IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND 'IN APPARATUS THEREFOR.
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND 'IN
APPARATUS THEREFOR. A communication from abroad by Elbridge Sanford
Pratt, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, Gentleman.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th February 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR." [A communication from
abroad by Elbridge Sanford Pratt, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America,
Gentleman.]
The nature of this Invention consists,-
1st. In an improved mode of making boots and shoes, to wit, bevelling, depressing,
or channelling the inner or upper surface of the outer sole so as to leave its outer
edge higher or thicker than the body of the said outer sole, applying the upper to the
sole with its lower edge turned outward upon the channelled, bevelled, or depressed
portion of the sole, placing a detached welt on the top of such outward turned upper,
and then securing the sole, upper, and welt together and in place by fastenings, con-
sisting either of waxed threads, or pegs, nails, screws, rivets, or the like.
2nd. In an improved mode of making the weltings for boots and shoes, to wit,
taking strips of leather of the proper width for welting, and punching stitch, peg,
or awl gauging holes through it, the said holes being punched at uniform distances
apart by running the welting material through a sewing machine provided with an
accurate feed motion, and with a suitable square cut needlo which will pierco oblong
holes across the welt or at right angles to its length.
3rd. In an improved skeleton clamp-frame of an outline conforming generally to
the form of a boot or shoc in horizontal section below the instop, and adapted to
fit upon and around a lasted upper, and furnished with movable jaws which serve
to keep the lower edge of the upper close to the outer sole of a boot or shoe during
the operation of uniting the sole, upper, and welt. The said clamp frame is of
oblong skeleton form. It is suitably contracted above the front part of the shoe or
•

page_text: E
boot to bear against the sides of the upper part of the instep of the lasted upper
and thus be kept from descending while the clamp jaws are being tightened up.
To this frame the clamp jaws are attached, their shanks being screw threaded, fitted
into the frame, and provided with thumb nuts which bear against the frame.
Some of these jaws have upright shanks passed vertically through the frame, and
their lower ends are flared and curved to fit the sides of the shank of the lasted
upper; they are drawn tight upon the upper and last by the thumb-nuts, and cause
the lower edge of the upper when it is released from the last to lic close upon the
outer sole of the shoo or boot. Other of the said clamp jaws have horizontal
shanks with thumb-nuts, and their lower ends are flared and curved to fit the ball
of the lasted upper of the shoe or boot, and they operate to press the lower freed
edge of the upper close to the outer sole. One of the said jaws has a horizontal
shank and a thumb nut, and is also flared and curved to fit the toe of the lasted
upper, and, like the others, it operates to press down the freed edge of the upper
close to the outer solc. The said clamp-jaws are drawn tight upon the lasted
uppers by means of the screw shanks and the thumb-nuts. The lower flaring edges
of the jaws are reduced in thickness, being brought almost to a knife edge, and
thereby sufficient room for the manipulation of an awl outside them is afforded all
around the boot or shoe.
By the first part of the said Invention the necessity of attaching the welt to the
insole or to the upper and insole before uniting the same to the outward turned
portion of the upper and to the outer sole is avoided, and thus a much stronger
boot or shoo can be produced at far less cost than by other known modes, and sucl
boot or shoe will have its welt so concealed that in beauty and finish it will equal
the best finished stitched boots, and such boot or shoe will have the upper and
welt so imbedded into the channelled, bevelled, or depressed surface of the outer
sole that water will be turned outward from the inside.
By the second part of the said Invention the most ordinary workman will be
able to perform tlio finest stitching upon boots and shoes, the gauge-welt determining
the points for the insertion of the awl and also for the waxed threads, and thus the
best stitched boots and shoes can be made as cheaply as common boots and shoes, and
at the same time the cost of the weltings will be less than when made in the ordinary
way. And by the third part of the said Invention the maker of boots and shoes is
greatly assisted, as the clamp-frame holds the lasted upper firmly upon the last
during the operation of sewing or otherwise uniting the upper, welt, and outer sole
together, and thus much labour and time heretoforo spent in pressing down and
adjusting the welt and upper are saved, and the cost of making boots and shoes
will be lessened.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
August 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR." A communication from
abroad by Elbridge Sanford Pratt, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America,
Gentleman.
The nature of this Invention consists,―
First. In an improved mode of making boots and shoes, to wit, bevelling, depressing,
or channelling the inner or upper surface of the outer sole so as to leave its outer
edge higher or thicker than the body of the suid outer sole, applying the upper
to the sole with its lower edge turned outward upon the channelled, bevelled, or
depressed portion of the sole, placing a detached welt on the top of such outward
turned upper, and then securing the sole, upper, and welt together and in placo by
fastenings, consisting either of waxed threads, or pegs, nails, screws, rivets, or the like.
Second. In an improved mode of inaking the weltings for boots and shoes, to wit,
taking strips of leather of the proper width for welting, and punching stitch, peg,
or awl gauging holes through it, the snid holes being punched at uniform distances
apart by running the welting material through a sewing machine provided with
an accurate feed motion, and with a suitable square cut needle which will pierce
oblong holes across the welt or at right angles to its length.
