IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COVERED HARNESS FURNITURE, BUCKLES, SLIDES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Myring, of Walsall, in the County of
Stafford, Bridle Cutter, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF COVERED HARNESS FURNITURE, BUCKLES, SLIDES, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH
MANUFACTURE."
Sealed the 22nd February 1861, and dated the 21st November 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPEIFCICATION left by the said Charles Myring at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
November 1860.
I, CHARLES MYRING, of Walsall, in the County of Stafford, Bridle Cutter,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF COVERED HARNESS FURNITURE, BUCKLES, SLIDES, AND
SIMILAR ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH
MANUFACTURE," to be as follows, that is to say:-
My improvements consist in covering buckles, slides, harness, furniture,and
other similar articles by the aid of dies and presses of suitable form, and
sewing such coverings by means of the sewing machine, which sewing machine
requires a slight modification to enable it to be adapted to this trade. I will
assume that the article I am about to cover is a buckle: I take the leather wet
Pine Rd]

page_text: for covering, and pasted as usual, and drawit over the metal form for the buckle.
I then place the form with the leather upon it in dies of suitable section, and
by means of pressure I close the leather round the metal. I then partially
dry the buckle, and afterwards place it a second time in the dies, and submit
it to pressure to level the covering; I then thoroughly dry it, and dye it if
necessary, and a third time press it in the dies, which then polish it. I then
proceed to stitch the buckle by means of a sewing machine, but as the
covering requires to be stitched close to the metal form, it would be impossible
to avoid breakage of needles against the metal, unless ineaus were adopted to
allow of the needle travelling closely round the metal without breaking upon
it. To obtain this I apply a stop under the foot of the sewing machine, which
stop guides the buckle up to the needle. Thus covered and stitched, the buckle
is taken a fourth time to a press furnished with cutting dies, by which the
paring-off" process is performed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Myring in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
MYRING, of Walsall, in the County of Stafford, Bridle Cutter, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 1wenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reigų, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Myring, Her special license that I, the said Charles Myring,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles
Myring, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF COVERED HARNESS FURNITURE, BUCKLES, SLIDES, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANU-
FACTURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles
Myring, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the

page_text: Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Myring, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My improvements consist in covering buckles, slides, harness furniture, and
other similar articles by the aid of dies and presses of suitable forin, and
sewing such coverings by means of the sewing machine, which sewing machine
requires a slight modification to enable it to be adapted to this trade. I will
assume that the article I am about to cover is a buckle; I take the leather wet
for covering, and pasted as usual, and draw it over the metal form for the
buckle; I then place the form with the leather upon it in dies of suitable
section, and by means of pressure I close the leather round the metal; I then
partially dry the buckle, and afterwards place it a second time in the dies, and
submit it to pressure to level the covering; I then thoroughly dry it and dye
it, if necessary, and a third time press it in the dies, which then polish it. I
then proceed to stitch the buckle by means of a sewing machine, but as the
covering requires to be stitched close to the metal form, it would be impossible
to avoid breakage of needles against the metal unless means were adopted to
allow of the needle travelling closely round the metal without breaking upon
it; to obtain this I apply a stop under the foot of the sewing machine, which
stop guides the buckle up to the needle. Thus covered and stitched, it is
taken a fourth time to a press furnished with cutting dies, by which the
paring-off process is performed.
I will now proceed to describe my Invention in detail, referring to the
annexed Drawings of the several tools I employ in working it out, and simply
premising that such tools are all of a nature adinitting of any variation
demanded to suit them for the purposes of manufacturing any of the articles
named in my title. I shall pass on to particularly illustrate the manufacture
of a covered buckle in accordance with my improvements.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Sheet A. The group comprised within the red line numbered 1 to 6
inclusive, represents the several views illustrating the dies I employ in
covering a buckle, 1 to 3 showing the upper die or stamp, and 4 to 6 the
under die, (7) representing the buckle in the state in which it is advanced
by the operation.

