IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Vero, of Atherstone, in the County of
Warwick, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
HATS."
Sealed the 12th May 1865, and dated the 15th November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Vero, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th November 1864.
I, CHARLES VERO, of Atherstone, in the County of Warwick, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF HATS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of hats.
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me and another, and dated the
15th of June 1857, No. 1668, there is described the production of a hat
body the substance of which is of comparatively coarse wool, whilst the sur-
face is of fur or fine wool; hat bodies however have not been generally so
made on account of difficulties in obtaining a good result by following the
process indicated in the said Specification.
According to my present Invention I produce a body of fur by throwing the
fur loosely by means of a rapidly revolving brush, or otherwise, against a
hollow cone or form of perforated metal within which a partial vacuum is
maintained by means of a fan or otherwise; such a process is described in the

page_text: Specification of a Patent granted to W. E. Newton, and dated the 13th of
January 1850, No. 12,955. Having thus accumulated the fine material on
two cones or forms I connect them together by their bases, and then wind on
to them a bat of wool by means of a machine similar in its general features to
that described in the Specification of the Patent granted to William 'Wilson,
and dated the 23rd of January 1861, No. 185, and I would remark that in
using this machine I mount in front of the cones or forms a perforated steam
pipe so arranged as to follow them in their movements, whilst in the machine
the steam issuing from this pipe warms and moistens the bat during the time
it is being wound on the cone and it is thus to some extent consolidated; the
accumulating process being complete and a band of the fur having been
worked on about where the bases of the cones come together to form the
surface of the under side of the brim, I cut the two cones or forms apart and
the roughly formed bodies I complete by preference by processes herein-after
described. In place of forming the body as above set forth the wool may in
the first place be lapped around the perforated form and the fur then blown
upon it. Or the fur may be blown on to cones or forms and then stripped
therefrom which may readily be done by moistening and settling it till it will
hold together, these fur bodies may then be put on to the wooden cones or
forms of Wilson's machine above referred to, and wool wound upon them; or
I collect in the manner above described the wool and the fur on two separate
but similar forms, and then before any basining process such as was here
resorted to according to my former Specification, I place the two together and
conduct the remaining processes as if the body were of one material, basining
and planking as is usual. It will be seen that in all these cases a blown
body of fur is combined with a woollen body obtained by the winding of a
sliver on to a cone or form, and this is an important feature of my Invention.
Or I wind on to cones or forms a compound sliver of wool and fur, the said
compound sliver being obtained by feeding the fur on to the doffing roller of
the carding machine, and not as has heretofore been attempted by passing the
fur with the wool through the carding engine, or else by giving to the sliver a
surface of fur after it has been doffed. The body being roughly formed in
any of the above-mentioned methods, or otherwise, I prefer next to steam it
and then to consolidate it by a heavy dead pressure (hydraulic or other)
whilst it is held between dies or forms so that the pressure may be applied
uniformly or nearly so over the surface; one or both of the dies or forms
should be heated. The next process is the basining which I conduct as is
usual and afterwards comes the felting or planking, and in this process I
employ by preference the machine described in the Specification of the Patent

page_text: granted to William Wilson, and dated the 13th of January 1859, No. 117,
but in place of as is there described wrapping up the bundle of bat bodies in
a cloth during the whole process, I employ a cloth only for the first few
passages through the machine until the bodies become more or less firm, and
then during the rest of the operation I dispense with the cloth, using in place
of it a string which is rolled up in the bundle. There are two advantages
obtained by this improvement, in the first place if fur be used in making up
the bodies it allows the coarse hairs with which the fur is always more or less
mixed to work out, whereas when cloths are used throughout they remain and
often disfigure the articles; in the second place a considerable economy is
effected by the lessening the wear of the cloths. These results will also be in
part obtained if a very open net work fabric be used in the latter part of the
planking or felting process.
From this point the hats are finished by the ordinary and well known
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Vero in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
VERO, of Atherstone, in the County of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Charles Vero, Her special licence that I, the said Charles
Vero, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Charles Vero, 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 HATS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Charles Vero, 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

