Improvements in Machines for Lasting Coverings for the Feet.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Lasting Coverings for the Feet.
I, THOMAS GARE, of 25 Booth Street, Edgeley, Stockport, in the County of
Chester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be ag
follows:-
This invention relates partly to improvements in machines for lasting coverings for
the feet wherein spring blades are employed to draw the upper around the toe and
heel of the last and partly to the general type of lasting machines, the object
being to reduce the cost of such machines & render the operation of lasting inore
expeditious.
My improved lasting machine will also produce superior work & such as hitherto
required and labour for instance such as "Veldt Schoens," nursery and the like
work.
In carrying out my invention, I employ in a suitable socket secured upon a bench
(or frame) a table having a hollow pivot and arranged to swivel in the said socket.
Upon this I fix near one end, longitudinally adjustable, a bracket in which I mount
to rise and fall a vertical shaft upon the upper end of which I place the last..
Below the toe end of the latter I fix, longitudinally adjustable, upon the table &
block & upon each side of the latter I pivot a spring blade, another spring blade
being fixed adjustably upon the said block relative to the said side blades & has a
projection which serves to support the toe end of the last.
In lieu of furnishing the upper end of the said blades with anti-friction bowls,
leather rubber or the like I secure to the same a steel or other flexible band. This,
band is somewhat U fashioned & covered with leather or other suitable yielding
material & affords a better grip upon the upper when being pressed between it than,
heretofore & is thus more effective. The said steel band & covering may be
substituted by a thick strip of leather or the like material.
Below the heel end of the last is secured to the aforesaid bracket adjustably,
another spring blade also furnished at its upper end with a steel or other flexible band
covered with leather or the like inaterial.
Upon the last support is rendered vertically adjustable an arm in the outer
extremity of which is adapted to swivel & be locked in position à pillar, the upper
end of which reaches over the last & carries a longitudinal adjustable arm upon which
is secured vertically adjustable a foot which serves to hold the last in position & to
depress it with the upper between the said flexible band.
The arm which carries the said pillar I form with a projection & to the aforesaid
bracket I pivot a hand lever by means of which the support, last, pillar & foot can be
raised & lowered.
To the said arm is also jointed, a rod passing through the aforesaid pivot &
connected to a treadle, by means of which the last with the upper is depressed
between the said flexible bands.
Upon the arm which carries the said foot I employ a device for breaking and
drawing in the toe & heel by means of wire or other loops which take the place of
+
:

page_text: the ordinary wipers. According to one form, the said loops may be secured to levers
pivoted to the said arm & operated by hand & according to another form they may
be secured to slides carried by & rendered movable upon the said arm by means of a
right & left hand threaded spindle.
At each end of the said arm is adapted to move vertically a spring blade depressed
by means of a flat or other suitable spring, the lower ends of which spring blades are
each furnished with a toe shaped foot which recedes & serves as a support for the
edge of the upper in being broker or drawn in by the said loops.
In lieu of attaching the said foot to the spring blades it may be suitably hinged to
the respective arm & placed under the influence of a spring as will be readily
understood.
The machine described is manipulated as follows:-
Assuming the last foot is on side clear of the said flexible bands & the last with
the upper upon its support.
The last foot is then swung over the middle of the last & the operator with his foot
depresses the treadle which causes the last & upper to descend & be forced down
between the said flexible bands, until the toe end abuts against the spring blade
projection & the aforesaid arm carrying the pillar against the bracket, in which the
last support is mounted.
During this operation the said spring bands press the upper equally all round the
contour of the toe & heel & thus cause the upper to be drawn very tightly around the
last ready for being broken or drawn in by the aforesaid loops which are placed over
the toe & heel part respectively & drawn in by the levers or slides to which they
are connected.
When cementing the upper to the insole I draw a strap over the waist of the upper
which prevents the edge curling up.
In the manufacture of "Veldt Schoens," i.e. boots or shoes in which the edge of
the upper is turned outwards & secured upon the sole, after having broken or drawn
in the toe & heel by the said wire loops, I place the sole upon the edge of the upper
& upon the sole a plate which is curved to conform with the shape of the last &
serves to press it accurately upon the turned out edge of the upper, the said plate
being held in position by means of rods & the last foot.
In order to support the turned out edge at the waist I employ at each side thereof
a rest which can be readily brought out of action when required as will be readily
understood.
In some cases I may dispense with the said waist rests & turn the edge of the
upper over a plate cut out to rest upon the turned in part of the upper & also curved
conform with the last.