Third. In an improved skeleton clamp-frame of an outline conforming generally
to the form of a boot or shoe in horizontal section below the instep, and adapted to
fit upon and around a lasted upper, and furnished with movable jaws which serve
to keep the lower edge of the upper close to the outer sole of a boot or shoe during
the operation of uniting the solc, upper, and welt.
By the first part of the said Invention the necessity of attaching the welt to the
insole or to the upper and insole before uniting the same to the outward turned
portion of the upper and to the outer sole is avoided, and thus a much stronger
boot or shoe can be produced at far less cost than by other known means, and such
boot or shoe will have its welt so concealed that in beauty and finish it will equal
the best finished stitched boots, and such boot or shoe will have the upper
and welt so embedded into the channelled, bevelled, or depressed surface of the
outer sole that water will be turned outward from the inside.
By the second part of the said Invention the most ordinary workman will be
enabled to perform the finest stitching upon boots or shoes, the gauge-welt
determining the points for the insertion of the awl, and also for the waxed threads,
and thus the best stitched boots and shoes can be made as cheaply as common
boots and shoes, and at the same time the cost of the weltings will be less than
when made in the ordinary way. By the third part of the said Invention the
maker of boots and shoes is greatly assisted, as the clamp frame holds the lasted
upper firmly upon the last during the operation of sewing or otherwise uniting the
upper, welt, and outer sole together, and thus much labor and time heretofore
spent in pressing down and adjusting the welt and upper are saved, and the cost of
making boots and shoes will be lessened.
In carrying the first part of the said Invention into practice the upper A of a boot
or shoe may be cut to the desired pattern either by hand or machinery, and if a
last is not used in the operation of uniting the upper to the outer sole B the lower
edge of the upper should be shaped to conform exactly to the outline of the sole.
The upper A is formed at its lower edge with a sufficient fullness to allow of this
edge being turned outward horizontally from the margin of an insole C to the
margin of the outer sole B, as shown in vertical transverse section at a in Figures 3

page_text: and 7 of the Drawings, and as also illustrated in the perspective view, Figure 1,
and in detail in longitudinal section in Figures 4 and 5 of the Drawings. The
upper A when turned out as just mentioned rests with its portion a upon a bevelled,
depressed, or channelled portion b of the outer sole, and a strong welt c is placed
upon the outward turned portion a, and the outer sole, upper, and welt are then
sewed together by a waxed thread, the respective ends of which are passed in
opposite directions through each awl hole punched through the welt, upper, and
outer sole, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 4 of the Drawings. Other means
however may be employed for fastening the uppers, soles, and welts together, such
as pegs, nails, rivets, screws, or the like, but waxed thread is the most advantageous
for fine work.
In the manufacture of boots and shoes according to this method the insole may
be either used or not, and if used it may be fastened to the upper side of the outer
sole by stitching through the two soles at certain places, as shewn at d in the
undersido view, Figure 2, and in horizontal section in Figure 6 of the Drawings.
As the insole forms no part of the support for the sewing thread or other fastening
used for uniting the welt, upper, and outer sole, it may be made of paper or other
clieap material adapted as a filling.
The uppers may be "lasted" by tacking the lower edge as usual to the under
surface of the last, and in connection with such lasted upper the improved clamp-
frame E, shewn in Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the Drawings, may be employed.
Figure 9 is a plan, Figure 10 an elevation, and Figure 11 a transverse section on
the line x, x, Figure 9, of this clamp-frame, and Figures 12 and 13 arc sections of
portions of the same. In connection with the outward turned uppers and
channelled, bevelled, or depressed outer sole B, a welting c', such as shown in
Figure 8, already prepared and punched with stitch or awl gauging holes c²,
employed.
