IMPROVEMENTS IN CANDLES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUs For THEIR MANUFACTURE
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Alexander Lyttle, of the Grove, Ham-
mersmith, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CANDLES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUs For
THEIR MANUFACTURE.”
Sealed the 5th December 1873, and dated the 11th October 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Alexander
Lyttle at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 11th October 1873.
I, WILLIAM ALEXANDER LYTTLE, of the Grove, Hammersmith, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CANDLES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS
FOR THEIR MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
In order to carry into effect with more economy, and therefore public
advantage, the arrangements for producing candles with false butts,
specified in my Letters Patent, numbered 3741 of last year, entitled
"Improvements in Candles," I propose to make and attach the required
butts at and by one and the same operation in the following manner,
by employing in their production a fusible material capable of com-

page_text: bination with paraffine, stearine, or the other waxy or fatty matters
which are generally used in the manufacture of candles :—
The candles being moulded in the usual way, their ends are dressed
off as at present preparatory to their being raised from the moulding
machine, and a metallic mould, with a row of vertical holes corresponding
with and matching exactly the candle ends, is then placed over each row
of candles, the lower face of the mould being fitted to rest accurately
upon the table or upper surface of the candle moulding machine. Into
the vertical holes in the mould is then poured melted pitch or other
bituminous or resinous material, which at once becomes united to the
candle ends, whilst it takes at the same time the shape of the vertical
moulding hole into which it has been poured. If these holes in each
mould have a slightly conical form, with the taper diminishing upward,
the mould can be lifted upward as soon as the pitch castings are cold,
leaving the latter standing above the table of the candle moulding
machine as a row of false butts permanently soldered to the candles.
It is desirable to make the moulds for casting the pitch or other
fusible material with a steam jacket or double casing on the same prin-
ciple as is followed in the construction of the ordinary candle moulding
machine, known as "the American machine," in order to be able
either to heat it with steam or to suddenly chill it with cold water
without allowing either the steam or water to come into contact with
the pitch..
The mould for each row of pitch casts may also be split longitudinally
in a vertical planc, so as to open like a bullet mould, and thus divide
each vertical butt hole or mould into two equal parts. By this means it
will be possible to adopt other shapes than that of the aforesaid tapering
butts; and moreover by so shaping each butt mould that the pitch
casting cannot escape till the mould or series of moulds is opened, it will
no longer be necessary to employ the wooden candle clamps now used to
hold the candles perpendicular as they are raised by the pistons from the
machine, because the new split butt mould, by retaining the pitch.
castings till the mould is opened, will through its hold on those castings
also hold the candles attached thereto in the same way and with the
same effect as do the existing wooden clamps.
The two halves of these split moulds may be screwed or otherwise
conveniently fastened together, so as to admit of being readily opened.

page_text: Pitch or other fusible ends may also be cast separately in moulds
apart from the candles, and attached thereto afterwards by any of the
methods specified in my aforesaid Letters Patent, numbered 3741 of last
year, or by any other means calculated to effect such attachment in con-
formity with the hot-soldering principle, which is the leading feature of
the mode of attaching the false butts according to the said Letters
Patent.
Pitch or other fusible falso butts attached to candles as herein-before
described will serve when the candle is burned out to assist in lighting
fires, but they may nevertheless be designated incombustible, as I have
done in my Patent, Number 3741 aforesaid, so far as they relate to the
combustion of the candle, because they are not provided with a wick by
which combustion can be propagated and continued when the candle
proper is consumed.
The pitch, resinous, or other fusible matter, hercin-before referred to
by the single term pitch, may have any desired organic or inorganic
powder incorporated therewith, as long as such admixture is not such
as to diminish the required fusibility and fluidity of the melted material.
The pitch, resinous, or other fusible materials may be blended together
as found expedient, and coloured in any desired way, and may also be
rendered more tough and waxy by having a small proportion of fatty
matter incorporated therewith, as is done in making shoemakers' wax.
In making cheap candles, such as the description known as "com-
posite," it may sometimes be found desirable to pour a small film of
paraffine or other like strong waxy material upon the end of each candle
before the melted pitch is poured on,.as hercin-before described; and
owing to the shrinkage which such composite candles undergo in
cooling, it is possible, by making their moulds almost cylindrical, to
dispense thereby with the aforesaid separate false butt moulds as
follows: When these candles are moulded and their ends dressed off,
they are caused to drop deeper down into their moulds, the latter being
made long for that purpose, and the space thus left between the upper
end of each candle and the upper end of its mould may be filled up level
with melted pitch, and when chilled will form a continuous cylindrical
false butt to the candle.
18
Dip" candles can be fitted with these false butts by cropping the
lorror ends off to the commencement of the wick, setting them in a rack

