IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HEELS FOR BOOTS OR SHOES, AND APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Stevens, of St. Giles' Street, North-
ampton, in the County of Northampton, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HEELS FOR BOOTS OR SHOES, AND
APPARATUS THEREFOR."
"
caled the 24th March 1874, and dated the 3rd February 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Stevens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd February 1874.
I, WILLIAM STEVENS, of St. Giles' Street, Northampton, in the
5 County of Northampton, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HEELS FOR BOOTS OR
SHOES, AND APPARATUS THEREFOR," to be as follows:-
In a Provisional Specification filed by me on the 27th day of
September 1873, No. 3155, I described a method and apparatus for
manufacturing heels for boots or shoes.

page_text: My present Invention relates to improvements in the construction
and operation of the apparatus described in the said Provisional Specifi-
cation, which improvements I will now describe.
On a horizontal face plate I mount three or more sliding dogs, each
of which can be set and adjusted nearer to or farther from the centre of
the face plate. In a box or casing under the face plate I mount a disc
having in it volute shaped slots, into which slots project pins from the
several sliding dogs above. The disc can be caused to rotate by bevil
gearing worked by a handle outside the casing. When it is caused to
rotate in the one direction its volute slots acting on the dogs cause them
to approach towards the centre of the face plate. When it is turned in
the opposite direction they cause them to recede from the centre. One
of the dogs may be fixed, the others being caused to move as above
described.
The moveable dogs are made with faces inclined over towards the
centre of the face plate and are faced with caoutchouc or other elastic
and yielding material, and they are shaped and adjusted in such manner
that a number of lifts or slabs, or small pieces of leather laid one upon
the other on the face plate roughly in the form of a heel are grasped by
the dogs, when they are made to advance and held firmly thereby while
they are fixed together, as will hereafter be described.
The one dog which may be made a fixture is shaped nearly to the
breast, or straight, or concave edge of the heel, and can be adjusted in
position to suit heels of different sizes. The other dogs which are moved
by the disc below are made to grasp the rounded part of the heel and
to press the materials of the heel firmly against the fixed dog.
On one side of the face plate behind the dog which may be fixed I
provide a forked bracket with slots open at top into which the joint pin
of a die can be introduced.
I employ two dies for making a heel in the following manner :-The
first die is shaped like the heel on its smallest face, and has through it
several holes each of which is fitted with a plunger. Above these
plungers there is a disc on a stem which slides through a hole in the
upper part of the die frame, the disc and stem being kept up by a
spring.
When the lifts constituting a heel have been placed on the face plate

page_text: nails having in the meantime been inserted into the holes of the first
dio the die is placed upon the forked bracket with its pin in the slots
thereof, it is then folded over as on a hinge so that the face of the die
comes upon the upper lift on the face plate. The whole is then sub-
jected to the action of a screw, eccentric, hydraulic, or other press of
any known construction. On pressure being applied to the stem of the
disc which extends above the die frame, the disc is pressed down, the
plungers on which it bears are thereby pressed down and the nails or
rivets are forced into the materials of the heel so as to hold them
together. The nails or rivets being made of somewhat greater length
than the depth of the heel are rivetted or burred over at their ends
which are pressed against the face plate.
Further, the effect of the pressure applied is not only to force the
nails or rivets into the leather, but also when the disc comes to bear on
the die to compress the leather itself. This having been done the die is
lifted off.
The second die is similar to the first, but has a greater number of
holes for the reception of the numerous nails or rivets which are to
appear on the face or top lift of the heel. These holes are also fitted
with plungers on which a sliding disc is brought to bear in the manner
above described, and the operation with the second die is like that with
the first, the result of such operation being the farther compression of
the heel and the insertion of the additional nails or rivets. On this
being effected the heel is released from the dogs and removed ready to
be fixed to the boot or shoe and to be finished in shape. The part of
the face plate on which the heel rests is rounded so as to give the
concave form to that part of the heel which comes next the foot of the
wearer. As when the holes of the dies are charged with nails or rivets
these might drop out on turning the die over, I prefer to make the die
with a projecting lip, and after charging its holes to place upon it the
lift or piece of leather which is intended to be uppermost when the heel
is compressed. This lift being held by the projecting lip of the dic
serves as a cover to prevent the nails or rivets from dropping out when
the dic is turned over.
The apparatus which I have described can be worked with rapidity by
providing a number of dies suitable to the size of heel required, each of
which dies may be receiving its charge of nails or rivets, while the
others are in use in the press so as thus to provide a succession of dies

page_text: ready for operation, The dies are made with heads adjustable by a
screw so as to suit different thicknesses of heel when they are employed
in a press having a definite stroke.
It is obvious that the apparatus is applicable to the manufacture of
heels of other materials besides leather, such as gutta percha, or of
mixed materials.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Stevens in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th July 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
STEVENS, of St. Giles' Street, Northampton, in the County of North-
ampton, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Stevens, Her special license
that I, the said William Stevens, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Stevens, 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 HEELS FOR BOOTS OR SHOES, AND APPARATUS THEREFOR,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Stevens,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Stevens, 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

