IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEELING AND FINISHING BOOTS AND SHOES"
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Keats of Bagnal near Stoke-upon-Trent in the
County of Stafford for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
HEELING AND FINISHING BOOTS AND SHOES"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Keats at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th December 1883.
JOHN KEATS of Bagnal near Stoke-upon-Trent, in the County of Stafford
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEELING AND FINISHING BOOTS AND
SHOES."
The main object of this invention is to provide for the nailing on of heels from
the inside of the Boot, and to combine this internal nailing with external nailing
when desired; while at the same time provision is made by means of one and the
same apparatus, to operate upon Boots and Shoes of various sizes, the guiding
plates or blocks for all the drivers being made adjustable.
Besides securing the heel to the Boot or Shoe, the machine is designed to pare
and rasp the heel, pare the edge of the sole and to finish the sole and heel by
burnishing. Mounted vertically in a central opening of a bed carried by end
frames is a guide frame, in which a table is fitted to slide vertically it being held up
in position by an underlying spring. The face of this table is grooved to receive
a sliding plate on which is mounted a post for supporting a Boot or Shoe to be
heeled. In the upper part of the guide frame is mounted an arrangement of
apparatus similar to that described in the specification of a Patent granted to me
and dated the 7th day of December 1882 No: 5845 for presenting nails to the Boot
heel and forcing them home. This apparatus when not required to force nails into
the heel from its outer face will serve to hold down the Boot upon the post, and
resist the upward pressure of nail drivers with which the post is fitted.
In the specification above referred to an adjustment is provided for the nails and
drivers to adapt their position to suit different sizes of heel. The same provision
is now made for effecting the like adjustment of the drivers attached to the post
and employed to drive nails from the interior of the Boot or Shoe into the heel.
This double nailing of the heel is in itself an important improvement, but the
Davies 101

page_text: adaptation of the means for adjusting the post drivers provides another important,
although incidental advantage, viz :-
:—a firm holding of the Boot to the post in a
proper central position to receive the nails.
The post is composed of two parts connected together by a vertical hinge the
coupling pin of which stands up from the sliding plate. The two parts of the post
carry each a group of drivers which are respectively connected with and operated
by crossheads carried by rods that pass through holes in the base of the post and
in the table, and rest on a stud carried by the main framing.
The compound post at its upper end is drilled with vertical holes to receive the
nails which are to be inserted into the Boot heel, and the lower ends of these holes
are closed by the upper ends of the drivers. To give the compound post more
steadiness than it could receive from the hinged pin, its drilled ends are caused to
interlock after the manner of a socket coupling in the line of the axis of the hinge.
Mounted in lugs on the sliding plate in front of the vertical opening in the post is
a screwed rod which carries at its inner end a cone the use of which is to enter the
vertical opening in the post and force the hinged portions apart. A nut on this
screwed rod inserted between the bearing lugs will as it is turned advance or
retract the cone, and supposing a Boot to have been placed over the post it will
cause the post to expand and bind tightly on the interior of the Boot, or slackening
its pressure will allow the post to be contracted to effect the removal of the
Boot from the machine. By the descent of the external nailing apparatus onto
the heel as it is applied to the Boot a downward pressure will be put upon the post,
and the table yielding to this pressure while at the same time the drivers are held
stationery, will allow the post drivers to act. upon the nails inserted in the post,
force the nails through the sole of the Boot and into the heel thereby securing the
heel firmly from the inside. In some cases instead of making the expanding post
yield to the downward pressure of a plunger I fix the table carrying the post, and
support the cross heads which carry the post drivers on a cam or its equivalent,
which when moved will force up the drivers and cause them to thrust the nails
through the sole into the heel as above explained. Fitted to one of the end frames
are two forked brackets which lean outwards in opposite directions and are intended
to receive each a shaft for carrying the shaping and burnishing tools. When the
machine is driven by hand I mount on one of these shafts a cutting and a rasping
tool which when rapidly rotated in contact with the Boot heel will bring it quickly
to the desired shape. When, however, the machine is driven by power I prefer to
mount the rasp on a separate shaft baving its bearings in the bed of the machine.
