IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINERY FOR USING WAXED THREAD
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINERY FOR USING
WAXED THREAD."-A communication from abroad by Thomas John
Halligan, of the City of New York, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 9th February 1866, and dated the 24th October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners. of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th October 1865.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINERY
FOR USING WAXED THREAD," to be as follows:-
The main object of this Invention is to remove the difficulties which have
hitherto attended the use of waxed thread in sewing machines..
The improved machine assimilates in its chief characteristics to the ordinary
wheel feed shuttle machine, that is to say, the needle bar is carried by a
bracket arm which serves to support a horizontal driving shaft, and from this
shaft motion is communicated by gearing to a horizontal shaft below the bed

page_text: or table of the machine, through which shaft the reciprocating shuttle driver
and feed wheel receive their motion. The vertical needle bar is fitted at its
lower end with a clamp for receiving and holding securely the needle and an
awl for piercing holes in the work for the reception of the needle. This
clamp carries between its jaws grooved plates, by changing which the relative
adjustment of the needle and awl is effected to correspond with the length of
stitch required. The needle is wedge shaped at its point and it is grooved on
both sides, which grooves are connected by an inclined eye which is pierced
as near as possible in a line with the axis of the needle. Upon the bracket
arm in rear of the needle a thread controller lever is pivotted, and its lower
end is acted upon by a grooved cam on the driving shaft, and caused to vibrate
in a vertical plane for the purpose of drawing up the stitches. The work is held
down on the bed of the machine by a presser foot acting in rear of the needle
and pendent from a horizontal spring lever pivotted to the under side of the
bracket arm. A cam on the driving shaft gives to this lever the necessary
intermittent motion, or in place of this arrangement a curved presser foot
inay be formed on the lower end of the narrow spring strip, and attached to the
face plate of the bracket arm by a fixed or an adjustable pivot. The tension
of this spring may be adjusted by a nut on a screwed rod jointed to the frame
and passing, through the forked end of the spring. Beneath the table of the
machine the rotary motion of the horizontal shaft is converted into a recipro-
cating motion in any ordinary manner for driving the shuttle. This motion is
communicated to an open skeleton frame forming a shuttle carrier, which
slides on a fixed guide bar. The outer portion of the carrier projects beyond
the point of the shuttle for the purpose of pressing back the point of the
needle out of the way of the shuttle into a recess formed to receive it in the
vertical face of a steel guide forming part of the throat plate. The rear end
of the shuttle carrier has an abutment to prevent the shuttle being thrust
backward, which together with a spring and finger projection carried by the
frame serves to retain the shuttle in its proper place in the frame or carrier.
To admit of the thread being drawn regularly from the bobbin, an oblong
opening is cut at the top side of the shuttle shell, and two bars are fixed
across it, over and under which the waxed shuttle thread is passed from the
bobbin, which is carried in an open metal frame within the shell of the shuttle:
This framo may be made with open ends capable of adjustment, so as to
increase the friction on the bearings of the bobbin, or the bobbin may be
mounted in annular bearings formed to receive their circular heads, frictional
control being obtained by means of a spring. The feed motion is obtained

