IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wilson, of the Town of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, Hat Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS."-A communication
from abroad by Rudolph Eickemeyer, of Yonkers, in the United
States of America.
Sealed the 25th July 1873, and dated the 10th February 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th February 1873.
I, WILLIAM WILSON, of the Town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Hat
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS," to be as
follows:-
The first part of this Invention relates to an improvement in
machinery for forming wool hat bodies; it consists of a combination
with hat former similar to those used at present, of a carrying apron
which leads the web from the carding engine to the forming cone; and

page_text: the web thus supported and guided is not strained at all, and can be of
much shorter stock than when stretched from the doffer of the carding
engine to the former cone. By the use of this carrying apron all
pleating and folding of the web is prevented, and the operation of
forming a wool hat body is performed by the machine without the help!
of an operator, and the vibratory action of the apron lays the web even
and smooth on all parts of the forming cone.
The speed of the forming cone on its rollers, as well as the speed of the
vibrating apron or the speed of the web can all be regulated inde-
pendently of each other by the change of position of endless belts on
conical pulleys, without stopping any of the other motions of the
machine. A bell attached to an arm firmly fixed to the frame of the
former is connected with a roller which rests against a part of the
forming cone by means of a lever and link, and is sounded by a hammer
operated from the said roller when a sufficient thickness of wool has been
wound on the forming cone to form a hat body of the desired thickness.
The second part of this Invention relates to an improvement in
machinery for hardening hat bodies and other wearing apparel after the
bodies have passed from the carding engine and been formed in shape
preparatory to their being felted; it consists in making the cone of the
hardening machine to which the jiggering motion is given in parts or
stays forming the straight part of the said cone, and held and confined
in grooves in that part of the cone which hardens the tip of the hat
bodies by the lower plate, and in communicating a uniform motion to
each part so as to equalise more equally than can be done by existing
machines the too-and-fro motion over the whole surface thereof, and thus
preventing the occurrence of ridges that are often made at the lower
part of a large hat by the longer oscillation necessarily given to the base
of the cone in order to obtain sufficient movement on the tip to harden
that part when machinery of the kind hitherto used is employed. This
improvement is applicable to a cone of any required size, and may be
used with an upper cone raised and lowered, and steam applied, and the
pressing done as described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me
in the year 1864, No. 2887, and partly described in that of 1861,
No. 185, or it may be used in combination with a close fitting upper
cone raised and lowered in any manner, and put on over the lower cone
and held down by its own weight, or in any suitable manner.

page_text: The third part of my Invention consists in an improvement for
stretching hat bodies after having passed the fulling mill, and being
felted to their desired size; and it consists in giving to two pieces of
wood of the right shape a vibrating motion from each other, in such a
manner that when a hat body is placed over them and held fast, the
vibrating motion of the pieces will stretch out the hat body in the
direction at right angles with the central axis of the hat body. To
accomplish this the two stretching pieces are fastened to two iron levers
supported in a bearing above, and the vibrating motion is given to the
pieces by means of two discs or eccentrics bein adjustable relatively to
each other, and the main shaft of the machine, and operating upon the
swinging cast iron arms through rollers which bear upon the discs or
eccentrics near their outer edge. Power is applied to line shaft, and
continuous opening and closing motion of the stretching pieces is main-
tained, the operator shifting the hat body after each motion, and
continuing it until all wrinkles have disappeared and a smooth and
even surface attained.
The fourth part of my Invention is an improvement in hat blocks to
stretch or shape yeoman or bell crown shell hats, and consists of a hat
block made of two pieces hinged to a counterpiece which serves as a
guide for a spreading wedge, and also for a guide for a tip plate. The
machine to operate upon the block is a table having two hooks placed in
a sliding rod which is so held by a spring that the spreading wedge may
be hooked on the hooks after the hat has been put on the block either
by hand or by the blocking machine, pulling the spreading wedge by
pressure put on the treadles. The block is made wide on the tip, and
the tip plate is lowered down forming a complete yeoman or bell shaped
crown, while the brim of the hat is resting upon the table, which for
arched brims may be shaped in the desired manner.
The fifth part of my Invention relates to lathes for finishing the hats;
and consists in a frame supported upon a spring, and hinged on one end
between the points of two screws, and carrying the lathe spindle in
bearings on the other end. The driving belt is suspended from a quick
running pulley above, and is long enough to hang below and around the
pulley on the lathe spindle without touching the pulley when the frame
is resting on the spring. To the lower side of the swinging frame an
adjustable rod is attached which is fastened to a treadle below, in such a
manner that the frame may be pulled down by the foot of the operator,

