IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1864

page_text: Office;" No. 12, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
MECHANISM EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES."-A com-
munication from abroad by Gordon McKay, of Boston, Massachusetts,
United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Haseltine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 27th August 1864, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent
Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 12, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Lam in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. IN
MECHANISM EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES," and have
petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
Declaration that it has been communicaied to me from abroad by Gordon
McKay, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal fully
describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, in and by the following statement, reference
being had to the accompanying Drawings making a part of this Specification.
The aforesaid improvements may be considered in three parts; one of these
relates to modifications in the details of the sewing machine shown and
described in the British Patent, No. 1113, dated April 16th, A.D. 1862,
by which the operation of said machine is improved; another relates to
mechanism designed for cutting channels and grooves from and in the surface
of soles, though said mechanism may be used to make such cuttings wherever
in suitable material they may be required; and the other part relates to a
device for stripping from thread the superfluous wax with which it is covered
after immersion therein when in a warm and fluid or semi-fluid state.
All of the aforesaid improvements relate to the bottoming of boots or shoes,
the sewing mechanism being designed for sewing the soles to the vamps; the
channelling mechanism for making grooves or channels, with or without flaps,
in which the stitches uniting the said parts are sunken in the face side of the
sole, and when a flap is cut are covered thereby from sight; and the waxing
device for leaving a uniform coating of wax upon the thread employed in the
sewing mechanism for uniting the bottoms to the uppers.
The Drawings embodying the first part of this Invention may be found upon
Sheets Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Figure being a front elevation of a sewing
machine, which includes said part of the Invention; Figure 2, a side elevation
of the same; Figure 3, a side elevation of the upper works of the sewing
mechanism taken upon the side opposite to that shown in Figure 2; Figure 4,
a plan of said upper works; Figure 5, a sectional plan of the same, the section
being taken in the plane of the line a, b, and the upper plate being removed
showing the mechanism in plan below; Figure 6 shows the mechanism
which operates the cast off or slide which at times covers the hook of the
needle; Figure 7 shows in side elevation the details by which the ratio of the
stroke of the needle may be varied to meet the requirements of practical
usage; Figure 8 shows the horn or work bed of the sewing mechanism both
in sectional elevation and in plan, and Figure 9 shows in section the extreme
end of the horn of the full size as used in practice.
As the general construction and operation of this mechanism is fully shown
and described in the aforesaid Patent, these will not be set forth in this Speci-
fication, except perhaps partially and incidentally to elucidate the noveltics
therewith connected, especially as the old construction, where not changed,

page_text: and the new in connection. therewith, is clearly shewn in the Drawings here-
with accompanying.
In the aforesaid Patent it is clearly shown how the stroke of the needle is
automatically increased and diminished as the stock operated upon is thick or
thin, this being effected by using a part connected with the presser foot as a
rest or stop on which the fulcrum of the needle lever is sustained, varying the
amount of lost motion of the needle-bar fulcrum, and thus governing the
length of the stroke of the needle. But in practice it is found that owing to
the bending of the stock operated upon and to variations in its comparative
solidity, it is desirable to alter the ratio of the stroke of the needle as com-
pared with the thickness of the stock to be sewn, the stroke requiring to be
lessened from the theoretical amount demanded according to the softness of
the stock and the length of stitches taken: long stitches allowing more yield
or bending of the stock between the presser foot and needle, as the loop is
drawn up, than short stitches.
In the aforesaid Patent. the needle-lever fulcrum post rested in drawing up
the loop on a part of the presser foot bar, having the same movements with
the presser foot itself. To obtain a rest for said post, which shall vary in its
height of position in a lessened but exact ratio to the positions of the presser
foot, and so allow more lost motion to the needle-lever fulcrum, and conse-
quently shorten the stroke of the needle, a lever a is arranged so as to rest at
one end, as shown in the Drawings, on a shoulder of the presser foot bar,
while the other rests or is pivoted, so that said first end is moved with the
presser foot bar, while the second-mentioned end has little or no motion. A
slide b is arranged on the lever a. so that it can be moved thereon and fixed
at any desired point, and it will be obvious that the vertical motions of b,
while corresponding in time with the vertical motions of the presser bar c,'
will be lessened in amount as it is slid along the lever a away from the
presser foot bar. The projection d from the needle-lever fulcrum post c is so
shaped as to come directly over all positions which b can be made to assume.
Hence it will appear that the ratio between the stroke of the needle and
the thickness of the stock can be varied by sliding upon a, because the
length of stroke of the needle is governed by the amount of lost movement per-
mitted for the needle-lever fulcrum, and this amount is greater or less as the
piece b is moved from or toward the presser foot bar c.
In the aforesaid Patent the presser foot was liberated at its highest ele-
vation from which it was forced suddenly down by the action of a spring.
This was objectionable on account of breaking the thread loop, which at the
time of said sudden descent of the presser foot was held in the hook of the

