LINGOES OR LEADS

For pressure harness work the weights for drawing down the harness were originally made of lead, about the length and thickness of a thin pencil, but tapering to the lower end.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

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

HARNESS TWINE

The size of harness twine used varies greatly; some prefer a fine, and others a heavy, twine. For the sleepers and hangers, 4 ply of 22’s or 5 ply of 30’s linen yarn is a very good medium size, and 4 ply of 14’s or 5 ply of 18’s or 20’s is a very good size for the neck or body of the harness.

Sometimes, for heavy damask, cable cord is used for the body of the harness, and is a good wearing cord; it is especially suited when the neck cords are fastened to the sleepers below the cumber board. This cord is made of good flax yarn; 5 ply of 30’s are twisted together, and three of these cords are then twisted together, or 3 ply of 18’s afterwards made 3 ply. A better size for medium work is 5 ply of 35’s made 3 ply, or 3 ply of 20’s or 22’s made 3 ply. Heavy harness twine requires to have heavier lingoes, particularly on those parts of the harness that are much slanted, in order to have the same effect on them that they would have on light twine. Some go to the opposite extreme, and use very light twine, such as 4 ply of 30’s, which is only fit for very light work in a narrow loom, where there will be but little friction on the cumber board, and where no heck is required. Lighter twine will suit better for a hand loom than for a power loom; 4 ply of 30’s for the harness of a hand loom, with lingoes of 50 or 60 to the lb., would do very well for a light cotton warp.

SETTING THE JACQUARD

The proper position for the jacquard, when only one is required on the loom, is so that the centre hook in it will be above the centre hole of the cumber board. This can easily be found by tying a plumb line to the centre hook of the machine and moving it, if necessary, till the plummet rests over the centre of the cumber board. In case the cumber board is not fixed in position, that of the jacquard may be found by having the plumb line to pass about half an inch more than the half breadth of the harness at the cumber board behind the top rail of the lay when it is full back, and it should also be at equal distances from each side of the loom. When more than one jacquard is required, they should be arranged evenly over the cumber board, and as close together as possible.

Sometimes the jacquard may be set farther forward or back to suit circumstances, such as getting card space, the only disadvantage being that there will be more slanting of the cords at one side than the other, and more friction on them in the cumber board, also more drag on the hooks on this side if no heck is used, and if a heck is used the cords will have to bear the friction on it. The more direct the cords of the harness can be, the better, and the above setting of the jacquard should be adhered to when possible, but it is not absolutely necessary for working to have it so.

It is always well to have the jacquards so arranged that they can be raised or lowered a little by having them resting on bars, which can be raised or lowered with screws. This is in case the harness is levelled higher or lower than might afterwards be desired; but if the breast beam of the loom, with the lay and back rail, can be raised or lowered, it will suit the same purpose, and it is better not to move the machine once it is fixed and the harness tied up.

The height the jacquard is to be above the loom must in many cases be regulated by circumstances; for instance, the height of the roof, or if the beams of the roof interfere with the working of it; sometimes the machines rest on the framing of the loom—that is, if the loom is made for a jacquard—and sometimes plain looms are used, and the machines rest on beams supported from columns, or from the roof of the house. This latter is the best plan, as it keeps the jacquard free from the shaking of the loom, which is particularly useful in the case of looms fitted with the knock-off motion. A good height for a jacquard, independent of circumstances, is to have 8 ft. or 8 ft. 6 in. from the mails to the bottoms of the hooks for a 10/4 loom—that is, one with about 100 in. reed space; 7 ft. to 7 ft. 6 in. for an 8/4 (82 in. reed space), and 5 ft. 6 in. to 6 ft. for a 4/4 (40 in. or 42 in. reed space), are very good heights. 5 ft. 6 in. is about right for a narrow harness, say 20 in. to 27 in. wide; 6 ft. would do for 80 in. wide, and 7 ft. or 7 ft. 6 in. for 90 in. wide, if necessary.

HECKS OR GUIDE REEDS

A heck is a frame of hard wood with wires across it, a wire for each row of hooks in the machine, from back to front. It should be made to suit the machine, so that when the harness passes from the hooks between the wires, it will go vertically down, and have no slant in it. In narrow hecks, there is usually one cross-stay to support the wires, but for broader machines there should be at least two. The wire should be iron, as brass soon cuts with the friction of the cords, and then in turn cuts the cords. For a single-acting machine the wires should be loose, so that they can roll with the cords; but for a double-acting machine this would be of no advantage, as a portion of the cords are falling when the remainder are rising. If the machine is very wide, or has to be set forward or back on the loom, there should be cross rollers of hard wood above the wires, at right angles to them, to prevent the bottoms of the hooks from being drawn either backwards or forwards, which might push their heads on or off the griffe knives.

Sometimes glass rollers are used in the silk trade for this purpose, with mountings of the London tie, and while they are very smooth and polish the twines, they get too hot if used in warm power-loom factories working at a high speed. Hecks are not required for very narrow harnesses, as the cords do not diverge much from the vertical, and the friction on the heck being saved, the cords wear much longer.

In a wide harness it is impossible to draw an even shed without a heck, although in some districts they are hardly known, and the more any portion of the harness diverges from the vertical, the more irregular will the shed be.