page_text: and the belt thus made to set the spindle in motion. By graduating the
strain the speed of the spindle may in this manner be regulated. The
belt will slit more or less on the pulley of the lathe spindle as more or
less pressure is exerted upon the treadle. When removing all the
pressure the spring lifts up the frame and spindle clear of the belt. This
arrangement is very desirable when oval hats have to be sand papered, a
high speed being necessary to sand paper the tip when a slower speed is
necessary to sand paper the side crown to enable the operator to follow
the irregularities of the block with the hand.
The sixth part of this Invention relates to putting of a Petersham or
tufted finish upon felt hats by means of a machine consisting of an
upright spindle revolving freely in bearings attached to a frame, and
held in its place by a set roller on its upper end; on its lower end is a
cross bar with two bolt holes, and to this cross bar a crank or wrist pin
is bolted, so that the eccentricity of this crank or wrist pin can be varied
as occasion requires. This wrist pin or crank is fitted into a bearing on
an arm to which a round block covered with rubber or coarse sand paper
or other roughening material is fastened. This arm is hinged to a link
fastened to the frame of the machine, and held up by a weight under
the centre of the spindle. Upon a standard under the spindle is fixed an
adjustable hat supporter covered with velvet or other suitable material.
The operation is as follows:-The spindle is made to rotate, and the
hat body properly prepared by raising up the nap is placed upon the
supporter and brought under the action of the vibrating block, and is
gradually moved along until the whole surface is covered with little
knots similar to cloth having the Petersham finish.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th August 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM 30
WILSON, of the Town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Hat Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters

page_text: Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Wilson, Her special license that I, the
said William Wilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Wilson, 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 MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF HATS," a communication to him from abroad by Rudolph Eickemeyer,
of Yonkers, in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Wilson, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or onc
of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 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 William Wilson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in- and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The first part of this Invention relates to an improvement in
machinery for forming wool hat bodies; it consists of a combination
with hat former similar to those at present used, and of a carrying apron
which leads the web from the carding engine to the forming cone, and
the web thus supported and guided is not strained at all, and can be of
much shorter stock than when stretched from the doffer of the carding
engine to the former cone. By the use of this carrying apron all
pleating and folding of the web is prevented, and the operation of
forming a wool hat body is performed by the machine without the help
of an operator, and the vibrating action of the apron lays the web even
and smooth on all parts of the forming cone.
The speed of the forming cone on its rollers as well as the speed of
the vibrating apron or the speed of the web can all be regulated
independently of each other by the change of position of endless belts

