IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STITCHING, UNITING, AND ORNAMENTING LEATHER AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Sickels, Merchant, 67, Gracechurch Street,
in the City of London, for the invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR STITCHING, UNITING, AND ORNAMENTING LEATHER AND
OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS."-A communication from abroad by Elmer
Townsend, of Boston, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 26th September 1861, and dated the 2nd April 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Sickels at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd April 1861.
I, JOHN SICKELS, Merchant, 67, Gracechurch Street, in the City of London,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STITCHING, UNITING, AND ORNAMENTING LEATHER
AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS," a communication from abroad by Elmer
Townsend, of Boston, in the United States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and com..
bination of machinery or apparatus for stitching, uniting, and ornamenting
leather and other strong materials of a similar nature, and consists of a
peculiar combination of a hooked needle, piercer, thread guide, feed apparatus,
presser, foot tension apparatus, and wax reservoir for waxing the thread as
fast as it is worked up. The thread or twine is passed from its reel through a
[Price 8d.)

page_text: vessel or reservoir of wax, which is kept in a melted state by a small lamp and
a hot water bath. From this reservoir the waxed thread passes over and
round a tension pulley regulated by a screw, and thence through the eye of a
horizontal vibratory thread guide. The leather to be operated upon is held
down by a presser foot, which is elevated at each stitch to allow the leather to
be fed along, which feeding operation is accomplished by a lateral motion of
the hooked needle, which works upwards and sideways through an aperture in
the table of the machine. Before the needle or hook rises an awl or piercer
descends and perforates the leather, and the needle or hook then rises through
the hole so made and catches the thread, which is held in a proper position
by the thread guide; the hook then descends and draws a loop through the
leather. The leather is then fed forward one stitch, and another hole is
pierced therein by the awl, when the hook again rises and draws down a fresh
loop, which is passed through the previous loop, thus forming a single thread
chain or tambour stitch. A moveable gouge or cutter worked by the machine
is employed for grooving or channelling the under surface of the leather, so
that the stitches may lie therein flush with the surface thereof.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Sickels in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
SICKELS, Merchant, 67, Gracechurch Street, in the City of London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Sickels Her special license that I, the said John
Sickels, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Sickels, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from 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 Inven-
tion for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STITCHING, UNITING,
AND ORNAMENTING LEATHER AND OTHER SIMILAR MATERIALS," a communication

page_text: from abroad by Elmer Townsend, of Boston, in the United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Sickels, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Sickels, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery orapparatus for stitching leather and other similar strong materials,
and consists, according to one modification, of a peculiar combination of a
hooked needle, piercer, thread guide, feed apparatus, pressure foot, tension
apparatus, and wax reservoir for waxing the thread as fast as it is worked up.
The thread or twine is passed from its reel through a vessel or reservoir of
wax, which is kept in a melted state by a small lamp and a hot water bath.
From this reservoir the waxed thread passes over and round a tension pulley
regulated by a screw, and thence through the eye of a horizontal vibratory
thread guide. The leather to be operated upon is held down by a presser foot,
which is elevated at each stitch to allow the leather to be fed along, which
feeding operation is accomplished by a lateral motion of the hooked needle;
which works upwards and sideways through an aperture in the table of the
machine. Before the needle or hook rises an awl or piercer descends and
perforates the leather, and the needle or hook then rises through the hole so
made and catches the thread, which is held in a proper position by the thread
guide; the hook then descends and draws a loop through the leather. The
leather is then fed forward one stitch, and another hole is pierced therein by
the awl, when the hook again rises and draws down a fresh loop, which is
passed through the previous loop, thus forming a single thread chain or
tambour stitch. A moveable gouge or cutter worked by the machine is
employed for grooving or channelling the under surface of the leather, so that
the stitches may lie flush with the surface thereof.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, the

