IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR BLOCKING OR CRIMPING THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN TREEING BOOTS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Francis Gardner, of Boston, in the United
States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR BLOCKING OR CRIMPING THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN
TREEING BOOTS." Partly a communication from abroad by William
Willmott and Philander Shaw, of the United States of America.
Sealed the 12th August 1859, and dated the 9th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Francis Gardner
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th April 1859.
I, HENRY FRANCIS GARDNER, of Boston, in the United States of America,
do bereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR BLOCKING OR CRIMPING THE UPPERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND
IN TREEING BOOTS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to certain means for facilitating the shaping,
or, as it is termed, the blocking or crimping of the upper leather of boots and
shoes. To effect this object, the upper is laid over the edges of a pair of
adjustable face plates, shaped so that their upper edges take a form some-
what like the inverted figure of the shaped edge of an ordinary block.
These face plates are set parallel to each other, and are set at such a distance.
apart that they will admit of a flat lever working up and down between them,.
while the upper is tightly strained over the lever. This lever is hinged to the
bed plate of the machine, and fitted with a handle to work it. Its under

page_text: edge corresponds in form to the shape to which the leather is required to be
blocked. Affixed to the lever is a standard which forms a guide for a sliding
block that carries at its opposite sides a pair of clips or holding jaws, and a
cam shaped lever or its equivalent is used for raising the block (with the
holding jaws) in the guide. To retain the block when required in a fixed
position, a ratchet and tumbling click may be used. The jaws are intended
to grip the lateral projections of the upper, strain the leather tightly over the
blocking lever, and hold it firmly while the lever is worked up and down
between the face plates; the friction to which the strained leather is thus
exposed, will quickly bring it to shape, and thereby complete the blocking or
crimping operation.
The improvement in the treeing of boots is effected by the use of an expand-
ing tree, which can be readily contracted to receive the boot, and afterwards
enlarged (by simply turning a screw shaft) to fill the boot and bring it to
shape. The leg of the tree is composed of two parts, which are connected
together by two or more pairs of toggle levers connected to tapped bosses,
working respectively on right and left handed screws, cut on a central screw
shaft. To the front portion of the leg, a removeable foot piece is fitted and
held in place by a button, which is formed on the extremity of and operated
by a rod passing down through the tree. In order to expand the tree, it will
only be necessary to turn the central shaft, when the right and left handed
screws cut thereon, acting upon the bosses of the toggles, will tend to straighten
the toggle arms, and force apart the parts forming the leg of the tree.
permit of the lower part being enlarged without expanding the upper part of
the tree, a rod fixed to one piece near its upper end passes through a slot in
the other, and a binding screw is applied to retain this rod in any required
position in the slot. While the parts of the tree are thus held firmly together
at their upper end, they are free to move nearer to or farther from each other
by the action of the screw shaft taking the binding screw as the fulcrum for
their movement.
To

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April. in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Francis Gardner, Her special license that I, the said Henry
Francis Gardner, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Henry Francis Gardner, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, froin 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 MACHINERY FOR BLOCKING OR CRIMPING THE UPPERS OF
BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN TREEING BOOTS," being partly a communication from
William Willmott and Philander Shaw, of the United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Francis Gardner,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 im-
mediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Francis Gardner, 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 of "Improvements in Machinery for Blocking or Crimping
the Uppers of Boots and Shoes and in Treeing Boots," relates, firstly, to
certain means for facilitating the shaping, or, as it is termed, the blocking or
crimping of the upper leather of boots and shoes. To effect this object, the
upper leather is laid over the edges of a pair of adjustable face plates, shaped
so that their upper edges take a form somewhat like the inverted figure of the
shaped edge of an ordinary block. These face plates are arranged parallel to
each other, and are set at such a distance apart that they will admit of a flat
lever or "knife" working up and down between them while the upper leather is
tightly strained over the lever or knife. This lever is binged to the bed plate
or fixed framing of the machine, and is fitted with a handle to work it. Its
under edge corresponds in form to the shape to which the leather is required
to be blocked. Affixed to the lever is a standard, which forms a guide for a
sliding block that carries at its opposite sides a pair of clips or holding jaws,