page_text: may
from the lower horizontal shaft by a cam communicating a vibrating motion
to a horizontal lever, whose fulcrum pin is mounted on the under side of the
table so as to admit of longitudinal adjustment. This lever by means of a
spring pawl operates one of a set of ratchet wheels (each wheel having a
different length of teeth), formed upon the feed wheel. By adjusting the
position of the fulcrum pin of the feed lever one or other of the ratchet wheels
may be operated, and by their teeth differing in length any required length of
stitch be obtained. In drawing the stitches tight it is important to pre-
vent the shuttle thread from becoming slack. For this purpose as the shuttle
completes its traverse a flat spring mounted on the under side of the table is
caused to bear upon the thread issuing from the shuttle case or shell, and
hold it securely against the drag of the tightening stitch. In order to apply
wax to the needle thread and to smooth the thread after being waxed the
following contrivance is provided-A metal spool or bobbin (the spindle of
which may be made hellow for the purpose of conveniently heating the same)
is used to contain the thread, and may be mounted on the bracket arm at any
convenient place in front of the controller lever; its thread is led over a roller
on the end of the thread controller lever, and thence through guides down to
the needle. In its passage it passes through a bath of fluid wax contained in
a metal cup secured to the face of the bracket arm, or such other convenient
place as will allow of the thread being drawn back through the cup at each
tightening of the stitch for the purpose of re-waxing. The wax cup, heated
by a lamp or otherwise, is fitted with a friction block of india-rubber or equiva-
lent substance, through which a hole is pierced for the passage of the thread.
In order to separate a small portion of the wax to be subjected to the frictional
beating of the passing thread, and to assist in passing the thread through the
hole in the block of india-rubber, a short conical tube is fixed in the metal
cup. The india-rubber, leather, or cloth of which this smoothing block is to be
composed may be enclosed in a clamp, or other means may be used for adjusting
the compression to be given to the thread in its passage through or between.
it. The metal cup may be arranged with an adjustable frame carrying a
roller, under which the thread as it passes horizontally will be held down in
the wax or raised out of the wax at will. An additional wax cup may be placed
beneath the throat plate, into which the needle may dip at each descending
stroke.
. To enable the machine to work freely and with little friction, it is necessary
that the mechanism be.kept at a sufficiently high temperature to ensure tha
wax. being in a liquid state, and also the waxed thread being soft and flexible,

page_text: which will be best obtained by conveying the heated gases of combustion from
adjacent lamps or gas burners by means of branch pipes to the several parts
of such mechanism which are brought into contact with the waxed thread.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office. for. Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that. I,
the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, ad-
ministrators; and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINERY FOR USING
WAXED THREAD," being a communication to me from abroad, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature.
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be. performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters.
Patent.
་ ་ ་ ་
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said. Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same. is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to improvements in sewing machinery arranged for

page_text: using waxed thread, and for waxing the thread on its way to the needle from
the upper spool or bobbin..
:
The first part of the Invention relates to certain improvements in the
construction of the parts of the machine for making the stitches, and feeding
the work beneath the needle.
In Sheet I. of the Drawings, Fig. 1 shews in longitudinal section an
improved arrangement of machinery for sewing with waxed thread; Fig. 2 is
a plan of the under side thereof; and Fig. 3 is a front elevation with the
table in section.
A is the table of the machine fitted with an overhanging bracket A¹; A² is
the needle and awl carrying bar, working in vertical guides in the forward
part of the bracket A¹, and receiving a reciprocating motion from the hori-
zontal shaft B through the medium of a pin a working in the curved. slot of a
plate a fixed to the needle bar. The form of this slot is shewn by dots in
the front elevation, Fig. 3. In rear of the needle bar A³, and enclosed within
the hollow bracket A¹, is a cylinder a³, which is keyed on the shaft B, and
which has an oblique slot formed in its surface that receives a friction wheel b
on the lower end of an oscillating arm B³, which arm passes up through a slot
in the top of the bracket A¹, and is pivotted to this bracket, so as to vibrate
in a vertical plane when the shaft B is rotated. This arm B¹ carries a grooved
roller 6 on its upper end, over which the thread from the spool B³ is passed.
The object of the arm B¹ is to take up the slack thread and keep it under
proper tension, as will be herein-after described. Still further in rear of the
needle bar A2, and also keyed on the shaft B, is a cam 63, which as this shaft
rotates gives an intermittent motion to a spring rod c³, pivotted at c', and
acted upon by a spring c. This rod carries on its forward end a presser
foot c', the object of which is to hold the work down upon the table A during
the upward movement of the needle bar, and thus prevent the needle from
lifting the work when it rises. During the operation of feeding the work
beneath the needle the foot c¹ rises. This presser foot is formed on the jointed
standard c, as represented in Figures 1 and 3, and as the shaft B rotates the
cam 6s forces the foot c' down, allowing the spring to elevate it again at the
proper time.
Near the rear end of the shaft B a spur pinion d is keyed on
it, which engages with the teeth of a spur wheel d¹, that gives motion to a
spur pinion d on a longitudinal shaft C, arranged beneath the bed plate of
the table A. The shaft C thus receives a rotary motion: from the main
shaft B through the medium of spur wheels which are enclosed within the
frame of the machine: A crank arm C is keyed on the forward end of the:

