Improvements in the Manufacture of Shoemakers' Size Sticks.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 23rd July, 1894-Accepted, 25th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Shoemakers' Size Sticks.
I HARRY JOSEPH RABONE, of Hockley Abbey Works, Whitmore Street,
Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
:―
My invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the manu-
facture of shoemakers size sticks, whereby the said manufacture is simplified and
the size sticks made according to my invention are lighter than those made in the
ordinary way.
In order that my invention may be the more readily understood I remark that
an ordinary size stick consists essentially of a strip or light bar of boxwood having
a joint a short distance from its middle so that it can be folded or doubled up for
portability. At the end of the longer part a metallic upright is jointed the said
A second
upright being capable of turning down when the said stick is not in use.
metallic upright also capable of turning down is jointed to a slide which slide.
travels freely on the strip of boxwood. When the instrument is in use the two
uprights are raised into a position at right angles to the strip; the sliding one is
drawn back and the foot is placed on the strip, the heel being in contact with the
upright at the end of the strip. The sliding upright is brought to the fore end of
the foot and the length of the foot is indicated on a graduated scale on the strip.
Instead of making the two jointed uprights by casting as is usual I make them
as well as the slide to which one of them is attached from sheet metal preferably
brass, in the following manner.
In making the end upright 1 take a sheet metal blank of the same breadth as
the strip or bar having at one end a wing or projection on each side; the said
wings or projections extending beyond the end of the middle part. The wings or
projections are bent at right angles and the upright is connected to the end of the
strip by a pin passed through the said wings and the strip. The upright can turn
through a right angle on the said pin so as to lie flat on the strip when the stick is
not in use or to stand upright when the stick is in use. The sliding upright is of
essentially the same construction as the end upright but is attached by two pins to
a slide on the strip the two pins constituting an axis on which the upright
can turn.
Or the sliding piece may be dispensed with in which case the wings or side pieces
are made of greater length than in the former case the pin on which the upright
turns being on the underside of the strip. When the axis on which the upright
turns is in the position described a separate sliding piece is unnecessary.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1894.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Shoemakers' Size Sticks.
I HARRY JOSEPH RABONE of Hockley Abbey Works, Whitmore Street,
Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature
of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the manu-
facture of shoemakers' size sticks whereby the said manufacture is simplified.

page_text: In order that my invention may be the more readily understood I remark that an
ordinary size stick consists essentially of a strip or light bar of boxwood having a
joint a short distance from its middle so that it can be folded or doubled up for
portability. At the end of the longer part, a metallic or wooden upright is jointed
the said upright being capable of turning down when the said stick is not in use.
A second metallic or wooden upright, also capable of turning down, is jointed to a
slide which slide travels freely on the strip of boxwood. When the instrument is in
use the two uprights are raised into a position at right angles to the strip, the
sliding one is drawn back and the foot is placed on the strip, the heel being in
contact with the upright at the end of the strip. The sliding upright is brought to
the fore end of the foot and the length of the foot is indicated on a graduated scale
on the strip.
Instead of making the two jointed metallic uprights by casting as is usual, 1
make them from sheet metal, preferably brass, in the following manner.
In making the end upright I take a sheet metal blank of the same breadth as
the strip or bar having at one end a wing or projection on each side, the said wings
or projections projecting beyond the end of the middle part. The wings or
projections are bent at right angles and the upright is connected to the end of the
strip by a pin passed through the said wings and the strip. The upright can turn
through a right angle on the said pin so as to lie flat on the strip when the stick is
not in use; or to stand upright when the stick is in use. The sliding upright is of
essentially the same construction as the end upright but is attached by two pins to
a slide on the strip, the two pins constituting an axis on which the upright
can turn.
Or the sliding piece may be dispensed with, in which case the wings or side
pieces are made of greater length than in the former case the pin on which the
upright turns being on the underside of the strip. When the axis on which the
upright turns is in the position described a separate sliding piece is unnecessary.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in side elevation and plan
of upper side and Figure 2 the same, partly in vertical section, an unfolded shoe-
maker's size stick to which jointed and sliding metallic uprights made according to
my invention are applied, the said jointed and sliding uprights being represented
in their raised position for use; Figure 3 represents in side elevation and plan and
Figure 4, partly in section, the said size stick doubled up and the jointed and
sliding uprights turned down upon the stick out of use; Figure 5 represents a
section of the base part of the jointed end upright drawn to a larger scale, and
Figure 6 represents a section of the base part of the sliding upright and its slide
drawn to a larger scale; Figure 7 represents the sheet metal blank of the kind
used in making the uprights as hereinafter explained.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of
the drawings.
a,
a² is the strip or bar of boxwood graduated, the two parts being jointed together
at b, and constituting with the jointed uprights the folding shoemaker's size stick.