page_text: same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
corresponding Figures.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, represents a longitunal vertical
section of one arrangement of improved waxed thread sewing machine for
stitching leather and other similar strong materials; Figure 2 is a corre-
sponding plan of the under side thereof; Figure 3, on Sheet 2, is a transverse
vertical section, taken along the line 1-2 in Figure 1 (Sheet 1); and the
rest of the Figures on Sheet 2 are details herein-after more fully referred to.
A is the table or bed plate of the machine, underneath which works the
main driving shaft B, supported in suitable bearings at C, C. This shaft
carries the whole of the cams requisite for working the various parts of the
machine, and is provided with a fly-wheel D, capable of being driven either by
hand or by power, as preferred. E is the hooked needle (shewn in full-sized
detail at Figure 4, (Sheet 2); it is shaped similar to an ordinary "crotchet
hook" and has no eye, its function being simply to catch the thread presented
to it above the material by the thread guide or carrier F, Figure 5, Sheet 2),
and then to draw such thread in the form of a loop downwards through the
material. Before the hook rises an awl or piercer G descends and perforates
the material, and as it ascends again the hook follows in precisely the same
track, and rises through the hole made by the awl. The hook having drawn
down a loop through the material, the latter is fed forward one stitch, and this
is effected by imparting a lateral notion to the hook whilst it is still in the
material, consequently it carries the material along with it. The presser foot H,
which is held down upon the material by a powerful blade spring I, (Figure 6,
Sheet 2), is elevated at the moment the feed is about to take place, so that no
obstruction will be presented by the friction of the presser foot upon the
material. The presser foot is again allowed to descend so soon as the forward
feed of the material has been completed, so as to hold it firmly down whilst
under the operations of the piercer and hook. K is a gouge-shaped cutter
(Figure 7, Sheet 2), which works to and fro with the hook in the direction of
the seam, and grooves or channels out the under surface of the material so
that the stitches may lie therein and be flush with the surface.
Having described the most important instruments in the machine, and their
several functions, 1 shall now proceed to describe the mode of working the
same so as to produce the effects above referred to.
The material to be stitched having been placed underneath the presser foot H,
and the latter allowed to descend upon it, the shaft B is rotated, and with it
the cylindrical grooved cam L (aplane projection of which is given at Figure 8,
Sheet 2) which is fast thereon. This cam actuates the bell-crank.lever M

page_text: which vibrates on a fixed centre at N in the main bracket O, whilst its front
end is passed through a slot in the slide P, which carries the awl G (sec
Figure 1, Sheet 1). The awl having descended and pierced the material, the
bell crank in its return or upward motion acts upon the spindle I", which
carries the vibrating thread guide F, and causes the latter to bring the thread
forward so as to be in a position to be caught by the hook E; this motion is
derived from a pin in the arm of the bell-crank lever, which pin works in
a partially spiral slot formed in the collar c', which is fixed in the spindle P
The slot must be so formed that the pin al will travel along it without acting
upon the spindle until it arrives nearly at the top of its stroke, at which point
the slot must be inclined slightly, so that the onward movement of the pin will
cause the spindle P to turn slightly in its bearings, and to bring the thread
guide into its proper position, and return it again out of the way when the
thread has been duly caught by the hook. The continued rotation of the shaft
B now brings into action the cam Q (shown in detail at Figure 9, Sheet 2);
this cam acts upon an antifriction roller carried by a vibrating lever arm R,
which works in a fixed centre at S. This lever is provided with an adjustable
slide T, retained in position by the set screw U. On the back of this slide is
a stud, which fits into, but is capable of sliding freely along the horizontal
grooved cross bar V, secured by the set screw W to the hook carrier or
slide X, which is carried by and works vertically in the laterally sliding
bracket Z. It is thus obvious that on imparting a vertical vibrating motion
to the lever arm R the hook E will be carried up and down alternately,
and that the extent of its stroke or vertical traverse may be regulated
by adjusting the slide T in the lever R, which has the effect of lengthening
or shortening the lever. When the hook has caught the thread and is
about to pass down through the material, its notch or throat is closed, so as
maintain the thread therein by the small finger a (Figure 10, Sheet 2),
which bears against the notched side of the hook. and remains stationary
until the hook has so far descended as to be closed by bringing its throat
opposite to the finger; at this point the finger and hook continue their
descent together, the finger carrier b, which also works in the bracket Z,
being provided with adjustable stops c, d, alternately acted upon by the stop
e on the hook slide, so that the finger remains stationary until the hook arrives
nearly at its extreme upward or downward traverse; f is a friction spring
lined with leather, which is pressed against the finger carrier more or less
firmly by the action of the screw g, so that the finger will always be held in
its place until acted upon by the stop.e on the bottom of the hook carrier.

