NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Christmas Andrews, of Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Machinist, for the Invention of " NEW OR
IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND
SHOES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Christmas
Andrews at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th January 1874.
I, ALFRED CHRISTMAS ANDREWS, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS
AND SHOES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of machinery constructed substantially in the.
manner herein-after described for paring and finishing certain parts of
boots and shoes, that is to say, for paring and finishing the edges of the
soles and heels and the edges and chamfers or inclines of the waists of
boots and shoes, and also for burnishing the black bottoms of boots and
shoes.

page_text: The periphery of the
Or this cutter may be
guide to prevent the
The machinery for effecting the paring and chamfering of the parts
named is constructed essentially as follows:-From a principal shaft
driven by any convenient motive power, or worked by a treadle, the
motions of two rotating cutters are taken by suitable gearing. One of
the said cutters is of a circular or disc like form, and the other is in the
form of a cutting blade, the cutting edge of one-half being on the
opposite side to the cutting edge of the other half.
cutting blade is a rounded or non-cutting edge.
of a disc form, and provided with a round edged
cutting beyond the required depth. The first named or disc-like cutter
effects the paring of the edge of the heel, the heel being supported by
the hand upon a conical roller, the inclination of the periphery of which
to the plane in which the cutter rotates is such as is required by the
inclination of the edge of the heel. The motion of the heel of the boot
or shoe against the cutter is effected by the workman. The other or
cutting blade effects the cutting or paring of the front of the heel, the
boot or shoe under operation being held by the hand supported on a
concave roller while the front of the heel is being cut.
The edge of the sole is pared by means of a fixed cutter carried by
and adjustable in a holder which has a rising and falling motion in a
bracket on the frame of the machine.
The boot or shoe is supported on a roller while being moved against
the fixed cutter by the workman, a small guide wheel entering between
the sole and the upper leather to guide the boot or shoe, and protect the
upper leather against accidental injury by the cutter. In place of this a
fixed cutter a rotating disc cutter may be employed.
The principal axis of the machine carries a cam or disc wheel having
an undulating slot in its periphery. In this slot a roller on the end of a
horizontal lever engages, which lever gives motion to an oscillating
rasping or chamfering tool for chamfering the waist of the boot or shoe. 3
This rasping or chamfering tool carries a small guide roller, which
engages between the waist and upper leather, and prevents injury to the
upper leather as well as acting as a guide to the rasping or chamfering
tool. The boot or shoe is supported on a concave roller, and is moved
against the oscillating tool by the workman.
The machinery for finishing the edges of the soles and heels and the
edges and chamfers or inclines of the waists of boots and shoes, and also
3

page_text: for finishing the waists and burnishing black bottoms consists essentially
of a series of smoothing or ironing tools, heated by gas or otherwise, and
actuated by a cam having an undulating slot in its periphery of the kind
herein-before described, one set of tools being actuated from one side of
the cam, and another set of tools from the opposite side of the cam.
The said tools are fixed in levers, the ends of which engage in the undu-
lating slot of the can described at slightly different levels, so that an
opening and closing motion somewhat similar to that of a pair of forceps
is given to the tools, the burnishing ends of which are thus made to rub
against the heel or edge of the sole of the boot or shoe, which is supported
on a roller and carried against the said tools by the hand of the workman.
Similar levers engage in the slot on the opposite side of the cam, and
carry tools suitably shaped to act upon the edge and incline of the waist
of the boot or shoe.
By a change of tools the last described levers are made to burnish a
black bottom to the boot or shoe.
The different supporting rollers described may either be capable of
adjustment by means of set screws, or may be raised with the required
pressure by means of coiled springs surrounding their holders or carriers.
The supporting rollers may be covered by india-rubber to give them
sufficient biting or holding power, and also to permit a slight yielding of
the boot or shoe being operated upon.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Christmas Andrews in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd July 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
CHRISTMAS ANDREWS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews,

page_text: '
Her special license that I, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alfred Christmas Andrews, 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 Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINERY TO BE USED IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands 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 Alfred Christmas Andrews, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
-
My Invention consists of machinery constructed substantially in the
manner herein-after described for paring and finishing certain parts of
boots and shoes, that is to say, for paring and finishing the edges of
the soles and heels, and the edges and chamfers or inclines of the waists
of boots and shoes, and also for burnishing black bottoms of boots and
shoes.
The machinery for effecting the paring and chamfering of the parts
named is constructed essentially as follows:-From a principal shaft
driven by any convenient motive power, or worked by a treadle, the
motions of two or more rotating cutters or knives are taken by suitable
gearing. The said cutters are of a disk form, and may be provided
with a round-edged guide to prevent the cutting beyond the required
depth. The disk-like knives or cutters effect the paring of the heel or
sole of the boot or shoe, the said boot or shoe being supported by the
hand upon a conical roller or other support during the cutting operation,
or the boot or shoe may be held without a roller or support. The motion
of the boot or shoe against the knife or cutter is effected by the work-