The shaft in the other forked bracket carries a burnisher and receives a recipro-
cating axial motion in its bearing through an excentric on the rasp shaft or it may
be on the main driving shaft. The motion from this shaft is transmitted by pullies
to the rotary shaft or shafts carrying the cutting tools, and through frictional
gear or their equivalent an axial motion is imparted to the apparatus which gives
the downward pressure to the heel. The rise of the post plungers when they are
made movable will be effected by turning the excentric which supports them by
hand.
In order to produce an efficient and economical rotary rasp I form the operating
surface of segments of steel toothed on their outer surface, the ends of these
segments I bend inwards to form radial supports which locking into radial recesses
formed in a disc that fills the space circumscribed by the segments will hold the
segments firmly in place; for further security I fit the sides of the discs with
clamping plates which may interlock with the radial portions of the segments. For
the shaping cutter I propose to use the construction described in the specification
of a patent granted to me and dated the 22nd day of November 1882 N° 5557.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Keats in the Patent Office on the 11th June 1884.
JOHN KEATS of Bagnal near Stoke upon Trent in the County of Stafford
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEELING AND FINISHING BOOTS AND
SHOES"
The main object of this Invention is to provide for the nailing on of heels from
the inside of boots and to combine this internal nailing with external nailing when
desired while at the same time provision is made by means of one and the same
apparatus to operate upon boots and shoes of various sizes the guiding plates or
blocks for all the drivers being made adjustable after the manner described in the
Specification of a Patent granted to me and bearing date the 7th day of December
1882 N° 5845.
Besides securing the heel to the boot or shoe the machine is designed to pare
and rasp the heel, pare the edge of the sole, and to finish the sole and heel by
burnishing.
In Sheet I of the accompanying drawings Fig: 1 shows in front elevation the
improved combined heeling and finishing machine in which in combination with
the external heeling device described in the Specification of my above mentioned
Patent an expanding post is used for carrying the work and holding it firmly in
position while the nailing on of the heel is being effected.-Fig: 2 Sheet II is a side
elevation of the right hand side of the machine and Fig: 3 Sheet III is a plan of
the same. In Sheets IV V and VI I have shown details of the expanding post
with the drivers and mechanism in connection therewith for effecting the internal
nailing of the heel.
In Figures 1, 2 and 3 A. A. is a box casting constituting the main framing of the
machine its horizontal face A¹ serving as the bed of the machine.
Bolted to the bed A¹ is a vertical guide frame B in which is mounted a screwed
rod C that is capable of sliding vertically in the frame for the purpose of imparting
pressure to the heeling apparatus.
.
Made fast to the lower end of this screwed rod C is an arm C¹ which carries &
pivot pin c.-C2 is a horizontal pressure piece which is connected by the pivot
pin c to the arm of the pressure rod C.-This pressure piece shown in plan view at
Fig 4 Sheet III and in edge views at Figures 5 and 6 takes somewhat the form
of a bell crank lever.-To the extremity of its shorter limb is pivotted the external
nail driving device C³ which when brought into position for working as shown at
Fig 5 underlies the screwed rod C and takes its pressure directly therefrom.
When external nailing is not required the longer limb of the pressure piece is
brought under the screwed rod C as shewn at Fig: 6 and receives a direct down-
ward thrust from the screwed rod.-In either case the pressure piece serves to hold
down the boot upon the post and resist the upward pressure of the nail drivers
with which the post is fitted.
Carried by the longer limb of the pressure piece C is an adjustable pendent
finger c which when the pressure piece is depressed is intended to bear against the
back of the boot heel and resist any tendency which the heel may have to recede
from its position on the boot during the act of nailing.-This it is enabled to do by
being pivotted to the pressure piece and receiving the pressure of an adjusting
screw fitted to the pressure piece.
