CANDLES.
CANDLE MANUFACTORY.
CUTTING THE WICKS.
Candles are made of either wax, spermaceti, stearine, or tallow, or some compound or modification of these; but of whatever they may be made, they are formed either by dipping or casting, and hence the names “dips” and “moulds.”
HORSE’S HEAD.
COOLING FRAME.
When dips are to be made, a quantity of wicks of spun cotton are prepared by a machine, and doubled so as to form a loop at the top, through which a stick is passed. A number of wicks are arranged in a line on each stick, and several sticks placed side by side on a frame, which is attached to one end of a balance beam (called by the workmen the “Horse’s Head”), with weights at the other end, according to the weight of the candles to be made. The frame, with the wicks upon it, is suspended over a cistern of melted tallow (kept warm by a small fire or flue), into which it is lowered, so that the wicks dip into the tallow; this is repeated two or three times, till a coating of tallow is formed on the wicks, which are then placed aside to cool while others are served in the same way, and so on, over and over again, till each frame weighs enough to exactly counterpoise the weight at the other end of the beam.
CANDLE-MOULDS.
Mould candles are made by pouring melted tallow into a wooden trough in the bottom of which pewter moulds, of the size of the candles required, are fixed in such a way that they open into the trough by the ends which correspond to the bottoms of the candles to be cast in them. The other end of the mould is brought to a point, with a small hole in it, through which the wick is passed and fastened to a stick running along the moulds; and as the moulds are placed in two lines, two sticks are sufficient for the trough. Melted tallow or spermaceti is poured into the trough, and when cold the superfluous quantity removed, and the candles drawn out of the moulds.
Wax candles are made by pouring melted wax down the wick till sufficient has adhered to it, then rolling the candle on a marble slab till it is even, and afterwards polishing with a cloth.