diameter by 4^ in. wide for 4 in. belt, and a high working cylinder
speed is 800 revolutions per minute. It is recommended to be
driven from a separate counter-shaft with fast and loose pulleys.
The feed and delivery ends are driven from the taker-in on which
DRIVING PULLEY 12"
Ti
.
1 CLUTCH
EVELS
,__|_ LQ -
104J1
FIG. 7. Plan of Roving Waste Opener.
4' lOt
is a 3 in. diameter pulley driving to 13 in. fast and loose pulleys
to convey the driving to the feed and delivery gearing.
A stripping plate may be extended across the face of the
cylinder to aid in cleaning the waste from the steel spikes. The
cylinder cover may be fitted with a self-locking arrangement,
which prevents the cover from being opened while the waste
opener is at work, and which prevents the machine from being
started again until the cover is put down.
As regards the kind of lags and spikes, it may be added that
for roving up to 5 hank not highly twisted the round polished
and coarsely pitched spikes may be recommended, but not for
any finer hank. It is usually found best to deposit the opened
roving waste on the short horizontal bottom lattice which trans-
TKEATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 79
fers the cotton from the bale-breaker to the elevator lattice,
but there are two or three alternative systems to suit special
circumstances.
Another Make of Roving Waste Opener.
Another make of roving waste opener may be thus described :
" This machine is very strong and accurately constructed, and is
in general use. The waste is placed on a lattice 24 in. wide,
which can be suited in length to any requirements. The waste
passes under an iron collecting roller to the fluted chased feed
roller, which rests on sixteen weighted levers or pedals, these latter
being turned up at the ends in order to firmly grip the cotton
waste quite close to the cylinder. The cylinder is very strong.
FIG. 8. Machine for Opening Roving Waste.
and is formed of an iron body, to which wooden lags containing
hardened and pointed steel pins are firmly attached. The cylinder
is 24 in. diameter, and its bearings are of the Mohler self-oiling
type. The cotton waste is beaten from the feed roller and levers
by the taker-in, and is then passed out of the machine by means
of a lattice and revolving cage, or, if desired, a mouth-piece and
pipe can be fitted to the machine in place of the lattice, through
which the cotton can be blown to the opener. Production, 120 Ib.
to 180 Ib. per hour. Driving power required, about 2-J h.p.
Main driving strap, 4 in. wide."
An outline sketch of this successful machine is given in
fig. 8.
Thread Extractor.
Referring to the practice of re-using up the waste from under-
clearers or "crows" of mules, we condemn the excessive use of
80
COTTON WASTE.
such waste for twist yarns when the raw cotton is really not good
enough for the twist yarns. It must not be understood that we
condemn the re-mixture of crow waste in all cases. On the con-
trary, weft yarns of rather low or medium counts will often stand
very well with such a mixing, and it must always be remembered
that pin cop weft yarns have comparatively little strain placed upon
them in the weaving processes. Such yarns may go directly from
spinning machine to loom, whereas warp yarns must undergo
the strains of winding, warping, possibly sizing, and afterwards
must resist the wear and tear incidental to opening and closing
b * ,|
FIG. 9. Outline View of Thread Extractor.
the shed and beating up the weft at the loom. Just as in the case
of roving waste, so also have special machines been introduced to
aid in the preparation of underclearer waste from mules and ring
frames, so that this waste may be used over again. These ma-
chines are very simple and ingenious, and have received a j fair
amount of adoption, but are not near so largely adopted as roving
waste openers, nor are they quite as successful in attaining the
desired end. The object of an automatic thread extractor is to
mechanically pick the hard ends or threads from the clearer or
crow waste made upon ring frames or mules, especially in regard
to American and short-fibred cottons. In a well-attended recent
meeting of an important body of practical mill men at which the
TEEATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 81
writer was present, it was generally agreed that the thread ex-
tractor was not an absolute success in connexion with Egyptian
long-stapled cotton. Granted that the hard ends can be effectively
separated and extracted from the crow laps without injury to the
waste generally, there appears no reason to think such waste
would be very detrimental to the yarn in re-working. Under-
clearer or crow waste is largely composed of the best of the
cotton which has successively passed through all stages of cotton
spinning, excepting the last one of all, and were it not for the
broken twisted threads which often run in with this waste, the
latter would be very good stuff, in spite of the presence of bad
ends rubbed off the iron rollers. Every one knows that twisted
threads often break off at the mule during winding-on, and then
either wind round the cops or else wind round the underclearers.
Neither is ring crow waste by any means free from this parti-
cular defect. Hence the invention of the particular machine
under discussion. It certainly does its work quicker and more
efficiently than the average hand labour ; and crow laps from
American cotton will work very well after treatment by this
machine, and especially if weft yarns are being used.
It is quite possible to feed the thread extractor by hand, but
the makers recommend automatic feeding. The waste is de-
livered from the machine in a fleecy condition, and it is possible
either to feed it directly to the opener or deposit it upon the
mixing of raw cotton in a properly graduated and proportionate
manner. Apart from the automatic feeding, the central feature
and acting principle of the machine consists of a waste shaft and
specially formed small beaters near this shaft. The hard ends
are left wrapped round the steel waste shaft which is placed in
the centre of the machine, and is provided with grooves, which
facilitate the ready cutting off of the hard ends. The waste shaft
and the beaters run in wide bearings provided with ample lubri-
cating facility. The beaters are made of the best cast-steel, and
are perfectly smooth and well polished. As may be expected
nowadays, a safety cover is applied to -the beaters to prevent lift-
ing while the beaters are working. The thread extracting shaft
is chased from end to end, and has four longitudinal grooves to
facilitate the stripping of the hard ends. Illustrations of Messrs.
Brooks and Doxey's well-known machine are given in figs. 10
and 11.
6
'82
COTTON WASTE.
Automatic Feed.
The addition of the automatic feeder to the thread extracting
machine adds somewhat to the first cost, and makes the machine
a little more complicated, but the following advantages may be
claimed for its use :
COUNTER SHAFT <S 680 REVS
WOOD ROLLER
! ^
i*~wmiouT BLAISDELL FEED CEDMCT v e
FIGS. 10 and 11. Thread Extractor.
1. It prevents over-feeding, and diminishes or quite prevents
the beaters from choking.
2. It saves the time of the operative, and allows the operative
TREATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 83
to attend better to other duties, such as removing the picked
waste and bringing up fresh waste for picking.
3. It is very important that the crow waste be fed slowly and
uniformly in order to get uniform and efficient extraction of the
hard ends, and the automatic feeder attains this end much better
than the average hand-feeding.
Process of Recovering Good Cotton from Carding Engine
Strips.
The following note is reproduced without alteration from a
circular issued by Messrs. Hetherington, makers of the Nasmith
Comber :
" The whole of the strips produced are put through the
blowing-room or such machines in the blowing-room as may be
necessary to make fairly regular laps. These laps are then put
through the card in the ordinary way and made into sliver, which,
after passing through one head of drawing-frame, is put through
the sliver lap machine and made into comber laps 10^ in. wide ;
or, hi cases where a ribbon lap machine is installed, the passage
through the drawing-frame is eliminated and the sliver carried
direct to the sliver lap machine and made into a lap of which six
are doubled in the ribbon lap machine. These laps are then put
through the Nasmith Comber and made into sliver, which is put
up at the first or second head of drawing along with the ordinary
carded sliver in the proportion of one end of combed strips to five
ends of ordinary carded sliver. The yarn produced from sliver
containing this mixture will, if the process has been properly
carried out, be found to be slightly stronger than the ordinary
yarn.
"In various tests we have made, both on machines at our
works and in actual working in the mill, we find that we are
always able to recover upwards of 60 per cent of good stock out
of the original weight of strips dealt with.
" The following are figures based on an actual result in a mill
spinning average 40's ring twist, American cotton, viz. :
" Cotton costs 7d. per Ib.
" Strips sold at 3|d. per Ib.
" Value of ordinary carded sliver made from 7d. cotton, 8d.
per Ib.
" Production of strips per week, 3000 Ib.
84 COTTON WASTE.
" 3000 Ib. put through blowing-room and card loses 17 per
cent in waste, leaving 2490 Ib. sliver.
" 2490 Ib, sliver put through Nasmith Comber loses 23 per
cent in waste, leaving 1917 Ib. of combed strips.
" The original 3000 Ib. of strips have thus produced 1917 Ib.
of sliver, at least equal in value to ordinary carded sliver, and
1083 Ib. waste of various sorts, probably worth at least Id. per Ib.
all round. Thus we have :
1917 Ib. of sliver at 8d. per Ib. . . 15,336d.
1083 Ib. of waste at Id. per Ib. . . 1,083d.
16,419d.
Cost of 3000 Ib. of strips at 3|d. per Ib. 10,500d.
Leaving a gross profit of . . . 5,919d. i.e. 24 13s. 3d.
" Additional plant required for this process for a mill of this
size would be one Sliver Lap Machine, three Nasmith Patent
Combers. And the additional maximum amount for wages would
be 1 per week.
" No additional blowing or carding machinery is required, as,
assuming that the card-room is producing sufficient to keep all
spindles at work, whatever additional weight is put through in the
form of combed strips may be deducted from the raw cotton
formerly put through the blowing-room, so that the total weight
going through remains approximately the same, and the only
additional wages and power required are for the four machines
mentioned above.
" The charges for interest and depreciation on the capital ex-
penditure involved, power, wages, and margin for contingencies,
would be, say, 3 per week, which deducted from the above gross
profit leaves a net profit of per week 21 13s. 3d."
Letter on Cotton Mill Waste.
In answer to a query a former student of the author's wrote
as follows :
"First of all, let it be understood that I make no attempt to-
say what a certain waste may be used for, any further than what
I have seen for myself. I intend to deal with the following waste,
and first of all to say what machines it passes through and also
what it is used for, and then, last of all, to describe the machines
TREATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 85
I have mentioned. Cop bottoms, card fly, card strips, comber
waste, sliver waste, bobbin waste, clearer waste from mule, washed
waste (hard), washed waste (soft).
" Card Fly. I have seen this willowed and mixed with card
strips and spun the same as under the heading of card strips and
also I have seen it used through the same machines as clearer
waste. This is used for blankets which are treated to a raising
process.
" Card Strips. I have seen American strips mixed with bobbin
waste and this mixing has spun 16's, having passed through the
following machines (the bobbin waste having previously passed
through a two cylinder machine for breaking up). (1) Hopper
bale breaker delivering to mixings. From the mixings the cotton
is put through an exhaust opener with hopper feeder and 24 in.
cylinder through a trunk to a Crighton beater. The Crighton
opener feeds automatically three openers with hopper feeders.
These openers make laps, four of which are fed to each finisher
scutcher. The lap from the scutcher being fed to a revolving flat
card, through two heads of draw-frames, one slubber, one rove,
and then to a coarse mule. This was used as weft for sailcloth.
" Comber Waste. This will spin up to about 20's or so. I
have seen this kind of waste used as ordinary cotton, having
passed through the following machines. Waste scutcher with
hopper feeder, and one cylinder and one beater ; four laps from
this were fed to the finisher scutcher. Other machines as for
card strips. Also I have seen it passed through waste machinery
as follows : Waste scutcher as above, finisher scutcher, breaker
card with side drawing, through a Derby doubler making half width
laps, two of which are placed side by side at the feed . of the
finisher card, this fitted with single condenser. The condenser
bobbins being placed at the back of the mule. The comber waste
is used for quiltings and sometimes used for the imitation of wool
when mixed with cop bottoms.
" Sliver Waste. This is the waste made at the card, comber,
and draw-frames, and is generally used up again at the same mill.
"Bobbin Waste. This is the waste made at the fly-frames
and the mule. This is generally used at the same mill, but some
is sold as stated above.
" Clearer Waste. This is got from the mule and the ring
frame, and is passed through a two cylinder breaking-up machine,
86 ' COTTON WASTE.
through a waste scutcher with a hopper feed and two beaters.
Two laps from scutcher being fed to the breaker card, which is
fitted with the side drawing for Scotch feed which feeds the finisher
card. The condenser bobbin from finisher card being placed in
the creel of the waste mule or the cup-frame. This kind of waste
is used for heavy raised blankets.
" Cop Bottoms. This is the waste made by cop winders and
weavers and is put through the following machines. Eight
cylinder breaking-up machine with soaper attached. Through
waste scutcher, two laps of which are fed to breaker card fitted
with Scotch feed. Through the finisher card to the waste spinning
mule. This waste is generally used to imitate woollen goods, such
as blankets, and when raised giving the best imitation possible.
Sometimes it is used for plain work.
" Washed Waste (Hard*). This is the dirty waste made, for
example, in wet doubling mills, and is generally bought by the
waste dealers, who have it washed, or bleached, or dyed. This
is passed through the same machines as cop bottoms, excepting
the waste mule being sometimes substituted by the Chapon
frame. This waste is sometimes used for dyeing, which is done
after leaving the mule or cup-frame, if it has only been washed.
The cops from these machines being reeled, then dyed, then
wound into cheeses either double or single thread. If two or
three threads are doubled together they are of different colours,
thus making a Granderelle yarn. The cheeses are then put on a
cup-frame and twisted. The cops from the cup-frame being put
in the shuttle of the loom and are often used for headings of
blankets. Sometimes blankets are made entirely from Granderelle
yarn of- all shades and colours, giving a grand effect when raised.
" Washed Waste (Soft). This is the sweepings up which are
put through a picker and then possibly washed. Sometimes,
however, they are not washed at all, being put through the ma^
chines as received, first through the willow and other machines
as for clearer waste. If washed it is put through the same
machines but omitting the willow. This also was used for
blankets.
" Having now put down the kinds of waste I have seen
worked, I will now describe the machinery I have mentioned.
" The Willow. This consists of a cylinder fitted with spikes
which dash the cotton against spikes in the cover, thus knocking
TREATMENT OF COTTON WASTES IN SPINNING MILLS. 87
the dirt or foreign substance out. It has an automatic arrange-
ment for varying the time it may be desirable to retain the various-
classes of material in the machine in order to obtain the required-
cleanliness.
" Cop Bottom Breaking-up Machine. This machine is fitted!
with from 1 to 8 cylinders according to the amount of opening-
required. The cylinder is formed of an iron body to which
wooden lags containing hardened steel-pointed pins are firmly
attached. The lags being held to the iron body by a hoop, so that
if any pins get damaged they can be easily removed and renewed..
The cylinder is about 36 in. diameter and run up to 700 or 800-
revolutions per minute. The machine is capable of dealing with
about 80 Ib. per hour according to circumstances. It is generally
fitted with a soaping apparatus."
Another friend wrote as follows :
' " Old strapping is cut up and sold for mending shoes,, etc.,,
the worst pieces of leather and piecings are sold and made into-
brakes for wagons.
" Eoller leather scraps are sold and used for various pur-
poses, the worst being used for polishing.
" Card fillet is sometimes sold to clothe cards for carding an-
inferior cotton, and sometimes cut up for cleaning straps and
scouring steel rollers. Scrap-iron goes to the foundry and waste-
paper to the paper mill. One firm sell their old banding from:
spindles to a firewood dealer for bundling purposes.
" Cinders have not often a commercial value and it costs
about 9d. per load for their removal if there is not an adjacent
tip.
" Flue dirt sometimes or rather under some circumstances
costs about 2s. a load for removal, in one case, however, that has
come under my notice the remover of this flue dirt extracts a,
small amount of cotton from it and sells it for packing, and carts,
the stuff away without charge.
"Three kinds of waste are made at fly-frames: (1) Eoving
waste ; (2) fly on creels and flyers, along with which is put flat
waste from clearers ; (3) sweepings. Card-room sweepings are
usually bagged together.
"The sweepings in the spinning-room are generally divided
into two classes and labelled spinners' sweeps and spinners' clean
waste. The latter is composed of roller-laps and the fly which
88 COTTON WASTE.
accumulates on the carriage creels, etc., and the amount varies
considerably.
' Occasionally cop bottoms have to be doffed in varying
sizes and these are bagged separately. If on tubes and only a
small amount on they are put in the waste paper.
"In the spinning-room there are many bands and it is com-
mon for as much as 80 Ib. per week in a medium mill to go as
waste. They suffer the same fate as cop bottoms.
" At one time it was better to wash, steam and mangle the
oily waste, but now its value is not decreased through oil.
" Waste is usually bought by a dealer. The price does not
vary like cotton and contracts are made for months ahead. When
the dealer gets it he sorts it and tests and marks it and some
dealers have plant for willowing and cleaning.
" Some kinds of waste are spread over the floor and then left
for a time to the tender mercies of a sulphur stove. This is the
cause of many fires. Sometimes the stove is in a room under-
neath and the cotton is spread over a floor perforated with holes.
This is to get the impurities out and to bleach the cotton."
CHAPTEE III.
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE.
Summary of Machines More or Less Used in the Treatment of
Cotton Waste.
1. Oldham Willow.
2. Hard-waste or cop-bottom machines containing from one
to eight picker cylinders.
3. The Crighton opener.
4. Single scutchers for wide laps.
5. Various machines constructed from old cotton opening and
cleaning machines.
6. Soaping apparatus applied to cop- bottom machine.
7. Hopper feed to breaker carding engine.
8. Breaker carding engine with rollers and clearers.
9. Scotch feed.
10. Lattice feeders.
11. Derby doubler.
12. Finisher carding engine.
13. Condensers of various descriptions applied to finisher card.
14. Finisher cards with manifold coiler system.
15. Roller and clearer carding engines discarded from cotton-
spinning mills, equipped with condensers and waste card feeding
and delivery arrangements and used in the waste trade.
16. Occasional use of one fly-frame in the preparation system.
17. Self-acting mules with woollen mule headstocks.
18. Self-acting mules with cotton headstocks.
19. Self-acting mules without drawing rollers.
20. Self-acting mules with drawing rollers.
21. Chapon spinning frames.
22. Can spinning frames.
23. Ring spinning frames with draught rollers.
(89)
90 COTTON WASTE.
24. Eoving waste openers.
25. Combers for card strips.
Possible Systems of Machinery, in using Cotton Waste.
System 1. Hard-waste,, Cop-Bottoms, etc. The author has
prepared the following summary of systems that may be used :
1. Hard-waste breaking machine, made with any number of
cylinders up to about eight, the six-cylinder machine being a very
good one and more economical in use than, say, putting the same
waste through a three-cylinder machine twice over.
When the waste is clean as in the case of ordinary cop
bottoms, this cylinder machine is sufficient without the Willow or
the Crighton. This cylinder machine may be fitted with a soaping
arrangement and deliver the cotton loosely.
2. Single scutcher with hopper feeder taking the cotton from
the waste mixture after passing the cylinder machine. The
scutcher usually makes a wide lap, say 48 in. , and should be fitted
with a regulating motion of the link type (without bo\vl-box) in
order to obtain laps as regular as possible for the breaker carding
engine.
The draught should be a down-draught and it will probably be
found advantageous to arrange the lap end framing to hold a
creel to contain several bobbins, slivers or threads of some sort
which may run in with the lap during formation and thus prevent
subsequent lap-licking. A less troublesome method of preventing
lap-licking than this would be to swing a drag-board from the
framing and allow this drag-board to rub on the lap during the
formation of the latter. It is possible to arrange a device of this
kind so that the winding up of the weighted vertical lap racks also
pushes the hinged door out of the way. In some cases scutchers-
with picker beaters are used at this stage instead of the ordinary
scutchers.
3. Breaker carding engine fitted with extended feed lattice
capable of holding two of the laps from the scutcher one behind
the other, in order to help in giving sufficient uniformity to the
condensed slivers produced from the finisher card. This system
of lap-doubling also aids in securing a good admixture of the
waste.
Card 48 in. on the wire, special arrangements of feed-rollers
give a good grip to the short waste possibly covered with
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 91
inserted wire or leather fillet cylinder 50 in. diameter, seven
rollers and seven clearers, one wood fancy, doffer of possibly
30 in. diameter, draw-box and coiler delivery.
4. Derby doubler with V table used in order to convert about
sixty slivers from the breaker card into laps for fohe finisher
card. (For hard waste the Derby doubler is more often recom-
mended than the Scotch feeder.) A full lap stop-motion applied
to the Derby doubler helps to keep the laps of uniform size for
the finisher card.
5. Finisher carding engine arranged to hold two laps, end to
end, from the Derby doubler, or if need be even a second pair of
laps arranged behind the first pair. Or two full width laps may
be used as at the breaker feed. Feed-rollers, clearers, rollers, and
fancy machines the same as on the breaker.
Condenser arrangement as elsewhere described. The ring
doffer condenser is much used in England and may be 24 in,
diameter fitted with single rubber divider, fly-comb condenser to
take off from 18 to 36 ends on the one bobbin according to counts
of yarn required. Sometimes a tape condenser is used as else-
where described.
6. The long bobbins of condensed sliver are taken directly to
the creel of the self-acting waste spinning mule which can be
adapted to the spinning of all kinds of cotton waste, and made
either with rim parallel to carriage or headstock as desired.
System 2. In a particular example a plant for spinning
10,000 Ib. per week of 8's yarn from cotton waste, consisted of
the following machines :
1. One six-cylinder machine for hard waste.
2. One single beater scutcher.
3. Eight breaker carding engines.
4. Two Derby doublers arranged for forty-eight cans each.
5. Ten finisher carding engines each arranged to make sixty
ends divided between two condenser bobbins with thirty ends-
each.
6. Six self-acting mules each containing 570 spindles If in.
gauge, and making a 64 in. carriage travel, set out to spin on an
average 7's or 8's yarn.
System 3. For any dirty soft waste such as scutcher drop-
pings, fly, sweepings, worst strippings such as bump yarn
strippings.
92 COTTON WASTE.
1. Oldham Willow the distinctive feature of which is a large
diameter cylinder, possibly 56 in. width, fitted with strong blunt
spikes or teeth, capable of great cleaning and shaking effect, but
not small and sharp enough for hard waste. The dirty cotton
remains longer under the action of this large beater than is
customary in other openers, and hence the cleaning capacity.
2. Sometimes the waste is then put through a single Crighton
opener arranged probably to deliver the cotton loosely on the
floor, but often this Crighton is omitted when the Willow is used.
3. Single scutcher with or without hopper feed arrangement
and as previously described.
4. Single breaker carding engine which is sometimes fitted
up with an automatic hopper feeder, thus permitting the cotton
to be fed in a loose state and obviating the necessity of ever
making the waste into laps.
5. A side-drawing and Scotch feeding arrangement which
automatically conveys the cotton from the breaker card and feeds
the material to the breaker card without the use of the Derby
doubler. By using the hopper feeder to the card the cotton
need never be made into laps and by using the Scotch feed the
cotton need never be made into the form of slivers, and card cans
need not be used.
The Scotch or cross feed is very largely used, but the hopper
feed on the carding engine is at present only moderately used, in
England at any rate.
6. Single roller and clearer finisher carding engine much as
elsewhere described and fitted with any suitable form of con-
denser.
7. For these low classes of waste either the self-acting mule,
the can-spinning-frame, or the Chapon spinning-frame may be
used to spin counts from -J's up to about 4's for coarse wefts
in cop form.
System 4. For the finer counts of cotton waste yarns spun
up to possibly 12's or finer.
For many years there has been a certain amount of waste
spinning conducted on the manifold coiler system as distinct from
the condenser systems. This manifold coiler system often termed
the preparation system is a cross between the condenser system
of spinning and the ordinary system of cotton spinning in which
the cotton is passed through various machines containing draft
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 93
rollers. In the condenser system draft rollers are more usually
omitted from every machine. In the manifold coiler system
generally two machines are used in which there are draft rollers.
Starting with waste of fair quality, the amount of pre-
liminary treatment before reaching the card will depend upon the
particular character of the waste and might, for example, consist
of the single Crighton, and the single scutcher. A moderate
amount of comber waste or even of poor raw cotton might be in-
troduced into the ordinary waste, admixtures depending upon the
special markets and uses found for the spun yarn, breaker card
and Derby doubler, as before described.
Compared with the condenser system of waste spinning the
leading differences begin with the delivery of the cotton waste
from the finisher carding engine.
Instead of using the condenser the web of cotton waste is
divided into four or six portions in its width by thin polished steel
blades or other means placed between the cylinder and doffer.
Each sliver may equal, about ^ hank in counts, a little more or
less as required. These arranged along the front of the card re-
semble those at the delivery of a drawing-frame and may be
operated on the draw-frame principle. Often the cans are a little
smaller than the orthodox 9 in. diameter by 36 in. length so
common to cotton spinning.
The draw-frame may be omitted and the sliver cans from the
breaker card taken directly to the slubber, the rovings being
drafted into counts suitable for the final spinning process, say
any counts from about 1J up to 2J or so, six cans at the card
suiting the production of the finer counts rather better than the
quadruple system of cans.
Bobbins are made at the slubber as large as the mule creel
will conveniently take say about 9 in. lift by about 4 in.
diameter.
It is necessary for the draft rollers at this slubber to be of
comparatively small diameter on account of the short fibres under
treatment, so that front and back bottom rollers may be each 1 in.
diameter and middle rollers J in. diameter.
In the preparation system or manifold system of cotton waste
spinning the slubbing bobbins may be taken directly from the
delivery of the slubber to the creel of the waste-spinning mule.
Here, again, we have radical differences from the condenser
94 COTTON WASTE.
system, since this mule may contain three lines of drawing rollers
of small diameter which draft out the cotton into comparatively
fine counts of yarn. Such yarn differs considerably from the
condenser yarn and each must find its own particular market.
The yarn spun on the condenser system for the same counts will
be of fuller appearance, more hairy and woolly, and will give a
fuller feel and appearance to goods it is woven into, but will
probably not be as strong as that spun on the preparation
system.
In place of the mule for this class of work, a ring spinning-
frame with small diameters of rollers may be used, and in order
to give gentle drafting action such frames have been tried with
four or five pairs of rollers.
In the condenser mule the draft is usually all put in by the
carriage, but in the mule on the preparation or coiler system the
draft is more in the rollers and there need not be the same varia-
tion in spindle speed.
System 5. The systems previously given deal with the treat-
ment of cotton waste when it is intended to be made into yarn,
.and explain the treatment for hard, clean waste, soft, dirty waste,
,and soft, clean waste.
A good deal of cotton waste, however, is never made into yarn
.at all, but simply receives preliminary treatment, somewhat after
the manner of the other waste, and is then utilized for such pur-
poses as cotton wadding, packing for delicate articles such as
jewellery, for surgical purposes, for the stuffing of bed-ticks and
many similar purposes. Take the treatment for cotton wadding
which is the principal example of the use of cotton waste not
spun into yarn.
Wadding is often made from any such waste as broken-up cop
'bottoms, sweepings, card strippings and clearer waste.
The hard waste might be first treated in a spiked cylinder
machine and the soft waste in a Willow or Crighton, in any case
the scutcher would finally make a lap for the card.
Cards for wadding are built upon the roller and clearer
principle, and a good many roller and clearer cards have been
bought from ordinary cotton-spinning mills and altered to suit
waste carding.
If laps are fed to the card the feed lattice may be extended
to take two laps, one behind the other. Sometimes the cotton is
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 95
brought loosely to a wadding card and an automatic feeder is used
behind the card.
A wadding card differs from the others chiefly in the de-
livery arrangements. The cards at the delivery may be made
with lap drums, single or double spooling-frames, and equipped
with stop-motions which regulate the thickness of wadding re-
quired. It is quite possible to apply these delivery devices to
existing roller and clearer cards. There are what are termed the
41 short " and the " long" systems of manufacturing cotton waste
into wadding. In the " short " system a sheet of wadding may
be made on any single carding engine and this system is con-
venient for smaller installations and for making varying quantities
of wadding.
The " long " system may be adapted to a full set of carding
engines say twelve or thirteen, and is said to facilitate the mak-
ing of wadding with better exterior surfaces than the interior is
composed of.
In preparing the wadding for final use, although the final
spinning processes are dispensed with, certain other treatment is
required for the material after leaving the wadding card and re-
quiring the use of the following : Gumming machine with gum-
ming roller and supply cistern for the gum, with boiling pan
for the gum, these parts being suitably proportioned in size to
each other and the work required. Creeper to carry the treated
wadding through the drying chest. Lap forming apparatus for
suitably lapping the wadding after it has been gummed and dried.
Mixings.
It may be taken that experience and judgment are necessary
in mixing cotton waste in order to obtain best results at least
as much as in the case of raw cotton ; there is very great variety
in colour, staple, comparative cleanliness and other characteristics
of cotton waste.
Occasionally this waste is bought directly from the spinning
mill, but the usual custom is for cotton waste to be bought from
waste dealers who do business with many mills. American
cotton waste does not mix very well with Egyptian waste,
especially for some sorts. Even in ordinary cotton spinning
such mixings are best done at the draw-frame, which is not used
in the spinning of cotton waste.
96 COTTON WASTE.
In spite of the very rapid consumption of a mixing of cotton
waste it is better to have mixings that will last as long as can be
made convenient in order to maintain uniformity, and a fortnight
is by no means too long a period.
Good cop bottoms mixed with a smaller proportion of weavers'
or winders' waste and possibly an amount of comber waste may
spin 6's to 9's, and an increase in the proportion of comber waste
will extend to higher counts, the finest counts of all taking nearly
all comber waste.
The fact that a breaker card is more often supplied with two
laps feeding together, lends itself naturally to using one lap of
different quality from the other.
Mixing of 8000 Ib. of Cotton Waste to Spin Counts about
6's or 7's.
Strips from card flats 200 Ib.
Strips from cylinder and doffer .... 2500 ,,
Good droppings from beneath taker-in . . 2500 ,,
Fly of moderate quality . . 450
Dirty fly 2250 ,,
Waste from draw-frames ..... 100 ,,
Total 8000 Ib.
This mixing is simply given as being representative of the
kind of procedure frequently adopted in condenser spinning from
soft waste.
Soaping Apparatus.
Similar counts might be spun from cop-bottom and other
hard waste, but the mixing might have some other stuff put into
it to solidify it and give it, so to speak, a little back-bone.
Owing to the use of the soaping apparatus a mixing chiefly
composed of broken-up hard waste may need to stand about two
full days or forty-eight hours before using, to allow the soap spray
to dry in. This soaping of the very fluffy hard waste stops it from
flying about too much.
The soaping apparatus may consist of a small tank supplied
with a mixture of boiled soft soap and water. A slowly revolving
drum is more or less immersed in the soapy water and over the
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 97
top of the drum a quickly revolving brush is always operating
so as to distribute a fine spray of the mixture upon the opened
waste as it is leaving the cop- bottom machine.
Messrs. Tatham of. Koch dale give the following summary of
three typical arrangements for cotton waste :
"Cotton waste suitable for making into yarn is divided into
two classes, one known as ' hard ' and the other as ' soft '. The
former includes cop-bottoms, ring-frame, reelers, and waste of a
thready nature ; the latter includes scutcher droppings, card
fly, cylinder and flat strips, clearer laps, sweepings, comber
waste, etc.
" In treating cotton waste to the best advantage it is essential
to separate the better from the lower qualities, using the ' hard '
and comber waste for the fine counts and the other kinds of
' soft ' waste and sweepings for the lower counts.
" It will be as well to explain that one of two systems
of machinery is generally adopted, either the 'condenser/
which is a modification of the woollen system, or the
'coiler' or ' preparation,' which is somewhat like the cotton
system. The system adopted gives a distinct character to the
yarn.
" The ' condenser ' system is found to give best results where
a full, level, and soft spun yarn is required ; it is generally used
as weft and is woven into sheetings, flannelettes, quilts, bed-
covers, cotton blankets, sponge cloths, etc. It has the advantage
that both ' hard ' and ' soft ' waste can be spun on this system,
either separately or mixed together.
"The 'coiler' or 'preparation' system is most suitable
where strength is of most importance, and where counts above
10's are wanted, ' hard ' waste, comber and ' soft ' waste, free
from shell and leaf, are best suited. It is used as a weft in
weaving into cloths to be printed or dyed, such as cretonnes,
towels, etc. ; it is also bundled into hanks and used by makers
of ropes and twines. The cost of production is less than on the
' condenser ' system, and the range of counts from the same
plant is greater than on the ' condenser ' system."
In order to guide intending purchasers, we draw attention
below to three complete plants which have been found, from a
long experience, to give good results, and which are working in
many of the mills in this and other countries :
7
98 COTTON WASTE.
No. 1 Plant.
"For spinning counts say 5's to 10's from 'hard' waste, in-
cluding cop-bottoms, etc., or comber waste, on the 'condenser'
system, to give a soft, full, and level yarn.
" Opening and cleaning or willowing machine or preparing
machine when production is large.
"Breaking-up machine with self-acting soaping machine.
" (The above machines are wanted for hard waste only and not
for comber waste.)
" Single-beater lap-forming scutching machine with hopper
feeder.
" Single-breaking carding engine.
" Derby doubler.
" Single-finishing carding engine with condenser.
" Self-acting mule for condenser bobbins."
No. 2 Plant.
"For spinning counts say 3's to 16's from 'hard' waste,
including cop-bottoms, etc., or comber waste, on the ' coiler '
or ' preparation ' system, to give a strong yarn.
" Opening and cleaning or willowing machine or preparing
machine for large production.
"Breaking-up machine with self-acting soaping machine.
" (The above three machines are required only for hard waste
and not for comber waste.)
" Single-beater lap-forming scutching machine with hopper
feeder.
" Single-breaking carding engines.
" Derby doubler.
" Single-finishing carding engine with quadruple coiling and
can motion.
" Slubbing frame.
" Self-acting mule for slubbing bobbins or ring frame."
No. 3 Plant.
" For spinning counts say 1's to 5's from ' soft ' waste, includ-
ing scutcher droppings, card fly, cylinder and flat strips, clearer
laps, sweepings, etc., on the 'condenser' system, to give a level
and full yarn.
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 99
" Improved willowing machine with patent lattice feeder and
overhead delivery.
''Pickering machine.
" Single- beater lap-forming scutching machine with hopper
feeder.
" (In small plants, or where coloured or lowest quality of waste
is used, the scutcher may be dispensed with, and the breaking
engines are then fitted with patent automatic feeders.)
" Single-breaking carding engine fed by scutcher laps and con-
nected by patent Scotch feeder to single-finishing carding engine
with ring doffer condenser or ditto, with leather tape condenser.
" Self-acting mule for condenser bobbins or cup-spinning
machine suitable for counts up to 3's.
"'Crighton' opener for cleaning Indian, Chinese, or other
short-stapled cotton."
Opening and Cleaning ojf Cotton Waste General Remarks.
There is a very considerable choice and much variety in the
blowing-room machinery for the treatment of cotton waste,
brought about in the first instance by the many descriptions of
cotton waste that are more or less pressed into service. Also by
the fact that some users of cotton waste appear to think that any
kind of machine with a beater and a fan in it will do for opening
and cleaning cotton waste. The last thing some of these folks
would think of doing would be to buy a new machine for the
purpose, and pay full value, these being the words of a wadding
manufacturer to the present writer. In like manner any kind of
old building, not actually condemned as unsafe, has been deemed
good enough for doing the work in. There are signs that both
better machinery and better buildings will be used in the near
future for the English cotton-waste trade, and the whole business
placed on more up-to-date lines, and a greater proportion of the
business kept in England, although it may not be as clean and
nice as the ordinary processes of cotton spinning in many respects.
It is the writer's opinion, however, that the allied processes of
bleaching and dyeing of cotton waste in the first stage, or in one
of the later stages will need to be more studied in this country in
order to reap the full benefit of the home utilization of cotton
waste to the greatest commercial advantage. It is found that
100 COTTON WASTE.
cotton waste will bleach and dye well, even if these operations are
left until the yarn is finally spun and twisted, since the twist is
almost invariably kept down to a low amount, the thickness of the
yarn providing sufficient strength for requirements with only a
small proportion of twist.
In regard to the different types of machinery used in the
earlier treatment of cotton waste it is important to remember that
in making any inquiries from machine makers as regards new
machines for cotton waste, it is very necessary that full particulars
should be supplied by the inquirer. Especially should samples
of materials to be treated be sent along with the inquiries, with
full details as to the quantity of each kind or quality which would
be used in making a mixing. A statement should also be made
as to the range of counts expected to be spun, stating highest and
lowest counts.
Productions.
Not long ago the writer heard a well-known mill manager
in charge of one of the largest cotton mills in England using
Egyptian cotton express astonishment at hearing a friend in
the waste trade grumbling because his mules had only done 3^
Ib. of yarn per spindle during the current week. In this con-
nexion it may be as well to state that 6 Ib. or 7 Ib. per spindle is
quite feasible when spinning 3's to 4's counts upon a good waste
mule, and running a good full week. About two pairs of such
cotton-waste mules will turn out as much weight of yarn in one
week as a mill of 40,000 or more spindles spinning from 80' s to
100's counts of yarn from Egyptian cotton.
An eminent firm of cotton- waste machinery makers quote 22 Ib.
per spindle per week for counts l|'s, allowing sixty hours per week,
and using a continuous spinning machine which only inserts a
very small amount of twist per inch. If we were to assume
1000 of such spindles to produce 20 Ib. each, this would give a
weekly production of 1000 x 20 = 20,000 Ib. If we compare
this with a mule spinning from 80's to 100's, and assume the same
to be producing -\ Ib. of yarn per spindle per week, we should
require a mill of 20,000 x 4 = 80,000 spindles to give off the
same weight of yarn per week.
Coming now to the earlier machines, we do not find any such
extreme variations in production. It is a matter of fact that an
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON V^STE, %
opener or scutcher operating upon cotton waste ntay be taken as
only giving about the same productions as would be given in
treating raw cotton. As a matter of fact there are some kinds of
waste which require more initial treatment than raw cotton, and
productions are actually less. An eminent firm quotes the follow-
ing productions : Cop bottom breaking-up machine once through
only may be taken at 80 Jb. per hour. Improved self-acting
willow, 25,000 Ib. per week. Crighton opener, with lattice feeder,
but not making a lap, 42,000 Ib. per week. Improved scutcher
to make laps 49 in. wide, 12,000 Ib. per week. Derby doubler,
6000 Ib. per week. Each set of carding engines anything from
30 Ib. per hour for about 1's to 2's down to 11 Ib. per hour for
about 10's counts.
The Willow.
One of the best-known machines in connexion with the initial
treatment of cotton waste is the " willow," but in considering the
special vogue of this machine we are at once confronted with the
truth previously stated in the present article, that blow- room
machinery must be adapted to the special class of waste to be
treated. For example, the willow is by no means the best
machine for the treatment of cop bottoms, and it is not neces-
sary for treating clean soft waste. It is, however, of great service
in cleaning dirty soft waste, such as scutcher droppings, the
dirtiest fly, and sweepings. Many of our readers will remember
that the Oldham willow formerly had a considerable use in regard
to the preliminary opening of Indian and American cotton, being
extensively used for a great many years in the Oldham district.
In this particular connexion, however, it has practically become
obsolete, or it has become altered and improved almost entirely
out of recognition. The nearest approach to it that we have in
the modern treatment of ordinary raw cotton is to be found in
the " Buckley " opener, either as made by the original people,
Taylor, Lang and Co., of Stalybridge, or as now also made by
certain other machine makers. In the Oldham willow the beater
or main cylinder utilized an upstroke, and the strong top cover
was fitted with spikes or ribs, which helped to loosen the masses
of cotton ; it is well known that these are distinctive features of
the " Buckley " opener, but in other respects the differences are
great.
112 COTTON WASTE.
It will perhaps be best to give a brief description of the
Oldham willow as used for ordinary cotton opening thirty to
forty years ago. It consisted of a central cylinder, possibly 40 in.
wide by 40 in. diameter, mounted on the main pulley shaft, and
receiving motion directly from the line or counter-shaft. Ex-
tending across the periphery of this cylinder were several rows
of strong, blunt spikes or teeth, and similar teeth or spikes were
cast in the strong top cover. The lower portion of the cylinder
was encased with a suitable grid, which was constructed to per-
mit the escape of dirt, seeds, leaf, and stalk, or other objectionable
material, while only permitting the escape of a small proportion of
good fibre. The grid was constructed in two parts, the front part
being hinged like a door and balanced by weighted cords or
straps to permit ready opening and shutting. An exhaust fan
was fitted to the machine to carry away the fine dust. The
operation with hand-fed willows was somewhat as follows : The
hinged grid was lowered, a sufficient quantity of cotton placed
inside the beater chamber and upon the grid, and the grid was
then closed again. The shutting of the hinged front grid brought
the cotton within the range of action of the spikes of the beater,
and these spikes dashed the cotton against the spiked and ribbed
top cover, loosening the matted fibres, and liberating a good pro-
portion of sand, dust and undesirable matter, which fell or was
driven through the grating for the most part. Each portion of
cotton was allowed to remain under this action for a short space
of time only a few seconds and then the grid lowered, the
opened mass of cotton released, and a fresh portion presented to
the action of the cylinder. This was the simplest form of willow,
and a great many years ago improved willows came out, in which
the intermittent feed and delivery of cotton were controlled auto-
matically. When it was improved upon, so as to become a
cotton opener proper, the feed and delivery of cotton became con-
tinuous.
As previously stated the Oldham willow for opening ordinary
raw cotton was equipped with automatic feeding and delivery of
the cotton, prior to its relegation to the ranks of obsolete machines
for raw cotton. We may here point out that the roller and clearer
carding engine, which has almost become obsolete for ordinary
cotton carding, is yet almost the only machine used for carding
cotton waste. We have an absolute parallel in the case of the
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 103
willow as a first machine for treating cotton waste. This willow
is retained for the first treatment of dirty soft waste, such as
scutcher droppings and sweepings, very much as it was left by
the ordinary cotton trade.
Central Feature : Strong Spikes.
As made, for example, by either of the two well-known Oldham
firms, for cotton-waste purposes, the central feature of the willow
consists of a cylinder about 56 in. wide with the diameter of possibly
48 in. or 50 in. As examined by the present writer in a particular
case this cylinder was fitted with very strong round teeth about
4 in. long, each tooth having an oval-shaped blunt top possibly
Ij in. by 1 in. There might be possibly ten or so of these rows
of spikes round the periphery of the cylinder, and the oval or egg-
shaped blunt tops of the teeth were presented at different angles
to the cotton in the different rows, so as to slightly vary the treat-
ment. These teeth are entirely different from the ordinary flat,
sharp teeth, now in general use upon the main cylinder of a
cotton opener, whether such an opener be of the Crighton,
Buckley, or downstroke type. There are two very distinct ad-
vantages in retaining these round blunt teeth in the willow as
used for cotton waste ; in the first place the teeth are the least
likely of any in use to injure the fibres of cotton ; in the second
instance the soft waste will not cling and string to such teeth as
much as it will to other well-known shapes of teeth. Yet, again,
this kind of tooth is produced in a comparatively cheap manner.
For the initial treatment of hard waste such as cop-bottoms,
the Oldham willow would be of very little service, as the teeth
are too coarse and blunt, and there are altogether too few of them.
A very large number of comparatively fine spikes or teeth are
found best for the treatment of cop-bottoms, as we shall after-
wards describe. There are also three or four rows of similar
spikes or strong ribs forming part of the top cover, but set to come
opposite the spaces between the teeth of the main cylinder to
avoid contact of teeth, while permitting sufficiently close setting.
Each portion of cotton is subjected to the action of these strong
teeth for a number of cylinder revolutions before being released.
One Make of Willow.
The power required to drive such a machine, with about 350
revolutions per minute of main cylinder may reach something
104 COTTON WASTE.
like 3 I.H.P., the driving pulleys on cylinder equalling 12 in.
diameter by 4 in. by 4 in. wide for fast and loose pulleys re-
spectively. No particular advance in construction will be noticed
in connexion with the central cylinder, spiked top cover and up-
stroke of beater, but there are some special features in regard to
the apparatus for automatically feeding and delivering the cotton.
In the case of Messrs. Platt Bros.' machine, it is equipped
with a feed and delivery regulator, which distinctly tends to in-
crease productions while retaining the intermittent feed and
delivery, which latter permits a sufficiently prolonged operation
of the cylinder teeth upon the cotton waste, a prolonged treat-
ment not obtainable by any continuous feed and delivery, however
slow. This willow is also fitted with an automatic arrangement
for varying the time it may be deemed requisite to permit the
different classes of cotton waste to remain under treatment by the
main cylinder in order to obtain the required degree of cleanli-
ness. It will be well understood that far more extreme variations
in degree of cleanliness will be found in soft cotton waste than
would ever be likely, to occur in the case of any growth of
absolutely raw cotton. The feed and delivery lattices travel at
one uniform speed, and it must be understood that a modern wil-
IOW T for the treatment of cotton waste practically consists of the main
cylinder, the requisite top covers and under-grips, a feed-lattice
and a delivery lattice, and the requisite belts, wheels, pulleys, and
levers for operating these parts. The feeding and discharging of
the cotton occupy the same regulated and fixed time under all
conditions in working while the intermittent motion applied to
the rollers can be instantly adjusted, and thus allow the cotton
waste to remain under treatment by the cylinder for such a time
as may be deemed necessary. This willow is usually made with
fan for down-draft, just as in the case of openers and scutchers
for the treatment of ordinary raw cotton, but the willow can be
arranged to work with an up-draft for the fan if required.
Another Make of Willow.
A special feature of Messrs. Asa Lees and Co.'s self-acting
waste cleaner or willow consists in the lattice feed. The waste
is placed upon an endless cloth belt, the full width of the
machine, and this cloth belt travels slowly along, and de-
posits the waste into the feeding box. At required intervals, as
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 105
regulated by the rack motion, the feeding box delivers the cotton
waste into the cylinder chamber for the required opening and
cleaning treatment. The duration of the intervals of feeding the
cotton into the machine can be readily altered according to the
class of waste under treatment, so that more or less opening and
cleaning can be given as required. This particular arrangement
ensures that the material shall be given to the cylinder over the
whole width of the latter, and in this way the work and strain
imposed upon the grids is more or less equalized. In some cases
it has been found that undue pressure has been put on the centre
due to more of the feed of cotton to the cylinder taking place at
this position. The patent movable roller narrows the space
between the cylinder and the face of the roller when the machine
is delivering, and widens it when the machine is cleaning. With
the ordinary roller there is always f in. space, but the patent
movable roller varies this from 1^ in. down to J in. The rack
motion also is capable of very fine adjustment. If required, and
specially ordered, this firm also supply a patent dirt remover,
which moves the dirt, by means of a wrought-iron scroll, to the
outside of the machine where it falls into a cast-iron box. Over
this box is a revolving elevator, to which buckets are attached,
and as the buckets pass round they take the dirt up and deliver
it. to the back of the machine into a bag or box. With this
arrangement the machine is clear from dirt underneath, and no
cleaning out by hand is required. There is also no accumulation
of dirt to become mixed up with the cleaned cotton waste. As
a general rule this machine, is built for right-hand driving and
with right-hand delivery. The rack motion and elevator are on
the left hand, and the fan is usually arranged for a down-draft.
General Appearance of Willow.
Speaking generally about the Oldham willow principle of
cleaning cotton waste, the machine at a glance appears to be all
cylinder box, with a lattice to feed the waste, and another to
deliver the same ; the speed of fan may keep much the same as
used for an ordinary cotton opener, say 1300 or 1400 revolu-
tions per minute. In watching the machine work it is noted that
possibly about 12 in. or 14 in. of the cotton waste from the feed
lattice is presented to the cylinder. Then the feed is arrested
while this portion of cotton is treated. Then the delivery door
106
COTTON WASTE.
opens to permit exit of the cleaned cotton from cylinder chamber,
and almost at the same moment a further length of dirty waste
is fed to the cylinder. The opening and shutting of the delivery
door may be marked with a certain amount of noise indicative of
the event.
The willow, as made by Messrs. Tatham of Rochdale, is
shown in figs. 12, 13 and 14. This machine (56 in. wide on
cylinder), by loosening the cop- bottoms, shaking out the dust
FIG. 12. Willow, without Lattice Feed.
and taking out any foreign substance which may be in the
waste, prepares same for the breaking-u p machine, and is advised
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 107
where a production up to 20,000 lb. r per week of fifty-six hours is
required. Where a larger production is required the waste-prepar-
ing machine may be recommended in place of the above. The
machine is constructed with a fan and back and front dust
FIG. 13. Willow, without Lattice Feed.
grids. Cylinder fitted with three wrought-iron hoops and with
patent shields on cover.
Method of Working. The waste is put into the machine by
hand, the movable grid is closed, and then the revolving cylinder,
fitted with six rows of strong teeth, throws the waste against the
three rows of teeth attached to the bars in the cover. After a
108
COTTON WASTE.
short interval the grid is opened and the waste is ready to be
taken out.
Production. About 20,000 Ib. per week of fifty-six hours.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc.
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
Length.
Height.
Width.
Diam.
Width.
Speed
per min.
Gross.
Net.
When Packed.
6ft.
6 in.
7ft.
Gin.
6 ft.
6 in.
Win.
4 in.
320
revs.
about
2I.H.P.
34
cwts.
27
cwts.
166 cub. ft.
The Willoiuing Machine, ivith Patent Lattice
Feeder. (Fig. 14.)
(56 in. wide on cylinder.)
For opening and cleaning various kinds of soft cotton waste,
including scutcher droppings, card fly, strips, etc.
Specification. -Patent lattice feeder, dust grids, fan for down-
draft, patent movable roller, overhead delivery creeper, patent
rack motion.
Special Features. Patent lattice feeder ensures the waste
being fed the full width of cylinder, thus equalizing the strain
put on the grids.
Patent rack motion enables the attendant to regulate the
length of time the waste is operated upon by the machine.
Extras. Patent dirt remover. By means of a wrought-
iron scroll revolving under the machine the dirt is removed
into a cast-iron receptacle outside the machine. Over this is
an elevator having an endless chain of buckets which lifts the
dirt, carries same to the back of the machine, and deposits it
into a box or bag, preventing an accumulation of dirt under the
machine.
Production. About 9000 Ib. per week of fifty-six hours, varying
according to the class of waste to be cleaned.
Note. Whilst working, see that the projection on taking-in
wheel comes one or two inches past the stop. After the wheel has
gone out of gear the projection must fall against the stop.
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 109
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc. (Fig. 14.)
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
Length.
Height.
Width.
Diam.
Revs.
permin.
Gross.
56
cwts.
Net.
When Packed.
10ft.
6 in.
7ft.
6 in.
7ft.
Uin.
350.
about
3 1.H.P.
47
cwts.
230 cub. ft.
FIG. 14. Willow, with Lattice Feed.
The Preparing Machine for Hard Waste. (Fig. 15.)
(40 in. or 48 in. wide.)
The waste is passed through this machine preparatory to
being treated by the breaking-up machine.
The effect is to loosen or comb same so as to be more readily
broken up and at the same time take out any foreign substance
which may be in the waste. This machine may be preferable to
110 COTTON WASTE.
the opening and cleaning or willowing machine where a large
production is required. The machine is strongly designed and
simple in construction It consists of hand feeder with hardwood
lattice. One pair feed rollers covered with toothed disks. Iron
cylinder covered with hard-wood lags fitted with strong steel
teeth. Iron doffer covered with metal plates fitted with hardened
and tempered steel teeth. Two iron calender rollers. Chain to
drive the feeder. Strap-moving apparatus. Starting and stopping
motion for doffer and feeder. Iron cover over cylinder and iron
casing underneath fitted with door.
FIG. 15. Preparing Machine for Hard Waste.
Illustration. This shows at the delivery end a lap-forming
apparatus which is not required for the purpose above described.
Instead, the waste, after being stripped from the doffer by the
calender rollers, falls on to the floor and is then ready to be taken
to the breaking-up machines.
Production. The approximate production per week of 56
hours for a machine 40 in. wide is 60,000 Ib. , and for a machine
48 in. wide 80,000 Ib. This machine is made by Messrs.
Tatham.
Breaking-up Machine. (See Fig. 16.)
This machine is used for opening into fibre cop-bottoms,
reelers or other kinds of hard waste, and is constructed with
various numbers of cylinders from one to eight to suit the quantity
and class of waste to be dealt with, and floor space available.
Specification. Machine with patent welded wrought-iron
cylinders 21^ in. wide over all, mounted with hard wood lags,
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. Ill
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc.
Driving Pulleys.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
Width of Soace
Approx.
Machine.
Occupied.
Power
Required.
Diam.
Width.
Speed
per min.
Gross.
Net
When Packed.
40 in. ; 12 ft. 6 in. x
24 in.
6iin.
250
10I.H.P.
94
75
450 cub. ft.
7 ft. 8 in. x
revs.
cwts.
cwts.
5 ft. 3 in.
48 in.
12 ft. 6 in. x
24 in.
Tin.
250
13I.H.P.
101
80
500 cub. ft.
8 ft. 4 in. x
revs.
cwts.
cwts.
5 ft. 3 in.
fitted with hand-forged steel teeth 19 in. wide on teeth. Steel
cylinder shaft with hardened necks. Lattice feeding creeper
18 in. wide with patent treble-feed rollers to the first machine.
Eeversing motion to the feed rollers and lattice creeper. Patent
bearings to all the feed rollers. Cages and cage gearing. Guards
for the side and cross-shaft wheels, and for the wheels which
drive the bottom cages. Improved self-oiling cylinder pedestals.
Special Features. The patent welded wrought-iron cylinder
is made with the shell, arms, and bosses, all of wrought-iron and
welded. It is the only cylinder made with the shell hi a con-
tinuous sheet welded together, and is the strongest, easiest to turn
and safest and best for quick speeds and high production.
The self-oiling cylinder pedestals are of improved type, and
are fitted with best brass steps. The collars of the cylinder shaft
run inside the pedestals, and project into the oil reservoir at the
bottom. The oil, after lubricating the shaft, runs back into the
reservoir, thus preventing waste.
The patent bearings to the feed rollers have been recently in-
troduced in order to increase the rigidity of the feed rollers in the
middle ; this prevents the material from being plucked through,
holding same firmly whilst being opened by the cylinder.
Extras. Self-acting soaping machine for adding to the
broken-up waste a mixture of soap and water as it leaves the
last or finishing cylinder. To card and spin successfully the
addition of soap and water in correct proportions is essential.
A breaking-up machine is shown in fig. 16.
112
COTTON WASTE.
Lap-forming machines attached to the delivery end of one,
two, or three cylinder machines are frequently supplied to make
laps, five of which can then be placed on to the feeding lattice of
the succeeding breaking-up machine. This is a good system to
adopt where length of room is limited.
Fan with cast-iron dust pipe for down-draft behind each
cylinder, and with delivery lattice apparatus, for opening very
dirty or dyed cotton waste.
Belt-shifting apparatus with loose driving pulley.
Wheel guards to the large wheels on feed rollers and to the
wheels on delivery cage.
Lag covering for the cylinders can be supplied fitted with
FIG. 16. Cop-bottom Machine.
flat and headed steel teeth or round polished needle-pointed steel
teeth.
Production. Where a quantity of 5000 Ib. and upwards of
thread waste, say up to 40' s counts, is to be treated per week of
fifty-six hours, it is advisable to have the machine of six cylinders,
and one passage of the waste through the machine is generally
sufficient. The production averages from 5000 to 6000 Ib. per
week of fifty-six hours. If machines of less number of cylinders
are installed the production will be correspondingly less.
Driving Pulleys. Driving pulleys 12 in. diameter by 6 in.
wide for one cylinder, or 12 in. diameter by 8 in. wide when one
belt is made to drive two cylinders ; in this case the second is
driven by a side rope from belt-driven cylinder. It is not advised
to have fast and loose pulleys on cylinder shaft.
Speed of driving pulleys, 800 revolutions per minute.
Power required. About five indicated horse per cylinder.
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 113
Floor Space Occupied, Approximate Weights and Measurements are
as follows :
Machines without Fans.
Machines with Fans, Dust Pipes, and
Delivery Apparatus.
Cylinders.
Outside
Cubic
Extreme
Outside
Cubic
Fxti erne
Gross.
Net
Measure-
ment
Gross.
Net.
Measure-
ment
when
Packed.
Length.
Width.
when
Packed.
Length.
Width.
Cwts.
Cwts.
Cub. Ft.
Ft. In.
Ft. In.
Cwts.
Cwts.
Cub. Ft.
Ft. In.
Ft. In.
1 cylinder
29
23
230
9 3
4 9
41
34
297
13 3
4 9
2
56
45
410
15 10
4 9
73
60
510
1910
4 9
3
82
67
610
22 5
4 9
105
86
720
26 5
4 9
4
110
90
810
29
4 9
137
112
930
33
4 9
5
138
112
1010
35 7
4 9
169
138
1140
39 7
4 9
6
164
133
1210
42 2
4 9
201
164
1350
46 2
4 9
7
191
155
1410
48 9
4 9
233
190
1560
52 9
4 9
8
220
177
1610
55 4
4 9
265
216
1770
59 4
4 9
A soaping machine weighs 4| cwts. gross, 2f cwts. net. Outside cubic measure-
ment, when packed, 39 ft. 10 in., and adds 3 ft. 8 in. to the breaking-up machine.
A lap-forming machine weighs 25 cwts. gross, 21 cwts. net. Outside cubic measure-
ment, when packed, 54 ft., and adds 3 ft. 10 in. to the breaking-up machine.
Pickering Machine of One Cylinder (Tatham's). (See Fig. 17.)
Soft waste, including card fly, strips, scutcher droppings,
sweepings, stocking laps, etc., after being made into a mixing are
combed out. Better mixed and prepared for the scutcher, one
passage through this machine is generally sufficient.
Specification. Patent welded wrought-iron cylinder mounted
with hardwood lags fitted with hand-forged steel teeth. Steel
cylinder shaft with hardened necks. Lattice feeding creeper.
Feeder specially adapted for soft waste. Eeversing motion to
the feed rollers and lattice creeper. Cage and cage gearing.
Guards to side and cross-shaft wheels. Improved self-oiling
cylinder pedestals.
The makers advise two cylinders where there is a good propor-
tion of threads in the waste.
Special Features. The patent welded wrought-iron cylinder
is made with the shell, arms and bosses all of wrought-iron and
welded. It is the only cylinder made with the shell in a continu-
114 COTTON WASTE.
ous sheet welded together, and is the strongest, easiest to turn,
and safest and best for quick speeds and high production.
The self-oiling cylinder pedestals are of an improved type and
are fitted with best brass steps. The collars of the cylinder shaft
run inside the pedestals and project into the oil reservoir at the
bottom. The oil, after lubricating the shaft, runs back into the
reservoir, thus preventing waste.
Extras. Self-acting soaping machine for adding to the
broken-up waste a mixture of soap and water as it leaves the
last or finishing cylinder. To card and spin successfully the
addition of soap and water in correct proportions is essential.
FIG. 17. Pickering Machine of One Cylinder.
Fan with cast-iron dust pipe for down-draft behind each
cylinder and with delivery lattice apparatus for opening very dirty
or dyed cotton-waste.
Belt-shifting apparatus with loose driving pulley.
Wheel guards to large wheels on feed rollers and on cage.
Illustration. The wheel guards over the large wheels on
feed rollers and over wheels on delivery cage are only supplied if
specially ordered.
Production. The waste is passed once through the machine,
and the production of a single machine 21J in. wide on cylinder
is about 6000 Ib. per week of fifty-six hours, the production of
the wider machines being in proportion.
Driving Pulleys. 12 in. by 6 in. for one cylinder, or 12 in.
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 115
by 8 in. for two cylinders, the second cylinder being driven by
side rope from belt-driven cylinder.
Speed of driving pulleys about 800 revolutions per minute.
Power Required. About four indicated horse per cylinder.
One-Cylinder Machine.
Two-Cylinder Machine.
Width on
Cylinder.
Space Occupied.
Approximate Weights
and Outside Measure-
ment.
Space Occupied.
Approximate Weights
and Outside Measure-
ment.
In.
Length.
Ft. In.
Width.
Ft. In.
Gross.
Cwts.
Net.
Cwts.
When
Packed.
Cub. Ft.
Length.
Ft. In.
Width.
Ft. In.
Gross.
Cwts.
Net.
Cwts-
When
Packed.
Cub. Ft.
21*
28
34
9 3
9 3
9 3
4 9
5 4
510
29
32
35
23
25
27
230
262
295
15 10
15 10
15 10
4 9
5 4
510
56
62
68
45
49
53
410
470
530
A soaping machine weighs 4| cwts. gross, 2| cwts. net, outside cubic measurement
when packed 39 ft. 10 in., and adds 3 ft. 8 in. to the Pickering machine.
Spiked Cylinders. (See Fig. 17a.)
Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of any machine
specially designed for breaking up any cotton waste into which
the final spinning twist has been imparted, consists in using from
one to eight cylinders built up of comparatively fine spikes or
FIG. 17a. Spiked Cylinders.
teeth. Harder the waste may be, and more it requires opening,
the more cylinders the cotton is treated by. For example, a
good machine for cop bottoms contains six cylinders all in one
machine, and the cotton is treated by all these cylinders with only
once feeding and one delivery. In some cases the same waste
may be passed twice through a machine containing only three
cylinders. These spiked cylinders, with but slight modification,
appear equally suitable for treating woollen and worsted card
waste, flax, hemp, and jute waste, etc. It is not considered to'
116 COTTON WASTE.
damage the fibre much, or at any rate to but a slight extent, the
main objects being to lose the dirt and to thoroughly open out
the fibrous material. Cop bottoms and hard cotton waste
generally speaking are very clean, and need little attention in the
way of losing dirt, but require the maximum amount of treatment
for opening and re-fibring. A description of these cylinders as
made by Messrs. Hetherington will convey the best idea of the
special features desired in this type of machine. " The cylin-
ders are of wrought iron, combining strength with lightness.
They are turned all over the surface, and covered with beech
lags, containing in the aggregate 10,000 to 11,000 teeth. These
may be either black hand-forged cast-steel teeth, polished round
steel teeth, or Hardings' patent flat pins. The cylinder shafts
are of steel, and revolve in automatically self-lubricating pedestals,,
fitted with gun-metal steps, the cages are of cross-woven wire,
jointed without solder, therefore not affected by heat, and with
iron bound on the edges. The feed rollers are provided with a
reversing motion, so that in case an accident should occur, or be
apprehended, they can be instantly reversed, preventing the entry
of additional material, and arresting the further passage of that
already in the machine ; and a motion is provided for stopping
all the parts other than the cylinders."
Weighting of Feed Boilers.
A special detail of some importance in connexion with the
foregoing machine consists in the method of weighting the feed
rollers. The method in use for many years past on waste openers
and on ordinary cotton openers and scutchers also, has been to
apply the weight to the ends of the rollers outside the framing.
In the above case the weighting is applied to the feed rollers in-
side the framing, and this brings the pressure as near as possible
to the point where the rollers bite the cotton waste. This feature
is of importance, inasmuch as it tends to prevent " plucking " of
the cotton through the rollers, an evil which has often been a
serious defect on openers, scutchers, and cards, either in ordinary
cotton treatment, or in the treatment of cotton waste. In this
connexion makers and users of the machines have to choose
between the lesser of two or three evils. Sufficient rigidity of the
rollers to prevent plucking could be obtained by making the
rollers of larger diameter, but in the case of the actual striking
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 117
point of last roller, large diameters place the settings too wide
apart. Yet again, narrow machines will give shorter rollers, which
are more rigid than the longer ones, but the narrow machines are
of limited production. Long, thin, feed rollers are in a sense
necessary, and yet they frequently give or permit plucking of the
cotton, and hence the probable value of bringing the weights
inside the frame ends. We are of opinion that this is a sound
principle, and worthy of extended adoption either in openers,
scutchers, or cards, or in ordinary cotton treatment as well as
with cotton waste.
Preparation System.
The preparation system being a kind of cross between ordinary
cotton spinning and condenser spinning, lends itself naturally to
making a harder twisted yarn, spun either on a mule with draft
rollers or else on a ring-frame, the yarn being more suitable for
warps than for weft. The ring-frame is not much used in the
spinning of cotton waste yarns.
The Willow.
The distinctive features of the Willow are : (1) the use of a
limited number of strong, blunt, nearly round teeth or spikes, 3 in.
to 4 in. long and from f in. to 1 in. or so diameter at the top ;
(2) continued treatment by the beater before delivery, the feed
and delivery being intermittent for the purpose, whereas in other
opening machines the feed, the treatment, and the delivery are
continuous.
Cop-bottom Machine.
By contrast, the treatment of the cotton in the picking or
cop-bottom machine is by a very large number of very fine teeth
infinitely more searching among the fibrous material. By a
clutch and bevel arrangement attached to the feeding end of the
machine, the latter may be stopped or reversed as required.
Each steel tooth or spike about -J in. long and y F in. diameter.
Blow-room Fires.
fa It is of even more importance to isolate the room wherein
the opening is done in cotton-waste mills than in the case of
ordinary cotton spinning, and numberless fires have occurred
118 COTTON WASTE.
through hard substances getting to some of the beaters or cylin-
ders and striking fire, many fires also occurring through friction,
or through waste lapping round the feed-rollers. It is inadvis-
able to have the mixings of cotton waste stored in the room where
the picking and opening are done. Hand fire extinguishers of
the kind that start off when turned upside down should be ready
for fires at the start. Water buckets and hose pipes should be
always handy in the breaking-up room, which should be as
fire-proof as convenient and have provision for the water drain-
ing away readily after a fire.
Heavy Driving.
The six or eight cylinder cop-bottom or hard-waste breaking
machines especially are very heavy to drive, and other initial
machines are by no means light, so that the opening room should
be as near the driving power as may be convenient.
Eunning each cylinder at possibly 800 revolutions per minute,
a machine of the largest character, i.e. eight cylinders, may require
as much as 38.I.H.P. The practice of having only a fast pulley
on such a machine and having to stop the driving engine in order
to stop the breaker, is not to be commended, and it is better to
use fast and loose pulleys as on an ordinary opener or scutcher.
One method of distributing the driving in the case of a six or
eight cylinder machine is to drive down by a wide belt to each
alternate cylinder and to drive each intervening cylinder from a
belt-driven one by means of an endless band.
Between the fluted feed rollers and each cylinder there is
often placed a steel full-width plate, somewhat after the style of
the mote-knife on a carding engine.
The material being driven on to the edge of this cutting plate
is more or less broken or cut up, the shape, angle and sharpness
of the blade being subject to some amount of variation. The
cotton should be kept in good condition and well set to prevent
hard, thready waste ends. In some cases the cylinders are re-
versed after several weeks' running.
The Soaper. (See Figs. 18 and 19.)
As stated, a soaping arrangement is often attached to the
delivery end of a cop-bottom or hard-waste breaking machine.
The object of the soaper is to constantly spray a mixture of soap
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 119
and water upon the opened waste that is being taken up the de-
livery lattice. The soap-water is put into a small tank which
contains a- roller of wood or other material, partially immersed in
the water arid driven slowly round from one of the cages. Natur-
ally the roller picks up some of the soap-water and this is con-
tinuously, brushed off in a fine spray by a brush quickly revolved
from the cylinder, the soap-water spraying on the waste. This
soap- water solidifies the waste and prevents the latter from flying
about, but the * mixing of soaped waste should stand from one to
two days before using, to secure uniform saturation.
Sometimes other kinds of waste in addition to cop-bottom or
FIG. 18. Soaping Apparatus.
hard waste are more or less treated with soap- water, but more
often a large degging can is considered a sufficient apparatus for
the purpose in the case of very dry, soft wastes. In making a
mixing of waste that is very dry and fluffy and has not been
treated by a soaping machine, every layer of waste may be soap-
watered by the degging can before another layer is put on. The
soap- mixture may consist of about 1 Ib. of soft soap (or its equi-
valent) put to a gallon or more of water and sufficiently boiled
to obtain a thorough mixture.
If a soaping machine be used, the boiling or mixing tank may
be connected by a pipe to the small tank of the soaper, the latter
being possibly fitted with a ball-top to automatically control the
refilling.
120 COTTON WASTE.
Such is the fluffy, light character of the cotton waste as it
leaves a six-cylinder cop-bottom breaker, that it is often deemed
necessary to spray it with soapy water as it leaves the machine.
A soaping machine is applied when ordered, and is attached to
the delivery end of the breaking-up machine. The soapy water
tends not only to make the waste stick better together, but also
slightly adds to the weight. The soaping arrangement stops the
waste from flying about, but the waste should afterwards stand
for a day and a night before using at the next machine, to permit
a reasonable amount of re-drying. The soaping apparatus is not
indispensable to one of these hard-waste breakers, but is often
useful, an'd must be ordered and paid for as an extra. In fig. 18
A is the tank of soap- water, B the soap-roller, C the spray-brush,
D the delivery lattice.
Fig. 19 shows a Pickering machine with a soaper attached.
Single Cylinder, Three Cylinders, and Six Cylinders.
These beech lag and spiked cylinders are used in a horizontal
direction, usually have a down-stroke, and may have any spee"d
up to from 750 to 850 revolutions per minute. As stated, it is
possible to make machines with only one cylinder,, with as many
as eight cylinders, or with any number between these extremes
of one and eight. In a single cylinder machine the hard waste to
be opened is placed upon a feed lattice in the usual way, and then
passes between three fluted rollers to the cylinder. It is not
essential that a fan be used in this one-cylinder machine, as the
air current created by the quick revolution of the cylinder will be
found sufficient to carry the cotton to the wire cage from whence
the cotton is delivered bshind the machine. A one-cylinder
machine might occupy a floor space of 12 ft. 2-J in. by 6 ft.
Driving pulleys 12 in. by 6 in. wide. Speed of cylinder about
800 revolutions per minute. There might be used a strap driving
counter-shaft from main shaft 5|- in. width, the length depending
upon local circumstances. A strap 5 in. wide might be used to
drive the cylinder from the counter-shaft, the high speed of 800
revolutions per minute making it advisable to use a counter-shaft.
To drive cross-shaft from cylinder use a belt 8 ft. 10 in. length by
2 in. wide. To drive the slow motion shaft from cross-shaft use
a belt 11 ft. 6 in. length by 1| in. width. The brush of soaping
apparatus from the cylinder may take a belt 10 ft. long by
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 121
122
COTTON WASTE.
1-J- in. wide.
The rope for driving the roller of soaping apparatus-
. from delivery cage may be 3 ft. 8 in. long
by -f in. diameter. According to the num-
ber of cylinders employed in a machine
there would be certain of above belts dupli-
cated.
Six-Cylinder Machine. (See Fig. 20.)
There are several important benefits re-
sulting from using one machine with six
cylinders rather than passing the same
waste through a machine with one to three
cylinders two or more times. If the wast&
concern is of any size, so as to provide
sufficient and full work for the six-cylinder
machine, the latter is to be strongly re-
commended, and especially if the hard
waste is fine or very hard twisted, a
machine of even eight cylinders is often
deemed advisable. It has been found that
by using single - cylinder machines, and
passing the same waste six times through,
about 600 Ib. of waste per full working day
could be treated ; but by using a six-
cylinder machine, 1200 Ib. per day may
be opened and cleaned sufficiently. One
man can readily attend altogether to the
six-cylinder machine, and in this way a
distinct saving in cost of labour is ob-
tained. Any of these machines can be
made to work, either with or without fans,
although the use of fans will help to carry
away the dust if the cotton waste is very
dirty. Cop-bottom waste, however, is usu-
ally quite clean, unless it has been thrown
amongst the sweepings. In a six-cylinder
machine, the material, after leaving the
first cylinder, passes over the wire cages
to a pair of heavy rollers, where it is com-
pressed and then conducted, automatically,
to the feed rollers of the second cylinder
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 123"
and similarly to all the other cylinders. It is to be noted that it
is common to drive all the six cylinders at the same speed, say
at the rate of 800 revolutions per minute. In its passage from
cylinder to cylinder the cotton waste acquires an evenness that
cannot be obtained from repeated hand-feeding, and this is all in
the direction of obtaining a superior quality of treatment of the
waste. There is also an increase in production due to the increase
in speed given to the feed rollers at each succeeding cylinder. An
idea of the six-cylinder machine as constructed by an eminent
firm will be gathered from fig. 20.
Cotton Waste System of Machines.
Previously we have given a description of the Oldham willow
as extensively used for the first opening of dirty soft waste. Com-
plete systems of machines for treating such waste differ with
different firms, but a particular system much in evidence is re-
capitulated below :
1. Improved Oldham willow such as described.
2. Single scutcher, either of the ordinary cotton type or con-
taining certain special features, such as hopper feeders on the one
hand, or extra beaters on the other hand.
3. Breaker card supplied with two full width laps in order to
get uniform work and delivery by means of Scotch roper.
4. Finisher card having the waste fed to it on the Scotch feed
principle, and equipped with either a ring-doffer condenser, or a.
leather tape condenser.
5. Waste mule supplied with long condenser bobbins of cotton
waste strands. As an alternative a continuous waste spinning
frame may be used for producing the very coarse yarn spun out
of dirty soft waste.
The Scutcher.
Although the method of applying a hopper feeder to the
breaker carding engine, and supplying this with loose cotton is r
at the present time being strongly advocated by some people,
it is yet a very common practice to make the cotton waste into
laps on the scutcher. Such a scutcher can be made of any suit-
able width, and usually this width is considerable, reaching
possibly 48 in. or 49 in. The piano feed regulator may be
either left off or it may be applied if desired, much on the same
124
COTTON WASTE.
lines as for an ordinary cotton scutcher. It is best to have the
pedal levers pivoted on knife edges, as these give a very sensitive
action, and are probably less liable to be adversely affected by the
dust and fly, which cannot be entirely prevented from getting to
these parts. It is probable also that the modern principle of dis-
pensing with the bowl box of the piano motion will be found
particularly suitable for a cotton waste scutcher, since the newer
lever systems are far less liable to be adversely affected with dust
and fly than any motion in which the bowl box and sliding bowls
are retained. In some cases just one ordinary scutcher beater
only is used, and is built with two or three blades, just according
to order ; in either case each blade is planed on both edges, so
that when one edge becomes worn the beater may be turned end
over end, so that it is reversed in its bearings, and unworn edges
are put into action. Naturally the framing should be strong in
order to treat cotton waste without excessive breakage of parts,
and all gearing should be well covered in. It is also good practice
to have the beater pedestals working in self-oiling bearings.
Extra Beaters. (See Fig. 21.)
As previously stated, practice varies greatly in regard to the
machines used for the blowing-room treatment of cotton waste,
and scutchers, for example, may be built with just one beater as
described, or double scutchers may be used in which there are
two blade beaters, or even three if desired.
FIG. 21. Scutcher for Cotton Waste.
Messrs. Platt, for example, make a special form of scutcher
in which there are two beaters placed together, but only one fan
and one pair of cages are used. In passing from the feed lattice
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 125
to the first beater or picker cylinder the cotton waste is guided by
rather large diameter fluted press rollers, and held down to the
smaller diameter feed roller. The waste passes between the feed
roller and the noses or short ends of pedal levers which form part
of the piano feed regulator. As stated, the first beater is more in
the nature of a spiked cylinder, and contains a large number of
closely set small steel spikes, which give a most thorough separa-
tion and opening out of the cotton waste, somewhat after the style
of the well-known Kirchner or carding beater. It is fair to as-
sume, indeed, that the action of this picker beater more resembles
that of the licker-in of a carding engine than that of a blade
beater. However, in this case both kinds of treatment are ob-
tained because the blade beater is right close up to the picker
beater, with no intervening feed rollers, cages, or other parts.
As a matter of fact, one single large curved top cover is made to
fit over the top of both beaters. There is a somewhat peculiar
shroud or casing to each blade beater to prevent the soft cotton
waste from stringing round and adhering to the blade, thus as-
sisting the work of the stripping plate. It is perfectly obvious
that this double and varied treatment will be very effective in
opening and cleaning soft dirty waste. Following the second or
blade beater there are the usual two cages and fan, followed again
by four calendars and the other lap-forming parts. The driving
pulleys on the ends of spiked cylinder and blade beater are re-
commended at 12 in. diameter by 4 in. width, giving a speed of
1075 revolutions per minute. A scutcher of this type, with both
cylinder and beater, may absorb about 5 I.H.P. when working
without hopper feeder.
To secure the best results, both in regard to cleaning, opening,
and for making regular laps, it is best to apply a hopper feeder to
this double beater scutcher, although this takes up a little more
space, and will absorb more in first cost. The hopper feeder has
well proved itself as a most efficient attachment to either opener
or scutcher which is fed with cotton in a loose state, since it will
treat the desired weight of cotton or cotton waste most effectively
without injury to the fibre, and with a minimum amount of atten-
tion. In the case under notice the pulleys to be placed on the
stripping cylinder of the hopper feeder are fixed at 10 in. diameter
by 3 in. by 3 in. wide, and the speed about 300 revolutions per
minute.
1-26 COTTON WASTE.
Cop-bottom Breaking Machine.
For the early treatment of cop bottoms or any hard waste, the
Oldham willow and other machines with ordinary beaters and
cylinders containing porcupine knives or full-width blades, do
not appear to give a sufficiently individualized treatment of the
fibres.
We may remind our readers that the term "hard waste " is
-applied in a general way to all waste into which the finil spinning
twist has been introduced, and which, therefore, is of a much
-closer and harder nature than any waste made at any of the
machines coming before the mule or ring frame. Cop bottoms,
spinners' hand waste, reelers' waste, winders' waste, doublers'
"waste, thrums from slashers, and weavers' waste, all come under
the general expression of hard waste. Cop bottoms form prob-
ably by far the largest class of this kind of waste, and the first
hard waste breaking machines are often termed cop-bottom
machines. Such machines will most effectively break up into a
soft fleecy mass almost any kind of hard cotton waste, which
latter may afterwards be re-spun and manufactured into sheetings,
-cheap towels, cotton blankets, and flannelettes, or be converted
into wadding, gun cotton, etc.
There are various makers of these hard-waste breakers, and
since their introduction various detailed improvements have been
discovered and applied by one machine-making firm or another.
The makers claim that the materials used in the construction of
the machines are of the best, and that care is taken to have every
part well finished and well fitted. It is claimed that such machines
are also effective for cleaning opener and scutcher droppings, al-
though we have described the Oldham willow as being an excellent
machine for such waste. The use of these machines is not con-
fined to the cotton-waste trade, but they may be also used for
treating woollen and worsted waste, flax, hemp, and jute waste,
or in short almost any kind of waste produced from any of the
leading textile fibres, excepting perhaps the more expensive silk
fibre.
Single-beater Lap-forming Scutching Machine, with Hopper
Feeder. (See Fig. 22.)
These machines are especially constructed for working waste,
.and prepare the laps for the breaking carding engine.
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 127
Specification. Hopper feeder with upright spiked lattice, and
with improved grid arrangement. Single scutcher with patent
feed regulator. Improved pedal motion. Consolidated lap end
with four compression rollers. Two bladed beater. Fan for
down-draft. Improved ring pedestals for beater and fan.
Positive knocking-off motion. Patent lap roller.
FIG. 22. Tatham's Scutcher with Hopper Feeder.
Special Features.
The hopper feeder is driven through the cone drums on the
scutcher, ensuring an even and regular fleece.
The cone drums are of large diameter, ensuring an effective
drive.
Production. About 20,000 Ib. per week of fifty-six hours.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc.
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
Length.
>
Width.
Diam.
Speed
per min.
Gross.
Net.
When
Packed.
19 ft. 6 in.
7 ft. 6 in.
12 in. on
Beater.
1300 to
1400 revs.
155 cwts.
106 cwts.
397 cub. ft.
The Scutcher Bars and Lap-licking.
The scutcher used in the cotton-waste business is usually
very much on the usual cotton lines but the grate bars beneath
128 COTTON WASTE.
the scutcher will probably be set very close together on account
of the short nature of the material operated upon. In some cases-
of clean waste indeed blank plates are placed beneath the beater
with few if any grate bars, so that the benefit of the opening
effect of beater may be obtained without losing any of the material
as droppings.
Cotton waste is often very liable to licking owing to its soft,
short nature, and especially is this true of broken-up hard waste
treated with the soaping apparatus. For this reason it is a very
common practice to use a creel in front of the calenders con-
taining waste yarn or slubbing which runs in with the lap and
helps to keep each layer to itself. This involves a certain expense
and labour in keeping the creel bobbins going.
There is, however, another serious evil attendant upon this
practice, viz. that of marking the wire on the carding engine, and
often considerable damage has been done in this connexion. An
arrangement, however, has been devised by which a number of
wires act on the cotton sheet near the cages, and stroke the lap
sheet into a more solid condition, thus diminishing the lap-licking
evil.
A regular lap is quite as important in the manipulation of
cotton waste by the condenser system as it is in ordinary cotton-
spinning, since there are draw-frames to make uniform slivers.
For this reason when cotton is fed loosely to the scutcher a very
common occurrence it is usual to apply a hopper feeder to the
scutcher. As a matter of fact apart from the question of expense
it is probably a still better practice to use two hopper feeds to
the scutcher, the second one being equipped with a regulator
which keeps the cotton in the feed box at something like a uni-
form height. In cases of a very small plant the scutcher may
be omitted altogether, and each card fitted with a hopper, but if
there are say half a dozen or more breaker cards it will prob-
ably pay to use the scutcher with hopper, and feed the breaker
cards with laps of cotton waste. In such a case a girl may
easily attend to the scutcher.
Although scutchers for cotton waste sometimes contain beaters
or cylinders of a special character, such as picker cylinders, the
more usual practice is to employ an ordinary double or treble-
blade beater. Productions much as for cotton, say 8000 to 14,000
Ib. per week. It is much more satisfactory to have a hopper
THE OPENING AND CLEANING OF COTTON WASTE. 129
feeder attached to the scutcher, as hand-feeding and spreading is
likely to give variations in the weight per yard of the laps.
The link or tripod regulator is the best for such a scutcher,
on account of the amount of fly and dirt, since these arrange-
ments do not need the bowl box and its friction bowls. Such
distinctive features as I beater blades, shrouded to prevent cotton
sticking, cross-cut feed-rollers to give a good grip on the short
fibre, fluted calendar rollers, special creels for holding cops from
which the yarn is run off into the lap to prevent lap-licking are
more or less found on scutchers for cotton waste.
Attention to oiling and cleaning, the production of good
selvedges on the laps, good exhaust flues for the dust, good
belts and ropes kept under proper tension are as important in
these scutchers for cotton waste as in those for ordinary raw
cotton. It is also best to have down-drafts with the dust cellar
below the breaking room.
Hard Ends.
One of the most frequent evils in using cop-bottom or other
hard waste consists in hard ends, or portions of thready waste not
sufficiently broken up. A waste-spinner naturally dislikes these
hard ends as they prevent drafting-out and cause many broken
ends. Possible causes are cylinders in the cop-bottom machine
out of order, or under-speeded, or slack belts and ropes for driving
the cylinders, or uneven feeding of the waste. Insufficient grip-
ping of the cotton by the fsed-rollers at this machine may lead to
plucking the waste through in lumps.
The Crighton.
The ordinary single Crighton is sometimes used instead of the
willow for soft waste and is best fitted with an inner oil chamber
to the footstep of the Crighton shaft, this being surrounded by a
water-bath to keep the footstep cool. ' Also the Crighton is best
fitted with a grid which can be raised or lowered as required, so
as to put the bars closer to or farther from the beater. This par-
ticular feature is helping the Crighton to be adopted to good
Egyptian cotton in ordinary fine spinning, since it helps in pre-
venting cat-tailing of the cotton or stringing the same.
CHAPTEK IV.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
THEKE are very material differences between a modern carding
engine used for ordinary cotton carding and those used for the
carding of cotton waste. In a general way the most noticeable
difference is seen in the fact that the revolving flat card is now
almost universally adopted for ordinary cotton spinning, whereas
the roller and clearer card still reigns pre-eminent for the carding
of cotton waste. The more open treatment of the cotton fibres in
the roller and clearer card, the turning over and mixing of the
fibres by the action of the rollers and clearers, the ability to pass
comparatively heavy bodies of fibres through the roller card, and
also its ability to treat cotton as much as required without taking
out much waste, are features which have helped to maintain the
supremacy of the roller and clearer card for cotton waste, long
after it has completely lost its hold in the treatment of raw cotton
in the ordinary cotton spinning and carding processes.
Rollers and Clearers.
It will be as well if we just remind our readers of the dis-
tinctive feature of this particular style of carding engine. Instead
of. flats being placed near the upper half of the cylinder, a series
of what are termed rollers and clearers are placed in this position,
a roller and a clearer necessarily working in partnership with
each other, and six or seven pairs of these rollers and clearers
filling up all the available space. Each roller or worker has a
comparatively slow revolution, so that its surface speed might
average 28 or 30 ft. per minute, while its companion clearer,
although of smaller diameter, has the much higher surface speed
of possibly 400 ft. per minute. In waste carding, owing to their
comparatively high number of revolutions, and their small dia-
meter, the clearers are often made of wrought-iron tubing, each
of the six clearers having a diameter of possibly 2J in. or 2-J- in.
(130)
THE CAKDING OF COTTON WASTE. 131
They are usually driven directly from the cylinder by a long
endless belt, the driving pulley on cylinder often reaching 30 in.
or more in diameter. Assuming the cylinder to make 150 re-
volutions per minute, the diameter of driving pulley on cylinder
to be 30 in., and the driven pulley on end of each clearer to be
9 in. diameter, a clearer speed would be attained as indicated
below :
150 x 30 150 x 10
- = - = 000 revols. per minute.
y o
The wrought-iron tubular construction combines strength with
lightness, and makes the clearer able to withstand the compara-
tively rough work and strain set up in carding cotton waste.
Distinctively different conditions exist in regard to the roller or
worker, as this not only has a very slow speed- scarcely ^ part
of the surface speed of the clearer- but it also has more than
double the diameter, six inches being a common diameter. As a
consequence the rollers are more usually made of cast-iron with
hardened ends, although occasionally they are made of best
selected and thoroughly well seasoned pine, on iron beams.
Both clearers and workers may be fitted with shell bushes or
shrouded ends, with the object of preventing dust and fly from
getting to the bearings. For the rollers it is a common practice
to have sprocket chain and pulley driving, as this suits the steady,
slow, but non-slipping drive that is required to meet the case.
Action of Roller and Clearer.
T^he action of each pair of rollers and clearers may be de-
scribed somewhat as follows : Both roller and clearer are set up
to be just clear of the cylinder teeth, and also just about the same-,
clearance from each other. They have the same direction of re-
volution, so that their contact surfaces move in the same direction
as the cylinder, although their direction of revolution is exactly
opposite to that of the cylinder. It is to be particularly noted,
however, that the wire teeth of the clearer point in the same
direction as those of the cylinder, at the point of juxto-position,
whereas those of the roller are pointing against those of the
cylinder.
Assuming now that there are some entangled portions of fibre
upon the wire teeth of the cylinder, these would probably pass.
132 COTTON WASTE.
the first clearer and reach the roller which is further from the
licker-in. The slow revolution and the oppositely pointing wire
teeth of the roller would now help to open out and card the en-
tangled portions of fibre, some of the fibre passing forward with
the cylinder, and some adhering to the teeth of the roller. When
these fibres on the roller come opposite the clearer, the latter
will probably sweep the fibres from the clearer owing to increased
speed of clearer and direction in which the teeth point. In ex-
actly the same way the still greater surface speed of the cylinder
will cause the latter to take the fibres from the clearer, so that
the fibres will have then been transferred from cylinder to roller,
from roller to clearer, and then back again to the cylinder. It
is highly probable that the cotton will have been now sufficiently
opened so that it will penetrate the cylinder teeth and be now
carried forward by the cylinder to the doffer. One pair of rollers
and clearers would be utterly inadequate in operating upon all
the entanglements of fibre, and any such that may escape, one
pair will probably be acted upon by a subsequent pair. It is
quite possible for some portions of fibre to be operated upon and
transferred backwards and forwards several times over. Just as
in the case of the flats of a revolving flat carding engine, a good
proportion of dirt and impurities of one kind or another are
fastened in or upon the teeth of the cylinder, roller, and clearer,
so that we have the dual carding operation of opening and clean-
ing of the cotton. In the case of having six pairs of rollers and
clearers there will be only six really and fully effective carding
points, namely, the nearest point of each of the six rollers to the
cylinder ; while there will be twelve carding points of much less
value represented by the nearest position of clearers to cylinder
and roller to each clearer. A very little reflection will lead any-
one to the natural conclusion that the opening and cleaning
capacities of rollers and clearers are much inferior to those of
the flats of a revolving flat card, and all experience has demon-
strated this, so that for ordinary cotton carding purposes the
roller and clearer card has nearly been defunct. In such cases
one single revolving flat card appears able to do quite as much
effective carding as one double roller and clearer card.
In -spite of all this, double roller and clearer carding is the
almost universal system in connexion with the carding of proper
cotton waste, and reasons for this are given near the beginning
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
133
of the present article. The double roller and clearer card so
largely used for carding American cotton a quarter of a century
ago contained only one feed part and one delivery, although
having two cylinders and two sets of rollers and clearers. This
system is not in favour for the carding of cotton waste, the ac-
cepted method being to employ separate breaker and finisher
cards, each with its own feed and delivery arrangement. In
what is termed the Scotch feed, however, the cotton is automatic-
ally transferred from breaker to finisher.
Specification of Cotton-waste Card.
By way of conveying a general idea of the construction of a
cotton-waste carding engine the following specification of an
eminent machine-making firm is given : Single breaker carding
engine, 50 in. on the wire, with lattice feed to receive two laps
from scutcher; one pair of feed rollers 2J in. diameter when
clothed with inserted wire ; one humbug roller 3 in. diameter
when clothed with inserted wire ; taker-in 9^ in. diameter, clothed
with inserted wire ; cylinder 50 in. diameter ; seven rollers, 6 in.
diameter ; six clearers, 2J in. diameter ; one clearer, 4 in. dia-
meter, next above licker-in, with or without dirt box ; one wood
fancy, 12 in. diameter ; one fancy stripper, 3 in. diameter ; doffer,
30 in. diameter, and improved fly doffer comb ; galvanized iron
rail between fancy, with door ; wood cover over doffer. (See
Fig. 23.)
FIG. 23. Breaker Card.
" Wood cover over doffer, with door to fit close to cover over
fancy ; recess in bends for traverse of Horsfall's card grinder ;
taker-in rollers and clearers with wrought-iron case-hardened
ends, and cast shrouds at each end which case up the same ;
134 COTTON WASTE.
rollers prepared for chain or band driving ; wood covers and
cover holders complete, and including division sheet with door,
improved casing to licker-in, and tin-bar casing to cylinder with
patent setting arrangement."
The Cylinder.
Except in the methods of starting and stopping the cylinders
and in regard also to kind of card wire employed, there is little
difference between the cylinder of a cotton-waste card and that of
an ordinary cotton card. As regards driving, the differences may
come in more particularly when automatic mechanism is em-
ployed for transferring the cotton waste from breaker to finisher
carding engine. Take, for example, the best-known arrangement
for the purpose, viz. the Scotch feed, it is necessary to stop and
start both the breaker and finisher cards almost simultaneously,
and to do this in the readiest manner often the two may be
driven from the same top counter-shaft from which a separate
belt each reaches down to breaker and finisher. The counter-
shaft itself may be driven from another belt running on fast and
loose counter- shaft pulleys. By moving this one belt from loose
to fast pulley both cards may be started at one time, and the
reverse movement of belt will stop both cards together. Various
individual parts of the card 'may be stopped and started inde-
pendently on much the same lines as for a cotton card.
The Wire Covering.
Referring now to the wire covering, it will be understood that
this should be of a coarser and stronger character than for cotton
counts of 40's or 60's, for example. It is well known that many
descriptions of card clothing exist, and in particular are there
many sorts of wire more or less in use. For cylinders and
doffers two rival forms of card clothing have been in competition
for a great many years, viz. filleting and sheeting. Fillets of
card clothing cut to about 2 in. wide, made of sufficient length
to clothe a whole cylinder without piecing, and wound in a close
pitched spiral upon the cylinder, have almost driven the old
sheets of clothing out of the market as regards ordinary cotton
cards. In the carding of cotton waste, however, distinctly differ-
ent conditions obtain, and it is quite a common practice to cover
the cylinder of a cotton-waste card with sheets of card clothing
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 135
in preference to fillet. Perhaps the greatest reason for this use
of the sheets is that the spaces between the sheets on the cylinder
materially help in the clearance of the large proportion of the
leaf, dirt, seeds, and other defects in cotton waste, which would
be a more difficult matter in the case of an unbroken fillet. In
other words, what is lost in carding power by having a smaller
number of wire points acting on the cotton is more than compen-
sated for by the greater facility for the above defects to escape.
The removal of the dirt and seed can be affected also with less
risk of damage to the wire teeth.
Methods of Feed-ing the Breaker Card.
The methods of feeding the cotton waste to the breaker card-
ing engine, and the methods of giving the cotton to the finisher
card differ from the practice usually obtaining in orthodox cotton
carding. One very distinctive method of feeding the breaker card
consists in the use of an automatic feeding arrangement much
after the style used for openers. The well-known hopper feed-
ing principle has been successfully employed for waste cards in
this country by certain firms who have made certain modifications
so as to suit the character of the waste. The use of this hopper
feeder entirely obviates the necessity for shaping the cotton waste
into laps in the blowing-room at any of the machines, and yet
makes the work of feeding the card very easy and automatic.
The machine is fitted with a patent weighing arrangement by
means of which the feed lattice is stopped when a certain weight
of cotton, which can be regulated at will, has been deposited in
the receptacle. At regular intervals this receptacle is opened,
and the cotton dropped on the constantly revolving feed lattice of
the carding engine, so that an even weight of cotton is always
deposited on a certain length of lattice.
Comparing this feeder with that for an ordinary cotton opener
there are radical differences in the construction and operation of
the apparatus for equalizing the cotton, and for cleaning the same
from the spikes of the elevating apron. The various motions are
capable of very fine adjustment, and it is stated that a very regular
feed can be obtained from this automatic feeder. For heavy, dirty
waste, which would become too much matted if made into laps, this
feeder is specially suitable, as it delivers the material to the card-
ing engine in a loose condition. This system does not compete,
136
COTTON WASTE.
for certain sorts of waste, so much with the more usual one of
feeding with laps, as it does with the method of spreading the
cotton by hand upon the lattice at the back. In spite of the
manifest advantages of the hopper feeder, there are some people
who still prefer the hand-spreading method, and although this is
the more costly system as regards labour, there is not the first
cost of the feeder to be debited to capital. In a manner of speak-
ing this automatic feeder is a kind of cross between the one used
for a cotton opener and one used sometimes in the wool trade.
Nearly all our readers are familiar with cotton openers, but they
PIG. 24. Breaker Card with Hopper Feeder.
are not familiar with the wool machine, and a very brief descrip-
tion of one is given below. In one case used in the woollen trade
the wool is automatically taken up, weighed, and fed uniformly to
the scribbler, which is almost the equivalent to a cotton opener or
scutcher. This is known as the Bramwell automatic feeder, and
was going in the wool trade before hopper feeders were introduced
to the cotton trade. In this machine the wool is put into a large
box having a grating at the bottom for any dirt to fall through ;
and the wool is taken upwards by a spiked or toothed elevating
apron. Towards the top of the apron the wool comes under the
operation of an oscillating comb, which strokes back any large
pieces of the material, the remainder being spread more or less
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
137
uniformly along the surface of the elevator. On the other side of
the elevating apron there is another combing arrangement which
sweeps the wool from the lifting apron and passes it along to a
kind of weighing scale. This scale is built up of two curved
wings, held together by suitable weights, and the whole suspended
on steel knife edges. When the scale has received the required
quantity, it liberates a small trigger, which causes a projection to
catch on one of the teeth of a revolving disk connected with an
automatic clutch, which disengages the driving belt operating the
toothed apron, thus instantly stopping further delivery of material
to the scale, which now remains at rest. When the proper time
arrives the wings of the scale are opened, and the wool is de-
posited upon the feed-lattice in a perfectly opened state and in ex-
cellent condition for the cards. Some of the ideas incorporated
in the foregoing description are utilized in the automatic feeders
for waste breaker cards, but are altered and improved to suit the
special circumstances of the case.
