next to it, so that should one stitch break, the others will not work
loose. This is accomplished by running the threads through a pan of hot
wax just before entering the leather, which causes the waxed thread to
solidify, becoming, as it were, a part of the leather.
Notice should be taken of the difference between the way the outsole
is stitched and the inner sole is stitched to the upper. In place of
three threads in the chain stitch “that holds the welt to the upper
and insole” there are but two here--an upper and a lower one. The upper
thread extends only part way down, where it loops, twists, and locks into
the lower thread. This is the reason why you can wear a welt sole clear
through without its pulling loose.
Shoes that are stitched aloft go through the same operations as the
channel-stitched shoes, with the exception that the rounding machine
contrivance of cutting is eliminated.
Shoes that are to be fudge stitched are sent through the same machine
as the regular stitched aloft, but an additional little knife point on
the arm of the Goodyear stitcher digs a channel in the welt so that the
stitches on that side are sunk into the leather.
The outsole is nailed at the heel after the stitching on the “loose
nailing machine,” which drives the nails through the outsole and insole
and clinches against the steel plate of the last. The machine drives
separate nails fed from the hopper of any desired size or length, at the
rate of three hundred and fifty per minute.
The edge of the outsole around the heel is now trimmed to conform exactly
to the shape of the heel on the “heel seat pounding machine.”
The stitches of the regular stitched shoes are separated by a series of
indentations, giving the shoe that corrugated effect which adds so much
to the appearance of the shoe. In the fudge-stitched work the stitches
are entirely covered up by the indentations.
Then a leveling machine, called the “automatic sole leveling machine,”
with a pressure of about two and a half tons to each of the concave
rollers, comes into play. The rolls move automatically back and forth and
from side to side, doing the work that the shoemaker used to do on his
lap with a hammer and stone, but doing it better and more quickly. It
practically levels off the bottom of the soles.
An automatic guage regulates exactly the distance from the edge of the
last, and by the use of this machine the operator is enabled to make a
sole conform to that of all others of a similar design and size.
Heels are formed by cementing different lifts of leather. A machine
called a “heel cutter” shapes out the lifts. The heel is then placed
under pressure, giving it exact form and greatly increasing its wear.
[Illustration: Sole Scouring. _See page 138._]
[Illustration: Heel Shaping. _See page 138._]
In speaking of the ends and sides of a heel, the part that rests on the
ground is spoken of as the top, and the first piece is called the top
lift. The part that is fastened to the shoe is spoken of as the bottom,
while the side nearest the toes is called the breast. The wedge is a
flat, heel-shaped piece or lift of leather that is skived to a thin edge
at the breast. Being thicker at the back, it tips the heel forward.
Wedges are made from thin strips of waste leather, or from sheets of
leather board, and are cut out with a hollow die. The gouges are cut in
the sole leather room from scraps, and are a regular heel lift, having a
horseshoe-shaped piece of leather with an opening at the breast.
The sole leather, insoles, counters, and heels, in the stock fitting
department are “got out” by being cut into shape by a machine die.
The heel is now trimmed of all rough and surplus portions of leathers to
the exact size of top lift. A blower attached to the machine removes all
scraps, etc.
The breast of the heel, which faces the forepart of the shoe, is trimmed
evenly across and with the desired slant by means of a peculiar-shaped
knife which extends over the sole at shank. The edges of the heel are
now scoured by revolving rolls with molded sandpaper to make perfectly
smooth. Blowers attached to the machine remove all dust.
There are several types of machines for fastening the heel to the shoe,
all very rapid in operation. One of the latest is that which feeds the
nails, and which is operated by a man and boy, who together turn off a
great quantity of work.
The nails are left protruding slightly above the heel so as to retain the
top lift, which is now placed in position by the same operator on the
same machine. It is pressed down over the heads of the nails securing it
in position. The small brass or steel nails which protect and ornament
the heel are now driven in by the “universal slugging machine.” This
machine cuts the slugs from a coil of wire and drives them in with great
rapidity.
We have practically now a roughly formed shoe ready for the finishing
room.
