IM- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND STRUCTURE OF WICKS, AND IN THE
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joel Haywood Tatum and William James Williams,
of New York, United States of America, but now residing at Arundel
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND STRUCTURE OF WICKS, AND IN THE
"
Sealed the 9th May 1862, and dated the 9th January 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joel Haywood Tatum
and William James Williams at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 9th January 1862.
We, JOEL HAYWOOD TATUM and WILLIAM JAMES WILLIAMS, of New York,
United States of America, but now residing at Arundel Street, Strand, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND STRUCTURE OF WICKS, AND
IN THE APPLICATION OF THE SAME TO THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention relates to the manufacture of candle wicking, and its appli-
cation to the manufacture of candles, whereby plaited or braided wicks which
will turn out and consume without snuffing in tallow or other viscid and low-
fusing substances are used. It is well known that the ordinary three-braid
wick will not burn properly in tallow or other low fusing substances, as there

page_text: is a constant tendency to turn out of the flame too promptly, and to overload
and fall down upon the side of the candle, also a want of capilarity to supply
the grease or tallow to the flame in sufficient quantity. We therefore introduce
into the wick one or more cores of a different material from that of the strands
of the braid, whereby we not only secure a more ready flow but regulate the
bend of the wick so that it will not turn too quickly out of the flame, nor be
liable to overload and fall down upon the candle. We prefer using two such
cores in an ordinary three-strand plait, one of the cores being formed of a hard
and stiff cord, made of hemp or flax, and the other of soft-cotton; these cords
are not plaited in conjunction with the strands, but are inclosed in their con-
volutions. In order to accomplish this we alter and make all attachments to
the ordinary three-strand wick machine in such manner as to pass the cords
through the centre of the wheels which move the carriers and bobbins, so that
each of the bobbins passes round the cords or cores alternately; this we do by
having a hollow shaft or pinion for both of the wheels, the shaft of which
passes up to a sufficient height to allow the spool or bobbin to pass freely.
The cords are wound upon the bobbins situated underneath the bed plate of
the braiding machine, with proper arrangements to regulate the feed.
We propose e also to impregnate my wicks with any of the well-known solutions
which render them more perfectly combustible, and avoid the necessity of
snuffing, but the solution which we particularly claim is, a compound of
nitrate of potash and silicate of soda; after steeping the wick we then
impregnate it with a solution of acitate of lead; the wicks we introduce into
the candles in the ordinary way of manufacture.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed 2
by the said Joel Haywood Tatum and William James Williams in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th July 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOEL
HAYWOOD TATUM and WILLIAM JAMES WILLIAMS, of New York, United
States of America, but now residing at Arundel Street, Strand, in the County 30
of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 9th day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the 35

page_text: said Joel Haywood Tatum and William James Williams,. Her special licence
that we, the said Joel Haywood Tatum and William James Williams, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Joel
Haywood Tatum and William James Williams, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE AND STRUCTURE OF WICKS,
AND IN THE APPLICATION OF THE SAME TO THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Joel Haywood Tatum and
William James Williams, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Joel Haywood Tatum and William
James Williams, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
First, our Invention relates to an improvement in machinery for manu-
facturing wick.
Secondly, to an improved structure of wick, whereby plaited or braided
wicks are rendered peculiarly applicable to tallow and other viscid and low
fusing stocks that do not require snuffing.
Thirdly, the treatment of the wick, and its application to the manufacture-
of candles, whereby an improved, cheap, and economical candle is produced
either by moulds or by dipping.
The improvements in the braiding machine consist in adding the perpen-
dicular hollow shafts B, B, Fig. 1, of the appended Drawings, and the
adjustable guides C, C, Fig. 1, to the ordinary three-strand wick braiding
machine. This is done by placing the hollow shafts B, B, in the centre of the
wheels A, A, Fig. 1, that move the carriers and bobbin d, d, d, the hollow
shafts being fixed and permanent, and answering as pinions or axis for the
revolving wheels A, A, the shaft extending sufficiently high above the upper
surface of the wheels to allow of the free passage of the bobbin. The object
of the hollow shaft is to admit of the passage up through its centre of a cord

