for the Invention of MACHINERY FOR SEWING THE WELTS AND SOLES UPON BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE PREPARATION OF THE SOLES TO BE SEWN BY SUCH MACHINERY.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Mills, of Brooklyn, New York, United
States of America, now of Albert Road, Aston, Birmingham, in
C 'IMPROVEMENTS IN
the County of Warwick, for the Invention of
MACHINERY FOR SEWING THE WELTS AND SOLES UPON BOOTS AND SHOES, AND
IN THE PREPARATION OF THE SOLES TO BE SEWN BY SUCH MACHINERY.".
Partly a communication from abroad by Charles Goodyear, junior,
of the City and State of New York, United States of America.
-
Scaled the 20th June 1871, and dated the 8th April 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Mills at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th April 1871.
I, DANIEL MILLS, of Brooklyn, New York, United States of America,
now of Albert Road, Aston, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING THE WELTS AND SOLES UPON BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN
THE PREPARATION OF THE SOLES TO BE SEWN BY SUCH MACHINERY," partly a
communication, to be as follows
For sewing the welts upon the uppers of boots and shoes, and for
sewing the outsoles to the welts, and also for sewing on the soles in
1
A

page_text: what is called "turned work" by machinery, various arrangements of
anechanism have been devised with a view to the production in a com-
mercially practicable manner of work which shall resemble that of
ordinary hand-sewn boots and shoes, and for this purpose Letters
Patent have been formerly obtained for me, bearing date the 29th day
of July, A.D. 1868 (No. 2378), the 14th day of June 1869 No. 1814),
and the 30th day of April 1870 (No. 1237). These former Specifications
describe machines in which a single thread is used, the work produced
being what is ordinarily termed the chain or "loop" "stitch," and the
series of loops forming the seam or row of stitching is described as being
laid by the needle in the channel formed in the sole of the boot or shoc,
11

page_text: have therefore devised mechanism for sewing on the soles and welts of
boots and shoes with two threads, which being interlocked in forming
the scam produce the work commonly termed the "lock stitch," in
forming which the threads are carried along equally upon both sides of
the material being sewn, so that there is only a single thickness of thread
on each side, and there will therefore be no difficulty in properly closing
the channel after the sole has been sewn upon the boot or shoe.
In carrying my present Invention into practice I construct the
machine with a head for supporting the parts of the mechanism sub-
stantially similar to the head described and shown in the former
Specifications herein-before referred to, and I use a curved needle and
awl, and supporting devices of the same general character as those
described in the said former Specifications. I now however use in
combination with the said needle a shuttle which carries one of the
two threads used in the machine. This shuttle is placed in a recess in
the end of a vibrating arm, and is moved to and fro upon a bed or
racc. The direction of motion of the said shuttle is in the arc of a
circle passing transversely across the line or seam of sewing and
at a right angle or nearly so to the plane of the work. The arc of the
shuttle's motion is so arranged in relation to the needle that instead
of passing through the loops of thread in a plane parallel with the
surface of the work or in a curve central with the line of the needle's
motion the said shuttle passes upward through the loops obliquely to
the surface of the work at cach stitch, and the loops therefore slip
from the shuttle more readily than if the shuttle were carried through
the loops in a direction parallel with the surface of the work. The point
or nose of the shuttle is made to project above the surface of the body
of the shuttle towards the needle in order that the said point as the
shuttle passes along the race may reach the needle and take the
loops properly therefrom, and the shuttle race has a narrow groove
to receive this projecting nose. The race or bed of the shuttle is a
plate which is secured upon a hollow bracket. From the interior of
this bracket there is a passage into the interior of the machine head,
and the heat from a gas jet or lamp in the column which supports
the head is conducted into this hollow bracket, and the shuttle race
or bed is thereby heated and the shuttle kept properly warm. The
thread of the shuttle is laid in and along the channel of the solc
throughout the entire length of stitching. The needle and awl aro
A 2