page_text: with the cropped ends uppermost and in the same plane, and then,
having set upon them a mould with a series of vertical butt holes, as
already described, pour on the pitch, which will thus when chilled form
a false butt to each.
A false butt suitable for "dip" or for composite candles may also
be made of coarse unglazed earthenware, dipped when hot in melted
pitch or tar and dried; and in order to attach it to the candle it is again
heated and applied to the end of the candle. Before applying it thus it
may be desirable to dip the end of the butt which is to adhere to the
candle in melted pitch, or rosin, or shoemakers' wax as a soldering
medium between the butt and candle. The ends of the dip candles
when about to have ready made ends thus soldered to them should be
embraced in a clamp, like that herein-before referred to as used in lifting
moulded candles from the "American" machine, but made of metal,
and in all other respects like the split mould, herein-before described, for
the purpose of casting a row or series of false butts in pitch. By using
such a clamp the ends of the candles will be prevented from melting out
of shape when the hot false butt is pressed against them.
A solid core or plug of any hard material may also be employed in
casting the pitch butts, as already described, by only partially filling
each mould hole over the end of the candle with pitch, and then pushing.
down the hard core or plug, which displaces the molten pitch, and thus
causes it to fill the mould perfectly around such core.
In cropping or shortening the ends of "dip" candles for the appli-
cation of the false butts it may be found desirable to employ revolving
cutters precisely like those used in shaping the wood of cedar covered
lead pencils. Two cutters on one spindle may be employed, one being
set so as merely to spin round the candle end above the cut, and reduce
it if uneven to a cylindrical shape, so as to fit perfectly into the mould
of the false butt. The next cutter may either detach the end by cutting
it off below the wick, or else it may be set so as to remove not only the
wickless end, but also the fat around the wick for a short distance, and
thus leave the wick projecting. This can either be cut off or left to be
surrounded by the molten pitch when the false butt is cast. Additional
strength is thus imparted to the joint, but the piece of wick must not be
long, because the pitch will burn with a smoky flame as far as the wick
enters therein.

page_text: When a clamp is required merely for the purpose of holding candles
as at present without exposure to heat I prefer to use one the clamping
faces of which are surfaced with "printers' inking roller composition,"
shaped or moulded as may be required to suit the size of the candles..
All the remaining parts of such clamp may be constructed as at present,
and the advantage derived from the printers' roller composition will be
freedom from injury to the candles when clamped, owing to its elasticity,
whilst there is no danger of injury to the composition, because unlike
india-rubber it is not acted on by fats or oils.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Alexander Lyttle in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ALEXANDER LYTTLE, of the Grove, Hammersmith, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Alexander Lyttle, Her special
licence that I, the said William Alexander Lyttle, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Alexander
Lyttle, my 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CANDLES, AND IN THE MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR THEIR MANUFACTURE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Alexander
Lyttle, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 I, the said William Alexander Lyttle, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:-
In order to carry into effect with more economy, and therefore public
advantage, the arrangements for producing candles with false butts,
specified in my Lettors Patent, numbered 3741 of the year 1872, entitled
"Improvements in Candles," I propose to make and attach the required
butt at and by one and the same operation in the following manner,
employing in their production a fusible material capable of combination
with paraffine, stearine, and the other waxy or fatty matters which are
generally used in the manufacture of candles:
-
The candles being moulded in the usual way, their ends are dressed
off as at present preparatory to their being raised from the moulding
machine, and a metallic mould, with a row of vertical holes corṛc-
sponding with and matching exactly the candle ends, is then placed over
each row of candles, the lower face of the mould being fitted to rest
accurately upon the table or upper surface of the candle moulding
machine. Into the vertical holes in this mould, which I shall designate
a butt mould, is then poured melted pitch or other bituminous or
resinous material, which at once becomes united to the candle ends,
whilst it takes at the same time the shape of the vertical moulding hole
into which it has been poured. If these holes in each butt mould have
a slightly conical form, with the taper diminishing upward, the mould
can be lifted upward as soon as the pitch or other material forming the
false butts is cold. The false butts permanently soldered to the candles
are thus left standing above the table of the moulding machine, and the
candles can then bo raised from the machine as at present.
It is desirable to make the butt moulds with a steam jacket or double
casing on the same principle as is followed in the construction of the
ordinary candle moulding machine, known as the "American 'machine,"
in order to be able either to heat it with steam or to suddenly chill it
with cold water without allowing either the steam or water to come into
contact with the pitch or other false butt.
The butt mould may also be split longitudinally in a vertical plane,
so as to open like a bullet mould, and thus divide cach vertical butt hole
into two equal parts. By this means it will be possible to adopt other

