Spinning.—In this department the change in the last ten years has been radical, with greater proportionate results than those obtained in any other class. Spinning is divided into warp and filling, almost all the warp in this country being spun on ring-frames, and the greater proportion of the filling on mules. Taking the frame first as the most modern, the great advance has been in speed, production, saving of power, and less attendance per product. This results almost wholly from the invention of the top spindle by Mr. F. J. liabbeth, about 1878. The Sawyer had been having an almost uninterrupted sway, as it was such an advance over the old common type in production. saving in power, etc. The ltabbeth, however, has proved as far superior to it as it was, in turn, the superior of its rivals. The name "top spindle " was afterward changed to "self-centering" spindle. Spindles of this type have since come to be known simply as " Rabbet]: " spindles, although every spindle with a sleeve-whorl, before the minute differentiation of modern types, was known as a "Rabbeth " spindle both in this country and abroad. The particular features of this so-called " top" spindle were : First, the above-mentioned sleeve-whorl ; second, the loose bolster, supported in a tube which held both bolster and step-bearings, and formed an oil-reservoir to lubricate them ; third, the elastic packing, ordinarily composed of woolen yarn which surrounded this bolster, shown in the cut at D: fourth, the flat top step on, rather than in, which the rounded bottom of the spindle moved with the bolster ; fifth, the snout oil-chamber, which insures a better supply of oil, and keeps the reserve at a higher level than any other form yet tested. This feature had been before embodied in the Rabbeth-Sawyer spindle. The spindle was called the " top," or "self-centering," spindle on the theory that the spindle acted like a top, and found its center of rotation under an unbalanced load. This theory has since been discarded by experts, it now being thought that the advantages of the Rabbeth spindle are derived. first, from the cushioning effect of the loose bearing; and, second, from the additional cushioning effect of the packing interposed between the bolster-bearing and the surrounding ease, both taken in connection with a sleeve-whorl surrounding the tube containing the bearings. The spindle does not center itself, but runs out of center with less jar and vibration and heat, and thus is enabled to bear a greatly increased speed, and to run with less power. The Sawyer spin dle 13-21S limited in speed. With an unbalanced load it would vibrate and gyrate, at more than 7,500 turns per minute, so as to become useless. The Itabbeth spindle, on the contra ry, will hear any speed desired, and the limit of production of the frame is transferred from the speed that the spindles will hear to the speed with which operatives can make good piceings of yarn broken in the operation of spinning. From 0,000 to 10,000 revolutions per minute is the speed at which they are customa rily run on medium yarns. The power required to drive them at a I speed of 9,000 does not exceed the power required to drive the common spindle at a speed of 5,500.
Four forms of Itabbeth spindles are being made by American build ers at the present time. These are known as the BM dieth proper, or the No. -10I) Rabbet]: (Fig. 6); the Sher man (Fig. 7); the Whitin (Fig. 8); anal the 31011111;m (Fig. 'J). They all possess t he charaeterist ie features which permit the spindle le lie run at logo speed ; namely, the sleeve-whorl and the supporting tube within it, containing loose and serving as a reservoir for the oil to lubricate them. The present Rabbeth hits
many improvements over the original fern:. The bolster has a head to limit the extent of move:neut. keeping the spitelle in the center of the ring ut all times. The spindle proper has been lengthened and made with tt tapered bearing. lig means of an adjustable serew-step, the fit in the bolster may be made looser or tighter, taking up wear, and enabling the proper conditions to be found for steadiness. This is the chief improvement in spindles since the introduction of the Rabbeth. The Sherman is a type of Rabbeth having its bolster and step in one piece and using no packing. It has had an extensive introduction. The Whitin is very similar to the Sherman, the main difference being in the fit of the bolster in the sup porting tube, the Sherman bolster being loose and the Whitin having supposedly a sliding fit opposite the bolster-bearing. The McMullan has a separate step loose within the bolster, and is the latest spindle on the market. The value of the introduction of these spindles to the community has been enormous. The figures below will show approximately this value, though they are believed to be low. as many incidental gains are not reckoned. The average speed of common spindles, before the invention of the Sawyer, did not exceed 5,500 revolu tions per minute. The average speed of the Sawyer spindle may be considered as 7,500, and that of the Rabbet!' as 0,000.
The production of yarn is substantially in proportion to the speed of the spindle. It has been found that the increase of production in altered frames was greater rather Gum less than the increase in speed, owing to the greater steadiness in running. On the basis of the speed, however, 5,000,000 Rabbeth spindles produce as much yarn as would more than S,000,000 com mon ; 3,000,000 Sawyer spindles produce as much yarn as would 4,000,000 common. It fol lows that, had the new spihdles not been introduced, more than 4,000,000 additional common spindles would have been required to produce the yarn now spun in this country. The cost of spinning-frames, complete. per spindle, is about 43. It is estimated that a square foot of floor-space is required per spindle to give suitable room for and alleys. This costs, at the lowest estimate, 65 cents per square foot. The necessary plant in and for sha-ft ing, heating, lighting. belting, etc., for this room would carry the cost machinery and room above $4 per spindle. At this figure, therefore, the saving in room, machinery, etc., has been 4,000,000 spindles at 44 each, or $16,000,000. But this is not all. The old spindles, at 5,500 turns, required as much power as the modern spindles, either Sawyer or Rabbeth, at the higher speeds run ; hence, the power required to drive these 4,000,000 common spindles may be counted an entire saving At 100 spinal les to the horse-power, this would amount to a saving of 40,000 horse-power, or more than three water-powers like that of Lowell, and worth, at $30 per horse-power per annum (surely a low enough price for steam-powe.r in New Eng land), $1,200,000 each year. Then, owing to the better running of these spindles, they require no more attention at their high speed than the common spindles at the low speed. The labor cost for spinning, including all employits, front the spinner to the overseer, is. in the best. mills, about a cent and one tenth per spindle per week, or 57 cents a year. The labor saved per annum is therefore above 42,200.000. Then, again, the old-fashioned spindles required oiling twice a day, while the Rablteth requires oiling only once in three or four weeks, making a saving which would be counted it large benefit were the other items not so enormous.