While the right hand of the workman is directing the stream of stock or hair, the left hand is applied to the felt to moisten it, and to ascertain its thickness and uniformity. When the whole weight is drawn upon the cone, the pneumatic action is stopped, and the felt is covered with a wet linen cloth, or a tightly fitting copper cone, similar to the one within the felt. Both are plunged into a bath of dilute sulphuric acid, and made sufficiently cohesive to be safely lifted from the mould. The felt requires to be hardened still more, or it would fly out of shape, and be spoiled. In some cases, work men " run in " the felt, i. e. dip it into sul phuric acid and hot water, and roll it gently by hand until it is firm enough to be put upon the No. 2 cup and cone hardener, or is brought into such a state that it will not felt together. In all the processes, whether by hand or machine, cloth must he introduced into the hood, to prevent its fastening together. In all cases where a mixture of sul phuric acid and water is used, the strength is understood to be such as will afford a strong sour taste on the tongue, unless otherwise stated.
Planking. — Having made the felt firm enough to stand the pres sure of a machine, both fur bodies and wool bodies may be taken into the planking-shop, where are ma chines specially adapted to reduce them to about 4 their original dimensions. The first machine is very suitable for wool bodies.
Two views of this are shown in Figs. 813, 814. The foot-lever A, when depressed by the operator, raises the entire frame and gearing wheels which drive the rollers F, attached to the frame E. The rings seen on these four rollers, two on the top frame and two on the bottom, are composed of vulcanized indiarubber, to resist the corrosive action of the acid used, and are placed in such an oblique posi tion that the revolution of the oppo site rollers causes them to attack the felt with a screw`-like motion, producing an action like kneading with the hands. The operator takes 8-12 hats, and rolls them in an indiaruhber cloth about 30 in. long, first dipping them into the lead-lined cistern B, which is charged with a mixture of hot water and sulphuric acid. Placing his foot upon the lever A, he raises the frame as seen in Fig. 813, and introduces the roll of hats between the top and bottom rings. The foot is taken off, and the weight of the frame E presses the hats down. After being worked in this machine for some time, the hats are removed from the cloth, opened out, and folded so as to bring the edges to the middle, when they are again run through the machine. These are supposed to be "all wool" hats. The operator piles them beside him, until he has a quantity sufficient to fill the fulling-stocks.
the hate are fine ones, they are planked through in the " twisting "-machine, which is sometimes made double, as shown in Fig. 815.
A roll of hats taken from the hardening process, if "wools," or if " furs," settled first by hand, are wrapped in a wet linen cloth, dipped into vitriol (sulphuric acid) and water, and pressed into tho trum pet-mouth A. The pas sage diminishes in dia meter as it traverses the length of the cylinder B, and is corrugated through out. As the cylinder re ceives a rotary motion from an internal wheel driving the four small rollers a, the hate aro twisted as they advance, and are com pressed gradually smaller, until they are delivered at the other end ; hero they are placed in tho mouth of the seoond oyliuder, and return through it. The hats aro next opened out, their edges are reversed as on the first machine, and they are completed by dipping in the acid and hot water bath, and working them through the maohino until reduced to the required size.
woollen hats, described as being merely felted, so as not to adhere under pressure, are deposited to the number of 40, 50, or sometimes 60 doz. at a time, in the fulling-stocks, shown in Fig. 816. The driving-gear is at A; B is a small pinion, turning the large wheel C. In large stocks, four lugs are bolted at equal distances apart on this large wheel, as at D, for lifting the long lever E. The chest F has a circular form internally. The hats are doubled carelessly together and put into this chest, which is constantly fed with sul phuric acid and warm water. Here they remain until the beating action of the stooks has milled them up to the right size. A lead-lined cis tern, fixed above the stooks, is very convenient for con taining a supply of warm water and sulphuric acid ; thetquor may be conducted to the chest by a leaden pipe, branching at the end into two, extending across the chest F, and finely perforated, so as to form a self-feeding arrangement. The felting being completed, the hats must be passed once more through the No. 1 planking-machine, to straighten them, and bring their edges evenly together. Besides these planking-machines, a " battery " (Fig. 817) is required, at which six men can work. In the centre A, is a lead-lined cistern, containing clean water, or acid and water, as required. The work men have each a space allowed in front to work the hats upon. The battery can be used to plank hat-bodies complete to size, if the goods are fine; or to stretch the hats from the planking-machines. Each process being completed in this department, the goods are washed out in clean water, and afterwards passed between a pair of wringing-rollers, to get rid of the superfluous acid. Thus partially cleansed, they are gently dried in a stove fitted with racks on every side, as well as in the middle, leaving room between the narrow stripe on each shelf for the heat to circulate over the entire surface of the hats.