On the face of the bed A¹ a guide is formed to receive a sliding plate D on which
is mounted the expanding post for supporting the boot or shoe to be heeled.
This post is shewn on an enlarged scale at Figures 7 to 13 (Sheets IV V and VI)
Fig 7 being a back elevation of the post and the means for working the nail
:

page_text: drivers, Fig: 8 a side elevation one half of the post being removed, Fig: 9 a front
elevation of the lower part of the post the means for opening the post and the
base of the same being drawn partly in section-Fig: 10 a plan of the top plates
of the post and Figures 11, 12 and 13 sectional plans on the lines 1 and 2, 3 and 4,
5 and 6 respectively of Fig: 7.
The post is formed of two castings E E¹ which are hollowed out on their inner
faces as shewn best in the elevation Fig: 8 and in the sectional plan at Fig: 12
These castings E E' interlock at their rear like a butt hinge and the interlocking
parts are drilled vertically to receive hinge pins.-The interlocking parts near the
base of the post are secured together by means of a vertical pin d standing up
from the sliding plate D and the interlocking parts at the upper end of the post by
a hollow pin d' for the purpose to be presently described.
Fitted to the top of this divided post are two steel plates e e' shaped to
correspond to the interior of the boot or shoe at the heel.-These plates are hinged
together in the line of the axis of the hinge pin d by means of the tubular pin d¹
which passes down through their over and under-lying parts into and through the
hinge pin hole formed in the upper part of the post. The plates e e¹ are rebated at
their lapping parts so as to provide a flush surface for the top of the post and the
hollow hinge pin d' passes down to a hollow in the post in which the drivers e² eª
are situate. One of these drivers is situated immediately below the hollow hinge
pin d¹ and serves like the other drivers to support a nail which is deposited therein
ready to be forced into the work.--Through the plates e e¹ and through the upper
part of the halves of the post other holes are drilled to receive nails and below
these holes corresponding drivers are provided for supporting the nails and
ensuring their entrance into the work. The drivers are carried by a pair of
crossheads ees which are themselves carried by rods e¹ that rest on a vertical
pressure plate e sliding between a pair of guides bolted to the underside of the
bed A This pressure plate es is supported by its flange on an excentric e° keyed
to a horizontal shaft E which passes through a vertical slot in the pressure plate
and is mounted in bearings on the frame A.-Rotary motion is communicated to
this excentric shaft for the purpose of lifting the pressure plate and thereby setting
the drivers in action by means of gearing which connects it through a sliding
clutch e with the main driving shaft The sliding clutch e' is put into action by
ineans of the treadle lever E³ which treadle by its connection with a vertical rock
shaft E coupled by a rod to the clutch e imparts on its depression the requisite
sliding motion to that clutch for ensuring its coupling action.
In front of the post and immediately opposite the vertical opening therein
between the hinged pieces E E' stands a wedge f which is carried by a sliding
bar F mounted in guides on the base plate of the post. The lower part of the
post is wedge shaped and is embraced by two prongs f¹ carried by the sliding
bar F and inclining inwards to correspond to the inclination of the wedge-shaped
surfaces on the exterior of the divided post. The object of this arrangement is to
ensure not merely the opening or expansion of the post as the wedge fis advanced
but also the closing of the post as the sliding bar F is drawn backwards.-The
action of the instrument for operating the post will be readily understood on
inspecting the detached views Figures 9 and 13.-The sliding bar F is moved to
and fro in its guides by means of a hand lever F¹ pivotted on the base plate D and
connected to the bar by a link f2-f³ is a clamping screw for holding the wedge f
in its set position.
In carrying out the internal nailing the workman first inserts the nails head
downwards in the post and then places the boot sole upwards upon the post the toe
of the boot pointing towards him while standing in front of the machine. At this
time the base plate D will be clear of the frame B or drawn towards the workman.
