Improvements in Waxed Thread Sewing Machines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 12th July, 1898-Accepted, 10th Dec., 1898
[Communicated from abroad by JOSEPH ELI BERTRAND, of 23, Pinckney Street,
Boston, Massachussetts, United States of America, Machinist.]
Improvements in Waxed Thread Sewing Machines.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, in the County of Middlesex, 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: -
My invention relates to chain stitch waxed thread sewing machines, and it
consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination
of parts which will be readily understood by reference to the description of the
accompanying drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a chain-stitch waxed thread sewing machine
embodying a portion of my invention, but with the waxing device omitted.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same looking toward the left of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an elevation of the opposite side of the same with a portion of the
frame broken away, and with the tension device and wax pot attached and showing
a portion of the column.
Figure 4 is a plan of the thread measuring and tension controlling mechanism
drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of the tension controlling bar.
Figure 6 is an elevation of the needle segment, the needle-guide, tack-puller,
and the stud upon which they are mounted, with a portion of the nose of the
frame, drawn to a still larger scale.
Figure 7 is an elevation of the opposite side of the nose of the frame, with the
spring for moving the needle guide towards the point of the needle.
Figure 8 is a section on line rx of Figure 6, looking toward the right hand
upper portion of said figure.
Figure 9 is a perspective view of the tack-puller.
Figure 10 is a plan of the wax pot, the wax heating and thread tension devices
with the means for releasing the tension on the thread.
Figure 11 is an inside elevation of the back gauge; its bar and the lever for
moving it towards the rear.
Figure 12 is a sectional plan of the same parts, the cutting plane being on
line yy, in Figure 11, and showing in plan in addition to the parts shown in
Figure 11, the spring for moving the back gauge toward the work.
Figure 13 is a vertical section of the wax-pot and a small portion of its sup-
porting bracket, the cutting plane being on line y y on Figure 10.
In the drawings A is the base of the head of the machine arranged to be mounted
upon a column B, and has formed in one piece therewith, or secured thereto in
any suitable manner, the 'centrally arranged and upwardly projecting frame
section A', as shown.

page_text: The base A has formed thereon the two outwardly and upwardly projecting
arms A² to receive and support the columns A3 A3 having suitable bearings formed
in their upper ends, in which is mounted the driving shaft C, upon which are
mounted the several actuating cams for operating the various moving parts of the
machine.
The parts above mentioned together with the feed slide D, the lever D¹ and
cam D for operating the same, its feed point or awl b, the needle e and its
carrier c', the looper d, the shoe supporting gauge e, and all other parts of the
machine not more particularly referred to or described herein, are of well known
construction, and are not of my invention.
E is a bar fitted to a bearing in the frame section A¹ so as to be movable endwise
therein and has rigidly secured to its front end a back-gauge f of well-known
construction.
The bar E has formed upon, or firmly secured thereto, the upwardly projecting.
lug or plate g, which also projects outwardly from the outer face of said bar E, 1
as shown in Figure 12.
This lug or plate g is engaged on its front edge by the roll h mounted upon a
stud or journal adjustably set in a slot in the lower end of the lever F, ful-
crumed at and acted upon by the cam P, as shown in Figure 3, to vibrate it
and move said bar E and the back gauge f to and from the work, said bar and
gauge being moved toward the front as the lower end of the lever F is moved in
that direction, by the tension of the spring k, connected at one end to stud i and
at its other end to the pin k¹, set in a fixed position at any suitable point in the
outer side of said bar E, at the rear of said lever F, as shown in Figure 3.
By this construction the back gauge is moved to the rear by the positive action
of the cam to a greater or less distance, according as the stud i is adjusted in the
slot towards or from its front end, and is moved towards the front by the
spring until it comes in contact with the work.
At all times when the lower end of the lever F is in its forward position the.
gauge passes against the work with a yielding pressure, except during the time
that the stitch is being drawn through the work and tightened, when it is rigidly
locked by the engagement of the pawl with the teeth of the plate secured to
the bar E.
