IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1878

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LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Leonardt, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Merchant, and Alfred Christmas Andrews, of Birmingham aforesaid,.
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Leonardt and
Alfred Christmas Andrews at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 9th May 1878.
FREDERICK LEONARDT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Merchant,
"IM-
and ALFRED CHRISTMAS ANDREWS, of Birmingham aforesaid, Machinist.
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
Our Invention has reference principally to sewing machines used in the manu-
facture of boots and shoes and saddlery, but is also applicable to other sewing
machines, such, for example, as those used for sewing canvas, and generally to sewing
machines in which the thread requires to be waxed either with bard shoemakers'
wax or with ordinary or bees' wax.
Our said Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations of parts herein-
after described, whereby the melted wax is applied to that portion of the thread
from which a stitch is about to be made immediately before the formation of the
stitch.
We will describe our Invention as applied to a sewing machine for sewing leather,
and in which the thread is waxed with hard or shoemakers' wax.
On the side of the shuttle box of the sewing machine we fix a ratchet feed roller,
to which motion is given by a pawl on the shuttle bar or other convenient part of
the machine. To the said feed roller we fix a pulley, over which pulley an endless
chain or flexible band passes, motion being given to the said endless chain or band
by the said feed roller. The said endless chain or band passes over two other
pulleys, one situated below and the other above the feed roller. The lower pulley
dips into a small cistern or receptacle containing the melted shoemakers' wax, and

page_text: the other or upper pulley is situated at such a height and in such a position that
that portion of the thread from which on each revolution of the axis of the machine
a stitch is about to be made is brought into contact with the endless chain or band
passing over the said upper pulley, and thereby receives a portion of the melted
wax from the said chain or band. This portion of the thread is pulled into the
hole in the leather and forms the stitch, and the adjacent portions are left unwaxed.
The upper pulley is of smaller diameter than the others.
As the waxing of the thread is confined to that part of the thread of which the
stitch is made, the principal difficulty which has hitherto been experienced in
working waxed threads is surmounted.
The pulleys are capable of adjustment for the purpose of maintaining the requisite
degree of tension in the endless chain or band.
Although three pulleys as described answer well in practice, we do not limit our-
selves to any particular number..
In place of an endless chain or band a train of rollers may be employed to raise
the melted wax from the cistern or receptacle containing it to the height required
to wax that portion of the thread of which the stitch is to be made. The lowest
of the said rollers is by preference of largest diameter, the diameters of the other
rollers progressively diminishing, the top one being of smallest diameter. The
peripheries of the rollers are in contact, so that rotatory motion being given to the
bottom or one of the rollers the whole series is set in motion, and the melted
wax is carried from the bottom roller, by means of the intermediate ones, to the top
one.
The wax is kept at the required temperature by preference by means of a gas
flama