Double Lap Method.
When it is remembered that draw frames are almost unknown
in the treatment of cotton waste, and in the condenser system
there are absolutely no machines between the finisher card and
the spinning mule, it will be then understood that some effort
FIG. 25. Cotton Waste Carding Engine.
must be made to secure a uniform sliver or strand from the card-
ing engine. As regards the breaker card there are mainly three
rival methods designed to secure the requisite uniformity of feed,
and the carder must choose which one of the three he shall em-
ploy. First of all we have the hand-spreading system in which
the operative spreads the cotton as uniformly as possible upon
138 COTTON WASTE.
the feed lattice ; and let it be remembered that hand spreading of
cotton even for a scutcher has been known to give exceedingly
level work when done by a sufficiently careful operative. As a
rival to this we have the automatic feeder above alluded to.
A third system shown in fig. 25 and very extensively
adopted is to place two full-width scutcher laps upon the lattice
feeder of the breaker card, one behind the other, so that we have a
doubling of the laps, and a mixing of the cotton which produces an
excellent effect in levelling up the work. In this connexion it
may be thought that even this is a very limited doubling effect as
compared to that which is common to ordinary cotton spinning.
While this is so we are not to forget that a 10 per cent error in
counts too coarse would give us a 90 's yarn instead of 100's, a
10 per cent error in 5's waste condenser yarns would only make
half a count in difference, and if too coarse would give us 4-J's
counts instead of 5's. Furthermore, a slight error in counts of a
cotton waste yarn need not appreciably affect the quality of a
cheap cotton blanket ; nor make the actual weaving process much
more difficult ; but properly spun cotton yarns always need to be
as uniform as we can reasonably get them to be. The double
lap system has the additional benefit of utilizing the piano-feed
regulator at the scutcher, so that we have two factors which in
this system help to give a level sliver, viz. the doubling effect,
and the regulating effect of the piano motion.
Sinyle- Breaking Carding Engine.
(40 in. or 48 in. wide on wire.) (See fig. 26.)
For comber waste broken-up cop-bottoms, and other kinds of
hard waste, with patent side-drawing and single coiling and can
motion.
Specification Pattern C 7. One cylinder 50 in. diameter.
One doffer 25 in. diameter. One taker-in 9 in. diameter. Seven
rollers 5 in. diameter of iron, or 6 in. diameter wood lagged.
Seven clearers 3 in. diameter. One fancy 7 in. diameter wood
lagged, driven by rope direct from the cylinder. One humbug
roller 3 in. diameter under the feed roller and taker-in. Im-
proved concentric bends. Steel cover and shell ends to taker-in.
Polished mahogany covers over rollers, clearers and fancy.
Rollers driven by chain or rope. Dish feeder with one fluted
roller 2^ in. diameter, and arranged to receive one scutcher lap.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
139
Improved pattern doffing comb and motion. Patent side drawing
with endless belt to convey the sliver from the doffer to the
single coiling and can motion.
Special Features. The concentric bends are of an improved
type, and the roller, clearer, and fancy brackets, etc., are adjusted
by means of ^ in. screws and two hexagon nuts, both vertically
and sideways, one screw-key now fitting all the nuts, and the
combination provides a strong, simple, and good arrangement.
FIG. 26. Breaker Carding Engine.
Self-oiling ring bearings to fancy.
Patent side drawing. By means of this arrangement the
doffers can be run at a high speed even when carding the shortest
material, and breakages very seldom occur.
The doffing comb is very strong, the driving motion has been
re-designed, and the crank arm is secured to the doffing comb by
means of a split boss.
Extras Supplied if Ordered. Special steel-hinged cover and
rail to separate the fancy from the roller above, and filling-up
pieces with small grooved shaft under the fancy, with shell ends
to bearings as illustrated.
(In lieu of extending the mahogany cover fitted with door
over the fancy as per specification.)
140
COTTON WASTE.
Shell ends to roller, clearer, and fancy bearings.
Feeder arranged to receive two scutcher laps.
Angle-bar undercasings in halves, with improved setting
arrangement to cylinder and taker-in.
Taker-in covered with inserted wire.
Illustration. The pattern of bend illustrated has been super-
seded by the concentric pattern shown on page 20.
Unless the steel cover over fancy is specially ordered, the
mahogany cover is continued over the fancy and fitted with door.
Production. About 1000 Ib. of broken-up cop-bottoms, comber
waste, etc., per week of fifty-six hours.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc. (See fig. 26.)
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
Length.
Width.
Diani.
Width.
Speed
per min.
Gross.
Net,
When Packed.
10ft.
3 in.
6ft.
10 in.
20 in.
For 3 in.
belt.
75 to 90 About 1*
revs. I.H.P."
1
68
cwts.
52
cwts.
320 cub. ft.
Methods of Feeding the Finisher Card.
Previously we have given a discussion and description of the
method of preparing laps for the finisher carding engine by means
of the Derby doubler. It must, however, be understood that
several systems are more or less in use in cotton-waste carding
for transferring the cotton from breaker to finisher cards. There
are, for example, the Derby doubler, the lap drum method, the
Scotch feed, and the improved lattice feed. Moreover, either in
treating cotton waste or in wool and worsted carding there are
other feeding arrangements such as bank feeds, balling machines,
Blamire's feed, Skelton's feed, and spooling frames. With these
latter four of five arrangements we do not propose to deal ; as they
refer so little to existing practice in the carding of cotton waste,
we can well afford to ignore them. As a matter of fact, the
Scotch feed and the Derby doubler are far and away the most
used of any feeders or other arrangements for preparing the
cotton ready for the finisher card.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 141
The Lap Drum.
A very few words will suffice to say all that is necessary about
this process. There is a large drum connected to the delivery of
the breaker or the scribbler which aids in the rolling up of laps
by frictional contact with the fleece of cotton stripped from the
doffer by an ordinary doffer comb. A stop-motion may be
applied by which knocking off occurs when any required thick-
ness of lap has been attained. The lap drum is not used now as
much as it formerly was, and it is a very primitive and simple
arrangement. Simplicity of itself is no fault, but unfortunately
this is accompanied by irregular work, and by a considerable loss
of production owing to frequent stoppages while the full laps are
being removed in turn from the drum. The necessity for doing
this work somewhat frequently practically makes the card an
intermittent machine, and it has become an axiom in carding that
a carding engine should be a continuous worker, and even in
ordinary cotton carding few people will entertain the idea of
having a card fitted with an automatic stop-motion of any kind.
With the Derby doubler system the delivery of the breaker
card is quite on the well-known principle of an oscillating comb
for the doffer, a pair of calenders, and an ordinary can and coiler
motion, which permits changing empty for full cans without inter-
fering with the working of the card. With the Scotch feed and
improved lattice arrangements the saving in labour is even
distinctly greater than with the Derby doubler as we explain below
in the present article.
The Scotch Feed. (See Fig. 27.)
The Scotch roper and Scotch feed arrangement is probably
better than any other for most kinds of low grade cotton wastes ;
it automatically collects and condenses the cotton from the breaker
card, and feeds the same to the finisher card in an equal and
continuous manner. Apart from any saving of labour that may
result from not using the Derby doubler, there are some classes
of cotton waste which it is not wise to pass through the Derby
doubler, as, for example, waste that is of an oily character, or low
grade wastes, which are better left in the open fleecy condition
given by the Scotch feed. Such wastes, compressed by the
weighted rollers of the doubler, become too matted and consoli-
142 COTTON WASTE.
dated, and this puts more work upon the parts of the finisher
carding engine. Naturally this remark applies somewhat to all
classes of waste, but not to the same extent to clean, soft better
sorts of waste for the finer counts of waste yarns. In such cases
the Derby doubler maintains the fibres in a more parallel con-
dition, and in particular it tends to give a more level and uniform
sliver and yarn than any other system, especially in the finer
counts. This is, perhaps, the greatest argument for the use of
the Derby doubler, since it needs special attention of itself, and
the coilers and cans of the breaker also need attention. The
crossing of the fibres given by the Scotch feed is an advantage
in very coarse, soft wefts, since 'crossed fibres give a fuller and
more oozy finished yarn than do parallel fibres, the full appear-
ance being well suited to cotton blankets and flannelettes. For
the coarser low grade wastes the Scotch feed system imposes a
good deal less work upon the taker-in of the finisher card, and
there is much less danger of damaging the cloth of the taker-in.
In the Scotch feed system the cotton waste is stripped from
the doffer of the breaker by an ordinary fly comb, and is delivered
upon a lattice running along the lower front of the doffer, and at
right angles to the doffer. This lattice collects and condenses
the fleece of cotton from the doffer, and as a rule turns the fleece
round at right angles, while it is condensing the same into a
ribbon perhaps four inches in width. The lattice itself may be
about five inches in width, and for thick, coarse work the sheet
or ribbon of cotton may attain that width. Except in some
tandem cards the narrow ribbon of cotton waste passes between
three calender rollers at the side of the breaker card, thus being
compressed and consolidated by a two-fold compression into
sufficient compactness to stand its own weight without breaking.
This completes what may be termed the delivery part of the
breaker card and the term " Scotch roper " is often applied to the
arrangement as so far described, leaving the term " Scotch feed "
to be applied more specifically to the remainder of the arrange-
ment. This narrow sheet of cotton waste is now lifted up by an
overhead combination of pulleys and narrow lattice work, re-
volving at about the same surface speed as the three bottom
calenders, the top lattices also being only about five or six inches
in width.
Assuming the breaker and finisher cards to be placed side by
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 143
side and not tandem in relation to each other, the ribbon of
cotton waste is lifted several feet upwards in a vertical line so
as to depend upon its own weight, and then it is carried across
the alley-way to the. finisher card at the feed part which is in
a line with the delivery of the breaker. The top lattice is ex-
tremely light and flexible, and built in a very open manner, but
of sufficient strength to do all that is required. This lattice is
capable of delivering the cotton all across the width of the feed
part of finisher, and the cotton sheet drops down in a more or
less slanting line to the lattice of the finisher upon which it is
guided by a travelling roller and carriage arrangement. This
distributing carriage is always moving backwards and forwards
along the feed lattice, and is always laying the ribbon of cotton
from side to side of the card in a double thickness, so that one
layer practically overlaps the next one in front of it, and has its
own rear half overlapped by the next succeeding ribbon. In this
overlapping a doubling effect is produced which serves to give a
reasonable amount of uniformity to the strands of cotton delivered
by the finisher.
To permit the cotton ribbon to be spread from side to side of
the card, the top flexible lattice of the feeder extends to the far
side of the finisher card, and the cotton ribbon can then drop in
almost a vertical line with the whole of the top lattice almost
horizontal. As the tin or brass rollers of the distributing carriage
move towards the opposite side of the card, the ribbon of cotton
is drawn more and more out of the vertical line, and the distance
of the top lattice from the carriage must be diminished, or else
the cotton ribbon would be at once broken. To do this a thin
cord or in some cases a light rod extends upwards from the
travelling carriage to the end pulley of the top lattice, and pulls
the latter downwards so as to bend the top lattice downwards from
near the middle. A weighted lever arrangement pulls the top
lattice straight again upon the return of the carriage, and as then
permitted by the connecting band or rod. A somewhat ingenious
arrangement is used to give the light rollers in the travelling
carriage not only a reciprocating motion, but also a rotary one.
A vertical shaft reaches upwards to give the requisite rotation,
and has wheel gearing at its upper and lower ends, the whole of
which it is necessary to constantly move backwards and forwards
along the card front. For the reciprocal movement an endless
144 COTTON WASTE.
chain or belt may be used which carries a stud or pin loosely con-
nected to the base of the travelling carriage. It is easy to see
how this revolving chain takes the carriage parts in any one
direction, but the reversing of the movement presents somewhat
difficult features. The driving stud passes round a pulley at each
reversal, and has to slide up or down as may be in its connecting
slot with the carriage. Perhaps this arrangement may be best
compared with some of the travelling scavengers sometimes used
for automatically cleaning the roller beams upon mules spinning
coarse yarns and making a good deal of fly. As stated, the top
lattice must be very flexible, and may, for instance, be composed of
very flexible side belts, connected by light but strong wood cross-
bars, although practice varies in this respect. The top lattice of
the Scotch feeder may be driven round by a thin cord reaching
upwards from the calenders which deliver the cotton finally from
the breaker card. This card is carried from one pulley to another
of the top lattice in the required manner.
FIG. 27. Hetherington's Carding Engines with Scotch Feeder.
It is not absolutely essential for breaker and finisher cards to
be placed side by side, and in many cases the two machines are
placed tandem, or one behind the other. To meet such a case
one method of operating the Scotch feeder is to drop the cotton
from the doffer comb upon two short lattices, which both revolve
towards the centre, and in this way converge and condense the
cotton fleece into a loose ribbon form, and then the ribbon passes
through calenders working in a line with the middle of the doffer
instead of at the side. There is no difficulty whatever in arranging
the overhead carrying motion and the traversing Scotch feeder to
suit card installations in which the front or delivery of the breaker
is laid tandem with the feed of the finisher instead of zigzag.
As shown in fig. 27, the Scotch feed is a convenient method of
conveying the cotton waste from the breaker doffer to the feed
lattice of the finisher card, and its use is practically equal to two
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 145
doublings. The fleece of cotton, as taken from the doffer of the
breaker by the doffer knife or comb, is drawn away in a long sliver
upon a narrow cross-lattice .moving parallel with the doffer comb
and face of the doffer.
This lattice delivers the sliver thus formed through a conductor
to the condensing rollers, from which it passes to an overhead
lattice creeper, half of which is balanced and can swing up and
down.
From the end of the swing balance the sliver passes down to
a pair of rollers in a frame which is moved backwards and forwards
from one side of the finisher-card lattice to the other by a slowly
travelling belt.
As it moves from one side to the other, the rollers which it
contains deposit the sliver regularly upon the feed lattice just
underneath, the speed of the which can be so regulated that the
thin edge of one sliver overlaps that of another, thus producing
a regular feed. A cord is attached to the travelling frame, and
passing round a pulley fixed in the centre of the card is made fast
to the swing balance of the overhead creeper, the end of which is
also vertically over the middle point of the traverse of the frame.
In this way the end of the- overhead creeper is drawn down as
the travelling creeper approaches the end of each traverse and
allowed to lift as the centre is approached.
Tin Boilers.
The tin rollers in the travelling frame have pinions on the
ends of their axles, which gear one with the other. The ends of
the rollers work in a piece pivoted in the centre which enables
each of the rollers in turn to be put in gear with a stud pinion,
compounded with a band pulley around which a cord passes and
is attached to each side of the card.
The Derby Doubler. (See figs. 28 and 29.)
Double carding in the cotton trade is nearly as old as the
factory system itself, since it was very soon demonstrated that
sufficient cleaning and opening of the cotton fibres could not be
obtained from single carding in many cases with the cards then
in use. Double carding in the ordinary cotton trade has not
entirely disappeared even yet, although in most eases it simply
seems to drag on a weary existence for want of sufficient money
10
146 COTTON WASTE.
and enterprise to clear the cards out, and replace them with the
revolving flat. It ought to be said, however, in this connexion
that a few firms still find a market for super-carded yarns, and
pass the same cotton through two revolving flat cards to produce
the required effect. The particular and principal purpose of the
present article is to describe the method or methods of prepar-
ing the slivers from the breaker card into a suitable form for
feeding to the finisher card. Practically the only method in use
in connexion with the double carding for ordinary cotton spin-
ning purposes was to employ a machine termed the Derby doubler.
This machine is practically a combination of the lap-forming
rollers and other parts of a scutcher with the sliver and spoon
lever stop motion of a draw frame. The Derby doubler in such
a case usually produced laps equal to the full width of the
finisher card, say, from 36 in. to 44 in. in width as required.
According to the width of the lap and the thickness of the sliver,
the number of cans of sliver used at the feed part of the machine
used to vary from about 55 to 70, or more. For instance, in one
particular case the present writer had to do with, the lap produced
was 39 in. wide, and 60 back cans were used, the finished slivers
being suitable for a 4-J- hank roving. This particular machine was
discarded long ago to make way for single carding. In connexion
with the cotton trade, the Derby doubler is now, or has been,
employed in three different connexions. (1) As the medium
between breaker and finisher in ordinary cotton carding ; (2) to
fulfil a similar purpose in the treatment of cotton waste ; (3) to
prepare laps for the cotton comber in mills which do more or less
of combing. As stated, the machine is now almost obsolete for
ordinary cotton carding, and it is a good illustration of the truism
that extremes meet, when we find that it is yet in general and
extensive use for fine cotton spinning, and is also largely employed
in the coarse cotton-waste trade. As used for the several purposes
above explained, the Derby doubler differs very little in principles
of construction and action, but there is considerable difference in
size and some difference in detail. To take the two extremes, we
have already stated that full-width machines taking up to 70
slivers at a time, for laps 40 in. or more in width, were used in
ordinary cotton carding, and this would be quite possible in
carding cotton waste if it were deemed the most convenient
practice. Usually, however, in the cotton- waste trade it is the
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 147
practice to make the laps half the width of the card, and to
place two of these end to end at the finisher card in order to use
the full width. Contrasting the full width laps with those used
in fine cotton spinning, it is very seldom these latter exceed 12 in.
width, and more usually the width may be 9 or 10 in. only, re-
quiring possibly 20 cans of sliver to complete the full width of
each lap. It must be noted that in the fine cotton spinning
trade the machine is perhaps more often given the designation of
" Sliver lap machine," and its purpose is to convert the requisite
number of slivers into narrow laps or sheets of cotton suitable
for placing in the creel of the combing machine. It would dread-
fully crowd the comber and inconvenience the operatives if the
cans of sliver were taken directly to the feed part of the comber.
Confining our remarks now to the Derby doubler as used
particularly in the treatment of cotton waste, it is the usual prac-
tice to place the requisite number of cans of sliver from the breaker
card in suitable position adjacent to a V-shaped table, the long
formation of which lends itself to the disposition of the cans along
the sides of the V. (See figs. 28 and 29.)
Each sliver is drawn out of its can through a small, round
aperture on a narrow slit in a polished guide plate, which prevents
kinks or knots of sliver from passing forward, such entanglements
being perforce drawn out straight, or else the sliver is broken, the
former being the more common result. As stated, the number of
cans may vary somewhat, the standard in one case being taken
at each lap to be 24f in. wide, and requiring as many as forty-
eight cans for each lap. Two of the laps are afterwards placed
end to end behind a breaker card of 50 in. width.
In another case, for waste carding the V-shaped feed-table is
usually made to hold as many as sixty slivers at one time, but this
or any less number may be used to produce laps possibly 23 or
23 in. wide, and two of these are placed side by side on the
feed-table of the finisher card of 48 in. width. Leaving the
knot preventer, each sliver passes over a spoon lever, which is part
of a clever device for automatically stopping the machine when
any one sliver breaks, or any one back can of sliver runs empty.
It is quite important that laps should not be made with absent
slivers, as this for one thing would inevitably lead to unlevel yarn,
besides interfering with the good working of the laps at the finisher,
hence the extreme value of the automatic stop-motion. Without
148 COTTON WASTE.
its application the operative would have to exercise a much closer
supervision upon the cans and slivers, and this would take up a
good deal of time now given to other purposes. Each spoon lever is
finely balanced, so that the weight of the sliver keeps the spoon or
head part down, and therefore holds the tail or opposite end of the
spoon out of the path of an oscillating bar, or else a rotating wing
roller. Absence of the cotton permits the tail of the spoon lever
to enter the path of the oscillating bar, and to arrest the movement
of same. In this way a latched spring rod is released, and a
strong spiral spring at once moves the driving belt upon the loose
pulley. There is no essential difference in principle between this
stop-motion and the mechanical stop-motion used on the draw
frame by the same makers. The spoons may be arranged neatly
down each side of the V-shaped table and the slivers are con-
ducted by suitable guides, and drawn round almost at right angles,
so as to come close together to form an equal sheet of cotton.
Mere placing side by side would scarcely give a sufficiently homo-
geneous sheet of cotton, as the several slivers would retain too much
of their individuality. To obviate and partially overcome this
separateness it is usual to pass the sheet of cotton between heavy
calenders, much the same as on an ordinary scutcher, this being
a very convenient thing to do. Finally, the laps are formed upon
almost the same exact principle as upon a scutcher.
Such is a description of the process upon the Derby doubler.
An average machine of this description might occupy a floor space
of 13 ft. 8 in. x 6 ft. 2-J in. Driving pulleys about 12 in. diameter
by If in. width for both fast and loose pulleys. Speed of driving
pulleys about 200 revolutions per minute. Speed of line shaft and
diameter of drum on same proportioned to give the above. Power
required per machine about one I.H.P. Gross weight about 50 cwt.,
net weight 40 cwt. Measurements about 125 cubic ft. The
length of the driving belt required would of course be decided by
the position and height of the line shaft or counter-shaft. It may
be explained that for different makers there may be a different gear-
ing arrangement from pulley shaft to calenders, and lap rollers
and a lower speed of pulley shaft would be required in such cases.
Derby Doubler for Cotton Waste. Wm. Tatham and Son, Rochdale.
This machine is for the purpose of forming the slivers taken
from the breaking carding engine into laps for the finishing card-
ing engine.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 149
It is found that the yarn produced from installations where
this machine is adopted shows the best result as to regularity of
counts and appearance of the yarn. It is especially suited when
spinning counts, say 5's to 12's, from broken-up hard waste,
comber waste, etc.
Two designs of this machine are made, either as fig. 28 to
make laps half the width of the finishing engine feeder, or as
fig. 29 more recently introduced to make laps full width of the
finishing engine feeder.
Specification. Machine to make half-laps, fig. 28 : For engines
48 in. wide on wire it is prepared for forty-eight cans to make
FIG. 28. Derby Doubler for Narrow Laps.
laps 23J in. wide. For engines 40 in. wide on wire it is prepared
for forty cans to make laps 19J in. wide.
Machine to make full-width laps, fig. 29 : For engines 48 in.
wide on wire it is prepared for ninety-six cans to make laps 46f
in. wide. For engines 40 in. wide on wire it is prepared for
eighty cans to make laps 38 J in. wide.
An automatic stop motion is fitted which stops the machine
when an end breaks or a can runs empty, also a knocking-off
motion to stop the machine when the lap is full diameter.
Illustrations. Fig. 28 machine to make half- width laps. The
slivers from the cans (which are not shown) pass over the spoons
to the taking-in rollers, then the slivers are drawn over the V-
shaped tabJe and pass between heavy calender rollers to the lap-
forming arrangement. The laps are wound on to a wooden
150 COTTON WASTE.
barrel 4 in. diameter, and are kept in position endways by two
disk plates set close to ends of calender rollers. The laps are
consolidated by means of a top calender roller, which lifts as the
laps become larger in diameter.
Fig. 29 machine to make full- width laps. The construction and
working is the same as above described, with the exception that
the laps are formed in a different manner. These are wound on
to a hollow wooden barrel 4 in. diameter, kept in position end-
ways by two disk plates fitting close to ends of calender rollers.
A lap rod is passed through the disk plates and wooden barrel,
and pressure is applied to ends of the lap rod by means of two
vertical racks.
The main advantage of full-width laps is that there is less
likelihood of irregular yarn caused sometimes by the clearance
between the half-laps varying in width.
FIG. 29. Derby Doubler for Wide Laps.
It is advisable that a Derby doubler as used in the treatment
of cotton waste should be strongly built at the lap head, or other-
wise breakdown may occur too frequently. It is the modern
practice to make the various parts to template so that they are
interchangeable, this being a convenience in the case of renewal or
breakdown.
It is usual to apply a full lap automatic stop-motion to each
Derby doubler, and naturally such a motion will be simplified and
modified from the one used on a scutcher, so as to suit the fact that
there are no cages to be stopped and started, and no fan or beater
to be considered.
THE CABBING OF COTTON WASTE.
151
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152 COTTON WASTE.
It has been usual to make 2 laps each 24in. wide on the
Derby doubler and put these end to end behind the finisher card.
An objection to this practice is the bad piecing in the middle
of the card width where the two lap ends come together. Partly
for this reason the Derby doubler is now sometimes made to pro-
duce laps the full 48 in. width.
The Derby doubler appears to find more use in the manipula-
tion of hard waste, and the Scotch feed more in the i case of soft
waste and perhaps lower counts.
The card clothing for cylinder needs an exceedingly strong
foundation, as much as f in. thick sometimes.
Improved Lattice Feed. (See fig. 30.)
It must be particularly noted that the Scotch feeder always
turns the web of cotton and therefore the individual fibres over at
right angles to the direction in which they leave the breaker, and
presumably the fibres are thus more crossed with each other than
in the Derby doubler system. It is doubtful whether any work-
able system of automatic transference of cotton waste from breaker
to finisher could quite overcome the crossed condition of the fibres,
owing to the doubling up of the fibres which must always
occur in transferring cotton from cylinder to doffer, and to the
manner in which the doffer comb cleans the cotton fibres from
the doffer. It is possible, however, to have a method which does
not cross the fibres as much as the Scotch feed, and which does
not cross the ribbon of cotton at all, but feeds it with all the fibres
pointing the same way in which they leave the breaker. Messrs.
Asa Lees & Co., of Oldham, attain this particular object by means of
their improved lattice feed, or the " Soho " feed, as it is sometimes
termed, after the name of the firm. When the " Soho " feed is
employed the fleece of cotton from the doffer of the breaker drops
down a suitable slide, and is folded by a pair of rollers upon a
floor lattice in front of the delivery of the breaker card. Upon this
lattice the rollers deposit many layers of cotton one above
another, and so make a double sheet of cotton waste, about 16 in.
wide, and which may consist of .as many as twenty thicknesses
of cotton web. The bottom lattice itself, upon which the folded
cotton web has been deposited, always has a sideways movement
similar to the much narrower one of the Scotch roper delivery,
and in this way the 16 in. width of cotton is continually given to
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
153
a double elevating lattice arrangement for all the world similar
to that used for lifting the cotton up from bale breaker to top of
cotton mixing stack. The double vertical lifting lattices carry
the cotton over to the finisher card, and at this point the cotton
is laid upon the feed lattice of the finisher, with a continual half
lap almost exactly as in the case of the Scotch feeder. The
fleece or ribbon of cotton in this case never is turned round at
right angles as with the Scotch feed. The double lifting lattices,
the distributing rollers, and the top lattice work have all to be
of sufficient width to deal with a sheet of cotton 16 in. wide as
against 5 in. wide with the Scotch feeder.
FIG. 30. Improved Lattice Feeder.
A press lattice or press board may be employed at the feed
lattice of finisher to keep the cotton waste well down to the feed
rollers. It may be noted that both the dish feed with one feed
roller and also the double feed roller system are more or less in
use in cotton-waste carding. Also in regard to the Derby doubler
system, it has been previously pointed out that most people make
narrow laps upon the Derby doubler, and then place two of these
end to end at the finisher card. Some people, however, are be-
ginning to favour the one wide-lap system, partly because there
is sometimes a thin, weak place in the cotton web from finisher,
due to the two narrow laps not coming perfectly up to each
other in the middle of the card.
154 COTTON WASTE.
The " Fancy " and " Humbug " Boilers.
To any person more or less conversant with ordinary cotton
carding these two names, "Fancy" and "Humbug," sound very
curious, as neither one nor the other name is applied to any part
of an ordinary card, nor are the equivalents of those two rollers
used at all. The "-fancy" is an extra roller 10 in. or 12 in.
diameter, placed after the last of the ordinary rollers in a waste
card, and immediately over the doffer. The special object of the
" fancy " is to raise the short fibre a little out of the cylinder wire,
so that the doffer can then strip the cylinder much more perfectly
than it otherwise could. The "fancy" has a very high surface
speed faster, in fact, than any other part of the card, even ex-
ceeding the surface speed of the cylinder itself by possibly 20 per
cent or so. It may be built of wood, covered with somewhat
coarse wire, and set to penetrate the teeth of the cylinder for
possibly Y F in. or so. In this way, with the contact surfaces of
cylinder and fancy revolving in same direction, the effect is to
raise the fibrous material more or less out of the cylinder teeth.
There may be a galvanized iron rail between the "fancy" and
the next roller above it, and an iron cover over the " fancy," with
door. The " fancy " may be applied to both breaker and finisher
cards, in each case being driven from cylinder by belt and flat
pulleys, the driving pulley on cylinder reaching 30 in. or more
in diameter on occasions. It does not always happen that the
" fancy " can keep itself sufficiently clean, and in many cases it has
fitted to it a small stripper, which cleans the "fancy," and returns
the fibre again to the cylinder, much in the same way that the
stripper or clearer acts for its own roller.
The Fancy Boiler.
In reference to the use of the fancy roller in the present
systems of cotton-waste carding, it is well worth noting what
Evan Leigh said in regard to the " fancy " more than thirty years
ago, as then used for ordinary cotton carding. " For heavy card-
ing a fancy roller, which is a roller which overruns the periphery
of the cylinder, is sometimes used with advantage. Its object is
to prevent the cylinder from choking, and therefore rolling and
nepping the cotton. No engine can possibly card well unless the
main cylinder can be kept clear, therefore, the fancy roller, by
THE CAKDING OF COTTON WASTE. 155
running about one-sixth faster than the cylinder, lifts the cotton
that would otherwise get wedged in the wire of the cylinder, and
thereby admits of heavy carding. It may be applied to any part
of the cylinder which is most convenient, but is generally put
under or immediately over the licker-in ; the former is its most
natural position, but the latter is the most convenient position for
setting. The value of a fancy roller depends upon circumstances.
In situations where there is little room for the amount of carding
required, and where quality is not so much an object, there is no
doubt of its utility, when properly applied and carefully attended
to ; but under other circumstances its expediency may fairly be
doubted. Those spinners who put 30 per cent more cotton
through their cards by the use of the fancy roller, would do well
to remember that it is a kind of cheap carding which is not all
gain, as it requires power in driving, great care in oiling and setting,
adds to wear and tear, and the quality of work with heavy carding
can never be relied upon ; besides, the subsequent operations cost
more, and the value of the yarn is less, therefore, old and experi-
enced spinners are seldom found hurrying cotton through their
cards, as they find it more profitable, on the whole, to put down a few
more carding engines, and card Light. To those who card waste
and spin shoddy, the fancy roller is, perhaps, the most useful.
The action of the fancy roller on the whole appears to be bene-
ficial only where very heavy carding is wanted, any where the
engines cannot be depended upon to stand true ; but from the
fact that the surface of the fancy runs in the same direction as the
cylinder, only a little faster, it has to overtake and run past it,
which is a very different kind of stripping to that effected by slow
motions when the surfaces move in opposite directions. With the
fancy roller it is necessary to strip out the cylinder occasionally by
hand, when much cotton is often found wedged in the wire, which
is detrimental to its proper action. This is especially the case
where the fancy is not properly set and well attended to. There
is comfort and safety in light carding ; but when cotton is pushed
through cards at an undue speed, the least negligence on the part
of a carder or his assistants, the smallest variation in the quality
of cotton, a change from dry to wet weather, and a number of other
small matters, are productive of irregularities in a mill, and conse-
quent loss, which more than counterbalances the apparent saving
in hurrying cotton through the carding engine. It has before been
156
COTTON WASTE.
observed that where a fancy is used great care should be taken,
first that it is balanced to a nicety ; secondly, that it should be
so driven that its periphery runs with certainty a little faster than
that of the cylinder (say about one-sixth) ; thirdly, that it should
be clothed with wire having nearly straight teeth ; fourthly, that,
it should be set close to the cylinder, without touching, otherwise
the cotton is driven down into the cylinder wire, and gets wedged
in."
We must remind our readers that present cotton-waste cards
have the fancy placed over the doffer, and its teeth penetrate those
of the cylinder.
Single-Finishing Carding Engine. (See fig. 31.)
(40 in. and 48 in. wide on wire, fitted with improved ring-doffer
condenser.)
Specification Pattern C 8. One cylinder 50 in. diameter.
One doffer 25 in. diameter. One taker-in 9 in. diameter. Seven
rollers 5 in. diameter of iron, or 6 in. diameter, wood lagged.
FIG. 31. Single Finishing Carding Engine.
Seven clearers 3 in. diameter. One fancy 7 in. diameter, wood
lagged, and driven by rope direct from cylinder. One humbug
roller 3 in. diameter under the feed roller and taker-in. Improved
concentric bends. Steel cover and shell ends to taker-in. Polished
mahogany covers over rollers, clearers, and fancy. Boilers driven
by chain or rope. Dish feeder with one fluted roller 2J in.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 157
diameter, and arranged to receive four half-width or two full-
width Derby doubler laps. Improved pattern doffing comb and
motion, and improved ring-doffer condenser with dividing roller,
one pair bobbin drums, inside pressing rollers, rope driving from
cylinder, etc. The condenser system is generally adopted when
a level, soft, full or oozy yarn for weft is required.
Special Features. The concentric bends are of improved
type, and the roller, clearer, and fancy brackets, etc., are adjusted
by means of ^ in. screws and two hexagon nuts, both vertically
and sideways, one screw-key now fitting all the nuts, and the
combination provides the strongest, simplest, and best arrange-
ment on the market.
Self-oiling ring bearings to fancy.
The doffing comb is very strong, and the driving motion has
been re-designed, and the crank arm is secured to the doffing
comb by means of a split boss.
Messrs. Tatham say :
" The ring-doffer condenser is found from experience to make
the best quality of yarn ; it is simple in construction, easy to work,
and most suitable for broken-up cop bottoms. The doffer is
clothed with card rings, the slivers from which are kept separate
by means of leather dividing-rings J in. wide. The counts of
yarn regulate the number of rings, which range from about 26
rings for No. 5's to 40 rings for No. 10's counts. After being
doffed the slivers are carried forward by means of a grooved
dividing roller to a pair of endless rubbing leathers, which, by the
combined action of a crossways and forward movement, roll or
condense the slivers into threads ; these are next wound on to
long bobbins provided with steel flanges which are taken direct
to the mule."
Extras. Special steel-hinged cover and rail to separate the
fancy from the roller above, and filling-up pieces with small
grooved shaft under the fancy, with shell ends to bearings.
(In lieu of extending the mahogany cover over the fancy as per
specification.)
Shell ends to roller, clearer, -and fancy bearings.
Angle-bar undercasing in halves, with improved setting
arrangement to cylinder and taker-in.
Patent for perfecting side-ends.
Taker-in covered with inserted wire shows the engine fitted
158
COTTON WASTE.
with the special steel-hinged cover and rail over fancy, and
filling-up pieces, with small grooved shaft under fancy as named
in extras ; if desired, same can be supplied with the mahogany
cover continued over the fancy and fitted with door as named
in specification.
Production. About 650 Ib. of broken -up cop bottoms, comber
waste, etc., for counts, average 8's, per week of fifty-six hours.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc.
Space Occupied. Driving Pulleys.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
o. rower
Required.
Length.
Width. Diam.
Width.
Speed
per min.
Gross.
Net.
When
Packed.
14ft.
6 ft. 20 in.
for 3 in.
65-85 revs, about 2 80 cwts.
60 cwts.
360 cub. ft.
lin.
10 in.
strap.
I.H.P.
Tatham's Breaker and Finisher Cards Combined with Scotch
Feed. (See fig. 32).
It is mostly adopted for 1's to 5's from soft waste such as
scutcher droppings, card fly, clearer caps, strippings, sweepings, oily
waste, etc.
Specification. Single breaking carding engine, pattern C 7, 48
in. wide on wire, with one cylinder 50 in. diameter. One doffer
25 in. diameter. One taker-in 9 in. diameter. Seven rollers 5 in.
diameter of iron or 6 in. diameter, wood lagged. Seven clearers
3 in. diameter. One fancy 8 in. diameter, wood lagged, and driven
by rope direct from the cylinder. One humbug roller 3^ in.
diameter under the feed rollers and taker-in. Improved concentric
bends. Steel cover and shell ends to taker-in. Boilers driven by
chain or rope. Plate feeder with one pair of fluted rollers arranged
to receive two scutcher laps. Improved pattern doffing comb and
motion, and patent side drawing with endless belt, gearing and
cover. Angle-bar undercasings in halves, with improved setting
arrangement to cylinder and taker-in.
Patent Scotch feeder with sliver conductor, overhead creeper
and balance for traverse of sliver, and one pair feed rollers pre-
pared for covering with inserted wire or filleting.
THE CAKDING OF COTTON WASTE.
159
Single -finishing carding engine, pattern C 8, 48 in. wide on
wire, with one cylinder 50 in. diameter. One doffer 25 in. diameter.
One taker-in 9 in. diameter. Seven rollers 5 in. diameter of iron
f
FIG. 32. Breaker and Finisher Cards Combined by Scotch Feed.
or 6 in. diameter, wood lagged. Seven clearers 3 in. diameter.
One fancy 8 in. diameter, wood lagged and driven by rope direct
from cylinder. One under-clearer to fancy. One humbug roller
2^ in. diameter. Improved concentric bends. Steel cover and
shell ends to taker-in. Polished mahogany covers over rollers,
clearers, and fancy. Boilers driven by chain or rope. Improved
pattern doffing comb and motion. Angle-bar undercasings in
halves, with improved setting arrangement to cylinder and taker-
in, and improved ring-doffer condenser with dividing roller, one
pair bobbin drums, inside pressing rollers, rope driving from
cylinder, etc.
Special Features. The concentric bends are of an improved
type, and the roller, clearer, and fancy brackets, etc., are adjusted by
means of -$ in. screws and two hexagon nuts, both vertically and
sideways, one screw-key now fitting all the nuts, and the combina-
tion provides the strongest, simplest, and best arrangement on the
market.
Self-oiling ring bearings to fancy.
The doffing comb is very strong and the driving motion has
been re-designed, and the crank arm is secured to the doffing comb
by means of a split boss.
Messrs. Tatham say :
" The ring doffer condenser is found from experience to make
the best quality of yarn ; it is simple in construction and easy to
160 COTTON WASTE.
work. The doffer is clothed with card rings, the slivers from
which are kept separate by means of leather dividing-rings -\ in.
wide. The counts of yarn regulate the number of rings, which
range from about 14 rings for No. 1's to 30 rings for No. 4's.
After being doffed the slivers are carried forward by means of a
grooved dividing roller to a pair of endless rubbing leathers,
which, by the combined action of a crossways and forward move-
ment, roll or condense the slivers into threads. These are next
wound on to long bobbins provided with steel flanges which are
taken direct to the mule.
" The patent Scotch feeder is an arrangement which takes the
web from the side drawing of the breaking engine, and crosses
same in even layers on the feeder creeper of the finishing engine.
The feeder is made from new models constructed on an improved
principle so as to dispense as much as possible with change wheels
in case the web is to be altered in weight. The driving of the
overhead creeper, the traverse of the carriage, and the turning of
the web rollers in the carriage are all driven from the creeper roller
on the side drawing, and not one part of the mechanism from
the breaking engine and another part from the finishing
engine. It can also be worked at a quicker speed without
breaking the web. Also the overhead lattice is supported from
the feeder sides, thus obviating a pillar being fixed to the ceiling
or on the floor."
Extras. Special steel-hinged cover and rail to separate the
fancy from the roller above, and filling-up pieces with small
grooved shaft under the fancy, with shell ends to bearings.
(In lieu of extending the mahogany cover, as per specification.)
Shell ends to roller, clearer, and fancy bearings.
Patent for perfecting side-ends.
Taker-in covered with inserted wire.
Illustration. The illustration shows the breaking and finishing
engines set side by side, but they are occasionally set tandem to
suit floor space requirements. For illustration of ring doffer con-
denser see page 270.
Production. About 1000 Ib. of soft waste counts 1's to 5's
per week of fifty-six hours.
Space Occupied. Breaking engine, 11 ft. 4 in. by 6 ft. 10 in.
Finishing engine with ring-doffer condenser, 13 ft. 7 in. by
6 ft. 10 in.
THE CABBING OF COTTON WASTE. 161
Methods of Delivering Cotton Waste from Finisher Cards.
Previously we have somewhat fully described the various
methods of transferring the cotton waste from breaker to finisher
carding engines, and we have definitely referred to and described
the lap drum method, the Scotch feed method, the Soho feed, and
the Derby doubler system.
The Preparation System.
In the same way there are various methods of dealing with
the cotton at the delivery of the finisher card, the best known
methods being : (1) the coiler system, (2) the ring-doffer system,
(3) the tape condenser. Tape condensers are made in various
forms and under different specific names. The first or coiler
system is quite an old form, and is perhaps the most of any
similar to the ordinary cotton card. Instead of one can or
coiler only being used, the comparatively thick fleece of cotton
is divided out into four or six parts upon the doffer, principally
through the medium of the requisite number of dividers placed
between the cylinder and doffer. Each one of these four or six
portions is formed into a sliver and coiled inside an ordinary card
can in the usual well-known manner. The card front presents
the novel appearance of having four or six cans of sliver, all being
filled at one time, and each now quite independent of the others.
The cans may be the same size as ordinary cotton cans, or they
may be rather less in both diameter and length. Assuming we
desire to make a yarn equal to about 7's counts at the mule, then
each card sliver may equal 1-J's or 1 J's counts, and at the slubber
it is convenient to produce a 4J hank bobbin of much the usual
size from an ordinary slubber or intermediate. The bobbins
from the slubber are taken direct to the waste spinning mule, and
are here put into a creel, after the approved cotton spinning
method. This is, of course, a departure from the orthodox
method of condenser waste spinning, and equally it is a departure
from ordinary cotton spinning. This "preparation" system, or
quadruple coiler system of cotton waste carding and spinning
appears to be losing ground in favour of the more extreme system
of adopting the condenser.
11
162 COTTON WASTE.
The Eing Doffer System.
The ring doffer condenser system is a present day rival of the
tape condenser in the carding of cotton waste, and in England,
at any rate, the ring doffer appears to be holding its own against
its more ambitious rival, the tape condenser, although the latter
permits cotton to extend over all the full width of the doffer in a
continuous fleece, whereas the ring doffer only has strips of
cotton interspersed with spaces. It must be understood that in
what is termed the ring-doffer system the doffer is not covered
with a long fillet wound spirally round the doffer in one piece
from end to end. There are simple rings of fillet placed on the
doffer, each one complete of itself. Suppose thirty-one slivers
or slubbings were required to be made at one time, then thirty-
one independent endless rings of fillet, each 1^ in. wide, would
be secured on the doffer, and between each pair of fillets there
would be an endless leather band f in. wide. During grinding
the leather bands are ground at the same time as the wire of the
filleting, and should be as smooth as can be got. It must be
now understood that as the cotton is transferred from cylinder
to doffer, the cotton fibres naturally divide out at the leather
rings, and each 1J in. fillet takes its own particular portion of
the cotton, and makes one particular strand of cotton. The
cotton naturally follows the wire-covered portions of fillet instead
of the smooth rings of leather, and thirty-one individual strands
result from thirty-one rings of fillet. Leaving the doffer each
strand or end of cotton enters a V-shaped space in what is termed
the dividing roller, and a natural condensing action takes place
here, by which somewhat of a concentration of the sliver occurs.
In a way of speaking, the use of the dividing roller gives a slight
advantage to the ring-doffer, as compared with the tape condenser,
and efforts have been made to imitate the dividing roller effect
on the tape condenser.
Rubbers.
Leaving the dividing roller, the several strands of cotton come
within the range of action of what are termed the rubbers.
These consist of two endless leather bands reaching the width of
the card, and presenting about 16 in. or so of surface for the
cotton waste strands to pass between. The term rubbers is applied
THE CAKDING OF COTTON WASTE. 163
because they do actually and rapidly rub or roll each loose strand
of cotton into a consistency and strength sufficient to enable the
cotton to be wound on the long condenser bobbin at the card, and
from this bobbin at the creel of the waste spinning mule, with
comparatively little breakage of strands, although no twist what-
ever is put in the cotton until it is done by the twisting spindle
of the mule.
As stated, the condenser attachment to a cotton-waste card is
a very distinctive arrangement, having no equivalent in connexion
with ordinary cotton carding. It is an arrangement by which
very coarse slubbing ends may be produced at the delivery of the
finisher carding engine, thirty or thirty-one separate ends being a
very common number, although double that number may be
attained in cotton-waste carding, and more than four times that
number in the woollen or worsted trades.
There are various makes of condenser, but in every case it is
necessary to first split up the comparatively wide, thick fleece of
cotton deposited by the cylinder upon the doffer into the requisite
number of individual strands, then to rub each one of these strands
into sufficient consistency to wind on and off the bobbin without
breaking ; and finally there is the actual winding of the rubbed
strands upon a suitable long bobbin.
The Tape Condenser.
What are termed steel tape condensers a notable example
being Bolette's steel tape do not appear to be very much in favour,
in this country at any rate, and practice is largely confined in
England to the use of improved leather tape condensers starting
with the doffer. In this case there is no very distinguishing
feature in respect of the doffer, excepting perhaps in the coarseness
of the wire that is used, and sometimes, at any rate, the doffer
only having a diameter of 22 in. or so. The tape condenser per-
mits all the surface of the doffer to be covered with wire clothing,
whereas in the ring doffer something like one-fourth of the space
is lost- for carding purposes owing to the use of the leather rings.
As against some former careless manufacture of doffers it may
be said that it is now the practice at the machine shop to carefully
turn the cylinder and doffer, and to finish them off in special
grinding machines, although nothing like the fine and accurate
164 COTTON WASTE.
setting of one part to another is obtained in the waste mill as in the
ordinary cotton mill.
Unlike the case of the ring doffer, the cotton in the tape con-
denser is stripped from the doffer in a continuous fleece, and
immediately passes through a pair of feed rollers to what are
often termed the space rollers. It is at these space rollers that
the cotton is first divided out into separate strands, whereas this
initial division is done at the doffer itself in the ring-doffer system.
In the case now of a double condenser, which is perhaps the
most common one for cotton waste, there are two sets of tapes, or
one set conducted in a special manner round the space rollers so
that the action is the same as having two tapes. Each leather tape
may be, say, three-quarters of an inch wide, and it must be under-
stood there are two space rollers a top and a bottom one and
the leathers on top roller are opposite the spaces on the bottom
roller, and correspondingly the leathers on bottom roller are
opposite the polished metal spaces on the top roller. The cotton
fleece having been stripped from the doffer by an ordinary doffer
fly-comb, passes in a continuous width through the feed rollers
to the space rollers, and between these latter rollers it is readily
split up into two sets of strands or ends by the oppositely set tapes of
leather. There may, for example, be thirty good ends, and one
spoiled selvedge end of cotton waste, pass along to the top con-
denser rubbers, and the same to the bottom ones. One set of
strands is conducted by guide rollers, and the tapes in an upward
direction, and another set in a down ward direction. With regard
to the rubbers themselves, they are endless leather bands, the
working width of. the machine, two rubbers working together
with the cotton between them. As regards the length of the
rubbers or amount of rubbing space acting on the cotton at
one time, an idea of this may be formed when we state that the
centres or distance from centre of one rubber guide roller to the
centre of the other may be 12-f in. and 13J in. respectively.
The Rubbers.
