CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING OR MANUFACTURING CANDLES
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
HENRY TUCK, of Francis Place, New North Road, in the County of Middle-
sex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eighth day of September, in the sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph Henry Tuck, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Joseph Henry Tuck, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said Joseph Henry Tuck, my executors,
administrators, 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 mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney,
Sark, and Man, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR MAKING OR MANUFACTURING CANDLES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Joseph Henry Tuck,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the

page_text: 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
Joseph Henry Tuck, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention of improvements in machinery for making or manufacturing
candles consists, firstly, of a peculiar construction of apparatus in which
candles may be made on continuous wicks; and secondly, of an apparatus to be
employed for finishing the butts or bottoms and tips of such candles as may
require these operations.
In order that my Invention may be perfectly understood, I have shewn in
the accompanying Drawings various views of the improved apparatus which I
have invented and intend to employ for the manufacture of candles.
Sheet I: Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the machine or apparatus
complete, all the several parts being in the positions they would occupy previous
to filling the moulds; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same, and Fig. 3 a trans-
verse section; the other Figures in Sheet I represent different views of
some of the working and internal parts of the machine, drawn to a scale of
about half the real size. Figures 1, 2, and 3 are upon a scale of an inch and
a half to the foot.... a, a, a, represent the bobbins or spools upon which the
continuous wick of cotton or other suitable material is wound, or balls of
cotton may be used if preferred; these bobbins are mounted loosely upon axles,
which hang. in suitable bearings attached to the framework. The continuous
wicks from the bobbins a, a, a, pass upwards over a breast beam or board b, b, b,
and through small holes c, c, c, made in the lower part of the stop-cocks d, d, d,
(see the detached views of this part of the apparatus, Figures 4 and 5);
the wicks then proceed upwards through the cocks d, d, d, and through the
centre of the moulds e, e, e, to the tips of which the cocks d, d, d, are connected,;
as seen in the side view, Fig. 4, and front view, Fig. 5. These stop-cocks may
be constructed in any ordinary manner, but having a small hole through the plug
just large enough to allow the wick to pass easily into the cylindrical tube or
mould; they are furnished with spring levers m, m, m, one end of which is
connected to the plug of the cock, and the other enters a hole or slot made in
a strip of thin iron, which is screwed or fixed on to the lower side of a hori
zontal sliding rail n, n; the end of this horizontal sliding rail n, n, is connected
by a joint to the lower extremity of the hand lever o, o, (see Fig. 1,) and when

page_text: this lever o is brought from the position represented by dots in Fig. 1 into
that shewn by colour, the rail n, n, will be moved along, which movement will
force the spring levers m into the diagonal position represented in Figures 1
and 5, and thereby close the several stop-cocks. It then becomes necessary
to place the wicks above in the proper position in the centres of the cylindrical
moulds and hold them up in these positions, which is done by tyeing a knot in
each and attaching it to a hook in the horizontal rail q; then a sliding rail r
is brought forward covering about half of the apertures of the moulds, as
shewn in Fig. 6, and the rail 7 at the same time receding, draws the wicks in
The
tension into the vertical grooves in the plate on the face of the rail r.
melted material may now be poured into the trough extending along the front
of the machine, as shewn at s, s, s, when the candles will be formed by casting
in the moulds. The material having been allowed to remain in the moulds
or cylindrical tubes until cold, the surplus matter occupying the trough above
the tubes or moulds must be removed, by a knife or instrument suitably con-
structed, previous to drawing the candles. The first row of candles having
become cold and hard, and the positions of the various parts of the machine
reversed, that is, the wicks unhooked and the bar r. drawn back, the candles,
after being tapped or punched in the usual manner, are to be severally drawn
out of the moulds by the hand of the workman, who takes hold of the knot
and lifting it perpendicularly the candle slips readily out of its mould, drawing
the length of cotton wick up through the mould for the next row of candles.
The knot of the wick before mentioned is then placed in a conical notch cut in
the rail above at the bottom of the frame g, and in that situation the first row
of candles hang whilst a second row is cast in the moulds. In order to carry
on the manufacture of successive rows of candles in this apparatus certain
movements of the machine are required, which I shall now proceed to explain,
premising that the stop-cocks have been opened by the movements of the
machine, hereafter described, for the purpose of allowing a sufficient quantity
of wick to be drawn up through the moulds by drawing out of the candles,
previously made, as described. In order to open or loosen the stop-cocks, it is
necessary to reverse the lever o, o, and bring it into the position shewn by dots
in Fig. 1, by this means the spring levers m, m, will be drawn over into the
opposite inclined position, and the wicks allowed to pass freely through the
5 cocks. The first row of candles, as at f, f, ff, is suspended in the manner
above mentioned by means of the knots from. the lower side: of the frame
9, 9, 9, 9, which frame is connected to endless chains h, h, (see Figures 1, 2,
and 3). The chains pass over toothed pullies. i, i, and a similar frame g, g,
is connected to the endless chains h, h, one frame hanging in front of the

page_text: These
machine and the other a little distance behind, as seen in Fig. 3.
frames are connected to the chains by swing pivots, so that when the front
board is raised the pivots pass over the pullies i, i, and go into the back posi-
tion, at the same time bringing the hinder board forward. On the same axle
as the pulley i a small cog wheel j is mounted; this wheel gears into and is
turned by a small pinion k, to the axle of which power is applied by means of
the winch 1, Figures 1 and 2. Now, as the winch 1 is turned it causes the
wheels and pinions i, j, and k to revolve, and consequently to raise to the
highest point the front frame g, and at the same time to lower into its place
the other frame which was behind. This frame, by exchanging positions with
the former, and being, as seen, advanced, causes all the conical notches to take
hold of the taper ends of the candles of the upper row.
Now a straight
board g is placed against the front of the row of candles, which holds
them securely. These frames are furnished with a top and bottom row
of notches, as seen in Fig. 1, formed so as to prevent the candles from
falling sideways or dropping down. The knots by which this first row
of candles were suspended from the conical notches of the upper frame g are
then cut off by passing a sharp knife or other instrument under the lower edge
of the top frame g, which is then passed into the back operation. This
operation having been performed, a fresh supply of wick will be found in the
moulds e, e, e, and it now becomes necessary to tighten or close all the
cocks d, d, d, which is effected, as before mentioned, by reversing the position
of the lever o, o, and bringing it into the position shewn in Fig. 1. The next
thing to be done is to place the wicks in the centre of the moulds, and to effect
this readily they are taken hold of and held by the hooks p, p, p, p, on the
horizontal bar or rail q. In order to take hold of the wicks, these hooks have
to perform a forward lateral and a retrograde motion, at the same time the
metal slider, r, r, which is furnished with vertical grooves, see Fig. 11, is moved
outwards, and when the hook bar q, q, retrogrades it brings the wicks into the
grooves of the metal slide 1, 1, r, and securely holds them there, the metal slide
naving, as before mentioned, been moved outwards until it covers about one-
nalf of the aperture of the moulds, as seen in Fig. 6. These movements are
effected in the following manner:-To the back part of the hook bar
g a flat
metal plate t is screwed in a horizontal position, see Fig. 6, which plate is
represented detached at Figures 7 and 8. In this plate there is cut a pecu-
liarly shaped slot u. The plate extends backwards through a groove or space
cut in the sliding bar v, v; this bar supports an upright axle, which carries
two horizontal brass pullies w, w, that work in the slots cut in the plate t, and
also in the one below it, hereafter to be described. A peculiarly shaped
3

page_text: cam a is mounted on a fixed centre in the back framing of the machine, and
the axle of the brass pulley w works in a long slot made in the cam x, as
seen in Figures 7 and 8. The metal plate t is also furnished with pins or
stops y, y, which by abutting against the cams, as aforesaid, prevent the plate
from having a lateral motion until the stop y escapes from the ear of the cam.
The sliding bar v has a lateral motion communicated to it by means of the
hand lever. This lateral motion causes the brass pullies w to advance along
the slot u and as the plate t and hook bar q to which it is attached are
prevented by the pin stops or studs y from moving laterally, the said plate and
hook bar q to which it is attached are prevented by the pin stops or studs y
from moving laterally, the said plate and hook bar are forced outwards until
one of the studs y escapes from the ear of the cam x, which it will do the
moment the brass pulley has arrived at the apex of the angle of the slot u,
then, as there is nothing to prevent it, the plate t and hook bar q move or
slide laterally, with the assistance of the other study, until the end of the hook
bar abuts against the end framing of the machine, when, the continued forward
motion of the rod v and pulley w pressing against the opposite inclined slide
of the slot u, causes the hook bar to retrograde; this motion of the pulley w
causes the hooks to traverse three sides of a square, viz, outwards, lateral,
and retrograde, and thereby to take hold of the wicks, which movement is
completed by the advance of the metal slide r, r, simultaneously with the
movement of the hook bar. The metal slide r, r, is affixed to a wooden bar,
to which is also affixed a horizontal metal plate 1, 1, similar in size and shape
to the plate t, immediately beneath which it is situated, as seen in Fig. 6.
This plate 1, 1, seen detached at Figures 9 and 10, has also a slot of peculiar
form, one-half being inclined and the other half straight; the under brass
pulley works in this slot in a similar way to the other pulley w in the
plate t. The end of the metal slider, r, fit accurately to the end framing, and
thereby form a trough for receiving the melted material, and therefore when
by moving the sliding rod v laterally, the brass pulley w advances along
the inclined slot, the plate 1, 1, and the metal slide r, r, to which it is
connected, are obliged to move outwards until the pulley w arrives at the
end of the inclined slot, when it will advance along the straight part of
the slide without acting upon the plate. The parts of the machine being
thus situate, it only remains to make every thing tight previous to pouring
in the melted material. This is effected by shogging the lever z, z, to the
position shewn by dots in Figures 3 and 6, when it will enter a notch cut in
the back part of the slide 2, 2, on the front part of which several inclined
planes 3, 3, are placed immediately beneath a corresponding number of