page_text: man.
A small guide wheel enters between the sole and the upper
leather to guide the boot or shoe, and protect the upper leather against
accidental injury by the cutter.
The machinery for finishing the edges of the soles and heels, and
the edges and chamfers or inclines of the waists of boots and shoes,
and also for finishing the waists and burnishing black bottoms, consists
essentially of a series of smoothing or ironing tools heated by gas or
otherwise. The said tools are used singly or in pairs, and are fixed
in levers, and when used in pairs have an opening and closing motion
given to them somewhat similar to that of a pair of forceps, the
burnishing ends of which are thus made to rub against the heel or
edge of the sole of the boot or shoe which is carried against the said
tools by the hand of the workman. Similar levers carry tools suitably
shaped to act upon the edge and incline of the waist of the boot or
shoe.
By a change of tools the last-described levers are made to burnish
a black bottom to the boot or shoe.
The different supporting rollers described may either be capable of
adjustment by means of set screws, or may be raised with the required
pressure by means of coiled springs surrounding their holders or carriers.
The supporting rollers may be covered by india-rubber to give them.
sufficient biting or holding power, and also to permit a slight yielding.
of the boot or shoe being operated upon.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
described, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner
in which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan a machine to be used in the manufacture
of boots and shoes constructed according to my Invention; Figure 2-
is a side elevation of the same; and Figures 3, 4, and 5 represent a
part of the same, as herein-after described. The same letters of reference.
indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
a, a, is the foundation or bed plate of the machine, and 6 is the
principal shaft working in bearings at c, c, and driven by steam or
other motive power, or worked by hand or by a treadle; d, e, are
fast and loose pulleys by which, when steam or other motive power
is employed to work the shaft b, the said shaft is driven and brought *

page_text: to rest; f, g, h, are rotating cutters or knives carried by the axes
f, g, h, respectively, the said axes being driven by pulleys and bands
from the driving shaft b, as will be understood by an examination of
Figure 1. The rotating knife f is employed for paring the heels of
boots or shoes; the rotating knife for paring the soles of boots
and shoes; and the rotating knife h for cutting or paring the front
of the heels. The heel, bottom of the boot or shoe k, and portion
of the boot or shoe indicate the positions in which the boot or shoe
under operation is presented to the respective cutters f, g, h. The
knife is provided with a round-edged guide m (see Figure 1) for the
purpose of preventing the cutting of the heel i to too great a depth.
The said guide m is continued around the knife through somewhat
more than a semicircle so as to protect the cutting edge in the manner
indicated at m², and thereby to prevent accident or injury to the work-
man.
-
In cutting the edge of the heel by the rotating knife f the boot or shoc
is held in the hand, as the heel requires to be presented obliquely to
the knife, in order to give the required concavity to the edge of the heel.
In cutting the sole of the boot or shoe by the rotating knife g, and in
cutting the front of the heel by the rotating knife h, the boot or shoe?
may be supported upon a concave roller covered with india-rubber. Or
a support having a ball-and-socket joint to permit of the required
inclination, and having a sliding motion to permit of the required
advance to and retirement from the knife, may be employed instead of a
roller. One of the roller supports is seen at p, Figure 2.
The knife g is provided with a small guide wheel q supported on a.
fixed arm r. The said guide wheel.q enters between the sole and upper
leather, and guides the boot or shoe in its motion, so as to protect the
upper leather against accidental injury by the knife.
A modification of the parts of the knife f, Figures 1 and 2, is repre-a
sented in plan in Figure 1ª and side elevation in Figure 1B. In this
modification the case x covers and protects the knife f, excepting at its.
acting cutting edge f³. The said case is made in halves screwed
together. The guide y at the front of the cutting edge f³, upon which,
the heel is pressed during the cutting operation, is made in this arrange- 3
ment capable of adjustment to suit the taper of the heel to be cut. The
said guide turns on the centres f', f³. I combine with the cutter a pair.

