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Before Invention
In 1770, before the spinning mules, producers could not keep up with the demand of yarn. They had to make the yarn using flax and a loom. -
The first Mule
The first mule was invented in 1779. It was a hybrid of Arkwright's water frame and Hargreaves pinning jenny. The spinning mule has a fixed frame with a creel of bobbins to hold the roving, connected through the headstock to a parallel carriage with the spindles. On the outward motion, the rovings are paid out through attenuating rollers and twisted. On the return, the roving is clamped and the spindles reversed to take up the newly spun thread. -
Improvments
William Kelly made a few improvmens to the machine. He added animals and water as the prime mover. -
More improvents
Wright moved the middle of the machine, making room for twice as many spindles. A squaring band was added to ensure straightness. -
Copies and Large Buys
Crompton was too poor to afford a patent, because of this, by the 1990's, larger versions were built. These had many buyers. -
More Improvments
John Kennedy had a problem with fine counts. The spindles on the return traverse needed to rotate faster than on the outward traverse. To do this, he added gears and a clutch -
British Commons Comitee Claim
In 1812, the British Commons Comitee, while dealing with the spinning mule, claimed that, "the method of reward to an inventor, as generally accepted in the eighteenth century, was that the machine, etc., should be made public, and that a subscription should be raised by those interested, as a reward to the inventor." -
Improvements
William Eaton improved the winding of the thread by using two faller wires and performing a backing off at the end of the outward traverse. The next step is a fully automatic sinning mule. -
Self-acting mule
Richard Roberts wanted to create either a self-acting mule or a fully automatic spinning mule. In 1820, he created a semi self-acting mule. This invetion still needed more improvments to become fully self-acting. -
Mule Spinners' Cancer
The first case of Mule Spinners' cancer was reported in 1887. This made some people want to not be a Mule Spinner. -
British Home Office Comitee
In 1926, a British Home Office committee agreed with the view that this form of cancer was caused by the prolonged action of mineral oils on the skin. -
Current Use
Spinning Mules are still used today for spinning wool and alpaca. This invention had a great impact on the industiral revolution