page_text: 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 Charles Vero, 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 :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
hats. In the Specification of a Patent granted to me and another, and dated
the 15th day of June 1857, No. 1668, there is described the production of a hat
body, the substance of which is of comparatively coarse wool, whilst the surface
is of fur or fine wool. Hat bodies, however, have not been generally so
made on account of difficulties in obtaining a good result by following the
process indicated in the said Specification. According to my present Invention
I produce a body of fur by throwing the fur loosely, by means of a rapidly
revolving brush or otherwise against a hollow cone or form of perforated metal
within which a partial vacuum is maintained by means of a fan or otherwise,
and then I combine with this body of fur a woollen body obtained by the
winding of a sliver on to a cone or form.
There are several ways in which this may conveniently be done, the follow-
ing is that which I prefer :-I first deposit on to a cone or form of perforated
metal, in the manner above set forth, a small quantity of fur for hats of medium
quality, about half an ounce. This is a well-known process commonly em-
ployed to produce a complete hat body, I however employ the process to pro-
duce a part only of the body. The process then being well understood by hat
makers it is unnecessary for me to describe it and the apparatus employed in
detail. I may mention, however, that the apparatus shown and fully described
in the Specification of the Patent granted to W. E. Newton, and dated the
29th of January 1850, No. 12,955, is very suitable for the purpose.
Also, I wind on to another cone or form a sliver of wool for hats of medium
quality. I usually wind about one and a half ounces of wool on to the cone
or form in this manner. This winding process is also an operation well
understood by hat makers as a means of making complete hat bodies, it is
therefore not necessary that I should describe the process and machinery in
detail, but I may mention that the apparatus for this purpose, shown and
fully described in the Specification of the Patent granted to William Wilson,
and dated the 23rd of January 1861, No. 185, is very suitable. I remove
the wool thus accumulated from the cone or form, taking care not to disturb

page_text: its shape, and I take it to the cone or form on which the fur has been
deposited. I place it on the said cone or form over the fur, it fits closely,
having been made of proper shape to do so.
During this operation the partial vacuum is maintained within the cone or
form, otherwise it would be difficult to avoid disturbing the fur; in other
respects the fur depositing machine is out of operation. The cap of wool
having been properly put on over the fur already on the cone or form, the
deposition of fur is again commenced; and, for hats of medium quality, I
deposit over the wool about one ounce of fur. The body is now so far com-
plete that it is ready to be consolidated, which I do by steaming it and pressing
it whilst it is held between dies or forms fitting together, so that the pressure
may at all times be applied uniformly or nearly so over the whole extent of
the surface. The perforated cone or form on which the materials have been
accumulated serves as the lower die. It is removed from the fur depositing
machine with the hat body upon it; it is placed on a table through which a
jet projects, and by this jet steam can be blown into the interior of the cone
or form. The upper die or form is a similar perforated cone, but fitted with
handles, one at each side of its base, and it is slightly larger than the cone or
form acting as the lower die, so as just to leave space for a compressed hat
body between the two. This upper die is now put on the lower die over the
hat body, and is pressed down by the workman; steam is then admitted
through the jet, and it permeates through the hat body and passes through
the perforated dies or forms whilst the body is thus kept hot and moist. The
workman gives to the upper die or form a very short rotatory motion, first in
one direction then in the other, this he does whilst still maintaining the
pressure. In this manner the materials soon become felted sufficiently to
allow of the upper die or form being lifted off, and it will be found to take the
hat body with it; the two together are then placed over another lower die
similar to the first in form but not perforated; this is heated by steam within.
Here the pressing and working processes are continued until presently as the
body becomes dry it will be found that the upper die or form may be lifted off,
leaving the hat body behind. The hat body is now passed on to the ordinary
basining process which is conducted as usual, but it will occupy less time as
the steaming and pressing processes I have described effect in great part that
which is generally obtained by basining, viz., the consolidating the body
sufficiently to enable it to bear the planking process, by which the felting is
completed. In this process I employ, by preference, the machine described in
the Specification of the Patent granted to William Wilson, and dated the
18th of January 1859, No. 117. In this machine the hat bodies are made
,

