The Story of the Cotton Plant Part 16

(_b_) The beam warping frame, in which perhaps 400 threads are pulled from the bobbins made at the winding frame, and wound side by side upon a large wooden beam.

(_c_) The "slasher sizing frame," in which the threads from perhaps five of the beams made at the warping machine are unwound and laid upon one another, so as to form a much denser warp of perhaps 2000 threads, and wrapped on a beam in a suitable form for fitting in the loom as the warp or "woof" of the woven fabric. In addition to this, the sizing machine contains mechanism by which the threads are made to pa.s.s through a mixing of "size" or paste, which strengthens the threads.

In some cases this "size" is laid on the yarn very thickly, in order to make the cloth weigh heavier.

(_d_) After sizing comes the subsidiary process of "drawing in" or "twisting in," by which all the threads are pa.s.sed in a suitable manner through "healds" and "reeds," so as to allow of their proper manipulation by the mechanism of the loom, to which they are immediately afterwards transferred.

In the production of cloths of a more or less "fancy" description, it is often required that the spun yarns shall be bleached and dyed before using, and to perform one or both of these operations efficiently, it is usual to reduce the yarn into proper condition by the processes of "reeling" and "bundling," although in comparatively few instances yarn is dyed in the cop form, while in a few other cases the raw cotton is dyed before being subjected to the processes of cotton spinning.

"Reeling" and "Bundling" are operations which are frequently necessary for other purposes besides those above alluded to, and may therefore be more fully described, as they often form part of the equipment of a spinning mill, and yarn is frequently sent away from the spinning mill in bundle form.

=Reeling.=--This is a simple but very extensively adopted process, in which yarn is wound from cops, bobbins or spools into hanks. It may be explained here that a cotton hank consists of 840 yards, and is made up of 7 leas of 120 yards each, while on a reel each lea is made up of 80 threads, a thread being 54 inches and equalling the circ.u.mference of the reel. Perhaps the most common size of reel contains at one time 40 spindles, and is capable therefore of winding 40 hanks of yarn simultaneously. The photograph in Fig. 34 shows a number of reels fitted for winding hanks from cops formed upon the mule.

The cops being put on the skewers, the end of yarn from each is attached to the reel or "swift" ready for starting. These reels may be arranged so as to be operated from shafting by mechanical power, or by the hand of the attendants.

Image: FIG. 34.--Reeling machine.

Reeling is performed by women, and in our photo the attendant is seen in the actual operation of reeling.

A hank of yarn having been taken from each cop, the reel is stopped and closed up so as to allow of the ready withdrawal of the hanks.

=Bundling Machine.=--The Bundling press is solely intended to a.s.sist in the making up of the hanks of yarn into a form suitable for ready and convenient transit. In order to exercise a sufficient pressure upon the yarn to make a compact bundle, it is necessary for the framing to be of a very strong character, as will be especially noticed in Fig. 35.

Image: FIG. 35.--Bundling machine.

The bundles of yarn made up on the bundling machine are usually 5 to 10 pounds weight, the latter being by far the more common size. The bundle shown in the yarn-box of our ill.u.s.tration is 10 pounds in weight and is practically ready for removal.

Before placing the yarn in the machine, several hanks are twisted together to form a knot, and these "knots" comprise the individual members of the bundle shown in the ill.u.s.tration.

In the sides of the yarn-box there are four divisions, through which are threaded as many strings, upon which may be placed cardboard backs.

Then the knots of yarn are neatly placed upon the strings, and the cardboard and the strong top bars of the press securely fastened down.

Certain cams and levers are then set in motion, by which the yarn table is slowly and powerfully raised so as to press the yarn with great force against the top bars. A sufficient pressure having been exerted, the bundle is tied up and withdrawn from the press, only requiring to be neatly wrapped in stout paper to be quite ready for transit purposes.

=Sewing Thread.=--A very large quant.i.ty of spun yarn is subsequently made into sewing thread. It is a fact well known to practical men that we have no means in cotton spinning by which a thread can be spun directly of sufficient strength to be used as sewing thread. For instance, suppose we wanted a 12's sewing thread, _i.e._, a thread containing 12 hanks in one pound of yarn; it would be practically impossible to spin a thread sufficiently good to meet the requirements of the case. The method generally adopted is to spin a much finer yarn and to make the finished thread by doubling several of the fine spun yarns together in order to form the thicker final thread. For instance, to produce a 12's thread it is probable that 4 threads of single 48's would be doubled together, or say 4 threads of 50's, to allow for the slight contraction of the yarn brought about by twisting the single threads round one another.

