soleplate

Noun

soleplate (plural soleplates)

1. The flat metal plate forming the underside of an iron (for ironing laundry).
   • For example, a nonstick soleplate or a control for a burst of steam adds about $2 to an iron's retail price.1973, Electric Irons
   • To clean the soleplate of an iron with a nonstick finish (such as Teflon), spray Shout stain remover on a damp, soft cloth and wipe the bottom of the cool, unplugged iron.2010, Joey Green, Joey Green's Cleaning Magic, page 175
2. A sole (timber).
3. The base timber in the framing for a wall, to which the studs or posts are attached and on which they rest.
   • For a longer wall, secure the soleplate in three places: at least 4 inches and at most 12 inches from each end and in the middle. Using a 1⁄2-inch drill bit, drill through the soleplate.2012, Jeff Cox, Cellaring Wine
   • As Figure 5-1 illustrates, the T shore consists of a header to collect the load, a soleplate to distribute the load, wedges to adjust the post tightness, a post to absorb the load from the header and transfer it to the soleplate, two gusset plates to lock the header and post together and stop any...2012, John O'Connell, Collapse Operations for First Responders, page 90
4. The back wall of a bucket on a water wheel (which is omitted in certain designs).
   • The principle of the consruction of the buckets is more clearly shown on an enlarged scale in fig. 3, Plate III., the soleplate being abandoned and the bucket plates bent round and prolonged upwards so as to overlap one another, leaving an opening indicated by the arrows for the escape of the...1861, Sir William Fairbairn, Treatise on Mills and Mill Work, page 136
   • As the water enters, the air in the bucket passes out through the opening in the soleplate, as shown by the arrows a, b, and as the bucket rises from the back-water, the air re-enters and prevents the water from rising with it, or, as the millwrights term it, prevents the bucket from sucking.1869, Oliver Byrne, Ernest Spon, Spons' dictionary of engineering, page 2564
5. Any baseplate on which machinery rests, especially one to which things are bolted.
   • The various parts of the engine are secured to a casting called the soleplate, which rests on the engine foundation and is securely bolted thereto.1907, John Duncan, Steam and Other Engines, page 11
   • The foundation for the engine usually consists of long logs laid fore and aft, two on each side of the soleplate.1917, John William Major Sothern, "Verbal" Notes and Sketches for Marine Engineers
6. A flat surface on which the sole of the foot rests.
   • One binding, the Besser soleplate binding, has developed a system that actually can improve skiing performance under the stress of hard skiing.1973 November, “Who Says a Ski Binding Can't Improve your Skiing.”, in Skiing, volume 26, number 3, page 129
   • A clinical evaluation was conducted with a supracondylar socket with a Pe-Lite liner, mated to a hollow calf and a keel bonded to the flexible soleplate of an Otto Bock IS19 foot.1983, Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, page 10