page_text: both secured in the same stock or driver, which is provided with teeth
and geared in connection with a segment lever whose fulcrum is a
pin secured in the head and which is operated by a cam journalled
in suitable bearings in the head. The said needle and awl form
portions of a circle around the centre of which they move. The
radius of the needle is about one inch. I use a barbed or crotchet
needle instead of a needle with an eye or hole in it. I thereby make
the thread fill the holes properly, as the needle in rising through the
work after each descent, with the exception of the hooked or barbed
point, is withdrawn from the work before the thread is pulled up into
the hole, and by using a barbed needle I am enabled to employ
a shorter and thinner needle than would otherwise be practicable.
Morcover in the limited space available for the purpose I could not
with any other than a barbed needle use an awl for perforating the
work, but should be compelled to perforate with the point of the needle,
it being necessary that the piercing should be done from the welt side
of the scam. The barb or hook of the needle is formed on either its
outer or inner periphery instead of being formed on one side of the
needle, so that the shuttle will be certain to enter the loops properly.
I use a needle shield for supporting the needle, and which serves also
as a barb coverer for preventing the removal of the thread from the
needle hook before the shuttle has properly entered the loop. This
shield has a pivot, to receive which the journal of the needle stock is
made tubular, and the said pivot is supported to work freely in the said
tubular journal.
In combination with the needle I employ a forked looper which has
a motion to and from the point of the needle. This looper is fixed on
the end of a vibrating arm which works on a journal having its bearing
in the head of the machine. The upper end of the said vibrating arm is
provided with a finger or roller which projects into a cam slot in the
aforesaid segment lever. This slot is of such a form that the motion
of the said lever imparts the required to-and-fro movements to the
looper, which therefore cannot fail to act properly in relation to the
needle. This forked looper is arranged in combination with an auxiliary
looper, and the two together so act in combination with the needle that
there will be no sliding of the thread in the throat or barb of the
needle till the same has risen out of the work and nearly to its full
height, the object of this arrangement being to prevent as much as

page_text: possible the wearing of the throat of the needle which is necessarily its
weakest part.
In combination with the said main and auxiliary loopers I employ
a take-up mechanism to draw the loops of thread tight after they have
been dropped by the needle at each stitch. This mechanism, for con-
venience, is arranged at the back of the machine head; the said
mechanism has a lever which has jointed to it an arm at whose frec
end is a roller; the said arm and lever are also formed with fingers
which are connected together by a spring. The thread passes from a
tension device, hicrein-after described, to the said roller, and thence
over a guide roller to the loopers and needle. The take-up lever is
acted on by a cam at the proper times to take up or draw back the loop
of the threads, and the aforesaid spring acting on the jointed arm of the
said lever prevents any slackness of the thread during the action of
the loopers; the said arm is provided with an adjusting screw by which
its angle upon the lever is changed to regulate the amount of the
take-up motion.
The aforesaid tension device is constructed as follows:-A small drum
is mounted upon a journal which is fixed in a bracket on a trough
containing melted wax, the said trough being heated by a gas jet or
lamp. The thread is brought direct from the ball to this trough and
is conducted through suitable guides along the bottom of the same to
a stripper which removes from it the superfluous wax. From this
stripper the thread is conducted to the drum and is coiled twice or three
times around the same. A guide finger is arranged to project down
upon the periphery of the said drum to insure the delivery of the thread
therefrom always in the same line to the roller of the take-up mechanism.
The drum is formed with a flange which bears against the side of
the bracket, and the journal of the drum is provided with a spring which
by an adjusting nut is caused to press the drum with more or less force
against the bracket, and so regulate the tension. The drum is also
provided with a milled flange whereby it can be turned by hand.
In the aforesaid former Specification No. 1814, A.D. 1869, I have
shewn a support for the work consisting of upper and lower jaws,
both jaws serving to clamp the work during the formation of the
stitches.
In the Specification of my Patent No. 1237 A.D. 1870, I have
described the under jaw as moving concentrically with the needle. I