In order to perform this doubling operation in an efficient manner for the production of thread, it is usual to employ two machines.

The first of these is shown in the ill.u.s.tration, and is termed the quick traverse winding machine. Here the cops from the mule, or the bobbins from the ring frame, are fitted in a suitable creel, as shown clearly at the front and lower part of our ill.u.s.tration. Each thread of yarn is conducted over a flannel-covered board which cleans the yarn and keeps it tight. Then each thread pa.s.ses through the eye of a small detector wire which is held up by the thread and forms part of an automatic stop motion which stops the rotation of any particular bobbin or "cheese"

when an end or thread belonging to that "cheese" fails or breaks, leaving the needles or detector wires. All the threads--from two to six in number--belonging to one "cheese" are combined to form one loose rope or thicker thread.

Image: FIG. 36.--Quick traverse winding frame.

It ought to be explained that the term cheese is applied to the kind of bobbin of yarn which is formed upon this particular machine, one or two being placed as shown on the frame work.

=Doubling Machine.=--The machine just described does not put any twist into the thread, although twisting is a process which is absolutely indispensable for the proper combination of the several single threads so as to produce a strong doubled thread.

The twisting operation is therefore performed on the machine ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 37, and termed the "Ring doubling machine."

In the creel of this machine are placed the cheeses formed on the winding machine, and the threads are conducted downward and usually under a gla.s.s rod in trough containing water, as the addition of water helps to solidify the single threads better into one doubled thread.

From the water trough the threads are conducted between a pair of revolving bra.s.s rollers which draw the threads from the cheeses and pa.s.s them forward to the front of the machine. Here each doubled thread extends downwards and pa.s.ses through a "traveller" upon the bobbin.

This machine is a modification of the ring spinning frame previously described and therefore does not call for detailed treatment at our hands.

The two machines are practically identical in principle, the chief difference being that in the doubler there are no drawing rollers, as the cotton is not attenuated in any degree at this stage.

Other differences consist in having larger "travellers" and "rings" and "spindles," and in a different kind of bobbin being formed.

Image: FIG. 37.--Ring doubling machine.

At the doubling mill these threads are submitted to finis.h.i.+ng processes, by which they may be polished and cleared and finally wound upon small bobbins or spools ready for the market, as seen in Fig. 2.

A fair proportion of the very best yarns are utilised in the manufacture of lace and to imitate silk. Such yarns are usually pa.s.sed through what is termed a "ga.s.sing" machine. In this process each thread is pa.s.sed rapidly several times through a gas flame usually emanating from a burner of the Bunsen type. The pa.s.sage of the thread through the flame is too rapid to allow of the burning down of the threads, but is not too quickly to prevent the loose oozy fibres, present more or less on the surface of all cotton yarns, to be burned away. This process is somewhat expensive, as it burns away perhaps 6 pounds weight of yarn in every 100 pounds. This, however, is obtained back again by the increased price of the yarn. It is a property of the cotton fibre that it can be made to imitate more or less either woollen, linen or silk goods, and since cotton is the cheapest fibre of the lot it follows that a considerable amount of cotton yarn is used in combination with these other fibres, in order to produce cheaper fabrics. Embroidery, crocheting and knitting cottons, and the hosiery trade absorb a large amount of the spun cotton yarn; the latter being doubled in most cases in order to fit it for the special work it is designed to do.

In a modern spinning mill the ground floor usually contains the openers, scutchers, drawing frames, carding engines and bobbin and fly-frames.

The upper floors are usually covered by mules and other spinning frames.

Image: FIG. 38.--Engine house, showing driving to various storeys.

In the last ill.u.s.tration (Fig. 38) is shown one of the latest engines built for special work such as is required in a cotton mill. The huge drum, on which rest the ropes and which can be clearly seen in the picture, is divided into grooves. A certain number of these is set apart for the special rooms. The strength of the rope is known and its transmitting power is also known. When the power required to drive say the first storey or second storey is calculated, it becomes an easy matter to distribute the ropes on the drum as required. This engine is now at work in the Bee-Hive Spinning Mill, Bolton.

THE END.