He next expands the post by advancing the wedge f and securing it in position as
already explained and he thereby centres the work upon the post and holds it firmly
thereto. This being accomplished he pushes back the plate D until the post is
immediately under the plunger. rod C. The workman now places the heel_in

page_text: position upon the boot and bringing down upon it the pressure piece which has
been properly adjusted for the purpose he holds the heel firmly to the boot ready to
receive the ascending nails.
I will now proceed to describe the manner in which a downward pressure is put
upon the post. This is imparted by the pressure piece C² carrying the apparatus C³
before mentioned which contains a set of drivers for forcing nails into the heel from
the outside. when external nailing is required.-In cases however where only
internal nailing is used this nailing apparatus is swivelled out of line with the
work and the longer arm of the pressure plate is brought into acting position.
It may be here convenient to describe the external nailing device illustrated in
the drawings and the means for working the same constituting together a material
part of the Invention protected under my above mentioned Patent of 1882.
CC is a pair of hinged arms to the underside of which are fitted the pins
which severally act as drivers of the nails that are to be inserted in the boot heel.
These arms are carried by the pressure piece C2 as before mentioned and they are
extended rearwards to carry cach a fulcrum pin for receiving links c² which
are coupled together by a clamping screw c³.-This clamping screw passes upwards
through a slot formed in that part of the pressure plate C2 which is situate between
the rear ends of the arms C³ Cº.
The pressure plate C is slotted horizontally to receive the links c² and to permit
of their moving freely in the plate and it is also slotted vertically to allow of the
clamping screw c³ being shifted lengthwise of the slotted arm of the pressure piece.
By shifting this screw along its slot and clamping it the hinged arms C C are
caused to approach to or recede from each other and are held firmly in their adjusted
position a scale on the pressure piece C2 and a pointer carried by the clamping screw
facilitating the adjustment of these arms to suit the size of the work in hand.
care the driving pins made preferably with heads to fit countersunk holes in
clamping plates attached to the underside of the arms C5 C6 by screws and
serving to firmly hold the drivers in position.-These drivers are so arranged that
they will correspond to holes made in blocks C7 for carrying the nails by which
the "lifts " or thicknesses of leather composing the licel are attached to the boot
or shoe.
The pierced blocks C? C' are respectively connected to the hinged arms C5 C6 by
guide rods c c which stand up from the blocks and pass through holes in the
plates and arms C³ C.-This connection of the blocks with the hinged arms
ensures their adjustment with the arms through the links c³ and clamping screw c³.
The blocks C are made of a thickness to correspond to the length of the nails
employed. To prevent the nails which are fed to the blocks by hand from dropping
through a "lift" or one of the layers of leather to form the heel may be held
against the underside of the blocks by clip springs c' the "lift" being applied to
the blocks before the insertion of the nails therein.
It will be understood that when the hinged arms C5 C6 are adjusted to bring the
drivers which they carry to the desired position over the heel to be attached to the
boot or shoe the pierced blocks C7 C7 carrying the nails will move inwards or
outwards with the arms and thus the drivers will always stand immediately over
the holes in the blocks which carry the nails.
The screwed rod C which carries the external nailing device is actuated at the
will of the workman so as to raise and depress the pressure piece. It passes
upwards through a heavy friction wheel C the hub of which is threaded to
receive the thread of the screwed portion of the rod.-At the upper or smooth
end this rod is grooved longitudinally to enable it to pass freely over a feather
situate in a guide on the top of the framing B and serving to prevent the rod from
turning. The friction wheel O' turns in a bearing carried by a cross bar of the
framing B. and its hub which is elongated is flanged at its lower end below
the bearing for the purpose of limiting the rise of the friction wheel upon the
screwed rod.

page_text: For the purpose of driving the friction pulley C two friction drums G G* are
provided the same being mounted on short shafts g g carried each by a pair
of arms G¹ G¹x mounted respectively on vertical shafts G3 G3 which are supported
in bearings bolted to the vertical guide frame.