page_text: and a cam shaped lever or its equivalent is used for raising the block (with the
holding jaws) in the guide. To retain the block in a fixed position when
required, a ratchet wheel and tumbling click, or other equivalent contrivance,
may be used. The jaws are intended to grip the lateral projections or corners
of the upper leather, and strain the leather tightly over the blocking lever or
knife, and hold it firmly while the lever is worked up and down between the
stationary face plates. The friction to which the strained leather is thus
exposed between the parallel face plates will quickly bring it to shape, and
will complete the blocking or crimping operation.
In the accompanying Drawings, at Sheet I., 'Fig. 1 is a side elevation; 'and
Fig. 2 is an end or back view of the improved blocking machine, shewing the
various improvements. a, a, represents the fixed framing or standards of the'
machine, which must be firmly bolted or otherwise secured to the ground;
b, b, are a pair of parallel face plates, which are mounted on the fixed standards,
but are arranged in such a manner as to admit of them being adjusted laterally
nearer to or further from each other, according to the thickness of the leather
to be operated upon. This adjustment of the parallel face plates b, b, is effected
by means of the screw c, which passes through one plate, and works in a
female screw in the boss of the other plate. The screw is worked by the
hand wheel c*, and the plates are kept at a proper distance apart at their
lower edges by means of the adjustable set screws d, d. The moveable blocking
lever, over which the leather to be operated upon is strained, is seen at e; this
lever turns on a pin or stud e', and is worked by the handle e², whereby the
lever with the upper leather secured thereon may be worked up and down
between the parallel face plates b, b. To the upper part of the blocking
lever is secured a pair of vertical standards or guides f. f, between which are
hung two moveable blocks g, g, which are suspended by means of a pin and
friction bowl from the cam lever h; this lever turns on the pin i at the upper
end of the standards f, f, and is provided with a handle h, whereby it is
worked. A pair of clips or clamps j,j, is hung from the inoveable blocks g, g,
one on each side of the blocking lever e; these clamps j, j, are composed of
two jaws, one fixed and the other moveable, and they are provided with tight-
ening screws 7, by which the jaws j, j, may be made to grip tightly the
edges of the upper leather which is to be strained over the blocking lever e.
The operation of the several parts is as follows:-The blocking lever e is
lifted out of the space between the parallel face plates b, b, and a flat picco of
leather is placed on the parallel plates, and the blocking levere is then brought
down on to the leather, which will thereby be turned up and forced partly
between the face plates. This will bring up the corners of the leather, into

page_text: such a position as will admit of them being laid hold of by the clips or
clamps j, j, which must for this purpose be brought to their lowest point by
throwing back the cam lever h. When the clips have been made to firmly
grip the corners of the leather by tightening the screws ',, the handle of the
cam lever h may be drawn forward so as to strain the leather over the blocking
lever, and at the same time the workman with his other hand must gradually
work the blocking lever down between the parallel face plates b, b. The two
operations of forcing the blocking lever down between the face plates and of
increasing the strain on the leather by drawing up the clips or clamps j, j, must
be carried on simultaneously by the workman. In order to prevent the elas-
ticity of the leather from drawing down the clip or clamps j, j, after the leather
has been strained, a, ratchet wheel k is mounted on the spindle or axle of the
cam lever h, and a pall or click ', mounted on the standards or guides f, f, is
made to take into the teeth of this ratchet wheel and retain it in any given
position. When the leather has been stretched and blocked into the required
form, it must be removed from the machine and secured on a wooden block or
tree until it is dry. In order to release it from the machine the blocking lever
or knife & must be lifted out from between the face plates b, b, and the corners
or edges of the leather relieved from the grip of the clips j. by unscrewing the
screws ; the leather can then be transferred from the blocking lever e to the
wooden block or tree shewn at Fig. 3, Sheet II., of the accompanying
Drawings. This wooden block is provided with a little contrivance whereby
the leather when placed on the block or tree may be tightly held by the
corners, and kept strained to the same extent as it was in the blocking machine
until it is dry and set to the required shape. In Fig. 3, 7 is an ordinary wooden
block or tree, to which is adapted the contrivance above referred to, and which
consists of a screw m, which passes freely through a metal bridge piece n, and
has a plain end which enters a hole in the wooden block ; the screw m passes
through a female screw cut in a wedge-shaped block o, which is placed between
the sides of the bridge piece n, and rises on the screw as the latter is turned round.
The blocked upper leather in a wet state is placed on the wooden block or tree l,
and the corners of the leather are placed between the sides of the wedge-shaped
block o, and the inner sides of the bridge piece n, as seen best in the sectional
view Fig. 4; then upon turning the screw m, the wedge-shaped piece o will be
forced against the sides of the bridge piece n, thereby gripping the leather
between the parts o and n, and upon continuing to turn the screw m, the
leather will be strained to the same extent as it was strained in the blocking
machine. The edges of the upper leather may then be nailed or tacked down
to the wooden block or tree in the usual manuer, and left to dry, and when