page_text: needle, at or near the greatest elevation thereot.
The said descent of the
presser foot was occasioned by the detachment of the detaining pawls from
the holding nut, which detachment was effected by the final upward move-
ment of the presser bar lever, bringing a lever into contact with an adjust-
able set screw, said lever being so arranged as to liberate the pawls from the
ratchet on the nut when so brought into contact with said screw.. The said
objectionable operation is herein obviated by lowering the presser foot upon
or very near the stock by the positive action of the presser foot cam f, keep-
ing the pawls in gear with the ratchet teeth on the detaining nut till such
time as the presser foot is at the lowest point to which the action of the
presser foot cam will bring it, and then detaching the pawls from the ratchet,
and allowing the presser foot to fall, which it will do if the stock lessens in
thickness to the extent of the difference in thickness of the stock in the
place of the last and the next previous action of the presser foot. f is the
presser foot cam; g, the presser foot; h, the nut, with the detaining ratchet
thereupon, the pawls; is a rocker shaft, worked from the feeder cam k;
this rocker shaft has an arm 1 which is connected by a link m to the ends
of the pawls, and at the proper and before specified time pulls the pawls out
of gear with the ratchet teeth, the throw of the feed cam operating the rocker
shaft in the proper time to pull the pawls out of the ratchet teeth, when the
presser cam has lowered the presser foot to the lowest position which it can
attain. Springs coiled on the two bars of the link serve to return the
pawls to the ratchet when the link frees the pawls from its control. When it
is desired to shorten the stitch, which is dene by moving the presser foot
nearer the needle, the length of stroke of the needle should be shortened, and
when the stitch is lengthened the needle stroke should be lengthened. 'This
was done in the aforesaid Patent by an adjustment separate from that of the
presser foot. By this Invention the adjustment of the presser foot itself effects
the needed changes in the stroke of the needle. The presser foot is made
separate from the presser bar c, but adjustable thereon towards and from
the needle. By reference to Figure it may be seen that the joint
between the presser foot and presser bar is made on substantially the
angle there shown, so that if the presser foot is set toward the needle,
to shorten the stitch, the shoulder of the presser rod which sustains the
needle-lever fulcrum will be lowered. This gives more lost motion to
the needle-leyer fulcrum, and consequently shortens the stroke of the needle.
Adjusting the presser foot away from the needle, which lengthens the stitch,
raises the said shoulder of the presser bar, and lessens the amount of lost
motion of the needle lever fulcrum, and consequently increases the length

page_text: of the stroke of the needle. The cam plates o. which modify the movement
of the feeder p, are fixed to the presser foot g, and move with it wherever
adjusted.
In the aforesaid Patent the slide which prevents the hook of the needle
from catching in the previously formed loop is described as a tube or nipple
surrounding the needle. Experience proves that it operates best as a plain
piece or bar. like that shown in Figure 1. and marked q. especially when
sewing is performed in grooves or channels. In this Invention the operation
of the slide is precisely that which is described in the aforesaid Patent, and
the Invention in this connection is confined to the change of detail by which
the slide lever r is operated from the eccentrics, the main duty of which is
to work the needle lever . This change of detail consists in the substitution
of different means for working lever r from the eccentric s. dispensing with
the spring catch device shown in the aforesaid Patent, which was liable to
breakage, and was not uniform or certain in its action, using in its place the
piece u, shown in detail in Figure 6. This piece u is hung pivotted to that
end of r which is adjacent to the eccentric s. the pendant end of having
therein a cam shaped slot, into which projects a pin which is fixed in the
arm of the eccentric strap; the upper end of embraces loosely between
two projection therefrom a projection or pin on the lever r To describe
the operation of u in working the slide q, suppose the parts in the position
shown in Figure 6, and the eccentric rotating in the direction indicated
by the arrow thereupon, the needle and the slide will be at about their
highest point of stroke, and just descending or ready so to do. the end of
the slide being entirely above the hook of the needle, leaving its hook or
throat fully open.
In this position the upper projection from u is in contact
with the upper side of the projection or pin on r. Continuation of the
rotative movement of s causes a simultaneous rise of the rear ends of levers t
and r, and the piece w swings on its pivot till the lower side of the projection
or pin on r comes into contact with the lower projection on u. the pin in the
cam slot not changing its position materially therein till about the time the
end of the slide touchés the surface of the work, and the needle enters the
hole in the end of the horn. Then the pin in the cam slot moves forward in
the direction of the arrow on the eccentric till it reaches one end of the cam
slot, moving lever relatively to lever 1. the effect of which is, first, (provided
stock is on the horn) to compress the slide spring, and second, when, the
needle hook rises above the surface of the stock, to cover the hook and keep
it covered while necessary, as the continued rotative movement of the eccentric
which raises the needle and slide does not change the relative position of the