It must be well understood that these rubbers have a double
action, the one being a continuous forward movement, by means
of which the cotton strands are delivered on to the long condenser
bobbin. The other is a rapid lateral reciprocating movement of
possibly -J in. stroke or so by means of which the cotton waste
THE CAKDING OF COTTON WASTE. 165
strands passing between the rubbers are rubbed as between the
hands of a person, until they are sufficiently solid to wind on and
off the long condenser bobbins. The eccentrics for imparting the
lateral reciprocation to the rubbers are fixed upon a vertical shaft
driven rapidly round by a cord from the cylinder, these eccentrics
and their action presenting a somewhat imposing appearance
to the person who first witnesses a waste card at work. As a rule
it is possible to alter the extent of stroke imparted to the rubbers
by these eccentrics. The rotary movement of the rubbers may be
imparted by the wheel gearing at the opposite side of the card from
the eccentrics. Leaving the rubbers, the numerous strands are
conducted round a long condenser bobbin, which is driven round
by frictipnal contact with a wood roller of possibly 5 in. or so in
diameter ; and it is possible for a full condenser bobbin to attain
a maximum diameter of about 9 in. in a comparatively short
time, varying with the speed of the card, and the thickness or
counts of the strands of cotton. Assuming thirty good ends, each
end or strand may occupy a width of about 1^ in. upon the long
condenser bobbin, and there are guide wires suitably traversed side-
ways to help in placing the cotton ends upon the bobbin. Thus
each strand is quite independent of its companion strands, although
they are all wound side by side upon the condenser bobbin.
This disposition is taken advantage of in the case of the can spinning
frame described here some weeks ago, in order to draw the individual
round portions of cotton over the end of the condenser bobbin in
quite separate order, and to then use one coil in each shallow can
at the can machine. It is usual to have each long condenser
bobbin somewhat shorter than the combined spindle gauge of the
number of spindles served at the spinning machines in order to
allow for flanges, etc. In ordering machines, therefore, care
must be taken that the long condenser bobbins are a little shorter
than the spindle space ; also that the number of spindles in the
spinning machine absorbs the whole of the good threads placed
upon the condenser bobbins. A waste mule of 300 spindles, for
example, would absorb the full complement of ten condenser
bobbins, each containing thirty good ends. Various devices have
been used more or less in connexion with the narrow tapes of the
tape condenser. In one recent example a special feature consists
in the arrangement of the latter with a half-twist in it, and as
they are in this way prevented from touching each other it is
166
COTTON WASTE.
claimed they can be made wider than with other tape con-
densers. This helps in dividing the fleece of cotton more accu-
rately, which is so much better for the uniformity of the produced
strands of cotton, and therefore of the finally spun yarn. When
any web of cotton has been divided by the tapes it is necessary to
carry the strands without friction along to the rubbers. In recent
machines the condenser is strongly constructed, and the eccentrics
to give the motion to the rubbers are specially made with a view
to reduce vibration. All wheels now have teeth cut from the solid
by most makers,
Weights, Speeds, etc., of One-Breaking and One-Finishing
Engines, 48 in. ivide, with Scotch Feeder and Ring-
Do ffer Condenser. (See fig. 32.)
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and Outside
Measurement.
Diam
Width.
Speed
per min.
Gross.
Net.
When
Packed.
20 in.
for 3 in.
belt.
about
100 revs.
about 4
I.H.P.
150 cwts.
112 cwts.
700 cub. ft.
Patent " Leather -Tape " Condenser. (See fig. 33, Tatham's.)
This condenser, built on the latest "Saxon" principle, is
similar in construction to what is generally adopted by continental
spinners ; in this country it is occasionally substituted for the
" ring-doffer condenser," particularly when a low cost of production
rather than good quality is desired, and is used for both good
and low grades of soft waste.
The production from the carding engine with " Tape " con-
denser is much greater than from carding engines fitted with the
ring-doffer style of condenser, and is of especial advantage when
it is desired to spin finer counts than, say, No. 3's in large-sized
cops.
The web from the doffer is stripped by the doffing comb in a
wide sheet which then enters the condenser. By means of the
travelling leather tapes, in conjuction with certain rollers, it is
split into slivers, which are then conveyed either upwards or
downwards over rollers to the top or bottom pair of rubbing
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
167
leathers and then on to the bobbins two, three, or four, according
to the number of threads and the gauge of the mule.
FIG. 33. Leather Tape Condenser.
It is possible to take off as many as 120 threads from a carding
engine 48 in. wide on wire.
Fig. 33 shows a patent " Leather-Tape" condenser arranged
for fifty-two good and two waste threads on two bobbins.
Production. About 1500 Ib. per week of fi!ty-six hours,
varying according to counts and class of waste.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc., of a Single-Finishing Engine with
Patent Scotch Feeder and with Patent " Leather-Tape " Condenser.
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate
Weights.
Length.
Width.
Diam.
Width.
Speed per Minute.
Gross.
Net.
14 ft.
lin.
7ft.
4 in.
20 in.
for 4 in.
strap.
100 revs, and upwards
according to class of
waste.
about 3
I.H.P.
107. cwts.
83 cwts.
168 COTTON WASTE.
Waste Carding, Side Slivers.
Many detailed improvements have been affected in regard to
waste carding and spinning during recent years.
As elsewhere fully explained the doffer of a waste condenser
card made on the ring-doffer principle is divided into equal
spaces across its width by means of leather rings. The web is
taken up by the filleting between these rings and is rolled by
means of rubbers into threads.
There has always been a certain amount of trouble and loss in
connexion with the end slivers, owing to their irregularity, and
sometimes this has led to cloth being returned, owing to the yarn
on the billey spun cops from these side slivers being so unlevel,
and giving thick and thin places in the cloth. In other cases
the side slivers have been allowed to go into waste for using
over again before risking defective yarn.
In one device for overcoming this particular evil of side slivers,
and giving better yarn and cloth thereby, the usual rings for
dividing the doffer are employed, and in addition an extra narrow
ring at each end to allow all sliver caused by the draught of the
card and lumps adhering to the rollers to be doffed in the usual
manner, but not to be carried through the rubbers. At each side of
the doffer, opposite the irregular card slivers, tubes are fitted.
The tubes are coupled to a principal tube connected with a
machine (one for every eight cards) consisting of a fan and
necessary gearing for driving the same and for producing a
draught to draw the irregular sliver from the condenser card to a
pair of cages, which deliver it in condition ready for going back
to the lap machine without other preparation.
Patent for Perfecting Side-Ends in Carding Engines. (See
fig. 34.)
This patented arrangement invented by Messrs. Kinsman and
Hopkinson consists in arranging the number of rings on the doffer
into equal spaces as required, and in addition an extra ring at each
end to allow all irregular sliver caused by the draught of the card
and lumps adhering to the rollers and clearers to be doffed by
the comb in the usual manner, but not to be carried through the
rubbers and on to the condenser bobbin.
At each side of the doffer are placed, opposite the irregular
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
169
side slivers, vertical tubes which are fitted at each side of the divid-
ing roller, carried down below same, and coupled to a main tube,
at the end of which is fitted the machine as illustrated.
FIG. 34. Tatham's Apparatus for Side Ends in Cotton Waste Cards.
The machine is provided with an exhaust fan to draw away
the irregular sliver which passes down the tubes, and delivers the
waste between two wire cages in a loose web (see illustration) in
a state to be returned to the mixing. One of these machines will
draw away the waste sliver from eight carding engines.
The patented arrangement surpasses anything hitherto devised
to overcome the difficulties with regard to the side-end cops.
Advantages. (1) The outside threads or rovings are made
equal to any other thread with the minimum amount of waste.
(2) A cop can be made full size the mule is made for. This
cannot be done when the cops from the side-ends are variable in
diameter.
(3) The spinning is greatly improved. It is well known that
about 25 per cent, of broken threads which have to be pieced up
at the mule are from side-ends.
(4) The picking out and rejecting of side-end cops is now
obviated, which means a large saving.
The patent machine saves endless trouble, and produces more
regular yarn and consequently more even cloth.
170
COTTON WASTE.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc.
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
Length.
Width.
Diam.
Width.
Speed per
min.
Gross.
Net.
When
Packed.
2ft.
8 in.
2ft.
6 in.
4 in.
If in.
about 400
revs.
about J
I.H.P.
5 cwts.
3 cwts.
40 cub. ft.
Remarks on Cotton-Waste Carding.
In so far as this country is concerned, the use of the hopper
feeder for automatically feeding the cotton in a loose level sheet
to the breaker card is by no means as much in favour as the
method of first making laps of the cotton waste at a scutcher
much in the usual way. This latter practice permits the prelim-
inary scutching treatment of the cotton waste, and also helps
in the matter of uniform work by the use of the feed regulator at the
scutcher. But this latter effect is also aided by the doubling of
two or even three lap sheets together behind the breaker card.
In just the same way it is common enough to feed four laps from
the Derby doubler, behind the finisher card, two laps being placed
end to end to make the full width of card. As a matter of fact
sometimes six laps are used in this fashion behind the finisher
card, so that cases exist in which three laps may be seen working
at the feed of the breaker, and also six narrow laps working as
three wide ones at the feed of the finisher.
During the twenty years or so of its existence the firm
of Messrs. Tweedales & Smalley, has obtained a reputation
in connexion with the manufacture of various machines, con-
nected directly with cotton spinning. It is therefore not to be
wondered at that they make also cotton-waste carding engines,
since their works are adjacent to or practically in the centre of a por-
tion of country in which there are very many mills devoted to the
manufacture of yarns and cloths from cotton waste. They make
an up-to-date carding engine set, in which the breaker card con-
tains seven rollers and five clearers, with a " fancy " roller devoted
to the slight raising of the short fibres of cotton waste from the
main cylinder, in order to help in the transference of fibres from
THE CABBING OF COTTON WASTE. 171
cylinder to doffer. This firm have adopted a positive driving
arrangement for the feed, in which the chain is dispensed with,
and machine cut wheels are used instead. The space between the
licker-in and first clearer is quite filled in by steel plates. A strip-
ping plate is arranged above the taker-in to facilitate stripping and
grinding. The " fancy " also is covered in by means of a hinged
plate, which can be lowered as required, the covering extending al-
most round the " fancy," except at its point of contact between itself
and the cylinder. Extra carrier and tensioning pulleys are used
for the rope which drives the clearers. The doffer comb is driven
directly from a very large rope pulley fixed on the cylinder shaft
instead of through the medium of the fancy roller, as in many
cases. The finisher card may be constructed by this firm either
to work on the Scotch feed principle, or to receive laps made
at the Derby doubler. In the same way they have pat-
terns for constructing the delivery part of the finisher card,
either upon the condenser or upon the four-coiler system, in which
latter case this part almost resembles the delivery side of a draw
frame in which four cans are being filled at one time, all the four
can bottom plates being driven from a common centre.
In connexion with the condenser, Messrs. Tweedales and
Smalley introduce a reciprocating motion for the leather rubbers,
which is very positive in its operation. In this way the rebound-
ing of the rubbers is much reduced, if not altogether done away
with, this being so much the better for the quality of the strands
of cotton waste herewith produced. Cold-drawn seamless tubing
is used for the rubbers to run on, and with the idea of securing
the maximum strength with the minimum weight. It is necessary
in this connexion to take up the stretch of the rubbers, and at the
same time to maintain true running of the rollers and rubbers. The
up-to-date breaker and finisher carding engines of this firm are
constructed on sensible and acceptable English principles, with-
out any elaborate devices.
Patent Automatic Feeding Machine for Breaking Carding Engines.
(Seesfig. 24.)-
This machine takes the place of the single-beater lap-forming
scutching machine. It is well suited in cases where a small plant
is installed, and when wastes of various colours or of the lowest
quality are to be carded.
172
COTTON WASTE.
The hopper of the feeder is kept supplied with loose material
by the attendant, who puts in a quantity at intervals of time ; it is
carried upwards by means of an inclined spiked lattice, and is then
stripped by a comb and falls into a scale pan. After the required
weight has been deposited the inclined lattice stops, the scale
opens automatically at regular intervals, which can be adjusted to
suit, and the material falls on the travelling lattice of the carding
engine and is spread evenly so as to give a regular feed.
The feeder is driven by means of a belt from cylinder of card-
ing engine.
Space Occupied. When the patent automatic feeder is substi-
tuted for a double scutcher-lap feeder it adds 2 ft. 2 in. to the length
of the engine.
Approximate Weights, Speeds, etc. (See fig. 24.)
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and Outside
Measurement.
Diam.
Width.
Speed
per niin.
|
Gross. Net.
When
Packed.
14 in.
3 in.
100 to
110 revs.
1 I.H.P.
|
18 cwts. 12 cwts.
72 cub. ft.
Tatham's Single Finishing Carding Engine ujith Patent Quadruple,
Coiling and Can Motion.
(40 in. and 48 in. on the wire.) (See fig. 35.)
The coiler or preparation system is recommended when broken
up hard waste is to be made up into yarns where strength is
required rather than evenness, and when counts finer than 8's or
10's require to be spun.
Specification. One cylinder 50 in. diameter. One doffer 25 in.
diameter. One taker-in 9 in. diameter. Seven rollers 5 in.
diameter of iron or 6 in. diameter, wood lagged. Seven clearers
3 in diameter. One fancy 7 in. diameter, wood lagged, and driven
by rope direct from cylinder. One humbug roller 3 in. diameter
under feed roller and taker-in. Improved concentric bends.
Steel cover and shell ends to taker-in. Polished mahogany covers
over rollers, clearers, and fancy. Rollers driven by rope or chain.
Dish feeder with one fluted roller 2-J in. diameter, and arranged
THE CAKDING OF COTTON WASTE. 173
j
- ' -3
to receive two half-width or one full-width Derby doubler laps.
Improved pattern doffing comb and motion, and patent quadruple
coiling and can motion.
FIG. 35. Finisher Card, with Quadruple Coilers.
Special Features. The concentric bends are of an improved
type, and the roller, clearer, and fancy brackets, etc., are adjusted
by means of screws and two hexagon nuts, both vertically and
sideways, one screw-key now fitting all the nuts, and the com-
bination provides the strongest, simplest, and best arrangement
required.
Self-oiling ring bearings to fancy.
The doffing comb and the driving motion have been re-designed,
and the crank arm is secured to the doffing comb by means of a
split boss.
Patent quadruple coiling and can motion. The fleece from
the carding engine is separated into four or more slivers, either
by steel-blade dividing apparatus, or by placing leather dividing-
rings \ in. wide between the card rings on the doffer. The slivers
then pass through funnels, between a pair of calender rollers to
the coiling motion and into cans, which are usually taken to a
slubbing frame, the bobbins from which are then ready for the
creels of the self-acting mule or ring frame. Occasionally for the
174
COTTON WASTE.
lower counts the cans from the finishing engine are taken direct
to the back of the self-acting mule.
Extras. Special steel-hinged cover and rail, to separate the
fancy from the roller above, and filling-up pieces with small
grooved shaft under the fancy, with shell ends to bearings as
illustrated. (In lieu of extending the mahogany cover fitted with
door as per specification.)
Shell ends to roller, clearer, and fancy bearings.
Angle-bar undercasings in halves, with improved setting ar-
rangement to cylinder and taker-in.
Sextuple coiling and can motion, in lieu of quadruple coiling
and can motion, for the finer counts.
Feeders to receive four half-width or two full-width Derby
doubler laps.
Taker-in covered with inserted wire.
Fig. 35 shows the special steel-hinged cover and rail over the
fancy, and filling-up pieces with small grooved shaft under fancy
as named in extras. This is frequently applied to finishing
engines in lieu of the mahogany cover with door being extended
over fancy as named in specification.
The proved concentric bends have been substituted for the
pattern illustrated.
Production. About 1000 Ib. of broken-up cop bottoms,
comber waste, etc., per week of fifty-six hours.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc.
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and
Outside Measurement.
Length.
Width.
Diam.
Width.
Speed
per min.
Gross.
Net.
When
Packed.
10ft.
Oin.
6ft.
10 in.
20 in.
for 3
in. belt.
75 to
85 revs.
about 1
I.H.P.
75 cwts.
55 cwts.
350 cub. ft.
Adjustment of Boilers and Clearer s.
It may be as well to expend a word or two upon the method of
sustaining and adjusting the various rollers and clearers that are
employed on a roller and clearer card, whether used for the card-
ing of ordinary cotton or cotton waste. There is, of course, no
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
175
flexible bend, and no equivalent adjustable bend, as used for the
sustention and adjustment of the flats of a modern revolving
flat carding engine. Each roller and clearer is supported by
independent end bearings, each of which is secured to the rigid
bend of the card, in a manner which permits of adjustment to
the cylinder, and also to one another. Here it may as well be
understood that the fine settings of 5-1000 in. and 7-1000 in.
that we hear so much of in cotton carding are neither sought nor
obtained in the usual practice of cotton-waste carding. A good
cotton carder, or even a grinder, may well be astonished at
the rough adjustments often deemed sufficiently good in the card-
ing of cotton waste.
_ - - *
i 2 O'-H 7 2 -~
ASA LEES 4 CO
FIG. 36. Plan of Breaker and Finisher Cards with Scotch Feed.
All the open ended roller brackets may be bolted to the
semicircular frame, and equipped with finely threaded screws by
which each roller can be raised or lowered to a nicety. The
clearers may be similarly adjusted when the wire of either the
cylinder or the smaller rotary body may become sufficiently worn.
In like manner by other fine screws suitably disposed each roller
may be properly adjusted to its companion clearer.
A sufficient amount of concentricity of rigid bend to the cylin-
der is provided for at the machine shop by the use of special
machinery, and in at least one recent case, instead of forming the
176
COTTON WASTE.
rigid bend all in one piece, separate and independent filling-in
pieces are provided for the necks of the rollers and clearers.
Necessarily these filling-in pieces are secured to the main bends
by suitable bolts, and also the requisite finely threaded screws
are provided for securing the adjustments before described.
The filling-in pieces can be made to follow the curvature of the
cylinder in the required concentric manner, and can be moved
along the bend to the exact position required. Finished facings
are used for the roller brackets to bed against, and therefore
to obtain and maintain the requisite accuracy in working and
in adjustment. .Very fine plans of breaker and finisher cards are
FIG. 37. Plan of Breaker and Finisher Cards with Improved Lattice Feeder.
shown in figs. 36 and 37 by permission of Messrs. Asa Lees
& Co., of Oldham. Fig. 36 indicates the Scotch feed and fig. 37
the Soho feed or straight-fibre feed.
Flat Card.
It has often been remarked that it is a peculiar circumstance
that the roller and clearer card should retain its position, prac-
tically unchallenged for the carding of cotton waste, and yet it
has become almost obsolete in the carding of ordinary raw cotton.
THE CABBING OF COTTON WASTE. 177
Why, for example, should the revolving flat card obtain a hold
in this branch of trade, especially when it is remembered that
double carding is wanted on the roller and clearer principle ? Is
it not possible to so modify the revolving flat card that single
carding on this machine may do as well as double carding on the
roller and clearer principle ?
The "Humbug," "Fancy," and " Dirt" Rotters.
There are two special rollers used on cotton-waste cards
which always attract a certain amount of curiosity on the part of
the man accustomed only to ordinary cotton carding. These are
the " fancy " and the "humbug ". The "fancy " we have de-
scribed previously as being used to raise the fibres a little out of
the cylinder wire. The " humbug " roller is a different roller
altogether, and occupies another position. It may be 3 in.
diameter when clothed with inserted wire, and is placed beneath
the feed roller and taker-in. This roller serves some slight
cleaning purpose, and gives back to the licker-in some fibre that
would otherwise escape, having a good surface speed.
The dirt roller is another common feature of the cotton-waste
card, and is a very slowly revolving roller covered with coarse
wire and placed immediately over the licker-in. It may have
eight or nine revolutions per minute, and serves to take out hard
ends, and some heavy dirt. Formerly used in cotton carding with
roller cards.
It must be understood that neither the " fancy" roller, the
"humbug" roller, nor the dirt roller are to be found upon the
revolving flat carding engine for the ordinary carding of cotton.
As a matter of fact, however, since a distinct position and use for
these three rollers is found in cotton-waste carding, different people
have considered whether it would be worth while to apply one or
other to the flat card. At the present time cases exist in which
modern revolving flat carding engines are working with special
adaptations of the dirt roller placed over the licker-in, and for
cottons containing a good deal of dirt there are to be found ad-
vocates for this very special practice. It may be possibly worth
while considering how far the humbug, the fancy, and the dirt
rollers may be applied to cotton cards, but the present writer
is doubtful of their practical success.
12
178
COTTON WASTE.
General Remarks.
In our previous pages we have at some length described
the processes and details relating
to cotton-waste carding as carried
out in this country. As stated,
the subject is a very present day
one, and without doubt a good
many more individuals are now
turning their thoughts a good deal
more towards the utilization and
manufacture of cotton waste than
was the case a few years ago.
i This is true in more senses than
one, because there is now in the
first place the far more extensive
o use of such machines as roving
waste openers, and many mills
out their own bobbin waste, and
then mix the opened waste with
their ordinary cotton mixings,
whereas it was formerly much
more common to sell the waste,
although some people always did
use up such waste and managed
to pull and open it of a fashion
by means of their ordinary blow-
room machinery. Then, again,
we have the extensive adoption
of the comber for the combing of
the strippings from the flats of
the carding engines. There are
also hard-end extractors for re-
covering the hard end from the
crow laps, or under clearer waste
of mules and ring frames, but
these do not appear to have met
with anything like the success
accorded to cotton-waste combing, and to the opening of bobbin
THE CAEDING OF COTTON WASTE. 179
waste. All these efforts are quite distinct from the treatment
of hard waste and the lower qualities of soft cotton waste
entirely upon the condenser waste spinning principle, and the
production of condenser yarns after the manner we have been
explaining.
The Universal Carding Pri'iciple.
We have previously described the ring doffer and the tape
condenser carding arrangements as made by Messrs. Platt
Bros. & Co., of Oldham, and Messrs. Asa Lees & Co., of
Oldham, and the author paid a visit to the Phoenix Works
of Messrs. John Hetherington & Sons, Manchester, in order
to inspect the latest arrangements for cotton-waste carding, as
constructed on the principles of Messrs. G. Josephy's Erben,
of Beilitz, Austria. We saw the double waste carding set in
full work, and studied it well. Some of the special features of
this universal carding set it is our business to briefly explain at
this point. The first features that presented themselves forcibly
to the present writer were the feeding by means of a hopper
at the initial end of the breaker card, and the straight fibre
feed and wide lattice arrangement for transferring the cotton waste
from breaker to finisher card. In a general way these features
are explained in previous pages of this book and termed the
"Improved Lattice Feed". Allowing for difference in detail of
construction and arrangement it appears safe to say that the
general features and principles of the " Soho Feed" and the
" Universal Feed to Finisher " have a very strong resemblance to
each other.
Universal Cotton Waste Set, 72 in. Wide.
We deem it best for our readers to give the specifications of
this cotton-waste carding set, and for the breaker card this is
as follows : Automatic hopper HFeed- with large feed box, and
automatic exact weighing scale ; three patent spiral feed rollers ;
taker-in ; cylinder or swift 50 in. diameter, with five pairs of
rollers or workers and small clearers ; universal double doffing ;
cleaning and separating device ; main doffer 36 in. diameter.
The web carried by Josephy's ; patent diagonal or length fibre
band feed to the carder.
For the finisher the specification reads somewhat as follows :
180 COTTON WASTE.
Automatic tabling, feed table with patent spreader and evener,
three patent spiral feed rollers, single or double taker-in, swift
or cylinder 50 in. diameter, with five pairs of workers and uni-
versal double doffing, cleaning, and separating device. Main doffer
36 in. diameter, and various improvements. Josephy's patent
tape condenser, with narrow or broad rubbers as desired, and
specially efficient patent rubbing motion, four bobbiners, with 92 to
200 good threads, six bobbiners with 150 to 240 good threads.
Tape Condensers.
It must be quite understood that the ring-doffer condenser is
considered to be somewhat out of date on the Continent of Europe,
although all our own investigation leads us to the conclusion that
in England it is yet the favourite and most-used system for the
carding of cotton waste, since it is the oldest and simplest arrange-
ment. As previously stated, tape condensing is, however, on the
increase in England, and the Josephy types claim to be up to date
in tape condensers. The latest improved type of tape condenser
combines all the advantages of Josephy's previously successful
types. It has proved to be well adapted for various classes of
materials, both long and short fibred, and also mixed. The
latest type is made in three models : (1) With narrow rubbers
and special rubbing stroke for all lightly rubbed materials, par-
ticularly as referring to cotton waste ; (2) with broader rubbers
for strong rubbing for wool and woollen waste ; (3) with extra broad
rubbers and three adjustable pressure rollers, and special rubbing
motion to replace the cumbersome tandem rubber.
Josephy's latest improved fluted roller patent tape condenser
is the general term applied to this condenser. It is claimed that
very many of Josephy's tape condensers have been sold, and
especially so when it is considered that quite a number of special
devices relating to tape condensing have been placed on the
market by different firms since the first introduction of tape con-
densing on the initiation of Ernest Gessner in 1868. Up to this
time the ring doffer was the universal device for splitting up the
fleece of cotton waste from the cylinder into the requisite num-
ber of individual slubbing strands. Since 1868 many improve-
ments have been made in tape condensers, and, as before stated,
we are informed that the old-fashioned ring doffer has become
almost obsolete on the Continent, and is there considered to be
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
181
totally inadequate in production required to suit an expending
business.
It is probably not too much to say that simultaneously with the
introduction and rapid adoption of the tape condenser on the
Continent, combined with the splendid boom in ordinary cotton
spinning following the Franco-German war, Lancashire to a great
extent lost its business in the carding and spinning of cotton
waste to Germany, Austria, and Belgium, and during the last
thirty years the cotton-waste and allied trades have grown to such
an extent in these countries that Lancashire has been satisfied to
ship a very large proportion of its cotton waste to the Continent.
This might not appear so bad were it not for the fact that much of
this waste is spun into yarn on the condenser system on the
Continent, various coloured effects are produced by bleaching and
FIG. 39. Cotton Waste Card with Hopper Feeder.
dyeing the cotton at one stage or another, various fancy effects
are produced by knopping and other means, and then a good deal
of such yarn is re-imported into England. In these days of
cotton classes, text-books, increased education of operatives and
managers, it does appear as if there ought to be now more of a
tendency in England for all such work to be done in England, at
any rate to the extent of not needing to import cotton-waste yarns.
It ought to be the case that some of our largest spinning concerns
and there are now some very large ones ought to make some
profit out of using their own waste, especially in slack times.
All this, of course, is quite apart from the type or special make
of machinery put into use.
Double Doiinj Arrangement for Cotton Waste Cards.
In regard to the Josephy condensers and the universal carding
process, we have to refer now to a very special feature of this card,
namely, the adoption of a particular arrangement of the two-
182 COTTON WASTE.
doffer system, or the use of the ordinary doffer, and also an extra
and smaller one, for the express purpose of more perfectly strip-
ping the cotton waste from the main cylinder the first time of
asking, and thus aiding in quantity and quality of carding. The
Austrian machine makers can certainly claim to have paid so much
attention to wool and cotton- waste carding engines as to take rank
as specialists in this direction, and they have during many years
past devoted a large outlay of capital, a great deal of time and
ingenuity, and great energy to the further development of the
principle originally put forth by Ernest Gessner, i.e. the problem
of how to clear the main cylinder thoroughly from all carded
material at every revolution of the same, and with comparatively
small accumulations of dirt and fibre in the cylinder wire. It
almost follows if such an effect can be produced without corre-
sponding disadvantage, that the output will be greater and the
yarn better.
It is claimed that in the universal carding engine Messrs. Josephy
have solved the problem of more thoroughly cleaning the cylinder
by the introduction of their double doffing arrangement. We
have carefully studied diagrams relating to the original Gessner
arrangement with two fancies and two doffers, and find that he
employed two separate doffer combs and two lattices, which con-
ducted the two separate webs to a pair of pressure rollers between
which the two webs are combined into one web for the condenser.
Now, let us point out the special purpose of the double doffing
arrangement, as this is a very special feature not previously re-
ferred to in this book. In this case there are two fancies and
two doff'ers, but there is only one delivery and only one fleece
of cotton. The first fancy roller comes immediately after the
last of the five workers, and it operates upon the principle that
the cotton on the cylinder can be divided into two portions, an
upper and a lower layer. The first fancy raises the upper layer
of cotton from the cylinder, containing a very large proportion of
the impurities, its surface revolving against that of the cylinder,
and its teeth pointing against the teeth of the cylinder. The
material picked up by the first fancy is conducted to the small
extra doffer which is placed immediately above the large lower
doffer, which latter occupies practically the same position as the
doffer of any other card. The small doffer revolves in the opposite
direction from the large doffer, so that their contact surfaces
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 183
revolve in the same direction, and the top layer of cotton is given
from first or top doffer to the second one. In its progress from
cylinder to fancy and from fancy to top doffer, in this top layer of
cotton the fibre is stretched, lashed out, and in a sort of manner
the fibres are combed. The impurities, such as seeds, leaf, and
hard threads, are removed by a cleaning device into troughs, and
this refined web is passed through another carding process. At
the same time the second fancy raises the remaining inside clean
and well-carded fleece of cotton waste from the cylinder, and the
two cleaned and equalized webs of cotton waste are joined to-
gether in the chief carding contact between the cylinder and second
or chief doffer, to be then taken off this second doffer in one
delivery by the fly-comb in the ordinary well-known manner.
In this way, by raising the cotton waste from the wire of
the cylinder by the aid of two different fancies, and by using two
doffers, a much more effective cleaning of the cotton from the
main cylinder is obtained, and becomes almost perfectly empty
of cotton after the chief carding contact. As a natural result
much less cleaning of main cylinder is required than with the one
doffer method.
Messrs. Josephy claim by means of this ingenious device to
combine the productiveness of the double-doffer system, with the
excellent quality of yarn often obtained by the one-doffer system ;
they claim to have made the universal cfarding set generally
suitable for different textile trades, and for coarse, medium, and
fine yarns. It is further claimed that these powerful machines
occupy comparatively little floor space, especially when the uni-
versal carding machine is accompanied by the use of Josephy's
continuous spinning frame. Coming down to definite produc-
tions, this firm quotes the following particulars, and offers a
guarantee as to their genuineness : Universal carding set, patent
tape condensers, 72 in. wide, both for hard and soft waste : No.
1's yarn, ninety-six good threads on tape condenser, 750 Ib. of out-
put in ten hours. Counts 6's, 610 good threads, 500 Ib. output in
ten hours. Counts 12's, 240 good threads, 310 Ib. output in ten
hours. Such productions with equivalents in other counts
are stated to be obtained in Austria, Germany, Eussia, and
Belgium.
Naturally the use of a hopper feeder to the breaker card dis-
penses with the preliminary use of the scutcher, as laps of cotton
184 COTTON WASTE.
are never made, the broken-up cotton waste passing straight from
the bin into the hopper feed in a loose form. A strong point is
made of the fact that ring doffers are not used, and that the tapes
of the tape condenser are comparatively narrow. Certainly the
ring doffer does limit the degree of fineness to which the material
may be reduced at the condenser. It is claimed that from four
to six times as many good threads can be given on this universal
tape condenser as on the ring doffer, and that cop bottoms can be
reduced to counts 8's or so at the condenser, and then reduced to
12 's or so at the final spinning process without using much draught
at this process. About 4's counts is good at the ring doffer
to be reduced to 7's or 8's at the condenser mule.
Other Double Doffer Condensers.
Such of our readers as are familiar with ordinary cotton-
spinning machinery but not with cotton-waste or wool carding
must not imagine that the principle of using a double doffer is
peculiar to the universal carding set, but a special arrangement
of double doffer, double fancy, and narrow tape condenser is
part of this carding machine.
There is, for example, another type of double doffer arrange-
ment which anwers somewhat to the following description. The
doffers may each be 22 in. or 24 in. diameter, and be mounted
one above the other with both in actual contact with the cylinder,
and the two doffers separated only by a space of about four in.
Upon each doffer are mounted card rings upon the principle of
the ring doffer previously described in these columns, each ring
of fillet representing one end of cotton waste. There may be the
usual dividing leather rings between the filleting rings, and the
special feature to be noticed in this double-doffer system is that
the rings of fillet upon one doffer are placed opposite the spaces
of the other doffer. In a case, for example, thirty-eight good and
two spoiled strands, then each doffer would be mounted with twenty
rings of fillet of 1 j- in. or 1^ in. width, with spaces between of the
same width, these spaces being wider than is usual with the single
ring-doffer system, and the width of the carding engine be suit-
able to the number of strands of fibrous material taken off the
machine. Each doffer in this case is stripped of its strands of
fibre by a roller stripper, and has its own set of rubbers, which
may or may not be arranged each on the tandem system.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
185
Among the disadvantages of this system may be mentioned
that the two doffers rarely deliver slivers of the same weight or
counts, since the upper doffer generally takes more than its share
of fibre from the cylinder. This is so true that regularly the
strands or slivers from the upper doffer are spun separately from
those spun on the lower doffer. It is claimed that no such defect
can occur on the Josephy or universal carding set, and this is a
FIG. 40. Card for Cotton Wadding.
strong point, because it has always been found difficult to adjust
any condenser to strip simultaneously at two places, and deliver
accurately two or more different sets of threads of the same
counts. In any case a double doffer condenser should be expected
to strip the cylinder more perfectly than a single condenses
A wadding card as made by Hetherington's is shown fig. 40
and one on the lap drum principle in fig. 41 by same makers.
FIG. 41. Card for Cotton Wadding.
Condenser Bobbins.
The long bobbin upon which the thin slivers from the con-
denser card are wound, and which is taken direct from the front
of the card to the suitably arranged creel of the condenser mule,
has given trouble on many occasions by developing one defect or
another.
One defect has been the liability for the flanges to work loose
186 COTTON WASTE.
upon the central spindle, and thus allow the end rounds of
sliver to fall out of shape, thereby causing many breakages of ends
to occur at the spinning machine.
This has been often due to a want of proper support of the
flanges, as they have often been made with only a small hole
just sufficiently large to admit the long spindle which passes
right through the bobbin and is screwed up to bring the flanges
tightly against the wooden ends of the barrel or core. In such
cases when the latter shrinks the flanges become loose.
Yet another defect has sometimes been manifest in the flanges
themselves, these being often made of thin sheet iron, so that
when the bobbins are put down on the floor by the piecers the
flanges either cut the floor if it is a wooden one, or themselves be-
come damaged if the floor be of stone. In a particular improved
make of long condenser bobbin, the core is turned slightly
smaller in diameter than the main body at each end, and on
these smaller portions are fixed metal ferrules, provided at their
outer ends with square bosses in the form of four separate pro-
jecting pieces. The flanges are placed on these bosses and the pro-
jecting pieces turned back upon them, thus securing the flanges
independently to the bolt. The latter is then passed through
the hollow core of the bobbin and screwed up in the usual way.
If the core shrinks longitudinally and the bolt becomes loose the
flanges will still retain their rigidity and will also sustain the
shock if bobbins are thrown on the floor.
The Waste Card Condenser.
It is claimed for the tape condenser that it is much more
adaptable to different counts of sliver than is the ring doffer.
Also that it is a more productive machine and will certainly
give far and away finer counts, especially if a double or treble or
quadruple condenser be used. It is claimed that 1000 Ib. per
week may be given by a double tape condenser for 6's. As
against this it may be urged that English people are for the
most part more accustomed to the ring doffer and use is second
nature. Also that it is eminently suited to the medium and
lower counts of cotton-waste yarns and to limited ranges of
counts. Yet another item in its favour is its extreme simplicity
and comparatively small liability to get out of order. The
narrow strips of filleting on the ring doffer may be said to tear
THE CARDING OF COT I ON WASTE.
187
the web of cotton waste from the cylinder into strips or slivers,
whereas the tape condenser obtains this division more by the
exercise of pressure.
The use of the cams for the rubbers and the peculiar action
of the rubbers makes a condenser appear a very complicated
arrangement to a tyro, but really the whole thing is quite simple,
and the cam shaft and various connected parts can easily be
wheeled away for repairs to the leathers. Steel-tape condensers
FIG. 42. Condenser for Finisher Card.
have not met with much acceptance in England at any rate.
There are some who consider the double-tape condenser the best
one possible for cotton waste in the higher counts. A good illus-
tration of a triple condenser by a well-known firm is given fig 42.
Feed Rollers of Card.
Practice varies somewhat as regards the feed rollers, since
some prefer a pair of thin fluted feed-rollers, others one feed-
roller with dish feed, while still others prefer a pair of feed-rollers
with saw tooth wire, and perhaps this is the best in view of the
objectionable things which sometimes come along with the
cotton.
Special Rollers.
There appears to be somewhat more latitude for special ideas
in cotton-waste carding than in ordinary cotton carding. For
188 COTTON WASTE.
example, in some cases one of the rollers has been made to con-
tinuously oscillate across the cylinder in a similar manner to a
long grinding roller. Probably this is done to lay the cotton well
down on the cylinder, and for the same reason one of the rollers
maybe driven much more slowly than the others. These devices,
however, partake a little of the nature of fads.
Preparation System.
This particular system, using a slubbing frame, and using
creel bobbins at the mule, appears to be more especially used for
coarse twist yarns in which greater strength is required than in
weft yarns, owing to the friction and strain put on the twist yarn
at intermediate stages, and at the loom by reeds and healds.
Waste Carding Engines ; Double Cards.
It is rarely that double cards have been used for cotton waste in
England, although it is usual to double card the cotton by passing
it through a single breaker card and then a single finisher. By
double card as above is meant a card with two cylinders and two
doffers but only one feed and delivery.
Dirt Roller.
The dirt roller is of distinct service on a waste card as its
coarse wire adheres to a good many hard ends and a good
deal of dirt of various kinds. It always has a very slow
rotation.
The Humbug.
This small roller (about 2 in. diameter) is placed beneath the
licker-in and serves the purpose of preventing the escape of fibre.
A similar roller may be placed beneath the doffer. There does
not appear to be any particular reason forthcoming as to why
these terms of " humbug " and " fancy " should be used.
The Fancy.
This roller goes at a quick speed, and practically raises a nap
of cotton on the cylinder, surf ace so that the doffer will afterwards
take the cotton from the cylinder in an efficient manner. Its long
wires should penetrate those of the cylinder from ^V in. to yV in.
deep.
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE. 189
Eoughly speaking a scutcher for waste may cost about 100,
a breaker and finisher card with condenser about 300, a hopper
30 to 35.
Condenser.
The rubbers should do no more rubbing than is necessary for
the required consistency of the rovings, and may be possibly $
in. apart at the initial end, and easily close at the terminal end.
Press rollers may be used in the centre of the rubbers to help
in keeping them better to the cotton strands. The rubbers should
be as straight and level as possible across the width. Tapes
should be as accessible as possible to facilitate repairs or
adjustments. It is considered best to have condenser bobbins
which look as full as possible for the particular counts.
Combined Driving for Cards.
Formerly it was common enough to drive a finisher card in-
dependently from its finisher even with the Scotch or the lattice
feeders, but irregular results were often obtained from this practice
owing to one belt slipping more than its companion. By using
a common driving belt to breaker and finisher, uniform starting,
stopping, and driving are obtained in this particular respect.
Also in connexion with Scotch feeders and lattice feeders,
chain driving for some of the details is found to do better than
rope or belt driving.
Improved Waste Slubbing Frame for Preparatory System.
This frame has been designed especially for cotton-waste
spinning, and is arranged to receive the cans from the finishing
engine with quadruple or sextuple coiling and can motions.
The length of lift, diameter of full bobbin, size of top and
bottom rollers, and other details contained in these frames, are
found from experience to give the best results, and the patterns
are quite up-to-date in every respect. The full bobbins are taken
either to the self-acting mule or ring frame. (See fig. 43).
These frames are made in all lengths up to 152 spindles.
Specification. Spindles f in. diameter 9 in. lift, to make a
bobbin 4J in. diameter 6 in. pitch, 24 in. staff. Flyers with single
centrifugal pressers. Bobbin to lead. One line of tin rollers and
guide wires behind. Three lines of bottom fluted rollers, 1 in.,
190
COTTON WASTE.
f in. and 1 in. diameter. All bottom-roller necks hardened. Solid
top rollers for one or two threads to a boss. Polished iron top
clearers for stationary cloth. Improved cone-lifting and strap-
tightening motion. Full bobbin stop motion. Automatic locking
FIG. 43. Slubbing Frame for Cotton Waste.
door to jack motion, and fitted with patent "grip" spindle rail
and long collars, or collars can be fixed by two lock nuts ; patent
"duplex" traverse bars and motion; patent "endless" cone-
drum driving belt ; Ormes' hank indicator.
FIG. 43.\. Ring Doffer.
A represents the Leather Ring, B the Ring of Filleb.
Special Features. Patent grip spindle rail. The long collars
are secured by means of a split boss with set screw attached to
the rails, giving a simple and true method of fixing same and
effecting a saving in driving power.
Patent duplex traverse bars and motion equalize the pressure
THE CARDING OF COTTON WASTE.
191
of the rollers upon the slivers, making the draught more regular,
ensure even and lasting wear of the roller leathers, and improve
the quality of the yarn.
Patent endless cone-drum driving belt is self-adapting to the
taper and curve of cone drums, ensuring more powerful driving
and accuracy of speeds.
Extras. Patent self-locking loose boss-top rollers, in which
the loose bosses are prevented from slipping off the axles by
means of a small spring fitting in a groove in the axle, and
projecting into a corresponding groove cut inside the loose boss.
Driving at both ends of frame.
Production. One frame of say 144 spindles will follow four
finishing carding engines. The slubbing bobbin varies from
one to two hanks. (Fig. 43 shows a machine by Messrs.
Tatham.)
FIG. 43B. Grinding Frame and Grinding Roller for the Rollers of Cotton
Waste Cards.
Dimensions, Weights, Speeds, etc., of a Frame of 144 Spindles.
Space Occupied.
Driving Pulleys, Fast and
Loose.
Power
Required.
Approximate Weights and Outside
Measurement.
Length.
Width,
including
space for
cans.
Diara.
Width.
Speed
per Min.
Gross.
Net.
When
Packed.
39ft.
4 ft. 6 in.
14 in.
for 3 in.
strap.
360-400
revs.
about 3
I.H.P.
102 cwts.
1
90 cwts.
290 cub. ft.
CHAPTER V.
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE.
Peculiar Spinning Machines.
To very many persons interested in cotton spinning it is not
known that there are machines largely used in the spinning of
cotton waste or wool which are entirely different in principles
and practice from either the self-acting mule, the ring frame, or
even the flyer-frame.
The Can Spinning Frame.
One of these peculiar spinning machines is sometimes termed the
" Can Spinning Frame ". In regard to the spindles, this machine
is very largely built upon the lines and principles of the well-
known pirn winding frame so extensively used in connexion with
the winding of bleached and dyed yarns that have been treated
in the form of hanks, and are again re- wound in cop form at the
pirn winding machine, ready for use as weft in the shuttle of
the loom. In the can frame the cotton strands from the long
condenser bobbins are used, and are converted into yarn suitable
for the weft of coarse goods. On the waste mule, however, the
long condenser bobbins are placed in the mule creel in complete
form as taken from the condenser, but this is not at all true of the
" can spinning frame ". In this latter case the long condenser
bobbin is made with a removable end or flange, and each separate
spool or round of cotton waste is drawn separately off the end of
the long condenser bobbin. This comparatively small portion of
cotton is placed inside a special can of the orthodox 9 in. dia-
meter, but only about 3 in. or so deep. Each of these shallow
cans is fitted with a lid containing a central aperture through
which the cotton strand is withdrawn at the can spinning
machine. The use of these cans constitutes the most distinc-
(192)
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 193
tive feature of the machine, and gives the name to the machine,
and it must be very particularly noted that the yarn is not twisted
by the spindle, but by a moderately quick rotation being given to
each can. The shallow cans of condenser cotton really form the
creel of the machine, and they are placed low down and in front
of the machine much the same as are the cops or bobbins of a
winding frame. The loose cotton spool fits nicely inside the can
and the cotton is withdrawn from the centije of the spool and
not the outside and, as before stated, passes through a small
aperture in the centre of the lid of the can. The manner in
which the cotton thread is held at both ends and the relation of
the hole in the can lid to the point at which the cotton is
leaving the spool inside make it possible for twist to be inserted,
there being some sort of resemblance between this twisting
principle and that by which a draw-frame coiler is said to put a
little twist in the sliver, although the can of the can frame re-
volves very much faster than the can of a coiler, and therefore
much more twist is inserted. Compared with a spindle, how-
ever, the speed of the can is exceedingly low. For all that, this
machine is not well fitted for making the finer counts of cotton-
waste yarn say, anything above o's or so not alone or so much
because its twisting capacity is limited, but also because there
is no draught in the machine either by roller drawing or carriage
draught. The ordinary cotton waste condenser mule is, of course,
limited in draught to about two, but to be readily able to draw
a condenser end from 4's into 7's or 8's or so is far different from
being forced to leave the end at 4's counts just as fed to the
machine. This is one of the essential differences in effect pro-
duced by the can frame and other waste spinning machines.
Strictly speaking it is not a spinning frame at all, but only a
twisting machine, since technically speaking the term spinning
implies both twisting and attenuation of the cotton. The machine
appears to find a special vogue in producing up to about 4's counts
of yarn from end-drawn condenser spools, such yarns being low
twisted and particularly suited for very coarse wefts. Each strand
of cotton emerges from the centre of the can, passes upwards
and over suitable guides, and thence through the slit in the cone-
shaped cup and upon the spindle in cop form. The machine is
probably the simplest one ever devised for spinning or twisting
yarns of textile fibres, and it therefore requires very little skill in
13
194 COTTON WASTE.
handling either from a worker's or foreman's point of view'
while comparatively little power is required to drive it propor-
tionately to the weight of yarn produced. The 9 in. diameter
of can is made to correspond with the diameter of full condenser
bobbin produced on the finisher carding engine, and its use com-
pels a wide spindle gauge, this being about 10| in. The machine;
however, is duplicate or double-sided like a winding frame, which
it really more resemjbles than it does a spinning machine.
The Spindle and Cop.
A word now in regard to the spindle. To a mule or ring
frame man who has never considered the cone-cup method of
placing yarn in cop form, an examination of the resultant spool
or cop will be surprising. Such cops are well built, and may be
produced either on full length spools or without such foundation.
Take the pirn winding frame for example, there is no attempt
to twist the yarn in this machine, its usual vogue being to take
hanks of yarn that have been bleached or dyed, and re-wind
them into cop form ready for the loom shuttle. It is common
to use a thin spool which has a base the shape of the top cone of
a mule cop. The bobbin is placed on a very long and specially
shaped spindle, which is driven round in the usual manner. The
cone of the bobbin is placed vertically in cone cup with the apex
of the bobbin pointing downwards so that the cop is built down
the spindle and bobbin instead of upwards, as on a mule or ring
frame. The rotation of the spool alluded to draws the yarn
from the hank round suitable guides and through a slit in the
cup and upon the bobbin itself. Because the base or initial
portion of the spool is of cone shape, the lift of the frame guides
and shapes the yarn in a cone form upon the spool. The next
feature requires a moment's consideration on the part of one who
has not previously studied this copping problem. As the cop at-
tains a certain diameter of cone from base to apex, it becomes too
large to fit in the metal conical cup, and naturally is forced upwards
so as to continually wind the yarn lower down the bobbin, the
manner of holding and driving the spindle readily permitting this.
