Improvements in the Manufacture of Leather, Belting and in Apparatus applicable therefor.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL DILUIT
Improvements in the Manufacture of Leather, Belting and in
Apparatus applicable therefor.
I, EDWARD FRANK SARGEANT, of Linden Villa, Lower Street, Stroud, in the
County of Gloucester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to sewing or securing together side by side the abutting
edges of two strips of leather or like material.
The edge of each of the leather strips which are to be united has a cut formed
centrally along it parallel with the working face and the two strips lying close
together side by side are united or sewn together by means of a hollow spindle
or stem having at its end a short arm extending from it. The hollow stem
passes down between the upper lips or halves of the slit edges of the two strips—
these upper lips bending upwards to allow them to do so the arm on the end of
the stem lies in the slit. By giving a partial turn to the stem the arm can be
made to pass first into the slit in the edge of one strip and then into the edge of
the other.
is
The thread passes down the hollow stem and along the arm; when the arm is
in the slit in one strip, a peg is driven through the leather between the thread
and the edge of the strip; this peg fastens the two lips of the strip together and
holds the thread in the slit, the hollow stud is then rotated through a small angle
peg
carrying the arm and thread to the slit in the other strip and another
driven; thus the two strips are held together by a thread passing round pegs
in each strip, the thread lying wholly in the substance of the leather. As each
peg is driven a tightener-arm pulls up the slack thread, and a little cement can
be inserted in the slit to help in keeping the lips together; instead of pegs an
ordinary "through and through" stitch can be used to keep the concealed stitch in
its place. In a modification of this mode of fastening the thread can be dispensed
with and a thin strip can be fed into the two slits; the strip being moulded by
"formers" into a bridge shape so that its two edges will enter between the
upturned lips of the slits, as the pegs are driven through, the thin strip is
flattened out and forms a tongue to hold the strips together.
In some cases in machines for sewing the strips together side by side I use two
needles inclined at an angle to each other; each needle sews slantingly through
its own strip and there is a single bottom thread; the right hand needle first
descends and draws the bottom thread up into the right hand strip; the two
strips are moved forward and the left hand needle next descends through the
left hand strip, and similarly draws the bottom thread up into the left hand
strip.
A single top thread can be used held in a suitable shuttle, and as each needle
drowe the hight of the bottom thread up through the leather. this shuttle threads

page_text: the top thread through it, and the top thread consequently assumes a zig-zag
course on the top of the belt, holding the strips firmly together.
Duted this 8th day of Septembar 1807
Improvements in the Manufacture of Leather Belting, and in
Apparatus applicable therefor.
I, EDWARD FRANK SARGEANT, of Linden Villa, Lower Street, Stroud, in the
County of Gloucester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to sewing or securing together side by side the abutting
edges of two strips of leather or like material.
The edge of each of the leather strips which are to be united has, as shewp
at Figures 1, 2, 3 of the drawings, a cut formed centrally along it parallel with
the working face and the two strips marked a lying close together side by side
are united or sewn together by means of a hollow spindle or stem b having at its
end a short arm 6' extending from it. The hollow stem passes down between
the upper lips or halves of the slit edges of the two strips these upper lips
bending upwards as shewn in Figure 2 to allow it to do so-the arm on the end
of the stem lies in the slit. By giving a partial turn to the stem the arm can be
made to pass first into the slit in the edge of one strip and then into the edge of
the other.
The thread passes down the hollow stem and along the arm; when the arm
is in the slit in one strip, a peg c is driven through the leather between the thread
and the edge of the strip; this peg fastens the two lips of the strip together and
holds the thread in the slit; the belt or the machine is then moved one stop
forwards and the hollow stem is then rotated through a small angle carrying
the arm and thread to the slit in the other strip and another peg c is driven;
thus the two strips are held together by a thread passing round pegs in each
strip, the thread lying wholly in the substance of the leather. As each peg
driven the slack thread is pulled up, and a little cement can be inserted in the
slit to help in keeping the lips together; instead of pegs an ordinary "through
and through" stitch can be used to keep the concealed stitch in its place.
is
In a modification of this mode of fastening, the thread can be dispensed with,
and a thin strip can be fed into the two slits, between the upturned lips of the
slits. As the pegs are driven through, the thin strip is flattened out and forms
a tongue to hold the strips together, or cement alone may be used to hold the
strip and lips together.
The strips I first cut spirally out of the hide and then preferably stretch them.
I next draw the edge to be joined under a circular saw revolving in a plane
parrallel to the surface of the strip, and so arranged as to make a cut about "
deep about midway of the substance of the leather and parallel with its surface.
I find a convenient arrangement of the saw is to cause it to revolve in a horizontal
plane just above the surface of a table the spindle of the saw passing through
the table and being driven by a belt below the table, the saw is preferably held
between flanges which come near to its periphery so as to prevent any chance of
its buckling, the lower flange being sunk in a recess in the table. The strips
of leather are drawn across the surface of the table preferably with that side
downwards which will be in contact with the pulley when the belt is at work;

