IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR LASTING AND TREEING BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Batley, of Kensington Park Gardens, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, John Keats, of Wood Green, in the same County,
Boot Manufacturer, and James Neil, of Worship Street, in the same County,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND
SHOES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR LASTING AND TREEING BOOTS AND SHOES."
ealed the 17th April 1877, and dated the 21st October 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Batley, John Keats,
and James Neil at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st
October 1876.
JOHN BATLEY, of Kensington Park Gardens, in the County of Middlesex, Gentle-
maD, JOHN KEATS, of Wood Green, in the same County, Boot Manufacturer, and
JAMES NEIL, of Worship Street, in the same County. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR LASTING AND TREEING
BOOTS AND SHOES."
This Invention relates to improvements on the process of manufacturing coverings
for the feet Patented by Mr. Mark Bailey, and bearing date the 3rd June, 1875,
No. 2048, the object being to improve the manufacture of slippers described in the
Specification of the Patent, and to adapt the process to the manufacture of boots.
This process, as described by the Patentee, consists in forming a seamless sock from
felted fibres and giving shape thereto by drying it on a last.
A former or pattern piece composed of some pliable substance was covered by
carded wool in the form of sheet sliver, and by means of the well known hardening
process this covering of wool was converted into a bag or pouch without an opening;
a slit was then made in the felt to allow of the pattern piece being drawn out
endwise, and the sock thus formed was then milled, and after milling was strained
upon a last to bring it to the shape required for a slipper. Before however the last
could be admitted it was found requisite to stretch the sock by means of tongs,
which stretching had frequently the effect of making thin places in the felt, and
thereby injuring its quality. Moreover the milling, as practised, tended to distort
the shape of the sock. Now the object of this Invention is to remedy these defects
and otherwise to improve the manufacture of shoes, and also, by the aid of the

page_text: '
apparatus used in blocking the shoes to enable the process to be applied to the
manufacture of boots.
In the manufacture of boots and shoes it is the practice to work from a centre
line, and in order to provide a centre line in the manufacture of the felt socks we
now propose to chamfer the edges of the former or pattern piece, so that under the
hardening process the felt will be slightly thickened at the crease or around the
edges of the former. This crease we preserve in the after process of milling or
fulling, by presenting the felts after the withdrawal of the former to the fulling mill
in the creased or folded state in which they left the hardening machine.
When the socks have been milled down to the desired consistency they are to be
submitted to the dyeing process. We now propose to close the opening made
therein for the withdrawal of the former by means of stitches or their equivalent,
and thus to prevent the dye liquor from acting upon the inner face of the felt. By
this means we obtain without cost an effect similar to that of lining the shoe, the
inner face of the felt retaining its natural colour.
In preparing felt socks for boots we proceed in a similar manner to that described,
but we use a former of different shape or with an extension upwards corresponding
to the portion of the leg the boot is intended to cover.
In opening the hardened felt to remove the former therefrom we take care to
make the incision at the upper part thereof in such a way as to leave a kind of
shoulder at the back edge of the sock which may serve as a purchase for the
expanding last, hereafter described, when inserted in the felt.
The felt for the boot when milled requires to be expanded considerably to produce a
good square heel, and the like remark applies to a lesser extent to the felt for the
shoe or slipper.
The boot felt or sock from its narrow elongated form offers an effectual obstacle
to the insertion of the ordinary last; we have therefore designed a last which may
be readily contracted to permit of its insertion into the seamless felt while in a moist
state, and when inserted as readily expanded to press out the sock to the desired
form.
The foot and instep portion of the last is made in one piece, and to it is hinged a
heel piece which when forced out to its extreme position will give to the expanding
last the contour of the ordinary last. The two portions of the last are so constructed
with regard to each other as to allow of the heel piece being pressed towards the
instep, and thereby greatly contracting the depth of the last from heel to instep.
The pivot pin of the hinge is formed with a tappet socket to receive a screwed
spindle which is provided at its upper end with a handle, and carries at its lower
end a swivel wedge piece, the opposite sides of which bear against the inner faces of
the two hinged pieces of the last.
When the last is inserted in its contracted form in the sock its upper edge is over-
laid by the shoulder provided in the felt as before mentioned.