A natural and simple copping motion is thus provided for each
spindle itself. Now this pirn winding and cop shaping principle
is the one essentially adopted on the can spinning frame, with
perhaps the one important difference that at any rate for the ortho-
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOB COTTON WASTE. 195
dox size of cop or bobbin built up on the pirn winder the yarn
remains upon the thin bobbin, the bobbin itself is placed in the
shuttle, and the yarn is drawn off the coned extremity just as is
the case with a mule cop or a ring frame bobbin. In the can
frame, however, the cops attain a very large size in order to hold
a sufficient length of the very thick yarn, so that any dimensions
of cope up to 10 in. in length and 3 in. diameter may be attained
on this machine. These cops are taken from the spindle and
used without any bobbin inside. Another feature about
these cops which appears almost startling when witnessed by
a mule man for the first time is that in the loom the yarn is
not drawn off the end of the nose or top cone, but is drawn from
the inside of the cop, starting at the base or thick part. This
for one thing accommodates itself to the method of helping to
hold the huge cop in the shuttle by a longitudinal thin rod or
band pressing against the outside of the cop. This unwinding
of the cop from the inside is done with little or no trouble, and an
extremely small amount of loss by waste, and is very much fa-
cilitated by the special method of crossing the yarn upon the
cone. Here it may be stated as a definitely established fact that
the orthodox method of winding the yarn upon a mule cop is
not always the best for the absolute prevention of halching and
spoiling cop noses, and for uniform unwinding of the yarn at
the next processes. This is demonstrated, for example, by the
special yarn crossing motions sometimes applied to self-acting
mules, and in one particular case that could be described a very
large amount of time and money have recently been expended in
order to entirely dispense with the Sharps-Eoberts mule copping
motion, and adopt a radically different one in order to get a
better crossing effect. In the can spinning frame the yarn is
much more crossed both up and down, 64 in. of yarn being taken
several times across the length of cone, and this very much helps
in preventing the cops from breaking and in giving easy and
certain unwinding from the inside of the cop. As stated, the
yarn is built up on a spindle revolving in a conical iron cup, and
the spindle is gradually forced upwards by the increasing dia-
meter of cop, until the latter is sufficiently long. The steel spindle
is then drawn out and the cop removed from it. The full length
being attained, each spindle and its companion can are promptly
stopped by an automatic stop-motion, which acts separately for
196
COTTON WASTE.
each thread so that the whole of the frame need not be stopped
at one time. The machine is a double-sided one like a winding
frame, and covers a considerable width over all, the length being
anything up to about 80 cans, as required. Finally it may be
stated that if the yarn is required to be bleached and dyed before
going to the next process, the can frame may be easily adopted
to wind the yarn in hank form instead of in cop form.
The can or cup frame is not very largely used in England,
but its special province is in the case of very coarse yarns of per-
haps 1's or so from some of the poorest material used up in
cotton-waste spinning.
Such stuff will not stand any draught at all and this machine
only twists without draughting. Much of this coarse cheap stuff
FIG. 44. - Cup-Spinning Machine (Tatham & Co.).
is, however, used in the backing and filling of some exceedingly
good carpets and will take almost any colour in dyeing very readily.
The centre end of each small can of sliver is drawn through
a small hole in the top of the can. A girl may mind the machine,
and each spindle may be fitted with a knock-off motion. This
is the kind of machine that is sometimes humorously said to spin
double noughts (0,0's).
Cup - Spinning Mac h ine .
The above machine is used for spinning a soft twisted
weft yarn for low counts up to No. 3's, and the yarn is well
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 197
adapted for cotion blankets, cleaning cloths, etc. (See fig.
44.)
Specification. Spindles lOf in. gauge, one line to both front
and back of the machine, with self-acting knocking-off motion to
each spindle when a thread breaks or when the cop is full.
Special Features. This machine takes the place of the mule
and follows after the finishing carding engine. The full bobbins
from the " condenser " are placed end up and the wooden barrel
is pulled out, leaving the roving in the form of cheeses 9^ in.
diameter by 3 in. deep. These are then ready for the above
machine and are placed in revolving spin-tops which make about
1300 revolutions per minute. The roving is drawn out from the
inside, is passed through a small hole in the lid of the spin-top,
and is twisted on its way to the square spindle inside the conical
cup, which, by means of a thread guide moving up and down,
builds the cop which is well crossed and solidly built about If in.
diameter, or other size to suit shuttle.
The machine is made with as many as eighty-four spindles,
forty-two on each side ; it is simple in construction, and easy to
work. The twist is altered by means of one change wheel. The
labour cost is low, one girl will mind fourteen to twenty spindles
according to the counts, and the output is large per spindle.
Approximate Production.
Counts spun . . . No. 1's. No. H's. No. 2's.
Output per spindle per hour 1 Ib. f Ib. | Ib.
Dimensions, Speeds, Weights, etc., of a Machine of Eighty-four Spindles.
Space Occupied.
t
Driving Pulleys.
Speed of
Spin-tops.
Power
Required
Approximate
Weights.
Length.
Width.
Diam.
Width.
Speed
per minute.
Per minute.
Gross.
Net.
38ft.
11 in.
6 ft.
3 in.
14 in.
3 in.
about
475 revs.
about
1300 revs.
about 3
I.H.P.
100 cwts.
80 cwts.
The Chapon Spinning Frame.
Previously we have described the " can " spinning frame and we
now propose to describe the Chapon spinning frame (see figs. 45
198 COTTON WASTE.
and 46). The can frame and the Chapon machine have a good
many points of resemblance in general construction and appear-
ance, so much so that at a first glance a tyro might be inclined to
think they were identical machines. There are, however, some
very important differences in principles of construction and
operation, as we shall make clear in the present article. Both
these machines have a special vogue and capacity for the pro-
duction of low counts of yarn, say, anything from -J's counts
up to about 3's or 4's from condenser bobbins. In both cases
the cops are built up on the cone cop principle, as described
previously, and in each case the cops are specially designed for
use as weft in the weaving of such goods as cotton blankets, or
in poorer stuff, as cleaning cloths, etc. In cotton blankets and
similar woven goods this weft gives a very full appearance,
superior in some respects to that obtained from yarn spun upon
the self-acting mule. In each case the cop is formed in an iron
cup, upon a long steel internal spindle, much similar to the
pirn winding frame principle. The full length of cop is attained
by the diameter of the cop itself continually forcing both cop
and spindle upwards, and building the cop downwards. The
completed cop is drawn off the steel spindle, which is lifted out
for the purpose, and then replaced for the next cop. For the
"can frame" and the "Chapon machine" cops alike box
shuttles are used in the looms without shuttle tongues, the
cop being held in its place by the external pressure of a light
longitudinal band or rod, while the yarn is withdrawn from the
inside and base of the cop, instead of from the apex of the top
cone and outside surface, as is the invariable case with mule
and ring frame yarn, and also in the case of cops or bobbins
formed on the pirn winder. Although it is really a very simple
machine the Chapon is somewhat more complicated than the
can frame, simply because it is a more ambitious machine and
has a somewhat greater scope. It has the advantage of using
the full-length condenser bobbins in the creel in just the same
way as on the waste-spinning condenser mule. The cone cup
and long loose spindle are not only utilized for winding and
shaping the yarn in cop form, but are also used for putting the
twist in the yarn after much the same way as may be done in
the well-known cotton-spinning machines. It is furthermore
possible to construct a Chapon spinning frame so that the
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 199
principle of roller draught may be utilized, and three pairs of rollers
of small diameter may be used for this purpose say, about J in.
diameter. It is not, however, the usual plan to construct the
Chapon spinning frame with drawing rollers for the purpose of
spinning cotton-waste yarns from condenser bobbins any more
than it is the common plan to construct a waste condenser mule
with such rollers, and the passage of the yarn from back bobbin
to front spindle is on much the same lines as the mule spinning
process. For example, the long condenser bobbins, each con-
taining possibly from ten to sixteen strands which have been
rubbed by the condenser rubbers into sufficient density and
roundness to give satisfactory drawing- off at the spinning machine,
are placed on tin surface drums of about 10 in. diameter, and are
thereby unw r ound at a uniform surface speed. The width of the
finisher carding engine may be variable, and thus give different
widths of condenser bobbins, and the creel of the Chapon can be
constructed to agree with this, but it is necessary to arrange one
in relation to the other. For example, a Chapon spinning frame
could be constructed to have ninety-six spindles in order to
exactly measure out for eight back bobbins, each holding 12 ends ;
or there might be 104 spindles to agree with eight long back
bobbins, each containing thirteen good ends from the finisher
card. In the tin drum creel proper spaces are provided to hold
the flanges of the long bobbins, and partly on account of this it
is necessary to have each condenser bobbin somewhat shorter
than the total space occupied by the several spindles which one
bobbin serves. The spindle gauge is usually about 3^ in. as
compared with 10^ in. of the can spinning frame, but the latter
is a double-sided machine, while the Chapon machine only has
spindles on one side, so that the comparison is more like 7 in. to
10^ in., the duplicate can machine being wider than the Chapon.
On this latter machine there are principally two sizes of spindles
used, the No. 1 size being used to produce cops about 10 in. long
and from 2 in. to 2 in. diameter, such as would be suitable for
the lower range of yarn counts, say -'s up to 2's counts with 840
yds. per hank, as in ordinary cotton. For what may be termed
the finer range of counts produced on the Chapon machine, say
2's to 4's, the No. 2 size of cop is more suitable, with any length
up to 8 or 9 in., and a diameter of possibly If in. Each strand
of cotton is delivered at a uniform rate of speed from the contact
200
COTTON WASTE.
FRONT VIEW.
FIG. 45. Chapon spinning frame. As used to spin very coarse yarns,
of the bobbin with the surface drums, and it passes between a
BACK VIEW.
FIG. 46. Chapon spinning frame. As used to spin very coarse yarns,
pair of positively driven conducting rollers, thence downwards to
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 201
the eye or curl of a suitable rotating guide, through the slit in
the conical cup, and upon the steel spindle passing down the
centre of the cup. The guides or wire curls are given a sufficient
traverse along the length of the cone of yarn while the height of
the cone-cup remains constant, and the height of the spindle is
being automatically increased by the thickness of the yarn in
order to keep the cone part always equal in diameter and correct
in height relatively to the cup and the traverse. To prevent the
yarn from flying outwards too much, and to avoid twining of the
threads, very deep smooth blinker separators are used between
the spindles. Coming now to the rotation of the spindle itself
and of the guide curls, it may be said that this is a much more
important business than on the can machine, in which twisting
is done at the creel can itself, and the spindle and cop wind and
shape on the simplest plan imaginable just as on the pirn wind-
ing frame, each spindle or cop drawing its yarn from its own can
at the variable speed required to suit the shape of the cone. On
the Chapon machine there is a differential motion by which the
bobbin or spindle and the guide curl ring are given different
speeds in order to permit winding and twisting to take place
simultaneously, somewhat after the winding and twisting of the
rovings on a bobbin and fly-frame, but with distinct differences
in principles and constructions, since on the Chapon frame the
cotton is formed into a cop-shape and the spindle and bobbin
form practically one piece. If the bobbin and the guide curl
revolved at the same rate there would be twisting without wind-
ing, but each is definitely driven at a well-proportioned speed,
so as to give a sufficient twisting and an amount of winding-
on proportioned and equalized to the rate of delivery of cotton,
first by the tin surface drums at the back, and then by the con-
ducting rollers. (See figs. 45 and 46.) From a cotton spinner's
point of view a particularly novel kind of differential motion is
provided in order to accommodate the positive speed of cop to the
uniform feed of cotton from back bobbin and to the varying dia-
meter of the cop cone from apex to base. On the ordinary pirn
winding frame the yarn is simply fed or drawn forward more
rapidly when winding on the base of the cone of cop than when
winding on the apex, and the whole thing is simplicity itself. It
is an entirely different thing on the Chapon machine, in which the
yarn is given off the long back condenser bobbins at a uniform
202 COTTON WASTE.
speed. Assuming that winding has been made correct for winding
on the apex of the cone of the cop when the lifter curls are in
their lowest position, then, as the yarn is guided upwards towards
the base by the raising of the lifter, the winding speed in-
creases proportionately to the greater diameter of the base. To
compensate for the quicker winding-on rate the guide rollers are
given a well-proportioned downwards movement, towards the
spindles, and this movement combined with the raising of the
lifter curl wires gives the increase in length of yarn required by
the greater diameter of cop. In other words, a differential wind-
ing-on motion is provided by causing the lifter and guide rollers
to move towards each other, and give slack yarn as the winding
point moves towards the base of the cone, while these two parts
recede from each other and tend to take up the yarn when the
winding-on point moves towards the apex of the cone of cop.
This differential winding-on problem is a distinctly interesting
and valuable one, and the comparatively rapid crossing of the
yarn along the cone, not only facilitates the subsequent drawing-
off of the yarn, but also helps to distribute the twist in the yarn
sufficiently. The spindle speeds may be proportioned to the
counts of yarn required, but are always comparatively low, reach-
ing 700 or 800 revolutions per minute for counts l^-'s or 2's,
with the larger dimensions of cop as above given, and up to
about 1300 or 1400 revolutions per minute for 3's to 4's. It will
be noticed that both counts and spindle speeds for this* Chapon
spinning machine are very much on a par with those obtaining
on a range of bobbin and fly frames for ordinary cotton spinning
including slubber, intermediate, and roving frames. There is,
however, a much higher range of twist per inch put into the yarn
from the Chapon frame. The production of this machine per
spindle varies a great deal, according to class of waste used, ability of
the operatives, twist per inch required, etc. This machine has been
a good deal used on the Continent, and is understood to give a good
production of soft weft ; for sixty hours it is somewhat as follows :
0'59 English counts = 34 Ib. per spindle.
118 = 28
1-77 = 22
2-36 = 18
2-95 = 14
3'54 = 12
413 = 9
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE.
THE SELF-ACTOR MULE._
Draughting of Cotton Waste on ihe Waste Mule.)
Previously we have described two machines for the spinning
of cotton waste which are rivals of the self-acting mule, especially
in the lower ranges of counts from *5 counts up to 4's or 5's_
The can spinning frame of one or two firms and the Chapon spin-
ning frame are the two machines alluded to, and are used to a,
considerable extent on the Continent of Europe, and to a much
less extent in England for the spinning of cotton-waste yarns.
They are much simpler than the mule, and are very productive,,
but have not the same capacity for varying and humouring the
draught, and the twist in the yarn, the can frame being never made
to put in draught, and the Chapon machine not being usually built
that way. In England, at any rate, the self-acting mule is far and
away the most used machine for the spinning of cotton waste or
Barchant yarns. It is the almost invariable practice to use draught
at the waste spinning mule, and there are three methods of draught-
ing,'all more or less in use, viz., (1) draughting out on the " ratch-
ing" or "second stretch" principle with the rollers entirely stopped;
(2) draughting on the " gain" or " drag " principle with the carriage
going faster than the delivery of cotton from the rollers ; (3) draught-
ing by rollers in the approved and orthodox fashion common to
ordinary cotton spinning. The headstocks of mules for spinning
cotton waste have been more usually constructed on the woollen
mule principle with variable drawing-out scrolls instead of TEeTuni-
form Jdnd that is, the type of scroll in common use for drawing in
the carriage of an ordinary cotton-spinning mule has been adopted
also for drawing the carriage out, this being suitable for the great
amount of carriage draught required and the variable speeds of
spindle adopted during the outward traverse of the carriage. To
suit the varied requirements in regard to draught it is possible to
have waste spinning mules constructed in three different styles in
regard to the drawing rollers and roller beams. The first style and,
apparently, by far the most common one consists in having two
lines of bottom rollers, and one top line fitting upon and between
these two, and all the rollers polished and without flutes or other
departure from the smooth plain style. As stated, this is probably
the most used of any, and is greatly extending in use, being specially
adapted to the long condenser bobbins from good condenser card-
204 COTTON WASTE.
ing engines. The bottom rollers may be fluted if required. The
second style of rollers is very much on the lines of the ordinary
three pairs of rollers in common use on a ring spinning frame
or an ordinary mule for spinning proper cotton yarns. The three
lines of bottom rollers are of very small diameter possibly f in.
by 4- in. by f in., or even less in diameter for front and back so
as to suit the very short fibre to be found usually in cotton
waste. The front and middle top rollers are also of small
diameter, covered in the usual way with smooth closely woven
cloth next to the iron, and roller leather tightly drawn over the
cloth. These two rollers may be joined together by a little saddle
and one link and lever weighting arrangement used for both of
them. The back top roller in this case is usually plain and
polished, and of about If in. diameter, in order to make it suffi-
ciently heavy by self-weighting. It will be readily understood
that using draught rollers in this way in a mule intended for spin-
ning cotton-waste yarns, puts the process very much in the same
category as ordinary cotton spinning, since rollers always tend to
make fibres parallel, and draw out the cotton finer than is pos-
sible with either the " ratch " or "gain" principle of drawing.
The rollers in this case are made adjustable, provision often
being made for the distance between all three lines being altered,
it being possible to separately alter the distance between back and
middle on the one hand, or front and middle on the other hand. In
some cases where waste mules are constructed with draught rollers
in this way, it is the practice to also supply it with bobbins built on a
bobbin and fly frame, this latter machine being supplied with cotton
out of cans of sliver prepared at the delivery of the finisher card-
ing engine, which in this case has the doffer web split up into about
four parts, each of which goes into a can. This style of waste
spinning is a compromise between orthodox cotton spinning and
true waste spinning upon the condenser principle in which no
drawing rollers are used for the cotton to go through on any
machine, and no real attempt is made to put the fibres into
parallel order in any of the processes. As a matter of fact present
day practice apparently tends to run more and more in the way
of discarding the preparation system of cotton-waste spinning, and
for the condenser system to more and more increase in use. In
the case of a waste-spinning mule in which three lines of rollers
are used as above described, it is quite easy to discard the roller
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOE COTTON WASTE. 205
drawing principle at any time temporarily if required, in which
case the front and middle top rollers and their weighting arrange-
ment are taken away, and the If in. diameter solid back top rollers
are brought forward to rest upon the front and middle bottom
rollers on the self- weighting principle. In the third style an
arrangement very common to woollen mule spinning is adopted, and
only one line of bottom rollers and one line of top rollers are used,
the top line being about 2J in. diameter, and self -weighted. As
before stated, the most favoured style of rollers for a cotton -waste
FIG. 46A.
References
A Condenser bobbin in use.
B Grooved friction drum.
C Condenser bobbin awaiting use.
D Top roller.
E Bottom rollers.
W Weight.
mule consists in using two lines of bottom rollers with one line of
top rollers resting on these, and this top roller may be of large
diameter, self-weighted, or it may be of only about 1J in. or If in.
diameter, dead weighted, and covered with cloth and leather in the
usual cotton-spinning manner. (See fig. 46A.)
The Headstocks.
As regards the headstocks, although the woollen mule type
of headstock has hitherto been most used, the cotton headstock
has often been used for the spinning of cotton waste, being
altered in order to spin from long condenser bobbins if required,
-206 COTTON WASTE.
rand being equipped with a ratching motion for disengaging the
rollers shortly before the carriage has finished its outward run.
.Elsewhere in this book we fully explain how quite recently
most determined and most successful attempts have been made
to fully adapt the cotton headstock so as to give most excellent
results in the ordinary way of spinning cotton-waste yarns of
good and so-called fine qualities. It is a somewhat noticeable
fact that self-acting mules for the spinning of cotton-waste have
very often indeed had the headstocks built upon the side rim
principle, in which the rim shafts are parallel to creels and rollers,
although the back rims are made if required for cotton- waste
spinning, and the rim shafts are at right angles to the rollers and
creels. It is possible that the side rim arrangement suits the
woollen type of headstock somewhat better than it does an ordi-
nary cotton spinning headstock, but in such cotton spinning it
is seldom the side rim is adopted unless it is a very low room in
which a countershaft running down the centre of the two mules
will give a much longer down belt than would be obtained with
the ordinary top countershaft of the back rim. In some cases,
of course, the headstock is constructed on the side rim principle
in order to suit the arrangement of driving shaft already obtaining
in the room wherein the mules are to be placed. Side rims can
-and do give good results, but the writer on the whole prefers the
.back rim pulley arrangement.
Spindles and Productions.
Because of the very thick character of the yarn it is necessary
to make big cops as a rule in order to restrict the number of dof-
fing times at the mule, and to make the cops last longer at the next
process. For this reason the spindle gauge or distance from centre
of one spindle to centre of the next one is usually a wide one, say,
anything from 1^ in. or If in. up to 2^ in., or so as compared with
1 T \- in. or 1| in. as a standard for pin-cop weft, and 1 J in. to If in. as
-a standard for twist cops in the ordinary processes of cotton spin-
ning. It follows partly from the wide spindle gauge that the
number of spindles per mule must be much less than for a cotton-
spinning mule, yet another reason for a reduction in number of
spindles being found in the great amount of creeling and doffing
required, which reduce the capacities of the operatives as regards
number of spindles. In a general way a waste mule containing
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 207
550 spindles may be considered a long one, while a more usual
limit is from 450 to 500 spindles, and mules have been made
with as few as about 300 spindles, or even less. Of course, this
does not appear a large number as compared with the 1350
or so of many modern weft-spinning mules in ordinary cotton
spinning. The production in pounds per spindle appears to be
very great to an ordinary cotton spinner, it being quite possible
to produce 6 Ib. or 7 lb. per spindle per week of counts 3f's or 4's,
with a mule carriage making about five draws per minute, and
using a decent quality of waste, well carded and placed upon long
condenser bobbins in proper fashion. Assume, for example, we
have a pair of modern mules, each containing 500 spindles, and
producing 7 lb. per spindle of counts 3^ with 840 yards per hank :
500 x 7 = ; 3500 lb. per mule per week, or 3500 x 2 = 7000 lb.
per pair of mules. This weight is as much as a factory of 20,000
spindles would produce at 70's or 80's counts, and is mainly due
to the fact that it only takes 3^ hanks of such yarn to make 1 lb.,
whereas it takes 80 hanks, or about twenty- three times as
much length of 80's counts to weigh 1 lb. This is one of the
points to be remembered always in comparing productions of
cotton-spinning machinery, whether it be a mule, ring . frame,
carding engine, or other machine. When it is stated, for example',
that certain carding engines are each doing . 900 lb. per week,
while others are only doing 400 lb. each, it must be remembered
that the difference in weight is nearly all due' to difference . in
density of cotton, and not to the fact that the cylinder, taker-in,
or flats go so much faster on the heavy than . on the light
weight.
Cotton-Waste Mule with Cotton Headstock.
As stated previously, there is a good deal of resemblance be-
tween the spinning o^cottoiusea&fee-yarns on the condenser principle
and the spinning of woollen yarns. In each case it is sought to fell
and intermingle the fibres rather than to make them parallel, and
therefore in each case the use of drawing rollers is generally entirely
omitted, and the strands of cotton are formed upon long bobbins
at the condenser of the finisher card and taken directly -to the creel
of the condenser spinning mule. Naturally the draught or power
of attenuation of the fibres of cotton or wool to anything like a really
fine degree is quite impracticable, as the limit of draught by any
208 COTTON WASTE.
other suitable means is very soon attained. Hence_wejiave the
long-established practice of using the woollen mule type of headstock
in mules for spinning waste cotton yarns on the condenser system.
In like manner there is a great resemblance in the finisher carding
engines as used for these two materials, not alone in the fact that in
each case the card is of the roller and 'clearer type, but also in the
manner of dividing or cutting up the width of the fleece of fibres
from the doffer into a sufficient number of individual ends, reach-
ing usually from ten to thirty-one or so for cotton waste, and
sometimes up to four times this number upon woollen condenser
cards. One of the developments of recent years in connexion
with the spinning of cotton-waste yarns has been the modification
and application of the cotton-spinning type of headstock for the
purposes of cotton-waste spinning upon the condenser principle.
We now propose to describe a mule that has been brought
up to date for this special purpose. In this case one par-
ticular and essential feature is the adoption of the carriage " gain "
or " drag " principle for draughting the cotton out, to the utter ex-
clusion of the "ratching" or second stretch principle, the well-
known " slubbing " motion for the early opening of the roller-box
not usually being needed or at all used in this mule. This mule be-
ing operated on in the condenser principle, there is, of course, no
roller draught at all exactly as on the woollen mule principle. Take
an example of spinning counts 7's to 8's from 4J hank condenser
strands. Each long condenser creel bobbin may contain about
thirty ends one each for a front twisting spindle the total length
of the bobbin being about 48 in., and full diameter 8 in. or 9 in.
This long bobbin is placed horizontally upon a fluted tin roller or
drum of possibly 10 in. diameter or so, and is leaned backwards
with its ends against the vertical creel stands. The tin drum
method of driving ensures a sufficiently positive rotation of the
condenser bobbin, and a uniform surface speed, whatever may
be the diameter of the bobbin. The strands of cotton from these
long bobbins are conducted through vertical guide wires behind
the rollers much after the ordinary cotton spinning mule style for
single rovings. Next the cotton passes through the rollers, which
consist of two bottom fluted rollers upon which is placed a leather-
covered roller weighted on the dead-weight principle to ensure a
sufficient grip of the cotton ends. These three lines of rollers may
be approximately about 1-J in. diameter, there being probably a
FINAL SPINNING- MACHINES FOE COTTON WASTE. 209
slight difference in diameter between top and bottom rollers to
prevent fluting of the leather-covered top rollers. Finally, each
cotton end passes from the rollers to its spindle, which usually
has only a moderate amount of " topping," or distance from top of
spindle to top of fluted front roller, and only a moderate amount
of spindle bevel also. A large amount of either "topping" or
spindle "bevel" would probably make it awkward to put in the
required amount of ' ' gain " or carriage draught without running
some risk of the yarn drawing off the spindles when the cops were
nearing their full length. (See fig. 47.)
FIG. 47. Cotton-waste Mule with Cotton Headstock.
Let us now deal briefly with the driving of the three primary
and fundamental movements of this mule during draughting, twist-
ing, and ordinary outward carriage movement. It will simplify
matters and greatly help a cotton mule man to understand the
mechanism and operation of this headstock if we state at once
that the rollers and carriage are driven at a uniform speed during
outward carriage travel, while the spindles have three different
speeds during any one run out, each speed being definitely ob-
tained from proper mechanism, and each controlled as required.
We shall explain that the first motor or side-shaft for driving the
rollers and carriage is driven in a different manner from what
obtains in the ordinary cotton mule headstock, but from this side-
shaft the driving of rollers and carriage is much the same as
every cotton mule worker is acquainted with. There are, of
course, no draught wheels for driving the back and middle rollers,
14
210 COTTON WASTE.
as these rollers are not used, and there is a definite connexion
between the driving of the rollers and carriage, so that the relative
speeds of carriage and rollers may be adjusted to whatever
amount of draught may be required. If, for example, it is required
to put in a little more draught, this may easily be done by altering
(a) a wheel which will drive the rollers more quickly without
altering the speed of the carriage ; or (6) by altering a wheel
which will reduce the speed of the carriage without altering
the speed of the rollers. If, for example, it was considered
that the limit of carriage and roller speed had been attained
consistent with the quality of the material and the piecing-up
capacity of the workers, the above case would probably be
met by altering that change wheel, which would reduce the
speed of the carriage and leave that of the rollers unaltered. It
is to be particularly noted that the outward speed of the carriage
in this particular waste-spinning mule is kept at a uniform rate,
whereas it is more usual in the woollen mule type of headstock
to draw the carriage out at variable speeds by scrolls of much the
same shape as those usually employed to draw in the carriage of
an ordinary spinning mule. In the woollen mule type of head-
stock there is not as a rule any long back-shaft although it is
possible to have one but in this new cotton headstock the usual
long back-shaft containing the usual description of practically
uniform drawing scroll is used, and the stretch of 64 in. is
adopted, this being the well-known standard for ordinary counts
of cotton yarn from all garden numbers from 20's to 60's or so.
(See fig. 47.)
Driving for Variable Spindle Speeds.
We have endeavoured to word the descriptions so that anyone
familiar with ordinary cotton mule headstocks would be readily
able to understand the special features of this cotton headstock
for spinning waste-cotton yarns upon the condenser principle.
Without doubt by far the greatest difference in principle of con-
struction, as between the headstock of this mule and that of an
ordinary cotton spinning mule, consists in the arrangements for
driving the spindles at three different speeds during each run-out
of the carriage, while keeping the rollers and carriage at a uniform
speed. Such variable speeds are necessary for the best results in
spinning yarns on the condenser system without using draught
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 211
rollers in order to keep the yarn sufficiently soft while the carriage
draught is put in. It is the common practice to have either two or
three speeds of spindle in any waste spinning mules, and, as
stated, in this case the triple speed method is adopted. Now let
us ask the close attention of our readers to the particular method
of driving by which the three speeds of spindle are attained. On
many cotton spinning mules there are two side-shafts, the one
on one side of the rim-shaft being for driving the backing-off and
taking-in, while that on the opposite side of the rim-shaft is for
driving the carriage and rollers. These two drives are essentially
maintained in the waste mule headstock under discussion, but
with the very important and radical difference that the shaft upon
which the driving of the rollers and carriage is centred, is not
driven from the rim-shaft as in ordinary mules, but is driven by
a separate belt from the counter-shaft or overhead shaft, there
being a pair of fast and loose pulleys upon this auxiliary shaft,
used for driving rollers and carriage. With the trains of wheels
for driving the rollers and carriage from this fast and loose pulley
arrangement we need deal no further, excepting that we may just
state that in all essentials and principles they are much similar
to those employed on any ordinary cotton mule. There is a
free-wheel connexion, or catch and catch-wheel arrangement
between this extra side-shaft and the rim-shaft, so that at the
commencement of each outward run of carriage, for possibly 20
in. or more, or any proportion of the outward stretch required,
the special side-shaft drives the spindles at a slow speed as well
as the rollers and carriage, but afterwards it drives only the rollers
and carriage, and the rim-shaft proper has never anything to do with
driving these two latter organs. The rim-shaft is of very parti-
cular construction, and will be best understood by such of our
readers as may be familiar with the method of obtaining single
and double spindle speeds in the Threlfall special fine spinning
mule, with two different diameters of rim-pulley. In this triple-
speed cotton-waste mule headstock there are three belt pulleys,
the centre one being loose on the rim -shaft. The front belt
pulley is secured to the rim shaft, to which also are secured a
ratchet wheel for the free-wheel motion at the front of the head-
stock pulleys, and also a rim -pulley of small diameter at the
extreme back end. The third belt pulley is secured to a long
boss which runs loosely on the rim-shaft in the same direction,
212 COTTON WASTE.
and has secured to it a second rope rim-pulley of larger diameter
placed just inside of the small rim-pulley at the back of the head-
stock. Such is the method of construction, and the exact action
of these parts will be readily comprehended by anyone who now un-
derstands the construction. As the carriage starts out the ordinary
down-belt for the rim-pulley is on the central loose pulley, and
the auxiliary belt in not only driving the carriage and rollers, but
also, by the catch and catch-wheel or free-wheel arrangement, is
driving the rim-shaft, and therefore by the smaller rim-pulley is
driving the spindles at a very slow speed. After the carriage has
travelled perhaps 20 in. or 2 ft. the down belt is moved upon
the front belt pulley, and at once takes command of the rim-
shaft, and the ratchet-wheel or free-wheel on rim-shaft runs away
from the driving catch of the auxiliary drive, which now only
drives rollers and carriage. Arrived at perhaps 18 in. or so, more
or less, from end of carriage traverse, the down belt is moved
upon the back pulley, and the larger rim-pulley drives the spindles
until twisting has finished.
Three Speeds of Spindle.
Eeferring again to the three-spindle speed mule for the purpose
of spinning cotton waste on the condenser principle, it will be
understood that any required proportion of speed may be obtained
as between the first, second, and third speeds respectively, but
the principle must always be observed of having an initial low-
spindle speed in order to permit the carriage draughting of the cotton
without thread breakage. This is so true that if a broken thread
be pieced up on the mule just described before the carriage has
travelled several inches away from the beam it is very likely to break
down again, owing to the spindle half of the pieced thread having
more twist than the roller beam half, and also owing to the weaker
and thicker nature of the piecing portion. The carriage itself is
made the medium for determining when the changes shall take place
from lowest to medium spindle speed, and from medium to highest
speed. This will be readily understood by those conversant with
the single and double speed motions of fine spinning mules.
There are, however, essential differences in principle ; if we started
double speed earlier we should speed up the rollers and carriage
also until the back-shaft and roller-boxes opened. The waste
spinning mule is more like a Threlfall mule, in which the double
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 213
speed is obtained entirely from bringing a larger diameter of rim-
pulley into use, so as to speed the spindles alone. There are
some important details of practice which are affected by this par-
ticular feature, as, for example, supposing that the new waste
mule with cotton headstock were altered as it could be in about
a minute or so so as to change from medium to maximum spindle
speed somewhat sooner in relation to the termination of the out-
ward carriage travel, the effect would be to obtain more twist in
the yarn before the carriage got out, so that less would be neces-
sary after the carriage got fully out and during twisting at the head,
and the mule would make a complete draw in a proportionately
shorter time. It must be understood that the tin roller twisting
motion is applied to this mule so that slippage of the rim-band does
FIG. 48 Cotton-waste Mul^with Woollen Type of Headstock.
not affect the total twist per inch put in the yarn, and also that
after the full twist has been put in the yarn backing-off occurs,
whatever proportion of twist may be left for insertion during sup-
plementary twisting after the carriage has come to a standstill.
Also our readers must permit us to again remind them that the
rim-shaft has nothing to do with driving the rollers and carriage, but
only drives the spindles. The 3-speed motion just described
is made by Messrs. Asa Lees & Co.
Stop-Motions.
For the purpose of changing the creel bobbins and perform-
ing various little duties, it is more often necessary to stop a waste-
spinning mule than an ordinary cotton-spinning one, and it is
quite common on a waste mule to employ a special application
214 COTTON WASTE.
of stop-motion seldom found on a cotton spinning mule. During
the last fifteen years or so it has become the usual thing in
ordinary cotton spinning to apply a turnover latch or handle
which the operative may turn over to be out of action any time
when the carriage is coming out or going in, and may then ex-
pect the mule to stop at the roller-beam, because the down-belt
has not been unlatched and allowed to move on the loose pulley.
In the waste mule this idea is often carried out to the further
extent of extending a wire rod underneath the faller shafts for a
good portion or all of the length of the mule. By simply pulling at
this rod the latch may be turned over from any position in the length
of the mule, and this may often prove to be a distinct convenience.
As a matter of fact, we quite fail to see why it should not be
regularly applied to ordinary cotton-spinning mules, because it is
simple and cheap enough, and can be placed out of the way be-
neath the faller shafts. In some waste-spinning mules the idea
is carried out further still by using the long wire rod as just de-
scribed, and arranging so that sliding it shall place the belt at
once on the loose pulley at any point in the outward travel of
the carriage. To do this it is common to latch the down-belt
in position, and to arrange for a spiral spring to be always
pulling at the strap rod as the carnage moves out. By moving
the long rod, connexions are also moved so that the down-belt fork
is promptly unlatched, and the belt is drawn upon the loose
pulley by the spiral spring. This is a special application of the
stop-motion principle which we scarcely think would suit most
ordinary cotton spinning mules, because the need for its use
would seldom arise, and it would make the stop-motion parts a
little mixed up to also utilize the turnover latch principle, the
strap-relieving motion, and the hastening motion. Before leaving
the question of stop-rods we may first say a word about one of
the latest little devices for locking the long stop-rod, or big
starting and stopping handle of any self-acting mule, whether for
waste or ordinary yarns. A wire loop or cross-bar of about 6's
wire is hinged to the top of the standard, through which the
stop-rod passes at the front ; a suitable slot is cut across the top
of the stop-rod in such a position that when the stop-rod is pushed
home and the mule is stopped the wire cross-bar at once drops
in the slot of the stop-rod, and must be lifted again before the
rod can be moved into working position. To prevent this small
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOE COTTON WASTE. 215
locking or safety device from being troublesome during " whip-
ping " a flat slotted *sword-like steel bar is loosely fitted to the flat
side of the front part of the stop-rod, and by simply moving this
forward the wire lock is lifted out of action so as to leave the
stop-rod free to be manipulated as required during the whipping
operation. We are all too sadly aware of the accidents that have
occurred owing to accidental movement of the stop-rod, and the
present writer has a very vivid recollection of at least two
occasions on which he himself very narrowly escaped serious
injury owing to this very^thiag^ We refer to this device because
it was on & waste-spinning mulejtnat we saw it in operation. It
will be readily understood that either cotton-waste mules, ordinary
cotton-spinning mules, woollen mules, worsted mules, twiners,
or other machines using similar stop-rods may utilize a device of
this kind equally well if desired.
Remarks on Three-Speed Driving and Waste Mules.
We hope our readers have thoroughly grasped the central
idea of the three-speed motion of the cotton headstock as
described for waste spinning on the condenser principle. It
will be understood that by altering the sizes of the two back-
rim pulleys for middle and highest spindle speeds, or by alter-
ing the train of wheels from auxiliary side-shaft to rim-shaft,
any one of the three spindle speeds may be altered without
touching the other two. By a larger driving wheel the first
spindle speed could be alone increased ; by a larger diameter of
back -rim pulley the middle spindle speed as well as the first one
could be increased, and by increasing the diameter of the larger
of the two rim-pulleys we could get a higher double or final
spindle speed. Altering any one of these would have to be con-
sidered in relation to the twist per inch, and the question of
possible "striking through," or premature changing of the down-
belt. In this three-speed motion it must be understood that the
completion of the outward run is marked by the opening of the
drawing-out box and roller-box, while both the ordinary down-
belt and the special belt of the auxiliary side- shaft are moved upon
their loose pulleys before backing-off occurs. Afterwards the
ordinary rigging-band or vertical taking-in band takes charge of
the mule, and first drives the backing-off, and afterwards draws
the carriage in as on ordinary spinning mules. It appears to be
216 COTTON WASTE.
the general opinion of cotton-waste spinners who have operated
mules both on the woollen mule principle of " ratching " the yarn
by the aid of slubbing motions, and the use of variable drawing-
out scrolls, and have also had experience of waste-spinning mules
which draught the cotton ends by the aid of " gain," and not " ratch,"
that the " gain " method is distinctly the better when condenser
strands of finer than three hank or so are used. Take for example
a waste mule spinning 7's counts of yarn from 4's condenser
bobbins, it is claimed that more production and better yarn can
be obtained from a cotton headstock with a continuous draughting
of the cotton by carriage gain. Also the use of parallel scrolls for
giving a uniform outward speed to the carriage appears to be
favoured by many in such cases. The makers themselves make
their claim in the following words : "This method of spinning
produces a finer and much more even yarn, as the draught is put in
continuously and gradually, and not all at the end of the draw, as
in the older system ; it enables coarser roving to be used than
formerly when spinning the same counts, as it is possible to obtain
a draught equal to half the draw ; and it gives a larger production
as the twist can be put in sooner than by the older system. The
mule also, having a back-shaft, works more steadily, and therefore
runs faster. It will be quite understood that automatic governing
motions, or " strapping" motions, automatic nosing motions, and
backing-off chain tightening motions can be and often are applied
to a cotton-waste mule just as on an ordinary cotton mule. It
is found also that the instantaneous click-locking motion is an
advantage, as it prevents "clicking," or having both backing-off
and winding-on clicks engaged at the same moment. In the
cotton headstock described this " click " motion is on the cone
principle, and is worked from the rocking-shaft in the carriage
middle piece, and the click is engaged before the carriage begins to
move by the same set of mechanism that does the locking of the
fallers. We believe most people will concede that cone-click
gearing and ungearing motions have done very excellent service
when put on and adjusted to proper advantage, and often render
efficient service in limiting the number of snarls put in the yarn,
and in getting good solid cops. In the case under notice the
winding click is made of steel, case-hardened, with teeth cut out
of the solid. Another make of three-speed motion is shown in
fig. 49.
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOK COTTON WASTE. 217
Round of Movements in Cotton Waste Mule.
In a modern waste-spinning condenser mule operated entirely
upon the ' ' cotton " system the round of movements which make
up a complete draw are much the same as for an ordinary cotton -
spinning mule, excepting for differences in spindle speed and in
the waste mule having no roller draught. Beginning at the roller-
beam, we have a continuous and uniform delivery of cotton from
the rollers, accompanied by a uniform speed of the carriage. In
an ordinary cotton mule the speed of the third important factor,
viz., the spindles, is also uniform, but in the waste mule the
spindles invariably have either two or three speeds. The carriage
MULE FOR 3 SPEEDS
FIG. 49. The New 3-speed Motion (Hetherington & Son).
having reached the end of the stretch the back-shaft and roller-
boxes are opened,; the twisting motion regulates the amount of
twist put to the yarn at this period, and then the down-belt
is moved upon the loose pulley. We then have backing-off, faller
locking, variable return of the carriage, unlocking of fallers, and re-
commencement of spinning in the orthodox manner. Let us com-
pare this with the "cycle" of movements on the usual spinning
mule for cotton waste on the woollen system. We again have
the delivery of condensed cotton strands from the rollers, but this
may be accompanied by a variable speed of carriage. The spindles
have a very low speed for the greater portion of the run-out.
When the carriage has moved a sufficient distance outwards, say,
possibly about 40 or more inches out of about a 70 inch stretch,
218 COTTON WASTE.
the delivery of cotton from the rollers is stopped while the car-
riage continues its forward movement. This is naturally accom-
panied by the requisite amount of " spindle draught " or " carriage
draught," as it may be termed. These conditions may obtain until
the carriage gets almost or nearly out, when the double spindle
speed may be brought into action, so as to save time by intro-
ducing twist in the yarn as quickly as possible now that the
conclusion of " spindle draughting " will permit of the insertion of
the twist. We have, of course, the arrestation of outward
carriage movement, and disengagement of drawing-out motion at
the proper moment. During the supplementary twisting period
we may put into operation the "draw-back" or "receding"
movement of the carriage by which the carriage is slowly moved
a short distance towards the roller-beam, in order to prevent the
shortening and hardening effect of the twist from pulling the
threads down. This is a particular feature of a mule operated
upon the woollen headstock and " slubbing " motion principle.
Supplementary twisting, double speed of spindles, and receding
action of carriage may take place concurrently. After the con-
clusion of twisting, we have backing-off, faller locking, winding-on,
shaping of cops, and return of carriage exactly as before described.
It will be understood that the condenser system of carding and
spinning, whether the mule " draught " be obtained upon the " drag "
or upon the "ratching'' principle, always produces a very full,
soft-feeling yarn, with the requisite strength obtained from the
rubbers of the card, the crossing of the fibres and spinning
coarse numbers.
The Slubbing Motion.
It will be of interest and profit to many of our readers if we
give a brief description of the mechanism by which the rollers are
controlled, so as to deliver cotton for only a portion of the out-
ward movement, in a cotton-waste mule operated upon the
woollen headstock principle, and fed with condenser bobbins.
Take an arrangement as made by one firm. The roller-box has
one of its sides held in contact with the other half of the box by
means of a latch-lever, while a specially disposed spring is al-
ways endeavouring to open the box, but is prevented during the
required proportion of the outward carriage travel by the latch-
lever above mentioned. A link-rod reaches down from the
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 219
latch-lever, and is connected by a suitable crank-lever to a long
rod running along towards the front of the headstock. Upon this
long rod is placed an adjustable finger, which is acted upon when
required by a bracket fastened in the carriage "square". In this
,,0 - .08
way a sufficient movement is given to the long rod, and is trans-
mitted by the vertical link -rod to the latch-lever which holds the
roller- box shut. The lifting of this lever releases the half of the
roller-box, and this box is at once forced open by the proper spring.
220 COTTON WASTE.
It will be readily comprehended that the change brackets may be
adjusted so that the rod may be moved and box opened when the
carriage has made say 35 in., 40 in., 44 in., or any other pro-
portion of the full outward stretch that may be desired. This is
not the most common form of slubbing motion by any means, but it
will be readily understood by most of our readers, and especially
by those who are familiar with the recent trend of fashion in
regard to the opening and closing of the roller-boxes in some
mules put up for ordinary cotton-spinning purposes. It is well
known, for example, that some ordinary cotton-spinning mules
for many years had the roller-box opened and closed by the
sliding action of a long rod as imparted by the carriage. More
recently, however, it has become the favourite practice to open
the roller-box exactly upon the principle explained as above
for the sliding-rod slubbing motion of the waste-spinning mule.
Instead of having the sliding-rod to actually compel the box
to open, the rod now releases a kind of lever arrangement,
and the spring does the real work of opening the box. This
development has taken place largely because with the former
practice the rod would drag along with the carriage more
slowly sometimes than others, and there was not always the
exact and prompt opening of the box which is requisite for
obtaining absolute uniformity in the amount of " ratching " as
required for fine counts of yarn. In the more recent system the
real opening of the roller-box is left to the spring, and not to the
rod, and better action is on the whole obtained, although skilful
setting and maintenance of parts in good condition produced' ex-
cellent results with the older system. Now there is no difference
to speak of in principles of construction and action between the
roller-box opening of fine mule just referred to and the new long
rod method of opening the roller-box on some condenser waste
spinning muler. It is, indeed, very apparently a fine example of
the saying that " Extremes meet," since in the one case we have
the use of the " ratching " principle for fine cotton yarns, and in the
other case we find it used to an even far greater extent for producing
the very coarsest of cotton yarns, while in almost all medium counts
of yarn from American cotton say, 10's to 40's, or finer ordinary
cotton spinning the "ratching" principle is practically ignored.
In the fine mule the amount of ratching, however, is limited at
from J in. up to 4 in. or 5in. per st retch, whereas in a cotton-waste
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 221
mule operated on the woollen mule principle with a stubbing
motion, it is possible for the amount of ratch to reach to almost half
the complete stretch, say, up to from 30 in. to 35 in. in a 70 in.
stretch.
Wheel Shibbing Motion.
The more usual form of slubbing motion as used on a woollen
mule headstock for spinning cotton- waste or woollen yarns is separ-
ated from the carriage, and there is no long rod, the release of
the latch-lever of roller-box depending upon a train of wheels
operated from the front roller itself. The present writer ex-
amined this form of slubbing motion as applied to cotton-waste
mules with the woollen type of headstock, and as built by three
different makers. A brief description of one only will be given,
and it must be understood that in exact detail of construction the
others differ from this one and from each other, but not in principle.
The roller-box is held in gear by a latch-lever, exactly as in the
case of the long rod motion, while a spiral spring is always
trying to force the box open as against the pressure of the lever.
In this case there is used a " slubbing " wheel containing a good
deal of slotted space on its side, and not far from the edge or rim.
The face of the wheel is numbered much after the style of the
index wheel of a comber although we do not think the marks of
the slubbing wheel bear any relation to the teeth of the wheel as
in the case of the index wheel and a stud is secured at any re-
quired point in the slotted space. It is by the position of the stud
in the slot, and in regard to the markings on the rim of the slub-
bing wheel that the release of the latch-lever, and the opening of
the roller- box are determined in relation to the amount of yarn
delivered and the exact distance travelled each draw by the car-
riage before the roller-box is opened. For example, by screwing
the stud at a certain mark or number in the side of the slubbing
wheel the roller- box might be opened and delivery stopped after
the carriage had travelled 50 in. out of 70 total. If it were re-
quired to have 60 in. or only 45 in., or any other amount of yarn
delivered before opening the roller- box, it would be a case of only
putting the stud in the proper slot opposite the proper number on
the slubbing wheel, and this need only be the work of a minute.
In the case of the rod system the alteration would require no more
time, and some markings on or near the long rod would serve to
222 COTTON WASTE.
indicate exact amount of yarn delivered for opening at any par-
ticular mark. We are inclined personally to prefer the rod system
mainly because the slubbing wheel requires other gearing for
driving it round, and special means for returning it to its initial
position for the commencement of each outward run. Of course,
the long rod also must be pushed back to spinning position, but
this is a very convenient thing to do. The slubbing wheel itself
differs little with different makers, but the manner of driving it
differs considerably. In the case under notice there is a train of
two small wheels driving two large ones from front roller to slub-
bing wheel, with a carrier introduced for convenience, and to give
proper direction of revolution to the slubbing wheel. The front
roller wheel itself is very small, and the slubbing wheel distinctly
large, not very much unlike the front roller pinion and crow r n wheel
of an ordinary draught train of wheels. A sufficiently slow rotation
of the slubbing wheel is obtained to prevent the stud from releasing
the latch-lever of the roller-box until the carriage has gone suffi-
ciently far. In order to return the slubbing wheel to its initial
position for commencing a new draw a weighted chain arrangement
is used, and the method of gearing has to be arranged to permit
this return action. The use of this weighted chain is one of the
details in which the slubbing wheel appears to be somewhat in-
ferior to the long rod system, although long practice has probably
reconciled the workers to the former method.
Self-acting Mule (Condenser System, fig. 50).
Such a mule as the one illustrated in fig. 50 is suitable for
spinning a full, soft-spun, and level yarn from such cotton wastes
as comber waste and various kinds of hard waste or soft waste.
