IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRICTIONAL MATCHES AND FUZEES.
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bell and George Charles Grimes, Fuzec
and Match Manufacturers, No. 1, Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRICTIONAL MATCHES
AND FUZEES.'
Sealed the 12th August 1856, and dated the 28th May 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Bell and George
Charles Grimes at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 28th May 1856..
We, GEORGE BELL and GEORGE CHARLES GRIMES, Fuzee and Match Manu-
facturers, No. 1, Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth, do hereby declare the nature of
the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRICTIONAL MATCHES
AND FUZEES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
frictional matches and fusees. For these purposes, in making frictional
matches, in place of the pieces of wood of which they are composed being of
equal thickness at the ends as at the other parts, they are made pointed, by which
they can be dipped into the stearine and into the igniting compound in bundles,
in place of their being held in frames, and they are cut by machinery in the
following manner:-A blade is arranged to produce a parallel shaving or

page_text: thickness of wood, as heretofore, and there are combined in the same machine
two inclined blades, so that the edges of the shavings or pieces of wood are
bevilled off, and the wood for each match is pointed at one end; hence, when
held in bundles or quantities, they may be dipped in the materials used for
making frictional matches. In place of dipping frictional matches in sulphur,
we sometimes dip them in rosin or pitch. In making fusees, in place of the
simple prepared paper, heretofore used, a shaving or thin cutting of wood is
placed on one side of the paper to give strength thereto, and by extending
beyond the paper, the wood becomes a handle to hold a fusce when using it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Bell and George Charles Grimes in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 28th November 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
BELL and GEORGE CHARLES GRIMES, Fuzee and Match Manufacturers, No. 1,
Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
Ono thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
George Bell and George Charles Grimes, 1er special licence that we, the
said George Bell and George Charles Grimes, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said George Bell and George Charles
Grimes, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during tho
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
OF FRICTIONAL MATCHES AND FUZEES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said George Bell and George Charles Grimes, our exccutors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should particularly 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 immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said George Bell and George. Charles
Grimes, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, .and in what
_manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of
frictional matches and fusces. For theso purposes, in making frictional
matches, in place of the pieces of wool of which they are composed being of
..equal thickness at the ends as at the other parts, they are made.pointed,
which they can be dipped into the stearine and into the igniting compound in
bundles, in place of their being held in frames, and they are cut by machinery
in the following manner:-A blade is arranged to produce a parallel shaving
or thickness of wood, as heretofore, and there are combined in the same
machine two inclined blades, so that the edges of the shavings or pieces of
wood are bevilled off, and the wood for each match is pointed at one end;
hence, when held in bundles or quantities they may be dipped in the materials
used for making frictional matches. In place of dipping frictional inatches in
sulphur, we sometimes dip them in resin or pitch. In making fusces, in place
of the simple prepared paper, heretofore used, a shaving or thin cutting of
wood is placed on one side of the paper to give strength thereto, and by
extending beyond the paper, the wood becomes a handle to hold a fusce when
using it.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to describe
more fully the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a plan, and Figure 2 a longitudinal section, of a machine
suitably arranged for cutting matches with angular or pointed ends, according
to our Invention. a is the cutter block, which is furnished with vertical and
horizontal cutters of the ordinary kind, and it is moved to and fro on guides
a', a', by means of the connecting rod a² attached to the crank axis a³, which
receives motion by a strap from a steam engine or other motive power. The
blocks or pieces of wood to be cut are fed into the box or holder b, which is
supported above the cutters by arms affixed to the framing of the machine. c is
a lever arm to support the block of wood in the holder whilst the cutters d, d,
are acted on to cut off an angular shaving from each end of the piece of wood
to be cut, so as to bevil it off, as shown by the Diagram, Figure 3. The
cutters d, d, act at right angles to the cutters a, a, in the following manner:-
e is an arm fixed to the cutter block a; the arm e, in the backward movement

page_text: of the cutter block a, acts against the lever arm f, moving on the fulcrum f',
fixed to the framing of the machine; the other end of the lever fis connected
by a pin joint to the link f, which is connected by a cross head to the slide
rods d', d', to the other ends of which the cutters d, d, are fixed, there being
sockets with set screws on the ends of the rods d', d, into which the ends of
the cutters d enter, and are capable of being adjusted and fixed at a proper
angle for forming points to the matches when cut. The levers cand fare
drawn back after being acted upon by springs c*, f*, as shown. The cutters.
d, d, having bevilled off the edges of the piece of wood, the cutter block a in
coming forward pushes the lever c from under the piece of wood to be cut in
the holder, which will then rest upon the cutter block a, and the vertical
cutters (1) will first score the under surface of the wood, and then the hori-
zontal cutter (2) will take off a slice or shaving, which falls through the opening
in the cutter block, cut into matches, having pointed or bevilled off ends, which
are afterwards cut across their length, and the pointed ends may then be
dipped, when held in bundles, in the materials used for making frictional
matches.
Figure 4 shows a plan of another arrangement of cutter block a, suitable
for cutting matches with pointed ends. The cutter block a in this arrange-
inent of the cutters is sufficiently long to support the piece of wood in the box
or holder when the cutters have moved back to their furthest position. 1, 1,
are cutters, which are placed at an anglo in front of the horizontal cutter 2,
so that as the cutter block moves forward, the cutters 1, 1, first bevil off the
edges of the wood, and the cutter 2 then takes off a shaving having bevilled
edges. A number of these shavings are then packed edgeways in the box or
holder, and are again cut by the same cutters into matches which will have
points bevilled off on two sides, as shown at Figure 5.
Figure 6 shows an edge and side view of fusees made according to our
Invention. a is a shaving or thin cutting of wood on which the prepared
paper is fixed or cemented. This thin shaving is employed to give strength
to the prepared paper, and to form a handle to hold the fuseo by when
using it.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, we would remark that we make no claim to the parts
of the machinery shown, and the details may be varied without departing from
our Invention; but what wo claim is,-
First, the combining machinery and manufacturing frictional matches as
beroin described.

page_text: And, secondly, we claim the manufacture of frictional fuzees with handles
or strengthening pieces affixed thereto.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Bell and Georg Charles
Grimes, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-eighth
day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-six.
Witness,
J. G. JONES.
GEO. BELL.
(L.S.)
G. C. GRIMES. (L.S.)