page_text: levers and or move the pin in the cam slot till, by the swinging of u on its
pivot, contact with the pin or projection from r is transferred from the lower
to the upper projection from . Then the continued rotative movement of
the eccentric causes the pin in the cam slot to traverse it toward the rear,
completing the elevation of the slide and moving lever in relation to lever t.
so as to raise the slide entirely above the hook and throat of the needle.
he eccentric continues to rotate the pin in the cam slot and the other parts
again assume the position shown in Figure 6, and the described operations
are repeated.
As
In the aforesaid Patent the needle lever and parts connected therewith
were counterbalanced and kept from improper movement by a spring. Herein
the spring is dispensed with, and the same object better attained by friction
upon the needle bar applied through a set screw acting through the inter-
vention of an elastic medium upon a gib faced with leather.
In the aforesaid
Patent the whirl was operated by the intervention of cords. or bands..
Herein is will be clearly seen, on inspection of the Drawings. that motion
from the whirl or looper cam is communicated to the whirl or looper by
positive connections throughout, thereby avoiding the trouble and uncertainty
of movement consequent upon the use of cords or bands.
It is the practice to heat the horn to keep the wax on the thread in a
sufficiently plastic state for the production of good sewing. Heat so applied
has heretofore expanded the inclined shaft. in the horn to such an extent as to
cause injury to the whirl and the end of the horn. Provision is here shown
to obviate this difficulty. By reference to Sheet 5 it may be seen that the
pinion which rotates the whirl is formed on the end of a short shaft w. This
shaft has a necked collar thereupon, adjustable by a set screw, by which and
by the fork fixed in the horn and encompassing the said collar the pinion can
be adjusted so as to properly mesh into the teeth on the whirl. The lower
end of the shaft is slotted, and the shaft with which it is coupled is bored
out at its upper end to receive the lower end of w. A pin in x passing
through the slotted end of causes its rotation, and it will be seen that the
arrangement of parts is such as to allow of free expansion of without
affecting the pinion shaft.
The small grooved wheel heretofore used, around which the thread passes
from the spool and guide spring on its way to the whirl, accumulates wax
from the thread by reason of its cooling thereupon, and this made the thread
stick and work irregularly, causing bad sewing in places. In this Invention
a long roll is made to take the place of the grooved wheel, and has over it
the advantage that at the end away from that over which the thread passes

page_text: Such provision may be
heat can be applied, which prevents the wax on the thread from hardening
and sticking thereunto. A lamp for heating the horn and roll by the com-
bustion of alcohol is shown in Figures 1 and 2. Gas so mixed with air that
it will burn without smoke may be used instead of alcohol, provision being
made for conveniently admitting it to the burner.
made by the proper application of a small fluid gasometer, one part being
fixed to the frame at the bottom of the shaft which supports the horn, and
the other part being secured to the shaft. The outer cup with its open end
uppermost encircles the inner one, which has its open end inverted, and the
space between the two is filled with fluid, preferably mercury. The gas is
then admitted into the gasometer from any convenient place, and is from
thence conducted to the burner by another pipe which is connected to and
rotates with the horn.
The mechanism embracing the second part of this Invention is shown on
Sheet 6, in Figures 10, 11, 12, and 13, Figure 10 shewing a sectional elevation
of the machine, Figure 11 an end view of it, and Figures 12 and 13 the
relative arrangement of the cutters. with their means of adjustment.
'The
These improvements consist in so combining a plough or tubular knife or
tool for cutting out a strip of leather to form a channel or groove. in the sole,
with a straight knife for cutting a slit from said channel to the surface of the
sole, that these tools shall operate together or from one stock or bed piece,
and in so arranging these cutters that they may be relatively adjustable.
plough or tubular knife cuts out the channel for containing the chain of
stitches, and the straight knife not only cuts the opening leading from the
surface to the channel, but cuts it in such manner as to form a flap, which is
teniporarily turned back for the operation of the sewing mechanism, and is
afterwards drawn over and closed down upon the channel, and so as to conceal
the chain of thread. ' shows the tubular or channel knife; b, the slit or flap
knife. As shown, each knife extends from a separate stock or plate (see
Figures 12 and 13), set screws confining the plates to the head c', and so that,
as will be readily understood, the channelling knife may be adjusted with
respect to the straight knife, or vice versa. It is sometimes preferable,
however, to make both knives in one piece, in which case they will of course
always maintain the same relative position.
The improvements also consist in the construction and arrangement of parts
of the machine to which these channelling knives are applied, as will be clearly
seen from the following description.
The general organization of the machine consists of a frame or bed piece,

