In all of the lasting operations the tacks are driven but part way in,
except at the heel portion of the shoe, where they are driven through
the insole and clinched on the iron heel of the last. The tacks are
driven only part way in, in order that they may be afterward withdrawn
so as to leave the inside of the shoe perfectly smooth. In making
shoes other than Goodyear Welts, with the exception of the Goodyear
Turn Shoe, it is necessary to drive the tacks through the insole and
clinch them inside the shoe, so that the different portions of the sole
inside the shoe have clinched tacks. These are left even after the shoe
is finished. This smooth interior of the shoe is one of the essential
features of the Goodyear Welt Process.
In the lasting operation there is naturally a surplus amount of leather
left at the toe and sometimes around the sides of the shoe, and this is
removed on the Rex Upper Trimming Machine in which a little knife cuts
away the surplus portion of the leather very smoothly and evenly, and
simultaneously a small hammer operating in connection with the knife
pounds the leather smooth along the sides and the toe of the shoe. The
shoe then passes to the Rex Pounding Machine, in which a hammer pounds
the leather and counter around the heel so that the stiff portion of
the shoe conforms exactly to the shape of the last.
The shoe is now ready to receive the welt, which is a narrow strip of
leather that is sewed along the edge of the shoe, beginning where the
heel is placed and ending at the same spot on the opposite edge. This
welt is sewed from the inside lip of the insole, so that the needle
passes through the lip, upper and welt, uniting all three securely
and allowing the welt to protrude evenly along the edge. The needle
in making this stitch does not go inside the shoe, but passes through
only a portion of the insole, leaving the inside perfectly smooth. This
part of the work was formerly one of the most difficult and laborious
tasks in shoemaking. As it was performed entirely by hand, the drawing
of each stitch depended upon the strength and mood of the workman.
It is of course obvious that with different operators stitches were
oftentimes of different lengths and drawn at different tensions; for
human nature is much the same everywhere, and it is impossible for a
workman who has labored hard all day to draw a stitch with the same
tension at night as might have been possible in the morning.
[Illustration: AN AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINE WHICH NEVER TIRES