The bobbins from the finisher card are placed on inclined
stands and are unwound by contact with grooved surface drums.
The roving is delivered from the rollers at a uniform speed, the
carriage speed is uniform and the cotton strands are attenuated
by the carriage speed exceeding the surface speed of the rollers.
Usually there are two lines of bottom rollers and one line of
top rollers, which may be dead-weighted or self-weighted as
required. Faller shafts, carriages, spindle footsteps, and bolsters
are much the same as for an ordinary cotton-spinning mule.
The spindles may be arranged to have a uniform speed, a
double speed or a treble speed as required, the latter being
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOR COTTON WASTE. 223
advisable for counts finer than 4's ; and in this case the spindles
start at each draw at the lowest speed, and have their maximum
speed during the final portion of the outward run.
Most of the usual mechanisms applied to a cotton mule are
applied to the condenser mule ; such as automatic nosing, govern-
ing motion, and backing-off chain tightening motion. Fig. 50
shows the headstock as fitted with the 3-speed motion for spindles.
FIG. 50. Self-acting Mule for Cotton Waste, on Condenser Principle.
If required, a carriage retarding motion may be applied by
means of which it causes the carriage to start each draw a
moment later than the roller, so that cut or thin places in the
yarn are obviated.
The weekly production of such a mule might reach somewhat
as below stated . . 1's 2's 3's 4's 5's 6's 7's 8's 9's
Lb. per spindle . . . 14 9 7 5J 4 3 3 2f 2-J-
For 7's to 9's one mule might contain about 720 spindles If
inches gauge.
For 2's to 3's one mule might contain about 500 spindles 2
inches gauge.
Stubbing Motion. Additional Remarks.
One of the important motions in a woollen mule is the
slubbing motion, which regulates the length of condenser yarn
2 k 24 COTTON WASTE.
delivered from the roller each draw. Its object is to permit any
desired length to be automatically and accurately measured, and
it also helps to give facility in changing the weight or count of
yarn.
The slubbing wheel may be arranged at right angles to and is
driven from, the front roller coupling spindle, a pinion being fixed
to the latter, which drives a compound carrier, and the pinion por-
tion of double carrier drives the slubbing wheel.
The sliding clutch-box is held in gear with that fixed on the
coupling spindle, by a lever which is lifted by a stud in the slub-
bing wheel when sufficient condenser yarn has been delivered.
The sliding clutch is then disengaged by a spring, and at the same
time the pinion driving the slubbing wheel is dropped out of gear,
and the slubbing wheel brought back to the starting point by means
of a chain and weight. The clutches are -engaged by a lever
operated by a cam on the change cam-shaft. To deliver different
lengths of yarn it is only necessary to move a setting stud to a
figure indicating the required length on the face of the slubbing
wheel, in order to accurately measure the number of inches de-
livered per draw.
When once set, the arrangement of this motion is such that it
is impossible for it to overrun itself, or to vary the length of yarn
delivered.
By this arrangement of the slubbing motion the spinner
still has easy insight and access to the interior of the headstock.
Draw-back Motion.
This mule is also fitted with a draw-back or jacking-up motion
to obviate the strain on the yarn due to twisting contraction.
When putting a great amount of twist in the threads of a some-
what tender fibre they have a tendency to break off at the grip of
the delivery rollers. The jacking motion causes the carriage to
draw back a short distance and takes the place of the jacking roller
delivery motion as applied to fine spinning cotton mules. The
mule may be fitted either with long or short shaper. The mule
can be adapted when required with mechanism for stopping the
spindles, reversing the rollers, for the spinning of yarns of a fancy
character, and for twisting two ends together.
The Reversing Motion is applied to mules spinning very short
staple and with soft twist, in which at times much trouble has
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOE COTTON WASTE. 225
been caused by the threads breaking at the grip of the rollers
To overcome this defect the rollers are turned slightly inward
immediately after twisting, so as to bite on the twisted yarn during
backing off and winding on, instead of on soft material as just
delivered untwisted from the rollers.
Spindle Stop Motion.
This is chiefly used when there is a considerable admixture of
other material, such as China grass, tow, etc., with pure wool which
prevents much draught being put in the yarn.
The " Draw-back " Motion.
In the case of a fine spinning mule putting in a good deal of
supplementary twist with the carriage fully out, it is often found
necessary to adopt means for preventing the yarn -contracting
effect of the twist from breaking the threads down excessively.
The established method in this case is to cause the rollers to
deliver a small amount of cotton at this time by means of what
is variously termed the "receding motion," the " roller turning "
motion, or the " jacking delivery " motion. In the case for
example of one mule, this motion consists of a train of wheels
operated primarily from a small wheel on the roller side-shaft,
which thus drives a special bottom shaft that reaches to the front
of the roller spindle, and drives the front roller by a catch and
ratchet wheel arrangement.
In another mule the whole of this mechanism is in front
of the fast and loose pulleys, but is much the same in principle
as the above, although apparently differing in detail.
Another firm employ a small sprocket chain arrangement,
combined with a catch and catch-wheel for the purposes of their
roller-turning motion.
In the original hand-mule of Crompton the difficulty was met
by a slight pushing in of the carriage, and this obtained originally
in self-actors, but the extra roller turning system has been in
universal use in fine spinning cotton mules for a very long term
of years, and is much better than the pushing in of the carriage,
inasmuch as it does not shorten the length of yarn spun as does
the draw-back motion, and it is much less clumsy, and does not
in any way interfere with the arrangements for backing-off,
keeping the winding click out of gear, or preventing the premature
15
226 COTTON WASTE.
engagement of either the backing-off or taking-in frictions. At
the close of a lecture by the present writer at the Bradford
Technical College the question was discussed why the "roller
turning" method should not displace the "draw-back" method
in woollen mules as it had done in fine cotton spinning. At
different times the writer has been asked the same question in
regard to cotton-waste mules in which the same thing exists.
Apparently the answer may be given somewhat as follows : In
a fine spinning mule the roller draught is sufficient to prevent
the slight portion of yarn delivered by the receding motion from
affecting the counts of yarn or its regularity, whereas there is no
roller draught at all in a proper woollen mule or in a cotton-waste
mule on the condenser principle, whether with the woollen or
cotton mule headstock, and the amount of receding is also much
greater. Such mules are made to " jack-up " or " recede " in the
carriage during supplementary twisting to the extent of 6 in. if
required, and a good proportion of this 6 in. is sometimes
required. This, of course, is far and away more than is ever
-wanted for a fine spinning cotton mule in which a delivery of j in.
to I in. is distinctly large, quite apart from the question of roller
draught not being present in the waste spinning mule. Briefly,
in a fine spinning mule the amount of " receding action " or yarn
slackening seldom, if ever, exceeds from f in. to 1 in., and this
short length is subjected to the action of roller draught although
wanting in " spindle " draught whereas in the cotton- waste mule
there may be, for example, a matter of 3 or 4 in. of " re-
ceding " action or slackening of the yarn wanted, owing mainly to
the very thick nature of the yarn causing the twist to shorten the
yarn infinitely more than the same amount of twist will shorten
the fine yarns. In this statement we have, therefore, an explana-
tion of why the draw- back motion is maintained in woollen or
cotton-waste mules, although it is obviously more inconvenient in
more ways than one than the roller turning system.
In the triple spindle-speed cotton mule headstock described
previously it is possible to put in almost all the twist as the carriage
moves out, to strike through and back off almost immediately the
carriage comes to a full stop, so that little, if any, of the draw-back
idea need be used at all. A word or two may now be expended upon
the manner in which the carriage is caused to " recede "or " draw-
back," or " jack-up," or " push-back," as the action is denominated
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOE COTTON WASTE. 227
by different people. Naturally, the details of these motions differ
with different makers, but in a particular case there is a small
cone-pulley and thin rope arrangement, by which the tin roller
shaft is made to drive a worm which gears with and drives a
worm-wheel of suitable size. The worm-wheel is arranged to
give motion by means of a rack-wheel to a horizontal rack attached
to the middle piece of the carriage, but the various parts only
come into active gear and operation when the carriage has moved
sufficiently far out By the drive just specified the horizontal rack
is forced against the front framing of the headstock, which is, of
course, immovable, so the natural result is the forcing inwards of the
carriage, since something or other must give way. Anyone who
understands the working of an ordinary cotton spinning mule will
at once comprehend that various little devices must be adopted
in order to prevent the premature engagement of the winding
click on the one hand, or the taking-in friction on the other hand,
while backing-off must also be prevented until " jacking-up " has
finished ; but yet the backing-off parts must be kept in position
ready for acting when jacking-up has finished.
Winding Click Motion.
One of the best arrangements for keeping the winding click
out of gear during the recession of the carriage is the cone- winding
click motion by means of which the winding click cannot engage
until the locking of the fallers, and yet engagement at the proper
time occurs with the utmost regularity and promptitude. It is
advisable to explain that for a great many years the more usual
method of engaging the winding click on a self-acting mule was
to arrange for the tightening of the winding chain to engage the
click immediately upon the starting in of the carriage. This was
the simplest possible method, and gave great satisfaction in
numberless cases. This method of winding click engagement is
still employed very extensively, but it has always had the defect
of being likely to engage prematurely and prevent backing-off if
the carriage happened to finish its outward travel unsteadily, or
receded somewhat on the holding-out catch. Sometimes also the
chain catch is widely set, and there is a slight initial loss in
winding- on. For these reasons many have preferred the method
in which the long rod which connects the holding-out catch with
the taking-in friction, has also been made the medium for engaging
228 COTTON WASTE.
the winding catch before the carriage starts inward. During recent
years, however, what is termed the cone-winding click principle has
become almost the most popular one for. engaging and disengag-
ing the winding click. This is operated from connexions to the
locking-lever, or what is practically the same thing, from the rock-
shaft in the middle piece, and this method of engagement, either
with the cone principle or other equivalent one, appears to be
rapidly superseding the others above specified, at any rate with
several machine shops. With the oldest and simplest form of
winding click, and some other forms, the recession of the carriage
in a waste spinning mule working on the woollen muls principle,
due to the draw-back motion, would engage the winding click
before twisting was finished unless special preventive means were
adopted. As stated, the cone-winding click depends upon the
fallers locking for its engagement, and for this reason it is easy
with the cone click arrangement to keep the winding catch dis-
engaged during the draw-back action of carriage, and yet to obtain
prompt engagement of the click at the completion of backing-off
and the locking of the fallers. To describe one specific application
of the cone-winding click to a self-acting mule : The ordinary
spectacle spring for the winding catch is entirely dispensed with,
and in its place is used a strong half-circular spring made from
flat spring steel it is not a spiral spring at all ; this new spring
being secured to the side of the winding plate or disc plate at one
end, and having its other end pressing firmly upon the top of the
winding catch and always endeavouring to engage the same.
This arrangement obtains its particular name of cone-winding
catch motion from the employment of a loose round boss which
surrounds the tin roller shaft, and has one end or edge turned off
to a conical or tapered outline. This coned end is forced under-
neath a tail or arm of the winding catch when the carriage gets
home again, and in this way the catch is levered out of gear, and
it is held out by the cone during all the way out of the carriage.
At the completion of the backing-off, the movement of the parts
connected with the locking of the fallers and disengagement of
the backing-off friction, also removes the cone bush away from the
arm of the winding click, when the semicircular spring on top of
the catch promply puts the catch in gear, and holds it firmly there
all the way up of the carriage. A strong spiral spring helps to
force the cone beneath the arm of the click when the carriage gets
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOE COTTON WASTE. 229
in. This cone winding click therefore not only finds much favour
with ordinary cotton spinners, but is even more specially adapted
to the operation of a waste-spinning mule in which the draw-back
action of the carriage is required.
Details.
At this point we will just give a simple recital of one firm's
own statement with regard to special motions that may be applied
to waste spinning mules. They say : " In these mules we gener-
ally apply the following arrangements : Patent rope tightening
apparatus for rope taking-in ; scroll- band tightening frame ; patent
clip for fastening check scroll band ; click locking motion ; patent
automatic nosing motion ; backing-off chain tightening motion ;
long copping rail with loose automatic front incline for regulating
the locking of the fallers ; patent step covers ; special arrangements
in connexion with the drawing-out and taking-in of the carriage,
which cause it to stop in case of obstruction during drawing-out,
and by which the spinning operations will automatically cease
should the cam-shaft by accident make its change before the
proper time ; arrangements by which the mule may be suddenly
stopped during the going in of the carriage, to prevent accident ;
safety catch to keep the mule stopped ; special arrangements to
disengage the taking-in friction by the going in of the carriage ;
also stop-motion for stopping the mule when the carriage is close to
the roller-beam, by which the attendant can stop it from any part
of the length of the mule, when requisite to replace empty con-
denser bobbins with full ones, or for any other purpose, without
running to the headstock."
Special Motions.
There is no better illustration of the statement that " extremes
meet " than is found in the case of the self-acting mule for fine
counts when compared with that for the spinning of cotton waste.
A number of special motions are found advisable in spinning
the fine cotton yarns, are not required for spinning medium
counts, and come into action again when spinning the thick yarns
from condenser carding. Single and double spindle speeds, and
excessive amount of carriage gain are two of the best examples
of this feature and are required even more in spinning condenser
yarns than in spinning the -finest counts.
230 COTTON WASTE.
There are also cases of using the jacking motion for condenser
yarns, in which case the carriage is put on a slow speed for the
last small portion of its traverse to permit of the gain or ratch
without excessive thread breakage. More usually, however, a,
waste mule can do without a jacking motion.
Twist per inch, which is so important in fine counts, is of much,
less consequence in coarse counts, and there are perhaps no really
accepted standards, sufficient being put in to keep the cotton to-
gether. Judgment is exercised as to what the cotton waste will
do and then the twist is humoured to the material.
Cases have been known when the waste has more resembled
sticks and old hay than cotton, but it is astonishing what can be
done with such stuff if the carriage speeds, twists per inch, and
carriage draught are skilfully adjusted at the mule.
Gauge and Speed.
It must be noted that the pitch of the slubbings in a single con-
denser finisher card, fixes the gauge of spindle at the mule.
For example in the case of a ring doffer with 1 J in. ring fillets-
and i in. ring leathers, the pitch from centre of one roving on the
condenser bobbin to centre of the next one, would be If, and this
would fix the spindle gauge of the mule at If. There might be
thirty-four of such on one long condenser bobbin from a 48 in.
finisher card.
If a 2 in. gauge were used there might be twenty-four rovings
of rather low counts, taking a 2 in. spindle gauge at the mule.
It is quite possible to run a mule on about 6's or so up to five,
five and a half, or even six draws per minute, with a 64 in. stretch
and a cotton headstock, doing all the draughting by carriage gain
as distinct from "ratch ".
Formerly three and a half draws per minute was more like the
average speed.
In cases of excessive breakage it may be better to keep the
twist down during carriage draught, and finish the twisting with
the carriage fully out and using a tin roller twisting motion.
Ring Frame for Cotton Waste.
The ring frame may be used for spinning cotton waste where a,
hard twisted thread is used, more especially for use as a twist
FINAL SPINNING MACHINES FOB COTTON WASTE. 231
yarn, and probably from rovings from the slubbing frame as treated,
upon the coiler or preparation system.
These frames are built with patent flexible spindles and auto-
matic spindle holder. Eings rolled from solid steel. Double tin
rollers made from extra strong tin with self-lubricating pedestals.
Three rows of top and bottom rollers of small diameter. Top
clearers and underclearers with springs. Patent cap bar. Traverse
motion for the rollers. Copping motion and thread-boards to suit
requirements.
The range of spindle gauge is a wide one, but 2f in. gauge has
been found to give good results with a lift of 6 in.
As regards production, a ring frame of say 300 spindles
2f in. gauge, 6 in. lift, would produce about 1200 Ib. per week of
fifty-six hours, spinning 8's, or 700 Ib. of 12's counts.
The following particulars may apply to a frame of 300 spindles r
2| in. gauge, 6 in. lift. Length 36 ft. 9 in. ; width 3 ft. Driving
pulleys 14 in. by 3 in. to make from 600 to 700 revolutions per
minute. About four horse power required.
CHAPTER VI.
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YARNS IN WEAVING.
The Weaving of Cotton-Waste Yarns.
IN considering the adaptability of cotton-waste yarns to woven
fabrics, it is necessary to remember that compared with yarns spun
on the ordinary cotton system of equal counts they are deficient in
strength and elasticity, but are of greater softness and fullness, and
of an oozy fibrous nature.
In the majority of cases their weakness precludes their use in
the form of warp, since they are unable to withstand the strain of
shedding, the friction of the healds, reed, and shuttle in all but
exceptional instances.
Woven Goods in which Yarns Spun from Cotton Waste may
be Used.
Cotton-waste yarns are as a rule soft twisted and are very
bulky. They are largely used in the manufacture of such goods
as the following : Table covers, carpets, quilts, cotton sheetings,
cotton blankets, flannelettes, curtains, cheap shirtings, cheap suit-
in gsT^atFjhfifiia^and towels, cheap dress goods, cheap overcoat-
ings, upholstery for all classes of furniture, cheap towels, cleaning
cloths7~sponge cloths, grey twills for such purposes as working
drawers or overalls for spinners, miners, stokers, and other classes
of workmen. The wide range of fabrics may be either plain or
fancy, plain or coloured.
Improvements continue to be made whereby finer yarns are
spun and this increases the range of fabrics for which cotton-waste
yarns may be adapted.
In the weaving of cotton-waste yarns into fabrics of any kind
it must always be remembered that in proportion to bulk these
yarns are weak, and partly for this reason they are generally
used as wefts, and the only strain therefore that is put upon
(232)
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YAKNS IN WEAVING. 233
the yarn is that of drawing from the shuttle and carrying through
the shed that is formed by the warp.
Speaking generally the mechanisms of the looms used for weav-
ing fabrics into which cotton-waste yarns enter, are very much
of the ordinary kind. If there is any modification at all in any of
the mechanism it is very often in connexion with the shuttle and
shuttle boxes.
For example, the shuttle might be of increased size to take a
larger cop, and this would also compel a larger shed to be made
to permit the shuttle to pass through with sufficient freedom.
Frequently it happens that trouble is caused by these cops
slipping from the shuttle tongue, thus causing excessive waste and
other damage. With ordinary shuttles this might be remedied by
opening the shuttle tongue to give a better inside grip of the cop.
Possibly a remedy might be found by the spinner starting to build
higher up the spindle, which would reduce the size of aperture in
the cop but would give shorter cops unless there was previously
some unused length of spindle above the apex of the full cop.
In some cases it is considered advisable to re-wind the coarser
counts into solid cops, which are very tightly wound, so that for
equal dimensions a cop will last longer in the shuttle.
In the quiltings, suitings, and other cloths of this class the
cotton-waste yarn is often used as b.acking weft in which there is a
face warp while the backing weft shows only on the back. To put
this in other words we may say there would be two wefts and one
warp, but the waste weft remains at the back of the cloth, being
stitched in by allowing some definite number of warp threads to
interweave with same. The object of such cloth is to give warmth,
weight and body and yet to keep the price comparatively low.
In regard to cotton sheetings these are generally of a coarse
twill weave, and they can be produced very cheaply by using
coarse or cotton- waste yarns, so that such sheetings are in exten-
sive use at home and are also exported.
A large amount of this kind of cloth is produced and used in
the United States.
Eeferring now to cotton blankets, these have a distinctly differ-
ent feel and appearance from the cheap sheetings, the difference
being largely due to the fact that the cotton blankets have a nap
or finish raised upon them to imitate woollen goods. As regards
weave this may be either of a plain or twill character.
234 COTTON WASTE.
The cheap shirtings in which cotton-waste yarns may be used
may be of a satin weave, resulting in a fine warp face and a waste-
weft back.
Sponge or cleaning cloths represent a very different type from
the foregoing, and may be regarded as among the very cheapest,
and lowest classes of goods woven from cotton yarns of any de-
scription. Sponge or cleaning cloths are as a rule composed
entirely of coarse shoddy or waste yarns both warp and weft
and are very open in the weave, partly to obtain an enhanced
porous effect. As a rule the weave is of a plain character, or pos-
sibly a gauze weave may sometimes be adopted.
Large quantities of cotton-waste yarns are now being used
in the upholstery trade, being woven into tapestry cloths, with
good patterns, and really good effects produced by rich and tasteful
dyeing.
From the nature of the cotton waste it is not practicable to
spin any but yarns of low counts, which are therefore sold at a low
price per pound, and are mostly used in fabrics of a bulky, heavy
character but moderate price. The price of cotton-waste cards on
the roller and clearer principle, using double cards, often with the
Derby doubler interposed, together with other circumstances, often
lead to good condenser yarns of the finer counts commanding a
higher price than yarns of .equal counts spun on the ordinary
system, and the cloths containing the better and finer condenser
yarns are often of superior appearance and finish.
A few of the leading cloths in which cotton-waste yarns are
used may be more fully explained.
Cotton Blankets. Ordinary qualities of this cloth such as are
exported in large quantities to the Eastern markets, Africa and
South America, are made with the plain weave, the warp being
relatively fine in counts, say 20's to 24's. The weft ranges from
50's to 130's bump counts, i.e. 50 to 130 yards per ounce, this being
a common method of numbering cotton-waste yarns of the coarsest
nature up to three or four hanks per pound. A little further on
in this treatise we give a list comparing cotton counts with bump
counts. Better qualities for the home trade, sometimes sold as
" charity " blankets, are made in heavier weights with twill weaves
and with strong warps, say 12's to 18's, and perhaps with more
picks per inch of coarse weft than if for export. The weft is from
cotton waste of moderate quality such as "wash" waste and
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YAKNS IN WEAVING. 235
" clearers," taking a medium mixing for blanket weft and better
qualities being obtained by adding cop waste.
Headings or'stripes of coloured weft are usually inserted near
each end of a blanket, the heading consisting of solid black or red
bars or variegated strips according to the market for the cloth.
Referring to the loom shown in fig. 51 it is over-picked
and provided with large boxes, and cranks of large throw to
suit the size of shuttles and cops used, while the shedding i&
by under-tappet and top rollers. The loom shown has single
boxes at either end, the shuttle being changed by hand to make
the heading. Occasionally striped blankets are made, the strips-
being made in the direction of the weft and at close intervals.
s
Fio. 51. Bmnket Loom (R. Hall & Sons).
For this style of blanket the loom may be fitted with a circular
box at one end of the sley as by the fig. 52. The loom-
shown is provided with a positive take-up motion, and the cloth
roller is set lower in the framing than usual in order that a,
considerable length may be woven before it is necessary to re-
move the cloth. Sometimes looms are provided with negative-
take-up motions in order that a uniform thickness of cloth may
be maintained, notwithstanding that the thickness of weft may
vary, this being a frequent occurrence in the lower counts and
qualities of weft.
Raising Process.
After weaving, cotton blankets are passed through a raising
machine which produces a dense woolly surface upon the cloth
by partially scratching or dragging fibres out of the weft threads,.
236 COTTOX WASTE.
the softness of the latter and the arrangement of the fibres being
particularly suitable to this process. The raising machine in com-
mon use for cotton fabrics consists of a number of small rollers,
ach covered with fine teeth, and supported in bearings at the
end of arms which are attached to a central shaft. The cloth is
stretched tightly round the rollers, and when the central shaft is
revolved, and the cloth drawn forward, the rollers also are revolved.
Meanwhile the wire teeth have penetrated the soft spun weft
threads and as they leave the cloth they drag the ends of fibres
with them, thus giving a fine nap or pile to the surface of the
cloth. Originally the nap or pile was obtained by scratching
the surface of the cloth by card filleting, but while giving the
FIG. 52. Blanket Loom (R. Hall & Sons).
desired effect this process dragged a considerable number of fibres
out of the cloth. With the newer machines there is very little loss
of fibre and weight, and a better nap is obtained with fewer passages
through the machine.
For some markets blankets are dyed, scarlet being a com-
mon colour ; in other cases the cloth is printed with variously
coloured floral designs ; animal figures are also printed upon the
cloth for markets, the lion, tiger, elephant, etc., being represented
in large sizes. The printing is usually done by hand by the aid
of blocks, this being one of the few remaining cases in which the
old-fashioned method of cloth printing still survives.
Sheetings are lighter in weight, and made from finer yarns of
better quality than blankets, the weft ranging from 3's to 8's cotton
counts and the twist up to 32's. The weave is generally two up
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YARNS IN WEAVING. 237
and two down or sheeting twill, but the plain or calico twill is
also used. Same type of loom, but of lighter construction than
the one last illustrated is used for sheetings, and the cloth is sold
both in the raised and non-raised condition.
Cleaning Cloths. (Fig. 53.)
These are an exception to the general rule in that they have-
both warp and weft composed of coarse waste yarns. The softness
of the latter, together with their low price and open structure
arising from the method of interweaving them, giving a fabric
which by reason of bulk and absorbent properties is specially
suitable for cleaning purposes. This cloth is also very easily
cleaned for using again, and when used for cleaning oily machinery
FIG. 53. The Sponge Cloth Loom (R. Hall & Sons).
the absorbed oil can be reclaimed. Two styles of cleaning
cloth are in use. In the first kind the warp and weft
are interwoven in the plain or calico order by looms of ordin-
ary construction, but the second kind, commonly known as
sponge cloth, is woven by the gauze or leno principle of weaving,
in which the warp threads are twisted partly round each other,
with the result that increased strength is obtained without losing
the required open structure. For ordinary gauze or leno weaving,
specially constructed healds known as " doups " are employed ;
but the coarseness and strength of the warp yarn, together with the
strain arising from the necessary deep shed, or division in the
warp to be formed for the passage of the shuttle, causes rapid
wear and destruction of such doup healds. Sponge cloths are
therefore woven by specially constructed looms in which two rows
"238 COTTON WASTE.
of needles take the place of doups and healds, one row pointing
upwards, and the other row pointing downwards, while the warp
threads are alternately drawn through the needle eyes. The
needles are secured in bars which are controlled by tappets and
levers in such a manner that, besides rising and falling to form
a shed, they can also be moved sideways for the crossing of the
warp threads.
At each end of the piece a few picks of fine weft are usually
put in and woven in plain order more closely than the coarser
picks of the body. In these picks the needles are moved up and
down in plain order only, and the speed of the take-up motion is
automatically reduced. A few picks of coloured weft are also
thrown in at the ends and a drop-box is provided at one end of
the sley for this purpose.
Double Cloth Weave with Waste Cotton Weft.
It is sometimes the case that double-cloth weaves are con-
structed with either the weft or the warp of wadding or cotton-
waste yarn, the use of weft in this connexion being much more
prevalent than that of warp.
This practice adds both weight and bulk to the woven cloths,
and it is possible to do it in double cloths without the waste yarn
showing on either the face or the back of the cloth. Take a
specific instance with the face and the back of cassimere twill with
one face, one back in the warp, and one face, one back, one cotton
waste yarn in the filling.
The cotton waste or wadding yarn is of course a bulky, moder-
ately twisted and cheap yarn, and this is picked into the cloth, the
face warp ends are lifted and the back warp ends are held down
so that the weft waste yarn is put in the centre of the cloth with-
out showing and without interlacing with either face or back warp
ends. Weight and bulk are thus durably imparted to the cloth
without deteriorating the appearance. In some cases of cotton-
waste warp the waste yarns are raised over every backing pick and
depressed over every face pick so as to be put into the centre of the
cloth.
One reason for cheap thick yarns from cotton waste spun on
the condenser principle being more used for weft than warp, is
that warp yarns are subjected to more strain than the weft, and are
liable to be rubbed by the healds and reeds and shuttle.
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YAKNS IN WEAVING. 239
Tapestry carpet is a simple figured warp-pile fabric, containing
loops of uncut pile-warp and all the surface of the fabric covered
with the pile in a uniform manner. The pattern is formed by
printing the design on the pile-warp and formed on the surface of
the cloth by the pile. It is convenient to print a certain length
of pile warp a desired colour, so that this colour is reproduced in
the cloth for a certain distance, after which an alternative colour
may obtain for a space.
In a tapestry cloth there may be a centre warp possibly of
<jotton-waste yarn which passes between the ground picks with-
out interlacing after the manner obtaining with the cotton-waste
warp yarn in a double or backed cloth.
Although the structure of a Brussels carpet is quite different
from that of a tapestry, yet it is quite possible for some of the pile
threads that are disposed in the body of the cloth to consist of
cheap thick yarns, although the main body of the fabric may be of
as good yarn as the face.
Waste in Weaving Sheds.
In a weaving mill the control of the waste to the best advantage
is one of the most difficult duties of the overlookers and manager.
Although the waste of a spinning mill may be much greater in
amount it is probably more easily checked and supervised.
It is fairly easy, for example, to check the amount of waste made
in the blowing-room, or at the cards or combers.
Suppose, however, a certain number of skips of yarn are de-
livered at a weaving mill and pass into the winding room, each
winder may be required to bring back or give up in some way the
waste she makes ; but the full bobbins are probably taken directly
to the warper, and no one knows what the half-full bobbins contain
in weight of yarn, so it is awkward to check. At the end of the
week the overlooker may weigh his waste and compare with yarn
given to winders, but percentages are not easy to check, partly on
-account of yarn on the bobbins.
Naturally at the six months' stock-taking it is possible to say
how much yarn entered the winding and warping room, how much
waste came out, how much yarn has left the room on the
full beams, and an estimation can be made of weight on the bobbins.
In this way the waste per cent can be estimated, and if too much
240 COTTON WASTE.
the overlooker talks severely to the operatives and says they must
bring less waste in.
They will do this, but it is common knowledge that in many
cases it has been only because they have taken some of the waste
home, and so the master now has a double loss.
It may be easy at stock-taking to find out that a considerable
weight of yarn has entered the winding room that has never been
accounted for, but it is not so easy to pick out the culprits and
bring them to book.
Much the same remarks apply to the weavers in many cases,
and especially in places in which the moral and religious char-
acters of the operatives have not been developed and main-
tained.
Often the weavers simply fetch skips or boxes of weft, bring-
the waste back with the empty skip, are rebuked or fined if too
much waste is brought in, with the result that next time some of
the waste is taken home, and probably nothing is said to the
weaver. All this kind of thing puts a premium on the unscru-
pulous weaver, and the thing is manifestly wrong in principle.
Winders are often paid so much per pound's weight of yarn
and weavers so much per length of cloth or per " cut," and taking
too much trouble with badly skewering and badly readying cops,
represents so much loss to them.
Improved methods of skewering the twist cops by winders,
and pin cop weft by the weavers, combined with better systems of
checking the twist given to winders and the weft given to weavers >
have certainly resulted in the reduction of losses in winders',,
warpers', slashers' and weavers' waste; the winders' and weavers*
especially. Counts and qualities of yarns should be checked, and
each class of goods considered separately.
Cop- Skewering .
In the case of weft for weavers it is perhaps as well for tha
spinning mules to be fitted with full-cop stop-motions which stop
the mule by preventing engagement of the taking-in friction when
the plates of the copping motion have moved a certain distance
and the cops have reached a definite fixed length. How can a,
weaver help making waste if the cops are too long for the shuttles ?
The shuttle pegs ought also to be capable of retaining the cops,
firmly after having been skewered, and the cops should be spun
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YARNS IN WEAVING. 241
on mule spindles of the correct thickness and cop bottoms started
at the right distance from the bolsters. It is not fair to have the
shuttle pegs so blunt that they can with difficulty pierce the cop
without stabbing. Neither must the opposite extreme of shuttle
tongues too sharp be provided or they will often catch internal
threads and lead to breakage in winding off. There is perhaps
increased danger of this in cases where loose coils are run over the
noses of the cops upon the bare spindle at the mule every time the
fallers unlock.
In cases of very softly spun and softly built cops it may be
best to build the cops on through tubes at the mule, although
these through tubes cause unsteady spindles, are comparatively
costly, and require more time in putting on the spindles, since
tubing apparatus is in very common use for putting short tubes
on the spindles. In the case of ordinary cop winding of twist
yarns of medium counts and moderate price, winders are often
recruited from girls and women, who from some reason or
other have been unable to cope with the more arduous and often
more highly paid duties of weavers, and this is a disadvantage
often. At any rate in this one item of skewering cops with pasted
cop bottoms as much skill is necessary as in anything else, if the
minimum amount of waste is to be produced.
In the case of yarns of good quality and probably of compara-
tively fine counts, it is advisable not to employ winders whose hands
have a distinct tendency to perspire, since this leads sometimes
to corrosion of the spindles, after which it becomes difficult to
quickly and satisfactorily skewer the cops. Naturally this point
is worthy of attention, even in the case of lower-priced yarns, but
more so in regard to the more costly sorts. Many of the points under
discussion affect the skewering of cops, either in weaving or doubling
mills, or apply even in the case of some commission or other reelers.
Shuttle tongues being split will often hold a cop firmly even,
when the aperture is a little too big, but in the case of winders'
or reelers' skewers it is important that these be of the same shape
and dimension as the spindles of the mule if waste is to be kept
down to a minimum and good winding secured. For good skewer-
ing of cops practice is necessary, and it has been suggested in the
case of large firms it might even pay to employ a skilful operative
to teach the art of cop-skewering to the beginners and others less
skilled in the work.
16
242 COTTON WASTE.
In the case of weft that is intended to be bleached or dyed in
cop form the problem of made-up cop bottoms and waste in cop-
skewering becomes even more acute, since any handling of the
cops between spinner and weaver will be so much against the
maintenance of good apertures in the cops. Cop bleaching or
dyeing probably makes the use of tubes as against starching
still more necessary. It has been contended that higher training
in regard to cop-skewering would make weavers independent of
requiring tubed cop bottoms even in the case of bleached or dyed
cops, and at any rate the point is worthy of attention.
Winders, weavers, and reelers should avoid pulling lengths of
yarn from the cops.
A great idea in skewering consists in keeping the point of the
spindle, skewer or shuttle peg, as much as possible in the centre
of the aperture, and prevent the tip from penetrating any threads
on the walls of the apertures.
Demonstrations have been made which go to show that almost
any kind of cops, however badly crushed, may be skewered by a
skilful person.
Sometimes winders' waste is not collected for several days and
this gives them more opportunity of wrongly disposing of it as
compared with collection every day, especially if much grumbling
is done for excessive waste.
In the case of doubling winding, there has been a good deal
of waste made by cob-webbing or running off the ends when quick
traverse drum winders are used.
It is possible also to overfill flanged bobbins and thus to cause
extra waste. Sometimes the tubes for quick traverse winding do
not exactly fit the cradle, thus leaving it possible for a tube to
work a little on one side, or be placed on one side after piecing-up,
with the inevitable result of cob-webbing. At the next process
such run-off threads will probably break and lead to waste.
Winders', weavers', reelers', and doublers' waste is really much
more of a real loss to the master than is waste from a card,
comber, or fly-frame, because it has borne all the cost of manufac-
turing nearly to the end ; and yet may only command a low price
if sold as waste, because it is difficult to break up in the earlier
machines used in a waste-spinning mill, and is very fluffy and
weak after such treatment.
In regard to waste made at the doubling or twisting frame a
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YAKNS IN WEAVING. 243
chief item consists in roller laps, and various devices are on the
market for limiting or preventing these. The chief underlying
principle of most of these devices consists in permitting a wire of
some kind to disconnect any individual top roller when its thread
is broken, and there is a danger of a roller lap. In some cases,
however, devices are used which prevent a broken thread from
touching adjacent ones or becoming daubed with grease from the
lubricants used on the rings in the case of wet doubling.
Undoubtedly the use of a good doubling winding frame is the
best method of preventing waste, single, and cork-screwing in
connexion with the doubling trade.
The use of large bottle-shaped bobbins on gassing frames, as
prepared on clearing frames, tends to reduce waste, by limiting
thread breakages and piecings.
Improved Tubular Winding Machine.
This machine is for winding solid cops for weft and is a step
forward towards an automatic loom.
As competition becomes keener and keener, manufacturers
naturally look round to see in what way expenses can be reduced.
Labour, as one of the most expensive items, comes in for a great
deal of attention, and anything which can reduce manual work to
any extent is of the greatest importance. The replacement of
labour by capital is an economical law which must be duly attended
to by all who hope to keep
abreast of the times. With
this purpose in view certain
firms have for years paid at-
tention to tubular or solid cop
winding, and there is no
doubt that this system is the
most economical, and re-
duces the amount of labour
in a great degree both as re-
gards winding and weaving.
Instead of the old method of
winding on to a wooden pirn
or paper tube to provide the FIG. 54. Improved Tubular Winding Ma-
material for the weaver's chine for Solid Weft Cops (R. Hall & Sons).
shuttle, this machine winds on to the bare spindle. The space
244
COTTON WASTE.
which is taken up in the old system by the wooden pirn is con-
sequently filled with yarn. In addition to this, the cops pro-
duced can be of a greater diameter without increasing the
external dimensions of the shuttle, on account of the cop
resting in the shuttle itself instead of being placed on a.
spindle or tongue. The quantity of yarn placed in the same
size of shuttle by this new system is from two to five-fold that
of the old system, according to the counts and previous condi-
tions. What an economy this immediately effects is at once
Old System, New System, New System,
With Wooden Pirn. With Half Pirn. Solid Cop.
FIG. 55. (R. Hall & Sons).
apparent. The winder winds a longer length at one operation,
and the weaver weaves from two to five times as much without
changing the shuttle. Not only does the production become
larger, but there is a saving in waste, because every time the
weaver re-fills a shuttle a small length of weft is wasted. The
main saving is in the stoppages of the loom being greatly reduced,
the effective number of picks per day being greatly increased. It-
is also well known that the repairs for looms are much less when
the stoppages are reduced. Another point which must not be
overlooked is the producing of better selvedges. By the old
system the tension of the weft becomes greater and greater
THE USE OF COTTON-WASTE YABNS IN WEAVING. 245
as the wooden pirn gets empty. By the new system described
the tension remains practically equal from beginning to end.
The machine is suitable for all counts of linen ; fine, coarse,
and waste cottons ; woollen yarns, asbestos and ramie wefts,
jute, hemp, etc. Thousands of spindles are at work in the
production of quilts, honeycombs, sponge-cloths, tapestry and
Brussels carpets, lappings, sailcloth and duck, damask towels
and tablecloths, linens, cotton blankets, trouserings, sackings,
hessians, hosepipes, etc., etc.
In fig. 55 we give proportionate drawings of the old and
new systems, which show at a glance the greater quantity of yarn
placed in a shuttle of equal size by the new system.
The machine may be used to wind solid cops to weave from
the inside, or to wind on to half pirns to weave from the
outside. It is arranged to wind from warping bobbins, slubber
bobbins, large or small hanks or cops. Also to wind two threads
at once.
CHAPTEE VII.
VAEIOUS NOTES.
IN this section a number of features are dealt with which are
more or less connected with the main subject of this book, but do-
not lend themselves to more specific classification.
The Counts of Cotton-Waste Yarns.
The counts of yarn from such machines as the can frame,,
chapon and cup or jumbo winder are always very coarse and hardly
ever contain much twist, especially from the first and last of these
three machines.
Such yarns are more like very coarse yarn spun on the roving
frame, but with a more hairy appearance. It is quite a common
practice instead of terming such yarns *5's or 1's or l-J-'s or 2's.
counts, to state the yards per ounce. For cotton blankets and
cotton quiltings the very lowest numbers from '5 up to 1 J or so ap-
pear to be in less demand in the Bolton and other districts than
formerly, owing to the almost complete extinction of heavy hand-
loom weaving. A good proportion of lime-bleached waste is used
for these very coarse yarns, say often from 60 to 70 per cent, with
the rest of better stuff, such as clearer waste and strips.
The following table shows the comparison of ordinary cotton
counts with the yards per ounce system from '5's up to 10's counts,,
but it is chiefly in the lowest of these that the yards per ounce
system has been much in vogue.
Apart from bleaching, the character of the waste affects the
colour of the grey-spun yarn, so that droppings and sweepings,
possibly mixed with dull, dirty raw cottons, such as some Indian t
may be used in spinning such yarns.
(246)
VABIOUS NOTES. 247
Table of Counts.
Cotton counts '5's = 840 x '5 yds. = 420 yds. per Ib.
and 420 -=-16 ,, = 26J oz.
Cotton counts | - 840 x f = 630 Ib.
and 630-=- 16 ,, = 39'37 oz.
Cotton counts l's= 840 x 1 -- 840 ,, Ib.
and 840-16 = 52^ oz.
Cotton counts 2's = 840 x 2 ,, =1680 Ib.
and 16 0-16 = 105 oz.
Cotton counts 3 's = 840 x 3 ,, =2520 ,, Ib.
and 2520 -=-16 = 157i oz.
Cotton counts 4 's = 840 x 4 ,, =3360 ,, ,, Ib.
and 3360 -16 = 210 oz.
Cotton counts 5's = 840 x 5 =4200 ,, Ib.
and 4200-16 =262^ ,, oz.
Cotton counts 6's = 840 x 6 =5040 Ib.
and 5040 -16 = 315 oz.
Cotton counts 7's= 840 x 7 =5880 Ib.
and 5880-16 = 367| oz.
Cotton counts 8's = 840 x 8 =6720 Ib.
and 6720- 16 = 420 oz.
Cotton counts 9's= 840 x 9 =7650 Ib.
and 7650- 16 = 472 oz.
Cotton counts 10's= 840 x 10 =8400 Ib.
and 8400 -16 = 525 oz.
Approximate Prices of Cotton Waste.
Prices of cotton waste, even of the same denomination and
from the same description of cotton, vary within limits according
to the relative proportions of impurities on the one hand, or good
fibre on the other hand, that may be left in the material.
An approximate idea of the relative prices of cotton waste
may be obtained from the following summary, taking Egyptian
raw cotton at lid. or Is. per pound average.
Raw Egyptian* cotton per Ib. . 11 or 12 pence.
Comber waste ,, ,, 6
Card strips ,, . 6 ,,
Card back fly ... 1|
Bobbin waste 6
248 COTTON WASTE.
Clearer waste cotton per Ib. ... 3 pence.
Scavenger waste ,, . . .5 ,,
Stockings .3
Plat waste ,, ,, . 3 ,,
Opener and scutcher droppings per score Ib. 4 ,,
Cardroom sweepings . . ,, ,,12 ,,
Mule-room ,, . . ,, 4 ,,
Elue dirt .... ,, ,, 2
The price of waste does not appear to go up in any fixed
proportion to the price of raw cotton, but from the above list a
fair idea of average proportionate prices may be obtained. With
American cotton at 7d., strips and bobbin waste might fetch 3^d.
per Ib.
Approximate Prices of Condenser Yarns.
It is a somewhat astonishing fact that condenser yarns in the
higher numbers and qualities have been generally dearer than
ordinary cotton yarns of decent qualities. One would naturally
imagine that, the cotton being taken directly from card to mule
without using fly-frames or draw-frames, and using no better
class of raw material, the condenser yarn would be inevitably
cheaper for any counts. In the higher ranges of condensed yarns,
however, the prices per pound have often gone up excessively, so
that 14's ordinary cotton yarn could be bought cheaper than 10's
condenser yarn, while the price of 10's condenser has been dispro-
portionately higher than 8's, and 8's than 6's.
Possibly this can be partly explained by the fact that the ring
doffer has been the favourite type of condenser in England, and
this is not very suitable for the finer ranges of counts. It is
seldom that more than 36 threads have been made at one time
on a ring-doffer card and this does not come out very fine. The
double tape condenser lends itself better to the finer counts, not
speaking of the possibilities of the treble and quadruple tape con-
densers. We are accustomed to associate condenser yarns with
shoddy and cheapness, but at any rate the finer ranges of con-
denser yarns are really more valuable than equal counts of fully
spun and twisted roller draughted cotton yarns for many purposes,
and will produce much better effects in certain directions. For
example, this is notably the case in regard to quite a number of
-woven fabrics in which the full character of the condensed yarn
VARIOUS NOTES. 249
is of immense value. At the same time the open character of the
condensed yarn lends itself readily to the influence of dyeing
materials, a very large proportion of this class of yarn being dyed
in one colour or another.
From these remarks it will be seen that many customers will
be prepared to pay more for a good condensed yarn than for its
equivalent in roller draughted yarns with parallel fibres. Very
frequently German spun condenser yarns of good quality and in the
finer ranges have been imported into England, this being one of
the very few examples in which foreign spun cotton yarns have
found their way into Lancashire.
Double carding adds to cost of condenser yarns.
Cotton-Seed Products.
The products from cotton seed are various and have recently
much increased in quantity. Many years ago (1888) there was
prepared the following table from the actual results of oil-
mills.
Products from a Test of Seeds.
Linters ..... 20 pounds.
Meats 1089
Cake or meal, feeding stuff, fertilizer 800
Hulls 891
Crude oil 289
Other details : summer yellow, winter yellow, cotton seed
stearin, salad oil, summer white, lard, cottolene, miners' oil, soap,
bran, fuel, ashes.
In 1896 it was stated that processes of manufacture had
so improved that over 300 pounds (40 to 45 gallons) of
oil could be obtained from each ton of seed. Also delinting
machines have been introduced which remove a much larger
amount of linters than given in above table.
We may now add in 1911 that the production of oil, lard,
linters, and other valuable articles has been recently carried to a far
greater and more profitable extent than in 1896, owing to various
causes.
The Condenser Rubbers.
There are some persons who contend that the rubbers of the
condenser put twist in the cotton, but this can scarcely be true as
250 COTTON WASTE.
the action is not a continuous forward rotary one upon the cotton
but purely a reciprocating one.
It is a more or less common practice to castor oil the rubbers ,.
possibly two or three times per week under circumstances, but
new rubbers may need castor oil a time or two per day, applied
with rubbers working but with card run bare. The rubbers ar&
always made of leather and obtain their name from their rubbing
action on the cotton strands.
Stripping.
As in the case of stripping doors of carding engines there is-
a certain element of danger to the operatives working on waste
cards. For example, it is within the author's knowledge that
recently an operative had the lid of the fancy roller open and
slipped on the floor made greasy with oiling the condenser, and
in this way got his hand in the wire with consequent serious,
injury.
It is more or less the practice for the minder and piecer to look
after the waste- spinning mule and a number of cards say four,,
for which they break off and put laps on and transfer the long
condenser bobbins to the mule creel. They may, however, not do.
any stripping and grinding.
As a rule the grinders on waste cards do not get quite as much
wage per week as do strippers and grinders on ordinary cotton,
spinning. As a consequence the grinders will often leave the
waste mills and get into the proper cotton mills when there is an
opportunity. Some prefer the waste work.
There are examples of small waste-spinning concerns using
low qualities and depending entirely upon adjacent mills for their
supply and closing down whenever this supply fails them. Natur-
ally the carriage cost of the worst kinds of droppings must not
reach much or this feature alone would be prohibitive to its use.
One hour or so may be taken in stripping and grinding a card,,
this depending upon labour supply and other local circumstances.
Owing partly to the width of cotton-waste cards the rollers-
are heavy and a workman needs to be sufficiently strong and
practised to receive each roller when thrown over from the opposite
side of card by his fellow workman.
Grinders may work in pairs and look after their own grinding
machines, or there may be a separate man for this latter duty.
VAKIOUS NOTES.
251
For coarse counts the Scotch or cross-feeding system appears
to have increased in use.
Cop bottoms, winders' and weavers' waste, and all kinds of
hard waste may come to the waste mill in bags.
In some cases grinding on waste cards is done once per week,
and the cyl of the finisher is stripped once a week but that of the
breaker seldom or never stripped. Practice varies in thes&
respects.
Banding. (Figs. 56 and 57.)
A very considerable weight of more or less damaged cops,
(not cop bottoms or other ordinary hard waste) goes to rope and
banding makers, and in many instances is returned to the same=
FIG. 56. Banding Machine (Hetherington & Son).
mills by the rope-maker after manufacture in banding of one sort
or another.
Some spinning concerns have installed machines by means
of which they make their own banding from their own damaged
cops.
Moderate unevenness in yarns, cops of snarly yarn, nicked
cops, soft cops, cops with bad bottoms or other similar defects^
are not perhaps so objectionable for making into banding as they"
are for the more usual purposes to which cotton yarn is put.
