Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 27th July, 1891-Accepted, 10th Oct., 1891

page_text: d
bar is lifted the knife-carriage is also lifted. The knife-carriage is reciprocated
by the connecting rod d² and its wrist pin on cam 15. Were the ways d of knife
carriage D parallel with the surface of the skiving bed a² the cut of the knife d
would, of course be parallel with that surface; and the skiving would in that case
be affected wholly by making portions of the surface of bed a not parallel with
the ways d. In Figures 1, 2 and 3 the ways d are hinged to the side pieces,
and supported at their outer ends by posts a³ fast to bed-piece A; for in this
form when the ways d and presser bar B are once adjusted for stock of medium
thickness with a skiving bed having the proper surface; this adjustment will vary
automatically to suit thicker or thinner stock; for with thicker stock the ways
will not move down so far at their inner ends as with medium stock; while with
thinner stock they will move down further at their inner ends than with medium
stock but at that part of the ways d occupied by the knife carriage when the
knife leaves the edge of the stock the difference will be too small to take into
account. But were it not for this swinging of the ways d more or less as the
stock is thinner or thicker, that is if the ways were rigidly attached to the
presser bar frame, thick stock would be skived with a longer scarf than thin stock
unless the skiving bed a² were changed or adjusted to suit different thicknesses of
stock; which is objectionable.
This combination of presser bar and its frame with the knife carriage and its
ways constitutes one feature of my invention; and is of great practical importance
in skiving leather; and particularly so in skiving vamps; and while the form with
the swinging ways is better than the form with the rigid ways, yet both embody
this feature of my invention.
The vamp is pressed close down upon the upper surface of the skiving bed a²
by the fingers which are carried by the knife carriage D, and which press upon
the leather just in advance of the knife edge.
The knife holder d³ is supported by the collars d' which are fast to the studs do.
These studs at their lower ends engage with a thread in the posts do, and each
post dis slit and provided with a clamping screw through the ear d so that when
the knife holder is adjusted by turning the collars 4, the adjustment will be
preserved by tightening the clamping screws and clamping the studs d in their
proper place. The upper parts of studs d extend through the ends of the knife
holder and also through the ends of the cross bar carrying fingers, and
the nuts clamp both in place. The sleeves which form bearings for the knife
carriage are slit and adjusted accurately to the ways d by clamping screws; as
clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3. By this construction of knife carriage and
knife holder all lost motion of the knife holder and knife carriage is prevented,
and the knife is caused to travel over the skiving bed in precisely the desired
path. This combination of the knife holder with its carriage by the posts or studs
is also a feature of my invention.
The skiving bed a rises sharply just beyond the marker m¹ as clearly shown in
Figure 3A; and this is in order that the knife may engage the stock immediately
after leaving the presser bar B by which the stock is forced upon the marker m
and this also constitutes a feature of my invention; namely the combination of
the presser bar B, the marker m', and the bed a² with its upper surface sloping
upwards from the machine.
In skiving and marking vamps it is essential to provide a gauge by which the
vamps can be readily and accurately brought into position for skiving and marking;
and as vamps vary largely in style as well as size the gauge must be capable of
accurate adjustment to suit different vamps.
The gauge G has two arms g supported by two links g₁ and two racks g². The
two links are secured at their inner ends to a stud which slides in a slot to adjust
the distance apart of the rear ends of the arms, as clearly shown in Figures 4
and 6. The two racks engage with the same pinion r, but on opposite sides of it
so that when the pinion is turned the racks move in opposite directions and thus
adjust the distance apart of the front ends of the arms g.

page_text: The point in the front end of the arm most distant from the axis of the pin
which connects the arm with the rack, and the axis of that pin, and the axis of
the pin connecting the arm with the link are in line, as clearly shown in Figure 4
and this is one, feature of my invention. Its advantage is that the arms may be
adjusted for the size of the vamp after the gauge has been once set for one size,
without re-setting the gauge.