page_text: Sheet B. Figures 8 and 9 shew the front and side elevations of a sew-
ing machine altered for adaptation to this manufacture. Figure 10 is a side
elevation of a small apparatus which I have designed for the purpose of
buffing or polishing the buckle.
Sheet A. Figure 11 shews the clamps by which the buckle is held whilst
the ends of the sewing are fastened off.
Sheet B.--Figure 12 shews in operation my improved tool for paring the
edges and removing the pin or superfluous leather, Figures 13, 14, and 15
being separate views of the tool or cutter employed for this purpose, and 16
shewing the buckle as it results from this operation.
Sheet A. Figures 17 and 18 shew the form of press I employ for bend-
ing the end of the tongue over the bar of the buckle.
The process of manufacture is as follows:-The metal blank having been
duly straightened, the leather for covering it prepared and pasted, and the
blank covered therewith as by the old process, I proceed to submit the whole
in its wet state to pressure between the dies shewn in Figures 1 to 6, Sheet A,
the bottom die (Figures 1, 2, and 3,) being made with a mandril (a) exactly
fitting the inside of the buckle, and this is done to prevent a fin or get being
raised on the inside of the buckle, while at the same time the pressure closes
the leather round the metal. I then allow the buckle to get partially dry,
and afterwards place it a second time in dies of a similar form to those
represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, but heated by steam by means of
a steam pipe passing through them, and again I submit it to pressure, which
polishes and hardens the surface of the leather; the nature of the leather
being preserved by the use of oil upon the dies at this part of the process.
The buckle is now dried thoroughly, and it has now arrived at the stage
technically known under the old process as "boned and pliered," and when
dyed or blacked, which operation may now be performed, and by any suitable
means the buckle is removed to the apparatus represented at (Figure 10,
Sheet B,) and the bar or part left uncovered by the leather is placed between
two studs or kuibs (b, b.) This apparatus. consists of a lever (c) and
handle (d) working horizontally on a centre pin (E), and to the lever c is
attached the stuffed leather pad (f), so that by a horizontal rubbing motion of
the leather pad (f) over the buckle a clear fine-grained and polished surface
is imparted to the buckle. The red lines represent the lever raised to reverse
to buckle and polish the other side, or to remove it entirely to undergo the
next operation, which is the passing of the buckle a third time through the
dies to finish the polishing and set the edge firm and level; this being
performed the buckle is now ready for sewing. This process I effect by the

page_text: employment of the sewing machine, which requires the followingalterationsin
the form and arrangement of some of its parts in order to make it serviceable
for my work; the breakage of needles involved by contact with the metal
blank, and the irregular character of the work produced, rendering the
machine in its original arrangement practically useless for this manufacture.
The modifications I employ are applicable to several descriptions of sewing
machines, but the one upon which I have experimented most sucessfully is
that known as Simpson's Patent. From this machine I remove the parts
termed the "feeder," the "bed," and the "foot," leaving the needle free to
work in its ordinary direction. I provide a cranked "feeder," and byremoving
a portion of the be I plate of the machine, I make the "feeder" work on the
right-hand side of the needle instead of the left, which alteration enables me
to feed on the edge of the leather covering instead of upon the covered metal
blank, by which I avoid disfiguring the surface of the buckle. I also raise
the feeder as much above the bed plate as may be necessary for the thickness
of the article under treatment, so that the buckle may be held firmly and
steadily to the needle, and yet be capable of being turned round with perfect
freedom. The "bed" in that particular part wherein the needle passes to the
shuttle, and where the buckle lies for sewing, is raised to a level with the
"feeder," and thus forms a guide or stop in turning the buckle; the bottom
ridge of the buckle, or that part in which the metal blank is encased, being
held accurately up to the raised "bed." The alteration in the "foot" of the
machine consists in forming that part with a crank, as shewn in the Drawings,
Sheet B, Figures 8 and 9, so as to enable it to work over the "feeder," thus
forming a guide for the upper side of the buckle, the top ridge of which is
held close to the edge of the "foot," whilst the lower or under ridge is guided
by the raised bed," and this arrangement not only operates as a guide, but
also, as before mentioned, as a stop, preventing the breaking of the needle
upon the metal blank. The machine is worked by means of a handle turned by
the right hand, whilst with the left hand the buckle is held and turned to the
needle. After the stitching operation has been completed, the silk or thread
requires fastening off, and in order to preserve the surface of the buckle from
injury, whilst at the same time it is necessary to hold the buckle very securely
during the operation of tieing or fastening off the silk or thread, I have
designed the apparatus shewn in (Figure 11, Sheet A,) and which consists of
a pair of clamps working by means of a foot lever, and opening by a spring
action between the jaws. The beaks of these jaws are tapered off to a width
just sufficient to clip the bar of the buckle in the part left uncovered for the
£6 tongue,"
"the buckle being placed in the clamp. The foot lever is fixed in a