page_text: following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say :-
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me on the 27th day of
September 1873, No. 3155, I described a method and apparatus for
manufacturing heels for boots or shoes.
My present Invention relates to improvements in the construction
and operation of the apparatus described in the said Specification, which
improvements I will now describe.
On a horizontal face plate I mount three or more sliding dogs, each of
which can be set and adjusted nearer to or farther from the centre of the
face plate. In a box or casing under the face plate I mount a disc
having in it volute shaped slots, into which slots project pins from the
several sliding dogs above. The disc can be caused to rotate by bevil
gearing worked by a handle outside the casing. When it is caused to
rotate in the one direction, its volute slots acting on the dogs cause
them to approach towards the centre of the face plate. When it is
turned in the opposite direction they cause them to recede from the
centre. One of the dogs may be fixed, the others being caused to move
as above described.
The moveable dogs are made with faces inclined over towards the
centre of the face plate and are faced with caoutchouc or other elastic
and yielding material, and they are shaped and adjusted in such manner
that a number of lifts, or slabs, or small pieces of leather laid one upon
the other on the face plate roughly in the form of a heel are grasped by
the dogs, when they are made to advance and held firmly thereby while
they are fixed together, as will hereafter be described.
The one dog which may be made a fixture is shaped nearly to the
breast or the straight or concave edge of the heel, and can be adjusted
in position to suit heels of different sizes. The other dogs which are
moved by the disc below are made to grasp the rounded part of the heel
and to press the materials of the heel firmly against the fixed dog.
On one side of the face plate behind the dog which may be fixed I
provide a forked bracket with slots open at top into which the joint pin
of a die can be introduced.

page_text: I employ two dies for making a heel in the following manner:-The
first die is shaped like the heel in its smallest face, and has through it
several holes each of which is fitted with a plunger. Above these
plungers there is a disc on a stem which slides through a hole in the
upper part of the die frame, the disc and stem being kept up by a
spring.
When the lifts constituting a heel have been placed on the face plate
(the smaller ones uppermost) and grasped firmly by the dogs, rivets or
nails having in the meantime been inserted into the holes of the first
die, the die is placed upon the forked bracket with its pin in the slots
thereof, it is then folded over as on a hinge so that the face of the die
comes upon the upper lift on the face plate. The whole is then sub-
jected to the action of a screw, eccentric, hydraulic, or other press of
any known construction. On pressure being applied to the stem of the
disc which extends above the die frame, the disc is pressed down, the
plungers on which it bears are thereby pressed down, and the nails or
rivets are forced into the materials of tho heel so as to hold them
together. The nails or rivets being made of somewhat greater length
than the depth of the heel are rivetted or burred over at their ends
which are pressed against the face plate.
Further, thic effect of the pressure applied is not only to force the
nails or rivets into the leather, but also when the disc comes to bear on
the dic to compress the leather itself. This having been done the dic is
lifted off.
The second die is similar to the first but has a greater number of
holes for the reception of the numerous nails or rivets which are to
appear on the face or top lift of the heel. These holes are also fitted
with plungers on which a sliding disc is brought to bear in the manner
above described, and the operation of the second die is like that of the
first, the result of such operation being the farther compression of the
heel and the insertion of the additional nails or rivets. On this being
effected the heel is released from the dogs and removed ready to be fixed
to the boot or shoe, and to be finished in shape. The part of the face
plate on which the heel rests is rounded so as to give the concave form
to that part of the heel which comes next the foot of the wearer, as
when the holes of the dies are charged with nails or rivets these might
drop out on turning the die over. I prefer to make the die with a pro-

page_text: jecting lip, and after charging its holes to place upon it the lift or picce
of leather which is intended to be uppermost when the heel is com-
pressed. This lift being held by the projecting lip of the die serves as a
cover to prevent the nails or rivets from dropping out when the die is
turned over.
The apparatus which I have described can be worked with rapidity by
providing a number of dies suitable to the size of heel required, each of
which dies may be receiving its charge of nails or rivets while the others
are in use in the press, so as thus to provide a succession of dies ready
for operation. The dies are made with heads adjustable so as to suit
different thicknesses of heel when they are employed in a press having a
definito at naka
I
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of the apparatus; Fig. 2 is a plan
of its face plate; Fig. 3 is a plan of the volute slotted disc below the
face plate; and Fig. 4 is a front view of the fixed dog on the face plate;
Fig. 5 represents the face of one of the dies; and Fig. 6 represents the
other.
A is the base or stand of the apparatus having a boss in which is
mounted a spindle B provided with a hand wheel B₁ and terminating in
a bevil pinion B² gearing with bevil teeth formed on the under side of
the disc C. This disc has a volute slot on the face, as shewn in Fig. 3,
and is mounted so as to revolve in the base A. Above it is fixed tho
face plate F on which is fixed a dog E to form an abutment for the
hollow part of the heel H, this abutment being provided with adjustable
cheeks E', E', which can be fixed nearer together or farther apart to
suit different widths of heel. On the face plate F are also arranged two,
three, or more sliding dogs D. Each of these dogs consists of an upper
part D sloping over at the front where it presents a dovetailed recess in
which is inserted a piece of caoutchouc or other elastic material d. The
upper part D is made with a slot through which passes a screw fixing it
to the lower part or slide D' which can slide radially in a slot in the face
plate F. From the slide D' pins or fins d¹ project downwards into the