page_text: "
now modify this device by removing the said upper jaw, the feed dog
being so timed in its movements that it will both feed the work and
perform the functions of the said upper jaw. I also modify this device
for sewing "turns or welts by giving a lateral motion to both jaws to
feed the work forward between the stitches, the lower jaw being made
to slide on its journal and moved by the feed mechanism. The feed
dog (or upper jaw) and lower jaw are so shaped as to hold the work liko
a pair of pincers, the lower jaw travelling in the inside channel while
the feed dog travels on the edge of the sole at or about the place where
the needle enters the work, so that the work is fed forward between
the stitches by both the upper, and lower jaws while the needlo is
in the work.
In the said former Specification last above mentioned I have shewn a
peculiar locking device for the said lower jaw which was locked and
unlocked by a positive motion derived from a cam through the feed dog.
I now modify this device by arranging the same to be unlocked by a
cam and lever, and locked by a spring when the lever is released from
the cam. One end of the spring is connected to an arm which has on
it an inclined projection. The cam in locking the said device forces a
roller on this lever over the said incline, and draws it back therefrom to
allow the spring to act.
I combine a treadle with the stop mechanism described in my said
former Specifications, in such a manner that the same treadle can be
used either to start and stop the machine when the same is worked by
steam power, or to form the means for operating the machine by the
foot. For this purpose I have devised a treadlo, which for convenience
has its fulcrum on the base of the machine column. To an arm of this
treadle is connected a long rod, which extends up to a stud on the fly
wheel, the said rod being slotted in such a manner that when the fly
wheel stud is at its lowest point, the treadle will not touch the floor,
while when the treadle is entirely up the fly wheel can turn round
without giving motion to the treadlo. When the operator takes his
foot from the treadle, the latter must remain up, and the machine will
stop the next time the clutch comes round. For this purpose I attach
a spring to the treadlo arm and the slotted fly wheel connecting rod,
and in combination with the treadle, I attach another long rod for tho
purpose of connecting the clutch lever with the treadle board in such a
manner that the clutch lever will be lifted clear of the clutch at every

page_text: downward motion of the treadle, moreover I so arrange the rod that
operates the clutch lever, that the treadle may be worked without giving
motion to the machine, the object being to give momentum to the fly
wheel prior to starting the machine when the same is operated by the
foot alone.
In preparing the soles of boots or shoes for being sewn by machinery,
I make in combination with the channel, in which the line of stitching
is laid, a slit along the edge of the sole, I turn back or raise the lips of
both the channel and slit, during the operation of sewing. The sewing
or stitching mechanism is so arranged that throughout the work the
needle passes through the portion of leather remaining between the
channel and the slit. This method of preparing the soles ensures a
more perfect uniformity in the work, and renders the work in turned
boots or shoes much stronger than it would be with the ordinary
preparation of the sole.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Daniel Mills in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
MILLS, of Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, now of
Albert Road, Aston, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Daniel Mills, Her special licence
that I, the said Daniel Mills, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Daniel Mills, my executors, administrators,
and 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 Island's,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN. MACHINERY FOR

page_text: SEWING THE WELTS AND SOLES UPON BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN THE Preparation
OF THE SOLES TO BE SEWN BY SUCH MACHINERY," the result partly of a com-
munication to me from abroad by Charles Goodyear, junior, of the City
and State of New York, United States of America, and partly of invention
and discovery made by me upon the condition (amongst others) that I,,
the said Daniel Mills, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their,, or one of their lands and seals, 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 Daniel Mills, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings
forming a part of this Specification:-
For sewing the welts upon the uppers of boots and shoes, and for
sewing the outsoles to the welts, and also for sewing on tho soles in
what is called turned work by machinery various arrangements of
mechanism have been devised with a view to the production in a com-
mercially practicable manner of work which shall resemble that of
ordinary hand-sewn boots and shoes, and for this object Letters Patent
have been formerly obtained by or for me bearing date the 29th day of
July, A.D. 1868 (No. 2378), the 14th day of June, A.D. 1869 (No. 1814),
and the 30th day of April 1870 (No. 1237). These former Specifications
describe machines in which a single thread is used, the work produced
being what is ordinarily termed chain or loop stitching, and the series
of loops forming the scam or row of stitching is described as being laid
by the needle in the channel formed in the solo of the boot or shoo
and afterwards covered by the lip raised from the channel as in ordinary
hand work.
By these machines the production of work sewn upon a last and
resembling hand work has been successfully accomplished and the
sewing or stitching so nearly resembles hand sewing as scarcely to be
distinguished therefrom by experienced operatives. There is, however,
one difficulty which is insurmountable in using the aforesaid class of
machines as it arises from the peculiar kind of stitch produced thereby.