page_text: on conical pulleys, without stopping any of the other motions of the
machine.
The Invention is illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings, the
principal parts are mounted upon a frame of wood or other suitable
material A and A¹, and consists of the mechanical devices to operate
and support the endless apron F. The machine is placed between the
doffer cylinder of the carding engine and the former H, and the web is
first passed over the roller E, shewn in section in Figure 1, and also
shewn in Figure 2, and is allowed to hang down and fall upon the
slotted apron F near that point where the said apron is supported upon
the roller E¹. The apron F passes around E' and also around E", and
these rollers are supported by the straps or belts & and s¹, which also
transmits motion to the rollers E' and E", and by two forked arms q
and q¹ on the other end. It is easily seen that in order to carry the
web and deposit the same first on one and then on the other side of the 1
former cone C, that while the cone is slowly revolving in front of the
carrying apron, the apron F has to move forward as fast as the web is
wound upon the cone, and also to slowly vibrate first to the right and
then to left, so as to cross the web in the proper manner.
To produce these various motions a shaft a to which a cone B is 2
permanently fixed receives a suitable rotary motion from some shaft on
the carding engine. To this shaft a pinion p is fastened, and by means
of the gear on the shaft b motion is given from the cone 7 by a round
belt to the cone g¹ fastened to the shaft of roller E to the rollers E, E',
and E, and thus to the apron F. The forward motion of the web is
thus insured, and its speed may be increased or diminished according
to the various kinds of wool by the position of the belt on the cones g
and g¹.
To produce a vibrating motion of the apron the pinion is fastened
upon the shaft c, which shaft also receives motion from the shaft by
means of the round belt acting between the cone pulleys E³ and E'.
The pinion is geared in an endless rack m, and by its motion gives the
lever L of which m is a part a vibrating motion around the pivot n.
This motion of the lever L is transmitted through a system of links and
levers to the support M, which is hinged on its ends at r and t, and to
this swinging or vibrating frame is attached the cross piece M', to which
the fork pieces q and q¹ are fastened. Having thus connected the
supports of the roller E" with the lever L, the roller E" will vibrate

page_text: from one side of the cone to the other every time the lever L makes one
vibration. To regulate the number of vibrations according to the shape
and size of the former cone the supports q and q¹ are made adjustable
in the cross piece M³, and the lever L is provided with a number of folds
to enable the operator to give the apron a greater or smaller vibrating
motion, while the speed is regulated by the position of the round belt on
the cone pulleys E³ and E'. We have in this manner an endless apron
which is supported on one end by the belts s and 8¹, and on its other end
by the supports q and q', and which support the web to the point where
it is deposited on the cone C.
8
The adjustments of the relative speeds are all made by the change of
the belts, apron, and the cone pulleys, and each may be varied without
interfering with the other and without stopping the machine.
The former as here shewn is constructed in the usual manner, but
it is attached to the web delivering machine by means of two links t¹,
one of which is shewn in Figure 1, which links are pivotted in such a
manner that the belt which transmits motion from the shaft b through
the cone D to the conc D¹ is kept at the same tension when the former
is raised up or lowered to form upon a smaller or larger double hat
cone.
It is obvious that this machine is well adapted to form hat bodies out
of short stock. The web is supported on its way to the former cone, and
is delivered upon it at the highest point. Should the web break between
the apron and the cone it would still continue to lay the web upon the
cone, while in the machines as at present in use the web would fall
down.
I claim as respects this part of the Invention the application of an
intermediate apparatus or machine between the doffer of the carding
engine and the hat forming machine, whereby the sliver from the doffer
is supported and carried on to the revolving and oscillating hat cones or
block, and deposited there automatically as is needful to cross the fibres
of wool, substantially as described.
The second part of this Invention relates to an improvement in
machinery for hardening hat bodies after the bodies have passed from
the forming machine and preparatory to their being felted. It is an
improvement upon that for which a Patent was granted to myself in
1867, No. 3716. This part of the Invention consists in making the