Suppose we take an extreme case of a loom having three or four jacquards on it, the harness to be 96 in. wide, and the pattern to be for a table-cover; then, if we deduct 2 ft. from the width of the harness, it is possible some of the border twines may have to slant across 6 ft., or 72 in. Now make a triangle as No. 1, Fig. 48. Let the base, A B, be 72 in., and take it as the level of the cumber board. Take the vertical side, A C, as the height of the harness to the heck, viz., 84 in. Now calculate the length of the hypotenuse B C by squaring 84 and 72 and finding the square root of the sum, and it will be found to be 110·63 in. Again: Make another triangle, as No. 2, with base 72 in.; vertical side 3-1/2 in. longer than that of the former triangles, viz., 87·5 in. (this 3-1/2 in. is to represent the draw or lift of the harness). Calculate the length of the hypotenuse as before, and it will be found to be 113·31 in. From this deduct 110·63 in., the length of B C in No. 1, and the remainder, 2·68 in., equals the height that the cord B C has been raised, while the cord A C, which is vertical, has been raised 3-1/2 in.; and if we take into consideration that the side draw of the sloping cords, as B C, will pull the tail cord a little to one side and rise the vertical cords a little higher, while the sloping ones remain proportionately lower, 1 in. may be safely taken as the difference of the height that the two cords, B C and A C, would be raised by the jacquard, and all the other cords in the harness would vary, being less than this in proportion to their divergence from the straight or vertical line. It can thus be seen how the shed would require to be opened to let the shuttle through, and the irregular strain that would be on the yarn; and for any cloth that requires a fine surface, any irregularity of strain on the warp has a deleterious effect, very well known by experienced overlookers.

Some consider that the London style of harness is more suitable for working without a heck than the Norwich style, and adopt it to avoid using one, as it is severe on the harness twines. Some raise the machines very high to avoid using them, but for particular work with border ties they must be used to give a proper working harness. With the London mounting rollers should be, and are, used when there is no heck. These rollers are set as a coarse heck in a frame under the machine, and lie lengthways under it, just as they would do when used above a heck. The heck should be about 3 in. below the knots which fasten the tail cords to the neck twines. Some have the tugs, or tail cords, coming down through the heck; in this case the heck only takes the strain off the hooks of the machine, and has no effect on the shed, though sometimes this is mitigated by having more than one tug or tail cord, and the neck twines that slant in different directions are tied to different tail cords. The only point in favour of this is that it saves some trouble in tying broken harness twines when they begin to wear away by their friction on the heck.

PREPARING THE NECK OF THE HARNESS

The twine for the neck, as well as that for the other portions of the harness, is usually wound on spools, and when the neck is to be prepared it is warped from these spools to the length required, either on a hand warping mill or round two pins fastened in a wall or on a bench, as far apart as the length of the harness; three or four spools are put on pins, and the ends from them are taken and wound round the pins fixed for warping them on. When warped the twines may be cut at one end, and can either be tied in a bunch or stretched on a board and tied down on it, so that they may be kept straight and admit of any number of them being pulled out as they are wanted.

In some methods of mounting the neck twines are first tied to the tail cords; perhaps this is the plan most commonly adopted with double-acting machines. Sometimes they are tied to the sleepers first, and fastening them to the tail cords is the last process. This is called ‘beeting’ the harness. When single-acting machines are made with the hooks resting on a perforated board, they have tugs on the hooks; but when the wire hooks pass down through a perforated grating, tugs are unnecessary, and the neck twines are fastened to the hooks. When fastened to the hooks, or even when fastened to the tail cords, and a heck is not to be used, the neck twines should be formed into heads, either before they are tied up or afterwards, as may be desired. The reason of this is, that when a number of neck twines are tied to a hook or tail cord, and the hook is raised by the machine when working, the twines will be slanting in different directions, and when coming down again would be liable to catch on the knots of those that were not raised; and the head is for the purpose of keeping them together, so that they cannot separate for a short way down. One method of doing this is, after the bunch of neck twines is tied to a tail cord or hook, to take one of the twines and knot it round the others about 3-1/2 in. below the tail cord, and the same may be done with a second twine, if there are many in the parcel.

Sometimes the neck twines are all prepared in heads, and the following is a convenient method of doing so:—Fasten four flat pins of wood, as A, B, C, D, Fig. 49, on a board as F, or on the edge of a bench or table. C and D are firmly fastened, but A and B can be turned round to the position shown by the dotted lines when the screws holding them are slackened. The distance from C to D must be the length required for the neck twines. E is the twine coming from a spool on a wire. The pin A is pushed round to the position shown by the dotted line, and the twine is warped round C, B, D, passing over B and under C, so as to form a lease. When a sufficient quantity is warped, the crossing of the lease is pushed up towards C, and the pin A turned round into the centre of the twines, taking the place of B, which is turned back. The use of the two pins is to allow room for warping, C and A being too close together. The distance from the outside of C to that of A should be the length the head is required to be (about 3-1/2 in. or 4 in.). The twines may now be cut at D, and a piece of cord looped round them and tied to D, so as to hold them steady, but allow them to be drawn out as required. The number of twines for each head can now be drawn out and tied round the two pins C and A, and when a number are done they can be slipped off the pins and put on cords or rods; the lease keeps the heads in order, and the bunch can be hung up at the loom, and each head be taken in rotation by the mounter. The number of twines for each head is regulated by the tie of the harness.

Suppose a double-acting machine is to be mounted with the harness similar to that shown in No. 1, Fig. 46. The tail cords are usually put on the machine by the makers, but if they are worn out, or if new cords are required, putting them on is the first process. This can be done when the machine is on the ground, and the neck may also be tied to the tail cords before the machine is put on the loom. Some mounters prefer one method, and some the other, and the one which most conveniently suits the circumstances may be used. When the neck is attached to the machine before putting it on the loom, it is usual to turn it on its side on blocks or on a table. If the machine is on the loom, a board is tied up to make a seat for the mounter, and the bunch of neck twines is fixed convenient to his reach; or he may have a boy to draw them out for him, and hand him the number he requires. Beginning at the first hook, he takes a pair of tail cords, and having drawn them down straight and stretched them firmly, he loops the neck twines on them in the way shown in Fig. 46, and draws the knot fast. The distance from the bottom of the hooks to the neck twines should be 11 in. or 12 in. The first of these in each row is measured, and the mounter can then regulate the others so as to have all the knots in a line.