The arms Gx mounted on the shaft G³ are keyed thereto for the purpose to be t
presently explained but the arms G¹ carried by the shaft Q are loose thereon.
These arms are connected together by links G' so that the throwing of one drum
into action or in contact with the friction pulley will throw the other drum out of
action.
To the drum shafts g are keyed pinions which gear respectively into spur 1
wheels g¹ g² mounted on the vertical shafts G² G³.
These spur wheels gear into each other the wheel g¹ being keyed to its shaft G³
while the other g² is loose on its shaft G3 and they serve to transmit rotary motion
in opposite directions to the two drums G G for the purpose of driving the heavy
friction wheel C alternately in opposite directions.
The shaft G2 is rotated through frictional bevil gear from a secondary driving
shaft M which is new to this machine and receives its motion through a band and
pulley from the main driving shaft H.-This shaft H. turns in bearings in the main
framing A and the secondary shaft M which will afterwards be more particularly
referred to is mounted in bearings in a casting A' there being openings left in the
casting and in the bed A¹ for the driving bands used in transmitting motion to the
shaft M and to the cutting tool shaft hereafter mentioned.
Fitted to the shaft M and sliding over a feather which it carries is a bevil friction
wheel which is thrown into and out of contact with a bevil friction wheel h¹ on
the shaft G2 by means of a rock shaft i actuated by the weighted treadle I.--While
this treadle is depressed by the foot of the attendant contact will be maintained
between the friction wheels h and ¹ and the friction gear will continue to run but
on the attendant removing his foot therefrom the action of the friction gear will
cease.
The vertical shaft G³ is capable of receiving a slight axial motion through its
connection with a weighted treadle I' for the purpose of shifting the friction drums
in and out of action the arms G¹× of which this shaft is the fulcrum being keyed
thereto for the purpose of transmitting the requisite lateral motion to the friction
drums.
The normal position of the weighted treadle I' serves through the rock shaft G³
to hold the drum G* in contact with the heavy friction wheel C and thereby to
raise the pressure piece C². On the depression of this treadle the drum G is brought
to act on the wheel C and rotating it in the opposite direction it will cause that
wheel through its threaded hub to force down the screwed rod C and the pressure
piece which it carries
Supposing now that the pressure piece C2 is to be used for the purpose of
effecting the internal nailing of the heel on rotary motion being imparted to the
heavy friction wheel C by the drum in the manner just described its screwed hub
will force down the screwed rod C with its pressure piece.
On being thus rotated this wheel will receive a tendency to rise or run up the
screwed rod but its weight will cause it to drive down the rod until the plate C₁
presses the heel holding it firmly on the post.
The friction wheel C will then run up the rod until arrested by the flange on
the lower end of its hub and its action will then be that of a stationary rotating
nut holding or it may be forcing down by its continued rotation the screwed rod
with its full energy.
To prevent this pulley C unduly forcing up the screwed rod C and thereby
disarranging the mechanism I provide the contrivance shown at Figures 3ª and 3b
Sheet IIIA. This consists of a conical wedge c* fitted to the screwed rod C and
serving as the rod rises to strike against an arm G³× keyed to the vertical shaft G³
which carries the arms of the friction drum G*.-When this wedge rises sufficiently

page_text: high to strike the arm G³× it will rock the shaft G³ and thereby throw the drum G*
out of contact with the pulley Cand stop the further energetic action of that
pulley upon the screwed rod.
Returning now to the action of the machine the attendant must before actuating
the post drivers stop the rotation of the pulley C.-This he does by removing his
foot from the treadle I which throws the friction gear h¹ out of action
withdrawing at the same time his foot from the treadle I¹.