page_text: under cone of a hardening machine (to which it is preferred to give the
jiggering motion) in vertical sections or staves instead of in horizontal,
as in the former Invention, such staves forming the straight part of the
cone, and being held and confined between that part of the cone on
which the tip is hardened and the flange below, which is supported upon
studs held up by a weighted lever; also in communicating a uniform
jiggering motion to all parts of the cone to equalize more nearly than
can be done by existing machines the to-and-fro motion over the whole
surface thereof, and thus prevent the formation of ridges, such as are
often made at the lower part of the cone.
Figure 3 is a plan, and Figure 4 a sectional elevation of a cone made
of 24 staves and a segment of a globe or ball. The part of the frame of
the hardening machine upon which this cone is placed is marked P, and
on the top of this frame a hollow standard K is bolted, and furnishes
the bearings for the universal joint pins L, L'. These pins are fitted
firmly into K and loosely in the ring E, allowing the said ring to swing
around the longitudinal axis of the pins L, L. At right angles with the
pins L, L', are two bearings for the pin K, and this pin is loosely fitted into
the spindle D in the manner shown in Figure 4. On the upper end of D
the segment B is permanently fixed in a position bringing its centre into
the centre of the universal joint, or in other words the centre of the ball
coincides with the intersection of the axis of the pins L, L, and K being
thus supported the surface of the piece B may be made to vibrate around
the centre x by means of the adjustable bearing 2, which bearing is
fastened to the crank head G, and receives a rotary motion through
spindle H from a suitable belt on the pulley i. To increase or decrease
the length of the circular vibrations of D and B it is only necessary to
move the bearing 1 from or towards the centre of H. The segment B
has around its edge a groove, into which the staves A, A, A, are fitted on
their upper end, while the flange c has a similar groove, into which the
lower end of the staves are fitted. To keep the staves in position while
in motion it is necessary to force them up against the segment B, and
this is accomplished by two studs F, F, held up against projections on
the flange C by means of the cross head N and the weighted lever O.
To reduce the motion of these parts to the smallest amount, and to retain
the whole surface of the cone in the same position relatively to any cone
or cover that may be put over it, it is necessary to form another bearing
for the lower edge of the cone, and this bearing has to be around the

page_text: centre y, and is formed by the globular shape of standard K fitting into
the cylindrical opening in the plate c. A line x, x¹, drawn through the
centre x to the centre of the groove should be parallel to a line y, y¹,
drawn through the centre y and through the centre in the groove of
plate c.
To have the least variation possible, the cone should be so made
that when the centre of the bearing exactly coincides with centre of
the shaft E, the lines x, x¹, and y, y', are at right angles with the surface
of the staves A.
When motion is given to the shaft H the eccentricity of the bearing
will cause the spindle D to vibrate around the axis of H, swinging in
the universal joint. Every part of the surface of B will make in con-
sequence a circular motion, and this motion is transmitted to the
staves A, A, by the segment B, the plate c, through studs F and F¹,
keeping the staves in contact with B. We have in this manner the
same length of vibration all over the cone, and any hat of felting
material which is held upon the conc in the usual manner will be
hardened alike all over the surface.
What I claim in respect to this part of the Invention is, the forming
the cone of machines for hardening hat bodies in staves running longi-
tudinally to the central axis of the cone in combination with a segment
of a globe or ball, and the communicating a uniform motion to each part,
substantially as described.
The third part of this Invention relates to a new and useful machine
for stretching hat bodies after such hat bodies have been fulled or felted
in the fulling mill. These hat bodies, after being fulled, are very much
contracted in dimensions, and require to be stretched and straightened
previously to being blocked and brought to the desired form. This
stretching operation has hitherto been generally performed by hand at
considerable cost.
This Invention is designed to supercede the manual operation, and to
this end are employed two blocks attached to arms, the upper ends of
which are suspended on a pivot and operated by means of a cam in such
a manner that the two blocks will be moved simultaneously towards and
from cach other, and the hat body which is placed on the blocks
properally stretched, as hereinafter fully shewn and described.

