Two doffing cans

This doffing can is a specialised type of container that was used in textile mills alongside spinning mules. The can held a supply of empty wooden pirns, ready to be placed on the spindles of a spinning mule. The can is rectangular, with a sloping bottom, which caused the pirns to roll to the front, making them easier to pick up. It also has two hooks, which would hang over the faller shafts of the mule and rest against the bolster rail, allowing the can to hang within easy reach of the doffer, whose job it was to remove full pirns of yarn from the spinning mule and re-load them with empty ones.

Since it could only be done when the spinning mules were stopped, doffing was carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once the pirns on a mule were full of spun yarn, the machine was stopped and workers called doffers removed the full pirns and replaced them with empty ones. Doffing cans like this one helped them get the job done as quickly as possible.

Doffing was usually carried out by a young person, aged about 10 to 17. It was a fast paced, physically demanding job that required dexterity and concentration. The process had to be completed in just a few minutes, in order to minimise the amount of time a machine had to be stopped, and maximise productivity in the mill.