page_text: carrying a shaft to which a feed wheel is applied, and a head piece which
carries the knives, said head piece, having a roll which holds the sole down
upon the teeth of the feed wheel, and the bed piece having an edge roll for
guiding the edge of the sole to keep the channel equidistant from said
edge.
One feature of the improvements consists in the relative disposition or
arrangement of the presser roll for holding the sole against the teeth of the
feed wheel with the channelling knives and the head to which both knives
and presser roll are aflixed, so that the contact of the presser roll with the
surface of the sole guages the depth of cut of the knives into the sole.
This will readily be understood from Figure 10. The channelling knives are
shown as applied to a head piece c', which is arranged as a lever, being hung
at its rear end upon the main frame or bed of the machine, and having a rod
extending down from, at, or near its front end, by which the operator with his
foot exerts the necessary pressure to bring and keep the knives in contact
with and so as to cut into the sole. The presser roller d' is journalled in this
head, being hung upon a shaft which receives motion from the driving shaft
which drives the feed wheel e'. The knives extend below the plane of the
lower edge of the presser roll, and it will be obvious that as the head is drawn
down so as to bring the roll into contact with the sole, the depth of channel is
thereby kept at an even distance from said surface.
Although the knives are
shown as relatively adjustable, both with respect to each other and to the
plane of contact of the presser roll and the front surface of a guide roll f',
against which the edge of the sole is held to keep the channel equidistant
from the edge of the sole, it is often desirable to adjust the knives without
disturbing their position with respect to the head c and presser roll d. For
this purpose to adjust the knives relatively to the edge roll / the head e' is
hung upon the bearing pin g by an elongated bearing slot, as seen in
Figure 10, set screws working into the opposite ends of the slot, so that the
head can be moved forward or backward on the pin, carrying the knives to a
greater or less distance from the front surface of the edge rail without
disturbing the position of the knives with respect to the head.
And to vary
the depth of cut without disturbing the knives a guage foot (see Figure 11)
is so applied to the head that it may be raised and lowered and fastened in
position by an adjusting screw, as will be readily understood. To feed the
sole against the knives a very considerable pressure against the sole is
necessary, and for this purpose the teeth of the feed wheel are so made as to
penetrate into the material of the sole. If the action of the teeth extended to

page_text: the edge or nearly to the edge of the sole the indentations made thereby
would disfigure the edge of the sole when applied to the vamp. and trimmed
and finished thereupon. The part of the feed wheel therefore adjacent to the
edge roll is made plain, and the feed teeth project from the wheel at such
distance from the edge roll as to operate against the sole within the plane of
the channel, and of course beyond the action of the trimming tools. This
construction of the feed wheel is clearly shown in Figure 10. In said Figure
it will also be seen that not only are the wheel e' and presser roll d' so
arranged as to both operate to feed the sole against the knives, but that the
edge roll is also so geared as to co-operate with the feed and presser rolls
in impelling the sole against the knives. When the presser roll holds the
sole to the action of the teeth of the feed roll so that they penetrate to a
considerable part of their depth into the surface of the sole, it is difficult to
turn corners like those of the toe of a sole. because of the imbedment of a
number of consecutive teeth. and the sole is disfigured by twisting it around
upon the teeth. To obviate this a spring i is interposed in rear of the teeth
between the feed wheel and the knives, as seen in Figures 10 and 11.
Normally the upper surface of this spring is in a plane just below the points
of the teeth, a stop plate preventing its further rise (such plate also
answering to enter the sole upon the feed wheel. In the ordinary operation
of the machine the pressure exerted by the operator to hold the sole to the
combined action of the feed wheel and the knives depresses the spring and
allows the teeth to penetrate into the sole. But in turning a corner or at
other times when necessary the operator withdraws or partially withdraws
this pressure, when the spring will lift the sole, so that the points of the upper
teeth only will be in contact with the sole, allowing it to be turned or twisted
without difficulty and without disfigurement of the stock.
The third part of this Invention is embodied in the device shown in
Figures 14 and 15, which is designed for removing the superfluous wax from
thread immediately after the latter has been passed through the former, while
this is in a heated and fluid or semi-fluid state.
Figure 14 shows the stripper in elevation, and Figure 15 in section, taken
on the vertical dotted line seen in Figure 14. In both Figures portions of the
wax receptacle, its water bath, and the lamp protector and supporting case are
shown to illustrate the usual connection in which the stripper will be placed,
though none of said parts other than the stripper are embraced in this
Invention. Strippers made in solid material like an ordinary-wire-drawplate-
are objectionable, because knots and enlargements in the thread will not páss
hrough, and the thread is thus broken, besides which the hole cannot be

