An Improved Adjustable File for Removing Nail Points and other Irregularities from the Insides of Boots and Shoes and other similar purposes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 7th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 26th Sept. 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Adjustable File for Removing Nail Points and other
Irregularities from the Insides of Boots and Shoes and other
similar purposes.
I, JAMES PUGSLEY, of No. 9, Charles Street, Bath, in the County of Somerset,
Boot Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
This invention relates to the manufacture of an adjustable file or rasp for the
5 removal of nails pegs, and other uneven surfaces from any part of the interior of
boots and shoes and also from the hollow surfaces of metal goods.
In the manufacture of boots and shoes, especially those of the cheaper kinds,
nails, rivets, pegs, and other uneven surfaces are frequently left projecting through
the insole, and hitherto no means have been provided which will readily remove
them, so that when a boot or shoe, in which these projections have been left, is tried
on or worn, great annoyance and discomfort are caused to the wearer; also in
castings, dies, tubes, and other metal goods, superfluous lumps are frequently
left, for the removal of which no simple and reliable implement has yet been
constructed.
The object of my invention is to provide an instrument which will remove the
nails and other objectionable material from all parts of the insole of a boot, so as
to make it perfectly smooth and comfortable to the foot, and which will also remove
any uneven surfaces in hollow metal articles where an ordinary file, rasp, or chisel
would be inoperative.
My invention consists in attaching a file to the end of a rod or handle and
pivotting it so that it may be adjusted to any required angle: I first provide a
piece of steel of suitable length, width and thickness, preferably convex on the
outer surface and thinner and narrower at the ends; on this convex surface a file of
the required guage is cut, at the back of the file an attachment is placed, to which
the handle is pivotted in such a manner that the greatest force will be exerted on
the centre of the file; at the other end of the attachment a rod is pivotted which
is connected to a slotted carrier, working backwards and forwards over pins at the
lower edge of the handle, a set screw is placed over one of these pins, which keeps
the carrier in any position to which it has been moved by setting the file at the
required angle, a number of notches are cut in the carrier which fit over a
projecting stud on the handle, so that a slight tightening of the screw will keep the
carrier fixed to the handle: instead of the carrier, rod, and screw attachment, a
uadrant may be attached to the file, and the handle pivotted to the centre of the
uadrant, with a set screw in the handle clipping the edge of the quadrant, which
vill permit the file to be adjusted and fixed.
When the file is used in factories, or for large quantities of boots and shoes, the
le with its adjustable mechanism may be attached to a sturt fitting into a bench
r counter, the upper part of the sturt being bent to a convenient shape, so that
stead of the file and a portion of the handle being inserted in a boot to operate
herein, the file is fixed to the bench or counter, and the boot is put over the file,
ad the uneven surfaces rubbed down by moving the boot backwards and forwards
d pressing it on the file.
My improved file being constructed as described, it is used in the following
anner: If the uneven surface to be removed is in or near the toe of a boot, the
e will require to be set about in a line with the handle or holder, while if it be
the heel, it will be convenient to set the file nearly at right angles; this alteration
n easily be made by loosening the set screw and adjusting the file to the necessary
[Price 81.1

page_text: angle, and then tightening it, when the file will be quite rigid, and ready for
operating on the uneven surfaces of boots and shoes or in any hollow metal
material.
Dated this 6th day of November 1800.
J. G WESTLAKE,
2, John Street, Bristol, Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Adjustable File for Removing Nail Points and other
Irregularities from the Insides of Boots and Shoes and other
similar purposes.
I, JAMES PUGSLEY, of No. 9, Charles Street, Bath, in the County of Somerset,
Boot Manufacturer 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 :-
This invention relates to the manufacture of an adjustable file or rasp for the
removal of nails, pegs, and other uneven substances from any part of the interior
of boots and shoes and also from the hollow surfaces of metal goods.
In the manufacture of boots and shoes, especially those of the cheaper sorts,
nails, rivets, pegs, tingles, and other uneven substances are frequently left projecting
through or attached to the insole, and hitherto no means have been provided which
will readily remove them, so that when a boot or shoe in which these projections
are left is tried on or worn, great discomfort and annoyance are caused; also in
dies, castings, tubes, and other metal goods, superfluous lumps are frequently
left, for the removal of which no simple and reliable implement has yet been
constructed.
The object of my invention is to provide an implement which will remove the
nails and other objectionable material from all parts of the insole of a boot so as to
make it perfectly smooth and comfortable to the foot, and which will also remove
any uneven surfaces in hollow articles, where an ordinary file, rasp, or chisel would
be inoperative.
My invention consists in attaching a file, preferably of a curved shape, to a rod
or handle, and so pivotting it that it may be adjusted to any required inclination,
by which it can operate on any part of the insole: The construction of my adjust-
able file will be readily understood from the accompanying drawing, which shows a
file made for use in boots and shoes; when used for metal goods, modifications of
the adjusting mechanism may be desirable, but these will readily suggest them-
selves: I first provide a convex file a, at the back of which a bed plate bis
screwed, this plate is made with a couple of ears c and d, one of which c is near
the centre of the file and is jointed to the handle e so that it can be moved in any
direction; the other ear d is connected by a rod to a slotted slide g which moves
backward and forward round a couple of screws as shewn ; on the end of one of
the screws is a nut h, by which the slide g is tightened to the handle e and the
connecting rod keeps the file rigid at whatever angle it has been set. To give
greater rigidity to the file, a number of ratchet notches may be made in the upper
part of the slotted slide, and a projecting lug shaped accordingly may be left on
the handle, so that the slide may be held in place without much pressure from the
nut, but for ordinary purposes, the nut and screw will give sufficient rigidity:
Instead of the slide, rod, and bed plate, a quadrant may be attached to the file,
and the handle jointed to the centre of the quadrant, with a set screw on one side,
which will permit the file to be adjusted as required. The drawing shows the file
in a position suitable for removing projections in the heel of a boot, the dotted
lines indicate its position when required to operate in the toe of a boot.
When the file is used in factories or for large quantities of boots and shoes,
instead of the long handle e as shown in the drawing, the file with its adjusting

page_text: mechanism may be jointed to a stand or start fitting into a bench or counter, the
upper part of the sturt being bent to a convenient curve, so that the boots may
be readily placed over and around the file, and the uneven surfaces quickly
removed.
The file being constructed as described, when it is required for use, the set
screw is loosened, and the file put at the desired inclination according to the
position of the projection to be removed, the screw is again tightened and the file is
ready for use, either in boots and shoes or other hollow articles.
Having now particularly deseribed and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The construction of a file and its attachments which may be so adjusted as to
operate on any part of the insole of a boot or in other hollow surfaces, substantially
as and for the purposes herein described and set forth in the accompanying
drawing.
Dated this 6th day of August 1801
J. G. WESTLAKE,
2, John Street, Bristol, Applicant's Agent.