page_text: of sharpening blades fe for maintaining the rotating knife f at the
required sharpness. The sharpening blades pass through a slot in the
cover x to press upon the knife. The said sharpening blades are carried
by the adjustable arm x². The cutters g, h, may also be provided with
similar sharpening blades.
The machinery for finishing the edges of the soles and the edges and
chamfers or inclines of the waists of boots and shoes, and for burnishing
black bottoms, is represented in Figure 1, and parts in Figures 3, 4,
and 5. The said machinery consists essentially of a series of ironing or
smoothing tools s, t, u, heated by gas or otherwise, and actuated by the
cams v, w, on the driving shaft b. The said cams v, w, have undulating
or wave-like faces, and are set on the shaft b'with respect to one another
in the manner which will be understood by an examination of Figure 1.
is a reciprocating sliding bar working in the bearings a³, a³; 2, 3, are
rollers carried by the short arms 4, 5, adjustable on the sliding bar æ,
and fixed thercon by set screws. On the rotation of the shaft ba
reciprocating sliding motion is given to the bar a by the action of the
cams v, w, on the rollers 2, 3. The finishing or burnishing tools s, t, u,
are carried by the respective levers 8², t², u², turning on the centres s³, t³, u³,
respectively. The short arm of each of these levers is geared by a pin
and slot to the sliding bar x as represented, and by the motion of
the said bar x a to-and-fro motion is given to the levers 8³, t², u²,
which levers work between the positions in which they are represented
and the positions indicated by dotted lines. The burnishing tools for
burnishing or finishing the waist of the boot or shoe is connected directly
to the lever 82, and in its motion describes a curve about the centre 88.
The burnishing tools and u may have a similar motion to that of the
tools, or they may have a rectilinear motion. In the latter case the
tool holders are fixed to the slides t, u, respectively, to which slides:
1 motion is given by the levers &, u³. The tool t is employed for bur-
nishing the sole, and the tool u for burnishing the heel of the boot or
shoe. The said tools s, t, u, are sufficient for finishing or burnishing
all the parts of the boot or shoe requiring finishing or burnishing.
One of the burnishing tools s, t, u, is represented detached, of the full
size in Figures 3, 4, and 5, Figure 3 being a plan; Figure 4, a side.
elevation; and Figure 5, a front elevation; 4ª is the burnishing surface;
and 5 is a lip, guide, or support, which the tool has when it is used for
operating on the sole or waist of the boot or shoe. The tool for operating

page_text: on the heel is without the said lip, guide, or support, as shewn at u,
Figure 1; 6, Figures 3, 4, and 5, is a guide wheel which enters between
the sole or heel and upper leather. Besides the guide wheel 6 the tool
may carry an independent serrated wheel 7 for marking the imitation
stitches ordinarily impressed on the " crease " of the welt.
The machinery for finishing or burnishing may be made double acting,
that is, in each burnishing operation two burnishing tools are employed
moving in opposite directions, or performing motions similar to the opening
and closing of a pair of forceps. This modification of my Invention is
illustrated in Figures 6, 7, and 8, Figure 6 being a plan; Figure 7, a
side elevation; and Figure 8, an end elevation. The same letters indi-
cate the same parts in Figures 6, 7, and 8. On the shaft a, which
receives motion from the shaft b, is an excentric c, the clip d of which
excentric is connected by the short connecting rod and joint e with a
wedge f; ribs on opposite sides of the wedge take into grooves in the
inner faces of the short arms of the levers g, h, the longer arms of which
levers carry the burnishing tools i, k. A strong coiled spring / keeps
the shorter arms of the levers to their bearings on the wedge f. By
the rotation of the shaft a and excentric c a to-and-fro motion is given
to the wedge f, which, in its advance, forces open the short arms of 2
the levers g, h. On the retiring motion of the wedge f the said short
arms of the levers g, h, are closed by the spring 7. There is thus pro-
duced an alternating motion in the burnishing tools i, k; and as the
simultaneous motions of the said tools are always in opposite directions
there is no tendency to move the boot or shoe either to the right or to 2
the left, and the workman has only to press the boot or shoc under
operation against the burnishers without finding it necessary to resist
the tendency to lateral motion in the boot or shoe which has to be
resisted when a single burnisher is employed.
.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner 3
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but I claim as my Invention of new or improved machinery
to be used in the manufacture of boots and shoes,-
First. The construction and arrangement of the parts of machinery
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 1A, 1B, and 2 of the
accompanying Drawings for cutting or paring the edges of the soles
3

page_text: and heels and the edges and chamfers or inclines of the waists of boots
and shoes, that is to say, effecting the said operations by means of
rotating knives constructed, arranged, and worked substantially as
described and illustrated.
Secondly. The construction and combination or arrangement of the
parts of machinery herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1,
3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawings for burnishing or finishing
the edges of the soles and heels and the edges or chamfers or inclines of
the waists of boots and shoes, and also for burnishing black bottoms of
boots and shoes, that is to say, giving to a series of burnishing tools a
reciprocating motion by mechanism constructed and arranged substan-
tially in the manner described and illustrated.
Thirdly. The construction and combination or arrangement of the
parts of machinery herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 6,
7, and 8 of the accompanying Drawings for burnishing or finishing the
edges of the soles and heels and the edges or chamfers or inclines of the
waists of boots and shoes, and also for burnishing black bottoms of boots
and shoes, that is to say, giving to the two blades of compound or double
burnishing tools a reciprocating motion, the simultaneous motions of the
said blades being in opposite directions similar to the motions of a pair
of forceps, substantially as described and illustrated.
Lastly. The construction and combination of the parts of the bur-
nishing or finishing tools herein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof I, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of June,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
ALFRED CHRISTMAS ANDREWS.
(L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRET,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.