page_text: it a
It is well known to those conversant with the manufacture and use of
ordinary sewing machines that the chain or loop stitch is produced by
the interlooping of the successive portions of thread passed through
the stuff by the needle, and as the loops all lie on one side of the stuff
there is on that side a thickness of thread corresponding with the
number of times the thread is doubled together in forming the loops.
This extra thickness in the chain or loop stitch is objectionable even
in working with common sewing machines where fine thread is used,
and it is obviously much more so where the work necessitates the
employment of thick thread with a very short stitch, such as is required
in the manufacture of boots and shoes. In the channel wherein the
thread is laid there is only a limited space, and the bulk of the thread
is so great that when the lip of the channel is closed down upon
protuberance is formed on both sides of the sole which is inconvenient
and unsightly and causes considerable difficulty in finishing the shoc,
while with thin soles, in some cases, the substance of the leather will
not allow the channel to be made deep enough for the loop stitching.
As this difficulty is unavoidable with the loop or chain stitch it is
very desirable that another kind of stitch should be adopted, and I
have therefore devised mechanism for sewing on the soles and welts
of boots and shoes with two threads, which being interlocked in forming
the seam produce the work commonly termed the "lock'stitch," in
which the threads are carried along equally upon both sides of the
material, being sewn so that there is only a single thickness of thread
on each side and there will therefore be no difficulty in properly closing
the channel after the sole has been sewn upon the boot or shoe.
In carrying my present Invention into practice I construct the
machine with a head for supporting the parts of the mechanism,
substantially similar to the head described and shewn in the former
Specifications, herein-before referred to, and I use a curved needle and
awl and supporting devices of the same general character as those
described in the said former Specifications. I now however use in com-
bination with the needle a shuttle which carries one of the two threads
used in the machine, and I will now proceed to describe, by the aid of
the accompanying Drawing, the manner in which the said needle and
shuttle and other parts of the mechanism are combined to accomplish
the object of my said Invention.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved machine; Figure 2 is an
elevation of one side; and Figuro 3, an elevation of the other side of the
said machine; Figure 3ª shows a detached portion of the machine.
Figure 4 shews a modification of parts of the said machine.
Figure 5 is a front elevation of a treadle apparatus used for the said
machine drawn to a reduced scale; Figure 6 is a horizontal section on
the line x, x, Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a side elevation shewing the position of the treadle
mechanism when the machine is running.
Figure 8 is a similar elevation shewing the position of the mechanism
when the machine is not running.
Figures 9, 9, 96, and 9 illustrate the manner of channelling and
preparing the sole. Like letters indicate the same parts throughout
the Drawings.
The head A of the machine is constructed of cast iron or other
suitable material, and is supported upon a strong column A' in the
usual manner. The shuttle a is placed in a recess a¹ in the end of a
vibrating arm a' and is moved to and fro upon a bed or race a³. The
direction of motion of the said shuttle is in the arc of a circle, passing
transversely across the line or scam of sewing, and at a right angle or
nearly so to the plane of the work. The arc of the shuttle's motion is so
arranged in relation to the needle 6 that instead of passing through the
loops of thread in a plane parallel with the surface of the work, or in a
curve central with the line of the needle's motion, the said shuttle passes
upward through the loops obliquely to the surface of the work at cach
stitch, and the loops therefore slip from the shuttle more readily than if
the shuttle were carried through the loops in a direction parallel with
the surface of the work. The point or nose a' of the shuttle is made to
project above the surface of the body of the shuttlo towards the needle
in order that the said point as the shuttle passes across the race may
reach the needle and take the loops properly therefrom, and the shuttle
The race
race has a narrow groove a³ to receive this projecting nose.
or bed of the shuttle is a plate which is secured upon a hollow bracket a".
From the interior of this bracket there is a passage into the interior of
the machine head, and the heat from a gas burner or lamp in the column