Here the heel slugs are ground down, heel and sole buffed by sandpaper
rolls on a scouring machine, wet down, stained, or blacked, as case may
be, finished on bristle brushes, placed to dry, polished by a polishing
machine, bottom stamped with the trademark, and passed to an operator
whose duty it is to see that no tacks are left inside the shoes.
Generally girls are hired to do this, as their hands are smaller and it
is very important that no tacks are left, which might cause a great deal
of trouble. If any are found, they are cut out with nippers or otherwise
removed.
A lining is also generally put inside the shoe, covering the whole of the
insole in a McKay shoe, and the heel only in a Goodyear shoe. Shoes must
also be inspected here before they are packed, to see if they are perfect
in every way and that each shoe is a perfect mate in the pair.
The shoes are now sent to the last department, called treeing, dressing,
and packing department.
This department has to do with the finishing of the uppers. The bottoms
and edges are all finished when shoes get to this department, and nothing
remains but to finish the uppers and pack the shoes in single-pair
cartons and then in wooden boxes or cases.
The different uppers are all finished by a different process, some being
ironed with a hot iron, which is done to take out the wrinkles and smooth
the uppers. Ironing was first introduced on kid shoes, but in recent
years the hot iron has been put on nearly all kinds of stock. A shoe must
be on a form or tree when ironed, the form or tree being the same shape
as the last. The whole idea in ironing is the same as that followed by
the tailor, who uses a hot iron to press and smooth out clothes. The
operations in detail are as follows:--
[Illustration: Ironing.]
[Illustration: Packing.]
Each shoe is treed, after having been drawn over a foot form similar to
that on which the shoe was lasted, and any stain or dirt which may have
been carelessly put on in former operations is cleaned off; the shoe is
sponged with a gum prepared for either black or tan goods, rubbed down
dull, and then rubbed to a polish. In many patent leather shoes the
treeing is to clean off the surface, as we said before, and then to iron
it with a hot iron, which takes out all stains, and leaves the leather
shiny and black.
The shoes finally go to hand operators, who rag the edges and heels,
leaving them ready to be laced and put into the boxes. After lacing, the
shoes are passed to inspectors, whose duty it is to see that they are
perfect, to throw out all which are not, make a record of them, and pass
the perfect shoes to the packers, who see that the sizes are right, that
each pair is mated, and placed in paper cartons, ready to be packed in
wooden cases for shipment. The packing of cartons into wooden cases is
done by men who nail on the lid when each case is full, mark where goods
are to be sent, make a record of same and load the cases into freight
cars.
There are other uppers that are treed, such as wax calf, for instance,
and split uppers, which are used in heavy shoes. The main idea of treeing
a shoe is to give it a smooth and finished appearance and a good “feel.”
In the regular treeing operation they use liquid preparations, often
called composition, and these are worked into the upper, filling it to
some extent. French chalk is used a great deal in some uppers, and oil or
some form of grease or gum is also used, all of which make the upper as
it was when first put on the cutting board of the shoe factory. All work
done in this room is intended to give leather its original luster, which
has been lost to a certain extent in going through the different rooms
and in being handled so much.
There are still other uppers that may not be treed or ironed but merely
cleaned and polished to give luster. Some of these may be dressed. To
dress a shoe means to put on a liquid dressing. In some cases two coats
of dressing are put on and in other cases one coat. A shoe can have a
dull dressing or a bright dressing, according to how the buyer prefers to
have his shoes look.
CHAPTER SEVEN
McKAY AND TURNED SHOES
The McKay process is used very extensively in the manufacture of cheap
shoes. Its introduction was a great improvement over the nailing and
pegging of the soles to the uppers. It allows the two to be stitched
together by means of a straight needle running through the entire
thickness of upper, sole, and insole.
In following the McKay process through the factory, we find it very
similar to the Goodyear welt process, which has been explained, the main
difference being in the methods of fastening the sole to the uppers.
[Illustration: Cross Sections of Welt Shoe and McKay Sewed Shoe.]