The number of neck twines that are to be tied to each hook is regulated by the tie of the harness. For each time that any repeat or portion of a pattern is to be repeated on the cloth there must be a twine attached to those hooks of the machine that are to work this repeat. For instance, if a 400 machine is used, and the pattern consists of a simple repeat on these 400 hooks, and this has to be repeated six times on the cloth, then six neck twines must be tied to each hook of the machine. Again: The pattern might be made for a 400 machine, 200 hooks to be repeated six times, 100 four times, and 100 three times; then six twines would be tied to the first 200 hooks, four to the second set of hooks (100), and three to the third set (100), and any mounting would be regulated in a similar manner.

Full particulars of ties will be given further on.

If all the hooks in the machine are not required, any number of rows or portions of rows can be left idle at one end, or at both ends if desired, or even at the back or front.

When all the neck twines are tied up, the next process is to draw them through the heck, which should be fastened firmly 2 in. or 3 in. below the knots connecting the tail cords and neck.

The jacquard is supposed to have been levelled and set in its proper position on the loom, and firmly fastened there, and the same may now be done with the cumber board.

CUMBER BOARDS AND HARNESS REEDS

These are both for the same purpose—viz., that of regulating the space which the harness is to occupy—and both answer the purpose equally well, generally speaking. The reed being stronger is, perhaps, more suitable for coarse work; and the cumber board, giving a more evenly distributed harness, is perhaps preferable for fine work. Be that as it may, both suit for any medium work, though some workmen are all against the reeds, and others all against the boards. Harness reeds are strong-made reeds of cane or iron, of the depth and fineness to suit the harness. Bridges are fixed in them about 6 in. apart, with perforations for stiff wire to be run through; as many wires as are required to suit the number of rows of the harness. A wire should be outside the harness at both sides, to prevent it rubbing against the ribs of the reed. The wires are made straight, drawn tight, and fastened at each end to holes in the yoke of the reed. The reed is set in a frame of wood or iron, so that it can be bolted to brackets on the loom.

Cumber or comber boards, also called hole boards, are made in various ways. Sometimes they are of wood about 3/4 in. thick, and bored in a piece. These boards are strong enough to bolt to brackets on the frame of the loom. Sometimes they are thin, about 1/4 in. thick, bored in the same way, and framed. The wood used is beech, sycamore, and sometimes walnut. The objection to these boards, particularly the thin ones, is that if the wood is not very well seasoned they are liable to warp and split. A great many prefer to use what are called ‘slips’—that is, small pieces of wood of the depth required for the harness, and about 1-1/2 in. long or broad. The length, or long way of a cumber board or harness reed, is frequently called the width or breadth, same as weaver’s reeds, as this is the width of the loom. The cross-way, or from back to front, would, in the same way, be the depth. These slips are made of boxwood, beech, or other clean hard wood. Some prefer beech or sycamore to boxwood. The twines cut into them all in time, but the hardness of the boxwood causes a very fine cut to be made in it, which cuts the twine. The others will not cut the twine so readily, and by the time the wood is cut too much the harness would require to be renewed as well as the cumber board. These slips are made about 1/4 in. or 5/16 in. thick, and are set in a grooved frame. The usual way of arranging the holes in a board is shown at A (Fig. 50), which is for an 8-row harness. B shows a patent method, devised for the purpose of giving more space between any two holes in each horizontal row. The arrangement of the holes is in 4-shaft satin order, and gives double the space between the holes of each horizontal line that A does, and of course it would take so much longer for the twines to cut through; but this would only be an advantage if the holes were set very close together, as otherwise the harness would be considerably off the level before the twines had cut from one hole into another. In any case, the irregularity of the holes will likely prevent it from ever taking the place of the older method shown at A, though it may be desirable sometimes.

The cumber board is fastened on two brackets—one at each side of the loom—and should be perfectly level and firm. It should be so far advanced as to allow the harness to pass within half an inch of the handrail of the lay when full back, and should be from 8 in. to 10 in. above the mails, the lower the better, as it keeps them steady; but the height may have to be regulated by the swords of the lay, as they must be clear of it, and in some looms they are higher than in others. When the cumber board is levelled and fastened, it should not be moved after the harness is tied up, as any change in its position must alter the level of some portion of the harness. This cannot in every case be adhered to, as in some cases it may be necessary to move it. In a small harness a good deal of shifting can be made that could not be attempted in a large or intricate one. In many places the harnesses are built in a separate room, or by the machine maker, and sent to the manufacturer; but practical experience with particular work will teach anyone that it is most desirable to have everything about the harness as level and true as possible, and it takes a good deal of care to effect this, even without any shifting.

SLABSTOCKS AND LEVELLING FRAMES

‘Slabstock’ is a name given to the board used for fastening the mails on before they are levelled. It is about 6 in. deep and 1 in. thick, and should be as long, or longer, than the loom is broad, according to the way it is to be fixed in the loom, which is usually by being bolted to brackets fastened on the sides of it.