page_text: warm.
A' which supports the head A is conducted into this hollow bracket, and
the shuttle race or bed is thereby heated and the shuttle kept perfectly
The thread of the shuttle is laid in and along the channel of the
sole throughout the entire length of stitching. The needle and awl b
are both secured in the same stock or driver c, which is provided with teeth
and geared in connection with a segment lever c', whose fulcrum is a pin c²
secured in the head. The said driver is operated by a cam c³ journalled
in suitable bearings in the head. The said needle and awl form portions
of a circle around the centre of which they move. The radius of the
needle is about one inch; I use a barbed or crochet needle instead of a
needle with an eye or hole in it. I thereby make the thread fill the
holes properly, as the needle in rising through the work after each
descent is with the exception of the hooked or barbed part withdrawn
from the work before the thread is pulled up into the hole, and by
employing a barbed needle I am enabled to use a shorter and thinner
needle than would otherwise be practicable. Moreover in the limited
space available for my purpose, I could not with any other than a barbed
needle use an awl for perforating the work, but should be compelled to
perforate with the point of the needle, it being necessary that the piercing
should be done from the welt side of the sole, or in other words, that the
piercing instrument should enter the sole on the side opposite to that
on which the shuttle lays its thread. The barb or hook of the needle
is formed on either its outer or inner periphery instead of being formed
on one side of the needle, so that the shuttle will be sure to enter the
loops properly. I use a needle shield 62 for supporting the needle b and
which serves also as a barb coverer for preventing the removal of the
thread from the needle hook before the shuttle has properly entered the
loop. This shield has a pivot to receive which the journal of the
needle stock is made tubular and the said pivot is supported to work
freely in the said tubular journal. In combination with the needle I
employ a forked loopor d, which has a motion to and from the point of
the needle. This looper is fixed on the end of a vibrating arm & which
works on a journal d' that has its bearing in the head A of the machine.
The upper end of the said vibrating arm is provided with a finger or
roller & which projects into a cam slot d in the aforesaid segment lever.
This slot is, as shewn, of such a form that the motion of the said lever
imparts the required to-and-fro movements to the looper d which there-
fore cannot fail to act properly in relation to the needle. This forked
looper is arranged in combination with an auxilliary looper e, and the

page_text: two together so act in combination with the needle that there will be no
sliding of the thread in the throat or barb of the needle till the same has
risen out of the work and nearly to its full height, the object of this
arrangement being to prevent as much as possible the wearing of the
throat of the needle which is necessarily its weakest part. In com-
bination with the said main and auxilliary loopers d and e, I employ a
take-up mechanism to draw the loops of thread tight after they have
been dropped by the needle at cach stitch. This mechanism for con-
venience is arranged at the back of the machine head. The said
mechanism comprises a lever f, which has jointed to it an arm, at whose
free end is a roller f*. The said arm and lever are also formed with
fingers connected together by a spring f'. The thread passes from the
tension device hercin-after described to the said roller and thence over
guide rollers to the loopers and needle. Tho take-up lever is actuated
by a cam f at the proper times to tako up or draw back the loop of the
thread, and the aforesaid spring acting on the jointed arm of the said
lever prevents any slackness of the thread during the action of the
loopers. The said arm is provided with an adjusting screw by which
its position on the lever is changed to regulate the amount of the
take-up motion.
The aforesaid tension device is constructed as follows:-A small
drum is mounted upon a journal which is fixed in a bracket ² on a
trough containing melted wax, the said trough being heated by a gas
burner or lamp. The thread is brought direct from the ball to this
trough and is conducted through suitable guides along the bottom of the
From
same to a stripper which removes from it the superfluous wax.
this stripper the thread is conducted to the drum and is coiled twice or
three times around the same. A guide finger is arranged to project
down upon the periphery of the said drum to insure the delivery of the
thread therefrom always in the same line to the roller of the take-up
mechanism. The drum is formed with a flange which bears against
the side of the bracket, and the journal of the drum is provided with
a spring hº, which by an adjusting nut is caused to press the drum
with more or less force against the bracket and so regulate the tension.
The drum is also provided with a milled flange ³, Figure 3a, whereby
it can be turned by hand.
In the said Specification No. 1814, A.D. 1869, I have shown a support
for the work consisting of upper and lower jaws, both jaws serving to