page_text: up into a bundle and placed in the centre of a set of rollers, which then roll it
over and over. The bundle is also caused to travel lengthways, so that being
put into the machine at one end of the rollers, it is discharged at the other
end; but in place of, as is there described, wrapping up the bundle of hat
bodies in a cloth during the whole process, 1 employ a cloth only for the first
few passages through the machine until the bodies become more or less firm,
and then during the rest of the operation I dispense with the cloth, using in
place of it a string, which is rolled up in the bundle. The string is laid on
the hats as they lie flat, and is then rolled up in the bundle with them; the
end which extends from the bundle is then passed several times around it;
being wound spirally from end to end it will not require to be tied or secured,
as the machine as soon as it takes hold of the bundle will prevent the string
unwinding.
There are two advantages obtained by this improvement. In the first
place, if fur be used in making up the bodies, it allows the coarse hairs with
which the fur is always more or less mixed to work out, whereas when cloths
are used throughout they remain and often disfigure the articles; in the
second place a considerable economy is effected by the lessening the wear of
the cloths. Also, if it is desired to apply a stain or dye during the planking
operation, the process can be much better performed when cloths are not used.
These results will also be obtained if a very open net work fabric be used in the
latter part of the planking or felting process. From this point the hats are
finished by the ordinary and well-known processes. I would remark that it
is not essential that the planking or felting machine should be in all its details
like Wilson's machine above-mentioned; my improved method of conducting
the process is applicable whatever the construction of the planking or felting
machine, so long as it operates by rolling the bundle of hat bodies in a similar
manner.
In place of accumulating the wool for making a hat body on a separate
cone or form from that used for the deposit of the fur, I in some cases accu-
mulate the fine material on two cones or forms and connect them together by
their bases, and then wind on to them a bat of wool by means of a machine
similar to that described in the Specification of the Patent granted to William
Wilson, and dated the 23rd of January 1861, No. 185. The accumulating
process being complete, a band of the fur is worked on about where the
bases of the cones come together to form the surface of the under side of
the brim. This is best done by putting the cones or forms again into the
fur depositing machine, shielding them at the top when the fur is not.
required by a metal cap. First, however, I cut the two cones or forms apart.

page_text: The roughly formed bodies I complete as before. Figures 1 of the annexed
Drawing show two cones.or forms suitably made for working in this manner;
on the base of one of them three studs are fixed, and these enter slotted holes
in the base of the other, so that by putting the two cones or forms base to
base and turning one of them round a short distance they become locked
together. The cones or forms are in other respects like those used in the
process first described in the deposition of the fur. Or the wool may in the
first place be lapped around the perforated form, Figures 1, and the fur then
blown upon it. Or the fur may be blown on to cones or forms and then
stripped therefrom, which may readily be done after dipping the cone or form
with the fur into hot water. These fur bodies may then be put on to the
wooden cones or forms of Wilson's machine above referred to and wool wound
upon them. Or I collect in the manner above described the wool and the fur
on two separate but similar forms, and then before any basining process (such
as was heretofore resorted to according to my former Specification) I place
the two together and conduct the remaining processes as if the body were of
one material, basining and planking as is usual. It will be seen that in all
these cases a blown body of fur is combined with a woollen body obtained by
the winding of a sliver on to a cone or form, and this is an important feature
of my Invention. Or I wind on to cones or forms a compound sliver of wool
and fur, the said compound sliver being obtained by feeding the fur on to the
doffing roller of the carding machine, and not as has heretofore been attempted
by passing the fur with the wool through the carding engine, or else by giving
to the sliver a surface of fur after it has been doffed. Figure 2 shows the
apparatus which I prefer to employ for this purpose. a is the doffer roller of
an ordinary carding engine in which the wool is being carded; 6 is an endless
apron mounted above and driven by a belt actuated by a convenient part of
the carding engine. On to the apron 6 the attendant spreads the fur evenly,
and as the apron travels forward it is delivered to the feed rollers c, c, which
present it to the cylinder d, which is clothed with fine card teeth. The
cylinder d has other smaller card rollers set around it which work the fur,
straightening it and opening it out until at last the fur is deposited on the
small doffer roller e, from which it is stripped by a doffer blade f, and allowed
to fall on the doffer roller a of the wool-carding engine below. The doffer a
as it revolves comes in contact with the main cylinder or drum of the carding
engine, and has the wool deposited on to it over the fur; then afterwards, as
the doffer still revolves the wool and fur are together brought up to the doffer
blade g, and stripped by it as a compound sliver; h is a roller heated by steam,

page_text: the sliver passes over it and is pressed against it firmly by a top roller; i is
the cone or form on which the sliver is accumulated.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is, the
making hat bodies by combining a blown body of fur with a woollen body,
obtained by the winding of a sliver on to a cone or form as described. I also
claim in making hat bodies the use of perforated cones or forms, capable of
being connected together at their bases for the winding operation, and dis-
connected for the fur-blowing operation as described. I also claim in making
hat bodies the feeding fur on to the doffing roller of the carding engine, which
is producing a sliver of wool, and the winding the compound sliver thus
obtained on to cones or forms as described. I also claim the consolidating
unfelted hat bodies by steam used in combination with pressure between dies
or forms fitting the body, and thus applying the pressure at all times uniformly
over the whole surface as herein described. I also claim when felting or
planking hat bodies with a machine such as that described in the Specification
of the Patent granted to William Wilson and dated the 13th of January 1859
No. 117, the dispensing with the close cloths heretofore employed for making
up the bundles of hat bodies, and substituting therefor strings or very open
network fabric as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Vero have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.