There is a groove or rebate in the top edge of it for holding the mails, as shown in Fig. 51 at A and B. Sometimes the grooves are at both sides, as shown at A¹. All the mails required for the harness are put on the one slabstock, which is set directly under the cumber board when the harness is being levelled.

A levelling frame is better than a slabstock; it is for the same purpose—that of keeping the mails firm and level when being tied to the neck twines. It consists of two flat bars of iron, C, C (Fig. 52), which can be bolted together in the form of a frame by the use of two stays, one at each end, and by the same screws be bolted to slotted brackets, A A, B B, fastened to the frame of the loom. Sometimes two hanging brackets, as D, are used, fastened from the top or heddle-bearer of the loom. The levelling bars, C, C, rest in these brackets, and can be fixed firm in them with a pin or cotter. If there is any yield or spring in the brackets, they can be stayed from the front of the loom as well, as the frame should be made very firm. The distance between the two bars should be 4 in. or 4-1/2 in., which will suit any harness; if only narrow harnesses, as 8-row, are required, it may be an inch narrower. The length of the frame must suit the breadth of the loom. It should be perfectly straight and level on the upper edges, and should have two rows of holes bored in it, about 2 in. apart, for pins and skewers to pass through above and below the wires on which the mails are strung, so as to keep them firm.

LEVELLING THE SLABSTOCK OR FRAME

Levelling a harness, or rather levelling the mails of the harness, is the most important part of the mounting, as, if the mails are not levelled as true as a straight-edge, good work need not be expected from the loom. The position in which they are levelled, in relation to the breast beam and back rail, will depend upon the nature of the cloth to be made, to a certain extent; but as a general rule, for ordinary work, the eyes of the mails should be half the depth of the shed required to be drawn below the level of the breast beam for hand loom work, and a little more than that for power-loom work. This is to have the top and bottom portions of the shed of an even tension, and to make both sides of the cloth equally good. The position of the back roll can be altered a little afterwards, if it is required to slacken either the top or bottom portions of the shed. Raising the back roll throws up the weft pattern to the under side of the cloth, and sinking the back roll gives the upper surface of the cloth a finer appearance, by tightening the top portion of the shed. A 3-1/2-in. draw of the harness is sufficient for power-loom work, and perhaps less would sometimes be preferable. Levelling the harness mails 1-3/4 in. for light work, and 2 in. for heavy work, below the breast beam should be a good average standard for a 3-1/2 in. draft of harness. The levelling frame or slabstock is levelled to this height by means of a spirit level and straight-edge, making allowance for whatever spring there may be in the harness after it is tied, and the wires drawn out of the mails. This can only be ascertained by experience, and depends principally on the tension the mounter puts on the twines when tying them; it will also depend upon whether the harness twines have any spring in them or not, but they should be well stretched before being used, to avoid this. A mounter who ties slackly will generally make a more level harness than one who ties tightly. About 1/8 in. may be allowed for the mails to rise if the cords are slackly tied, and if tightly tied 1/4 in. may have to be allowed, and sometimes more than this.

Sometimes the level is taken by placing a straight-edge on the race of the lay, when the cranks are at the back centre; then the under edge of the straight-edge should give the position for the tops of the mails on the slabstock, when it is fixed in its position in the loom. In levelling by this method the race must first be set at the proper height, and it must also be properly bevelled. From 1/2 in. to 3/4 in. below the breast beam is a good level at which to have the race, when the cranks are at the top centre, the latter for a low harness. The angle, or bevel, of the race may not at all times suit for levelling in this way. If not, the race should be made correct when possible; if it cannot be corrected, the harness must be levelled a little lower and the back rail kept down for working. A loom with the race bevelled for plain work is not suited for damask; the angle between the race and reed should, for damask, be about 93°, whereas for plain 87° would be more suitable.

TYING UP THE HARNESS

Having the neck attached to the tail cords and the levelling frame and cumber board fixed in position, the next operation is to get the prepared lingoes placed in the loom, whether on the levelling frame or slabstock. Suppose the levelling frame to be used. According to the number of rows in the harness or cumber board, pieces of reed wire are procured, one for each row, and as many lingoes are strung on each of these as will be required for each row of the harness, by running the wires through the mails. These wires are then placed in the frame and secured by skewers being put through the frame above and below them. The frame is then levelled and firmly bolted to the loom. The sleepers or mid-pieces of the lingoes are next drawn up through the cumber board, one through each hole required to be used, any surplus holes being previously marked out to suit the tie of the harness, which will be afterwards explained. When all are drawn through, the tying of the neck twines to the sleepers may be proceeded with.

This must be done in accordance with the tie of the harness. Thus, if there are four cords tied on the first hook of the machine, these must be taken down to the lingoes in the proper place in the cumber board, which may be seen by examining the particulars of the mountings, to be given further on. One method of fastening the neck to the sleepers is shown in No. 1, Fig. 46, at D, d, d¹. The twine is put through the loop of the sleeper at d¹ (or better to have a snitch on the sleeper, unless the knots are to be varnished afterwards), then a loop is thrown on at d, and the end tied at D, and clipped close. This method suits very well when the harness is liable to be altered, for if the knots are brushed over with paste they hold sufficiently firm, and can be loosed again at any time, if necessary. If varnished, it also answers equally well for any coarse harness; but if it is fine and much crossed, especially if the twines are strong or coarse, the knots are liable to catch on each other and raise more warp than should be when the loom is working.