page_text: clamp the work during the formation of the stitches. In the Specifi-
cation of my Patent No. 1237, A.D. 1870, I have described the under
jaw as moving concentrically with the needle. I now modify this device
by removing the said upper jaw, the feed dog i being so operated and
timed that it will both feed the work and perform the functions of the
said upper jaw; I also modify this device for sewing "turns" or "welts"
as shewn in Figure 4 by giving a lateral motion to both jaws to feed the
work forward between the stitclics, the lower jaw being made to slide
on its journal and moved by the feed mechanism. The feed dog i and
lower jaw jare so shaped as to hold the work like a pair of pincers, the
lower jaw travelling in the inside channel while the feed dog travels on
the edge of the sole at or about the place where the needle enters the
work, so that the work is fed forward between the stitches by both the
upper and lower jaws when the needle has risen out of the work. The
feed dog i is formed with a fork which encloses the jaw j, and thereby
imparts to it the required lateral to-and-fro motion. The said jaw is
connected by the link to the feed lever, and at the moment when
the dog i is raised the said link causes the jaw to turn down on its
journal, the sole being thereby released prior to the backward move-
ment of the feeding device.
In the said Specification last above mentioned I have shewn a
peculiar locking device for the said lower jaw, which was locked and
unlocked by a positive motion derived from a cam through the feed dog.
I now modify this device by arranging the same to be unlocked by a
cam k and lever k³, and locked by a spring ³, when the lever is released
from the cam. One end of the spring is connected to an arm ³, which
has on it an inclined projection k'. The cam in locking the said device
forces a roller on this lever over the incline * and draws it back
therefrom to allow the spring k² to act.
For this purpose
I combine a treadle with the stop mechanism described in my former
Specification (No. 2378) in such a manner that the same treadle can be
used either to start and stop the machine when the same is worked by
steam power, or to operate the machine by the foot:
I employ the arrangement illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8. The
treadle for convenience has its fulcrum on the base of the machine
column A. To an arm of this treadle is connected a long rod P,
which extends up to a stud l'on the fly wheel 1, the said rod being

page_text: slotted in such a manner that when the fly wheel stud is at its lowest
point the treadle will not touch the floor, and when the treadle is fully
raised the fly wheel can turn completely round without giving motion to
the treadle. I use the clutch or dog described in my former Specification
last mentioned. It is necessary that when the operator takes his foot
from the treadle the latter should remain up, so that the machine shall
stop at the proper moment. For this purpose I attach a spring to the
treadle arm and the slotted fly wheel connecting rod P, and I use in
combination with the treadle another long rod for connecting the clutch
wheel with the treadle board in such a manner that the clutch lever P
will be lifted clear of the clutch at every downward motion of the
treadle. Moreover when the machine is to be operated by the foot
alone it is desirable that the treadle may be worked without giving
motion to the machine, the object being to give momentum to the fly
wheel prior to starting the machine. For this purpose the rod ♬ is
connected to the foot lever 1, when the operator places his foot on the
middle of the board he turns the fly wheel without giving motion to
the machine, but by bringing his foot to the end over the lever (1º he
throws the clutch in gear and the machine is started.
In preparing the soles of boots or shoes for being sewn by machinery
I make in combination with the channel m, Figures 9, 9, 9, 9°, in which
the line of stitching is laid a slit m³ along the edge of the solc, I turn
back or raise the lips of both the channel and slit during the operation
of sewing. With the sewing or stitching mechanism, arranged as
shown, the needle throughout the work passes through the portion
of leather remaining between the channel and the slit. This method
of preparing the soles insures a more perfect uniformity in the stitching
and renders the work in turned boots or shoes much stronger than it
would be with the ordinary preparation of the sole.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I
wish it understood I am aware that shuttle machines for sewing boots
and shoes have already been used, but in such machines a straight
needle is employed, and the work is not placed upon an ordinary last,
whereas my present Invention is a further development of the system
of manufacture set forth in my said former Specifications, and is
therefore confined to machines in which a curved needle is used, and the