page_text: Before the hook has left the material the lateral movement is imparted to it
to produce the requisite feed motion, and this is accomplished by the cam h
(shown in detail at Figure 11, Sheet 2). This cam acts upon a roller carried
by the end of the lever arm i, fast on one end of the rocking spindle &, working
inside the long collar bearing on the under side of the table A. The opposite
end of this spindle carries a grooved or slotted lever armm, in the slot of which
fits easily the end of the adjustable stud » fast in the sliding bracket Z. On a
vibrating motion being imparted to the grooved or slotted lever m a corre-
sponding lateral to-and-fro sliding motion is transmitted by it, through the stud
n, to the bracket Z which carries the hook, and consequently the same motion
is imparted to the material. The extent of this motion can be varied to suit
the desired length of stitch by simply adjusting the position of the stud n
in its slot in the bracket Z, the effect of which is to bring it nearer to or
further from the working centre of its actuating lever m, and consequently its
traverse will be diminished or increased accordingly. In order that this lateral
motion of the bracket Z may not interfere with the vertical motion of the
hook carrier the horizontal grooved cross bar V is used, so that the stud of its
operating lever may play freely along the bar when the bracket is being
traversed laterally. Immediately before the material begins to move the
presser foot H is elevated by the action of the cam o (shewn in detail in
Figure 12, Sheet 2). This cam works the lever p, to which is connected the
adjustable rod 7. The upper end of this rod is slotted, and plays along a
stud in the end of the lever s inside the main overhanging arm or bracket O.
The opposite free end of this lever s is forked, and embraces a pin in the side
of the presser foot bar or carrier, so that on the opposite end of the lever being
depressed the presser foot will be temporarily elevated, and when the projection
of the can surface has passed the presser foot will be forced down again by
the blade spring I; is a hand lever for lifting the presser foot and main-
taining it elevated when adjusting the work; this lever, when raised, depresses
the back end of the lever s and so elevates the presser foot, and it is to allow
of this action that the rod is slotted at its point of connection with the levers.
Whilst the bracket Z returns again to its original position in readiness for a
fresh stroke, which it of course does after the hook has left the material, the
cutter K, which is secured by the screw t to the sliding bracket, and conse-
quently moves with it, grooves or channels the under side of the material to
an extent sufficient for the next succeeding stitch, the material being held
firmly down during this operation by the presser foot. A fresh hole is now
pierced by the awl, and the motions already described are repeated until the

page_text: seam or row of stitches is completed. The thread may either be waxed before
use and wound on to a reel, from which it is supplied to the machine, or it
may be waxed at the time of use as fast as it is worked up by the machine.
The apparatus for waxing the thread is shewn in longitudinal section and
plan at Figures 13 and 14 (Sheet 2), and consists of a wax reservoir A for
containing the wax, which is melted and kept hot by the hot-water chamber B
below it heated by a small lamp C. The water chamber is filled, or partially
filled, through the pipe D, and the thread to be waxed is passed under the
cross wires a, a, at the bottom of the reservoir, so as to submerge it in the
melted wax and allow of its becoming thoroughly saturated thereby. The
superfluous wax is removed from the thread as it leaves the reservoir by
passing it between two pads b, b, of india-rubber or other suitable material,
such pads being pressed together more or less tightly by the screw c. When
the thread is waxed as it is being used the wax reservoir is substituted for the
reel or bobbin, shewn in Figure 15, Sheet 2, and is fixed in any convenient
manner to the machine itself. The thread may be obtained from a ball or
from a reel, and, after passing through the wax reservoir, proceeds direct to
the tension apparatus and thread guide. When a reel of previously-waxed
thread is used, as shewn at Figure 6 (Sheet 2) of the Drawings, a slight
friction isapplied thereto by the leather washers v, v, and nut v on the stud or
screwed pin w (see Figure 15). From this reel the thread is passed, as
shown, one or more times round the periphery of the spring tension pulley x.
This pulley, shewn in detail at Figure 16, Sheet 2, turns freely on the stud
of the arm z, and is provided with an internal pin or stud 1, which fits a curved
slot in the internal disc 2. This disc is separate from the pulley, but turns ou
the same centre pin with some amount of friction. 3 is an internal spring
acting upon the pin or stud 1, and tending to maintain it always against one
end of the curved slot. The friction of the pulley is regulated by the adjusting
nut 4 and helical spring 5. As the thread is drawn round this pulley it tends
to turn it in the direction of the arrow, bringing the pin 1 to the opposite end
of its curved slot, when the pulley x and disc 2 will be rotated together as the
thread is worked up; but so soon as the tension or pull upon the thread
slackens, the internal spring causes the pulley to turn back slightly, equal to
the length of the curved slot, this backward motion of the pulley serving to
take up any slack existing in the thread between the eye of the vibrating
thread carrier and the tension pulley. A further provision is made for taking
up the slack at the tightening of each stitch by means of the spring eye 6,
shewn in detail at Figure 17, Sheet 2. The stem of this eye is enclosed in a
tubular bracket 7, and when the thread is passed through it, it is drawn partially
y