In lasting very thick or stiff uppers I may secure across the top of the flexible band
at the toe, a piece of sheet rubber or other flexible material, the stretch of which,
when the upper is pressed upon the same, provides extra grip & draws the upper
tightly around the last.
When using the said rubber or other flexible sheet the aforesaid flexible band may
be rigid, in which case however one would be required for each size of boot or shoe,
whilst when flexible it will serve for a number of sizes.
In lieu of adapting the last to be depressed as described, it may be stationary
& the flexible bands may be rendered vertically moveable as will be readily
understood.
The toe & heel breaking or drawing in device described may be also applied to
existing types of lasting machines.
Dated this 1st day of October 1896.
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in fasting
I, THOMAS GARE, of 25, Booth Street, Edgeley, Stockport, in the County of
Chester, Engineer, 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 partly to improvements in machines for lasting coverings
for the feet, such as described in Specification belonging to Letters Patent No. 1085
of 1896 granted to me, wherein spring blades are employed to draw and press the
upper around the toe and heel of the last and partly to the general type of lasting
machines, the object being to reduce the cost of such machines and render the
operation of lasting more expeditious.
My improved lasting machine will also produce superior work and such as
hitherto required hand labour for instance such as "Veldt Schoens," nursery and
the like work.
And in order that my invention may be more fully understood I have caused to be
appended hereunto two sheets of drawings marked with letters of reference indicating
like parts in the various figures.
Fig. 1, Sheet I, is a sectional side view, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 an end view of
my improved lasting machine showing the last and upper in position for being
depressed between the aforesaid spring blades. Fig. 4 is a side view showing the
last and upper depressed. Figs. 5 & 6 are some modifications of details in side and
perspective view respectively.
Fig. 7. Sheet II, is a sectional side view, Fig. 8 a plan, an Fig 9 an end view of a
modified form of my improved lasting machine showing the last and upper in position
for being depressed between the aforesaid spring blades and Fig. 10 a side view
showing the same depressed.
Referring to the figures generally-
a is the frame, b the socket, c the table, d the last support, e the last, f the upper,
g the spring blades of my improved lasting machine.
In carrying out my invention and referring to Sheet I, in the present instance,
I employ the socket b upon a pillar a and the table c having a hollow pivot c¹ is
arranged to swivel in the said socket as formerly. Upon the table c I fix near one
end a longitudinally adjustable bracket h in which is adapted to rise and fall a
vertical shaft d, hereinafter termed the last support, upon the upper end of which
I place the last e.
Below the toe end of the latter, I fix upon the table c a longitudinally adjustable
block i and upon each side of the latter, I pivot a spring blade g, another spring
blade g being employed upon the outer end of the block i and rendered longitudinally
adjustable in relation to the said side blades. This end blade has a projection g¹
which serves to support the toe end of the last e.
In lieu of furnishing the upper end of the said blades with antifriction bowls,
leather rubber or the like, I secure to or connect the same together by a steel or
other flexible band k. This band is somewhat U fashioned, may be lined or partly
covered with leather or other suitable yielding material and is adapted to grip the
whole fore part of the upper when being pressed between and thus press and draw
the upper around the last. The said steel band and covering may be substituted by
a thick strip of leather or the like material as will be readily understood.
Below the heel end of the last is secured upon the bracket h longitudinally
adjustable, another spring blade g² also furnished at its upper end with a steel or
other flexible band lined or partly covered with leather or the like material,

page_text: Upon the last support d is secured an arın 1, see Figs. 2 & 3, in the outer extremity
of which is adapted to swivel and be locked in position a pillar m, the upper end
of which reaches over the last e and carries an arm n upon which is secured vertically
adjustable a foot o which when placed upon the last e, as shown in Fig. 4, serves to
hold it in position on the support d whilst being depressed with the upper between
the flexible bands & k.
The arm I form on its side with a projection and to the bracket h I pivot a
hand lever p by means of which the support d, last and upper e, f, and foot o can be
raised out of the flexible bands k, k, after having been depressed.
The arm has a stud connected by means of a rod passing through the pivot c¹
to a treadle q, Fig. 3, by means of which the last with the upper is depressed between
the said flexible bands & k.
Upon the arm n I empl y a device for breaking and drawing in the toe and heel by
means of wire or other loops », r, respectively, which take the place of the ordinary
wipers, which loop or loops perform the said breaking and drawing in more uniformly
than is possible with wipers, as they will accommodate themselves to the various
thicknesses and shapes of the uppers and lasts.
According to one form of this part of my invention, the said loops may be secured
to levers, see Figs. 1, 2, 3 & 4, pivoted to the arm n actuated by hand separately
or jointly and according to another form, see Fig. 5, they may be secured to slides a, a,
carried by and rendered movable upon the arm 2 by means of a right and left hand
threaded spindle a¹.