The needle carrier c¹ is mounted loosely upon the tubular stud or sleeve d¹
secured in a fixed position in the frame section A¹, by a set screw ², see Figures.6
and 7, and the needle guide e¹ is in like manner mounted upon and movable about
said stud, but is limited in its movements about said stud by the engagement of
the pin f, set in said needle guide, coming in contact with the stop shoulders m m¹.
formed in the periphery of the head of said sleeve, as shown in Figure 6.
The base of the stud or sleeve has fitted therein the rocker shaft g', having
formed thereon, at one end, the laterally projecting arm 9², provided near its
movable end with a perforation to receive the pin f¹, and said shaft has a section
thereof near its other end made square, in cross section and the end section made
round and threaded to receive the nut ¹, said squared section of said shaft having
fitted thereon the hub to which the inner end of the flat coiled spring jis
secured, the opposite ond of which is secured to the screw pin m², as shown in
Figures 7 and 8.
The tension of the spring 1 tends to move the movable end of the needle guide e¹
toward the front of the machine till the pin f¹ comes in contact with the
shoulder m of the head of the tubular stud or sleeve d¹, as shown in Figure 6.
When the needle guide el, carrying the tack-puller n, has moved toward the
front to the position shown in Figure 6, the tack-puller n will have come in
contact with the lasting tack, if such a tack is in or near the path of the needle
and withdraw it sufficiently to prevent the needle coming in contact with it,
as said needle advances into the work, during which further advancement of
said needle the needle guidé and tack-puller remain stationary in the position
shown in Figure 6.

page_text: When the movement of the needle and needle carrier is reversed, after having
pierced the work and engaged the loop of thread, the needle guide and tack-
puller remain in the positions shown in Figure 6 until the needle is withdrawn
from the work and has reached the position shown in Figure 6, when the shoulder c
of the needle carrier comes in contact with the lug or shoulder e, on the needle
guide el, and moves said needle guide and tack-puller toward the rear against the
tension of the spring, until the pin fl comes into contact with the shoulder m²,
formed in the head of the said sleeve d¹.
The power applied to the tack-puller, for partially withdrawing a lasting tack
that may be in the path of the needle, is supplied by the tension of the spring ¹,
acting through the shaft g', arm g², and pin f1, to move said tack-puller and needle
guide toward the work to be acted upon.
The needle guide e¹ has secured to its forward face the angularly bent plate n,
the forward end of which has a blunt knife edge, and has formed therein the
V shaped notch n¹, as shown in Figure 9.
The notched blade of the plate n is so located, relative to the needle c that its
notched end will engage the head of any lasting tack which happens to lie in the
path of the needle, and withdraw it to a sufficient extent to prevent the point of
the needle coming in contact with said tack, to its injury. This notched plate I
term a tack-puller, but it does not disturb any lasting tack that is not in the
path of the needle or in close proximity thereto, and does not, as a rule, pull
the tacks, which it does act upon, entirely out of the work, it not being desirable
that it should do so.
G is a har mounted in the bearings H and H¹ and pivoted to one end of the
lever I fulcrumed upon the adjustable pin J and acted upon at its other end by
the cam path o in the disc P₁, to reciprocate said bar, said pin J being adjustably
secured in a slot in the ear J¹ projecting outward from the stand J, as shown in
Figures 1 and 3.
The bar G is made in two parts secured together by the screws a a, and the
longer portion has a cylindrical hole bored longitudinally through the same, in
which is mounted the stem 2 of the sheave carrier p¹ so as to be movable endwise
therein.
The outer or right hand end of said bore is threaded to receive the set screw q,
between which and the end of said stem is inserted the coiled spring 2, the
tension of which tends to keep the sheave carrier pl in contact with the shoulder a¹
of said bar G. A small sheaves is mounted in the carrier p¹, and said bar G is
located between the sheaves t and t¹, mounted upon fixed studs set in the
stand u¹, which also carries the sheave mounted on a horizontal stud, set therein,
said stand being firmly secured, in a fixed position to the frame section A¹, as
shown in Figure 4.
V
L is a stand firmly secured to the rear edge of the base of the head of the
machine, and projecting to the rear therefrom, and carries at its rear end the wax
pot L1 and L2 is a smaller stand secured to the stand L, in the rear end of which
is set the stud o¹, in a fixed or non-revoluble position, said stand also having
pivoted thereto the elbow lever M.