252
COTTON WASTE.
Overlooking and Kinds of Waste.
The coarseness of the counts at the mule, the limited number
of spinning machines in use, and other circumstances often pre-
clude the employment of a full-fledged mule overlooker, and as a
Tule the onus of keeping things in good order chiefly devolves upon
the carder. The carder at times may find his position a very un-
enviable one, especially as often the manager or master will buy
1ihe waste and give instructions for its use without consulting the
FIG. 57. Balling Machine (Hetherington & Son)
carder, leaving the latter to get through to the best of his ability,
although the character of the mixing is in its way quite as important
,s in ordinary cotton spinning.
Such are the variations in cotton waste that it is often highly
desirable for consultations to take place between the manager or
buyer of the waste and the carder, as in this way much un-
pleasantness may be avoided in the way of bad work, diminished
production, and loss of wages to the spinners.
It is a regular thing for one kind of waste to be too expensive
and too good for the quality of yarn required, and so it is neces-
sary to blend the same judiciously with poorer and cheaper sorts
VAKIOUS NOTES. 253
of waste. Judgment and experience are necessary for this to be
done to the best all-round advantage.
Too often the manager is almost solely guided by the all-
powerful object of putting down a mixing which must only cost a
certain price per pound.
It is possible for a mill with eight pairs of mules spinning-
about 8's average counts to have its production reduced from
33,500 Ib. per week down to possibly 30,500 Ib. by cutting down
the price per pound of the mixing only very slightly. It is well for
a manager to remember that ends keeping up at the mule may be
very beneficial to the firm as well as to the spinners.
There are many waste mills which work overtime according
to the state of trade, as the operatives' union rules are not applied
as stringently to such mills as to ordinary cotton spinning mills.
Unreasonably poor mixings will lead to overtime to fetch
production and wages up, too much of the stuff going back a&
waste instead of selling as weft at a profitable price, in addition
to extra cost in cardroom wages, in coal and driving power.
Spindle banding is often made from spoiled cops and hence
we show fig. 57.
Hard Ends.
It is necessary to exercise reasonable care in regard to the ad-
mixture of different lengths of fibre in the waste, as it is difficult
to get the machinery to operate satisfactorily upon the different
lengths of fibre.
In such cases what are termed hard ends may be expected
in excessive proportion, and these will either break at the finisher
or will be responsible for very many breakages at the mule.
In the ordinary waste spinning mule roller draught is not
used and the draughting of the cotton is all done by " carriage
draught," that is the carriage moving faster than the roller de-
livery. Hard ends will not yield to carriage draught properly
and will either break entirely during spinning, or will then
partially break and afterwards completely break during backing-
off or winding-on.
The first duty of the officials and operatives is to make the
material to spin, but if this be done by taking twist out and faller
weight off, in order to make the hard ends to draw, then trouble
may be expected with the customers in regard to soft yarn or
soft cops. Apart from this there may be reduced production
'254 COTTON WASTE.
through increased twist, and smaller builder wheels with shorter
lengths on cops owing to the latter being softer.
If the machines are set to break the long fibre to nothing, in
the earlier machines there is an excessive amount of waste, a
troublesome amount of lap-licking, with consequent uneven yarn,
as there is little chance to provide a remedy by subsequent
doubling.
Workmen.
It is not too much to say that in waste spinning there is quite
as much advantage in a man being thoroughly used to his mules
as in ordinary cotton spinning, so that frequently a sick minder
will drop down in production to an inconveniently large extent.
Waste of sufficient quality, regular work and fair treatment
will command good workmen an undoubted advantage to any
firm. At the same time good prices are more likely to be obtained
for the yarn and customers retained,
With a poor mixing there may be extra loss in blow-room
at the cards, and in using bad bobbins at the mules.
Fine Counts from Waste.
It is stated that in concerns set out to spin from cotton waste
on the tape condenser system as high as 16's cotton counts may
be produced from 9 hank condenser ends. In these cases good
comber waste has been largely used, and no waste brought in that
needed the soaping arrangement.
Such waste naturally needs only a moderate amount of open-
ing and cleaning in the earlier machines. The preparation system
lends itself best to making fine counts.
In some cases the spinning varies so much that a quarter hour
or more may elapse with scarcely any threads breaking, and yet
the same mules another time may have scores upon scores of
threads broken in a similar time.
About 8's may be taken as the limits of counts to be spun
from 4's condenser strands, and if say Si's counts are attempted
the spinning will usually be very bad and this also will be the
case with 8's if the waste is not of fair quality.
Spinners and piecers on coarse counts of cotton-waste spinning
have usually plenty of work in doffing and in changing the creel
bobbins let alone so much piecing-up.
VAKIOUS NOTES. 255
For example on some of the lower counts doffing may occur
eighteen or twenty times per day with cops reaching possibly
If in. by 7^ in. Four to five draws per minute with possibly 72 in.
stretch are common enough speeds.
Cone-drum Driving for Mules.
There are many waste mules in which cone-driving is used
instead of two-speed or three-speed driving for the carriage.
A pair of uniform cones (not concave and convex) are used in
connexion with driving the spindles. By having the cone-belt
to start on the slowest extremities of the cones when the carriage
is starting outwards, and by having the cone belt to gradually
move from one end of cones to the other during the length of the
-draw, a gradually increasing spindle speed is obtained, well
adapted to the method of carriage draughting. There are some
spinners who like this system of driving, although a disadvantage
consists in the expense connected with the use of the belting.
Use of Stores.
The following paragraph will indicate one department in
^which there is often unnecessary waste, i.e. in relation to the use
of stores and materials necessary for keeping the work of the
factory in going order.
An outstanding item is the consumption of coal, as this is
one of the most costly requirements of the average cotton mill,
in spite of the progress of electrical driving and the threatened
rivalry of gas-engine driving. The combination of satisfactory
driving with economy in coal consumption should be the chief
aim of all mill engineers and firemen. The exact character of
the coal needed to suit any particular mill is sometimes to be
decided by the individual case, since it happens that the limited
boiler and driving power of one mill demands good quick steam-
raising coal, while another mill can well afford to use a cheaper
if slower-burning coal.
Apart from all this, an efficient, careful fireman will keep his
fires well spread over the grate bars, regulate his dampers to
admit the proper quantity of air, keep his fires clean, endeavour
to maintain a uniform pressure of steam and therefore steady
driving, and finally will use every endeavour to burn the smoke.
No doubt the present very extensive use of efficient mechanical
256 COTTON WASTE.
stokers will aid in preventing waste in coal consumption, but in-
crustation should be limited in the boiler, flues should be kept,
clean, the economizers should be kept clean, while steam pipes,
boilers and cylinders should be kept well covered to prevent heat
loss from this source.
Woollen and Worsted Machines. Summary.
The following specifications from a leading machinist are*
introduced to show the general resemblance between thesa
machines and those used for cotton waste :
Carding and Spinning Machinery.
" For all kinds of woollen and worsted cards, with iron or wood
cylinders and doffers ; improved single and double stripper con-
densers ; also double doffer condenser, with four heights of sur-
face drums, for bringing off double number of threads ; hopper-
feeds, with weighing apparatus for scribbler or first machine ; alsa
improved Scotch, bank and ball, or other feeds for intermediates,
or carders, self-acting willows, tenter-hook willow or fearnought
grinding machines, etc., etc.
" Self-acting mules with rim at back or parallel to roller beams>
supplied with wood or our patent metal carriage, with all the latest
improvements.
"Carding machinery on the Belgian principle, consisting of
scribbler, intermediate and finishing carder, with balling machine
and bank feed, between scribbler and intermediate, and Scotch
feed, between intermediate and finishing carder. Carder fitted
with tape condenser to take from 50 to 120 good threads off a.
60 in. machine.
"Carding machinery for blankets, carpet yarns, shoddy, hair,,
and other coarse fibres, with Blamire's or Scotch feeds, and fitted
with double doffer condensers with ordinary or ' tandem v
rubbers.
" Carding machinery for angola yarns, meltons, unions, mungo,,
etc., with single stripper or double stripper condensers, with
ordinary or ' tandem ' rubbers.
" Carding machinery for botany and merino wools, with four
lickers-in, two cylinders, and two doffers, fitted with balling head
or coiler.
" Carding machinery for crossbred and medium wools, with two
VAKIOUS NOTES. 257
lickers-in, breast, two cylinders, and two doffers, fitted with ball-
ing head or coiler.
" Carding machinery for camel hair, cashmere, mohair, vicuna,
etc., with one licker-in, breast, two cylinders, and two doffers,
fitted with balling head or coiler.
" Condensers for carding machinery of all descriptions. Single
dotfer, single rubber condensers, with ordinary or ' tandem '
rubbers. Single doffer, double rubber .condensers, with ordinary
or ' tandem ' rubbers, tape condensers to take from 50 to 120
good threads off a 60 in. machine. Double doffer, double rubber
condensers, with ordinary or ' tandem ' rubbers. Condensers of
all descriptions fitted to existing carding machines.
" Bank feeds, balling machines, Blamire's feeds, and Scotch
feeds fitted to existing carding machines.
" Self-acting mules for all kinds of woollen hair, shoddy, mungo-
carpet yarns, blankets, angola yarns, Scotch yarns, tweeds, etc.,
cannot be surpassed for simplicity, durability, strength, or econo-
mical working, and supplied with the following :
" Speeds. This mule is made with one, two, or three speeds, as
required.
" Spindle stop motion supplied if required.
" Changes of the cam shaft effected by a positive motion, and so
arranged that no two motions are antagonistic and cannot be
in gear at the same time.
" Improved twist motion, pushing-in motion, spindle retarding
motion, slubbing delivery motion, etc."
Coal
In regard to consumption of coal a comparison should be made
in regard to total amount used and results compared, so that the '
true relative value of different descriptions of coal may be ascer-
tained.
The consumption of oil is another important item, and waste
may occur in this connexion in several ways, such as using oil
that is too thin or too thick for particular bearings, the operatives
allowing oil to run on bearings too carelessly as on the spindle
bolsters and rollers of self-acting mules. Careless application of
oil to rollers on any machine stains the yarn, and does damage
besides wasting the oil.
It has become the very common practice to use mineral oils,
17
258
COTTON WASTE.
and especially for the lighter bearings such as ring-frame and
mule spindles. Castor oil, sperm oil and tallow are, however, in
extensive use for some lubrication.
It is not contended that free use of good oil is necessarily
waste, since light running of parts, durability of parts, consump-
tion of coal and other items are affected by the question of satis-
factory lubrication.
It is for the operatives and foremen to see that efficient
lubrication is obtained without undue waste of expensive oil.
Belting and leather are two other important items in which
undue cost and waste easily occur. The purchase of poor leather
may easily prove a double loss in reducing production and soon
compelling renewal.
City Guilds Examination Question, 1909.
There are two common methods of preparing waste cotton
Teady for the spinning process ; describe these fully. Say which
you consider -gives the best results, and give reasons.
Answer. There are various differences in the detailed treat-
ment of cotton waste in the blow-room, but these may belong to
either of the two methods presumably referred to in the question.
In the same way the cotton waste may be transferred from breaker
to finisher cards either by the Scotch feed or the Derby doubler
FIG. 58. Finisher Card for Two Bobbins and Fed with Laps from Derby
Doubler.
systems. The two distinctive systems, however, are first strongly
and definitely marked at the delivery of the finisher card, at which
point it is decided whether waste yarns are to be prepared on the
(1) condenser system, or (2) the manifold coiler or preparation
system.
In the condenser system the thick web of cotton waste is
VARIOUS NOTES.
259
divided up into a number of individual strands, from 30 to 40
being a common number, although the writer recently saw a
finisher condenser producing 120 strands. These 30 or 40 ends
are rubbed into sufficiently round and strong strands and wound
side by side upon a long flanged bobbin, which is placed directly
into the creel of the waste mule, without any intermediate
treatment.
In the coiler system the web from the finisher card may be
divided into four equal parts, and each coiled inside a card can in the
usual manner. These slivers are then passed through a slubber,
drawn out, twisted and wound upon bobbins in the usual manner.
These bobbins are then taken directly to the creel of the waste
spinning mule. As to which gives best results, this depends upon
requirements, the coiler system giving the strongest and probably
the finest yarns owing to the use of drawing rollers in one machine.
FIG. 59. Finisher Card for Four Bobbins and Supplied with Cotton by tbe
Scotch Feeder.
The condenser system gives the fullest threads, and is the more
used of the two. Figs. 58 and 59 indicate two arrangements of
Finisher card for cotton waste.
Vigogne Yarns.
At the time of writing a mill in Bury is being adapted to the
production of Vigogne yarns. Vigogne means cotton spun to
imitate wool, and is made in all sorts of colours and colour mix-
tures. Vigogne yarns are made not from waste, but from good
American cotton, and mixtures of 'cotton and wool. This trade is
not done at present in this country, but is done to some extent on
the Continent and imported here. The only reason it is not done in
this country is that Lancashire spinners have never been able to
see change for a shilling in the business. Obviously German
machinery and methods could have been introduced here if any-
body had thought it worth while. Lancashire spinners have not
260 COTTON WASTE.
been asleep. The business has not been done simply because
they could not see any possible chance of profit in it. The Elton
Cop Dyeing Company have certain new and novel methods and
machinery in the spinning, bleaching and dyeing which they think
will enable them to do this better and cheaper than it has been
done hitherto.
Extracts from Recent Consular Reports.
" Cotton waste includes two very distinct classes ; one a thread
waste used for wiping and packing purposes by railway and navi-
gation companies ; the other a soft waste of various grades which
is re-spun or otherwise mechanically treated. Hard thread waste
is exported from Germany to the United States, while soft waste
is exported from the United States to Europe in enormous and
increasing quantities.
" The soft waste, of which Germany requires increasing quan-
tities, is chiefly worked up into yarns, which are used in the
manufacture of cotton or of half-woollen goods.
" English, French and American wastes are highly valued in the
German market and are usually better than German wastes.
" The German market is ready to absorb every variety of soft
waste and likes American waste because it almost all originates
from American cotton.
" Market prices for cotton waste in Germany are regulated by
the range on Middling Upland cotton in New York. Strips may
command possibly 90 per cent of cotton price and comber waste
or roving waste may command as good a price as raw cotton on
account of the small loss in opening and cleaning."
" Many factories for using cotton waste have been established
during recent years in Germany.
" Some of the uses for cotton waste in Germany are as wadding
for upholstery purposes, and in the manufacture of smokeless powder.
" Cotton linters are much imported into Germany.
" Also cotton pickings composed of pieces of cotton which come
off in sampling and in transportation, and become dirtier than the
ordinary cotton and are separately sold at possibly 90 per cent or
so of cotton price.
''German manufacturers have such little demand for cotton-
tipped cigarettes that they often use ordinary loose cotton when re-
quired for that purpose.
VARIOUS NOTES. 261
"It is understood that in Eussia there is a moderate demand
for partly spun cotton, a ball of which is inserted in the mouth-
piece to prevent tobacco dust from entering the mouth of the
smoker, while at the same time the moisture is absorbed."
A good amount of cotton waste is imported into Lancashire
from the United States, and the following have been given as prices
quoted in September, 1909.
Combers 5d. to 5|d. per pound ; card-strips 3^d. to 5jd. ;
spinner's waste 5d. to 5^d. ; coloured card 3d. to 3|d. ; cop waste
3f d. to 4d. ; oily cards and soiled cards according to quality. The
Manchester .Ship Canal Company puts a toll of 3s. per ton on cotton
waste entering that port, and there is also a quay porterage of Is.
3d. per ton. It is estimated that France produces more cotton
waste than she uses.
In 1900 the (in substance) following statements were made
in respect of cotton waste :
" In Manchester district yarns made from cotton waste are
very much cut in price and are not very profitable ".
" Probably half the waste made in England is exported to the
Continent. Cotton waste comprises a clean soft mill refuse
worked into wadding ; mill sweepings and dirty oily soft mill
refuse worked up into coarse yarns 4's or 6's by a special plant.
Also hard waste made from different processes known as spinners'
waste, reelers' waste, weavers' waste, including cop bottoms. This
hard waste is broken up by a different plant from the soft waste.
There is some hard waste which is made into engine waste or
cleaning waste. Cotton waste is sometimes spun on ordinary
spinning machinery, but more often upon a special plant."
" As far as we know the yarn from cotton waste is made up
into yarns for such purposes as : candle wick, sponge cloths,
towel manufacture, bed quiltings, flannelettes, and for the backs of
Kidderminster carpets. In very many cases only one portion of
the manufactured article is from cotton- waste yarn, the other
portion being from ordinary wool or cotton yarn."
" Districts on the Continent to which cotton waste is exported
include Verviers (Belgium), Fermonde (Belgium), Ehenish
Prussia (M. Gladbach), Chemnitz (Saxony)."
One list of waste was given as follows :
" Droppings from openers and scutchers, flat strips, grid fly,
brush strips, card-room sweepings, comber waste, bobbin waste,
262 COTTON WASTE.
clearer waste, hard waste, fluker waste, carriage fly, spinning-
room sweepings, oily waste. Such a variety of waste requires a-
variety of treatment."
"Most of the cotton waste imported from the U.S.A. goes to-
Hamburg and is sent from Hamburg to the German and Austrian
cotton districts. Hungary sends its cotton waste largely to these
places."
" Cleaning cloths absorb a good deal of the dirtiest waste.
Sponge cloths also take a good deal."
Wastes in the Woollen Trade.
In what are termed the low woollen districts large quan-
tities of rags are regularly used up again after being thoroughly
torn up. Various terms are applied to such waste, such as flocks,
shoddy, mungo, or extract. Noils or proper waste is usually
better than re-manufactured stuff such as above specified.
Dusting, sorting, seaming, oiling and grinding are processes in-
cluded in the treatment of such re-manufactured stuff as mungo and
shoddy. Extract is a term applied to material for grinding up
which is obtained from waste cotton and wool cloths from which
the cotton portions have been extracted by what is termed the
sulphuric acid process, or some equivalent.
In cotton it is usual to apply the term comber waste to the
large percentage of waste extracted at this point, but in wool-
combing the term " noil " is applied to the material rejected in
preparing and combing of wool. Noils therefore come in a differ-
ent category altogether from the wastes specified above, and these
noils are often of quite goo f d value. Such names as alpaca,
mohair, crossbred, and botany are applied to various descriptions,
of noil resulting from wool-combing.
Absorbent Cotton.
Absorbent cotton is now in demand for a number of impor-
tant purposes, being largely used as surgical lint in the medical
profession, and also in compounds of cellulose and artificial silk.
It is very important that such cotton be properly purified for such
special purposes as surgical lint, but the organic matters natural
to cotton do not offer much resistance to purification.
The essential requirement of hygienic cotton is a good degree
of purity of cellulose and aseptic power. Care should be taken to
VAEIOUS NOTES. 263
avoid imperfections in the boiling-out operations and to secure a
good expulsion of air from the fibres, so that the cellulose solu-
tions shall be as free from air as can be reasonably obtained.
If not more than about 5 per cent of impurities require removal
the preparation of absorbent cotton should be a comparatively
simple matter, but care should be taken not to introduce other im-
purities in the boiling and bleaching operations. Boiling out may
be done in a kier with alkali at 120 or more degrees C. temperature,
boiling seven or eight hours possibly with caustic soda. There
is little of a special nature about the bleaching operations.
In regard to gun-cotton, this may be prepared from clean pure
cotton waste by steeping in a solution of sulphuric acid three parts
and nitric acid one part, the latter forming the explosive constitu-
ent while the sulphuric acid absorbs the water. After steeping for
several hours the superfluous acid should be removed by squeez-
ing and washing out processes. It is of course quite possible
to make either surgical lint or gun-cotton from raw cotton
sufficiently opened and cleaned before treatment as above de-
scribed.
Waste in Doubling.
The question of limiting the amount or percentage of wast&
made is in its own way quite as important as that of obtaining
maximum productions and highest qualities of work. In the case
of a doubling frame we have to remember that any waste loss is-
very expensive, because the yarn has gone through practically all
the processes and has had the full cost of production put into it.
At the same time the waste may be of less value per pound than
soft waste from the card or comber, because it takes so much treat-
ment in a cylinder breaking machine and thereby loses so much
of its strength.
A prolific cause of waste on a doubling frame is the breakage-
of threads and their entanglement with adjacent threads.
In one case special means are adopted to prevent entanglement
or licking of the threads due to snarling. This is done by giving
a wide spacing to the lengths of threads extending from the nip
of the rollers to the stump rail when the machine is stopped, and
bringing the length nearer when the machine is working. By
this means broken ends are caught up by one of the adjacent
lengths of thread, and these become lapped round the top roller
264 COTTON WASTE.
instead of being delivered amongst the spindles with resulting
excessive waste and " doubles ".
Waste in Wiping up Oil.
Writing on the subject of loss in lubricants an American
authority recently said :
" It was found that the oil soaked waste used in wiping up
was sent to the boilers to be burned in one case.
" In wiping up around engines it has been found by experi-
ment that a pound of dry waste will, after being used and squeezed
out by hand, weigh 2 lb., or as the writer found out at one plant,
there was a loss of one gallon of oil for every 10 lb. of dry
waste used ; this in itself is quite an item. In most large plants it
will pay to install some make of oil and waste-saving machine, by
means of which the oil is extracted and filtered, and the waste
washed, dried, and used over again.
"In the particular case of a large concern it was found that
waste was b^ing used at the rate of 28,000 lb. per annum for
cleaning purposes. Most of this waste was used for wiping up
around the machinery and engines on which a great deal of oil
was used. All of it was sent to the boiler to be burned. As this
waste was heavy with oil, it is safe to say that at the very least
2000 gallons of oil, together with the waste, were lost per annum."
Large quantities of cotton waste and sponge cloths are used
in engineering workshops as well as in textile mills for the pur-
pose of cleaning machinery. When dirtied and fully saturated
with oil formerly this material was thrown away, but this day is
nearly past. In some cases the cloths are cleaned without charge
for the value of the oil. In others a slight charge is made.
A particular machine for cleaning oily cotton waste may be
described as follows :
The machine will hold from 50 to 60 lb. of waste. The oil
and grease are first liquefied by steam and are then ejected from
the waste by the action of centrifugal force. The oil can be col-
lected and filtered, and then both oil and waste may be ready for
using again. Such a machine can either be driven by turbine or
belt. When a turbine is used the exhaust steam is led into the
machine and serves to liquefy the oil. It is stated that the
pressure inside the machine does not exceed 25 lb. to 30 lb. per
VABIOUS NOTES. 265
square inch and a pressure gauge indicates the pressure, while
a safety valve prevents excess of pressure.
Loose Cotton Bleaching.
The preparation of loose cotton for the purpose of subsequent
use in the manufacture of absorbent cotton wadding for surgical
purposes, of gun-cotton, smokeless powder, other explosives,
artificial silk, cellulose, etc., is a particular branch of the bleaching
business, and has received a good deal of attention, and various
patents have been taken out in this connexion. The purification
and bleaching called for in the preliminary preparation of loose
cotton intended for such purposes as the above may be accom-
plished by either the " cold system " or the " warm system ".
Waste in American Mills.
The following brief extracts from a good paper given in America
are worthy of notice.
"It is worth while to study the relative losses in waste in
regard to length and strength of fibre. Below are given some ap-
proximate figures relating to waste losses in certain Southern
mills. In one case out of every eleven bales of cotton entering
the mills, one bale was lost, this estimate being based on the
working of many months, the mills making crashes and
damasks.
' ' In the different departments it was found that nearly 5 per
cent was lost in the blowing- or picker-room, 2 per cent in the card
room, 1 per cent among the bobbins and fly-frames, and 1 per
cent in the spinning-room.
" In another Southern mill it was stated there was an average
loss of 13*11 per cent, this mill making heavy cloth for rubber belt-
ing and being very well governed.
"The waste fibre from above mill goes into cheap cloth such
as engine cloth and cheap glove cloth. It is baled at the mill and
sold at the rate of from one to six cents per pound according to
grade.
" In another firm the waste is used altogether in the making of
weft, and it has been found that after cleaning and getting the
waste ready for use it has been worth on an average seven cents
per pound."
266
COTTON WASTE.
Artificial Silk.
" The great bulk of cotton waste is certain to concern our
cotton mills more in the future, and further developments in its.
use will lead to a supply of trained operatives.
" It is contended that all very large cotton mills and associations,
should have a connexion with artificial silk mills, which often offer
a paying channel for cotton waste.
" Cotton is almost pure cellulose to commence with, and no
fibre is equal to the cotton fibre for making cellulose, which is the
basis of artificial silk, for which there is a large demand practically
all over the world.
"It is stated that three leading processes are employed in the.
FIG. 60. Roller Card Showing Direction of Rotation of Principal Organs.
manufacture of artificial silk, these being the chardonnel, or nitro-
cellulose process ; ginet or cupro-ammoniacal ; and xanthate
cellulose or viscose process.
" It has been stated in recent issues of the American silk Journal
that there are at present some thirty establishments throughout the-
world engaged in the manufacture of artificial silk approximately
distributed in countries as follows : United States, 5 ; Germany^
7 ; France, 7 ; Belgium, 3 ; Italy, 2 ; England, 1 ; Spain, 1 ;
Austria, 1 ; Eussia, 1.
" Germany and England are stated to be producing the best
artificial silk yarns.
" The German yarns are made by the viscose process. While
the total American consumption of artificial silk is 1,450,000 lb.>
880,000 Ib. of this comes from France, Italy, and Germany.
VARIOUS NOTES. 267
" More than 30,000 persons are employed in the industry, and
the production in 1909 was stated to be 10,000,000 Ib.
" The distribution of the three processes of manufacture is given,,
nitro -cellulose 4,400,000 Ib., cupro-ammoniacal 4,000,000 lb.^
viscose 1,600,000 Ib.
" All grades of cotton, wood-pulp, and any other material
capable of chemical conversion into cellulose are available as-
materials for the basis of the manufacture."
Baines Loss Table, 1833.
" Cotton wool imported . . . .- 303,656,837 Ib.
Cotton wool used in manufacture. . 282,875,200 Ib.
Yarn spun (counting 1^ oz. per Ib. loss) 256,174,400 Ib.
" This shows a loss of 9^ per cent on the weight of fibre going
into the mills, which much resembles present practice for Ameri-
can cotton."
New Patent Machine.
The utilization of soft waste in the cotton trade is now very
greatly studied, and various methods of treating the same have
been studied, the recent high prices of raw cotton enhancing the
value of waste very materially.
In a recent case the machine consists of two compartments-
opened to admit the air necessary for the treatment of the waste.
The waste is fed on a travelling belt and is given to a card
covered licker-in, which in turn gives the waste to a combing
roller having a dirt grid beneath it. The bulk of the heavier and
larger impurities passes through the bars of this grid and at the
same time the waste is combed to a certain extent. The combing
roller may have a speed of 1200 revolutions per minute and a.
diameter of 8^- in. From this comber roller the waste is taken
by card taking off roller having the very high speed of 3200 revolu-
tions per minute, and the waste is driven upwards. The passage
of the cotton waste is at this point greatly helped by a current of
air passing through the grate bars.
Fire Risk with Cotton Waste.
In certain tests made abroad the following conclusions were
formed :
That cotton wadding soaked with oil varnish will carbonize-
268 -COTTON WASTE.
spontaneously in the interior at ordinary temperatures and will
then take fire on being opened out.
Waste cotton soaked with fatty oils takes fire or chars spon-
taneously in three to eight hours when heated to 82 C. with exclu-
sion of external air. Clean cotton, soaked with twice its own
weight of fatty oils and heated to 100 C., with a moderate admis-
sion of air from the outside, becomes hot inside in about an hour
to an extent depending upon the kind of oil employed, and often
going as far as spontaneous combustion. Cotton that has been
soaked with its own weight of rape oil or cotton-seed oil, and
heated to 25 C. , with exclusion of external air, generates
such a small amount of heat by auto-oxidation, that the risk of
spontaneous ignition from this cause appears to be remote.
No danger of spontaneous combustion has been recorded among
the enormous quantities of wool stored in the London Docks from
cargoes from the Cape and Australia, although packed in heavy
bales and still in the grease. On the other hand the opinion seems
to prevail that either raw cotton or cotton in the earlier stages of
the mill will tend to ignite spontaneously, and cases of mill fires
have been attributed to this cause.
Shoddy has a high fire risk owing to suspicion from its con-
taining cotton waste or other vegetable fibre on the one hand, or
from softening oil on the other hand.
Danger of Flannelette.
Mr. Thompson reported as follows :
" The difference between ordinary calico or cloth and flannel-
ette is that the latter has a nap which is produced upon it by
raising one or both surfaces by passing it over revolving rollers
provided with steel dents or teeth, which raise upon the surface
a nap which forms a better non-conducting material for heat than
the original cloth, and which therefore gives a greater feeling of
warmth to the person using it than the unraised cloth.
" Experiments were made with various kinds of flannelette
new and after wearing to test the amount of fire danger.
" Conclusions : ' When a flame is applied to the surface of a
flannelette the nap ignites and spreads for a few inches only from
the point at which the flame was applied, and then becomes ex-
tinguished, the fabrics being cold in all these tests.
" ' After drying and warming the fabrics there was a greater
VARIOUS NOTES. 269
tendency for the flame to run over the material, doing damage in
proportion as the flannelette was old and torn, but hardly any if
the material was of a good class.'
" It would be advisable for children's dresses to be made of
woollen or a mixture of wool and cotton, or of flannelette which
has been treated to render it non-inflammable.
" There is, however, probably no more burning danger with any
specific material after it has been raised than if the same were not
raised or converted into flannelette."
Candlewick.
The term candlewick yarn is not now necessarily confined to
yarn used for candlewick, but is often used to indicate cotton
waste yarns of very coarse counts which are probably so coarse
that they are numbered by the number of yards which make one
ounce instead of on the standard cotton basis of so many hanks per
pound, which is not very convenient for counts below 1's cotton.
Bump yarn is another special term applied to very coarse
condenser yarn, the term probably arising from the rebound or
concussion in the loom when these yarns are used for wefts and
they are beaten up by the reed.
Carpet Cops.
As elsewhere fully described such machines as the " chapon ""
and the " can " spinning frames, build up the coarse condenser
yarns into cops having the distinctive feature of being without
bottom cones. These are sometimes termed "carpet cops" be-
cause of their use inweaving some sorts of carpets x and cheap
quilts.
Naturally such a cop is far larger than any ordinary cotton weft
cop, and indeed is often larger than an ordinary cotton twist cop.
The most distinctive feature of all is that a cop of this descrip-
tion when placed in the shuttle of the loom is woven off or drawn
off from the base of the cop and the inside thereof and no shuttle
tongue 'or peg is used. The cop is often held in the shuttle by
an elastic strap or band of some kind, although thin and almost
flat metal bands are sometimes used and are held in position by
small flat springs. Carpet cops are probably more often referred
to in the case of cops used for wefts for rugs, carpets and quilts
using cotton waste or condenser yarns.
270
COTTON WASTE.
Occasionally cops of cotton waste yarns may be as much as
2^- in. diameter and 11 in. long and even of larger dimensions.
When mule spun cops of very coarse condenser yarns are
used in the loom as weft it is often necessary to provide
special shuttle pegs to prevent the cops from breaking and
knocking-off; some of these shuttle pegs are corkscrewed, and
others are fluted or corrugated for this purpose.
Condensed Yarn.
Some condensed yarn is sometimes spoken of as vigogne or
imitation vigogne yarn, possibly because of its early use in France
or Belgium to imitate yarns spun from the wool of the vicugna.
Sometimes condensed cotton yarn is described as imitation
yarn owing to its use in cheap goods which imitate woollen
ones.
The condenser system of carding and spinning somewhat re-
sembles those in use for woollen yarns, and hence the occasional
use of the term wool-spun.
In proper condensed yarns the fibres of cotton waste are not
put through any draughting rollers, and the fibres are not placed
in parallel order and there are many projecting ends of fibres on
ihe yarns.
In " drawn " yarns prepared by ordinary cotton-spinning pro-
cesses the fibres are laid in parallel order and overlap each other
.and there is a multi-draughting process.
FIG. 61. Dividing Roller for Condenser Cards with Ring-doffer.
Objectionable Wastes.
In some weaving districts a good deal of trouble has been
given to the sanitary authorities by the amount of waste found
in the sewers and other places, due to the throwing away of
waste by weavers or winders.
Apart from this there is very little objectionable waste from
VARIOUS NOTES. 271
either cotton spinning or cotton weaving mills such as may be
caused by wool-scouring mills, cotton yarn bleaching, cotton yarn
dyeing, and from the manufacture of fertilizer, glue, and other sub-
stances. These factory wastes often run into streams and rivers,
and greatly pollute the same.
In Lancashire, however, stringent means are adopted for
limiting this in regard to many waterways. It has been
found that almost all of these wastes can be purified at a
reasonable cost and in some cases the sewage contains sufficient
valuable matter to pay for the cost of purification.
The pollution of streams and destruction of natural water
resources by the running in of such liquid wastes is certainly
very often a serious evil
Woollen Mill Wastes.
A slight comparison may be made between the wastes of a
cotton mill and those of a woollen mill.
Among the various kinds of waste from a woollen mill may
be specified the following: burr waste, card waste, hard waste,
rags, flocks, sweeping.
Burr waste represents the waste knocked out of the wool in
cases of very burry material by the burr picker, or in cases of less
burry material possibly by the action of a burr cylinder, as attached
to the breaker cards at the point where the material is about to
enter the first breaker of the first set of cards. A long box is ad-
justed near the feeding mechanism, in line with the burr cylinder,
* and burrs and other impurities are thrown into the box, from
which they are removed at regular intervals through the day.
Some of the burr waste may be of very little value, whereas other
burr waste may be re-worked by first carbonizing the waste,
dusting and re-working it in connexion with wool into low grades
of yarn.
Burr waste, after cleaning it from its foreign and undesirable
matter, is made up of a combination of short and long fibre united
in a body about one another. Disentanglement may be effected
by the steel toothed cylinders of a Garnett machine.
Card waste is the refuse of wool remaining in, and adhering
to, the teeth of the card clothing of the set of carding engines,
and daily removed from the clothing by stripping the cylinder and
rollers of the card, probably by means of hand cards.
272 COTTON WASTE.
Hard waste may be produced in the spinning, dressing, and
weaving departments of the mill. In the spinning, hard ends
are the result of breakages, which require the attendant to make
a yard or two of waste spun-yarn before the end is re-pieced.
In spooling, hard waste is made when the operative pulls off
several yards of yarn when a broken end has to be pieced.
In the weaving, hard waste is caused by the accumulation
of weft on the bobbins, which instead of going in the cloth was
left on the bobbins, probably because the remaining yard or two
was not long enough to reach the width of the fabric. Also
warp threads break and require re-tying with a little waste
due thereto.
Bags, as produced in the mill, are the clippings from the ends
of fabrics which are trimmed for the market, samples, etc.
They may be re-manufactured by passing them first through
a rag-picker and in turn through a Garnett machine or a shoddy
card.
Flocks are of two kinds, such as produced from the shear,
and flocks produced by gigging or napping the goods. The latter
have to be cleaned of any hard substance before going to the flock
cutter.
. Sweepings are the refuse of the wool of the mill, but may
contain an amount of good fibre. They are treated to a dusting
process which liberates the dust and dirt, and may afterwards
be treated somewhat like flocks.
Indian Raw Cotton.
Short stapled cotton, such as poor American or Indian, with
or without an admixture of cotton waste, is often used in the
production of thick cheap yarns spun on the ordinary cotton-
spinning principle with roller draughting and possibly a reduc-
tion of drawing frame and fly frame use. Such yarns may
be spun either on the mule or the ring frame, and are much
used in the manufacture of the cheaper sorts of floor coverings or
carpets after doubling into 3, 4, 5 or 6 cords ; 6's or 8's single
yarn is common for this purpose, and such yarn is often used as
the warp.
Carpets made from coarse cotton very often require the yarn
to be dyed, and therefore it may be necessary to reel the yarn.
INDEX.
ABSORBENT cotton, 262. CALCULATIONS on waste per cent, 13-16.
Action of roller and clearer of carding j Candlewick, 269.
engine, 131, 132. : Can spinning frame (the), 192, 193.
Adjustment of rollers and clearers, 174, Card filleting, 236.
175, 176.
Angles of beater bars, 36.
of grid bars for scutcher, 41.
Artificial silk, 266.
Automatic feeder (Bramwell), 136.
feed of thread extractor, 82.
BAD work and bad spinning, 53.
Baine's loss table (1833), 267.
Bab breakers, 22. v
waste from, 3.
Balling machine, 252.
Banding, 59, 251.
machine, 251.
Bars, Schaelibaum, 11, 12.
Beaters bars, 9, 10, 34, 65.
lecture on, 34.
of openers, 9.
scutchers, 9.
Kirchner, 125.
Blade beater droppings, 6, 7.
Blanket loom, 235, 236.
Blankets, cotton, 234.
Blending of the waste from roving
opener, 74, 75, 76.
Blow-room fires, 117.
Blowing-room waste, 3.
Bobbin waste, 85.
Bobbins, 93.
Booth's patents for vacuum cleaning,
24,
Bramwell automatic feeder, 136.
Breaker and finisher cards combined
with Scotch feed, 158-60.
card, 133, 139.
- with double lap feed, 137.
with hopper feeder, 136.
carding engine, 90.
dimensions, weights, speeds,
etc., of, 139.
Breaking-up machines, 110, 111.
Brush strip?, 19.
Brussels carpet, 239.
Burr waste, 271.
fly, 85.
grinder, Horsfall's, 133.
strips, 18, 85.
wastes from carding engine, 18.
waste, 271.
Carding and spinning machinery, 256.
engine, front plate of, 26-30.
Holland's web-conductor for, 30.
patent for perfecting side-ends in,
168.
revolving flat, 20, 21.
waste, 18.
machinery, all kinds of, 256.
of cotton waste (the), 130.
general remarks on the, 178.
Cards for wadding, 94.
Carpet, Brussels, 239.
cops, 269.
tapestry, 239.
Chapon spinning frame (the), 197-202.
City Guilds examination questions
(1909), 258.
Claims for vacuum system of stripping
cylinders and doffers of cards; 21.
Cleaning cloths, 234, 237.
Clearer waste, 85.
from mules, 58.
Clothing for cotton waste c-irds, 134.
Coal, consumption of, 257.
Coarse waste yarns, 237.
Coiler system, 259.
of machinery, 97.
Combers, Heilmann, 32.
Nasmith, 32.
Comber waste, 32, 85.
disposal of the, 32, 85.
Combined cards, 159.
driving for cards, 189.
Communications on front plate question,
sent to author, 28.
Condensed yarns, 270.
Condenser, 189.
bobbins, 185.
for cards, 162, 163, 167, 180, 186.
(273)
18
274
COTTON WASTE.
Condenser mule, 94.
rubbers, 249.
system, 259.
of machinery, 97.
yarns, approximate prices of, 248.
Condensers, Josephy, 181, 182, 183.
Cone-drum driving for mules, 255.
Consular reports, 260.
Cook & Co.'s method of stripping cylin-
ders and doffers by vacuum system,
21, 22.
Cop bleaching, 242.
bottom breaking-up machine, 87.
- breaking machine, 122-6.
machine, 112, 117.
- bottoms, 86.
- skewering, 240, 241.
Cops, damaged, 251.
Cotton, absorbent, 262.
- blankets, 234.
- comber, Heilniann, 19.
headstock for mules, 207.
mill waste, letter on, 84.
seed products, 249.
waste, 128.
card, cylinder of, 134.
specification of, 133.
wire covering of, 134.
carding machine, 137.
remarks on, 170, 171.
- cards, double doffing arrange-
ments for, 181.
droppings, various kinds of, 4.
fire risk with, 267.
for making into yarn, 97.
from finisher cards, methods
of delivering, 161.
- German imports of, 1.
machinery, productions of, 100.
mixing of, 96.
mule with cotton headstock, 207,
208, 209, 210.
- with woollen headstock, 213.
round of movements, 217.
or wadding yarn, 238.
- prices of, 247, 248.
- ring frame for, 230.
slubber for, 189.
- spinning, 2.
- system of machines, 123.
uses of, 1.
- warp, 238.
yarns, counts of, 246, 247.
- weaving of, 232, 233.
Counts of cotton waste yarns, 246, 247.
Crighton beater, 66.
machine, 129.
- opener, 92-9.
with hopper feeder (waste
from), 5.
Crompton hand mule, 225.
Cup-spinning frame, 196.
Cut rovings, causes of, 53.
remedies for, 53.
Cylinder lags of roving waste opener, 77.
i cotton waste card, 134.
single, 120.
spiked, 115.
Cylinders, six, 120.
three, 120.
DAMAGED cops, 251.
Dangers of flannelette, 268.
Defects in rovings, their cause 'and
remedies. 51.
Delivery of waste, 74.
Derby doubler (the), 92, 93, 145-8.
for cotton waste, 148, 149.
narrow laps, 149, 153.
preparing laps for the finisher
carding engine, 140, 141,
142.
wide laps, 150.
with V table, 91.
Dimensions, weights, speeds, etc.. of a
machine of eighty-four
spindles, 197.
of apparatus for side ends in
cotton waste cards, 169.
of breaker carding engine,
139.
of breaking - up machines,
111.
of Derby doubler machines,
151, 152.
of grinding frame of, 144;
spindles, 191.
of single finishing carding
engine, 158.
; of single finishing carding
engine, 174.
of' single finishing engine
with patent Scotch feeder
and patent " leather-tape "
condenser, 167.
of scutching machine, 127.
Dirt rollers for cards, 177, 188.
Disposal of the comber waste, 32.
Double cloth weave with waste cotton
weft, 238.
doffer condensers, 184.
doffing arrangements for cotton
waste cards, 181.
! lap method for breaker card, 137,
138.
Doublers' waste, 242.
Double winding, 242.
yarn on ring-frames, 70.
Doubling frames, waste and stop-
motions for, 63.
INDEX.
275
Doubling frames, waste in, 263.
Draughting of cotton waste on the
waste mule, 203, 204, 205.
Drawback motion for mule, 224-6.
frames, 93.
Driving for variable spindle speeds, 210,
211, 212.
Droppings from blade beater, 6, 7.
licker in fly, 8, 18.
of cotton waste, 4, 6.
Dust extraction and the wire clothing of
a card, 22.
EVAN LEIGH on "fancy" rollers, 154,
155, 156.
Excessive use of waste, 77.
Extracts from recent consular reports,
260, 261.
Extra waste from inferior cotton, 64.
FACTORY inspectors in respect of cotton
HAND cards for stripping cylinders, 30,
31.
Hard ends, 253.
from cop bottom or other hard
129.
rovings, causes of, 52.
remedies for, 53.
waste, 90, 94, 271.
breaking machine, 90.
Headstocks (the), 205.
Heavy driving, 118.
Heilmann combers, 32.
cotton comber, 19.
Holland's web conductor for carding
engines, 30.
Hopper feeder for card, 136.
feeders, waste from, 3, 5.
Horsf alt's card grinder, 133.
" Humbug," " Fancy " and dirt rollers,
177.
Humbug rollers, the, 154, 177, 188.
I IMPORTED cotton waste, 1.
carding engines, 24.
Fancy roller for card, 154, 177, 188.
"Fancy' 1 roller, the, used in cotton; soft waste, 1.
wast? carding, 154. i Improved lattice feed, 152, 153.
(the), 188. ! tubular winding machine, 243-5.
Feeding methods for finisher card, 140, j waste slubbing frame for prepara-
152. tory system, 189.
the breaker card (methods of), 135.
Feed rollers of card, 187.
weighting of, 116.
Fibre waste, 19.
Fine counts from waste, 254.
Finisher card, 156.
four bobbins, 259.
methods of feeding the, 140.
two bobbins, 258.
with quadruple coilers, 172, 173.
carding engine, 91.
Fire risk with cotton waste, 267.
Fires in blow-room, 117.
Flannelette, dangers of, 268.
Flat card, 176.
stripping, 20.
carding engine, revolving, 20, 21.
Flat strips, 18.
Fly wastes from carding engine, 18, 67.
Front plate of the carding engine (the),
2o.
Fuller details of waste in Indian mills,
66.
GAUGE and speed of spindle at the
mule, 230.
Gearing, the, 78.
General remarks on the carding of
cotton waste, 178.
German imports of cotton waste, 1.
German imports of linters, 1.
Gun-cotton, 263.
Indian cotton, 65.
mill waste, 66.
raw cotton, 272.
Inferior cotton, extra waste from, 64.
JOSEPHY condensers, 181, 182, 183.
KIRCHNER beater, 125.
LAP drum method of feeding the finisher
card, 141.
waste, 67.
Lattice feed for card, 152.
Leaf bar waste, 7.
Leather tape condenser (patent), 166.
Lecture on beater bars, 34.
Letter on cotton mill waste, 84.
Licker in droppings, 68.
fly droppings, 8, 18.
teeth, 43.
Link regulator, 129.
Long fibre in flat strips, 19.
Loose cotton bleaching, 265.
MACHINERY, plan of, 219.
Machines more or less used in the treat-
ment of cotton waste, summary of,
89.
with fans, approximate weights and
measurements of, 113.
without fans, approximate weights
and measurements of, 113.
276
COTTON WASTE.
Making of waste in cotton mills, 2.
Manager's letter on waste in cotton mills,
60.
Manifold coiler system, 92.
Methods of delivering cotton waste from
finisher cards, 161.
feeding the breaker card, 135.
finisher card, 140.
Mixing of cotton waste, 96.
Mixings, 95.
Modern roving waste openers, 72, 73.
Mule clearer waste, 58.
headstock, 223.
for spinning waste, 203, 204, 205.
spinning and waste, 53.
NASMITH combers, 32, 83.
Neppy, dirty and leafy rovings, causes
of, 52.
rovings, remedies for, 53.
New patent machine, 267.
OBJECTIONABLE wastes, 270.
Oil, consumption of, 257.
Oldham willow, 92, 94, 126.
machine, 102, 103, 104, 105.
One cylinder machine, approximate
weighis and measurements of, 115.
Openers for roving waste, 72.
waste from, 3.
Opening and cleaning of cotton waste,
99.
Overlooking and kinds of waste, 252.
PASSAGE of cotton through waste mule,
205.
Patent automatic feeding machine for
breaking carding engines, 171.
for perfecting side-ends in carding
engines, 168.
- " leather tape " condenser, 166.
Peculiar spinning machines, 192.
Pickering machine for waste, 113, 114.
with soaper, 120.
Plan of breaker and finisher cards, 175,
176.
carding and spinning plant for
cotton waste, 219.
machinery, 219.
Possible systems of machinery, in using
cotton waste, 90, 97.
Preparation system, 188.
. for waste yarns, 161.
of machinery, 97.
Preparing machine for hard waste, 110.
Process of recovering good cotton from
carding engine strips, 83.
Production from waste mule, 206.
Productions of cotton waste machinery,
100.
Prices of condenser yarns, 248.
cotton waste, 247, 248.
QUADRUPLE coiler card, 172, -173.
RAISING machine, 235.
Recovering good cotton from carding
engine strips, process of, 83.
long fibre from card strips, 83.
Reelers' waste, 242.
i Remarks on cotton waste carding, 170,
171.
three- speed driving and waste
mules, 215, 216.
Removal of stripping dust, 21, 22.
Reversing motion (the), 224.
Revolving flat carding engine, 20, 21.
I Ring doffer, 162.
frame for cotton waste, 230.
- frames, double yarn on, 70.
Roth's patent aspirator, 33.
Round of movements in cotton waste
mule, 217.
Rovings containing slubs, causes of, 53.
defects in, 51.
Roving waste, 69.
'opener, 74, 78, 79.
another make of, 79.
opening, 72.
treatment of, 71.
Roller card, 266.
Rollers and clearers, adjustment of, 174,
175, 176.
of carding engines, 130.
Rubbers for condensers, 162, 164, 165.
SCHAELIBAUM bars, 11, 12.