The lasts and patterns are obtained in the same manner as described in
the previous chapter. The order is made out in the factory office, and
the ticket is given to the sorter, who selects the required number of
skins, which he rolls in a bundle and turns over to the cutter. The
cutters form the various pieces of leather and linings, which are tied
up in bundles and sent to the stitching room. Here they pass through the
various sewing machines, finally coming out in the form of a complete
upper ready to be attached to the bottoms.
The soles, insoles, counters, and heels for McKay shoes are all formed in
the same room, as described in the Goodyear process.
There is a difference in making ready the outsoles and insoles. It will
be recalled that the outsole for the Goodyear welt shoe was simply a
block of leather cut to fit the shoe and was not channeled. The outsole
for the McKay shoe is run through a channeling machine, which cuts a
slit around the edge of the sole, folds the leather back, and digs a
little trench along the inside of the slit. It will also be remembered
that the insole of the Goodyear welt shoe was channeled with two slits,
one of which was turned back to form the breast for sewing on the welt
strip. The insole of a McKay shoe is not channeled in any way, but is
left plain, like the outsole of the Goodyear welt. The uppers, the soles,
insoles, counters, and heels all having been made ready, the pieces are
taken to the lasting room.
The first process is called “assembling.” The operator takes up one of
the uppers, inserts the last, sticks in a counter between the lining and
the outside, puts in a “box” (a stout piece of canvas to give stability
to the toe) at the toe, beneath the tip, puts in the insole, and then may
pull the shoe tight on the last or give it to the operator on the pulling
over machine to have it done. The pulling over machine is now used in
nearly all factories, having displaced hand pulling the same as the
lasting machines have displaced hand lasting. The assembling, pulling,
and lasting on the machine are all parts of the regular operation of
lasting. The hand laster had to do all three parts in former times,
but now there are machines to do nearly everything, and at the present
time the operation of lasting is divided into assembling, pulling over,
and lasting on the machine. But even these machines do not do it all,
as there is surplus upper to be cut away, toes to be pounded down, and
filling to be put in the bottom, all of which are done on a McKay shoe
before the sole can be laid. There are machines to do these parts, too.
A trimmer (this is done by hand) now takes the shoe, trims off all the
surplus leather, tacks in the shank (a little piece of steel to give
rigidity to the shank of the sole), fills all up smoothly and then passes
it to the sole layer, who puts on the outer sole and tacks it in place.
The last is now pulled out of the shoe and it is ready for the McKay
sewing machine.
This machine sews right through the inner and outer sole, and at the same
time catches the edges of the upper leather and the lining in between
the two and draws them all snugly and firmly together. The stitches are
made right along in the channel of the outer sole, which is deep enough
to admit the row of stitches without raising a ridge on the outside of
the sole, after the channel is closed up and leveled. The channel is
next filled with cement and passed on to the leveler, which turns down
the loosened flap of leather, presses it all out smooth, and covers the
seam up so completely that no trace of the sewing is to be seen. This
little folded-over flap of leather serves the double purpose of hiding
the stitches in the sole, and at the same time protecting them from wear
against the ground.
[Illustration: Stitching.]
[Illustration: Tacking.]
The shoe is then ready to be heeled, and from here to the shipping door
the McKay generally goes through the same process as a welt. After
heeling, the McKay shoes are relasted or have followers put in to keep
them in shape while going through. The sock lining may be put in here,
too, before relasting, or it may not be put in till the shoes get to
another room. The McKay lasting last must be pulled from the shoe to have
the bottoms and heels put on and this also applies to a pegged or nailed
shoe. But in the case of a welt shoe or a turn shoe, both stay on the
original last until the bottoms and heels have been fastened on. The turn
shoe being lasted inside out, must come off the last to be turned right
side out, and it goes right on the last as soon as it can be turned. The
different methods of fastening the bottoms constitute the main difference
between Goodyear and turn shoes on the one hand, and McKay, pegged, and
nailed on the other. The bottom stock must be prepared differently in
order to fit the methods. Thus it is seen that only two departments are
affected, namely, the sole leather and the making departments. In the
cutting, stitching, finishing, treeing, and packing, all operations are
practically the same on every shoe, no matter how it is bottomed. The
patterns, however, by which shoes are cut may be different.
In the finishing room all of the finishing of the bottoms and heel edges
is done. The heels are sandpapered or scoured, and are then blacked and
polished under hot-iron pressure. Considerable wax is used on the edge
and is melted by the hot iron. Heel edges may also be finished on a wheel
or roll. There are several different ways, but the object of each method
is to give a hard, black, and highly polished surface to the edge.
In finishing the bottom the top lift is scoured or buffed, and all of
the sole and the breast of the heel also. Each is a different process,
a different operator attending to each part. The object of scouring or
buffing with sandpaper is to get a smooth foundation for the finish,
which is put on next, and which may be all the same color in all parts
of the bottom or may have one color in the shank and another in the
forepart. The stains and blackings are used on bottoms, and these are
brought to a high, hard gloss by means of rolls and brushes. Hot irons
are often used on black shanks and bottoms to give added hardness and
luster to the finish.
The turned or turn shoe is a woman’s fine shoe that is made wrong side
out, then turned right side out. The sole is fastened to the last, and
the upper is twisted over, the wrong side out. Then the two are sewed
together, the thread catching through a channel or shoulder cut in the
edge of the sole. The seam does not come through to the bottom of the
sole, nor to any part inside where it would chafe the foot.
The preparation of the upper for a turn shoe is identical with that of
a welt or McKay, with the exception that the back is cut a little longer
and a little larger, in order to last it over the sole. The important
difference in the make-up of a turn shoe as compared with that of a McKay
or welt is that it has no insole, the upper being sewed directly to a
portion of the sole itself.
As the cutting of the uppers and the stitching operations of a turn shoe
are the same as the Goodyear and McKay, and have been explained, we will
take up the forming of the sole, which is entirely different from either
of the other two methods.
A turn shoe is put together wrong side out, and it is necessary, during
the course of making, to turn it by rolling the sole up like a roll of
carpet. It is evident, then, that nothing but good quality, pliable
leather can be used satisfactorily, and great care is taken to include
nothing but the best.
The soles are cut out on the beam machines, also previously described.
They are then channeled on the side that is next to the foot. This
channeling is similar to that done on the welt insole. Two incisions are
made, the inside one being the same as in the welt insoles. The outside
one, however, is different, as the flange is cut off square instead of
being rolled up. This leaves a channel which begins at the edge and
surface of the sole and extends in semicircular form to the abrupt wall
of the cut in the sole, which forms the breast against which the upper is
to be sewed.
After the soles are channeled, they are soaked until they become soft
enough to roll up easily. They are then placed on racks and kept in a
damp room until needed.
A turn shoe is hand lasted wrong side out. First the uppers are turned
with the lining outside, then the last is inserted and also the toe
boxing.
The sole is set straight on the last and is tacked firmly to it. The
operator, by aid of hand pullers, draws the upper over the sole and tacks
it securely from a point where the breast of the heel will rest to where
the large toe will extend, and then along the same distance on the other
side. The toe part is next lasted by machinery, a wire being fastened at
one side and run around the edge holding the pulled-up parts of the upper
which has been stretched tightly over the last.
The shoe is next passed over to the Goodyear inseamer operator, who
sews the upper to the sole, the needle passing down through the inside
channel, through the sole leather, out through the square-cut channel
and then through the upper, uniting the upper to the sole with the chain
stitch. In fact, the bottom of a turn shoe at this time looks exactly
like the bottom of a welt, with the exception that the turn shoe is still
turned wrong side out. The nature of the stitch is the same--a waxed,
threaded chain, with two rows of thread on the outside that loop with
the single thread in the inside lip of the insole. The shoe is sewed only
from the back of the shank to the toe, the heel part still being loose.
The seam is now trimmed with an inseam trimmer, a machine with a
revolving, jagged-edged knife that saws off the surplus portions of the
upper, leaving it smooth and even with the sole. The tacks are all pulled
out with a sort of a nail puller, which works rapidly and automatically.
The lasts are then taken out and the shoe is turned right side out.
This turning process is not a difficult one, but it is perhaps the most
interesting operation that the layman will see in the entire factory. The
operation is accomplished by means of a rigid iron bar set slantwise in a
table. The upper is turned right side out by hand and the sole is rolled
right side out by means of pressure on this bar.
