Improvements in Lasts for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application 23rd Nov 1896
Complete Specification Left. 28th July, 1897-Accepted, 28th Aug., 1897
Complete Specification Left. 28th July, 1897-Accepted, 28th Aug., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lasts for Boots and Shoes.
We, AMOS CAVE, of the Firm of John Cave & Sons, of Rushden, in the County of
Northampton, Manufacturers, and ALBERT Cox, of Higham Road, Rushden, afore-
said, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to lasts for boots and shoes and comprises a novel arrange-
ment for locking the heel portion of a last to the other portion thereof so that whilst
the last is in use the said two parts will be rigidly retained in position whilst when
the last is to be removed the locking arrangement permits of the fore part of the
last being drawn out without interfering with the heel portion which is subsequently
withdrawn.
According to our invention we form through the heel portion of the last and
through the adjacent part of the fore portion thereof a circular slotted hole
practically at right angles to the base of the heel. Through this hole we pass a pin
having upon it a collar designed to bear upon the top of the last whilst at one end it is
provided with a key or tongue designed to engage with a spiral surface on the heel
part of the last in such a manner that when the said pin is turned the key or
tongue thereon will be caused to ride on to the said spiral surface and draw the heel
portion of the last tightly into contact with the other portion. The opposite end
of the said pin is adapted for the atachment of a key or rod for rotating the said
pin.
We advantageously use our last in conjunction with a stand having a hole to
receive the projecting end of the said pin, the said pin being provided with a lug
which is adapted to operate in connection with a lug on the said stand in such a
manner as to permit of locking or unlocking the heel whilst the last is upon the
stand. A stand arranged as described allows of the last being turned during
use.
Improvements in Lasts for Boots and Shoes.
We, AMOS CAVE, of the Firm of John Cave & Sons, of Rushden, in the County of
Northampton, Manufacturers, and ALBERT COX, of Higham Road, Rushden, afore-
said, Engineer, 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:-
Our invention relates to lasts for boots and shoes and comprises a novel arrange-
ment for locking the heel portion of a last to the other portion thereof so that whilst

page_text: the last is in use the said two parts will be rigidly retained in position whilst when
the last is to be removed the locking arrangement permits of the fore part of the
last being drawn out without interfering with the heel portion which is subsequently
withdrawn.
According to our invention we form through the heel portion of the last and
through the adjacent part of the fore portion thereof a circular slotted hole
practically at right angles to the base of the heel. Through this hole we pass a
pin having upon it'a collar designed to bear upon the top of the last whilst at one
end it is provided with a spiral groove designed to engage with a feather or tongue on
the heel part of the last in such a manner that when the said pin is turned the feather
or tongue will be caused to ride in the said spiral groove and draw the heel portion
of the last tightly into contact with the other portion. The opposite end of the
said pin is adapted for the attachment of a key or rod for rotating it.
We advantageously use our last in conjunction with a stand having a hole to
receive the projecting end of the pin, the said pin being provided with a lug
which is adapted to operate in connection with a lug on the said stand in such a
manner as to permit of locking or unlocking the heel whilst the last is upon the
stand. A stand arranged as described allows of the last being turned during
use..
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe it by reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a last having our improvements applied
thereto and shewing the two parts of the same secured together.
"
Figure 2 is a plan of the same:
Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but shewing the fore part of the last
released from the heel part thereof:
Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4, Figure 1:
Figures 5 and 6 are views of details:
Figure 7 is a section shewing a portion of a last in position on our improved
stand:
Figure 8 is an elevation of the upper portion of the stand; and,
Figure 9 is a plan of the stand."
Similar letters of reference indicate similar or corresponding parts in all the
figures.
a is the fore part of the last and 6 the heel portion thereof, c is the hole formed
through the heel portion b and d is the hole through the adjacent part of the fore
portión a of the last, the holes c and d being in alignment with one another when
the two parts of the last are fitted together and being provided with metal
linings c¹ and d¹.
e is the pin for securing the two parts a and b of the last together and f is the
collar formed on the said pin which said collar bears against a plate f¹ on the top
of the fore part of the last, as shown in Figure 1. g is the spiral groove formed
upon the upper end of the said pin e and h is the feather or tongue fitted in the
interior of the hole c and which engages with the spiral groove. e' is a projection
on the pine which engages in a slot in the lining so as to guide the pin e in
the hole d and prevent it leaving the same when the two parts of the last are
unlocked.
i is the key which we advantageously employ for rotating the pin e the said key
having a lateral pin j.which engages in a slot in the collar f on the pin e..
With this construction it will be obvious that to secure the parts of the last!
together the pin eis passed up through the hole d in the fore part of the last and
rotated until the feather h enters the groove g. The further rotation of the pin
causes the two portions a and b of the last to approach one another and to be held
securely in contact as the pin e is held in position in the hole d by the collar f
which turns upon the plate f¹ on the fore part a of the last.
To remove the last from a boot the key i is inserted in the pine and turned so as
to run it down out of engagement with the pin h in the heel portion b of the last

page_text: and into the position shewn in Figure 3 so as to allow the fore part a of the last to
be first removed from the boot, the heel part being subsequently removed.
Figures 7, 8 and 9 illustrate our improved stand which we use in conjunction
with our last, the said stand comprising a bar k the upper end of which is recessed
or provided with a hole as shewn at 7 to receive the projecting end of the pin e, the
collar of which in this case is provided with a lateral lug or pin m adapted to
engage with a lug n formed on the upper end of the bark and having a slot o.
This construction of stand allows the last to be locked and unlocked whilst on the
stand and to be turned during use without loosening the parts thereof, the slot o
(by the engagement of the lug m therewith) holding the pin e in the stand when
the fore part a of the last is removed from the boot prior to the withdrawal of the
heel part.
It will be obvious that, instead of forming the spiral groove g upon the end of
the pin e, we can form it in the lining c in which case the feather h is fixed to
the pin e.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In a last providing the fore and heel portions thereof with holes in alignment
with one another and adapted to receive a pin having a shoulder which bears
against the top of the fore part and which is provided with a spiral groove
engaging with a feather in the hole in the heel part of the last (or with a feather
which engages with a spiral groove formed in the hole in the said heel part)
whereby by rotating the said pin by means of a suitable key or the like the two
parts of the last are locked firmly together, substantially as described.
2. The combination with a last of the kind described in Claim 1 of a stand
comprising a bar the upper end of which is provided with a hole adapted to receive
the projecting end of the last pin which is provided with a lug designed to engage
with a slotted lug upon the upper end of the said stand, substantially as described
and illustrated.
3. The manufacture and use of the improved last hereinbefore described and
illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings and of the stand
illustrated in Figures 7 to 9 of the said drawings.
Dated this 28th dox of Lule 100%
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
A, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.