shape of a Cone, and Lit at the Top

THE PYROTECHNIST'S TREASURY.

ROMAN CANDLES.

To Make a ⁵⁄₈ Roman Candle.

Procure a straight piece of brass tube, ⁶⁄₈ of an inch external diameter, and 16¹⁄₂ inches long. Saw or file off a piece, 1¹⁄₂ inch long, fig. 1. This is for the star former, and is drawn of the correct size.

In the other piece, of 15 inches, fix a handle, as shown, in diminutive, in fig. 7. This is for the case former. It should be filed smooth at the end.

Take another piece of brass tube 4¹⁄₂/8 or ⁹⁄₁₆ of an inch external diameter, and about 16¹⁄₂ inches long. In this also fix a handle, or fix it into a handle, fig. 4. Invert it, and set it upright in a flower-pot, filled with sand or loose mould. Melt some lead in a ladle, and pour it slowly into the tube, leaving room for the air to escape up the side, till it is full. If the lead is poured in rapidly, the confined air, expanding, jerks the metal up, and may cause serious injury. A pound or more of lead will be required. When cold, drive the end of the lead in with a hammer, and file it smooth. This is for a rammer.

Take a piece of deal, fig. 6, about 12 inches long, 6 broad, and ³⁄₄ thick; and, on the top, screw a handle, like one on a copper-lid, or black-lead brush. This is for a rolling-board. An iron door-handle would serve, and may be obtained at any ironmonger's, for about 2d. or 3d. A wooden one, however, about an inch thick, not cylindrical, but slightly flat, and rounded at the edges, is preferable, as it gives more purchase for the hand.

Cut a piece of tin, or zinc, or thin board, into the shape of fig. 8, in which the distance between the arms a and b, across the dotted line, shall be ⁷⁄₈ of an inch. This is for a gauge, with which to measure the external diameter of the case. Write upon it, "⁷⁄₈ space."

Procure some 60 lb., 70 lb., or 84 lb. imperial brown paper: the size of a sheet will be 29 inches by 22¹⁄₂. Cut a sheet into 4 equal parts, each 14¹⁄₂ by 11¹⁄₄: paste the 4 pieces on one side, and lay them one on another, with the pasted face upwards, putting the fourth piece with the pasted side downwards, upon the pasted side of the third piece. Turn them over: take off the now top piece, and lay it flat on the near edge of a table, pasted side upwards. Take the former, fig. 7, and paste the tube all over. Lay it along the edge of the paper, bend the paper over with the fingers of both hands, and roll it tightly up, until the external diameter of the case about fits the gauge, fig. 8. If the paper should be too long, of course a piece must be cut off; if it should not be long enough, more must be added, taking care to bind in the second piece with 3 or 4 inches of the first piece; for if the whole of the first piece be rolled up before beginning the second, the latter, when dry, will probably slip off, and spoil the case. The case having been rolled up, take the handle of the former in the left hand, lay the case flat on the near side of the table, take the rolling-board, fig. 6, in the right hand, press the front part of it on the case, and drive it forwards 5 or 6 times, like a jack-plane, letting the handle of the former slip round in the left hand. This will tighten the case, and render it, when dry, as hard as a book-cover.

The former must always be pasted, before rolling a case, to prevent its sticking. It should, likewise, be wiped clean with a damp sponge, before being laid aside. Brass tubes keep clean a much longer time if lacquered. To lacquer them, clean them with very fine glass-paper; make them hot by the fire, till you can just bear them on the back of the hand; then, with a camel's-hair pencil, wash them over with thin lac solution. The cases may be either 14¹⁄₂ or 11¹⁄₄ inches long; but 11¹⁄₄ is the best, for when the cases are too long, the fuse, as it approaches the bottom, is apt, if slow, to smoke; if fierce, to set the top of the case in a flame. If the learner decides upon 11¹⁄₄ inches, the former and rammer may each be 2 or 3 inches shorter.

After the first case has been rolled up to fit the gauge, it may be unrolled, and the paper measured. Future pieces of the same quire of paper can then be cut of the right size at once, so that the case will fit the gauge without further trouble.

A large slab of slate is convenient for rolling upon; but a smoothly planed board will answer every purpose.

When a number of cases are finished, hitch a piece of flax two or three times round each of them, and hang them up to dry, in a place free from draught, that they may not warp.

Flax is sold in balls; the thick yellow, at 2d., is the best. It is named, indifferently, flax, or hemp. It is much used by shoe-makers; and is sold at the grindery, or leather shops. Two or three thicknesses of this, waxed, or drawn through the hand with a little paste, is very convenient for passing round the necks of small choked cases, tying cases on wheels, &c.

To Make a Roman Candle Star.

Take the former, fig. 1, which, as said before, is 1¹⁄₂ inch long; have a cylindrical piece of turned wood, box, beech, or mahogany, fig. 2, about 2 inches long, and of a diameter to just fit easily into fig. 1. At a point a, at the distance of about ⁷⁄₈ of an inch from the end d, with a bradawl, or very small gimlet, or nosebit, make a hole, and drive in a piece of brass wire, to project just so much as to prevent the tube slipping over it. A piece of a brass rivet, such as used by shoe-makers, is convenient for the purpose. The part with the head on is best; a quarter of an inch length will be sufficient, filed or cut off with the nippers. It is evident that upon inserting fig. 2 into the tube fig. 1, a vacant space of ⁵⁄₈ of an inch will be left at the bottom. Fig. 3 is a piece of turned wood, or, better still, of turned brass, exactly like fig. 2 without the side-pin a. Now to pump a star, insert fig. 2 in fig. 1; press the tube into damped composition, turn it round, and withdraw it. Rest the tube on a flat surface, insert fig. 3, and give it two or three taps with a small mallet, like fig. 26. A convenient size for