In Dunn's U.S. Patent No. 436,251 dated
April 22 1890 the axes of the pins connecting the arms with the racks and links
are out of line with the extreme front end of the arms; and consequently the
It will be
gauge must be reset whenever the adjustment of the arms is varied.
seen that in my gauge the axes of the pins connecting the arms with the racks
are brought in as clearly shown in Figure 4, so that the adjustment of the arms
for different sizes of vamps does not require any resetting of the gauge on its
bar G but in Dunn's gauge any such adjustment does require resetting of the
gauge.
The gauge bar G slides in a slot in the bed and when in its forward position.
the front end of the bar brings up against a stop, commonly the front end of the
slot. A vamp of any style and size is there placed properly in the machine and
the gauge slid forward on its bar G¹ (the clamp screw g³ being loosened to allow
the gauge to slide on its bar G¹) until the front end of the gauge arms are in
contact with the throat of the vamp; the arms are then adjusted to fit the throat
of the vamp.
The gauge is in this way set for all vamps of that style and size,
and when thus set is clamped to its bar G' by tightening the clamp screw g³.
After having been thus set for one size and style the gauge G and its bar G¹
can be slid back, the bar G¹ sliding in its slot, the skived and marked vamp taken
off and another of the same size and style be put in place on bed also when the
gauge and vamp are slid forward both will be brought into exact position as soon
as the end of bar G¹ brings up against its stop.
The index finger g is also set to the scale mark indicating that size; and in order
to set the gauge for a size larger the gauge is drawn back on the bar G' until the
pointer stands at the scale mark indicating a size larger; and so on for changes
of size.
As vamps vary in the cut of the throat, (being medium high and low cut) the
pointer is made movable as otherwise confusion would arise when changing from
one size of a high cut vamp to the same size of low or medium vamp.
It would be
in fact a difficult task to set the gauge in its bar for variations of size if the pointer
were not made variable, for the operator would then be obliged to recollect that the
pointer did not indicate the size, but was placed arbitrarily in one place for a given
size of a low cut vamp; in a different plane for the same size of high cut vamp,
and in a third plane for the same size of a medium cut vamp.
Another feature of my invention adapts the gauge to short vamps and consists in
a cross piece g' whose ends form stops for the rear ends of the short vamp, and
which is held upon the gauge by notches and a set screw so that it can readily be
changed by loosening the set screw and moving the cross piece to the proper
notches. When this is done for a given size and style of short vamp it is readily
changed for the next lower or higher size of that style by moving the cross
piece one notch forward or back. As the styles of short vamps vary largely, I
make the cross-piece g curved not only to bring its ends close to the bed, as shown
in Figure 4 but also as shown in Figure 5 thereby adapting a single cross piece to
a far larger variety of styles than would be possible if the cross-piece were not so
curved; for when the cross-piece is used with its ends curving towards the front of
the gauge as in Figure 4 it will take a range of sizes of very short vamps; but
when changed end for end, so that its ends curve away from the front of the gauge,
it will take a range of sizes of vamps, which while they are what is called short
vamps still have longer throats than other styles of short vamps.
The room for adjusting the cross piece is limited and it is for this reason that I
curve the cross pieces, and provide for its change end to end, as above described. .
Vamps vary largely in style, and all the sizes of each style are graded ; and

page_text: hence a gauge designed to act with the throat of vamps must of necessity be
somewhat complicated; moreover, while long vamps can be accurately gauged by
their throats, those styles known as short vamps, must also be gauged by their
rear ends, and this still further complicates the matter. These three facts must
always be borne in mind for a full understanding of these features of my invention,
and in addition, it should be remembered that it is highly desirable in all machines
of this class, whether for skiving or marking, or both, that the gauge should be
drawn well back from the presser bar when one vamp is to be removed and another
put in. My gauge must of course be set for each style and to do this any size of
that style is first properly placed in the machine; the gauge bar G is slid forward
until its end brings up; and the gauge G is then slid on the gauge bar until the
front ends of its arms are in contact with the throat of the vamp; when the
arms are adjusted to fit the throat, the gauge being of course made fast to its
bar by clamp screw g³, either before or after the bars 9 are adjusted. The
pointer is also moved on the scale to indicate the size number. The machine
is then ready for all vamps of that size and style, but after the presser bar B
rises the operator draws back the gauge G and its bar G', and the vamp which
has been marked and skived in order more readily to remove the finished vamp
and put in another; and while the gauge and its bar are thus drawn back, the
next vamp to be operated upon is placed on the table a, and gauged; then the
gauge G, its bar G₁ and the vamp are slid forward until the bar G brings up,
when the machine, which comes to a stop as soon as the presser bar and knife
carriage returns to position, is started; whereupon the presser bar B and the knife
carriage move downwards, the presser bar clamping the vamp, which is in its
exact position owing to the gauge G and its bar G' being in their exact position, and
the vamp being thus clamped the knife-carriage moves away from the presser bar B,
on its ways, skiving the vamp; then the presser bar rises and the knife carriage
rises with it, leaving the vamp free to be drawn back with the gauge and its bar
by the attendant while the presser bar and knife carriage are completing their
return movements; when the machine comes to a stop.