page_text: shaft C, for the purpose of communicating a reciprocating motion to the shuttle
frame through the medium of the coupling rod C². Keyed to this shaft C is
a cam C³, for the purpose of giving a vibrating motion to a horizontal lever D.
This lever D is pivotted to a fixed block projecting from the bottom of the
table by means of a pin e which passes through an oblong slot in the lever,
which slot admits of a longitudinal adjustment being given to said lever by
means of a transverse lever D. The forward end of the lever D carries a
pawl arm e¹, which is acted upon by a spring e³, for keeping it in its place
upon the ratchet teeth f, f¹, of the feed wheel E; when it is desired to change
the pawl e from the ratchet wheelf to the ratchet wheel f', or from f¹ to f
the operator disengages this pawl by means of its handle E', and then adjusts
the lever D back or forward in the direction of its length by means of the
lever D¹. The ratchet teeth of the wheels f, f¹, differ in length, and hence
by changing the pawl e¹ from one of these wheels to the other a difference in
the length of the stitches will be produced. The ratchet teeth may be made
to form a part of the feed wheel E, or they may be made separate and secured
to the wheel or to a turning shaft, upon which the feed wheel may be secured.
The feed wheel E is constructed with a steel band shrunk upon a soft metal
wheel, as shewn in Fig. 5, Sheet II., and the serrations are made upon the
periphery of the band; this makes a very durable wheel, and one which will
cost less than a solid steel wheel. The feed wheel in Figures 1 and 2 is shewn
in an inclined position, and applied to a shaft or fixed stud 9', which projects
from a bracket g, but it may be set in a vertical position, if preferred. This
feed wheel is prevented from turning backward, or from turning too freely
forward, by means of a friction clamp G acted upon by an adjusting screw g³,
which will cause it to press with greater or less force upon the drum g, as
may be required. The only object of inclining the feed wheel E is to afford
ready access to the contrivances for making the stitches, but it is evident
that this wheel may be arranged in a vertical plane and still leave space for
getting at the shuttle carrier, and also for arranging a lamp or conical flame
concentrator beneath the table in such position as to heat the face plate of
the shuttle race and the parts immediately adjacent thereto. The periphery
of the feed wheel may be serrated in any suitable manner, and its highest
point should project slightly above the table A, for the purpose of feeding the
work under the needle.
Figures 4, 5, and 6, Sheet I., represent a shuttle carrier which is con-
structed with a view to facilitate the passage of the shuttle through the loop
formed by the upper thread in the ascent of the needle. The thread which

page_text: forms the upper loop is, waxed on its way from the spool B³ to the needle, as
will be herein-after described, and at the making of every stitch the shuttle
must pass through a loop that is formed by this waxed thread, hence the
importance of devising means for preventing the waxed thread from adhering
to the shuttle and the device which supports the shuttle..
To prevent an undue friction on the shuttle from the above cause an open.
or skeleton frame is used for supporting the shuttle H. This frame is
constructed as follows:-h, h, are two stirrups, which project below the over-.
hanging curved edge h of the slide I, and support two narrow and parallel.
bars i, i, the forward portions of which are united, curved, and bent down-
ward; the outer bar i has a prolongation i¹, which is intended to precede the
point of the shuttle H, and press the vertical needle m into its throat or recess
formed in the table or in the throat plate, as will be herein-after described.
At the rear end of the skeleton frame is an abutment j for preventing the
shuttle from being thrust backward; this abutment may be so formed that
when the butt of the shuttle, which should be rounded, touches it the point
of contact will be very slight, and. hence very little friction will be occasioned
by the loop of waxed thread at this point. There are only three points in the
shuttle frame which offer any resistance to the free, movement of the shuttle
through the loop, and these points are greatly reduced by forming the open,
skeleton frame as above described. The spring k is intended to press the
point of the shuttle up gently against the vertical surface of the face plate J.
(Fig. 2), so that the shuttle will always take the loop of the upper thread as it
passes the needle, and the finger k¹, which projects over. the forward part of the
shuttle and over the indentation in the shell of the shuttle, is intended for.
prèventing the point of the shuttle from rising too high, or working out of its
place in the skeleton fraine. Sometimes the needle will become slightly bent
out of a vertical line in sewing heavy leather; should this occur the prolon-.
gation on the skeleton frame will hold the point of the needle in its recess,
and allow the point of the shuttle to receive the loop and pass freely by
the needle.
The second part of the Invention relates to the construction of the shuttle
and the needle, and also to a mode of holding the work down upon the table
or feed wheel.
Figures 7, 8, and 9, Sheet I., represent one mode of constructing. a shuttle
H for using waxed thread. The shuttle case may be made of any required.
form adapted to the skeleton shuttle carrier above described. Through the top
of this shuttle is an oblong opening t, terminating at its rear end in a concaye.