page_text: a stud projecting from the surface of the table forms a guide to keep the strips
up to the saw, and the strips are kept flat on the table by flat steel springs
pressing on the top of them, these springs yield to any irregularity in the thick-
ness of the leather, and the saw always working at a set distance above the
surface of the table cuts a groove at a fixed distance from the under surface of
the strip although the thickness of the leather above the groove may vary. I
find that a saw about 1 inch thick by about 6 inches in diameter and having
about 12 teeth to the inch with a moderate amount of set gives very good results,
but the thickness of the saw and amount of set must be regulated according to
the thickness of the tape it is intended to use.
After the strips have been cut in this manner the dust made by the saw must
be carefully brushed out of the grooves.
The strips to be joined may now be stretched on a long table, keeping their
edges tightly pressed together, and securing them in position by wood pegs
driven through the solid part of the strips and into the table.
When the strips are stretched on the table I insert the tape into the grooves
in the abutting edges of the strips by driving a metal plough such as shewn in
section in Figures 6 and 7 down the two adjacent grooves in such a manner as
to turn aside the two upper lips of the grooves as shewn at Figure 5 so that they
lie vertically against the stem a of the plough. This stem a is hollow, of rect-
angular cross section and of width sufficient to let the tape pass freely down it;
the tape is coiled on a spindle 6 supported on the same carriage that carries the
plough, which also carries a tray c of melted cement the tape passes from the
coil under a rod d fixed below the surface of the cement, and then up to the top
of the hollow stem a; it passes down this stem and out at the bottom. In
starting this plough, is should be first warmed by steam or hot water to the
temperature of the cement; the tape is then drawn through the stem and out at
the bottom; it is tacked to the table at the end of the strips and the front tongue
of the plough is inserted in two adjacent grooves, as the plough is driven forward
the top edges or lips of the leather are turned upwards so as to allow the stem
to pass between them, and the tape passing out at the bottom of the stem is laid
in the bottom of the groove, and pressed down by the heel of the plough; the
plough is followed up by an attendant who presses down the two top edges of
the groove, which at once adhere to the tape by the cement carried down by the
latter. The tape is thus enclosed in the grooves as shewn in Figure 4. The
cement will also flow out of the grooves, if the surface of the belt is well rubbed
while the cement is still warm, and on to the edges of the strips so as to cause
these edges to adhere to each other, so that the strips are held together by the
adhesion of their edges as well as by the tape.
In some cases I stitch strips of leather together side by side in the following
manner: I take a single hooked needle mounted in a handle and drive it down-
wards in a slanting direction through one edge of a strip. I then pass a bottom
thread round the hook and draw it up through the leather. I next pass a top
thread through the bight and draw both loops so formed back into the substance
of the leather having first disengaged the hook.
Afterwards I pass the hook down through the other strip and draw the bottom
thread up through that strip making another loop, the top thread is then passed
through this loop and so on the threads being pulled tight after each stitch-the
top thread consequently assumes a zigzag course on the top of the belt as shewn
at Figures 8 and 8 whilst the bottom thread is drawn up into the leather near
the division line between the two strips.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The manufacture of leather belting substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in Figures 1, and 3.

page_text: 2. Leather belts made of two or more long strips of leather held together edge
to edge by a tape or strip of thin material secured by cement or otherwise into
grooves cut into the abutting edges of the strips.
3. Leather belts made of two or more long strips of leather stitched together
edge to edge in the manner illustrated at Figure 8.
1
01 1
PT
1000