IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOOT AND SHOE TREES
Year: 1885

page_text: SAMUEL HODGES Commercial Traveller and SAMUEL HORATIO HODGES Mill
Manager both of Street in the County of Somerset do hereby declare the nature of
our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOOT AND SHOE
TREES and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
-
Heretofore Boot and Shoe Trees have been constructed upon a complicated plan
and have consisted of a heel or back-part and joints or forepart with wedges in the
trade known as keys of various number and thickness to be driven between the
said back and foreparts: the object being by these keys to force the joints forward
into the forepart of the boot at the same time that the heel is forced back into the
back part and thus to stretch and fill out the boot to its proper form for smoothing
and polishing the upper leather.
The old apparatus consisting of a number of parts unconnected with each other
the operation takes much time.
The object of this invention is by simplicity of construction and by the intro-
duction of a novel mechanical arrangement to reduce the labour in connexion with
this branch of the trade.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1. is a side view of the Tree.
Figure 2. is a back view of the joints or forepart.
Figure 3. is a front view of the heel or back part.
Figure 4. is a side view of the Tree with the handle and heel in one piece and
joint c¹ omitted.
We attach the forepart a of the tree to the handle c by means of a pin a³ which
works in a slot cut lengthwise with the handle. Handle c we either make as a
fixture and part of heel b as seen in Fig. 4 or we attach it by joint o¹ as in Fig. 1.
To heel b we attach a catch dat joint b'. To forepart a in a groove at its back
we secure a tooth-rack a¹.
The catch d being freed from rack a¹ and the whole apparatus closed up it
occupies but little space and is readily inserted and pressed forward into the boot
to be dealt with. The handle c is then pressed towards the toe of the boot and
carries the forepart a tightly into the boot as it swings on pin a² The same
pressure carries the heel back into its place, thus stretching and filling out the
boot to its proper shape,

page_text: As the handle c goes forward catch d swings out and follows down rack a¹ until
sufficient force has been applied when it catches in one of the teeth of the said
rack and firmly holds the heel and forepart of the tree in their proper places for
straining up the boot.
The operator can now readily apply the tools necessary for smoothing and
polishing the surface of the upper. When this is accomplished the boot is turned
sole upwards and a slight blow being struck with the handle end downwards upon
a bench, the catch d is freed from rack a¹ and the boot being held sole up the said
catch of its own weight swings into a groove out in c. b. The strain now being off
the whole apparatus it is readily removed from the boot.
The Tree can be made from any suitable material but preferably from wood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
1. A Boot and Shoe Tree the back and foreparts of which are connected by
means of a hinge joint or joints substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. A Boot and Shoe Tree with a swinging catch substantially as and for the
purpose described.
3. A Boot and Shoe Tree with a rack substantially as and for the purpose
described.