After this turning process, which twists and rolls the shoe out of
shape, it has no semblance of its final form. The back part of the sole
and upper are still loose, the upper being fastened from the shank to the
toe.
The turn shoe must be “second” lasted, and the inserting of the last is
no easy matter. A contrivance called a push jack assists the operator
greatly. He uses a flat, narrow rod to smooth out the lining, and after
squeezing, pushing, and smoothing, the last is finally made to fit in the
shoe. The counter is placed in at this time, the shank piece is set in
place, and the shoe and last are placed on a jack for nailing. The back
part upper is now stretched tightly over the heel part of the last by
means of lasting pullers, and is tacked down, the nails going through the
shank piece and clinching against the anvil heel seat of the last. This
operation completes the lasting, the shoe now having a form exactly like
the last over which it is made.
Workmen now level the bottoms and form the shank by a hand method,
preparatory to the machine leveling process. The shoe is still wet and
is left to dry on the last twenty-four hours. Then it is run through the
machine called the “leveler,” which, with its enormous pressure, forms
the sole to that of the last. The shoes are now left four days on the
lasts, to dry thoroughly, so that they may retain their shape permanently.
The putting on of the heel, and the various finishing processes are
practically the same as that of the welt, with the exception that a turn
sole must have a sock lining.
Some factories use a grain leather sock lining, which is pasted in,
covering up the channels of the sole which hold the stitches and forming
a smooth surface for the foot to rest upon.
The difference between a McKay and a turn shoe may be told by the fact
that the stitching on the inside of the sole is much closer to the edge
in a turn. Another thing, in a turn shoe, the seam connecting the upper
and the outsole can be seen.
Nothing is likely to excel the turn shoe for lightness and flexibility,
since the method of making, whereby the sole is stitched directly to the
upper, interposes no thick or cumbersome material. Sole leather of good
quality is used. In fact, the sole would have to be not only strong,
but thin and light, or the shoe could not be turned in the process of
manufacture without straining it and getting it out of shape.
HISTORY OF THE TURN SHOE
History states that prior to 1845, which marked the date of the
introduction of shoe machinery, most of the shoes were sewed by hand,
the lighter ones turned and the heavier ones welted. In fact, the early
factories that began to spring up in New England about the beginning of
the century, were merely cutting rooms and places for storing the lasts
and stock.
Here the uppers, soles, and linings were cut by hand and then given out
to people in the vicinity, mostly farmers and fishermen, to be stitched
together and paid for at so much a dozen. Such was the beginning of
the shoe industry in New England. Hundreds of families added to their
resources in this way, the women doing the lighter work and the men the
heavier.
In fishing communities, where men were away most of the time in their
boats, their wives and daughters, who stayed at home, undertook the
lighter grades of shoemaking--the turn process. This was the case in
the “North Shore” towns like Lynn, Haverhill, and Marblehead, and these
to-day, keeping to the old traditions, are the great centers for the
finer turn-grades of shoemaking, whereas the “South Shore” towns, like
Brockton, Whitman, Abington, Rockland, and the Weymouths, with the men
at home all the year, came to make a specialty of shoes for men, and
absorbed the heavier part of the growing industry.
With the introduction of the Goodyear turn machine, however, the handwork
was gradually done away with, although more handwork is done in the turn
process than in either the McKay or welt process.
STANDARD SCREW SHOEMAKING
Many good qualities of heavy shoes are made by the standard screw method,
which differs from the McKay method by having the outsole and insole
fastened together with a double-threaded wire, which is screwed through
and cut off by the machine the instant it reaches the inside of the shoe.
[Illustration: Cross Section of Standard Screwed Shoe.]
A pegged shoe is made in much the same way as the standard screw, except
that wooden pegs are used instead of wire to fasten the sole together.
The nailed method of shoemaking consists in nailing the soles together
around the edge. It is used principally for heavy, cheap shoes.
CHAPTER EIGHT
OLD-FASHIONED SHOEMAKING AND REPAIRING