By turning the handle of the screw spindle the wedge piece will be forced down
and caused to expand the last. A gradual internal strain is thus put upon the felt,
the shoulder piece at the back of the sock catching now tightly on the top of the
last. As the heel of the last moves outwards, the felt will be pressed out to shape,
and the part that is to form the back of the boot will be held firmly at tension.
The sock thus stretched will remain on the last until it is dried when it will be
found to have taken a permanent set. The boot sock thus shaped may be fitted
elastic sides or opened in front and provided with eyelets to receive a lace. A
leather sole is to be attached to the sock by means of machine sewing, a waxed
thread being used externally, and an unwaxed thread for the inside of the boot.
For covering the opening between the hinged pieces of the expanded last the
instep piece is fitted with side plates which will offer no obstruction to the free
movement of the heel piece. This expanding last it will be understood is also
applicable to the lasting of shoes, and it may also be used for treeing boots and
shoes:

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Batley, John Keats, and James Neil in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st April 1877.
JOHN BATLEY, of Kensington Park Gardens, in the County of Middlesex, Gentle-
man, JOHN KEATS, of Wood Green, in the same County, Boot Manufacturer, and
JAMES NEIL, of Worship Street, in the same County. " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR LASTING AND TREEING
BOOTS AND SHOES."
This Invention relates to improvements on the process of manufacturing coverings
for the feet Patented by Mr. Mark Bailey, and bearing dated the Third June, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, No. 2048, our object being to improve the
manufacture of slippers described in the Specification of the said Patent, and also to
adapt the process to the manufacture of boots. This process, as described by the
Patentee, consists in forming a seamless sock from felted fibres, and giving shape
thereto by drying it on a last.
A former or pattern piece composed of some pliable substance was covered by
carded wool in the form of sheet sliver, and by means of the well known hardening
process this covering of wool was converted into a bag or pouch without an opening;
a slit was then made in the felt to allow of the pattern piece being drawn out
endwise, and the sock thus formed was then milled, and after milling was strained
upon a last to bring it to the shape required for a slipper. Before however the last
could be admitted it was found requisite to stretch the sock by means of tongs,
which stretching had frequently the effect of making thin places in the felt, and
thereby injuring its quality. Now the object of this Invention is to remedy these
defects and otherwise to improve the manufacture of shoes, and also, with the aid
of improved blocking apparatus, to enable the process to be applied to the manu-
facture of boots.
In boot making it is the practice to work from a centre line, and this we now
propose to provide in the felt socks prepared for conversion into boots by a
slight modification of the process of manufacture. The former or pattern piece we
make to correspond to the profile desired for the sock, and the edges of this pattern
piece we chamfer, so that under the hardening process the covering felt will be only
slightly thickened at the crease or around the edges of the former. This crease we
preserve in the after process of milling or fulling by presenting the felts after the
withdrawal of the former to the fulling mill in the creased or folded state in which
they were before the withdrawal of the former.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 shows a former such as we
use in manufacturing socks for boots. It is composed of two pieces of felt connected
together by india-rubber cement, and further secured by lines of stitches. The edges
of this former are chamfered as shown in the end section Fig. 1. This former we
coat with sheet sliver, lapping the same around it until the former is surrounded
with an even coating of wool of the desired thickness. The former thus coated we
submit to the hardening process, and when partially hardened it will present the
appearance of Fig. 2. At this stage we make an incision in the upper end of the
sock to permit of the withdrawal of the former, taking care to leave a kind of
shoulder at the back edge of the sock which may serve as a purchase for the expand-
ing last, hereafter described, when inserted in the felt.
The cut made for the removal of the former will extend from 1 to 2 of Fig. 2,
and thus a shoulder will be formed, as at 3, which will serve as an abutment against
which the expanding last may bear while the sock is undergoing the blocking
process.
Figures 2 and 2b illustrate the improvement obtained by the use of the chamfered
edged former. Heretofore the socks were made upon square edged formers, and the
tendency of the hardening process was to cause the wool to accumulate in excess at
the edges of the former as shown at Fig. 2b. This was very objectionable, more

page_text: especially when this accumulation occurred, as it did according to Bailey's process of
manufacture, at the part of the felt pouch or sock which formed the sides and heel
of the slipper. By the use of chamfered edges this accumulation is to a great extent
avoided, as illustrated at Fig. 2a, but in order to obtain as far as may be desired
an approximation to an equal thickness of felt throughout the sock, we crease the
half hardened sock out of line with the original crease and then complete the
hardening. When this is effected we restore the original crease and mill the sock
so that it will present the same profile (modified only slightly in form and size) that
it received at the first hardening while the former was still enclosed in the sock.