A second plan is shown in No. 2, Fig. 46. In this case there are no sleepers on the lingoes; they are put on the levelling frame or slabstock without them, the mails and lingoes being connected by the hangers; the levelling frame is set in the loom as before, and the neck twines must be long enough to go down through the cumber board, through the top hole of the mail, and up again through the cumber board to where they are tied. The mounter, when about to tie them, takes one of the twines and casts a single knot on it, leaving the loop open, then puts the end of it through a hole in the cumber board and through a mail, and with a small wire hook draws it up again through the same hole in the cumber board, and through the open knot or loop he made on it, at the same time; then, turning round the awl or piercer in the other end of the handle of the hook, he puts it through the knot and runs it up about 6 in. above the cumber board, draws it tight, and casts another knot above it with the end of the twine, as shown at D, No. 2, Fig. 46. This makes a neat harness, and when a mounter gets accustomed to it he can proceed very expeditiously. This method is used in England; the former is Scotch. The instrument used for drawing the twines through the cumber board consists of a wooden handle, in one end of which is a hook or barbed wire, same as is used for drawing the warp through mails, and in the other end is a round awl or piece of steel wire, tapered to a blunt point, which is used for running up the loop or knots so as to have them all about the same distance above the cumber board.

Beeting is another Scotch method of mounting. The harness may be beeted either above or below the cumber board; beeting above it was the old method, and single slabstock was used, as shown in Fig. 51 at A. When preparing it for the loom, the lingoes and mails are connected by the hangers in the usual way, and hung on the slabstock with the mails in the groove in it, as shown at B, Fig. 51. A piece of flat wire (reed wire) is run through the eyes of the mails, as many as are required for the whole harness, and is then tied down by cords fastened round it and the slabstock, at short distances apart. The slabstock is now put into a frame, or rack, with a rail as high above it as is required for the length of the sleepers. A spool of twine is fixed on a wire pin at the side of the frame, and with a needle, or otherwise, the end of the twine is run through a number of the mails and fastened. With a hook the sleepers can be reeled up to pins in the rail above the slabstock, on the same principle that they are done in Fig. 47. When the sleepers are all finished they can be slipped off the pins and cut.

The slabstock is next fixed in the loom and levelled with the upper edge of the rebate or groove touching the under edge of a straight-edge placed on the race of the lay when it is full back (for power looms).

The sleepers are then drawn up through the cumber board without their ends being knotted; they should be long enough to reach about 8 in. above it, and say 7 in. below, making 15 in. for their entire length.

Now, to beet the harness: Say there are two beeters, standing on the ground, with a supply of neck twines convenient to them; they pick up the sleepers from the first set of holes in the cumber board—that is, those that are to be connected with the first hook in the machine—and, having tied neck twines to them, hand them to the harness tyer, who is up at the machine. He takes the lot of twines and draws them all to an even tension, then, having drawn down the tail cords firmly and evenly, knots the neck twines to them.

One method of knotting the neck to the tail is to have the tail cords tied together so as to form loops; then, having straightened both the neck and tail cords, lay the neck against the loop of the tail, and take both firmly between the finger and thumb of the left hand, being careful not to let them slip, and casting a knot, as at C or D, Fig. 51, round the tail, with the ends of the neck draw it fast. In order to have all the tail cords plumb and the knots of a uniform height, the harness tyer sometimes has a cord tied across the top of the loom frame, at each end of the machine, at the height the knots are to be. On these he lays a straight-edge, marked as a guide for where the tail cords are to hang, so that he can regulate those of one row and have them plumb, and the knots even; when one row is finished, he moves the straight-edge to the next, and goes on with it. A newer method of beating is to prepare the lingoes with sleepers and hangers, the sleepers to be about 5-1/2 in. long. The slabstock A¹, Fig. 51, is used, or the other if preferred.

The mails are put upon flat wires as before, but instead of all going on one wire, half the number is put on each of two wires, and one of them is placed at each side of the slabstock, where it can be fastened with small staples. To facilitate getting the mails on the wires, when reeling the sleepers on the pin, as in Fig. 47, a lease can be made on the loops by giving them a twist when putting them over the pin.

A piece of twine can be fastened in this case, and the loops afterwards cut. The mails can then be taken off in order, and run on the wire for the slabstock. When the mails are fixed on the slabstock it may be laid on the ground, or set in a frame, and the neck twines tied to the sleepers; and when all are tied, they can be drawn through the cumber board or harness reed. Afterwards, all are taken and fixed in the loom. The cumber board must be set so high above the knots on the sleepers that they will not come into contact with it when the shed is opened (that would be 4 in. or 4-1/2 in. above it). The neck twines are then tied to the tail cords as before.

This makes a very good harness, and has the advantage of having no knots on the neck twines above the cumber board, which is very important in an intricate harness with the cords close together, as the knots when varnished are liable to catch on each other, or on twines slanting across them, and lift them as they are being drawn up. When a harness is mounted in this way it is not easy to make any alteration on it, or to re-level any portion of it if necessary. If the sleepers are tied in loops, same as used in No 1, Fig. 46, they can be connected to the neck twines by having the latter double and putting both ends of the neck through a snitch on the sleeper, or the neck twines may be double and the two ends of the sleeper when untied may be put through a snitch on the looped end of the neck twine and tied; in this way they could be altered or adjusted afterwards if necessary, but if they had to be varnished the knots would be rather rough.

The following method of mounting is adopted in the damask hand-loom districts of the North of Ireland, and is used for particular power-loom work as well. It is a slower process than the preceding, but cannot be surpassed for getting a level harness, and the mails can be regulated as desired—that is, to have the back rows getting gradually a little higher than the front ones, which can only be accomplished in the preceding methods by tying them a little tighter, or by having the frame sloped a little.

The lingoes may be prepared as before, with the sleepers 5 in. long when tied and clipped. The neck twines are put down through the cumber board and knotted loosely in bunches underneath.

The levelling frame is set in the loom, the top edge of it being at the level that the eyes of the mails in the front row are to be hung.

No wires are required. The lingoes are taken in bunches and put astride on the frame as required, and boys fasten them up to the neck twines by throwing on a snitch and running them up to somewhere about the height they will be wanted when level; in doing so the knots on the sleepers must be kept up as close to the snitch as is convenient for tying them, as, if left too low, they would interfere with the warp in shedding. When all the lingoes are hung inside the levelling frame—or they may be hung first, and the levelling frame put up afterwards and levelled—the mounter may begin to level the mails.

He uses a fine piece of waxed cord with a small weight at each end, which he lays across the levelling frame as a guide, and levels each row from back to front in succession. The front mail may hang with the top of its eye level with the cord, and the others rise a little higher, till the back one is perhaps, with the bottom hole, level with the levelling cord, or 1/8 in. higher than the front one. The levelling can easily be accomplished by sliding the snitch up or down the neck twines; and when the correct height for the mail is got, the neck twine is tied as at H, No. 3, Fig. 46, when it is to be varnished, or as at H¹ when it need not be varnished; in the latter case cable cord is used for the neck, and it is split at the end, when drawn through the snitch, and then knotted.

VARNISHING A HARNESS

Varnishing is for the twofold purpose of making the harness twines wear better, and keeping them from being affected by the atmosphere.

Sometimes the harness is only partly varnished, particularly when it is liable to be changed in a short time, and then it can be loosed down and used again.

If it is to remain for a length of time—that is, for steady work—it should be varnished all over, but care should be taken to get a good varnish, as some of them destroy the twines, and others come off and are useless.

The common varnishes are made principally from shellac, beeswax, and turpentine, and can be procured at any heddle-maker’s. Sometimes white wax dissolved in turpentine is used to rub the twine at the cumber board, for fine harnesses for silk and other light work, the remainder being left unvarnished. Sometimes the neck of the harness and the sleepers are varnished, and the knots above the cumber board are brushed with paste, as each row is tied, to keep them from slipping.

Perhaps the best varnish is boiled oil, which, when well dried, gets very smooth after working for some time, and keeps the twines soft and pliable. It takes some time to dry, and does not suit well for using in a dusty place, but answers very well when the harness is built in a room for the purpose, and is afterwards taken to the loom.

Sometimes a very small quantity of beeswax or white wax is added to the oil to give it more firmness, and sometimes driers are used to make it dry more quickly; but it is better to do without driers, as they harden the twines and are injurious. Varnish should not be disturbed till quite dry, as, if the twines are separated and the loom started when it is soft, the outer surface will rub up and make a rough harness. The twines are separated by running a wire skewer between each cross-row. French chalk dusted down through the harness assists in smoothing it, and prevents too much friction when it is being started to work.

TO ARRANGE THE TIE OF A HARNESS

What is known as the tie of a harness is the arrangement or manner in which the harness twines are connected to the hooks of the jacquard—i.e. the number of twines that are tied to each hook, and the position they are to occupy in the cumber board. Ties for ordinary damask work may be divided into three classes—viz. straight, or single; lay over, or repeating; and gathered, or centred.

Straight or Single Tie.—This tie is only required when there is no repetition of any portion of the pattern, as in silk markers, and occasionally in handkerchiefs, d’oyleys, tablecloths, &c. Only one harness twine is tied to each hook of the jacquard, and there must be as many hooks as there are threads of warp. The twines are tied to the jacquard and taken down through the cumber board in regular order from first to last, and the warp is drawn into the mails in the same order. Any pattern that it is possible to put on the cloth can be wrought with this method of mounting.

Lay Over or Repeating Tie.—This is, perhaps, the commonest tie, and is used for all such patterns as Fig. 53, where one small portion, as that enclosed by the dotted lines, will, when repeated several times, cover the entire surface of the cloth.

Gathered or Centred Tie.—This tie can be used when both halves of any figure or border, &c., are alike when turned over; it will only require half the number of hooks to work a figure or border, when gathered or centred, that would be required for a single pattern.

All other ties are combinations of these.

Fig. 53 shows a pattern for a lay over, or repeating tie, such as might be used for dress goods, handkerchiefs, &c. The complete extent of the pattern is enclosed by the dotted line; this is called one ‘repeat’ of the pattern, because this portion repeated over the cloth makes up the entire figuring on it. To ascertain how this may be woven, or what number of hooks of the jacquard will be required to weave it, the number of threads contained in 1 in., or other given space, of the cloth required must be known. If the pattern is to be on the cloth say 2 in. × 2-3/8 in., and there are to be 100 threads of warp and 120 threads of weft per inch, then 200 hooks of the jacquard and 240 cards would be required to weave it, each hook representing one thread of warp, and each card representing one shot of weft.