At the end of the longer part a of the stick, the metallic upright c is jointed at d,
the joint pin d passing through the wings or projections c³, c2 on each side of
the upright and also through the sheet metal cap and stick a as best seen
in Figure 5. The upright can turn through a right angle on the pin d so as
to lie flat upon the stick, when the latter is not in use as represented in Figures 3
and 4; or stand upright when the stick is in use as represented in Figures 1
and 2. The sliding upright is marked and is of the same construction as
the jointed upright c, c² but the sliding upright is attached by the two pins 9, 9
to a sheet metal slide on the strip or bar as best seen in Figure 6, the said
two pins g, constituting an axis on which the upright f, f2 can turn for raising
it into the position Figures 1 and 2 or for turning it down so as to lie flat on
the stick as represented in Figures 3 and 4.
In making the sliding upright I cut out from sheet brass or other ductile sheet
metal the blank represented in Figure 7, the said blank being provided with a

page_text: hollow rib for stiffening the upright formed. The middle part ƒ of the blank
has the same breadth as the strip or bar a, a² and has at one end a wing or
projection on each side, the said wings or projections extending beyond the
middle part as represented. The upright is finished by bending the wing
parts, fat right angles to the middle part f as seen in the finished upright
represented in connection with the shoemaker's stick and the upright is jointed
by its wings to the slide h on the stick as before described. The jointed
upright is made in the same way excepting that the slot at the base of the
middle part for passing over the joint 6 of the two parts of the bar a, a³ is
omitted and the said jointed upright c is furnished with a small tongue i under
which when the two jointed uprights are folded flat upon the stick, the end of
the sliding upright f engages to hold it in its place. The slide h to which the
upright is jointed is made from a strip of sheet metal bent into a nearly
square tube.
In using the shoemaker's size stick, the two jointed parts a, a² of the stick
are unfolded, the uprights c and fare raised at right angles to the stick and the
sliding upright f is drawn back and the foot of the person to be measured is
placed on the strip, the heel being in contact with the end jointed upright c.
The sliding upright is then brought to the fore end of the foot and the length
of the foot is indicated on the graduated scale on the stick.
In this
Figure 8 represents in side elevation and Figure 9 in plan a broad shoe-
maker's size stick, the jointed and sliding uprights of which are made according
to my invention. In Figure 8 the said uprights are represented raised at right
angles to the stick and in Figure 9 turned down flat upon the stick.
modification the uprights c and fare provided with two parallel stiffening ribs and
the tongue i on the jointed upright c engages with the edge of a slot made near
the end of the sliding upright f to fix the latter down.
Figure 10 represents in side elevation a shoemaker's size stick in which the
separate slide to which one of the jointed uprights is connected is dispensed
with and Figure 11 represents a front elevation of the modified sliding upright.
In this modification the wings f, f2 of the sliding upright f are made longer
than those before described so that they project beyond the underside of the
stick a, a' and a cross pin f³ is passed through the wings and under the stick and
rivetted to the said wings. The said cross pin 3 constitutes the axis on which
the upright turns and also permits the said upright sliding on the stick for
adjustment.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention of "Improvements in the manufacture of shoemakers' size sticks";—
First. Making the end jointed upright and the jointed and sliding upright of
the said size sticks, from sheet metal substantially as described and illustrated,
the base of each of the sheet metal uprights being provided with side wings or
projections bent at right angles to the middle part, through which side wings
the joint pin or joint pins of the upright passes or pass substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Secondly. Dispensing with the slide or sliding piece of the sliding sheet metal
upright and lengthening its side wings and jointing the sliding upright to the
stick by a cross pin or axis passing through the extended side wings and under
the stick substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated the Nineteenth day of July 1894.