When milled the sock will take the form shown at Fig. 3.
The socks having been milled down to the desired consistency, they are to be
submitted to the dyeing process. We now propose to close the opening made therein
for the withdrawal of the former by means of stitches or their equivalent, and thus
to prevent the dye liquor from acting upon the inner face of the felt when the socks
are immersed in the dye bath. By this simple means, in consequence of the dye
liquor being unable to penetrate through the felt, we obtain without cost an effect
similar to that of lining the boot, the inner face of the felt retaining its natural
colour.
By reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the felt for the boot, when milled,
requires to be expanded considerably to produce a good square heel.
The boot felt or sock from its narrow elongated form offers an effectual obstacle
to the insertion of the ordinary last, we have therefore designed a last which may
be readily contracted to permit of its insertion into the seamless felt while in a
moist state, and when inserted as readily expanded to press out the sock to the
desired form.
The foot and instep portion of the last is made in one piece, and to it is hinged
a heel piece which when forced out to its extreme position will give to the expanding
last the contour of the ordinary last. The two portions of the last are so constructed
with regard to each other as to allow of the heel piece being pressed towards the
instep, and thereby greatly contracting the depth of the last from heel to instep.
This novel construction of last is illustrated in Sheet II. of the Drawings, where Fig. 4
is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the last in its contracted form, and Fig. 5 is
a similar elevation of the last in its expanded form. This last is constructed of two
hollow hinged pieces A, B.
A is the foot and instep part of the last, and B, the back or heel portion; they are
jointed together at their upper end by a hinge pin C, and they are connected
internally by a toggle joint or coupled links D, D. This toggle joint carries a socket
at E to which the lower end of a screwed spindle F is secured in a way that will admit
of its turning freely therein. Through the centre of the hinge pin Ca tapped hole is
made to receive the thread of the screwed spindle F which projects through the
upper end of the last, and fitted to the top of this spindle is the handle G. By
turning this screwed spindle so as to depress the toggle joint the heel piece B will
be drawn inwards and the last contracted as at Fig. 4, but by reversing this motion
the toggle will be straightened and the heel piece B thrust outwards, as shewn
at Fig. 5.
In order to block the sock it is first soaked in hot water, and while moist it is
opened out by means of tongs to admit the contracted last. The insertion of the
last in its contracted form is illustrated at Fig. 6, Sheet I., which shews that the
upper edge of the last is overlaid by the shoulder provided in the felt as before
mentioned.
It will now be understood that by turning the handle of the screw spindle the
toggle will be drawn up, thus causing the last to expand and force out the sock to
the position of Fig. 7. A gradual internal strain is thus put upon the felt, the
shoulder piece at the back of the sock catching now tightly on the top of and
forming an abutment for the last. As the heel of the last moves outwards the felt
will be subjected to a gradual and equable strain until it is pressed out to shape,
and the part that is to form the back of the boot will be held firmly at tension.

page_text: The sock thus stretched must remain on the last until it is dried, when it will be
found to have taken a permanent set. The boot sock thus shaped may be fitted
with elastic sides or opened in front and provided with eyelets to receive a lace. A
leather sole is to be attached to the sock by means of machine sewing a waxed
thread being used externally, and an unwaxed thread for the inside of the boot.
This expanding last it will be understood is also applicable to the lasting of shoes,
and it may also be used for treeing boots and shoes.
The improvement above described in dyeing the boot socks is equally applicable
to socks from which shoes and slippers are to be made, and by using an unwaxed
thread for the inner thread the necessity for covering the internal seam with a
lining will be avoided.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "improvements in the manu-
facture of boots and shoes, and in apparatus for lasting and treeing boots and
shoes," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we wish it to
be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent we claim,-
First. The mode above described of preparing seamless felt socks for boots.
Secondly. Dyeing the seamless felt socks, in the manner and for the purpose
above set forth.
Thirdly. The contracting and expanding last, constructed and operating sub-
stantially as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Batley, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.