page_text: depression t¹ in the butt of the case, as shown clearly in Fig. 9. Two bars
t; t, extend transversely across the forward part of the opening t, over and
under which bars the thread from the bobbin is passed. The object. of
having two bars instead of one bar is to obviate the difficulty arising from the
thread overriding or interfering at one point with another point thereof,.
which would cause extra tension and the removal of some of the wax from the
lower thread before it reaches the cloth. When only one bar t is used the
thread requires to have a complete hitch or coil around it, and consequently
overriding cannot be prevented. The use of a second bar t2 near the bobbin
is equivalent in effect to a complete hitch or coil on a single bar. The space t
and depression t¹ are equal in width to the length of the bars, t; and
therefore the thread from the bobbin has a chance to traverse back and forth
the full length of the bobbin or of the bars. The bobbin is pivotted by
means of conical centre pins between the open ends of a metal frame v, the
opposite ends of which are united. This forms a spring frame for the bobbin,
the elasticity of which may be sufficient to keep the bobbin in its bearings,
but if desirable an adjusting screw, shown in Figures 7 and 10, Sheet I., may
be used for contracting the open ends of the frame v, and increasing the
friction on the bearings of the bobbin at pleasure. The front or straight part
of the bobbin frame serves as a means for closing the opening in the shuttle
face for the introduction of the bobbin and its frame, the said part when in
the opening being flush with the face of the shuttle; thus an extra cap is dis-
pensed with, and a very ready withdrawal of the bobbin can be effected,
it only being necessary to move the frame v out of the shuttle in a sidewise
direction.
...
Figures 11, 12, and 13, Sheet I., represent a shuttle case adapted to
receive a bobbin without using a frame v. In this instance the shuttle has
annular bearings formed in it to receive the circular heads of the bobbin. If
desirable the friction on the heads of this bobbin may be increased or
diminished by means of a spring or brake screw applied in any suitable
manner.
Returning now to the arrangement of the mechanism, it will be seen at
Fig. 3 that an awl m³ and a needle m are carried by the needle bar; the
former serves to perforate the work and facilitate the passage of the needle
through it. The awl may be formed and applied to the needle bar in any
suitable manner, but the needle m is constructed as represented in front view,
back view, and longitudinal section on an enlarged scale at Figures 14, 15, and
16, Sheet I. This needle is wedge-pointed, and on one side of the bevilled point

page_text: it is grooved both above and below the eye 1, as shown at 2, 2; the lower
portion 5 being so cut away upward toward the groove 3 as that the. eye shall-
as far as practicable incline in a direction approaching the axis of the needle,
instead of transversely crossing the same, as is usually the case. The groove 3
on the opposite bevilled surface of the needle should not extend below the
eye; it gradually increases in depth as it extends upward, and terminates:
about an inch above the eye, as shewn in Fig. 15. By thus constructing the.
needle it will be seen that a sufficient body of metal will be left below the.
eye 1 to ensure strength, and at the same time give nearly a direct line to the
thread in its passage through the eye, (that is to say,) the thread passes through
the eye of the needle nearly in a line with the axis thereof, and hence there
will be very little resistance offered by the thread as the needle enters the
work.
:
Figures 17, Sheet I., and Figures 6 and 7, Sheet II., represent detached.
and in perspective and in front elevation and plan view a device for holding.
the needle and the awl. The holder G¹ of Fig. 17, Sheet I., consists of two
plates clamped together by means of screws. Between the lower ends of
these plates the needle and awl are confined at any desired distance apart,
depending upon the length of stitch which it is desired to make; after which
the holder G'is secured to the needle bar A2 by screws, as shewn in Figs. 1.
and 3. It is, however, preferable to construct the holder as shewn in Figures 6
and 7, Sheet II,, with a grooved plate interposed between the jaws or clamps.
By having a number of such plates with grooves in them (to receive the
needle and awl) arranged at different distances apart according to the lengths
of stitches which it is desired to make at different times, the needle and awl
can always be held in the desired position with relation to each other, and
when it is desired to change the length of stitch a plate corresponding to such
a stitch as is required is interposed between the clamps. In adjusting the
awl and needle to change a stitch, care must be taken that the movements of
the feed wheel harmonise with such adjustment. The throat plate, which is
shewn at G, Figures 18 and 19, Sheet I., has an oblong opening w through
one end of sufficient size for the needle m and awl m² to pass through. This i
plate is constructed with a rectangular steel guide G³, having a vertical slot.
in its inner surface for receiving and guiding the needle as the needle bar
descends and the point of the needle passes below the top of the table.. The
position of this plate G upon the table A is shewn in Fig. 1, Sheet I.
Sheet II., which represent a modified arrangement
of the improved machinery, a contrivance is shewn for keeping the work down
In Figs. 2 and 2,