page_text: volute slots of the disc C, so that when this disc is caused to revolve by
working the hand wheel B¹ the dogs. D are caused simultaneously to
approach to or recede from the lifts constituting the heel H, grasping
them firmly in the one case or releasing them in the other case. The
slots in the upper parts D of the dogs permit those parts to be adjusted
on the lower parts to suit different shapes of heels, so that on the simul-
taneous advance of the dogs the heel is grasped between them. fis the
convex piece fixed on the face plate F to give the desired concavity to
the larger face of the heel when it is compressed. G is the forked
bracket for receiving in its slots the joint pin of the die frame, the slots
in G admitting of the die frame being moved vertically, and also of
being folded back or of being brought over the heel, as shewn in Fig. 1.
I is the die frame having a hinge pin which enters the slots of the
bracket G and an upper boss I through which passes the stem of the
pressing disc L. It has also two studs I projecting downwards from it
into holes in the face plate F for the purpose of steadying it. Within
the frame I is fitted the die K, the lower part of which is shaped to the
form of the smaller face of the heel. The die can slide vertically in the
frame I, being prevented from dropping out by a stop i secured to the
frame. Through the die are bored a number of holes into which are
inserted the nails n, each hole being provided with a plunger m. To
prevent the nails n from dropping out of the holes in the die when it is
inverted the rounded side of the die is made with a projecting lip k, and
the uppermost lift h of the heel is pushed tightly on the face of the dic
within its lip after inserting the nails and before folding the die over,
the lift h being thus held on the die and serving as a cover to the nail
holes. The pressing disc L is kept up from the die by a spring S, and
its stem passes through the boss I¹ of the die frame and is surmounted
by a cap held on by a set screw, blocking pieces 7 being inserted when
required to suit the height of the cap to the stroke of the that
press
be employed to give the pressure.
1
may
Two dies as described above are employed for the manufacture of a
heel, each such die being fitted in a frame I. The first die shewn in
Fig. 5 has only a few holes for receiving the longer nails n that are
intended to pass through the lifts H and to become burred over by the
pressure of their points upon the convex piece f. The second die shewn
in Fig. 6 is rather smaller in the face, having to take within its lip k
the smaller lift which is to form the last one of the heel, This die has

page_text: a number of holes taking the shorter nails which appear on the smallest
face of the heel.
The process as described above will now be readily understood to be as
follows: There are several sets of the dies with their frames, some of
the dics having the larger face and some having the smaller which are
being charged by boys or comparatively unskilled hands, each with its
nails and with the last lift / to keep the nails in their holes. The
operating workman having withdrawn the dogs D by turning in one.
direction the hand wheel B¹ inserts in their proper order all the lifts. H
except the uppermost, and clamps them in their place by turning the
hand wheel in the opposite direction; he then takes one of the charged
dies of the first set having the upper lift on its face, inserts its hinged
pin in the slots of the bracket G and turns over the die and frame, as
shewn in Fig. 1, pushes the whole under a press and subjects it to
pressure, whereby the nails n are forced through the lifts by the descent
of the disc L, and thercafter the lifts themselves are compressed by the
descent of the die K when the disc comes to bear on it. The pressure
then being relieved he withdraws the apparatus from the press and
removes the die and its frame, the top lift h being left behind secured in
its place by the first nails. He then operates in like manner with a
charged die of the second set, aud having again withdrawn the apparatus
from the press he removes the die and frame, withdraws the dogs D,
removes the heel which has now been compressed and nailed together
and repeats the operation with another set of lifts.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I mako no
claim to the manufacture of heels for boots or shoes by subjecting a
number of lifts to pressure under a die so as to force nails through them
and to compress them, nor do I claim any use or combination of
apparatus for that purpose except such as are referred to in the following
claiming clauses, that is to say, I claim,―
First. The method substantially as herein described of clamping on a
face plate a number of lifts to constitute a heel by means of dogs caused
simultaneously to slide radially by the rotation of a disc having volute
slots engaging with projections from the said dogs.
Second. The construction of the dogs referred to above with a
caoutchouc or other elastic facing sloped forward so as to take a fair