<P> Doffing is performed by the piercers thrutching, that is raising, the cops partially up the spindles, whilst the carriage is out . The minder then depressing the faller, so far as to guide the threads upon the bare spindle below . A few turns are wound onto the spindle, to fix the threads to the bare spindles for a new set . The cops are removed and collected into cans or baskets, and subsequently delivered to the warehouse . The remainder of the "draw" or "stretch," as the length of spun yarn is called when the carriage is out, is then wound upon the spindles as the carriage is run up to the roller beam . Work then commences anew . The doffing took only a few minutes, the piecers would run the length of the mule gate thrutching five spindles a time, and the doffing involved lifting four cops from the spindles with the right hand and piling them on the left forearm and hand . To get a firm cop bottom, the minder would whip the first few layers of yarn . After the first few draws the minder would stop the mule at the start of an inward run and take it in slowly depressing and releasing the faller wire several times . Alternatively, a starch paste could be skillfully applied to the first few layers of yarn by the piecers--and later a small paper tube was dropped over spindle--this slowed down the doffing operation and extra payment was negotiated by the minders . </P> <P> A pair of mules would be manned by a person called the minder and two boys called the side piecer and the little piecer . They worked barefoot in humid temperatures, the minder and the little piecer worked the minder half of the mule . The minder would make minor adjustments to his mules to the extent that each mule worked differently . They were specialists in spinning, and were only answerable to the gaffer and under - gaffer who were in charge of the floor and with it the quantity and quality of the yarn that was produced . Bobbins of rovings came from the carder in the blowing room delivered by a bobbin carrier who was part of the carder's staff, and yarn was hoisted down to the warehouse by the warehouseman's staff . Delineation of jobs was rigid and communication would be through the means of coloured slips of paper written on in indelible pencil . </P> <P> Creeling involved replacing the rovings bobbins in a section of the mule without stopping the mule . On very coarse counts a bobbin lasted two days but on fine count it could last for 3 weeks . To creel, the creeler stood behind the mule, he placed new bobbins on the shelf above the creel . As the bobbin ran empty he would pick it off its skewer in the creel unreeling 30 cm or so of roving, and drop it into a skip . With his left hand, he would place on the new bobbin onto the skewer from above and with his right hand twist in the new roving into the tail of the last . </P> <P> Piecing involved repairing sporadic yarn breakages . At the rollers, the broken yarn would be caught on the underclearer (or fluker rod on Bolton mules), while at the spindle it would knot itself into a whorl on the spindle tip . If the break happened on the winding stroke the spindle might have to be stopped while the thread was found . The number of yarn breakages was dependent on the quality of the roving, and quality cotton led to fewer breakages . Typical 1,200 spindle mules of the 1920s would experience 5 to 6 breakages a minute . The two piecers would thus need to repair the thread within 15 to 20 seconds while the mule was in motion but once they had the thread it took under three seconds . The repair actually involved a slight rolling of the forefinger against the thumb . </P>

Where would a spinning mule and a water frame be found