IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PUFFS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES AND APPARATUS THERE- FOR
Year: 1885

page_text: I FREDERICK SQUIRE, of 120, Hackney Road, in the county of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PUFFS FOR BOOTS AND SHOES AND APPARATUS THERE-
FOR" to be as follows:-
Hitherto it has been the practice to cut "puffs" for boots and shoes from leather
by hand; this operation required skilled labour, and frequently resulted in spoiling
the piece of leather or sole from which the puff was cut.
Now according to my invention the puffs are cut by a machine or apparatus
constructed as hereinafter described, and the puffs produced thereby are of regular
shape and thickness, and all risk of injuring the leather from which they are cut is
done away with.
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In carrying out my invention I employ an apparatus consisting of a plunger
working in a suitable frame and adapted to be operated by a treadle or otherwise;
the upper surface of the plunger is rounded and is of a shape in plan corresponding
or nearly so with the shape of the puff; the plunger works under a plate in which
is a hole of the shape of the puff to be made. The piece of leather or sole from
which the puff is to be cut is placed under the said plate, and the plunger is raised
so as to bulge the leather and force it to slightly project above the plate through
the hole therein; a sliding knife working above the plate is now operated by a
lever handle or otherwise, and cuts or skives off the portion of leather projecting
above the plate thereby forming a puff.
Suitable arrangements are provided for regulating the plunger and knife.

page_text: I FREDERICK SQUIRE, of 120 Hackney Road, in the county of Middlesex,
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:―
Hitherto it has been the practice to cut "puffs" for boots and shoes from leather
by hand; this operation required skilled labour and frequently resulted in spoiling
the piece of leather or sole from which the puff was cat.
Now according to my invention the puffs are cut by a machine or apparatus
constructed as hereinafter described and the puffs produced thereby are of regular
shape and thickness and all risk of injuring the leather from which they are cut is
done away with.
In carrying out my invention I employ an apparatus consisting of a plunger
working in a suitable frame and adapted to be operated by a treadle or otherwise;
the upper surface of the plunger is rounded and is of a shape in plan corresponding
or nearly so with the shape of the puff; the plunger works under a plate in which
is a hole of the shape of the puff to be made. The piece of leather or sole from
which the puff is to be cut is placed under the said plate, and the plunger is raised
so as to bulge the leather and force it to slightly project above the plate through
the hole therein'; a sliding' knife working above the plate is now operated by
lever handle or otherwise and cuts or skives off the 'portion of leather projecting
above the plate thereby forming a puff.
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Suitable arrangements are provided for regulating the plunger and knife.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying drawing in which figure 1 represents a
side elevation of a machine adapted for manufacturing puffs for boots and shoes
according to my invention, the parts of the machine being in the position they
occupy when about to commence an operation; figure 2' is plan of figure" 1 "and
figure 3 is a vertical section on line!A; B. of figure 2, the machine being shewn in
the act of cutting or skiving off a puff from a piece of leather. Similar letters in
all the figures represent similar parts.
"
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Fi
a, represents the plunger working in the frame A and b, is a lever pivotted in a
bracket c, secured to the base plate B, of the machine and working in a 'slot d, in
the plunger a; the other end of the lever b, is connected with a treadle (not shewn
in the, drawing) for communicating the 'required up and down motion to the
plunger a; e, is the upper surface of the plunger which is rounded as shewn in
figures 1 and 3.and of a shape in plan corresponding or nearly so with the shape to
be given to the puff as shewn in figure 2; f, is the plate under which the plunger a,
works, and g, is the hole in the plate f, of the shape of the puff to be made as clearly
shewn in figure 2, the edges of the hole being bevilled to allow the leather to be
bulged through the same by the plunger; h, is the sliding knife for cutting or
skiving off the projecting portion of leather to form the puff; the knife h, is fixed
to an angular plate i, sliding vertically in a bracket j, and is guided by a pink, over
which works a slot in the angular plate i, which is raised or lowered to adjust the
beight of the knife by means of a screw working through a screw threaded
projection ¹, on the bracket j, and formed with a plain neck or groove m, rotating

page_text: in the angular plate i; the bracket j, is formed on a slide n, which is caused to
travel horizontally in guides o, o, by means of a lever handle p, having its fulcrum
at q, and operating a link 7, jointed thereto at 8, and connected to the slide n, by
means of a pin t, thereon which works in a slot u, in the plate v, carrying the
guides o, o; w, w¹, is another bracket formed on the slide n, and carrying a screw
threaded rod x, having a roller y, at its lower end; the lower part of the rod a, is
made angular in cross section and works in the lower part w, of the bracket so as
to prevent the rod and roller from rotating; 2, is a spring on the rod x, bearing
against the underside of the upper part w¹, of, the bracket and upon a nut a¹, on
the rod and serving to press the roller down upon the leather when the leather is
pressed upwards by the plunger; the height of the roller can be regulated by
operating a nut b¹, on the upper end of the rod, and the pressure of the roller
upon the plunger can he regulated by operating the nut a¹; d, is a set screw which
receives the lever b, as it is drawn down by the treadle and by raising or lowering
the said screw, the upward motion of the plunger can be regulated to suit the
thickness of the leather.
In order to cut a puff by a machine of this construction the parts being in the
position shewn in full lines in figure 1, the piece of leather or sole c', from which
the puff is to be cut is placed between the upper surface e, of the plunger a, and
the underside of the plate f, as shewn in dotted lines in figure 1; the plunger a, is
then raised by operating the treadle of the machine and the leather c¹, will be
thereby caused to bulge and slightly project above the plate f, through the hole g,
therein; the lever handle p, is then drawn forward so as to operate the knife h,
which will cut or skive off the portion of the leather c¹, projecting above the plate f,
in the manner illustrated in figure 3 which shews the knife in the act of cutting or
skiving off the said portion or puff c³, which passes up and over the knife h, as it is
cut off. The dotted lines in figure 1, shew the position of the lever handle p, and
knife h, when the former has been completely drawn forward and the puff cut off;
the plunger a, is then lowered and the puff and piece of leather from which it has
been cut are removed from the machine; the lever handle p, and knife 'h, are
moved back into the position shewn in full lines in figure 1 and the machine will
be ready to be again operated and so on.
Although I have described the plunger a, as being operated by means of a treadle
and lever it will be obvious that it can be operated by other means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The manufacture of puffs for boots and shoes by the use of a machine
arranged and operating substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and
represented in the accompanying drawing.
2. A machine for cutting puffs for boots and shoes in which a plunger operated
by suitable means is caused to bulge or project the leather from which the puff is
to be cut through a hole in the machine, a sliding knife being employed operating
in such a manner as to cut or skive off the projecting surface of the leather
substantially as hereinbefore described and represented in the accompanying
drawing.
3. The improved machine for cutting puffs for boots and shoes herein before
described and represented in the accompanying drawing.