page_text: upon the feed wheel and allowing the work to be moved under the needle by.
the wheel. This contrivance consists of a curved foot r formed on the lower.
end of a narrow spring strip r, which latter may be pivotted to the face plate:
of the bracket A¹. The spring strip projects upward and outward nearly to
the top of the bracket; the upper end of this spring r¹ is forked, and receives
between the prongs a screw rod 12, which is pivotted to the bracket A' in any
suitable manner, and receives on its outer end a screw nuts, by means of:
which the upper end of the spring r¹ can be set up nearer to the bracket A¹:
or further from it, as may be required; such adjustment will regulate the
pressure of the curved foot r upon the work and cause it to act with an elastic
pressure thereon. This elastic pressure is derived from the foot r as well.
as from its lever strip r¹, and consequently the foot r will be allowed to yield
and accommodate itself to the varying thickness of the work which is
passed beneath it without greatly affecting the pressure thereupon. By simply
raising the outer end of the screw rod 2 out of the forked end of the
lever r¹, and drawing this lever backward, the foot will be thrown up out of
the way.
In Fig. 2, Sheet II., it will be seen that the spring lever is pivotted at 3:
to the lower end of a vertical screw 35, which can be elevated or depressed by
means of a thumb-nut s when it is desired to raise or lower the foot r for
receiving beneath it cloth or leather of different thickness. This latter adjust-
ment will not be required except in extraordinary cases, where the material to
be stitched is very thick or very thin.
In the operation of drawing the stitches tight it is important to provide a
means for preventing the thread from the lower bobbin from becoming slack;
to effect which the slide A³, which covers a portion of the opening for the race
way,
has applied to it a spring p, one end of which is secured to the inner end
of the slide, and the other end is secured to a lever p', which latter can be.
adjusted and held at any desired point by means of a thumbscrew on the end
of a screw rod, as shewn in Fig. 2, Sheet II. The movement of the lever pl
is intended for giving a greater or less incline to the spring p. This spring p
is so arranged with reference to the shuttle when the latter completes its for-
ward stroke, that the spring will press upon the shuttle and hold the thread
from the lower bobbin down upon the upper or forward bar t² of the shuttle;
the thread is thus caught and held just before the shuttle completes its
forward stroke, and consequently the stitch will be drawn very tight. By.
adjusting the spring p so as to give it more or less incline; the degree of tight-
ness of the stitches can Le regulated. Just at the point of impingement of

