Abstract: A machine for progressively roughing marginal portions of shoe bottoms comprising a shoe support (18) having toe support means (470) and a heel support arrangement including two sets of clamps (390, 392), one set (392) of which serves also as sensing means for sensing, by engagement with an off-set portion of the shoe last whether the shoe thus supported is a left or a right. An inductance sensing device (610) associated with the second set of clamps (392) supplies a signal to control means of the machine, the signal being dependent upon whether the shoe is a left or a right. The control means ensures that, in the operation of the machine, a roughing operation is carried out on the shoe bottom in such a manner that the inside waist region of the shoe bottom is traversed always in the same directiion, regardless of whether the shoe is a left or a right (and of course similarly the outside waist region is consistently operated upon).

Abstract: Provision is made for enabling the support for the lasting rolls and/or adhesive applying nozzles to be moved initially either into a position in which the instrumentalities are aligned with the longitudinal center line of the machine or alternatively are offset therefrom, selectively according to the contour of the shoe bottom. Further, the support is moved from its initially selected position to the other position during the machine cycle, thereby, in the case of the lasting rolls, varying their position during the machine cycle according to the shoe bottom shape. In the case of the nozzles, on the other hand, once they have engaged the shoe bottom, they are released from any constraint of their widthwise movement and are thus free to follow the shoe bottom edge contour, regardless of the position of the support.

Abstract: Provision is made for enabling the adhesive applying nozzles on a shoe lasting machine to be initially positioned offset from the longitudinal center line of the machine, selectively at one side or the other according to whether the shoe to be lasted is a left or a right. To this end each nozzle is movable, independently of the other, widthwise of the shoe bottom and has stop means associated therewith. At the start of a machine cycle, one stop means is in an operative position, in which its associated nozzle is in a desired offset position, while the other stop means is in a retracted position, allowing its associated nozzle to move to a position adjacent the first-mentioned nozzle. After engagement with the shoe bottom said one stop means is also retracted, so that both nozzles are then free to follow the edge contour of the shoe bottom without constraint.