Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,
JOHN SOLOMON BICKFORD, GEORGE SMITH, and THOMAS DAVEY, all
of Tuckingnill, Camborne, in the County of Cornwall, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-five, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did give and grant unto us, the said John Solomon Bickford, George
Smith, and Thomas Davey, our exors, admors, and assigns, Her espe-
cial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said
John Solomon Bickford, George Smith, and Thomas Davey, our exors,
admors, and assigns, and such others as we, the said John Solomon
Bickford, George Smith, and Thomas Davey, our exors, adññiors, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
called England, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of Berwick

page_text: upon Tweed, in Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, our
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUFACTURING THE MINERS
SAFETY FUSE;" in which said Letters Patent there is, amongst others,
contained a proviso, that if we, the said John Solomon Bickford, George
Smith, and Thomas Davey, should not particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, and cause the same to
be enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
recited Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all
liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly
cease, determine, and become void, as by the said Letters Patent,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said recited proviso,
we, the said John Solomon Bickford, George Smith, and Thomas
Davey, 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 these Presents, and the Drawings hereto
annexed and herein referred to.
The instrument or fuze now well known and commonly designated
as the Miners Safety Fuze, was the subject of certain Letters Patent
granted to the late William Bickford, of Tuckingmill aforesaid,
bearing date at Westminster, the Sixth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one. The con-
struction and manufacture of the said fuze is described in the Specifi-
cation of the said last mentioned Letters Patent; and our Invention
relates to certain improvements in the construction and manufacture of
the said fuze as described in such Specification and as hitherto prac-
tised. We would premise, for the information of those who are not
acquainted with the construction of the said fuze, that it consists of a
cylinder of gunpowder in the centre of a rope, consisting generally of
8, 10, or 12 threads or yarns, carefully twisted or laid together (in the
manner of twine spinning or cord making) so as to enclose such gun-

page_text: powder, the rope so made being secured and defended by a covering of
strong twine wound thereon, nearly at right angles to the lay of the
threads or yarus composing the said rope (and which process is techni-
cally called countering), whereby the rope attains the firmness and con-
sistency of hard cord, and the inner yarns embracing the cylinder of
gunpowder are firmly secured, and the whole being coated or varnished
over and cut into lengths as required, becomes available for conveying
fire to charges of gunpowder, and for the various purposes to which the
said fuze is well known to be applicable. The laying of the yarns so
as to embrace the cylinder of gunpowder is performed by a machine or
apparatus described in the said Specification, and called a "monkey."
By the monkey, according to the construction and arrangements thereof
hitherto employed, only one fuze can be spun at the same time, whereas
it is desirable that several fuzes should be spun at the same time; now,
one of oursaid improvements consists in certain arrangements, whereby
three or more fuzes may be spun at the same time by one apparatus.
The nature of this improvement, and the construction of the improved
monkey for this purpose, will be seen by reference to the annexed
Drawings, in which Figure 1, is a plane; Figure 2, a vertical longitu-
dinal section; and Figure 3, a vertical transverse section of a monkey
for spinning three fuzes at the same time, drawn to a scale of half the
real size. The monkey is made to travel along a horizontal table or
bench, between two ledges, in the same manner as described in the
Specification above referred to, but we would remark that, according
to the arrangements shewnin that Specification, the rack is placed with
the teeth upwards, the wheel working therein being vertical, whereas
according to the arrangements herein described the teeth are placed
on the side of the ledge of the bench, so that the wheel working therein
is horizontal, and not vertical, as seen at A, in Figure 1. The wheel
a, works another of equal size and number of cogs b, shewn in dotted
lines in Figure 1, and seen in section in Figure 2. This wheel 6, has
a vertical spill or centre c, (Figure 2), on the upper part of which is a
crown wheel d, (Figures 1 and 2), with teeth on its under edge work-
ing the pinion E, (Figures 1 and 2), having on the outer part of its
centre the cog wheel/, (Figures 2 and 3), with eighteen teeth work-