The stud o has loosely mounted thereon the tension wheel N and the friction
hub N provided with the peripheral groove r¹ to receive the forked arm of the
elbow shipper-lever M, said hub being pressed against the tension wheel N by the
spring O. the tension of which may be regulated by the thumb nut O¹, fitted to
the threaded end of the stud o¹ as shown in Figure 10.
P2 is a lever pivoted to the stand L2 and connected at its lower end to one end
of the spiral spring 2. the opposite end of which is connected to the adjusting
screw as shown and the upper end of the lever P2 has set therein a stud 12,
upon which is mounted the thread guiding sheave 3, and also has formed thereon
the guard 2, which extends across the outer edge of said sheave in close proximity
to its periphery as to prevent the thread being accidentally displaced from said
sheave when the thread is slack.

page_text: The long arm of the lever M has pivoted thereto one end of a chain Q, the
opposite end of which is secured to the periphery of the grooved wheel or drum R,
mounted upon a horizontal stud set in the stand S, which in turn is secured to
the base of the head of the machine in any suitable manner.
The wheel R has firmly secured thereto the handle U by a movement of which,
in the direction indicated by the arrow 3, on Figure 3, the tension upon the thread
may be released, when it is desired to remove a boot or shoe, after completing the
sewing.
The bracket L has firmly secured to its outer end the shallow cup-like circular
casting E, which is provided with a tubular hub E² arranged eccentrically thereon,
and projecting downward therefrom, through an opening in said bracket and
having screwed therein, from its lower end, the longitudinally-perforated set-
screw F1, between which and the bottom of said cup-like casting E', which is
pierced by a small hole for the passage of the thread, is inserted a cylindrical
thread stripper G¹, made preferably of rubber, and having a central perforation
in axial line with the perforation a² through the bottom of the casting E, and
the longitudinal perforation of the set screw F, all as shown in Figure 13.
The casting E is secured to the bracket L by the screw H², and is provided in
its upper side with the boss E³, in a cavity in which is fitted the tube I having
one or more holes a through its wall near the upper side of the casting E', as
shown in Figure 13.
The casting E also has fitted to its periphery the thin brass tube J³, which,
with the casting E' forms the wax pot L.
The rear end of the bracket L is made of considerable thickness and is provided
with a transverse steam passage 62, see Figure 13, into one end of which is
screwed a suitable steam supply pipe c, having the T. connection d³ and valve d
and in the opposite end is screwed the discharge pipe 3, provided with the
valve d, and connection d, said T connections and do being connected by
the by-pass pipe et, as shown in Figures 3 and 10.
The bracket L has a second transverse steam passage formed therein at one
side of the periphery of the casting E which is connected at one end to the
Tconnection, by the pipe g3, and at its other end, by the pipe h² to a passage?
through the bracket L2 and leading to the exhaust or discharge pipe 3, said
passage being shown only in dotted lines in Figure 3.
The bracket L has formed thereon the downwardly projecting ear w having set
therein a stud w¹ upon which is mounted the thread guiding sheave w³, and said
bracket has formed therein obliquely above said sheave the opening for the
passage of the thread as shown in Figure 10.
The tube I is made of such a length as to project up to or slightly above the
tep of the wax pot as shown.
The operation of my invention is as follows:
The wax pot being charged with a suitable quantity of wax surrounding the
tube I, the valves and being opened and steam being admitted to the
pipes,, g³ and h², the thick rear portion of the bracket L and the casting E
are heated to a sufficiently high temperature to melt the lower portion of the
wax in the pot to a proper consistency to be applied to the thread, while the bulk
of the wax in the upper portion of the wax pot will remain unmelted owing to
the fact that the thin wall of the main body of the wax pot will not transmit or
retain the heat sufficiently to melt the main body of the wax in the upper part
of the wax pot.