may be
The clamp-frame E is of oblong skeleton form shaped to conform to the outline
of the rear part of a boot or shoe. It is suitably contracted, as at h, Figure 9,
above the front part of the boot or shoe to bear against the sides of the upper part
of the instep of the lasted upper, and thus be kept from descending while tho
clamp-jaws are being tightened up. To this frame a number of clamp-jaws F, F',
F, are attached, their shanks i, j, j, being screw threaded and fitted into the frame E,
and provided with thumb-nuts h, k, l, which bear against the frame. The jaws F
have upright shanks i passed vertically through the frame E, and their lower
ends are flared and curved to fit the sides of the shank of the lasted upper; they
are drawn tight upon the upper and last by the thumb-nuts, and cause the lower
edge of the upper when it is released from the last to lie close upon the outer solo
of the boot or shoe. The clamp-jaws F' have horizontal shanks ; with thumb-
nuts ', and their lower ends are flared and curved to fit the ball of the lasted
upper of the boot or shoe, and they operate to press the lower freed edge of the
upper close to the outer sole. The jaw F also has a horizontal shank j' and a
thumb-nut, and this jaw is also flared at 2 and curved to fit the toe of the lasted
upper, and like the others it operates to press down the freed edge of the upper
close to the outer sole. The clamp-jaws F, F, are drawn tight upon the lasted
uppers by means of the screw shanks j, j', and the thumb nuts, 1, moving hori-
zontally inward. The lower flaring edges of the jaws are reduced in thickness,
being brought almost to a knife edge, as shown in Figures 11, 12, and 13, and by
this means sufficient room for the manipulation of an awl outside thom is afforded
all round the boot or shoe. To apply this clamp to a lasted shoe the clamp-jaws F
for the shank of the shoe are removed from the frame E and placed against the
shank-sides of the uppers, and, while they are held by hand or otherwise in their
proper position, the frame, with the jaws F, F, attached to it but set out from the
ball and toc portions of the upper, is passed down over the top portion of the upper
and last, the shanks i inserted into their respective guide-holes in the frame E, and
the thumb-nuts & screwed upon their threaded ends against the said frame; the
jaws F1, F2, are then screwed against the ball and toe portions of the upper and

page_text: last, and during the operation of screwing up the respective clamps the frame is
properly pressed down upon the upper and last; when the frame is about horizontal
the final turning of the nuts is performed. Thus the uppers are clamped upon the
last, and when the tacks which hold their lower edge are withdrawn the said lower
edge can be turned out horizontally so as to lie flatwise upon the sole of the boot or
shoe, in which position it is pressed by the clamps, which bite upon the upper just
at the point where the upper is bent to turn its edge outward, and by thus biting
retain the upper in its lasted form while the operation of sewing or uniting it to
the sole is being performed.
The welting c', as represented in Figure 8, is made in a continuous strip of the
length required for a boot or shoe, or of any desired length, and may be put up in
packages or in a roll, as found most advantageous. The material of which the
welting is made is of the same class as is commonly used in making ordinary
sewed-work," and it is of a width sufficient to cover the lower outward turned
edge of the upper leather and the extended edge of the outer sole of the boot or
shoe. The holes in the welting are punched through it at uniform distances
apart, as shewn in the Drawings. The holes serve as stitch or awl gauges for
the shoe maker, and they ensure perfect uniformity in the length of the stitches
or distance apart of the fastening devices; they also prevent any deviation from a
true course in the operation of sowing. To prepare this welting machinery is
employed; for instance, I employ an ordinary sewing machine and place in it a
suitable square cut needle, and then run the prepared welting through the machine;
the result is, the piercing of the leather with the utmost regularity as to straightness
of line and distance apart of the stitch and awl gauging holes c². The holes are
made at right angles to the length or across the welting, and they answer perfectly
for the reception of the end of the awl at the beginning of cach of its insertions
into the upper and sole which are beneath the welting.
My improved method of uniting a detached welt to a channelled sole and outward
turned upper may be most successfully carried into practice as follows, that is to
sayI cut the inner and outer soles, fasten them together, and employ the stitch
gauge welt c; I place the upper cut by the pattern upon the last, apply the
clamp frame upon the lasted upper, and remove the tacks which hold the lower
edge of the upper to the last; I turn out the said edge of the upper upon tho
channelled portion of the outer sole, and then place the welt upon this outward
turned portion, and I sew the sole, upper, and welt together and in place. During
the operation the shoe inaker presses down the welt c, and also the lower portion
a of the upper A with the appropriate tools, and thereby ensures their snug
depression into the channel b of the outer sole; this result is further secured by the
tension exerted by the operator upon the two ends of the waxed threads in forming
the stitches. The finishing of the edge of the sole on the top, bottom, and side
may be performed by any of the well known implements or machinery ordinarily
employed.
-
In connection with the said improved method of making boots and shoes it is
practicable to cut only the soles and uppers by machinery, and to perform upon the
inade shoes any of the operations now found necessary in making shoes according
to the ordinary method, and while this is so, much of the labour and expense
attending the lasting of the shoe uppers which are to be turned inside out and
sowed in the ordinary manner will be avoided. It is further practicable in con-
nection with the said method of making boots and shoes, to cut out the soles by
dies, to fasten the soles together by sewing or otherwise, and to completely finish
the soles by the process of rolling, shaving. trimming, and moulding, and the
several soles united and with the filling between the soles may be treated as a
single sole, that is to say, it may be bevelled, depressed, or channelled, as at b, upon
the upper edge sufficiently deep and wide to admit into the channel the lower
outward turned edge of the upper and the welt, and, if desired, the heel of the
boot or shoe may be added to the sole, and when thus finished the sole may be
tacked to the last. Thus it will be readily understood that machinery may be

page_text: employed to perform all the work now effected by hand upon hand made boots
and shoes, and, if deemed desirable, the sole, upper, and welt may be sewed together
by machinery.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,—
First. The improved mode of making boots and shoes, substantially as herein
described.
Second. The improved stitch and awl gauging welting for boots and shoes,
substantially as described.
Third. The improved frame provided with suitable clamping jaws, substantially
as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
WM ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)