page_text: the leather is dry and set, it may be made up into a boot or shoe in the
ordinary manner. This having been done, the last and finishing operation is
to "tree" the boot; this operation is effected by the use of an expanding tree,
which forms the last part of the present Invention, and is so constructed that
it can be collapsed or contracted with facility to receive the boot, and may
afterwards be expanded or enlarged by simply turning a screw shaft, whereby
the parts of the tree are expanded so as to fill the boot and bring it to the
required shape.
This improved expanding tree is shewn in Sheet II., at Figures 5 and 6.
Fig. 5 is a side view of the improved expanding tree with the brass side plate
removed, in order to shew the internal working parts; Fig. 6 is a transverse
sectional view. The leg of the tree is composed of two parts p, p, which are
connected together by two or more pairs of toggle levers q, q, jointed to tapped
bosses r', ', working respectively on right and left-handed screws s¹, s², cut on
a central screw shaft s. To the front portion of the leg a removeable foot
piece p is fitted by means of a dovetail, and is held in place by means of a
button t, formed on the extremity of and operated by a rod t', passing down
through the tree, as shewn by dots in Fig. 5. In order to expand the tree it
will only be necessary to turn the central shaft s, when the right and left
banded screws cut thereon will, by acting upon the bosses r of the toggles 9, 9,
tend to straighten the toggle arms 9, 9, and force apart the parts p, p', forming
the leg of the tree. To permit of the lower part being enlarged without
expanding the upper part of the tree, a rod u is fixed or jointed to the part p
of the tree near its upper end as at v. This rod passes through a socket w,
fixed on the other part p¹ of the tree, and a binding screw is applied in order
to fix and retain the rod u in any required position in the socket w. While
the parts of the tree are thus held firmly together by a hinge joint at their
upper end, their lower ends are free to move nearer to or further from each
other, as will be well understand on inspecting the Drawing. It will be
evident that as the foot part of the tree is removeable, lasts of different forms
or sizes to suit different persons may be adapted to the expanding tree.
"
Having now described the Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for
Blocking or Crimping the Uppers of Boots and Shoes, and in Treeing Boots,"
and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, as com-
municated to me by my foreign correspondents, I would observe that I am
aware that mechanical devices somewhat resembling some of those comprised
in. the machinery or apparatus above described have been heretoforo employed
for analogous purposes; I do not therefore mean to claim such parts except
when used in combination with the improvements above shewn and described;

page_text: and I would further observe that I do not mean or intend to confine myself
rigidly to the precise arrangement or construction of parts herein shewn and
described, as they may doubtless be varied without departing from the nature
and object of the present Invention. In conclusion, I claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
First, the means herein shewn and described for holding or securing the
leather on the blocking lever e, and straining the leather thereon. I claim
particularly under this head of the Invention, the use of the moveable clips
or clamps j, j, together with the parts whereby they are worked, or any
equivalent mechanical contrivance whereby an analogous effect may be
produced.
Under the second head of the Invention, I claim the mode above described
and shewn in the Drawing of constructing expanding trees for treeing boots
or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Francis Gardner, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
T CARDNED L
H. F. GARDNER. (2.5.)