The thread 2 to be waxed and used in the sewing machine is drawn 1rom the
ball, not shown, but which may be held in any suitable receptacle, or mounted
upon a spindle set in a suitable position about the machine, is carried up outside
of the wax pot, and downward through the tube I, through the perforations in the
casting E, the thread stripper G¹, and the set-screw F1, is carried beneath and
partially around the sheave w², through the hole w³ in the bracket L, around the

page_text: tension wheel N partially around the sheave 3 carried by the upper end of the
lever and then to the stitch forming mechanism.
When the wax in the lower portion of the wax pot is melted and brought to
a sufficiently liquid state, it will flow through the hole a into the lower portion
of the tube and into contact with the thread 2, which, when the sewing machine
is in operation, is drawn downward through said melted wax within said tube,
and delivered from the lower end of the set-screw F during which downward
movement the surplus wax is stripped from the thread by the stripper G¹, the
completeness or closeness of the stripping being regulated by an adjustment of the
set screw F¹.
When sufficient wax is melted, in the bottom of the wax pot, to supply wax to
the interior of the lower portion of the tube I, the valves d' and 5 may be closed,
when the steam will be excluded from the passage b2, and made to traverse the
by-pass pipe e, the pipe g³, passage, pipe and passage 22, to the discharge
pipe which in most cases will supply sufficient heat to maintain the wax at the
proper consistency.
Of course the thin cylindrical wall of the wax pot will be heated to some extent,
and although it will not be heated to a sufficiently high temperature to melt the
whole body of wax in the upper part of said pot, it will melt a thin film of wax
in immediate contact therewith, through which thin film of melted wax any
water that may be held in suspension in the body of the melted wax may escape
to the top of the wax pot, instead of coming in contact with the thread within
the tube I.
By maintaining the bulk of the wax in an unmelted state, as herein described,
it is impossible for the wax to boil over the top of the pot.
By the employment of the lever P2, spring, and thread guiding sheave t³
in combination with the tension wheel N, and the reciprocating bar G, the bar G
may be moved towards the left to control the tension on the thread without
danger of breaking the thread, when the machine is being run at a high rate of
speed, and without drawing any thread from the tension wheel or wax pot, all of
the thread being drawn from the tension wheel N and the wax pot by the needle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:-
1st. The combination of a needle carrier provided with the stop shoulder c
and mounted upon and movable about a fixed stud or journal; a curved barbed
needle set in said needle carrier; means for oscillating said needle and carrier
about said stud; the needle guide mounted loosely upon said fixed stud and
provided with the lug or shoulder e; the pin f' set in said needle guide; the
tubular stud set in a fixed position in the frame and provided with the stop
shoulders m and m' the rocker-shaft g', the arm g²; the spring; and the
tack-puller n secured directly to, and movable only with said needle guide.
2nd. The combination of the stand L; the stud ol; the tension wheel N; the
friction hub N¹ provided with the circumferential groove r; the elbow lever M,
the drum or grooved wheel R mounted on a fixed fulcrum, the handle U connected
to said drum: and a flexible connection between said lever M and drum R sub-
stantially as described.
3rd. In a sewing machine the combination of a wax pot comprising a thick cup
like base and a thin cylinder projecting upward from said base; a thread re-
ceiving tube set in said base, within, and projecting upward to or above the top.
of said thin cylindrical portion of said wax pot and provided with a lateral opening
through its wall near its lower end; and a thread delivering opening through said
base within the lower end of said thread receiving tube.
4th. A wax pot composed of a thick cup like base provided with a thread
delivering opening in its bottom and a cylindrical chamber of larger diameter
below said opening, and a comparatively thin cylinder secured to said base and

page_text: projecting upward therefrom; in combination with a thread guiding tube set in
said base within the walls of said wax pot and projecting upward to the top of
said wax pot and provided near its lower end with a lateral opening communi-
cating with the interior of the wax pot; a thread stripper enclosed in the
cylindrical chamber beneath said tube, and a longitudinally perforated set-screw
set in the lower end of said chamber and adjustable to regulate the operation of
said stripper.
5th. The combination in a sewing machine of the bracket L provided with the
steam passages 2 and means substantially as set forth for supplying steam to
one or both of said passages at the will of the operator.
Dated this 12th day of July 1898
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.