The Jute Industry: from Seed to Finished Cloth | Page 9

they are delivered to two pairs of very deeply-fluted crushing rollers or breakers. The last pair of deep-fluted rollers is seen clearly on the right in the figure. These two pairs of heavy rollers crush and bend the compressed heads of jute and deliver them in a much softer condition to the delivery sheet on the right. The delivery sheet is an endless cloth which has a continuous motion, and thus the softened heads are carried to the extreme right, at which position they are taken from the sheet by the operatives. The upper rollers in the machine may rise in their bearings against the downward pressure of the volute springs on the bearings; this provision is essential because of the thick and thin places of the heads.
A different type of bale opener, made by Messrs. Charles Parker, Sons, & Co., Dundee, and designed from the Butchart patent is illustrated in Fig. 9. It differs mainly from the machine illustrated in Fig. 8 in the shape of the crushing or opening rollers.
It will be seen on referring to the illustration that there are three crushing rollers, one large central roller on the top and situated between two lower but smaller rollers. Each roller has a series of knobs projecting from a number of parallel rings. The knobs are so arranged that they force themselves into the hard layers of jute, and, in addition to this action, the heads of jute have to bend partially round the larger roller as they are passing between the rollers. This double action naturally aids in opening up the material, and the machine, which is both novel and effective, gives excellent results in practice. The degree of pressure provided for the top roller may be varied to suit different conditions of heads of jute by the number of weights which are shown clearly in the highest part of the machine in the form of two sets of heavy discs.
[Illustration: FIG. 9 BALE OPENER By permission of Messrs. Charles Parker, Sons, & Co.]
The driving side, the feed cloth, and the delivery cloth in this machine are placed similarly to the corresponding parts of the machine illustrated in Fig. 8, a machine which also gives good results in practice.
In both cases the large heads are delivered in such a condition that the operatives can split them up into pieces of a suitable size quite freely.
The men who bring in the bales from the store take up a position near the end of the delivery cloth; they remove the heads of jute as the latter approach the end of the table, and then pass them to the batchers, who split them. The most suitable size of pieces are 2-1/2 to 3 lbs. for a piece of 7 feet to 8 feet in length, but the size of the pieces is regulated somewhat by the system of feeding which is to be adopted at the breaker-card, as well as by the manager's opinion of what will give the best overall result.
After the heads of jute have been split up into suitable smaller pieces, they are placed in any convenient position for the batcher or "striker-up" to deal with. If the reader could watch the above operation of separating the heads of jute into suitable sizes, it would perhaps be much easier to understand the process of unravelling an apparently matted and crossed mass of fibre. As the loosened head emerges from the bale-opener, Figs. 8 or 9, it is placed over the operative's arm with the ends of the head hanging, and by a sort of intuition acquired by great experience, she or he grips the correct amount of fibre between the fingers, and by a dexterous movement, and a simultaneous shake of the whole piece, the handful just comes clear of the bulk and in much less time than it takes to describe the operation.
As the pieces are thus detached from the bulk, they are laid on stools or tables, or in stalls or carts, according to the method by means of which the necessary amount of oil and water is to be added for the essential process of lubrication; this lubrication enables the fibre to work freely in the various machines.
CHAPTER VI.
BATCHING
Softening and Softening Machines. Two distinct courses are followed in the preparation of the jute fibre after it leaves the bale opener, and before it is carded by the breaker card. These courses are designated as--
1. Hand Batching. 2. Machine Batching.
In the former process, which is not largely practised, the pieces of jute are neatly doubled, while imparting a slight twist, to facilitate subsequent handling, and laid in layers in large carts which can be wheeled from place to place; if this method is not convenient, the pieces are doubled similarly and deposited in large stalls