The work of the welter is not so simple as it may seem. He works with a very complicated machine, and he must be able to make readily all the necessary adjustments. He must know almost by intuition that the thread is working properly. He must be able to tell at a glance that the shoe has been lasted correctly. He must know at once whether the welt furnished is suitable for the type of shoe he is to place it on. He must guide the welt on accurately. If he does otherwise, not only is time lost, but a leather part or parts are ruined. He must be so skilled that he can place the welts on a pair of shoes at the rate of a pair a minute.[27]
[27] Rates of operation are calculated from the tables given on pp. 166-169 of Bulletin No. 232 of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Goodyear stitcher receives the shoe with the outsole cemented on the shoe, the channel cut, and the lip of the channel turned back. He places the shoe to his machine so that the welt and outsole are sewed together all around the shoe in front of the heel. The seams are made in the channel of the outsole, so they may later be covered by the lip. The stitcher must be able to stitch about 37 pairs of shoes, on the average, per hour for the working day. At this speed, considerable skill is required to hold the shoe so that the curved parts are sewed around properly.[28]
[28] Rates of operation are calculated from the tables given on pp. 166-169 of Bulletin No. 232 of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The turn sewer performs a task somewhat similar to that of the Goodyear welter, but he does not attach a welt. He receives the shoe lasted, wrong side out. The outsole is, of course, now in the position of the insole on the Goodyear shoe. As in the Goodyear shoe, the channeling for the stitch is the same, but in addition, the outsole has been grooved, or a recess cut, so that a shoulder is formed around the outer edge of the sole in which the lower edge of the upper rests. The turn sewer sews through the lower edge of the upper and the shoulder on the outsole. The seam is buried in the inside channel. The process of sewing is performed on a machine that sews with a curved needle and nearly horizontal to the sole. Historically, the Goodyear welting process was a modification of the turn-shoe process of sewing the sole and upper together.
The McKay sewer receives a McKay shoe with the sole cemented on and channeled and the last withdrawn from the shoe. He sews through the sole, the lower edge of the upper, and through the insole. The seams thus appear on the inside of the shoe. This is clearly a simpler operation than that of the Goodyear welter.
The vamper sews the vamp to the quarters, or upper part of the upper. Since the vamp is curved and must be fitted to a rounding form, this operation is not so simple as flat sewing and so is paid for at a higher rate per piece.
PLAN No. 1054. OPERATORS WHO SKILLFULLY CUT THE LEATHER TO FORM
The rough rounder receives the shoe with the outsole cemented or tacked on to the upper part. He places the edge of the sole to the machine so that the edge of the outside and welt is cut to a uniform distance from the upper all round the outsole. In the same process his machine cuts an oblique channel in the outsole for the seam which is to bind the welt and outsole together. The work of the rough rounder requires strength and steady nerves, since he must hold the edge of the shoe against the cutting parts. He must know how to adjust his machine quickly for the various sorts of shoes, and must be able to place a uniform edge on over 900 pairs of shoes in a ten hour day.
The edge trimmer receives the shoe in the rough finished form. He holds the sole against a set of revolving cutters which trim the sole smoothly to the desired shape all around the sole. He must do this work carefully and not cut the upper or the stitches and at the rate of thirty-five pairs an hour.[29]