Figs. 54 and 55 show mountings on jacquards with 208 hooks in each, the former tied on the Norwich principle, and the latter in the London style. In both cases only 200 hooks are used, the remaining eight hooks being left idle for selvages, if required. These mountings are made for four repeats of the pattern, which would only make 8 in. of cloth; but there may be any number of repeats, say 13, to make 27 in. of cloth or 28-1/2 in. of warp in the loom, with, say, 92 threads per inch. There must be a harness twine for each repeat of the pattern tied to each hook of the machine; when four repeats are used, four twines are tied to each hook, as in Figs. 54 and 55. The harness reed or cumber board, G, must be of the same set or fineness as the weaver’s reed (if finer, it can be used by passing over the surplus holes). It is divided into four portions, leaving 200 holes for each repeat, and the twines are, in Fig. 54, taken straight down from the hooks to the holes in it, as can easily be seen. In this figure the cross-rows of the cumber board at the first of each repeat are shown filled; but in mounting, the back row, taken from the hooks A to B, would be filled first. In Fig. 55 the reverse is the case, the cross-rows, as shown, being the first filled; this is owing to the twist in the harness, as the machine is sitting so that the cards will hang over the side of the loom. The letters A, B, C, and D in both figures denote the same corners of the machines, showing that in Fig. 55 there is a quarter twist in the harness. In Fig. 54, the dotted lines from the 200th hook show the last cord of each repeat; L is the first cord of the last cross-row, and E and F are the same in Fig. 55. In these figures only the skeleton of the mounting is given; it must, of course, be filled up as the first rows which are given.

For this description of mounting the yarn is drawn into the mails in regular order, beginning at No. 1, and proceeding with the numbers as given. In this case the back hook to the left-hand corner must be taken as the first hook of the machine, and the cards cut to suit this. Sometimes the first hook to the front left-hand corner is considered the first hook, but if so it must be remembered when cutting the cards. Sometimes the mounting is begun at the right-hand side, but in any case it is only necessary to see that the draft of the yarn and cutting of the cards correspond with the order of mounting; the result of the work should be the same in all cases.

Fig. 56 shows a pattern for a gathered border with a repeating centre, which is a very common style of design. It will be seen that the two halves of the border, A and B, are alike, if taken from the centre outwards; or if one-half of the border were traced on tracing paper, it would, if turned over, form the other half. For this reason it is also called a ‘turn-over’ border. In the same way, if two cords are tied to each hook of the jacquard for the border, and those to the first hook taken down to the cumber board for the two outside threads of the border (that is, one to the right and the other to the left), then those from the next hook taken to the two next outer holes, and so on, coming from the outsides to the centre, the first half of the pattern would be repeated by the mounting in exactly the same way as by turning over the tracing paper.

Fig. 57 shows a mounting for a gathered border and four repeats of the centre. Eighty hooks are taken for the border, which are repeated four times in the cumber board, as at 80a, 80b, 80c, and 80d, and 120 hooks are allowed for the centre repeat (see also Fig. 58). This mounting is made up for a 200 machine with 208 hooks, the extra eight hooks being left for working the selvages. Only the front row of the harness is shown, but they are all alike. By following the cords from the hooks to the cumber board, it can be easily seen how they are taken through it. The first eight hooks are left idle, for the selvage to be fixed to if required. The next ten rows = 80 hooks, are for the border; these 80 hooks, with one twine on each, taken down through the cumber board at 80a, would work the first half of the border, as A. The other half of the border, B, can be wrought by the same hooks, with another set of twines tied to them, and taken through the cumber board at 80b; but the twine from the first hook must be crossed over to the right-hand side of the border, being the 160th twine in the cumber board; the twine from the second hook is the 159th in the cumber board, and so on, coming in towards the centre to meet the first set of twines; hence the name, ‘centred tie.’

The border must also be repeated on the other side, and two more sets of twines must be tied to the same hooks (four to each hook in all), which are taken down through the cumber board at 80c and 80d, to work the two halves of the border marked G and H, Fig. 58. The next 15 rows of hooks = 120, work the repeat of the centre pattern, C, Figs. 56 and 58; and as this is repeated four times, at C, D, E, and F, Fig. 58, there must be four twines tied to each of the 120 hooks, which are taken down through the four divisions of the cumber board marked 120; one twine from each hook being taken through each division, beginning at the left and working to the right side, alike in them all, as this portion is a simple repeating tie. Fig. 58 gives a portion of the pattern in Fig. 56 completed across, as it would be on the cloth by the mounting in Fig. 57; the cumber board is laid across the top of the pattern and marked, showing, in conjunction with the mounting, Fig. 57, how the harness repeats the pattern so that a large surface can be figured with a small machine by adopting a suitable tie.

When drawing the warp into the harness, wherever there is a gather in the tie, or a turn in the harness, there must be a turn in the draft also; not that there is any real change in the draft, but when the harness is turned in the direction it is drawn through the cumber board, the draft must also be changed to follow the mails in regular order. Fig. 59 shows a draft for a gathered border, with 48 hooks for the border and three repeats of the centre. It will be seen that the first half of both borders A and B and the three repeats of the centre are drawn in the same direction, but that the two turned-over portions of the borders C and D are drawn in the reverse direction. The numbers on Figs. 62 and 62a may assist in explaining this, the border A in 62 and B in 62a being taken; in these it will be seen from the numbers, which are those of the harness twines, that 1 to 8 in border A (Fig. 62) run in the reverse direction of 1 to 8 in border A (62a), and both are from the same hooks.

When two borders are to be woven on any piece of cloth, though the pattern for each border may be single in itself, as Fig. 60 (which is single except the two outlying lines, A and C), they will to each other form a gathered tie, provided they have to be turned in the same way to the centre of the cloth—that is, if the inside of one border on one side is to be the inside of the other border on the other side. In such a pattern as Fig. 60 it would not matter much if the inside of one border was the outside of the other, as the border is much alike either way, and if wrought in this way the twill on the cloth would not be reversed, as is always the case in a turned-over border. In many patterns this would not do, and it is therefore necessary to gather the tie and turn the twill. Fig. 61 shows how, in the London style of tying, the harness can be turned so that a turn in the draft is not necessary, but this will not alter the reverse twill on the cloth. It will be seen that one of each of the two cords tied to the eight hooks goes to one border, and the other to the opposite border, but instead of both going to the same row of the cumber board, the cord from the first hook goes to the back row in one border, and to the front row in the other. All the cords follow in this way, which has the same effect as turning the draft, as would require to be done in the Norwich mountings, and could also be done on this principle. Fig. 62 shows the draft of the two borders for Fig. 61 mounting, A and B being a plan of the warp passing through the mails. The numbers refer to the hooks of the jacquard. C and D are the two innermost threads of the borders, both on the 48th hook of the machine. Fig. 62a shows how the draft would be if the cords were not brought from front to back of the cumber board, as the numbers will show. No. 1 shows where the cords from the first hook pass through the cumber board. Fig. 62a gives the right-hand border only, the left-hand one remaining the same as in Fig. 62.