page_text: boot or shoe is sewn upon a last and prepared as for hand sewing; I
therefore claim,-.
First. In a machine for sewing the soles or welts on boots and shoes,
and in which the work to be sewn is placed upon a last, a shuttle which
passes obliquely through the loops of needle thread, as specified for the
purpose set forth.
Second. In such a machine for sewing the soles of boots and shoes a
shuttle working transversely across the line or scam of stitching, and
arranged and operating in combination with a barbed needle, and formed
with a nose or point projecting beyond or above its own face toward's
the said needle for the purpose set forth.
Third. In a machine as aforesaid for sewing the welts and soles of
boots and shoes, a barbed curved needle formed and moving within the
small radius described, and operating in combination with a shuttle
which lays its thread in the channel formed in the sole of the boot
or shoe, substantially as set forth for the purpose specified.
Fourth. In the said machine the combination of a shuttle with a
piercing instrument that enters the work on the side opposite to that
on which the shuttle lays its thread.
Fifth. In the machine herein described a curved barbed needle
with the barb formed on its outer or inner periphery for the purpose
specified.
Sixth. The curved barbed needle, the needle shield, and the shuttle
combined and operating together, substantially as specified for the
purpose set forth.
Seventh. The hollow bracket with a flat grooved plate constructed
and arranged as described to form the race or bed against which the
shuttle travels, and having its interior in communication with the interior
of the head of the machine for the purpose of heating the bracket,
substantially as set forth.
Eighth. The awl and needle of the said machine fixed upon the
same stock or driver when the said stock is operated by mechanism,
substantially as herein described for the purpose set forth.
Ninth. The needle shield with its spindle fitted to turn in the tubular
journal of the needle and awl stock, substantially as set forth for the
purpose specified.

page_text: Tenth. In a machine of the peculiar character described for sewing
the sole to the welt of a boot or shoe, the feed dog (which also serves as a
channel gauge) arranged to operate in combination with a self-adjusting
supporting bottom jaw and with the neodle and carried by a vertically
vibrating lever operated by a cam, substantially as described for the 5
purpose specified.
Eleventh. The modification of the support or rest wherein both the
upper and under jaws are made to move laterally to feed the work
forward between the stitches and to adapt the machine for sewing
" turns
or welts, substantially as herein set forth.
"
Twelfth. A back gauge or lower jaw which works concentrically with
the needle so formed and arranged to operate in combination with the
channel gauge as to compress the work at the point where the needle
is just going to enter the same for the purpose specified.
Thirteenth. The forked looper having a motion to and from the 1
point of the needle and arranged to operate in combination with the
auxilliary looper, substantially as set forth, for the purpose specified.
Fourteenth. The devices in combination with the supporting lower
jaw, whereby at cach stitch just before the needle enters the work the
said jaw is locked by a spring and is afterwards released by a positive
motion derived from a cam, substantially as set forth.
Fifteenth. The looper fixed ou a vibrating arm pivoted to the
head and operated by a cam slot in the segment lever, substantially
as set forth, so that the needle and looper cannot fail to act properly
together.
Sixteenth. In combination with the needle and the aforesaid main
and auxilliary loopers the take-up mechanism constructed and operating,
substantially as hercin set forth for the purpose specified.
Seventeenth. The tension device constructed and operating as herein
described in combination with a waxing trough provided with a wax
stripper, and so arranged that the thread is waxed before the tension
is applied thereto, all substantially as set forth for the purposes
'specified.
Eighteenth. The combination of parts in the treadle mechanism
whereby the same treadle may be used either alone for operating the
machine or simply for starting and stopping the machine when the
same is driven by steam power, substantially as set forth.
1

page_text: Nineteenth. A machine for sewing boots and shoes, with the mechanism
for performing the various operations required, and arranged to act in
combination together, substantially as specified.
Twentieth. The herein described manner of channelling and preparing
the edges of the sole of a boot or shoe for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel Mills, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
) Witness,
W. ROB. LAKE.
DANL. MILLS. (L.S.)