page_text: rollers 4, 4; mounted in suitable bearings, as seen in Fig. 11. Having
shogged the lever, it is now to be raised at one end, by which it will
move the slide 2, 2, laterally, thereby forcing the inclined planes under the
rollers 4, 4, the bearings of which being fixed, cause the metal slide r, r, to
press tightly against the bed, and prevent any of the melted material from
getting under it. The apparatus is now quite ready for a fresh supply of the
melted material, which is, as before mentioned, poured into the troughs, s,
and when cold and ready to draw, the cocks d, d, are loosened by means of
the lever o, o, and the wicks are disengaged from the hooks, at the same time
that the metal slide r; r, and the inclined planes 3,. 3, are drawn back. After
the candles have been tapped or punched, as before mentioned, the winch
is turned, and the empty frame g above is brought down to receive the second
row of candles, and the full frame is at the same time raised to the highest
point, thereby drawing the new candles out of the moulds. A front board or
guard g is now put on the hooks in the frame g, as before, to prevent the
candles from falling out; the top row is then disengaged from the wick by
simply passing a sharp knife or other instrument below the frame g, which
will thereby leave the candles à sufficient length of wick for lighting. The
full frame may then be passed over to the back part of the machine, and the
candles removed therefrom at leisure. In cases where a considerable heat is
not required to melt the tallow or other material intended to form the candles,
I substitute a peculiarly formed tip to the moulds in place of the stop-cocks,
as above described. This construction is shewn at Fig. 11* of the accompanying
Drawings, in which c", c", represent a portion of a candle mould in vertical
section. The tip, constituting the improved form, consists of a narrow tube and
flange d*, soldered or otherwise attached to the bottom of the mould. At the
reverse end of this tube d is formed a block f*, through which this aperture
of the tube is continued for the passage of the wick g*, as above described
with reference to the stop-cocks d, the aperture being of such a diameter as to
compress the wick rather tightly as it passes through it. By this arrangement
the melted tallow or other material will be prevented from passing beyond the
tube d, for on its arrival at the bottom thereof the enlarged portion f* will
abstract the heat therefrom, and consequently reduce it to a solid state. The
improved tip may be made of any suitable material, and the enlarged portion
thereof of any required shape or size, provided the bulk is sufficient to solidify
the fluid material. as it descends. The apparatus which I employ for trimming
or finishing the butts or bottoms, and also for forming tops to such candles as
may require it, is shewn at Sheet II. of the Drawings. Fig. 12 represents a front
elevation of the machine, some of the parts being shewn in section in order that

page_text: they may be more clearly seen. Fig. 13 is an end view, and Fig. 14 a plan
view of the same. The apparatus resembles in most parts a common lathe
moved by a treadle a, a, in the ordinary manner. Rotary motion is com-
municated from the large pulley to the small pulley b above by means of
a band; a knife or cutting instrument c of a peculiar construction, here-
after described, is screwed or otherwise fastened on to the axle of the
small pulley b. The candles to be operated upon are placed in a serious
upon an inclined plane board d, d, attached to the side of the machine, and
they are severally brought from thence on to a block e, having a curved
groove at top to receive a candle. The candle is firmly held in this groove,
and its end pressed against the edge of the knife or cutting instrument c by
the hand of the attendant, or in any other convenient manner, and rotary
motion being at the same time given to the knife by means of the treadle, the
butt or bottom is thereby made perfectly smooth. The cuttings or shavings
from the candle are confined by the cover f. f, and made to fall into a box or
receiver g below. The peculiarly shaped knife or cutting instrument c which
I employ for cutting the butts or bottoms of the candles is shewn in section
in Fig. 15, and in plan at Fig. 16. The knife I employ for forming the tips is
shewn detached from the holder at Fig. 17. Figures 18 and 19 are two views
of a knife of somewhat different shape to the former, which may also be
employed for the same purpose as Fig. 17.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner of carrying the sanie
into effect, I wish it to be understood that I am not aware any such con-
struction of machines has been heretofore employed for making candles,
I therefore claim all the parts above described however differently they may
be arranged, save and except the spools or bobbins for carrying the cotton.
I also claim the application of the tip to candles moulds as described with
reference to Fig. 11%, such tip consisting in a narrow tube attached to the
bottom of the mould, and having at its lower end an enlarged portion of any
suitable shape or dimensions.
And also as regards the apparatus shewn in Sheet II., I claim the application
of rotatory motion obtained by machinery for cutting the butts and tips of
candles in whatever way that motion may be effected.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Henry Tuck, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
JOSEPH H. (L.S.) TUCK.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Eighth day of March, in
the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Joseph Henry Tuck came before our
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute in that case made and provided.