In Fig. 60, the two bars A and C could be wrought from the same hooks, and, unless they might be required to be different from each other on another pattern to work on the same loom, it would be unnecessary to allow machinery for the two; either the outer or inner one could be tied up, and the other repeated from it, but the one that is tied up must be painted on the design paper.

Fig. 63 shows the front view of a mounting for weaving a pattern such as that given on Fig. 60, one machine being used for the border, and another for the centre. Usually the border machine would be to the left-hand side, to correspond with the pattern; but in Fig. 63 it will be observed that No. 1 machine is to the right-hand side, and that it works the borders. It does not matter which machine is used for border or centre; the mounter can use the one he considers most suitable for the borders, and the pattern may be painted and the cards cut without any consideration of this, it being only necessary to put the border cards to the border machine, and those for the centre to the centre machine. The only consideration is to avoid any unnecessary slanting of the harness twines, which the present arrangement does; and it also keeps the turned portion of the harness (that for the right-hand border) separate from the twines of the centre, thus avoiding any unnecessary friction.

TO VARY THE SET OF THE HARNESS

It may often be that in weaving figured piece-goods it would be an advantage to have a harness that would weave different degrees of fineness, so that the loom could be utilised for one when the other is not required. For weaving small quantities, for samples or special orders, this is often an advantage.

The usual method of procedure is to draw the warp into a finer or coarser reed if only a slight difference is required, and to pay no attention to the strive in the warp between the harness and reed. The better the quality of the warp, the greater the strive may be, but from 1 in. to 2 in. at each side is as far as it can safely be run when the harness is wider than the yarn in the reed; and if the reed is coarser than the harness, 1 in. at each side will probably be the maximum limit.

When changes of this kind are liable to take place, the cumber board should not be too low down, nor should the mails hang too close to the back of the slay; with the cumber board high and the harness a little back the strive will not tell so severely on the warp. When the cumber board is made of boxwood slips, they can be spread out a little in the frame, but when there is much of a slant in the harness this would take the mails off the level; though this can sometimes be counteracted a little by raising the cumber board slightly higher at one end than at the other.

The best plan when much of a change is required is to pass over the surplus rows of mails in the harness, as in harness work, as well as in shaft mountings, the mounting may be used for any coarser set of warp than it is built for—of course, if the width is suitable. This would necessitate the warp, or at least a part of it, being drawn out of the harness, and also requires a new set of cards for the new pattern, or for the same pattern on a new set of cloth. The surplus mails may be cast out in rows across the loom if many are to be rejected, or in rows across the harness (from back to front) if found more suitable, or when a small number of mails are to be left idle. Suppose for an 8-row harness, 400 machine, with 6 repeats = 2400 mails on 30 in., or 80 threads per inch, and it is required to weave a piece of cloth on this having 74 threads per inch. Drawing the yarn into a coarser reed, and, if only 30 in. wide is required, throwing off the surplus yarn at each side, would probably be the simplest method; but if the cloth to be woven is to have 60 threads per inch, every four throw of mails across the harness, or one-fourth of the harness, might be left idle, or the two back rows of the harness may be left empty. In the latter case the pattern could be painted on 6-row design paper as if for a 6-row machine, and in the former case the number of designs across the painting would be reduced by one-fourth, the card-cutter taking care that he omitted those rows on the card that have been thrown idle on the machine.

In order to reduce this trouble and expense to a minimum Messrs. Devoge & Co. have patented an expanding harness which is intended to admit of cloths of different degrees of fineness being woven without any trouble but a little setting of the cumber board and re-reeding the warp. The method of doing so is as follows:—There are two cumber-board frames, one above the other, as shown in the sketch Fig. 67; these frames are filled with slips which can be moved along when desired. The harness can be set for two degrees of fineness of warp, as is shown in the sketch. The slips in the upper frame, B, are set midway above the two positions for a slip in the lower frame indicated by the letters a and a¹. The black lines show the position of the cords when weaving the finer set. The only change required to be made is to shift the lower slip, a, to the position a¹, and to re-reed the warp; other changes can be made on the same principle, or by altering both sets of slips in relation to each other. When the slips are moved in the frames, they can be kept in position by interposing blank slips between them.

The same cards will suit in this case for several sets of cloth, if required. Of course it is plain that the friction on the harness twines working through the two cumber boards must be greatly increased from that of the ordinary method of working; but for light work, and when the harness is not required to last long, it may prove very serviceable when frequent changes are required, as it furnishes a ready means of accomplishing the desired object, which cannot be done without cost in some direction. For wide looms or intricate mountings it will not be of much service. In the Figure only one hook of the jacquard is given, for simplicity, but the harness would be filled up in the usual manner. If the harness is built with long mails having several eyes in them, the second cumber board is not required; the slips can be shifted and the warp levelled by drawing it through suitable holes in the mails.