SHUTTLE (O. Eng. shitel, &c.; from the same word as " shoot ")  , a boat-shaped implement used in weaving to pass a thread of weft to and fro between two lines of warp . The origin of this implement is lost in the mists of a remote antiquity, and yet it was long preceded by the loom . Several wall paintings at Thebes depict looms that are apparently provided with a hooked rod for drawing weft through the warp, but with such a device either two weft threads would be simultaneously placed in one division of the warp, or the selvages would be imperfect . Since neither of these conditions obtain in the ancient Egyptian fabrics that have been recovered, it may be concluded that some other plan was also adopted . Netting needles have been found in Egyptian tombs, and as these would be more suitable for weaving than a hooked rod, it is conceivable they were so employed . Or a spinning spindle charged with weft might be conveyed through the :warp, as was customary, at a much later period, with Greek, Roman and other weavers . So long as a shuttle was thrown from hand to hand, the breadth of cloth which one weaver could produce was limited to his ability to reach from selvage to selvage of the piece . But from 1733, when John Kay invented the " fly shuttle," these implements have been made straight, and propelled mechanically, also, to secure light running, they have been mounted upon rollers which project slightly on the under side . Shuttles are now made in various forms and sizes from box, and other hard-grained, smooth woods, as well as from vulcanized fibre and metals . For silk weaving by hand, they are approximately 12 in. long by 1 in. square in section, and weigh about 3 oz.; those for calico weaving by power, are about 121 in. long, 11 in. wide, 14 in. deep, and weigh about 91 oz.; they are also provided with conical steel tips which abut upon short coiled springs let into the shuttle . The construction, fixing and control of shuttle tongues , that hold the weft, together with numerous devices for putting the thread under an elastic tension, have formed the subjects for many patents . The tongues intended to hold cops are split to form a spring whose strength suffices to fix the cop in position while the thread is drawn from the outer end through a porcelain eye in the shuttle front, the tension being regulated by deflection .

The small shuttles employed to weave

ribbons, and other narrow goods, are bowed in front, recessed to hold a spool of weft, and have an eye fixed at the centre of the bow for the thread to pass through as it unrolls . These shuttles are formed into sets, which correspond with the number of fabrics to be manufactured simultaneously and may be placed on one level, or in tiers; in either event, all in one horizontal plane are moved to and fro together across different webs, by means of racks and pinions; for a rack is inserted lengthwise in each shuttle, and by engaging the racks with intermittently driven pinions, the shuttles receive their requisite movements .