page_text: Figure 5 is a front elevation, Figure 6 is a side sectional view of the
same taken in the line x, x, Figure 5; Figure 7 is a view of a hat body
before being stretched; Figure 8 is a view of a hat body stretched by
this machine; A represents a framing which may be constructed in any
proper manner to support the working parts of the machine; B, B, arc
two blocks, the front and back surfaces of which are parallel with each
other, the outer edges rounded horizontally and curved longitudinally,
and the inner edges being planes, the two blocks, when their inner edges
are in contact, form a flattened conoid. The blocks B, B, are secured
each to the lower end of an arm C being bolted to flanges, which flanges
stand out at right angles from the arms and are bolted to them, as shewn
in Figure 6. By this mode of attachment the blocks B, B, are made to
extend up in front of the arms and at a little distance out from them, as
shewn in Figure 6. The upper ends of the arms C, C, are suspended by
a pivot u from a cross bar 6 at the upper part of the framing A. At the
lower extremity of each arm C there is attached a pin having a friction
roller E upon it. F is a horizontal shaft placed in the framing A below
the blocks B. On this shaft F there is fitted a cam H, which may be
described as composed of two oblique wheels or pulleys having slightly
concave edges and placed in reverse positions on their shaft F, as shewn
in Figure 5. This cam H works between the friction rollers E, E. K is
an iron bar screwed to the frame A, and serves as a guide to the arms
C, C, in their movement from and towards each other.
The operation is as follows:-The shaft F is rotated by the pulley I,
and the cam H forces the blocks B, B, apart as its gradually widening:
part passes between the rollers E, E; the weight of metal in the arms
C, C, drawing the blocks towards each other again as the gradually
narrowing part passes between the said rollers, by this means the two
blocks are simultaneously moved towards and from each other. The
operator places a hat body d, see Figure 7, on the two blocks when the
same are in contact, and gradually turns the hat body a short distance
on the block each time they come in contact. The blocks stretch the
hat body each time they are forced apart or outward from each other,
and stretch it from the apex to the lower edge, and consequently after
being thus operated upon for a short time it will be sufficiently enlarged a
or stretched (see Figure 8) to receive the block on which the proper form
is given it. The blocks B, B, are grooved horizontally to prevent the
hat body from slipping upward. The operator keeps his hands on the

page_text: What I claim in respect to this part of the Invention is the arrange-
ment of machinery to stretch hat bodies, substantially as described.
The fifth part of this Invention relates to putting of a Petersham or
tufted finish upon felt hats by means of a machine consisting of an
upright spindle revolving freely in bearings attached to a frame, and
held in its place by a set roller on its upper end. On its lower end is a
cross bar with two bolt holes, and to this cross bar a crank or wrist pin
is bolted, so that the eccentricity of this crank or wrist pin can be varied
as occasion requires. This wrist pin or crank is fitted into a bearing on
an arm to which a round block covered with rubber or coarse sand paper
or other roughening material is fastened. This arm is hinged to a link
fastened to the frame of the machine, and held up by a weight under
the centre of the spindle. Upon a standard under the spindle is fixed
an adjustable hat supporter covered with velvet or other suitable
material.
The operation is as follows:-The spindle is made to rotate, and the
hat body properly prepared by raising up tho nap is placed upon the
supporter, and brought under the action of the vibrating block, and is
gradually moved along until the whole surface is covered with little
knots similar to cloth having the Petersham finish.
Figure 14 is a side view; and Figure 15, an clevation partly in
section of the machine; Figure 16 shews some of the parts separately.
Motion is given to
spindle C. On the
The machine is composed of a suitable frame A placed on an ordinary
hat finisher's bench, the upright pieces A¹, A", supporting the cross
pieces A¹¹¹, A, to which the bearings B and B₁ are fastened; an
upright spindle C revolves freely in these bearings, and is held in its
place by a set roller and screw m at its upper end.
the machine by means of the pulley D on the said
lower end of this spindle is a cross bar with two bolt holes shewn in
section in Figure 15, and to this cross bar a crank or wrist pin E is
bolted, the arrangement being such that the eccentricity of the wrist
pin can be varied as occasion requires. The wrist pin is fitted into a
bearing in the arm F, to which a round piece G covered with sand
paper, india-rubber, or other roughening material is attached. The
arm F is hinged to the link , and is held up by the weight o. Under
the centre of the spindle a standard L is fastened on the frame, and in
the centre of this standard the adjustable hat supporter K is placed

page_text: upon it, and held by a set screw at the proper height. The hat supporter
is covered with velvet or other suitable material.
I claim the construction of machinery for putting a Petersham finish
upon felt hats, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wilson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
WILLIAM WILSON. (L.S.)