Linear beam splicer

A linear beam splicer for splicing a plurality of thermoplastic yarn ends from a full yarn beam mounted on a beam support rack to respective yarn ends trailing from a tufting machine, comprising, a frame, a gauge bar mounted on said frame for receiving the yarn ends to be spliced, a gripping bar operatively connected to said gauge bar for holding said yarn ends, a housing connected to said frame, said housing including a front wall and a bottom wall positioned above the gauge bar and extending along the length of said gauge bar, a heating element extending along the length of said gauge bar and said gripping bar, an oscillating crank mechanism connected between the bottom wall of the housing and to each end of said heating element, electrical components for energizing the heating element contained within the housing, mechanical mechanisms for actuating the crank mechanism contained within said housing, whereby the heating element is movable in a direction from underneath the bottom wall of the housing to an exposed position against the plurality of gripped yarns, to thereby simultaneously splice the plurality of yarn ends together.