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick Leonardt and Alfred Christmas Andrews in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 2nd November 1878.
FREDERICK LEONARDT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Merchant,
and ALFRED CHRISTMAS ANDREWS, of Birmingham aforesaid, Machinist. " IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
Our Invention has reference principally to sewing machines used in the manu-
facture of boots and shoes and saddlery, but is also applicable to other sewing
machines, such, for example, as those used for sewing canvas, and generally to sewing
machines in which the thread requires to be waxed with hard shoemakers' wax or
with ordinary liquid wax or bees' wax.
Our said Invention consists of the arrangements or combinations of parts herein-
after described, whereby the melted wax is applied to that portion of the thread
from which a stitch is about to be made immediately before the formation of the
stitch.
We will describe our Invention as applied to a sewing machine for sewing leather,
and in which the thread is waxed with hard or shoemakers' wax.
On the side of the shuttle box of the sewing machine we fix a ratchet feed roller,
to which motion is given by a pawl on the shuttle bar or other convenient part of
the machine. To the said feed roller we fix a pulley, over which pulley an endless
chain or flexible band passes, motion being given to the said endless chain or band
by the said feed roller. The said endless chain or band passes over two other
pulleys, one situated below and the other above the feed roller. The lower pulley
dips into a small cistern or receptacle containing the melted shoemakers' wax, and
the other or upper pulley is situated at such a height and in such a position that
that portion of the shuttle thread from which on each revolution of the axis of the
machine a stitch is about to be made is brought into contact with the endless chain
or band passing over the said upper pulley, and thereby receives a portion of the
melted wax from the said chain or band. This portion of the shuttle thread is
pulled into the hole in the leather, and forms with the needle thread the stitch, the
shuttle thread communicating a portion of the wax to that part of the needle thread
with which it comes into contact; the adjacent portions of the said threads remain
unwaxed. The upper pulley is of smaller diameter than the others.
As the waxing of the threads is confined to that part of the said threads of which
the stitch is made, the principal difficulty which has hitherto been experienced in
working waxed threads is surmounted.
The pulleys are capable of adjustment for the purpose of maintaining the requisite
degree of tension in the endless chain or band.
Although three pulleys as described answer well in practice, we do not limit our-
selves to any particular number.
In place of an endless chain or band a train of rollers may be employed to raise
the melted wax from the cistern or receptacle containing it to the height required
to wax that portion of the shuttle thread of which the stitch is to be made. The
peripheries of the rollers are in contact, so that rotatory motion being given to one
of the rollers the whole series is set in motion, and the melted wax is carried from
the bottom roller, by means of the intermediate ones, to the top one.
The wax is kept at the required temperature by means of a gas flame, steam box,
or other source of heat.
We will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings,
the manner in which our Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation; Figure 2, in vertical longitudinal section;
and Figure 3, partly in plan and partly in horizontal section, a portion of a sewing
machine, drawn of the full size, to which mechanism constructed according to our
Invention is applied for waxing the shuttle thread.

page_text: Figure 4 represents in end elevation a portion of the waxing mechanism detached.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
a is the shuttle box of the sewing machine, and b is the shuttle of the same
working in the shuttle race in the said box, and being operated in the usual way.
On the side of the shuttle box a is a plate c, which supports the waxing mechanism.
In the said plate .c the axis d of a ratchet wheel & turns, to which ratchet wheel
an intermittent rotatory motion is communicated by the pawl e pressed into the
teeth of the ratchet wheel by the spring f. The said pawl c is carried by the pawl
lever working loosely on the axis of the ratchet wheel d. The upper end of
-the pawl lever h is jointed to the inner end of the bar or rod i, to which a recipro-
cating motion is given by a cam, excentric, or crank worked from the sewing
machine: Fixed rigidly on the axis of the ratchet wheel d is a feed pulley k, and
above and below the said pulley k are other smaller pulleys, m. Around the
middle feed pulley k and top and bottom pulleys l, m, an endless chain.p (or flexible
band) is passed, in the manner best seen in Figures 3 and 4, that is, the endless
chain p is coiled completely round the middle pulley k, and the top and bottom
loops are then passed over and under the top and bottom pulleys l, m, the endless
chain being tightened on the pulleys in the manner herein-after described. The
axes of the three pulleys k, l, m, are carried by the plate c, which is secured to the
side of the shuttle box a. The top and bottom pulleys l, m, are capable of adjust-
..ment, so as to maintain the requisite degree of tension in the endless chain or
flexible band p, by the axes of the said pulleys being fixed at the required positions
in the slots q, q, in the plate c by means of screw nuts screwed on the outer ends of
the said axes. (see Figure 1).
The lower pulley m dips into a small cistern or receptacle containing the melted
shoemakers' wax, the said wax boing maintained in a melted state by steam in the
box 8, generated by a lamp (or other source of heat) placed under the said box, or
in any other convenient manner.
By the reciprocating motion of the bar i an intermittent motion is given to the
feed pulley k, and a like motion is communicated to the endless chain p, and by the
motion of the said chain the melted wax in the cistern is carried up on
the ascending side of the said endless chain to the upper pulley 1. The distance
through which. the endless chain p moves, and consequently the quantity of melted
wax fed to the upper pulley of the wax feeding apparatus, is determined by the
angle through which the pawl lever is moved by the reciprocating bar i.
The length of the stroko of the bar i may be determined, and the angular motion
of the pawl lever h regulated, by means of a stop t on the said bar striking against
the end of the fixed shuttle box a, as seen in Figures 1, 2, and 3. The stop t is
made adjustable on the bar i by means of the pin carrying the said stop being fixed
at the required position in the slot u in the said bar.
The upper pulley and the chain passing over it carrying the melted wax are
situated at such a height that they are nearly on the same level as the top of the
shuttle box a. The thread from the shuttle is conducted by a cut-away part in
the inner side of the shuttle box to the outside of the said box, from whence it is
guided by a hole in the needle plate w above the said shuttle box, where the loop is
formed, as is well understood. The thread von its way from the shuttle to the hole
in the needle plate w passes over and bears against that portion of the endless
chain.p passing over the upper pulley l, and a portlon of the said thread receives
melted wax from the said chain; that is to say, on each rotation of the axis of the
sewing machine the feed wheel & is moved through such a distance as will bring
the required length of waxed chain p on to the upper side of the pulley b, so that
that portion of the shuttle thread from which a stitch is to be made is brought into
contact with the said waxed chain, and receives the melted wax from the said chain.
The portion of the shuttle thread thus waxed is pulled into the hole in the leather,
and forms with the needle thread the stitch, the adjacent portions of the threads
being left unwaxed.
In order to maintain the wax on thé endless chain p passing over the top pulley.

