IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LOSH HIDE LEATHER AND OTHER OILED LEATHERS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
ELLEN, of Grange Road, Bermondsey, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland; bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of June.
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the tenth year of Her reign,.
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Ellen, my exors, adñññors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Samuel Ellen, my exors, adñors,
and assigns, or such others us I, the said Samuel Ellen, my exors, admors,
or assigns, should at. any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF LOSH HIDE LEATHER AND OTHER OILED LEATHERS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Samuel Ellen.
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Ellen, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say -
My Invention relates to arranging machinery to be used in certain parts of
the process of converting hides or skius into losh leather. In performing that
part of the process called "frizing," which consists in removing the grain from
the surface of the hide or skin, it has been usual to do so by hand; the
workman placing the skin or hide (which has been steeped in lime water, as is
well understood) on what is technically called a "beam," and removing the
grain by means of a knife held by the two hands, the workman shifting the
skin from time to time so as to operate upon the whole surface. This process
has been found objectionable, inasmuch as the workman in order to lessen the
labour necessarily involved in properly performing his work, often uses a knife
with a cutting edge instead of a dull or blunt one, and he is thereby very
liable to cut the grain off in place of pushing it off, much to the injury of the
under-grain or natural face of the hide or skin, and by going too deep in some
parts and otherwise working unevenly, he prevents that fine finish being given
to the hide or skin in the after-process of "grounding" which is so essential to
the beauty of the article.
Apparatus according to my Invention is also applicable in the process of
"unhairing" and "fleshing." But in order that the Invention may be fully
understood, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a side view, and Figure 2 shows a plan of apparatus
arranged according to my Invention. a, a, is the framing, the uprights of
which are connected together by cross stays a¹, a'; b is a drum or cylinder
of wood, on which is placed the hide or skin to be operated upon by the
knife c. This cylinder 6 is supported by its axis 6' in the bearings a², a³,
and so as to be capable of being turned therein by means of the handles 6,
so as to bring a fresh portion of the hide or skin to be operated upon by
the knife c.
The hide or skin is held on the drum or cylinder 6 by one edge
being passed under the bands d, d, which are then fastened together so
as to hold the hide or skin tightly, in the following manner :-e is a lever
catch, which turns on a pin at the ends of one of the bands d, and is capable
of passing into one or other of a series of holes in the other band d, and then
by the levere being held in a vertical position by means of the chain e, the
bands d will be held together. The knife c is connected by set screws f
b

page_text: to the bar g, which has a to-and-fro motion given to it by means of the
crank h on the crank shaft h', which has fast and loose pulleys in order
to receive motion from a steam engine or other power, and a fly. wheel
to equalize the motion, as is shown.. The crank h is connected by means
of the connecting rod i to the cross bar j, which has end rods by which it is
guided in bearings supported in the framing as shown; and this cross barj
is connected by other connecting rods to the bar g, and the bar g: has guide
rods g' affixed to it, which slide in bearings affixed to the parts a³, a', of, the
framing, all which is clearly shown by the Drawings. It is, however, desirable
that the knife c in passing to and fro over the skin or hide on the drum b
should only come in contact therewith in its downward stroke (as is usual in
the ordinary hand process): for this purpose the parts of the framing a³, a³,
are affixed by hinge joints at a to the framing a, so that the outer ends of
those parts as being raised may raise the knife when the knife is being taken
backwards. This is accomplished in the following manner:-On the shaft h' is
affixed an excentric k, which works the rod ? connected to the arm m from the
axis m', which has another arm m², which, by means of the connecting rod n,
is attached to the bent rod o, which turns upon centres in the framing a at o³,
and by coming under the projections a, a, from the parts a³, it raises those
parts and the knife c, when the roḍ o is raised by the action of the excentric.
The parts a carrying the knife care raised when it is required to put a fresh
skin, or to turn the skin or hide end to end, by pressing down the bent rod p,
which turns upon centres pl, and at its end på passes under the outer ends of
the parts a³, as shown. When the rod p is pressed down, it may be retained in
that position by means of the bolt q. The parts a? are. assisted in their weight
so as not to be lifted up by any inequality in the thickness of the hide or skin by
springs r, each of which is affixed, as shown, at one end of the framing a, and
at the other end passes over projections as of the parts a³. The springs r are
further acted upon in the downward movement of the knife by means of the
arms of the lever s, which turns upon a centre at 83, and at the other end is
acted upon by the bar g.
It will thus be seen that by an arrangement such as I have now described,
I am enabled to obtain very considerable power, and to use blunt knives
instead of sharp ones, which have been found so injurious when working
by hand.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details so long as the
peculiar character of my Invention be retained. But what I claim is,—
First, the mode of combining and mechanically working instruments for

page_text: the purpose of "frizing" hides and skins in the manufacture of losh leather, as
herein described.
Secondly, I claim the mode of combining mechanically working instruments
for unhairing hides and skins in the manufacture of losh leather, as herein
described. And,
Thirdly, I claim the mode of combining and mechanically arranging working
instruments for fleshing hides and skins in the manufacture of losh hides, as
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Ellen, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven..