The long alleys or grounds where the work takes place are usually laid
out in pairs, one for forming, the other for laying and closing. Each
ground has a track to accommodate the machines used and an endless
band-rope which conveys the power.
[Illustration: NEAR VIEW OF MACHINE IN ROPE WALK.]
~HOW ROPE IS FORMED AND TWISTED~
At the head of the forming ground stand frames holding the bobbins of
yarn. The yarns for each strand first pass through a plate perforated
in concentric circles. This arrangement gives each yarn the correct
angle of delivery into a tube where the whole mass gets a certain
amount of compression.
As the top truck is forced ahead by the twisting process, the ropemaker
by means of greater or less leverage on the “tails”--the loose ropes
shown in our picture--preserves a correct lay in the rope. The stakes
on which the strands rest are removed one by one to allow the top truck
to pass, and then replaced to support the rope until the laying is
finished and the reeling in of the rope begun.
The closing process on cable-laid goods is like the laying except
that the twist is reversed. The work now being with three complete
ropes--frequently very large--a heavier top truck is necessary, and
this must often be ballasted, as shown in our illustration, to keep
down the vibration which would otherwise tend to lift the truck off the
track.
[Illustration: NEAR VIEW OF MACHINE IN ROPE WALK.]
Modern rope-making ingenuity reaches its high-water mark in the
compound laying-machine where the two operations of forming the strands
and laying them into a rope are combined. Up to a certain point this
method is more economical than that in which the forming and laying are
unconnected. Fewer machines are required for a given output--hence,
less floor space and fewer workmen. The time-saving element also enters
in.
[Illustration: PREPARING THE FIBER IN ROPE MAKING