[Illustration: Fig. 13. Hooks Out of Perpendicular with Needles.]
The grate through which the hooks pass is sometimes made with extra rows of holes, and is also made so that it can be moved around to help in the setting of the hooks. For this reason, it is best, after placing in one row of hooks, to notice if they are straight in the grate. If they are not straight, and cannot be made straight by moving the grate, the next row of holes must be used. If the hooks are not straight, even though they may work freely, the needles, hooks and grate will be worn out in a very short time.
The hook that passes through the first needle is considered the first thread in the pattern, although when standing in front of a single action machine, it is the last thread. In a machine that has the needle board divided into twenty-six rows at one side of the middle, and twenty-five at the other side, the twenty-six rows are always at the left-hand side of the machine, looking at the point of the needles. (So that the number end of the cards will be at the left hand side of the machine, looking at the top needle board.)
When all the needles and hooks have been placed in the machine, the frame, in which the bars that support the top of the needle are fixed, must be made perfectly straight with the needle board. If they are not straight with each other, there is endless trouble with the machine. In the first place, the loop of the needle presses down the spring when the needle is forced back by the card, instead of pressing the spring back straight in the box. This will cause the springs to wear out sooner and they will often stick, preventing the hooks from being lifted.
In the second place, the needle points will not be straight in the needle board. This causes the hole in the board to be worn crooked, also, the dust and oil that get into the back portion of the board has a greater tendency to bind the needles when they are not straight. The holes in the needle board at the back are counter sunk, which allows the needles to be placed in more readily when the machine is being fixed up, or when a broken needle has to be replaced.
When the hooks and needles have been fixed, the grate, needle board and needle frame adjusted, the spring box is attached and every needle is tested and made to work freely. After this is done, the griffe is placed in the machine. It is absolutely necessary that the griffe be made to lift straight, and each blade or knife must be in exact position relative to the hooks, or there will be a number of the hooks either "crowned" or not lifted when they ought to be. The griffe is made so that each side can be moved either forward or backward, but it is sometimes necessary to bend one or two blades of the griffe so as to have them straight with the hooks. Figs. 12, 13 and 14 show crooked hooks and needles.