CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES AND WICKS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SYKES, of York Street, in the County of Middlesex, Tallow Chandler, send.
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,. by.
Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom-
of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-
third day of March, One thousand eight hundred and fifty, in the thirteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Sykes, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her.
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said.
William Sykes, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the
said William Sykes, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree.
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all
Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANDLES AND WICKS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William Sykes,
should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High

page_text: Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Sykes, hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:―
Firstly, my Invention consists in the improvement of dipped tallow candles
by the intermixture therewith in manner following of a portion of stearic
acid-The wicks being prepared for dipping, a quantity of melted tallow is
placed in one vessel and a quantity of stearic acid in another. The wicks are
then dipped first into the tallow, and next into the stearic acid, and so on
alternately until they acquire any degree of thickness previously determined
upon, care being taken to allow sufficient time between every two dippings to
permit the last preceding coating (of tallow or stearic acid, as the case may be)
to harden. Or, instead of the preceding process the wicks may be repeatedly
dipped in the tallow alone till they have acquired a determinate thickness,
and then completed by successive dippings in the stearic acid. Or, again, the
tallow and stearic acid may be mixed together in the first instance, either in
equal parts or in any other suitable proportion (varying with the degree of
hardness or solidity desired) & the wicks be dipped in the compound in the
usual manner.
Secondly, my Invention consists in giving to dipped candles, and such other
candles as are made wholly or in part of tallow, an external coating of a com-
pound of bismuth and borax, whereby they are much improved in appearance
and a better combustion of the wick ensured. The wicks are dipped as
usual either in tallow alone or (as before described) in tallow and stearic acid
alternately, or in a mixture of tallow and stearic acid, or in any other mixture
of which tallow forms a part, until they have nearly acquired the proper
degree of thickness, upon which they are dipped into a finishing bath com-
posed of borax and the white oxide of bismuth dissolved or ground up in and
well amalgamated with melted tallow, or a mixture of tallow and stearic acid,
or any other mixture of which the body of the candle may happen to be
composed.
Thirdly, my Invention consists in impregnating before dipping the wicks of
dipped candles with such matters as will ensure or promote their burning
without requiring to be snuffed. I use for this purpose three preparations,
either a solution of borax in water, or a solution of bismuth in nitric or other

page_text: suitable acid, or a solution of bismuth or oxide of bismuth, with the addition
of a small quantity, say three tenths, of solution of borax, first soaking the
wick well with the particular solution used, and then drying it thoroughly
before dipping in the tallow or mixture of which tallow forms a part.
Fourthly, my Invention consists of an improved apparatus or machine for
suspending and cutting the wicks in the manufacture of dipped candles, and
of a peculiar method of using the same.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawings is a plan, and Figure 2 a cross section,
of this machine. A, A, is a framework; B a grooved roller over which the
cords of twisted or plaited cotton are passed from the bobbins I, I. C is a
clip or holder (a front elevation of which is given separately in Figure 3)
which consists of two principal pieces or bars a and b, which are held together
by means of two sliding clamps c, c. D and E are the blades of the scissors
or cutter, the former being fixed and the latter moveable. F is a trough for
containing a liquid cement composed of stearic acid, wax, tallow, or any other
suitable ingredients, which is kept in a melted state by a jacketing of hot
water or air or steam; and G is a table which supports the broach or rod H,
by which the wicks are suspended during the dipping process, and which is
made square instead of round as usual. The mode of operation is as ful-
lows: The cords are brought down from the roller B and secured between
the bars a and b of the clip or holder C, each cord being left projecting about
an inch in advance of the front edge of the clip. The bars a and b are made
to lay firm hold of the cords of cotton by moving the sliding clamps c, c, from
the ends inwards, which brings the bars, in consequence of the wedge-shaped
ends of the upper bar a, closer together. The cords being thus secured, the
clip is lifted up and drawn forward by the workman, upon which the free ends
of the cotton, which were left projecting from the clip, are immersed in or
brushed over by the cement in the trough F, and then laid on the top side of
the square broach or suspending rod H, to which they are then made, by a
slight pressure, to adhere with sufficient firmness for the after process of
dipping. The clip is now slackened, which is done by moving the clamps c, c,
outwards and pushing them sufficiently far back over the cotton and towards
the bobbins as will suffice to form the intended lengths of wick. The clip is
then, by a reverse movement of the clamps c, c, again made fast upon the
cottons and placed upon the table K, being about one inch behind the cutter.
The moveable blade E of the cutter is brought down and cuts off the cottons,
leaving them adhering at the near end (by means of the cement) to the
suspending rod or broach H. The broach II, with the wicks thus adhering
to it, is next placed in a dipping frame of the usual construction, and so

page_text: other broaches are similarly filled as many as may be required one after the
other. The two bars of the clip C may be hinged so that when opened they
shall allow the cotton to go free, but when closed will take a firm hold of
them, as shewn in the cross section Figure 4.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the improvements which I
claim as of my Invention are as follows:-
First, I claim the manufacture of dipped candles partly of tallow and
partly of stearic acid, according to the several modes herein-before described.
Second, I claim the coating externally of dipped candles, and such other
candles as are made in whole or in part of tallow, with a compound of bismuth
and borax, as before described.
Third, I claim the impregnating of wicks of dipped candles (whether plaited
or plain) before dipping with a solution of borax or a solution of bismuth, or
a compound of bismuth and borax, each in lieu of the others, as before
described.
Fourth, I claim the improved apparatus or machine for suspending and
cutting wicks and method of using the same before described, that is to say,
in so far as regards the square form given to the suspending broach or rod,
the cementing of the wicks at one end to the broach, the peculiar construction
of the clip, and the combination therewith of arrangements for cutting the
wicks.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Sykes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty.