IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING THE SOLES OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Flude, of the Town and County of Leicester,
Loom Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND
APPARATUS FOR FINISHING THE SOLES OF BOOTS AND SHOES."
Sealed the 4th May 1866, and dated the 6th November 1865.
I, ROBERT FLUDE, of the Town and County of Leicester, Loom Builder,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING THE SOLES OF BOOTS AND SHOES," to be
as follows:-
I apply endless belts of leather, gutta percha, or other suitable material,
mounted on and driven by pulleys by any suitable power; these belts are

page_text: coated with ground glass, emery, or other cutting substances, so that when
the soles to be finished are applied thereto the surface will be abraded and
reduced as necessary to produce the required face or finish thereon. I make
these endless belts either flat, concave, convex, or otherwise curved on the
outer surface, that is in a transverse direction, and according to the form of
the surfaces to be operated on. Having reduced the soles to the surface
required I finish them by burnishing with rotary burnishers, which I cause
to rotate on a suitable spindle at a rapid rate. I make these burnishers of
wood, iron, or other metal, and use them either in a hot or cold state and
having a plain or fluted burnishing surface.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Flude in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th
May 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
FLUDE, of the Town and County of Leicester, Loom Builder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Robert Flude, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Flude,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert
Flude, 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 MEANS
AND APPARATUS FOR FINISHING THE SOLES OF BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Flude, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Flude, 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:-
My Invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes, and consists of
machinery or apparatus adapted as an improved means for finishing the edges
and bottoms of the soles and heels of the said articles.
I
The machines for finishing the edges (which constitute the first part of my
Invention) are formed and operate in the following manner:-Upon a shaft
mounted in a suitable stand or frame so as to rotate by hand or other power
fit one or more discs; the shaft, which may be hollow or solid, is turned up
true, and the discs are bored to fit the shaft accurately and are keyed thereon.
At the side of these discs I fit a guard flange or feather, the boss in the centre
of which is also bored to fit the shaft accurately, but somewhat loosely, so that
the feather will remain stationary while the shaft rotates. The discs have
their peripheries (in the direction of their respective axes) straight, concave,
or convex, as required. These surfaces being carefully turned and burnished or
polished, are indented, corrugated, serated, or notched. The discs thus
formed and fitted operate by being caused to rotate while the edge of the sole
or heel of the boot or shoe is brought into contact with their peripheries; the
feather or guard flange is inserted between the sole and uppers, and the boot
or shoe being moved or turned about by the operator, the edge has the
required finish imparted thereto. The disc if required may be heated by
means of a gas jet or jets, or otherwise, externally or internally, as may be
found most advantageous. The discs and shaft may be mounted in a hori-
zontal, vertical, or inclined position.
The second improvement relates to the means for finishing the bottoms of
the soles and heels. For this purpose I use an endless band of leather, cotton,
or any other suitable material, the face of which is covered with emery, glass,
or other equivalent; this band is passed over suitable drums horizontally or
vertically, and being driven thereby by hand or otherwise, the bottom or waist
of the sole or bottom of the heel is brought into contact therewith, and is thus
dressed and finished, as required.
The accompanying Drawing is intended to illustrate the mode of con-
structing the machinery or apparatus for carrying my said improvements
into effect, in practice, and to which Drawing the following explanation
refers:-

page_text: General Explanation.-Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine for finishing
the edges of the soles of boots and shoes; Fig. 2, an end view of the same;
Fig. 3 shews the endless band in side view, and mode of mounting it vertically;
Fig. 3, a disc detached; Fig. 4 is a front view thereof; Fig. 5 shows an
endless band as mounted horizontally.
Detailed Explanation (see Figs. 1 and 2.)-a, a, the stand or frame; b, the
disc shaft which may be turned by the treadle here shewn, or by hand, or by
steam, or other power applied thereto; c, a disc for finishing the edges of the
soles; d, the guard feather; this feather is held in its place by the collar d¹
fixed to the disc shaft by the set screw d³; it rotates upon the shaft inde-
pendantly of the disc, and its periphery travels along the channel between the
sole and upper as the boot or shoe is moved, and thus keeps the edge of the
sole in the required position against the periphery of the disc; e, a disc for
finishing the edges of the heel; f, the guide feather.
The peripheries of the discs may be formed as shewn at Fig. 3, and be
either plain as at g, notched as at h, corrugated as at i, or indented as at j, or
in any other shape. When formed as shewn at h, the disc is caused to rotate
in the direction indicated by the arrow.
Figs. 3 and 4; is the endless band for dressing and finishing the bottom
of the soles and heels; m, n, head and foot pullies or drums upon which the
band is mounted. I prefer to make these drums of sufficient size to enable a
man to stand in the space A between the portion of the band ascending and
that descending in order that he may be able to operate with the surface of
the sole towards him, pressing the boot or shoe against the outer surface of
the band indicated by the arrow o, so that he may see the effect as the
finishing proceeds. This band may be mounted upon horizontal standards or
frames, as shewn at Fig. 5, in which case the boot would be held in contact
with the said band under it, as indicated by the arrows p, p, p, in which case
a number of soles could be operated upon thereby at the same time, and the
effect be visible to the operator or operators, as before explained.
Without restricting myself to the precise details, proportions, and
dimensions of the parts of the machinery or apparatus shewn upon the
Drawing, I hereby further declare that what I more particularly desire to
secure, under the before-mentioned in part recited Letters Patent, and claim
as my Invention is,―

page_text: 1st, the rotating disc burnishers for finishing the edges of the soles and
heels.
2ndly, the endless rough-surfaced band for dressing and finishing the
bottoms of the said soles and heels.
And, 3rdly, such modifications of the said machinery as may be identical
therewith, or identified by the description thereof, herein contained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Flude, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
ROBERT FLUDE. (L.8.)