page_text: in a melted state ready to be taken up by the shuttle thread, a jet of steam from
the jet or nozzle on the steam box a may be projected into the shuttle box. The
steam thus projected into the shuttle box passes by openings into the space between
the carrying plate c and the outside of the shuttle box, and impinges on the endless
chain p passing over the top pulley l, and thereby keeps the wax at the said pulley
melted ready to be taken up by the shuttle thread. 1 is the piercing awl for
piercing the leather about to be sewn.
The mechanism for looping the waxed thread and the other parts of the sewing
machine are of the ordinary kind, and constitute no part of our Invention; we have
therefore not thought it necessary either to describe or represent the same.
Figure 5 reprosents in side elevation the arrangement of our Invention in which
a train of rollers is employed to raise the molted wax instead of an endless chain
or flexible band. y and y³ represent the train of rollers, y² being the driving roller
provided with a ratchet wheel y³ (shown separately in Figure 6), an intermittent
rotatory motion being given to the said driving roller y² by mechanism of the kind
herein-before described. Portions of the peripheries of the said rollers y, y³, are
milled or roughened (see Figures 6 and 7) for giving the requisite bite to their
surfaces, so that the motion of one roller may be transmitted to the other by
frictional contact. The other portions of the said rollers are made slightly concave
(see Figures 6 and 7) for holding the melted wax to be raised. The bottom roller
of the set dips into the melted wax in the cistern r. By the rotatory motion com-
municated to the driving roller rotatory motion is transmitted by frictional
contact to the rollers y, y, above and below it, and the melted wax is carried from
the bottom roller dipping in the cistern 7, by means of the intermediate rollers, to
the top one.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our Invention
of improvements in sewing machines,―
The construction and arrangements or combinations of the parts of mechanism
herein-before described, and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, for applying
melted wax to that portion of the shuttle thread from which a stitch is about to be
made immediately before the formation of the stitch, the said mechanism consisting
essentially of an endless chain or flexible band, to which an intermittent motion is
given, the lower loop of the chain or band dipping into a cistern or receptacle of
melted wax, and the upper loop of the chain or band delivering the melted wax to
the shuttle thread, substantially as described and illustrated.
Also the modification, described and illustrated, in which a train of rollers is sub-
stituted for the endless chain or band for raising the melted wax from the cistern or
receptacle to the shuttle thread.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight
Witness,
HENRY SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
ALFRED CHRISTMAS ANDREWS. (L.S.)