page_text: out of its bracket; but an internal helical sping S tends to force it inwards
and consequently a certain amount of slack will be taken up by the action of
this spring on the guide eye whenever the tension or pull of the thread is
diminished. When found requisite, moveable guides 9 may be fitted on to the
table of the machine for the purpose of directing or guiding the material in a
proper course through the machine, as is well understood by those conversant
with the use of sewing machines.
Figure 1, on Sheet 3 of my Drawings, represents a partial side elevation
and vertical section of a wax thread sewing machine, and Figure 2 is a
plan of the under side thereof, shewing the main portions of the actuating
mechanism.
A is the table or bed plate of the machine; B is the main driving shaft
turning in bearings in the bed plate at C, C. The actual stitch-producing
instruinents are precisely similar to those of the first-described machine, and
are here indicated by similar letters of reference, therefore they require no
further description, as their action is the same, and the stitch which they
produce is also identical with that of the said machine. In this second
modification, however, the laterally sliding bracket Zf or imparting the feed
motion to the material is placed outside the bed plate A in lieu of underneath
it. This bracket, as before, carries the hook slide X, finger slide b, and
gouge-shaped knife or cutter K, and receives its lateral motion from the
cam h, in the groove of which works the roller i fast on the end of the
slide, the opposite end of which carries a swivel block n fitting into a
groove or channel in the longer arm of the bell crank lever m, which works
on a fixed stud centre secured to the under side of the bed plate A. A
second swivel block n¹ in a similar groove in the shorter arm of this bell
crank carries a stud pin which enters a slot k¹ in the base of the sliding
bracket. By setting this pin towards one or the other of the ends of the
slot ', the length of stitch will be regulated. The vertical motion of the
hook E is derived from the cam Q, in the groove of which works a roller
on the lever R, this lever vibrating on the fixed centre S, and having con-
nected at its lower free end the connecting rod T, the opposite end of this
rod being similarly connected to one arm of the vertical bell crank lever U,
which works on a stud centre U carried in a bracket secured to the base
of the sliding bracket Z. The other arm of this bell crank is connected to
the lower end of the link V, the upper end of which is jointed to a collar
fast on the hook carrier or slide X. The two ends of the connecting rod T
are connected by a species of universal joint, as shown, to the levers R and
U respectively, in order to allow for the lateral motion of the bracket Z.

page_text: The knife. or cutter K is secured to the front of the bracket Z and the
material is supported upon the plate a', fitted on to the top of the stationary
support A', bolted to the bed plate A. This peculiar construction of the
support for the material in the form of a pillar in lieu of a flat table, as in
ordinary machines, affords facility for sewing a variety of articles which
could not be sewed upon an ordinary table, whilst at the same time the
machine is rendered lighter. When desired, however, a loose plate, not
shewn in the Drawings, may be fitted on to the machine so as to rest upon
the edge of the bed plate a¹¹, and upon the top of the stati nary support A',
thereby forming an ordinary flat. bed plate; p is. the red. for elevating the
presser foot at each stitch actuated by the cam o, and L is the grooved
cylindrical cam for working the bell crank lever in the overhanging bracket O,
which lever actuates the awl or piercer G and thread guide F, as herein-
before described. The tension pulley is similar to that shown at Figure 16
on Sheet 2; it is carried on the lower end of the vibrating arm a¹, pivotted
at y¹ to the side of the main bracket O, the upper end of this arm being
acted upon by a pin in the side of the lever which actuates the piercer G,
and working in a slot in the bracket, as shewn in Figure 1, so that a vibratory
motion is imparted to the tension roller, which thus serves to take up the
slack of the thread at the proper times. The thread or twine from the
bobbin z' passes through the eye m', over the small pullies n' and o', and
round the spring pulley x, whence it proceeds, as before described, to the
thread guide F after passing through the spring eye 6.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured by the hercin-before
in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
1st, the general constructions, arrangements, and combinations of apparatus
forstitching, uniting, and ornamenting leather and similar strong materials, as
herein-before described.
2nd, the peculiar combination of hook piercer, vibrating thread carrier or
guide, and gouge-shaped cutter or grooving instrument, as herein-before
described and illustrated by my Drawings.
3rd, the peculiar arrangement of apparatus for waxing the thread or twine
as fast as it is worked up by the machine, as herein-before described.
4th, the peculiar arrangement and combination of apparatus for applying
tension to the thread or twine, as herein-before described.
5th, the application and use of a presser foot, which is elevated after each

page_text: stitch in order to allow the material to be fed forward by the lateral motion of
the stitch-producing instrument in the manner substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated by my Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Sickels, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eight day of September, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-one.