The next operation of the attendant will be to depress the treadle E³ and
thereby to throw the clutch e' into action.-The effect of this will be to impart an
axial motion to the excentric e on the shaft E2 and to cause the pressure plate e³ to
force upward the post drivers e¹ and to thrust home the internal nails.-When the
internal nailing is effected the attendant slipping his foot from the treadle E³ while
the smallest radius of the excentric is presented to the pressure plate will stop the
action of the excentric and allow the pressure plate to drop to its lowest position.―
The attendant will then put in action the friction gear h h¹ by depressing the
treadle I and by reason of the counterweighted treadle I¹ having, when freed,
rocked the shaft G3 and shifted the friction drums the direction of rotation of the
friction wheel C will be reversed and the friction wheel C4 will thus be caused in
renewing its rotation to lift the screwed rod C with its attached apparatus and
release the boot from pressure The attendant now will be free to draw forward
the post from under the plunger and remove the heeled boot.
For this purpose he withdraws the pressure of the wedge from the post and
loosening the work on the post can then remove it and replace it by fresh work.
I will now explain my improvements which relate to the finishing of boots and
shoes reference being had in the first instance to Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings.
Fitted to the casting A² are sleeve bearings K K for receiving respectively the
shafts L M N On the shaft L which is driven directly through a band and pulley
from the main shaft H are fitted two forms of rotary cutters L' L' which may be
replaced as found convenient by cutters of other forms.-The cutter L¹ it will be
seen takes the profile of the heel intended to be shaped and the cutter L' is used
for working flat or slightly curved surfaces. The shaft M is fitted with a novel
construction of rasp apparatus which is used for finishing the sole.―This shaft is
also driven (as before mentioned) directly through a band and pulleys from the
main driving shaft H and it is fitted with an excentric m for transmitting a
reciprocating axial motion through a metal strap and connecting rod to the rock
shaft N that shaft being furnished with a slotted arm n for coupling it with the
connecting rod m₁ of the excentric mas described in the Specification of a Patent
granted to me and dated November 22nd 1882 N° 5557.-The rock shaft N is
fitted as before at its opposite ends with burnishing tools N¹.
The Figures in Sheet VII show the manner of constructing my improved rotary
rasp and also the means of presenting the work to its action.
:
Fig 14 shews in full size the rasp O in section as mounted on the shaft M which
turns in the sleeve bearing attached to the fork bracket before mentioned a guide
piece being attached to the sleeve for facilitating the adjustment to the tool.
Fig: 15 is a side view of the guide in place, and
Fig: 16 is a side view of the rasp detached its end plate being removed to
exhibit the form of the working parts of the tool and the manner of holding them
in place.
Fig: 17 is a modification of the form of these working parts.
The operating surface of the rotary rasp I form of segments of steel toothed on
their outer surface.-The ends of these segments I bend inwards to form radial
supports which lock into radial recesses formed in a disc O¹ that fills the space
circumscribed by the segments.-The segments are held firmly in place by means
of clamping plates 02 which may interlock with the radial portions of the
segments and are themselves secured in position by screws with tapped holes in
the sides of the disc For the shaping cutters I propose to use the construction

page_text: described in the Specification of the before mentioned Patent of November 1882
but rotary cutters of other kinds may if preferred be fitted to the shaft L.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
apparatus for heeling and finishing Boots and shoes' 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 arrangement of machinery above described with reference to the
drawings constituting a combined heeling and finishing machine.
Second, The application to Boot heeling machines of a laterally expanding post
for supporting and centreing the work and thereby ensuring the insertion of the
nails in their proper places in boots and shoes of various sizes.
Third In combination with an expanding post constructed as shewn in Figures 7
to 13 the use of external nailing apparatus (which may be replaced by a simple
plunger or pressure piece as explained) for the purpose above described.
Lastly. The construction of rotary rasp with a detachable periphery as above
described for shaping boot and shoe heels
In witness whereof I the said John Keats have hereunto set my hand and seal
the eleventh day of June in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and eighty four,