page_text: or string to be taken up as a core, and be enveloped in the strands of the
braid; whilst the braid is forming the cord or strings wound upon the spools
situated underneath the bed plate of the machine, with proper arrangements
to regulate their tension, and the adjustable guides C, C, are attached to the
upper part of the hollow shaft B, B, and extend inwards, so that the eyelet
holes shall very nearly approximate each other at a point somewhat below the
bearing where the braid is formed; these guides may be attached upon the
hollow shaft by a collar and a thumbscrew, so as to allow of elevation or
depression at pleasure, and their object is to prevent too much lateral strain
by the cords whilst the plaiting is going on, and also to keep the cords steady,
parallel, and perpendicular.
It is well known that all ordinary twist wicks when used in tallow candles
require continually to be snuffed, and in order to avoid this constant attendance
and the filth consequent therefrom, many attempts have been made to adapt to
tallow a self-consuming wick, and it is well known that when the ordinary
three-strand braided wick has been employed it always fails, in consequence
of the tendency to turn outward too suddenly, and overloads with the ascending
fat so as to fall down upon the wall of the candle, and cause it to run and melt
away. Several devices have been resorted to in order to remedy this defect,
such, for instance, as the introduction of a few threads of flax into the cotton
strands, of which the wick was braided; another mode is by passing a cord or
cords along on one or both sides of the plaited wick, and securing the cord to
the wick by the use of a binding thread; and another by enclosing the
ordinary three-strand braid in a web or netting sheath. None of the plans
have succeeded that we are aware of in any practical way or to any valuable
extent, but by the use of the machine above described we are enabled to
construct a new form of wick at one single operation of the machine, resembling
in its exterior the ordinary three-strand braid, but totally different in its
interior. By introducing into one of the hollow shafts a hemp or flax cord or
string such as is ordinarily used for the strings, and introducing into the other
a soft cotton or woollen cord or string, which cords being taken up in the
braid in the form of a core, a wick is formed of greater capilarity and at the
same time possessed of strength and resistance enough to stand up and not
overload with the ascending fat, and yet the wick by virtue of the exterior
braiding has a constant tendency to turn out of the flame, and to consume by
coming in contact with the external atmosphere. The hemp or flax cord
becomes hard and wiry under the influence of heat whilst the cotton and wool
only becomes more weak and pliant; thus by this structure and combination

page_text: the wick may be made to stand at any desired position to insure the most
perfect performance.
In the application of this wick, in order to obtain the best results and to
totally destroy the ash, it is necessary that the cords or cores, as well as a
portion of the cotton forming the strands in the braid be previously steeped in
an aqueous solution containing chemicals that will dissipate the ash; the
solution we prefer is made as follows:-1st, solution of acetate of lead, one
ounce per gallon of water; 2nd, a solution composed of two ounces of borax
and one ounce fluid silicate and soda, added to one gallon of water. First dip
in the acetate solution, warm, and then in the alkaline, wrung out and dry.
To make a wick for candles, say six in the pound, we use twelve threads of
soft spun cotton, No. 14, four threads of which ought to have been steeped in
the above solutions, as also the two cores; the remainder of the cotton should
be untreated and the wick should be loosely braided; experience alone can
regulate that; however, the size of the wick being varied to suit the size of
the candle, which may be made in the ordinary moulding machines, in hand
moulds, or by dipping. When the mode of manufacture is by dipping, we
prefer to use a small spring weight attached to the lower end of each wick for
the first few dips, so as to secure a straight candle; the weights are rapidly
and easily attached and removed, and may be made of a variety of forms, but
the one we find most simple, cheap, and practical will be understood by
reference to the Drawings, Fig. 4, annexed to this Specification. We do not
confine ourselves to any particular form or spring weight, nor to any
prescribed mode of manipulation, but having described our Invention and its
application in the manufacture of self-consuming tallow and other candles.
In conclusion, we do not claim the introduction of hollow shafts into
braiding machines for the introduction of a core or cores as new, for this has
been done before in the manufacture of many kinds of round and elastic cords,
but we are not aware that it was ever done in connection with wick-braiding
machines, or in combination with guides for the purposes set forth in this
Specification; we therefore claim the combination in the braiding machines
of the hollow shafts and adjustable guides, or their equivalents, as new and
improved machinery for the purpose of braiding wick; neither do we claim
broadly the combination of hemp, flax, or wool with a braided wick, as many
combinations have been made of these materials before, as heretofore alluded
to; but we claim the introduction of hemp as a core in one convolution of
the wick substantially as described.
We do not claim broadly the ingredients in the preparation of the wick to

page_text: cause the consumption of the ash, but we do claim the combination and mode
of saturating by successive dips in the two solutions as described.
And, lastly, we claim any candle made of tallow or other soft fusing
stock in combination with the above-described wick as a new and improved
article.
In witness whereof, I, the said William James Williams, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, on behalf of myself and the said Joel Haywood
Tatum, this Ninth day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two.
WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS. (L.B.)