page_text: the spring upon the thread a piece of glass or a highly polished surface of any
description of substance may be employed and applied to the spring. The
spring P, it will be understood, presses upon the shuttle with the thread
interposed when the shuttle has passed a short distance beneatli the spring in
the act of drawing the stitch tight. When the shuttle commences to make
its backward stroke the spring p releases the thread and returns to a position
for acting upon the thread again at the termination of the succeeding forward
stroke of the shuttle.
Figure 8, Sheet II., represents a top view of a device which is to be
bolted to the table A, and used for winding the threads upon the bobbin u.
and the spool B³, either separately or simultaneously. It consists of a band
wheel N (which may receive motion from any convenient motor), keyed on a
shaft No, that turns in a bracket bearing N¹. On each side of this shaft N°
is a central spur for centreing and turning the bobbin and spool, which are
supported at their opposite ends by means of adjustable centreing pins, to
that when the wheel N is rotated these bobbins will also be rotated, and thus
the threads may be quickly wound upon them both at the same time.
The third part of the Invention relates to a mode of applying wax to, the
upper thread on its way from the spool to the needle, and also to a mode of
smoothing the thread after it has been waxed, and finally to a mode of
re-waxing the thread.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a section through a wax cup, which is suitably
secured to the face of the bracket A¹, as represented in Fig. 1. This box is
provided with a block of india-rubber in its bottom, and also with a tube l¹,
which latter is arranged above the block, and left open at both ends to allow.
the wax which is put into the cup H to rise and fill this tube, so that the
thread which passes down through it will be exposed to the soft wax. By
means of the tube l' a small quantity of wax is subjected to the frictional
heating contact of the thread, and this thread is effectually waxed. The
tube also serves as a guide by which to readily pass the thread through
the wax to the hole in the rubber block 7. It is a very difficult operation to
get the thread down to and through the rubber block if this tube is not
used, but when used the thread is passed through a common sewing needle,
and the latter passed through the tube ¹ and through the rubber block 7.
The needle is then removed from the thread, and the latter is carried through
a hole which is made through the needle and awl clamp, and finally the end
of the thread is passed through the eye of the needle m. The plate 12 and
set screw 13 are for the purpose of compressing the rubber block 7. and making

page_text: it hug the thread more tightly; by adjusting the screw 1 any desired degree of
compression can be obtained. On one side of the wax cup is a box n, which
is adapted to receive a lamp or gas burner, and so confining the heat as to
keep the wax in the cup H' always in a liquid state. The wax cup is secured
to the bracket A' in such relation to the needle m that the take-up lever B¹
will draw the thread back through the cup as the needle rises, and thus
re-wax the thread after every downward stroke of the needle bar. It has
been found that when sewing leather the wax will in a great measure be
scraped off the thread by passing several times through the leather, and
hence the importance of re-waxing the thread after it has once passed through
the wax cup.
The take-up bar B₁ draws the thread up through the wax cup
as the needle bar A² rises, and nearly all that portion of the thread which
was between the bottom of the wax cup and the eye of the needle when the
needle was at its lowest point will be drawn back through the cup and
re-waxed.
Figures 20 and 21, Sheet I., represent a circular metallic clamp p*, con-
taining within it a cylindrical block of india-rubber pierced with a central
hole. By means of an adjusting screw p¹* applied to ears of the clamp the
rubber block can be compressed to any desired degree. This rubber block is
intended to press the soft wax into the body of the thread which passes
through it, and at the same time to smooth the waxed thread and clear it of
all superfluity of wax, and for this purpose this device may be interposed
between the wax cup and the needle m. The advantage of a circular clamp
is that it will compress the rubber block uniformly about the thread passing
through it.
A more preferable mode of waxing the upper spool thread on its way to the
needle is represented in sectional elevation and plan view at Figures 1, 2, and 3,
Sheet II. In this arrangement the take-up bar is placed near the rear end
of the bracket A', and its upper end is forked for receiving a grooved.
pulley o, which turns loosely upon a horizontal transverse rod o¹, above which
is a transverse guard rod for preventing the thread from running off the
pulley o. In front of this take-up bar B' is a spool B³, which has its end
bearings between two adjustable standards I, I. These standards can be set
at different distances apart, according to the length of the spool which it is.
desired to confine between them. Beneath the spool B³ is a screw rod I',
having a thumb-nut on one end for the purpose of tightening the spool so
that it will turn with greater or less friction, as may be desired. That portion.
of the spool B³ upon which the thread is wound is tubular, and the bearings