After thus operating upon a number of vamps of a given size of one style, all
that is necessary in order to shift the gauge for another size of that style is to
loosen the clamp screw g³ and move the gauge G on its bar G₁ until the pointer
indicates the desired size number, when the clamp screw g³ is tightened; and apply
the vamp and adjust arms g to fit the throat, and if the vamp be a short vamp also
adjust cross-piece go to fit the ends. When the gauge and its bar with the vamp
are slid forward the vamp will be in its exact position as soon as the gauge bar G
brings up in its slot.
Heretofore in all machines of this class the gauge is required to be re-set for
each size; and in this respect my gauge is wholly new. Those features of my
invention relating to the gauge may of course be used in a machine which marks
the vamps without skiving them. On the other hand these features of my invention
which relate to skiving are applicable in machines for skiving other articles than
vamps, as will be clear. It is of course, easy to regulate the width and slant of
the scarf by adjusting the skiving bed to the path of the knife edge, but my
machine is wholly new so far as concerns the automatic adjustment of the scarf to
suit varying thicknesses of stock, as well as in the broader feature of the presser
bar controlling the ways of the knife carriage.
In Figure 7 illustrating a modification, ways d are rigidly connected with the
side-pieces of the presser-bar frame, and while this answers well, yet it is not
so well adapted for varying thicknesses of stock as the other forms shown in
Figures 12 and 3 above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion 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 :-
First. In combination the presser bar; the knife carriage; movable ways on

page_text: which the knife carriage reciprocates, mechanism by which the presser bar and
the movable way for the knife carriage are elevated and depressed; and mechanism
by which the knife carriage is moved on its ways towards and from the presser
bar; the presser bar controlling the knife carriage all the parts being arranged to
operate substantially as described.
Second. In a skiving machine the combination of the presser bar, the knife
carriage; movable ways on which the knife carriage reciprocates; supports upon
which the outer ends of the ways are hinged; and a hinged connection between the
inner ends of the ways and the presser bar; all substantially as described.
Third. In a skiving machine a knife carriage, provided with posts, in com-
bination with a cross-piece constituting a knife holder, and having a sleeve at each
end to receive the posts of the knife carriage, substantially as described.
Fourth. In a skiving machine the combination of a knife carriage, a knife holder,
and a cross-bar, provided with spring fingers to press upon the stock near the knife
edge, the fingers slanting upwards and away from the knife, and their ends
arranged to move past, but so that they cannot strike the knife edge, all substan-
tially as described.
Fifth. In a skiving machine the combination of marker m¹ presser bar B, and
bed a², with its upper surface sloping upwards from the marker, substantially as
described.
Sixth. A gauge for the throat of the vamp, having two arms adjusted by links
and racks, with the curved front end of each bar, and the axes by which the bar
is connected to the link and rack in line, all substantially as described.
Seventh. A gauge for vamps, consisting of two adjustable curved arms for the
throat of the vamp, and an adjustable cross-piece for the ends of the vamp,
substantially as described.
Eighth. A gauge for vamps consisting of two adjustable curved arms for the
throat of the vamp, a gauge bar upon which the body of the gauge is adjustable,
a pointer adjustable on the body of the gauge bar, all substantially as described.
Dated this 27th day of July 1891
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.