page_text: shapes than that of the aforesaid tapering butt, and moreover by so
shaping each vertical butt hole that the pitch or other casting of the
false butt cannot escape until the split butt mould is opened, it will no
longer be necessary to employ the wooden candle clamps now used to
hold the candles perpendicular as they are raised by the pistons from the
machine, because the butt mould whilst kept shut will securely hold the
false butts, and therefore the candles.
The candle moulding machine should carry guides at the ends of the
upper table in such position and of such height as to guide accurately
the upward or downward movement of the butt mould. These vertical
guides or guide bars and the ends of the butt moulds may be fitted with
any simple stop or clamping arrangement, so that when the butt mould
with the pendent candles is raised to the required height, it may be fixed
there so long as may be necessary.
The two sides or halves of the split butt moulds may be fastened
together by any convenient locking arrangement, which will admit of
their being readily opened or shut.
Pitch or other fusible ends may also be cast separately in moulds
apart from the candles, and may be attached thereto afterwards by any
of the methods specified in my aforesaid Letters Patent, numbered 3741
of 1872, or by any other means calculated to effect such attachment in
conformity with the hot soldering principle, which is the leading feature
of the mode of attaching the false butts according to the said Letters
Patent.
Pitch or other fusible false butts attached to candles as herein-before-
described will serve when the candle is burned out to assist in lighting
fires, but they may nevertheless be designated incombustible so far as
they relate to the combustion of the candle, because they are not pro-
vided with a wick by which combustion can be propagated and continued
when the candle proper is consumed. In order however to extinguish
the candle effectually as soon as the wick has burned down to the end,
it is desirable to use an intervening incombustible wafer or diaphragm
between the false butt and the candle in the following way :- -When
the ends of the candles are dressed off, before the butt mould is set in
position, each candle end has pressed on to it a disc of thin metal or of
paper which has been saturated with paraffine after having been made
uninflammable by having been soaked in solution of alum, tungstate of

page_text: soda, or other salt used in rendering fabrics fireproof, and dried. The
butt mould is then placed in position, and the moulding of the false
butts is completed as already described. These metal or paper discs also
prevent the discolouration of the candle at the point of junction with
the butt through the diffusion or intermixture of the pitch or other
material used in casting the butt, with the paraffine upon which it is
poured in a hot state.
The pitch or other fusible matter used in making these false butts
may have any desired finely powdered matter, organic or inorganic,
incorporated therewith, provided such mixture does not diminish the 1
required fusibility and fluidity of the melted material.
The pitch may also be rendered more tough and waxy by having a
small proportion of heavy coal oil incorporated therewith. When
Trinidad or Stockholm pitch is used, the required waxiness may be
imparted by the addition of melted fat, as is done in making shoemakers'
wax.
In making cheap candles, such as the description known as ".com-
posite," it will be found desirable to pour a thin film of paraffine or
other similarly strong waxy material upon the ends of the candles before
the false butts are cast, as described. The material used for such purpose à
must have a tendency to blend both with the material of the candle and
the material used in making the false butts. The best way to apply this
intermediate film is to press the candles downwards in their moulds to
thé slight depth required, provision for such depression being made in the
arrangement of the pistons before the moulding of the candles is com-
menced, and then to pour on the required material of the film. When
cold the candle ends are dressed off again, and the required film remains
upon the butt of each, level with the table of the machine. The butt
mould is then set in position, and the false butts are cast as already
described. Owing however to the shrinkage sustained by composite
candles on cooling in their moulds, it is possible to make such moulds
almost truly cylindrical, and so to dispense in the following way with
the use of a separate butt mould, namely, when the candles are
moulded and their ends dressed off and tipped with the intermediate
film last described, they are caused to drop the required depth in their
moulds, the latter being made of extra length for such purpose, and the
space thus left between the upper end of each candle and the mouth of

page_text: the candle mould may be filled up with the melted pitch or other
material of the false butts. When chilled in the usual way this butt
forms one continuous cylindrical piece with the candle.
A solid core or plug of any hard material may also be employed, so as
to dispense with part of the fusible material of the false butt, by only
partially filling the space of the false butt with pitch or other matter,
and then pushing down the hard plug so as to displace the pitch and fill
the mould.
When candle clamps are used as at present they may have their jaws
faced with printers' inking roller composition, so as to prevent injury to
the candles.
My claim in this Invention is, for the manufacture of candles with
false butts, wholly or partly of fusible material attached thereto per-
manently, as herein-before described, after the candle proper is
moulded.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Alexander Lyttle, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Tenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1874.