page_text: In
on the standards I, I, are also tubular; the spool itself is made of metal, so
that it can be warmed and kept warm, as will be herein-after described.
front of the spool B³ is a wax cup J*, which is supported upon standards J','
one of which is in a vertical plane with the face of the face plates of the
bracket A', as shewn in Fig. 1, Sheet II. This box J* has a roller J at one
end, over which the thread from the spool B³ passes. The thread then passes
down near the bottom of the box J* into the wax therein, and beneath a
bar J³, which is secured at one end to an arm J* that projects through one
side of the box J*, and carries on its outer end a spring latch 67. By means
of this latch the transverse bar J³ ean be thrown up out of the wax, or it can
be depressed and held down in the wax. From the bar Js the thread passes
between a clamp k, which consists of a lower fixed part and an upper part,
which is hinged at one end to the fixed part, and is provided at the other end'
with an adjusting screw 68 that is tapped into the lower part. By means of
the adjusting screw the clamp can be made to bind with greater or less force
upon the thread passing between its jaws. The surfaces of the clamp
which act upon the thread may be composed of leather, cloth, or india-rubber
suitably confined in place which will smooth the thread, and also press the
wax into its fibres. From this clamp the waxed thread passes over a roller k¹,
and thence down to the needle m through a tube L, which has a vertical slit
down one side. Directly beneath the throat through which the needle.
passes, and beneath the face plate J, is a wax cup M, the object of which is to
re-wax the thread beneath the table. Into this cup the needle dips at every
descending stroke, and as the cup is kept.supplied with wax the thread which
is through the eye of the needle will be properly. waxed. It is important in
all waxed thread sewing machines to keep those parts which are exposed to
the wax warm; the thread after it is waxed should be kept warm, so that it:
will be sufficiently flexible and soft to allow the machine to work freely, and
with as little friction as possible. The wax cup J* is warmed by a lamp P,
shewn in Figures 1 and 3, Sheet II. This lamp is set under the wax cup,
and is provided with a chimney for concentrating the heat. When it is not.
desired to keep the wax cup J* very warm, a chimney P³, having two
branching pipes projecting off in opposite directions, is used. One of these
pipes is connected with one of the hollow bearings of the spool B³, for keeping
the spool warm, and the other tube passes beneath the wax cup J*, and
throws the heat against the needle bar A* and the vertical tube L (through
which the thread passes), for the purpose of keeping the thread warm.
Beneath the table A the lamp Q is arranged, as shewn in Fig. 2, Sheet II.

page_text: It has a chimney Q', which enters a pipe R, from the upper end of which a
tube R¹ projects in opposite directions. This pipe R' is secured to the bottom
edge of the face plate J, and extends along this edge so as to heat the face
plate, and also those parts which are in close proximity thereto. By adjusting
the lamp Q and its chimney up or down the heat may be made more or less
intense as circumstances may require. When the spool B³ and the needle
bar A² are heated by the lamp having a chimney that conducts the heat to
the said parts, the thread may be carried directly from the spool over the
rollers in the waxing cup J* without passing it down into the wax in this cup.
In this case the thread must have been waxed before winding it upon
the spool.
Having now explained the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in
Sewing Machinery for Using Waxed Thread," as communicated to me from
abroad, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it
to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim,―
First, the means above described for waxing the thread, and for heating.
certain metallic parts with which the waxed thread is brought into proximity,
for the purpose above set forth.
Second, the means described for holding down or putting an elastic pressure
on the work, and releasing the work from such pressure.
Third, so applying the awl m¹ to the needle bar A2 that this awl can be
adjusted and set nearer to or further from the needle m, according to the
length of stitch required, substantially as described.
Fourth, giving the required movements to the needle bar As, take-up s
lever B', and the presser foot c¹, by means of a single shaft arranged at right
angles to the line of feed, substantially as described.
Fifth, constructing and operating feed wheels as above described.
Sixth, the construction and operation of the shuttle carrying frame as
above described, and the application thereto of the spring k for pressing the
point of the shuttle against its face plate J, substantially as described.
Seventh, applying the bobbin u to a frame v, which is so constructed that
it can be applied to or removed from the shuttle case at pleasure, substantially
as described.
Eighth, the use of two or more transverse bars t³, t, for receiving the s
lower thread from the bobbin u when said bars are applied to a shuttle case
having an opening t and a depression t', substantially as described.
Ninth, smoothing the waxed thread on its way to the needle by the aid of

page_text: a metallic clamp p* encircling an india-rubber block through which the
thread passes, substantially as described.
Tenth, the construction of needle shewn at Figures 14, 15, and 16,
Sheet I.
Eleventh, effecting the tightening of the stitches by pressing upon the
thread on the shuttle at the termination of the forward stroke of the shuttle
by the arrangement above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)