Scotch feed for card, 141.
method of feeding the finisher
card, 141, 142, 143, 144.
or cross feed, 92.
Scutcher bars and lap-lickirg (the),
127.
droppings, 6.
for cotton waste (the), 123, 124, 125.
Scutchers, waste from, 3.
Self-acting mule, 222, 223.
mules, work on, 53-7.
Self -actor mule (the), 203.
Sheetings, 236.
Short fibre strips, 19.
Shuttle pegs, 240.
tongues, 241.
Side ends, motion for cards, 169.
- slivers for cards, 168.
Single-beater lap-forming scutching
machine with hopper feeder, 126,
127.
- breaking carding engine, 138, 139.
finishing carding engine, 156.
INDEX.
277
Single-beater scutcher with hopper
feeder, 90.
Six-cylinder machine, 122.
Skewering of cops, 240, 241.
Sliver waste, 85.
Slubber for cotton waste, 189.
Slubbing motion (the), 218-20, 223-4.
Soaping apparatus, 96, 118.
appliance, 119.
Soft-rovings, causes of, 52.
remedies for, 52.
"Soho"feed, 152.
Solid cops, 243.
- cop winding machine, 243, 244.
Special motions, 229.
rollers, 187.
Specification of cotton waste card, 133,
138, 156.
Spiked cylinders, 115.
Spindle and cop, 194, 195.
stop motion, 225.
Spindles and productions, 206.
Sponge cloth loom, 237.
or cleaning cloths, 234, 237.
Stretched rovings, causes of, 53.
remedies for, 53.
Stripping by vacuum system. 23-6.
cylinders by hand-cards, 30, 31.
dust, removal of, 21, 22.
of cards, 250.
flat cards, 20, 21.
Strips from cards, 18, 83.
Stop motions for waste mule, 213, 214.
Stores, 255, 257.
Summary of machines, 89.
. wastes, 16, 17.
Systems of machinery, 90, 97.
TAPE condensers, 163, 180, 186.
Tapestry carpet, 239.
Testing for waste, 12.
Thread extractor, 79, 80, 81, 82.
^hree-speed driving and waste mules,
remarks on, 215, 216.
- speeds for mule spindle, 212.
Tin rollers used for feeding the finisher
card, 145.
Treatment of roving waste, 71.
Triple tape condenser, 187.
Tripod regulator, 129.
Tubular banding, 60.
Two-cylinder machine, approximate
weights and measurements of, 115.
UNDERCASIKG for taker-in, 44.
Undercasings for cards, 31.
Uneven rovings, causes of, 51.
remedies for, 52.
Universal carding principle (the), 179.
cotton waste set, 179.
Use of stores, unnecessary waste in, 255..
Uses of cotton waste (the), 1.
VACUUM system of stripping, 23-6.
Various kinds of cotton waste droppings,.
Ventilation of card room by fans, 23,
Vigogne yarns, 259.
WADDING, 94.
card, 95, 185.
yarn, 238.
Washed waste (hard), 86.
(soft), 86.
Waste and stop-motions .ior doubling
frames, 63.
at carding engine, 18.
blowing-room, 3.
bobbin, 85.
burr, 271.
calculations per cent, 13, 14, 15, 16,
card, 271.
condenser, 186.
carding engines ; double cards, 188,
side slivers, 168.
cards with lattice feeder, 153.
clearer, 85.
comber, 32, 85.
delivery of, 74.
fibre, 19.
fly, 18, 67.
from ball breakers, 3.
Crighton opener with hopper
feeder, 5.
hopper feeders, 3, 5.
leaf bars, 7.
openers, 3.
scutchers, 3, 6.
hard, 70, 94, 271.
imported cotton, 1.
soft, 1.
in American mills, 265.
blowing-room, 3.
doubling, 263.
Indian mills, fuller details of, 66.
weaving sheds, 239.
wiping up oil, 264.
leaf bar, 7.
; machinery systems, 90, 97.
making of, 2.
mule, production from, 206.
question (the), 62.
reelers', 242.
roving, 69.
sliver, 85.
spinning machine, 2.
testing for, 12.
washed, 86.
Wastes in the woollen trade, 262..
summary of, 16, 17.
278
COTTON WASTE.
Weavers' waste, 242.
Weaving of cotton waste yarns, 232,
233.
Web-conductor for cards, 30.
conductors, 31.
Weighting of feed rollers, 116.
Weights and measurements of machines
with fans, 113.
without fans, 113.
one-cylinder machine, 115.
two-cylinder machine, 115.
speeds, etc. of automatic feeding
machine, 172.
one breaking and one
finishing engine with Scotch feeder
and ring-doffer condenser, 166.
Wheel slubbing motion, 221.
Willow for cotton waste, 101, 103, 106,
107, 108, 109.
machine (the), 86, 101, 117.
Winders' waste, 242.
Winding catch for mules, 227.
click motion, 227, 228.
for solid cops, 243.
Wire clothing of a card and dust-ex-
traction, 22.
covering of cotton waste card, 134.
Woollen and worsted machines, 256.
mill wastes, 271.
Workmen, 254.
Work on self-acting mules (the), 53,
54, 55, 56, 57.
YARNS, Vigogne, 259.
ABERDEEN: THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
TAYLOR, LANG & CO., LTD.,
CASTLE IRON WORKS,
STALYBRIDGE, ENGLAND.
Telegraphic Address: "LANG. STALYBRIDGE". Telephone No. 107.
Manchester Exchange : P. PILLAR, Tuesday and Friday.
MAKERS OF MACHINERY FOR
Preparing and Spinning Cotton,
88
Cotton Waste and Wool.
SELF-ACTING CONDENSER MULE
WITH THREE SPINDLE SPEEDS.
Will give YOU a more EVEN YARN and INCREASED PRODUCTION,
We make more Self-acting %Cules for Spinning Waste Yarn
than any other
Write us for further particulars ; also for particulars of our Hopper
and Scutcher specially arranged for treating Cotton Waste.
(279)
(280)
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(281)
18
TWEEDALES 6? SMALLEY, LTD.,
Globe Works,
CASTLETON, NEAR MANCHESTER.
SCOTCH FEED BETWEEN BREAKER AND FINISHER CARDS.
MAKERS OF MACHINERY FOR
^Preparing Spinning and
Doubling Cotton, etc.
(282)
TWEEDALES & SMALLEY, LTD.,
Globe Works,
CASTLETON, NEAR MANCHESTER.
CONDENSER CARD.
FOREIGN AGENTS.
MR. F. BERGHOEFER, Miinchen-Gladbach, Germany: for Rhenish Prussia, West-
phalia, North Germany, Holland, Belgium, Alsace, and Lorraine.
MESSRS. E. GRETHER & CO., 5 Blackfriars Street, Manchester : for France, Italy,
and Portugal.
MESSRS. WHITE, CHILD & BENEY, LTD., Broadway Court, Broadway, Victoria
Street, London, S.W. : for Austria, Spain, and Russian Poland.
MR. R. HIBBERT, Margarethenstrasse 29, Basel: for South Germany and Switz-
erland.
MESSRS. A. & F. HARVEY, Tuticorin : for Southern India.
MR. J. HERBERT DUNKERLEY, Bombay: for Northern India.
MESSRS. E. F. DREW & CO., Inc., 93 Broad Street, Boston, U.S.A.: for United
States and Canada.
MESSRS. DANIEL FOXWELL & SON, i North Parade, Parsonage, Manchester:
for Scandinavia and Finland.
MESSRS. J. G. ALEXEEFF & CO., Moscow: for the Moscow and St. Petersburg
Districts of Russia.
MESSRS. V. USLAENDER & CO., Rua i de Marco N. 60, Rio de Janeiro: for
Brazil.
(283)
WILLIAM TATHAM, LTD.,
Vulcan IForks, ROCHDALE,
ENGLAND.
(Branch Works BELFIELD, ROCHDALE.)
Makers of Machinery for
Opening, Cleaning, Breaking- up, Carding and
Spinning all kinds of Cotton Waste on
the Condenser or Coiler System.
CARDING ENGINE WITH CONDENSER FOR COTTON WASTE.
SPONGE OR CLEANING CLOTH MACHINERY.
WADDING MACHINERY of Various Kinds.
Comprising Openers, Carding Engines, Folders, Sizing Machines, Drying Chambers, etc.
Complete Plants for MEDICATED WOOL or SURGICAL WADDING.
Complete Plants for COTTON BLANKETS.
ENGINE CLEANING or WIPING WASTE MAKING MACHINES.
WOOLLEN RAG or WASTE TEARING MACHINES.
ASBESTOS MACHINERY.
ROVING WASTE OPENING MACHINES.
SLUBBING, INTERMEDIATE, and ROVING FRAMES FOR COTTON,
etc., etc.
THREAD EXTRACTOR for Card and Spinning Room Sweepings,
Roller Laps, etc.
Sole Makers of Edges "SELF-CONTAINED STRIPPER" for Revolving Flat Cards.
PRICES AND PARTICULARS ON APPLICATION.
(284)
Catalogue
OF
Special 'l&eefinieal t&ooks.
INDEX TO SUBJECTS.
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
Agricultural Chemistry .. 9
Air, Industrial Use of .. 10
Engraving 23
Essential Oils 7
Pottery Decorating ... 11
Pottery Manufacture ... 11
Alum and its Sulphates .. 8
Evaporating Apparatus ... 19
Pottery Marks 12
Ammonia 8
External Plumbing ... 20
Power-loom Weaving ... 14
Aniline Colours 3
Fats 6
Preserved Foods 22
Animal Fats 6
Faults in Woollen Goods 15
Printers' Ready Reckoner 23
Anti-corrosive Paints . 4
Flax Spinning 18
Printing Inks ... 3, 4, 5
Architecture, Terms in .. 22
Food and Drugs 22
Recipes 3
Architectural Pottery .. 12
Fruit Preserving 22
Resins 9
Artificial Perfumes .. 7
Gas Firing 19
Ring Spinning Frame ... 18
Balsams .. 9
Glass-making Recipes ... 13
Risks of Occupations ... 10
Bleaching 17
Bleaching Agents ... .. 17
Bone Products 8
Glass Painting 13
Glue-making and Testing... 8
Greases 6
Riveting China, etc. ... 12
Sanitary Plumbing ... 20
Scheele's Essays 8
Bookbinding 23
Gutta Percha 1 1
Sealing Waxes 11
Brick-making ... 11, 12
Burnishing Brass 20
Hat Manufacturing ... 15
Hemp Spinning ... ... 18
Shale Oils and Tars ... 10
Shoe Polishes 6
Carpet Yarn Printing ... 16
History of Staffs Potteries 12
Silk Dyeing 17
Casein .. 4
Hops ... 21
Silk Throwing 17
Celluloid 23
Hot-water Supply ... 21
Smoke Prevention 19
Cement 22
India-rubber 11
Soap Powders 7
Ceramic Books . . 11
Industrial Alcohol . 9
Soaps . ... 7
Charcoal 8
Inks '.'.'. 3, 4 5, 9
Spinning 15, 17, 18
Chemical Analysis... .. 8
Iron-corrosion 4
Spirit Varnishes 5
Chemical Essays 8
Iron, Science of 19
Staining Marble, and Bone 23
Chemical Reagents ... 8
Japanning ... ... . . 21
Stain-removing Soaps ... 7
Chemical Works 8
Jute Spinning 18
Steam Drying 10
Chemistry of Pottery .. 12
Clay Analysis 12
Lace-Making 15
Lacquering 20
Steel Hardening 19
Sugar Refining 23
Coal-dust Firing 19
Lake Pigments 3
Sweetmeats 22
Colour Matching 16
Lead and its Compounds... 10
Technical Schools, List ... 24
Colliery Recovery Work.. 18
Colour-mixing for Dyers... 16
Leather-working Mater'ls 6,1 1
Libraries 24
Terra cotta 11
Testing Paint Materials ... 4
Colour Theory 16
Linoleum 5
Testing Yarns 15
Combing Machines ... 18
Lithography 23
Textile Fabrics ... 14, 15
Compounding Oils 6
Lubricants 6
Textile Fibres 14
Condensing Apparatus ... 19
Manures 8, 9
Textile Materials 14
Cosmetics 7
Meat Preserving 22
Timber 21
Cotton Dyeing 17
Medicated Soaps 7
Toilet Soapmaking ... 7
Cotton Spinning ... 17, 18
Metal Polishing Soaps ... 7
Varnishes 5
Cotton \V 7 aste 18
Mineral Pigments 3
Vegetable Fats 7
Damask Weaving 15
Mineral Waxes 6
Vegetable Preserving .. 22
Dampness in Buildings ... 22
Mine Ventilation 18
Warp Sizing 16
Decorators' Books ... 4
Mine Haulage 18
Waste Utilisation 9
Decorative Textiles ... 15
Mining, Electricity .. 19
Water, Industrial Use .. 10
Dental Metallurgy 19
Needlework 15
Water-proofing Fabrics .. 16
Disinfectants 9
Drugs 22
Drying Oils 5
Oil and Colour Recipes .. 3
Oil Boiling ... 5
Oilmen Sundries ... .. 3
Waxes 8
Weaving Calculations .. 15
White Lead and Zinc .. 5
Drying with Air 10
Oil Merchants' Manual .. 6
Wiring Calculations .. 21
Dyeing Marble 23
Oils 6
Wood Distillation ... 21
Dyeing Woollen Fabrics .. 17
Ozone, Industrial Use of... 10
Wood Extracts 21
Dyers' Materials ... .. 16
Paint Manufacture ... 3
Wood Waste Utilisation... 22
Dye-stuffs .. 17
Paint Materials 3
Wood-Dyeing 23
Edible Fats and Oils .. 7
Paint-material Testing ... 4
Wool-Dyeing 17
Electric Lamp Develop-
Paint Mixing 3
Woollen Goods .. 15, 16, 17
ment 21
Paper-Mill Chemistry ... 13
Woven Fabrics 16
Electric Wiring ... 20, 21
Paper-pulp Dyeing ... 13
Writing Inks 9
Electricity in Collieries ... 18
Petroleum 6
X-RavWork 11
Emery 24
Pigments, Chemistry of ... 3
Yarn Sizing 16
Enamelling Metal ... 13, 21
Plumbers' Work 20
Yarn Testing 15
Enamels 13
Pottery Clays 12
Zinc White Paints ... 5
Engineering Handbooks ... 19
PUBLISHED BY
SCOTT, GREENWOOD & SON,
8 BROADWAY, LUDGATE, LONDON, B.C.
FULL PARTICULARS OF CONTENTS
Of the Books mentioned in this ABRIDGED CATALOGUE
will be found in the following Catalogues of
CURRENT TECHNICAL BOOKS.
LIST I.
Artists' Colours Bone Products Butter and Margarine Manufacture Casein-
Cements Chemical Works (Designing and Erection) Chemistry (Agricultural, Indus-
trial, Practical and Theoretical) Colour Mixing Colour Manufacture Compounding
Oils Decorating Driers Drying Oils Drysaltery Emery Essential Oils Fats
(Animal, Vegetable, Edible) Gelatines Glues Greases Gums Inks Lead
Leather Lubricants Oils Oil Crushing Paints Paint Mauufacturing Paint
Material Testing Perfumes Petroleum Pharmacy Recipes (Paint, Oil and Colour)
Resins Sealing Waxes Shoe Polishes Soap Manufacture Solvents Spirit
Varnishes Varnishes White Lead Workshop Wrinkles.
LIST II.
Bleaching Bookbinding Carpet Yarn Printing Colour (Matching, Mixing
Theory) Cotton Combing Machines Dyeing (Cotton, Woollen and Silk Goods)
Dyers' Materials Dye-stuffs Engraving Flax, Hemp and Jute Spinning and Twisting
Gutta-Percha Hat Manufacturing India-rubber Inks Lace-making Litho-
graphyNeedleworkPaper Making Paper-Mill Chemist Paper-pulp Dyeing
Point Lace Power-loom Weaving Printing Inks Silk Throwing Smoke Preven-
tion Soaps Spinning Textile (Spinning, Designing, Dyeing, Weaving, Finishing)
Textile Materials Textile Fabrics Textile Fibres Textile Oils Textile Soaps-
Timber Water (Industrial Uses) Water-proofing Weaving Writing Inks Yarns
Testing, Sizing).
LIST III.
Architectural Terms Brassware (Bronzing, Burnishing, Dipping, Lacquering)
Brickmaking Building Cement Work Ceramic Industries China Coal-dust Firing
Colliery Books Concrete Condensing Apparatus Dental Metallurgy Drainage
Drugs Dyeing Earthenware Electrical Books Enamelling Enamels Engineer-
ing Handbooks Evaporating Apparatus Flint Glass-making Foods Food Preserv-
ing Fruit Preserving Gas Engines Gas Firing Gearing Glassware (Painting,
Riveting) Hops Iron (Construction, Science) Japanning Lead Meat Preserving
Mines (Haulage, Electrical Equipment, Ventilation, Recovery Work from) Plants
(Diseases, Fungicides, Insecticides) Plumbing Books Pottery (Architectural, Clays
Decorating, Manufacture, Marks on) Reinforced Concrete Riveting (China,
Earthenware, Glassware) Steam Turbines Sanitary Engineering Steel (Hardening,
Tempering) Sugar Sweetmeats Toothed Gearing Vegetable Preserving Wood
Dyeing X-Ray Work.
COPIES OF ANY OF THESE LISTS WILL BE SENT
POST FREE ON APPLICATION
(Paints, Colours, Pigments and
Printing Inks.)
THE CHEMISTRY OF PIGMENTS. By ERNEST J.
PARRY, B.Sc. (Lond.), F.I.C., F.C.S., and J. H. COSTE, F.I.C.,
F.C.S. Demy 8vo. Five Illustrations. 285 pp. Price 10s. 6d.
net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home ; 1 Is. 3d. abroad.)
THE MANUFACTURE OF PAINT. A Practical
Handbook for Paint Manufacturers, Merchants and Painters.
By J. CRUICKSHANK SMITH, B.Sc. Demy 8vo. 200 pp. Sixty
Illustrations and One Large Diagram. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post
free, 7s. lOd. home; 8s. abroad.)
DICTIONARY OF CHEMICALS AND RAW
PRODUCTS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF PAINTS, COLOURS, VARNISHES AND
ALLIED PREPARATIONS. By GEORGE H. HURST,
F.C.S. Demy 8vo. 380 pp. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 8s.
home ; 8s. 6d. abroad.)
THE MANUFACTURE OF LAKE PIGMENTS
FROM ARTIFICIAL COLOURS. By FRANCIS H.
JENNISON, F.I.C., F.C.S. Sixteen Coloured Plates, showing
Specimens of Eighty-nine Colours, specially prepared from
the Recipes given in the Book. 136 pp. Demy 8vo. Price
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THE MANUFACTURE OF MINERAL AND LAKE
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Soot and Metallic Pigments. A text-book for Manufacturers,
Merchants, Artists and Painters. By Dr. JOSEF BERSCH.
Translated by A. C. WRIGHT, M.A. (Oxon.), B.Sc. (Lond.). Forty-
three Illustrations. 476 pp. Demy 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. net.
(Post free, 13s. home; 13s. 6d. abroad.)
RECIPES FOR THE COLOUR, PAINT, VARNISH,
OIL, SOAP AND DRYSALTERY TRADES.
Compiled by AN ANALYTICAL CHEMIST. 330pp. Second Revised
and Enlarged Edition. Demy 8vo. Price 10s. ed. net. (Post
free, 11s. home ; 11s. 3d. abroad.) [Just published.
OILMEN'S SUNDRIES AND HOW TO MAKE THEM.
Being a Collection of Practical Recipes for Boot Polishes, Blues,
Metal Polishes, Disinfectants, etc., compiled from " Oils, Col-
ours and Drysalteries". Crown 8vo. 130 pages. Price 2s. 6d.
net. (Post free. 2s. 9d. home ; 2s. lOd. abroad.)
OIL COLOURS AND PRINTERS' INKS. By Louis
EDGAR ANDES. Translated from the German. 215 pp. Crown
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5s. 6d abroad.)
MODERN PRINTING INKS. A Practical Handbook
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(Post free, 5s. 4d. home ; 5s. 6d. abroad.)
THREE HUNDRED SHADES AND HOW TO MIX
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A. DESAINT, Artistic Interior Decorator of Paris. The book con-
tains 100 folio Plates, measuring 12 in. by 7 in., each Plate con-
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numbered, and their composition and particulars for mixing are
fully given at the beginning of the book. Each Plate is inter-
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impressed on the cover in gold and silver. Price 21s. net. (Post
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HOUSE DECORATING AND PAINTING. By W.
NORMAN BROWN. Eighty-eight Illustrations. 150 pp. Crown
8vo. Price 3s. 6d. net. (Post free, 3s. 9d. home and abroad.)
A HISTORY OF DECORATIVE ART. By W. NORMAN
BROWN. Thirty-nine Illustrations. 96 pp. Crown 8vo. Price
Is. net. (Post free, Is. 3d. home and abroad.)
WORKSHOP WRINKLES for, Decorators, Painters,
Paperhangers, and Others. By W. N. BROWN. Crown 8vo.
128 pp. Second Edition. Price 2s. 6d. net. (Post free, 2s. 9d.
home ; 2s. lOd. abroad.)
CASEIN. By ROBERT SCHERER. Translated from the
German by CHAS. S ALTER. Demy 8vo. Illustrated. Second
Revised English Edition. 160 pp. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free,
7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
SIMPLE METHODS FOR TESTING PAINTERS'
MATERIALS. By A. C. WRIGHT, M.A. (Oxon.).,
B.Sc. (Lond.). Crown 8vo. 160 pp. Price 5s. net. (Post free,
5s. 3d. home ; 5s. 6d. abroad.)
IRON-CORROSION, ANTI-FOULING AND ANTI-
CORROSIVE PAINTS. Translated from the German
of Louis EDGAR ANDES. Sixty-two Illustrations. 275 pp.
Demy 8vo. Price lUs. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home;
11s. 3d. abroad.)
THE TESTING AND VALUATION OF RAW
MATERIALS USED IN PAINT AND COLOUR
MANUFACTURE. By M. W. JONES, F.C.S. A
Book for the Laboratories of Colour Works. 88 pp. Crown 8vo.
Price 5s. net. (Post free, 5s. 3d. home and abroad.)
For contents of these books, see List I.
THE MANUFACTURE AND COMPARATIVE
MERITS OF WHITE LEAD AND ZINC WHITE
PAINTS. By G. PETIT, Civil Engineer, etc. Trans-
lated from the French. Crown 8vo. 100 pp. Price 4s. net.
(Post free, 4s. 3d. home ; 4s. 4d. abroad.)
STUDENTS' HANDBOOK OF PAINTS, COLOURS,
OILS AND VARNISHES. By JOHN FURNELL.
Crown 8vo. 12 Illustrations. 96 pp. Price 2s. 6d. net. (Post
free, 2s. 9d. home and abroad.)
PREPARATION AND USES OF WHITE ZINC
PAINTS. Translated from the French of P. FLEURY.
Crown 8vo. 280 pages. Price 6s. net. (Post free, 6s. 4d. home ;
6s. 6d. abroad.) [Just published.
(Varnishes and Drying Oils.)
THE MANUFACTURE OF VARNISHES AND
KINDRED INDUSTRIES. By J. GEDDES MC!NTOSH.
Second, greatly enlarged, English Edition, in three Volumes,
based on and including the work of Ach. Livache.
VOLUME I. OIL CRUSHING, REFINING AND
BOILING, THE MANUFACTURE OF LINO-
LEUM, PRINTING AND LITHOGRAPHIC
INKS, AND INDIA-RUBBER SUBSTITUTES.
Demy 8vo. 150 pp. 29 Illustrations. Price 7s. 6d. net.
(Post free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
VOLUME II. VARNISH MATERIALS AND OIL-
VARNISH MAKING. Demy 8vo. 70 Illustrations.
220 pp. Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home ;
11s. 3d. abroad.)
VOLUME III. SPIRIT VARNISHES AND SPIRIT
VARNISH MATERIALS. Demy 8vo. Illustrated.
464 pp. Price 12s. 6d. net. (Post free, 13s. home ; 13s. 6d.
abroad.)
DRYING OILS, BOILED OIL AND SOLID AND
LIQUID DRIERS. By L. E. ANDE"S. Expressly
Written for this Series of Special Technical Books, and the
Publishers hold the Copyright for English and Foreign Editions.
Forty-two Illustrations. 342 pp. Demy 8vo. Price 12s. 6d.
net. (Post free, 13s. home ; 13s. 3d. abroad.)
(Analysis of Resins, see page 9.)
6
(Oils, Fats, Waxes, Greases, Petroleum.)
LUBRICATING OILS, FATS AND GREASES :
Their Origin, Preparation, Properties, Uses and Analyses. A
Handbook for Oil Manufacturers, Refiners and Merchants, and
the Oil and Fat Industry in General. By GEORGE H. HURST,
F.C.S. Third Revised and Enlarged Edition. Seventy-four
Illustrations. 384 pp. Demy 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post
free, 11s. home ; 11s. 3d. abroad.)
TECHNOLOGY OF PETROLEUM : Oil Fields of the
World Their History, Geography and Geology Annual Pro-
duction and Development Oil-well Drilling Transport. By
HENRY NEUBERGER and HENRY NOALHAT. Translated from the
French by J. G. MC!NTOSH. 550 pp. 153 Illustrations. 26 Plates.
Super Royal 8vo. Price 21s. net. (Post free, 21s. 9d. home;
23s. 6d. abroad.)
MINERAL WAXES: Their Preparation and Uses. By
RUDOLF GREGORIUS. Translated from the German. Crown 8vo.
250 pp. 32 Illustrations. Price 6s. net. (Post free, 6s. 4d.
home ; 6s. 6d. abroad.)
THE PRACTICAL COMPOUNDING OF OILS,
TALLOW AND GREASE FOR LUBRICA-
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THE MANUFACTURE OF LUBRICANTS, SHOE
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RICHARD BRUNNER. Translated from the Sixth German Edition
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THE OIL MERCHANTS' MANUAL AND OIL
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FRANK F. SHERRIFF. Second Edition Revised and Enlarged.
Demy 8vo. 214pp. With Two Sheets of Tables. Price. 7s. 6d.
net. (Post free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. 3d. abroad.)
ANIMAL FATS AND OILS: Their Practical Pro-
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Their Properties, Falsification and Examination. Translated
from the German of Louis EDGAR ANDES. Sixty-two Illustrations.
240 pp. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Demy 8vo.
Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home; 11s. 3d. abroad.)
For contents of these books, see List I.
VEGETABLE FATS AND OILS: Their Practical
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their Properties, Adulteration and Examination. Translated
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trations. 340 pp. Second Edition. Demy 8vo. Price 10s. 6d.
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EDIBLE FATS AND OILS : Their Composition, Manu-
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C. A. MITCHELL, B.A. (Oxon.). Demy 8vo. 150 pp. Price
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TEXTILE SOAPS AND OILS. Handbook on the
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MANUAL OF TOILET SOAPMAKING, including
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COSMETICS: MANUFACTURE, EMPLOYMENT
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BONE PRODUCTS AND MANURES : An Account
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REISSUE OF CHEMICAL ESSAYS OF C. W.
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THE MANUFACTURE OF ALUM AND THE SUL-
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the Arts Manufactures, Sanitary Engineering, Agriculture and
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AMMONIA AND ITS COMPOUNDS : Their Manu-
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CHEMICAL WORKS : Their Design, Erection, and
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MANUAL OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, as applied to
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TESTING OF CHEMICAL REAGENTS FOR
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For contents of these books, see List I.
9
SHALE OILS AND TARS and their Products. By
Dr. W. SCHEITHAUER. Translated from the German. Demy 8vo.
190 pages. 70 Illustrations and 4 Diagrams. Price 8s. 6d. net.
(Post free, 8s. lOd. home; 9s. abroad). [Just published.
INDUSTRIAL ALCOHOL. A Practical Manual on the
Production and Use of Alcohol for Industrial Purposes and for
Use as a Heating Agent, as an Illuminant and as a Source of
Motive Power. By J. G. MC!NTOSH, Lecturer on Manufacture
and Applications of Industrial Alcohol at The Polytechnic,
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THE UTILISATION OF WASTE PRODUCTS. A
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lated from the Second Revised German Edition. Twenty-two
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ANALYSIS OF RESINS AND BALSAMS. Trans-
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DISTILLATION OF RESINS, RESINATE LAKES
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PIGMENTS FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES,
MANIFOLDERS, ETC. By VICTOR SCHWEIZER.
Demy Svo. 185 pages. 68 Illustrations. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post
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DISINFECTION AND DISINFECTANTS. By Dr.
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MANUAL OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. By
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CHEMICAL MANURES. Translated from the French
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INK MANUFACTURE: Including Writing, Copying
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SIGMUND LEHNER. Three Illustrations. Crown Svo. 162 pp.
Translated from the German of the Fifth Edition. Price 5s. net.
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10
SEALING-WAXES, WAFERS AND OTHER
ADHESIVES FOR THE HOUSEHOLD, OFFICE,
WORKSHOP AND FACTORY. By H. C. STANDAGE.
Crown 8vo. 96 pp. Price 5s. net. (Post free, 5s. 3d. home ;
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(Lead Ores and Lead Compounds.)
LEAD AND ITS COMPOUNDS. By THOS. LAMBERT,
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NOTES ON LEAD ORES : Their Distribution and Pro-
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THE RISKS AND DANGERS TO HEALTH OF
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(Lond.). 196 pp. Demy 8vo. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free,
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(Industrial Uses of Air, Steam and
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DRYING BY MEANS OF AIR AND STEAM. Ex-
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free, 5s. 3d. home ; 5s. 6d. abroad.)
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PURE AIR, OZONE, AND WATER. A Practical
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Glue and other Industries. By W. B. COWELL. Twelve Illus-
trations. Crown 8vo. 85 pp. Price 5s. net. (Post free, 5s. 3d.
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THE INDUSTRIAL USES OF WATER. COMPOSI-
TIONEFFECTSTROUBLESREMEDIES
RESIDUARY WATERS PURIFICATION AN-
ALYSIS. By H. DE LA Coux. Royal 8vo. Trans-
lated from the French and Revised by ARTHUR MORRIS. 364 pp.
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11
(X Rays.)
PRACTICAL X RAY WORK. By FRANK T. ADDYMAN,
B.Sc. (Lond.), F.I.C., Member of the Roentgen Society of London ;
Radiographer to St. George's Hospital ; Demonstrator of Physics
and Chemistry, and Teacher of Radiography in St. George's
Hospital Medical School. Demy 8vo. Twelve Plates from
Photographs of X Ray Work. Fifty-two Illustrations. 200 pp.
Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home; 11s. 3d. abroad.)
( I ndia= Rubber and Qutta Percha.)
INDIA-RUBBER AND GUTTA PERCHA. Second
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work of T. SEELIGMANN, G. LAMY TORRILHON and H. FALCONNET
by JOHN GEDDES MC!NTOSH. Royal 8vo. 100 Illustrations. 400
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(Leather Trades.)
THE LEATHER WORKER'S MANUAL. Being a
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turers, Saddlers, Fancy Leather Workers. By H. C. STANDAOE.
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MODERN BRICKMAKING. By ALFRED B. SEARLE,
Royal 8vo. 440 pages. 260 Illustrations. Price 12s. 6d. net.
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THE MANUAL OF PRACTICAL POTTING. Com-
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POTTERY DECORATING. A Description of all the Pro-
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Translated from the German. Crown 8vo. 250 pp. Twenty-
two Illustrations. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 7s. lOd. home ;
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A TREATISE ON CERAMIC INDUSTRIES. A
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EMILE BOURRY. A Revised Translation from the French, with
some Critical Notes by ALFRED B. SEARLE. Demy 8vo. 308
Illustrations. 460 pp. Price 12s. 6d. net. (Post free, 13s. home;
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12
ARCHITECTURAL POTTERY. Bricks, Tiles, Pipes,
Enamelled Terra-cottas, Ordinary and Incrusted Quarries, Stone-
ware Mosaics, Faiences and Architectural Stoneware. By LEON
LEFEVRE. Translated from the French by K. H. BIRD, M.A.,
and W. MOORE BINNS. With Five Plates. 950 Illustrations in
the Text, and numerous estimates. 500 pp., royal 8vo. Price
15s. net. (Post free, 15s. 6d. home; 16s. 6d. abroad.)
CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY: Being some Aspects of
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by CHARLES F. BINNS. 100 pp. Demy 8vo. Price 12s. 6d. net.
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THE ART OF RIVETING GLASS, CHINA AND
EARTHENWARE. By J. HOWARTH. Second
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Is. Id.)
NOTES ON POTTERY CLAYS. The Distribution,
Properties, Uses and Analyses of Ball Clays, China Clays and
China Stone. By JAS. FAIRIE, F.G.S. 132 pp. Crown 8vo.
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HOW TO ANALYSE CLAY. By H. M.Ashby. Demy
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3s. 9d. home ; 3s. lOd. abroad.)
A Reissue of
THE HISTORY OF THE STAFFORDSHIRE POT-
TERIES ; AND THE RISE AND PROGRESS
OF THE MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY AND
PORCELAIN. With References to Genuine Specimens,
and Notices of Eminent Potters. By SIMEON SHAW. (Originally
published in 1829.) 265 pp. Demy 8vo. Price 5s. net. (Post
free, 5s. 4d. home ; 5s. 9d. abroad.)
A Reissue of
THE CHEMISTRY OF THE SEVERAL NATURAL
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POUNDS USED IN MANUFACTURING POR-
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SHAW. (Originally published in 1837.) 750 pp. Royal 8vo.
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BRITISH POTTERY MARKS. By G. WOOLLISCROFT
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For contents of these books, see List III.
13
(Glassware, Glass Staining and Painting.)
RECIPES FOR FLINT GLASS MAKING. By a
British Glass Master and Mixer. Sixty Recipes. Being Leaves
from the Mixing Book of several experts in the Flint Glass Trade,
containing up-to-date recipes and valuable information as to
Crystal, Demi-crystal and Coloured Glass in its many varieties.
It contains the recipes for cheap metal suited to pressing, blow-
ing, etc., as well as the most costly crystal and ruby. Second
Edition. Crown 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. 9d.
home; 10s. lOd. abroad.)
A TREATISE ON THE ART OF GLASS PAINT-
ING. Prefaced with a Review of Ancient Glass. By
ERNEST R. SUPPLING. With One Coloured Plate and Thirty-
seven Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 140 pp. Price 7s. 6d. net.
(Post free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
(Paper Making, Paper Dyeing, and
Testing.)
THE DYEING OF PAPER PULP. A Practical
Treatise for the use of Papermakers, Paperstainers, Students
and others. By JULIUS ERFURT, Manager of a Paper Mill.
Translated into English and Edited with Additions by JULIUS
HUBNER, F.C.S., Lecturer on Papermaking at the Manchester
Municipal Technical School. With illustrations and 157 patterns
of paper dyed in the pulp. Royal 8vo, 180 pp. Price 15s. net.
(Post free, 15s. 6d. home; 16s. 6d. abroad).
THE PAPER MILL CHEMIST. By HENRY P. STEVENS,
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THE TREATMENT OF PAPER FOR SPECIAL
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(Post free, 6s. 4d. home ; 6s. 6d. abroad.)
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ENAMELS AND ENAMELLING. For Enamel
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Objects of Art. By PAUL RANDAU. Second and Revised
Edition. Translated from the German. With 16 Illustrations.
Demy 8vo. 180 pp. Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd.
home; 11s. abroad.) {Just published.
THE ART OF ENAMELLING ON METAL. By
W. NORMAN BROWN. Twenty-eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo.
60 pp. Price 2s. 6d. net. (Post free, 2s. 9d. home and abroad.)
14
(Textile and Dyeing Subjects.)
THE FINISHING OF TEXTILE FABRICS (Woollen,
Worsted, Union and other Cloths). By ROBERTS BEAUMONT,
M.Sc., M.I. Mech.E., Professor of Textile Industries, the Univer-
sity of Leeds ; Author of " Colour in Woven Design " ; " Woollen
and Worsted Cloth Manufacture"; "Woven Fabrics at the
World's Fair " ; Vice-President of the Jury of Award at the Paris
Exhibition, 1900 ; Inspector of Textile Institutes ; Society of
Arts Silver Medallist ; Honorary Medallist of the City and Guilds
of London Institute. With 150 Illustrations of Fibres, Yarns
and Fabrics, also Sectional and other Drawings of Finishing
Machinery Demy Svo. 260pp. PricelOs.6d.net. (Post free,
10s. lOd. home; 11s. 3d. abroad.)
FIBRES USED IN TEXTILE AND ALLIED IN-
DUSTRIES. By C. AINSWORTH MITCHELL, B.A.
(Oxon.), F.I.C., and R. M. PRIDEAUX, F.I.C. With 66 Illustra-
tions specially drawn direct from the Fibres. Demy Svo.
200 pp. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
DRESSINGS AND FINISHINGS FOR TEXTILE
FABRICS AND THEIR APPLICATION. De-
scription of all the Materials used in Dressing Textiles : Their
Special Properties, the preparation of Dressings and their em-
ployment in Finishing Linen, Cotton, Woollen and Silk Fabrics.
Fireproof and Waterproof Dressings, together with the principal
machinery employed. Translated from the Third German
Edition of FRIEDRICH POLLEYN. Demy Svo. 280 pp. Sixty
Illustrations. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 7s. lOd. home ;
8s. abroad.)
THE CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY OF TEXTILE
FIBRES ; Their Origin, Structure, Preparation, Wash-
ing, Bleaching, Dyeing, Printing and Dressing. By Dr. GEORG
VON GEORGIEVICS. Translated from the German by CHARLES
SALTER. 320 pp. Forty-seven Illustrations. Royal 8vo. Price
10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 11s. home ; 11s. 3d. abroad.)
POWER-LOOM WEAVING AND YARN NUMBER-
ING, According to Various Systems, with Conversion
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Twenty-six Diagrams in Colours. 150 pp. Crown Svo. Price
7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 7s. 9d. home ; 8s. abroad.)
TEXTILE RAW MATERIALS AND THEIR CON-
VERSION INTO YARNS. (The Study of the Raw
Materials and the Technology of the Spinning Process.) By
JULIUS ZIPSER. Translated from German by CHARLES SALTER.
302 Illustrations. 500 pp. Demy Svo. Price 10s. 6d. net.
(Post free, 11s. home ; 11s. 6d. abroad.)
For contents of these books, see List II.
15
GRAMMAR OF TEXTILE DESIGN. By H. NISBET,
Weaving and Designing Master, Bolton Municipal Technical
School. Demy 8vo. 280 pp. 490 Illustrations and Diagrams.
Price 6s. net. (Post free, 6s. 4d. home ; 6s. 6d. abroad.)
ART NEEDLEWORK AND DESIGN. POINT
LACE. A Manual of Applied Art for Secondary Schools
and Continuation Classes. By M. E. WILKINSON. Oblong
quarto. With 22 Plates. Bound in Art Linen. Price 3s. 6d.
net. (Post free, 3s. lOd. home ; 4s. abroad.)
HOME LACE-MAKING. A Handbook for Teachers and
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Plates and 9 Diagrams. Price Is. net. (Post free, Is. 3d. home ;
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THE CHEMISTRY OF HAT MANUFACTURING.
Lectures delivered before the Hat Manufacturers' Association.
By WATSON SMITH, F.C.S., F.I.C. Revised and Edited by
ALBERT SHONK. Crown 8vo. 132 pp. 16 Illustrations. Price
7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 7s. 9d. home ; 7s. lOd. abroad.)
THE TECHNICAL TESTING OF YARNS AND
TEXTILE FABRICS. With Reference to Official
Specifications. Translated from the German of Dr. J. HERZFELD.
Second Edition. Sixty-nine Illustrations. 200 pp. Demy 8vo.
Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home; 11s. abroad.)
DECORATIVE AND FANCY TEXTILE FABRICS.
By R. T. LORD. For Manufacturers and Designers of Carpets,
Damask, Dress and all Textile Fabrics. 200 pp. Demy 8vo.
132 Designs and Illustrations. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free,
7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.) '
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF DAMASK WEAV-
ING. By H. KINZER and K. WALTER. Royal 8vo.
Eighteen Folding Plates. Six Illustrations. Translated from
the German. 110pp. Prlce8s.6d.net. (Post free, 9s. home;
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FAULTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WOOLLEN
GOODS AND THEIR PREVENTION. By
NICOLAS REISER. Translated from the Second German Edition.
Crown 8vo. Sixty-three Illustrations. 170 pp. Price 5s. net.
(Post free, 5s. 4d. home ; 5s. 6d. abroad.)
SPINNING AND WEAVING CALCULATIONS,
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REISER. Thirty-four Illustrations. Tables. 160 pp. Demy
8vo. 1904. Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home; 11s.
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16
ANALYSIS OF WOVEN FABRICS. By A. F. BARKER
and E. MIDGLEY. Demy 8vo. About 200 pages [In the press.
WATERPROOFING OF FABRICS. By Dr. S. MIER-
ZINSKI. Crown 8vo. 104 pp. 29 Illus. Price 5s. net. (Post
free, 5s. 3d. home ; 5s. 4d. abroad.)
HOW TO MAKE A WOOLLEN MILL PAY. By
JOHN MACKIE. Crown 8vo. 76 pp. Price 3s. 6d. net. (Post
free, 3s. 9d. home; 3s. lOd. abroad.)
YARN AND WARP SIZING IN ALL ITS
BRANCHES. Translated from the German of CARL
KRETSCHMAR. Royal 8vo. 123 Illustrations. 150 pp. Price
10s. 6d. net. (Post free, 10s. lOd. home; 11s. abroad.)
(For " Textile Soaps and Oils " see p. 1.)
(Dyeing, Colour Printing, Matching
and Dye=stuffs.)
THE COLOUR PRINTING OF CARPET YARNS.
Manual for Colour Chemists and Textile Printers. By DAVID
PATERSON, F.C.S. Seventeen Illustrations. 136 pp. Demy
Svo. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
THE SCIENCE OF COLOUR MIXING. A Manual
intended for the use of Dyers, Calico Printers and Colour
Chemists. By DAVID PATERSON, F.C.S. Forty-one Illustrations.
Five Coloured Plates, and Four Plates showing Eleven Dyed
Specimens Of Fabrics. 132 pp. Demy 8vo. Price 7s. 6d. net.
(Post free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
DYERS' MATERIALS : An Introduction to the Examina-
tion, Evaluation and Application of the most important Sub-
stances used in Dyeing, Printing, Bleaching and Finishing. By
PAUL HEERMAN, Ph.D. Translated from the German by A. C.
WRIGHT, M.A. (Oxon)., B.Sc. (Lond.). Twenty-four Illustrations.
Crown Svo. 150 pp. Price 5s. net. (Post free, 5s. 4d. home ;
5s. 6d. abroad.)
COLOUR MATCHING ON TEXTILES. A Manual
intended for the use of Students of Colour Chemistry, Dyeing and
Textile Printing. By DAVID PATERSON, F.C.S. Coloured Frontis-
piece. Twenty-nine Illustrations and Fourteen Specimens Of
Dyed Fabrics. Demy 8vo. 132 pp. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post
free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
COLOUR : A HANDBOOK OF THE THEORY OF
COLOUR. By GEORGE H. HURST, F.C.S. With Ten
Coloured Plates and Seventy- two Illustrations. 160 pp. Demy
Svo. Price 7s. 6d. net. (Post free, 7s. lOd. home ; 8s. abroad.)
For contents of these books, see List II.
17
Reissue of
THE ART OP DYEING WOOL, SILK AND
COTTON. Translated from the French of M. HELLOT,
M. MACQUER and M. LE PILEUR D'APLIGNY. First Published in
English in 1789. Six Plates. Demy 8vo. 446pp. Price5s.net.
(Post free, 5s. 6d. home ; 6s. abroad.)
THE CHEMISTRY OP DYE-STUFFS. By Dr. GEORG
VON GEORG IE vies. Translated from the Second German Edition.
412pp. Demy 8vo. PricelOs.6d.net. (Post free, 11s. home;
11s 6d. abroad.)
THE DYEING OF COTTON FABRICS : A Practical
Handbook for the Dyer and Student. By FRANKLIN BEECH,
Practical Colourist and Chemist. 272 pp. Forty-four Illus-
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18
COTTON SPINNING (Honours, or Third Year). By
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THE "RING SPINNING FRAME: GUIDE FOR
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VENTILATION IN MINES. By ROBERT WABNER,
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HAULAGE HAND WINDING APPLIANCES USED
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THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT OF COLLIERIES.
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GAS AND COAL DUST FIRING. A Critical Review
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THE HARDENING AND TEMPERING OF STEEL
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&IDEROLOGY: THE SCIENCE OF IRON (The
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EVAPORATING, CONDENSING AND COOLING
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20
VOLUME III. IRON AND STEEL CONSTRUC-
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VOLUME VI. CRANES AND HOISTS. By H.
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VOLUME VIII. THE CALCULUS FOR ENGINEERS.
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VOLUME IX. ILLUMINATION AND LIGHTING.
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HINTS TO PLUMBERS ON JOINT WIPING, PIPE
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SANITARY PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE. By
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ELECTRIC WIRING AND FITTING. By SYDNEY F.
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THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF DIPPING,
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21
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE INCANDESCENT
ELECTRIC LAMP. By G. BASIL BARHAM, A.M.I.E.E.
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[ ust published.
WIRING CALCULATIONS FOR ELECTRIC
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and Electricians, Wiring Contractors and Wiremen, etc. By G.
W. LUMMIS PATERSON. Crown 8vo. 96 pages. 35 Tables.
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A HANDBOOK ON JAPANNING. For Ironware,
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THE PRINCIPLES OF HOT WATER SUPPLY. By
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HOPS IN THEIR BOTANICAL, AGRICULTURAL
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Translated from the German. Seventy-eight Illustrations. 340
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INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES AND WEED-
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WOOD PRODUCTS : DISTILLATES AND EX-
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International Association of Leather Chemists; and J. NOYER.
Translated from the French by DONALD GRANT. Royal 8vo.
320 pp. 103 Illustrations and Numerous Tables. Price 10s. 6d.
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TIMBER : A Comprehensive Study of Wood in all its
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22
THE UTILISATION OF WOOD WASTE. Trans-
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THE PREVENTION OF DAMPNESS IN BUILD-
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By ADOLF WILHELM KEIM. Translated from the German of the
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HANDBOOK OF TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN
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THE MANUFACTURE OF PRESERVED FOODS
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RECIPES FOR THE PRESERVING OF FRUIT,
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23
(Dyeing Fancy Goods.)
THE ART OP DYEING AND STAINING MARBLE,
ARTIFICIAL STONE, BONE, HORN, IVORY
AND WOOD, AND OF IMITATING ALL SORTS
OF WOOD. A Practical Handbook for the Use of
Joiners, Turners, Manufacturers of Fancy Goods, Stick and
Umbrella Makers, Comb Makers, etc. Translated from the
German of D. H. SOXHLET, Technical Chemist. Crown 8vo.
168 pp. Price 5s. net. (Post free, 5s. 3d. home; 5s. 4d. abroad.)
(Celluloid.)
CELLULOID : Its Raw Material, Manufacture, Properties
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PRINTERS' AND STATIONERS' READY
RECKONER AND COMPENDIUM. Compiled by
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ENGRAVING FOR ILLUSTRATION. HISTORI-
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PRACTICAL BOOKBINDING. By PAUL ADAM.
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THE TECHNOLOGY OF SUGAR : Practical Treatise
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Cane and Sugar Beet. By JOHN GEDDES MC!NTOSH. Second
Revised and Enlarged Edition. Demy 8vo. Fully Illustrated.
436 pp. Seventy-six Tables. 1906. Price 10s. 6d. net. (Post
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CLASSIFIED GUIDE TO TECHNICAL AND COM-
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HANDBOOK TO THE TECHNICAL AND ART
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THE PLUMBING, HEATING AND LIGHTING
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heits - Techniker," Handbook for Heating, Ventilating, and
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