IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1874

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Daniel Mills at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th July
1874. Partly a communication from abroad by Charles Goodyear,
the younger, of New York, in the State of New York, United States
of America.
I, DANIEL MILLS, of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, United
States of America, but at present residing at Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN MACHINERY
CONNECTED THEREWITH," which Invention is partly my own and partly the
result of a communication to me from abroad by Charles Goodyear,
the younger, of New York, in the State of New York, United States of
America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, first, to a novel method of lasting the uppers
to the insoles of boots or shoes previous to such insoles having the
outsoles sewn on by what is known as the
"Blake sole sewing
machine," or any other mechanism for the like purpose. Hitherto the
lasting of boots and shoes to be sewn by the said Blake sole sewing
machine or any other mechanism for the like purpose has been per-
formed by nailing or tacking the upper to the insole while on an iron

page_text: C
last, or a wooden last plated with iron, so as to clinch the points of the
said nails or tacks on to the insole, after which the outsole is adjusted
on the boot or shoe, and it is then sewn through and through by
the said Blake sole sewing machine or other mechanism for the like
purpose. By these means the nails or tacks are left in the boot or
shoe between the insole and outsole with their heads downwards, which
method is highly objectionable, as in the wearing of such boots or shoes
the upper and insole naturally become compressed, consequently the
points of the nails or tacks are liable to be forced inwards and become
a source of great annoyance to the wearer by tearing the socks or
stockings. Another disadvantage consists in the quantity of upper
leather necessary to keep the heads of the nails or tacks clear of the
needle, and notwithstanding that the uppers are generally two or three
sizes larger than is usual in hand sewing, yet the heads of the said nails
or tacks frequently occasion the breaking of needles.
The improvements consist in lasting the boot or shoe in such a
manner as to prevent any nails or tacks being left between the insole
and outsole when the boot or shoe is finished. In order to accomplish
this I-channel the insole in a manner similar to that for a sew round or
inseam, but further from the edge, after which the insole is placed on
the last and the upper is lasted thereto by means of small tingles; then
the boot or shoe is sewn by what is known as the Mills' sew round
machine or other suitable machanism for the like purpose. After the
sewing is completed the tingles are extracted and the upper trimmed;
it is then ready for the outsole, which is stitched on in the ordinary
manner by the said Blake sole sewing machine or other mechanism for
the like purpose by being sewn through and through. By this means
I am enabled to use ordinary wooden lasts instead of iron or plated
lasts, also to use smaller uppers, and there being no. nails projecting
through the insole a much more desirable boot or shoe is obtained.
::
This Invention relates, secondly, to improvements in machinery for
sewing turned work and welts, which consist in the employment of a
'feed awl in combination with a channel guage operating in the inside
channel (which in this case are mounted concentrically with each
other) to feed the work and release the needle of a portion of the strain
and also give more certainty in the hold taken by the needle. The feed
"awl and channel guage working in combination with the rest of the
sewing mechanism operate in the following manner:-Starting at a

page_text: point where the needle is through the work receiving the thread from
the looper (at which time the feed awl is at the uppermost part of its
stroke), the channel guage releases its grip of the work and together
with the feed awl receives the backward motion equal to the length of
the stitch, the needle having received the thread in its barb. begins to
withdraw from the work, the channel guage resumes its grip and the
feed awl commences to descend; by the time the needle has reached
its backward motion (at which time it pulls up the stitch previously
made) the feedawl has penetrated the substance of the sole left
between the inside and outside channels, the back guage then lifts clear
of the work. At this time both feed awl and channel guage receive
the forward motion for a new stitch, the feed awl remaining in the sole
until the needle in its forward motion almost touches its point, then
both feed awl and needle work point to point, the needle entering the
work and the feed awl leaving it until the respective parts of the
sewing mechanism have assumed the positions for a new starting point.
In sewing what is commonly known as a sew round or turned shoe,
the awl is not intended to pierce the upper, but in welted work it is
designed to go through that part of the insole left between the inside.
and outside channels, also the upper and the welt.
This Invention relates, thirdly, to improvements in the machine for
moulding the edges of soles, for which Letters Patent were granted to
me May 31st 1873, No. 1965, and consists in placing the fulcrum of
the bottom lever on a line or nearly so with the bottom surface of the
top presser roller, and in the employment of two guages instead of one,
for holding the edge of the sole in its proper position in reference to
the said presser roller in such a manner that the said presser roller is
prevented from leaving the outside channel, whereby the edge is left
properly moulded without spoiling the lip formed in the said outside
channel.
This Invention relates, fourthly, to improvements in the machinery
for sewing boots and shoes, for which Letters Patent were granted to
me October 28th 1871, No. 2899, and consists in the employment of a
thin metal shield placed between the spool and the needle stock and
its several parts, the object of which is to protect the spool from the
continued jerking caused by the reciprocating motion of the needle
stock and its several parts, and also in making the hook of the spool
case adjustable to and from the needle to suit various lengths of stitches,

page_text: it being necessary that the said hook should strike in the centre of the
loop held by the needle. It will be readily understood that in a short
stitch the loop is almost straight; while in a long stitch it is at a greater
angle, hence the desirability of means for adjusting the said hook for the
purpose set forth.