Improvements in and Apparatus for the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Dec., 1898-Accepted, 28th Jan., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Apparatus for the Manufacture of Boots and
Shoes.
I, JULIUS LARSEN, of Rolfsvej 4, Copenhagen, in the Kingdom of Denmark, Leather
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
In manufacturing machine sewn boots and shoes as hitherto practised an insole is
applied to a last having a rigid iron bottom and the upper is then stretched by means
of nippers, over the edge of the insole on the last. The insole and the upper are
then connected together by means of tacks or "tingles" which are inserted through
the edge of the tightly stretched upper and the insole which is under it. When
the points of the tingles strike against the iron plate of the last they are turned
over so that the said tingles effect a permanent connection of the upper and insole
The sole can then be applied and sewn in position by means of the so-called through
sewing machine which has given this system the name of the "through stitch
system."
Another and more recent method hitherto in use is the so-called "Goodyear
method." In this the upper and a welt are secured to the insole by means of a
machine with a curved needle which passes a connecting thread into the flesh side
of the insole so that the sole is rigidly sewn to the welt.
A third and older system is the so-called "turnwork system." In this case the
upper is sewn duectly to the outer sole when reversed, after which the whole is made
wet and turned
The through-stitch system has the disadvantage that the tacks, or tingles, used,
make the boots and shoes heavy and stiff; and often they have the great disadvan-
tage of being not sufficiently pliable With this system also, and because only one
Stitching is employed, it is necessary to use a very strong thread, as the connection
of the parts of the boots and shoes depends upon the strength of the single
stitches.
Through-sewn boots and shoes are also very difficult to repair, as the tannic acid of
the leather forms, with the tacks, or tingles, when of steel, a chemical compound
which is injurious to the leather, and renders it so brittle that it cannot hold when
sewn. During the subsequent soling of the boot, or shoe, it is therefore generally
necessary to secure the soles by means of metal tacks, or wood pegs, which are also
objectionable.
According to the "Goodyear method" the stitching is effected by means of
machines which are very costly, and as, in this system only excellent material can be
employed for the welt and the false sole, this process, and also the boots and shoes
manufactured by it, are very costly.
The welt and the upper are connected to the insole by long horizontal stitches
in the loosest part of the leather and from this it results (particularly in the case of
heavy work where the drawing tight of the thread is made more difficult) that the
single stitches become loose when the leather dries and are easily broken by the
movement of the foot during walking,

page_text: The "turnwork system can only be employed for light boots and shoes as heavy
ones cannot be turned. In this case repairs are effected with difficulty as the same
method must be employed as for the manufacture of new boots and shoes.
This invention has for its object to obviate the above mentioned disadvantages in
machine-sewn boots and shoes manufactured by the ordinary methods, and this
invention consists essentially in connecting the upper and the insole together by
vertical through-stitches, and in fastening a welt by a similar stitch to the insole
to which the sole can then be secured. By this method neither tacks, nor stitches,
passing through the outer sole and the insole, are necessary, as is the case in the
aforesaid through-stich system.
As aforesaid the stitch, by means of which the welt is connected to the insole and
the upper, according to this invention, 18 vertical and through-going and not, as is
the case with the aforesaid "Goodyear method" horizontal and only passing half way
through the insole.
As a result the insole does not require to be of particularly good material, as quite
ordinary leather can be employed.
The work is not turned and the method according to this invention therefore differs
from the aforesaid turnwork system,
This invention is carried out by means illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Figures 1 and 2 shew respectively a last in under-side view, and in cross section
on the line 1-1 The last is formed, around its edge, with a rabbet a, and, in the
middle, with a recess b, of the same depth as the rabbet a; between the said rabbet
and recess there is a projection c. This projection c can be formed in any suitable
way; for instance it can be formed upon the underside of an ordinary last by cutting
out so as to leave the said projection c.
In the recess b a piece of leather d, shewn in Figure 3, 18 placed; the said piece
of leather having practically the same shape at the recess b.
In Figure 4 there is shewn a frame e of iron, or the like; the said frame consists
of a rim which corresponds in shape to the rabbet a and can fill the same, and also
of a thin tongue g which 18 secured to the inside of the said rim f.
Figares 5, 6 and 7 are cross sections of the device shewing various stages of
manufacture of the boot or shoe.
When the frame e 18 applied to the underside of the last, the rim ƒ fills the rabbet a
whilst the tongue g rests upon the leather piece d which is in the recess b.
When the frame e, and the leather piece d, have been thus applied to the reversed
underside of the last the insole m 18 laid upon the frame
The upper is then stretched in position, by means of nippers, and is
temporarily secured to the insole by means of tacks o which are passed through
the upper and the insole and into the loose leather piece d (but not into the last)
as shewn in Figure 5.
The last is then drawn out of the boot, or shoe, (see Figure 6) whilst the frame e,
which is held between the loose leather piece d and the insole, by means of the pins
passed through the upper, remains in the boot or shoe. The frame which, in order
to be better able to hold the insole in the reversed rim, is provided with fine serrated
notches, will then prevent the boot, or shoe, from altering its shape and the insole,
upper, and a welt p, applied to the upper part of the same, can be stitched together
by means of the through-stitch machine.
The horns of the machine, which are passed into the boot, or shoe, are, during this
operation, directed between the inner surface of the rim f of the iron frame and
the edge of the leather piece
After the upper, the insole and the welt have been connected by the stitches
the tacks o can be removed so that the frame e and the leather piece d which are then
no longer secured to the insole, can be taken out.
A further lime of stitching r (the safety stitching) is then passed through the upper
and the insole, see Figure 7, the said stitching having for its object to prevent the
separation of these parts in the event of the single connecting stitch through the
welt (which stitch is able to be partially worn) breaking, which would result in

page_text: the boot, or shoe, coming to pieces so as to be incapable of being repaired except by
proceeding as in making a new article.
The outer sole can be fastened to the welt in a similar manner to that employed
with hand-sewn work, or upon a sewing machine, that is to say, by sewing through the
welt and the sole.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In the manufacture of machine-sewn welted boots and shoes, sewing together
the insole, upper, and welt (without turning the work) by a line of stitching,
which completely passes through all three parts and the stitches of which are
vertical to the surface of the sole of the boot, or shoe, the said stitching being
parallel to the vertical edge of the insole, and the outer sole being secured or sewn to
the welt.
2. In manufacturing boots and shoes in accordance with the preceding claim, the
use of safety stitching applied inside the connecting stitching, and connecting the
upper to the insole, for the purpose of facilitating repair should the connecting thread
proper become worn.
3. Apparatus for use in manufacturing boots and shoes according to the preceding
Claim 1, consisting of a last which is provided with a rabbet, around the edge of the
underside, and with a central recess b between which rabbet and recess a projection c
is formed, in combination with a frame e, which consists of a rim f which 18 adapted
to pass into the rabbet a, and which is provided with a tongue 9, and with a leather
piece d of such a form that it can be inserted into the recess b, the said leather piece
being adapted to hold (by means of tacks passed through the upper, the insole, and
into the leather pieee d) the frame e in the work, after the last has been
removed.
4. A last having formed in the underside a rabbet (a) round the edge and a central
recess such as b forming a projection (c) on the underside of the last, substantially as
and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
Thind this 4th
& Donamba 1000