Improvements in Firelighters and in the Methods of their Production.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 17th May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 24th Nov., 1892-Accepted, 14th Jan., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Firelighters and in the Methods of their
Production.
GEORGE EASTHAM 28 Oakfield Road Stroud Green N. Accountant do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Improvements in the manufacture of firelighters whereby manual labour is
largely superseeded and a machine self contained or machines without additional
hand-labour form the designed device or creation which constitutes the firelighter
proper.
These improvements effect more than a saving of labour they materially
accelerate the production of the complete article and diminish the cost in the
market. These firelighters are formed in wood from balk, pine, deals or any
other suitable timber. These are sub divided into pieces of smaller bulk say
4 inch wide by 3 inch deep, or 3 inch by 3 inch, and of any workable length aud
so regulated as to cut into a number of complete segments showing no appreciable
amount of waste, whatever the size of the timber used.
I next form in these prepared lengths of wood several open chambers or recesses
of about one inch in depth by three-eighths inch in width running longitudinal, and
in getting out these chambers or recesses for satisfactory and economical working
it is essential that the cutter or groover should always enter the wood the same way
as the grain, not crossway, or the vertical way of the grain, but passing along the
plane of the grain itself, by this method a fibrous element is the waste product,
not saw dust, even should saws and not cutters be used to form the recesses.
The gain in so working the wood is manifested in greater ease of manipulation
of the work being done, and great increase in the life and fitness of the tools
employed, whether they be cutters, gougers, groovers, or saws; the labour and cost of
keeping the tools fit, being materially reduced by this method. In completeing the
lengths of wood for their specific object viz. conversion into firelighters I work out
these chambers or recesses not merely on one side of the prepared wood, but on
both sides top and bottom, and if required upon four sides, but for general purposes
on two sides, preferably faceing each other, leaving a fillet or bar of the solid wood
intervening which when the firelighter is complete forms a base from which several
spurs or spokes radiate. These lengths of wood are then cross cut to any desirable
thickness and unlike other firelighters are cut the cross way of the grain at a right
angle to the line of grooves, presenting a rough and granular surface, instead of the
usual smoth surface as they leave the saw, and are in this respect more efficient
as a firelighter being more facile in ignition, and from the porous nature of the
surface offer during combustion a greater hold for combustable energy than a
surface prepared by cutting the smoth way of the grain, which is fine and close
on the surface and not so spontaneous in ignition. In forming the recesses or
chambers I may use a double set of cutters or more, or tools performing the
operation at one and the same time, cutting out the recessed chambers at one and
the same time upon two or more sides at once, or I may use one set of cutters,
going over the wood a second time and feeding the wood up to the cutters upon its
other side or face. As previously explained the fire-lighter has spurs or spokes
radiating from a somewhat central point or has a bar or band passing transverse
way across the manufactured article. The spurs or spokes being in continuity and
forming in all one piece. I can produce similar results by forming recesses in half
sections only and then by affixing the two halves together but this is not so con-
venient or expeditious and would be more liable to breakage in packing in bulk
for long journeys.

page_text: Although I do not give preference I could construct this spur firelighter by cross
or vertical grain material but at a disadvantage in point of time and cost.
Dated this Twelfth day of Mov 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION:
Improvements in Firelighters and in the Methods of their
Production.
I, GEORGE EASTHAM of 28 Oakfield Road, Stroud Green, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings
in which
Figure 1 represents what is known as a "deal end," that is a piece cut off the
end of a plank or board.
Figure 2 represents the same after it has received the first treatment towards the
production of the fire-lighter.
Figure 3 shows on a smaller scale one half of Figure 2 after it has been cross
cut, and
Figure 4 represents a complete fire-lighter.
Like letters represent like parts throughout the drawings.
An important feature in the manufacture of these fire-lighters is the production
during such manufacture of what is known as "wood wool," that is thin, narrow
strips or shavings of wood which in quantity can be used for packing and similar
purposes. Hitherto in the manufacture of fire-lighters the portions which had to
be removed have been removed in the form of saw-dust chips or the like which had
very little commercial value, whereas the "wood wool" which I am able to pro-
duce in the manufacture of my fire-lighters has an important commercial value.
In carrying out my invention I proceed as follows:-
--
I take the deal end which may be of any convenient size preferably about
3 inches by
or 11, and say 18 inches long, but it will be understood that as it is
desirable to purchase the wood as cheaply as possible, the dimensions of the timber
may vary as the pieces are for the most part waste pieces cut off the ends of planks.
The rough piece of wood shown in Figure 1, I will term the blank. This blank A
is placed in any suitable machine adapted to the planing or ploughing of wood,
and the grooves B are produced, the portions removed being in the form of the
above described "wood wool." The machine most suitable for this purpose would
be a form of planing machine, although other forms of machines could be employed
for the purpose. The operation of the machine and the construction of the tools
would all be of ordinary description and well understood. The blank A. in
Figure 2 is shown with the grooves B and the divisions or pieces of the original
wood C left between them the central division C being of double width so as to
allow of the blank being cut longitudinally down the centre upon the line C¹ of
Figure 2. The reason for this is that it is not necessary to have the fire-lighters
of such a length as the 9 or 11 inches of the wood would give although the thick-
ness of the blank say 3 inches is desired and the ordinary sizes into which-timber
is cut for commercial purposes makes it convenient to adopt the course described:
The blank having been treated as described with reference to Figure 2 is further
cross cut into a number of pieces as indicated by the dot-and-dash lines D in
Figure 3 producing the fire-lighters shown in Figure 4. To complete the fire-
lighter it is dipped in melted rosin or other suitable combustible compound as
shown at E in Figure 4.
It will be noticed that this improved fire-lighter unlike those hitherto produced
is cut the cross way of the grain which runs in the direction of its shortest

page_text: dimension instead of one of the longer dimensions as is customary; this is an
advantage inasmuch at it presents a rough granular surface which is more promptly
seized by the flame and ignited than the smoother surface usually employed.
It will be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise number of the
grooves or to the shape of the grooves or of the fire-lighter, the form shown in
the drawings being selected for purposes of convenience as already explained.
1
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The manufacture of fire-lighters by removing from the blank portions in the
form of "wood wool" substantially as described.
2. The simultaneous manufacture of fire-lighters and "wood wool" substan-
tially as described.
3. The production of "wood wool" in the manufacture of fire-lighters.
4. The manufacture of fire-lighters in such manner as to produce "wood wool."
5. The method or process of manufacturing fire-lighters which consists in
grooving the blank longitudinally and cross cutting the grooved blank substantially
as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
6. A fire-lighter having the grain running in the direction of its shortest
dimension.
7. A fire-lighter substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 4 of the
accompanying drawings.
8. A fire-lighter grooved in the direction of its grain and having a bar from
which project spurs or divisions on one or both sides substantially as described.
Dated this 14th day of November 1892.
GEORGE EASTHAM.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.