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Hackle Combs: Coarse and Fine Flax Heckles on One Board (Ure, 1839)
A pair of flax heckles on one oblong plank: two round wooden blocks, each faced with a drilled brass or iron plate holding upright iron teeth. Flax is drawn first through the coarse heckle, then through the fine one, splitting the fibres, combing out the short tow and laying the long fibres straight.
Coarse: teeth about 1/10 in thick and 1 1/4 in long, a centre tooth and 12 rings, the outer ring 5 3/4 in across. Fine: thinner teeth set closer, 1109 of them.
Source: Andrew Ure, Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines (1839), 'Flax'. Picture: Figs. 424-425 of the book.
Intermediate
Unknown
Instructions
1
1
Make the board and blocks
Make the board and blocks
Cut an oblong plank (Fig. 424, a b) and two round (or square) wooden blocks, c for the coarse heckle and d for the fine, and fix the blocks on the plank (Fig. 425). The heckles can also be made on separate boards.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Plank1 piece
Hardwood Block2 pieces
Wood Screws1 pieceTools needed:
Tenon Saw
Screwdriver - Flat2
2
Drill the face plates
Drill the face plates
Cover the top of each block with a brass or iron plate drilled for the teeth, which gives them a firmer hold. Set the holes evenly over the whole face, in concentric circles (the German way) or parallel rows (the English way). Coarse: a centre hole and 12 rings, the outermost 5 3/4 in across. Fine: thinner holes set closer, 1109 in all.
Materials for this step:
Brass Sheet2 face platesTools needed:
Dividers
Tin Snips
Hand Drill3
3
Make the teeth
Make the teeth
Cut teeth of iron (sometimes steel) 1 to 2 in long. For the coarse heckle make them about 1/10 in thick and 1 1/4 in long, tapering from the middle to a very fine point; the fine heckle's teeth are thinner. File every point sharp and smooth, running evenly into the round stem like a sewing needle; square points in a rhombus shape cut the fibres apart better than round ones.
Materials for this step:
Iron Wire1 teethTools needed:
Tin Snips
Metal File4
4
Set the teeth
Set the teeth
Drive each tooth through its hole in the plate into the block so it stands upright, all points at one level.
Tools needed:
HammerMaterials
5- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 2 piecesPlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 2 face platesPlaceholder
- 1 teethPlaceholder
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