page_text: ing into the wheels g, h, i, (Figure 3) of the same size and number of
teeth; on the centres of the wheels g, h, i, are the wires and crooks.
k, l, m, (Figure 1). To these crooks are attached the several yarns,
which as the monkey travels along the bench are spun into fuzes.
We prefer to have fifty-two teeth in the crown wheel d, eight teeth in
the pinion e, twelve teeth in each of the wheels a and b, and twenty-
four teeth to a foot in the side rack. In order to use this improved
monkey it is necessary to increase the number of funnels for the gun-
powder and collars, which may be arranged as shewn in Figures 4
and 5. Figure 4, is a plan of these collars, cast in one united piece of
brass work, k, l, m, being the three several collars, the whole being fixed
to an upright frame by the screws D, E; the centre holes n, o, p, being
intended for the reception of the gunpowder funnels w, x, y, (Figure 5,)
and the several circles of holes q, r, s, being intended to receive the
yarns, which meet below and embrace the gunpowder as the fuze is
spun. Figure 5, is a vertical view of this same part of the machine. k,l,m,
are the three collars, t, u, v, are the yarns passing into the several circles of
holes around the mouth ofthe funnel; w,x,y, are the three gunpowder
funnels, and A, B, and C, the three fuzes issuing from the interior
tube beneath. By placing the wheel, Figure 3, in such a position
that a large number of wheels may work into its teeth,and making such
other necessary additions and arrangements as will be obvious to any
competent workman, 4, 5, or more fuses may be spun at one single
operation. The arrangements for supplying yarns and gunpowder to
each of these several collars, and the other general arrangements for
spinning the fuzes not herein particularly described, are the same as
hitherto practised and described in the Specification above referred to.
Our second improvement in manufacturing fuzes relates to the mode
of introducing the gunpowder according to the method described in the
said Specification; the gunpowder is not supplied from the funnel with
the rapidity, regularity, and certainty which may be attained by our
improvement. Weintroduce into the centre of the fuze a small strong
thread or yarn, smaller and less fibrous than the yarns employed for the
fuze. The thread or yarn which we employ is that known as N° 135
white brown thread; this we supply from a reel or other source conve-
'

page_text: niently placed above the funnel containing the gunpowder; this thread
or yarn is passed down through the gunpowder and spun into the
centre of the fuze by being attached to the monkey and drawn on with
it as the fuze is spun. The position of these threads is shewn by
F, G, H, Figure 5. By means of this thread so drawn on as the fuze
is spun the gunpowder in the lower part of the funnel is constantly
kept in motion and travels on with the thread, so as to flow regularly
down into the fuze. By this means the continuity and regularity of
the cylinder of gunpowder is ensured.
Our third improvement relates to the coating or varnishing applied
to those fuzes which are to be used for blasting in dry ground, and
inclose or confined situations, or which are subject to considerable
variations in temperature. The coating or varnishing heretofore ap-
plied, consisting of tar or resin, burns with a great deal of smoke
and heat, and is affected by changes of temperature. Instead of a
coating or varnish of either of those materials, we take four pounds of
best glue and two pounds of yellow soap, and having dissolved them
in twelve gallons of water by a gentle heat, we add fifty-six pounds of
whiting, to give it a body; the varnish so made is applied to the fuzes
by any suitable arrangements similar to those described in the former
Specification. The new varnish, not being waterproof, must not be
employed for fuzes which are to be immersed in water, but being
less affected by temperature than the old varnish, and being non-in-
flammable or burning with little smoke, is much preferable for general
purposes.
Our fourth and last improvement relates to fuzes which are to be
employed under water. In the manufacture of fuzes to be employed
under water, or waterproof fuzes, as they are called, it has been
usual to add a second countering, after which the fuze was coated
or varnished a second time in the usual manner. But fuzes prepared
in this manner occasionally failed, in consequence of the varnish be-
coming more hard and brittle on immersion in water and cracking,
and thus admitting the water to the gunpowder. Our improve-
ment for obviating this defect is as follows:-After the fuze has
been coated or varnished with tar or resin varnish, and before the

page_text: coating is hard or quite set, the fuze is fastened to crooks and made to
revolve as if for countering, as described in the former Specification,
and a strip of brown paper is wound around the fuze in a spiral form,
so as completely to envelope and cover the whole surface of the fuze.
A thread is then wound round over the paper, which fixes the paper
and prevents its shifting; another coat of tar or resin varnish is then
applied to the paper, and by this means the fuze may be completely
waterproofed and protected against the action of the water.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we hereby further declare that we
claim as the Invention intended to be secured by the Letters Patent
granted to us as aforesaid,-Firstly, the improvement in manufacturing
fuzes by the use and application of suitable arrangements and appa-
ratus, whereby three or more fuzes may be spun at the same time, as
above described. Secondly, the improvement in manufacturing fuzes
by the introduction of a central thread spun in with the gunpowder, as
above described. Thirdly, the improvement in manufacturing fuzes by
covering such as are to be used in close or warm places, and not under
water, with a non-inflammable coating or varnish, as above described.
Fourthly, the improvement in manufacturing such fuzes as are to be
used in or under water, by the application of a second countering of
paper and second coating of tar or resin varnish, as above described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Solomon Bickford, George
Smith, and Thomas Davy, have hereunto set our hands and
seals, this
day of
in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Second day of May, in
the year of our Lord 1846, the aforesaid John Solomon Bickford came
before our said Lady the Queen,in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Enrolled the Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forte.six