page_text: easily threaded. Strippers made of soft material of any kind in any of the
various ways, as by cutting slits in pieces of rubber and leather, by passing
thread through a rubber tube and then compressing the same, or by pressing
two pieces of material together and upon the thread, all are open to the
objection of rapid wear, especially where knots are drawn through. On first
adjustment such strippers remove too much wax from the thread shortly, and
for a brief period the right amount of wax is left thereupon, and then they
allow the passage of thread with a superfluity of wax. It is of vital im-
portance, in the production of good sewing with thread covered with hard or
shoemakers wax, that the wax shall be left on the thread only in proper
amount and uniformly distributed thereupon. The device now referred to, and
shown in Figures 14 and 15, combines all the advantages which the solid
drawplate and the yielding strippers of soft material have, as the size of the
hole through which the thread passes maintains its size and form, as well as
does the hole in the drawplate, and at the same time it allows knots and
enlargements to pass it without breakage of the thread, even better than any
of the soft yielding strippers. This stripper is constructed as follows:-A
bent lever is pivotted to a frame, both parts being of metál, the frame and
end of the lever where they come together being fitted to a close joint, in
which holes of any desired size are drilled, one half of each hole being in each
part. A spring is applied to the lever to keep it in place against the tendency
to cause it to move by the ordinary friction of the waxed thread as it passes
from the heated wax through one of the stripping holes.
the spring is so proportioned as to yield and let the
whenever a knot or enlargement in the thread presents itself, and thus the
stripping hole opens a free passage for enlargements, and the thread is not
broken. The device is conveniently threaded by opening the thread hole,
pressing on the other arm of the bent lever for that purpose.
But the strength of
lever move outward
Having thus described the nature of the invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is,
First, constructing sewing mechanism, as herein described, to permit of
variation of the ratio between the stroke of the needle and the thickness of
the stock.
Second, the arrangement for acting on the presser foot gradually instead of
allowing it to drop or be forced suddenly downward at every stitch.
Third, applying apparatus to sewing machines in order that the length of
the stroke of the needle may be changed by the same act which alters the
length of the stitch.
Fourth, the arrangement herein described by which the closing slide of the

page_text: needle is worked, avoiding the employment of spring catches and the un-
certainty attending their movements.
Fifth. the employment of a friction retarder on the needle bar as herein.
described.
Sixth, the application of an expansion joint to prevent injurious effects
heretofore consequent on the expansion caused by the heat applied to the
horn to keep the wax plastic.
Seventh, so arranging a roll which guides the thread that it may be heated
sufliciently to prevent sticking of the wax thereto.
Eighth, the employment of a tubular or plough knife in combination with a
straight or flat knife, so that by their co-operation they may cut a channel in
the sole, and a slit to form said channel to the surface of the sole, and in the
arrangement of these knives by which they are relatively adjustable.
Ninth, the employment in combination with the mechanism which supports
these knives and feeds the sole against them of a presser roll, to guage and
control the depth of the cut of the knives.
Tenth, the arranging of the mechanism in such manner that the depth of
the channel in the sole and its distance from the edge may be varied without
disturbing the knives.
---
Eleventh, the construction of the feed wheel by which its teeth are kept
from injuring the edge of the sole.
Twelfth, the employment of an edge feed roll as herein explained.
Thirteenth, the arrangement of a spring by which the sole is lifted or
partially lifted from the teeth of the feed wheel when turning the short curves
of the sole.
Fourteenth, the constructing a stripper in the manner herein described for
removing the superfluous wax from the thread immediately after the thread
has been passed through the wax whilst in a heated and fluid or semi-fluid
state.
In witness whereof, 1, the said George Ilaseltine, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.s.)