page_text: catch made in a rack to receive it, as shewn in the detached view of that
part seen at (Figure 11a); the thread or silk on the top side of the buckle
is then pulled through to the under side and tied, thus securing the stitching,
and preserving the appearance of the upper face of the buckle. The clamps,
as seen in the Drawings, are contracted in their length for the sake of
economising space; they are intended to be fixed upon the edge of a table
or bench, the long arm of one of the jaws reaching to the ground, so that
the lever or treadle may be worked by the foot.
The operation of tieing or fastening off having been effected, the next
process is that of trimming or paring off the superfluous leather, and for this
purpose the machine shewn in Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15, Sheet B.) is
designed; Figure 12 shewing the position in which the cutting tool seen
detached at 13, 14, and 15, is held whilst operating; the buckle is slipped
over a tapered mandril (a) of a section exactly fitting the inner edge of the
buckle, and the thumb being pressed against the mandril which turns in a
socket in the plate (6), the cutting tool is grasped in the hand and drawn
round the edge of the buckle, the cutting edge (c) being hollowed to some-
what the form of the blank, so that it cannot injure the stitching; by drawing
this tool once round the buckle, the paring off is effected, and the buckle
presents the appearance represented in Figure 16. This paring off may also
be effected in the manner stated in my Provisional Specification, namely, by
passing the buckle again through dies similar to those seen in (Figures 1 to 6)
(Sheet A), furnished with cutting edges; but I prefer using the implement
shewn in (Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, Sheet B). I then proceed to finish it off
by rubbing the edge smooth, colouring it if requisite, then brushing thesurface
and rubbing it upon soft cotton print, after which it is ready to receive the
"tongue." This I attach by means of a kind of press, shewn in (Figures 17
and 18, Sheet A). The buckle and loose tongue are placed between the
narrow beaked jaws of a pair of clamps (a, a). The beaks having a slight
groove or sinking in them to fit the tongue only, the clamps (a,a,) are then
closed down upon the tongue by means of the screw (6) worked by a fly; the
tongue is thus bent and curled round the bar of the buckle without in any
way damaging the buckle, the manufacture of which is now completed. As I
remarked in the early part of this Specification, I haveconfined mydescription
to the manufacture of a covered buckle, as that manufacture would demand
the employment of all the tools as I have shewn and described them; these
may many of them require modifying to adapt them to the manufacture of
slides, rings, and other similar articles of covered harness furniture, but in
any case the variation would be so slight that further detail is unnecessary.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I
do not limit myself to these precise details; but that I claim,-
Firstly, the several improvements in the manufacture of covered harness
furniture, buckles, slides, and other similar articles by pressing the covering
upon and polishing the same between dies of the requisite section, as herein
described.
Secondly, I claim the several improvements or modifications in the con-
struction of sewing machines, by which they are adapted to the purposes
of this manufacture, as herein described.
Thirdly, I claim the improved apparatus for buffing and polishing buckles,
slides, and other similar articles of covered harness furniture.
Fourthly, I claim the improved clamps, by which buckles, slides, or other
articles of covered harness furniture are held whilst the tieing-off of the
silk or thread in performed.
Fifthly, I claim the improved paring tools by which the fin or superfluous
leather is to be removed.
Sixthly, I claim the press or clamps by which the tongue of a buckle is
curled round the bar.
And in general terms I claim the several improvements in machines or
apparatus applicable to the manufacture of covered harness furniture, buckles,
slides, and other similar articles, or any mere equivalent of the parts of such
machines or apparatus involving the same mechanical principles, in manner
herein more fully set forth and specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Myring, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
CHARLES MYRING. (L.s.)