In order to support the turned out edge at the waist I employ at each side thereof
a rest t which can be readily brought out of action when required, for instance by a
treadle u connected by a rod u¹ to two links t', t¹, pivoted to the rests t, t.
The said rests serve also as spring blades so as to follow the shape of the last at the
waist when brought into operation.
In certain classes of work, I secure over the top of the flexible toe band k, a piece
of sheet rubber or other elastic material k, see Fig. 6, which, when the upper is
pressed upon the same, stretches, as shown in dotted lines, and providing additional
grip, draws the upper very tightly around the last.
When using the said rubber or other elastic sheet the aforesaid flexible band may
be rigid, in which case however, one would be required for each size of boot or shoe,
whilst when flexible it will serve for a number of sizes.
Referring to Sheet II, in this form of lasting machine, the treadle by which the last
is depressed between the flexible bands k, k, is dispensed with and the pillar m with
the last foot o is employed at the toe end of the last, upon the table c. In this case
the last foot o is fixed upon a pin ol actuated by means of a handle o² and retained
in the desired position by means of a ratchet wheel and pawl v, vl, respectively. In
the pillar m is also employed a slide w actuated by a handle lever we and furnished at
its inner end with a plate w² which serves to hold the upper in position at the toe
after having been broken and drawn in by the loop r.
The spring band and loop at the heel of the last I also dispense with and apply in
place thereof a pair of wipers z, z, which I find sufficient effective for this part of the
upper. The lower end of the respective spring blade g² I fix to an angular lever h
pivoted to the side of the bracket h and actuated by means of a cam lever h² which
serves to raise the said wipers whilst pressing against the heel part of the upper.
In lieu of actuating the toe loop from above, I actuate the same from the back
end of the last, by means of a drum y to which the ends of the loop are secured,
which gives easier access to the work. This drum is mounted in the bracket c²,
actuated by means of a handle y¹ and can be retained in any desired position by the
pawly and the ratchet wheel y³ which latter is secured upon the shaft of the
drum y.
The waist rests, in this case are each furnished at their upper ends with a horizontally
and vertically adjustable plates and being fixed to levers adapted to be raised and
Jowered jointly by cams actuated by a handle f, serve not only as a support

page_text: for the upper when turned out, but also to press and draw the same in at the
waist.
The plates may be each furnished with an eye 2, Figs. 8 & 9, to guide the
loop r.
In lieu of adapting the last to be depressed as described, it may be stationary and
the flexible band or bands k, k, may be rendered vertically movable as will be
readily understood.
The toe and heel breaking or drawing in device may be also applied to existing
types of lasting machines.
The machine described is manipulated as follows;-
Assuming the last support d is in its normal or upper position, the last foot o
thrown back and a last furnished with an upper has been placed upon the last
support d, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, Sheet I, and Figs. 7, 8, 9, Sheet II, the last
foot o is placed in position upon the last. The last is then depressed between the
flexible band or bands k, k, until its toe abuts against the projection g' on the spring
blade g. In one instance, see Sheet I, this depression is effected by the treadle q and
in the other, see Sheet II, by the handle o, as shown in Fig. 4 & 10, respectively,
and the said flexible band or bands k, k, press the upper tightly around the contour
of the toe or heel or both as the case may be ready for being broken or drawn in by
the loop or loops r, which are then placed over the respective part of the upper and
drawn in by the mechanism described.
When dispensing with the loop at the heel part of the upper, Sheet II, the latter
and the waist are then brought in by raising the waist rests t and wipers x by means
of the cam lever f & h² respectively. When the operation of lasting has been
completed the side rests and wipers are returned to their normal position and the last
and upper are raised out of the flexible bands k, k, by means of the lever p.
It will thus be readily understood that the use of the said loop or loops and waist
rests greatly facilitate the lasting of welted work or "Veldt Schoens" as the upper
can be drawn or broken further in and no tacks are required for holding down the
upper as a bridling end can be applied before the loop is released.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim, is-
1st. In a lasting machine of the type hereinbefore specified, the spring blades g
carrying at the upper ends a flexible band k adapted to press and draw the upper
around the last, all substantially as set forth.
2nd. In a lasting machine, a band k for pressing and drawing the upper around the
last having an elastic top k¹, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3rd. In a lasting machine, a wire or the like loop and means for actuating the
same adapted to draw or break in the upper, all substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
4th. In a lasting machine, the use of rests t at the waist of the last and means for
actuating the said rests, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 1st day of Iul 1907
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
4, Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents to Applicant.