The term Jacquard Weaving may be applied to all harness weaving that is above the range of harness shafts, so that a jacquard machine is simply a shedding motion whereby a large variety of sheds may be formed. The greater the number of lifting hooks contained in a machine, the greater will be the range of patterns that may be woven. Jacquard machines range from 100 to 2600 hooks.

Since its introduction the jacquard machine has undergone many changes in regard to the methods of operating the different parts of the machine, but the principles remain the same.

Jacquard machines may be classed under four heads, as follows: First, Single Action Machines, meaning single cylinder machines; second, Double-Lift Single Cylinder Machines; third, Double Action Machines, meaning double-lift and two cylinders; and fourth, Rise and Fall Machines, which have a close-shed motion. There are also special machines.

When speaking of a jacquard, all the parts comprising the machine and the harnesses are included. These may be classified as follows:

(a) A number of wire hooks placed vertically in the frame of the machine.

(b) A number of wire needles placed horizontally between the wire hooks.

(c) A number of springs at one end of the needles.

(d) Tail cords or neck bands attached to the bottom of the wire hooks.

(e) Harness threads which are attached to a coupling that passes through the comber board.

(f) The coupling, which is usually composed of three or four parts as follows:

A lingo, usually made of various weights of wire and which is at the extreme end of the coupling; a double thread, commonly termed a hanger, which attaches the lingo to a mail eye; and the mail eye, through which the warp yarn is passed. When there are four parts, a double thread termed the mid-piece or sleeper is attached to the top of the eyelet and is then fixed to the harness threads mentioned at e.

(g) The cylinder and its working parts.

(h) The griffe levers.

(i) The griffe.

Hooks. A description of the great variety of hooks and needles which have been used and which combine different ideas as to their relative values and adaption for the various machines in which they were or are used, will be both interesting and instructive.

In the old jacquard machine the hooks rested on a perforated board, through which the neck cord passed, and the bottom of the hook was bent up about five inches, as shown in Fig. 1. Bars were passed through the turned up portion, as shown in the illustration, to prevent the hooks from turning. The bars formed a frame which was lifted when the griffe was raised.

The next hook, as shown in Fig. 2, was flat. This also rested on a perforated board, and, to assist in keeping the hook in position, the needle was twisted around the hook. This kind of hook and needle required too much time and labor when one had to be replaced.

The illustration, Fig. 3, shows the next form of hook that was used, and which is used at the present time in many French machines. This also rested on a perforated board. The chief object of this hook was to remove the necessity of having springs to force back the needles. At the point marked A, a rod passed through the hooks from one side of the machine to the other, which kept the hooks quite firm. Near the top of the hook at positions B and B¹, two more rods were placed, one being at the back of the hook and the other at the front, the bottom of the hook being held firmly, while the rod B pressing against the back portion of the hook caused a certain amount of spring. The rod B¹ was to prevent the hook from swinging under the blades of the griffe when the latter was descending. The needles used with this hook had an elbow which pressed against the front of the hook as shown at C.

What we shall term the ordinary shaped hook, but which formerly was much thicker, was next used. This is illustrated in Fig. 4. The lower portion of these hooks passes through a grate, each hook passing through a single slot. When first used, these hooks were often bent or “crowned” under the griffe as it descended. In some cases the trouble was due to the wire from which the hook was made, but more often it was due to there being too great a distance between the point where the needle was in contact with the hook, and the griffe, causing the hook to swing or vibrate. To overcome this defect, deep griffe blades (shown in Fig. 5) were introduced. The use of these deep blades made it difficult for the fixer to replace broken hooks, in addition to adding weight to the machine, so another change was made, deep and shallow blades being fixed alternately; using hooks shown in Fig. 6. In this arrangement the long hooks had a tendency to swing back under the short blade owing to the great length of the hook, when the loom was run at a high speed.

The hook illustrated in Fig. 7 was then introduced. It will be noted the wire extends some distance beyond the point when the wire was bent to catch on the blade of the griffe. While they were new, these hooks overcame the difficulty to a certain extent, but as soon as they became worn, the top portion of the wire would bend and break, falling into the machine.

In most of the jacquard machines used at the present time, the griffe has been lowered to within approximately one inch of the top of the needles and the hooks have been made of stronger material (shown in Fig. 8), enabling a more compact machine to be made.