Tag Archives: varnish

1911 Letter to Fire Brigade from WT Bigsby and Sons

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From the minutes of the Mitcham Parish Council, 27th June, 1911

Report of the No. 1 Fire Brigade Committee.

Present:

Mr. A. Mizen (Chairman)

Mr. G. H. Barson
Mr. E. Birch
Mr. W. M. Bland
Mr. J. R. Chart
Mr. G. J. Dale
Mr. A. Dendy
Mr. J. D. Drewett
Mr. J. M. Leather
Mr. H. Mount
Mr. W. H. Parslow
Rev. R. Richman

Meeting held 27th June, 1911

The Committee beg to report the receipt of a letter of thanks from Messrs. Bigsby & Sons for the services rendered by the Brigade:

Dear Captain Jenner,

I take this, the earliest opportunity after the Coronation holidays, of thanking you on behalf of our firm for the splendid efforts you made in preventing the spreading of the fire at our premises. It was due in a great measure to the fact that both your No. 1 and No. 2 companies have apparently been in the habit of fighting fires at Varnish Factories that no greater loss occurred, and that you were able to limit the fire to the building in which the fire originally broke out.

We must certainly compliment you on having a most efficient staff under your control. We think that the Insurance Companies who carry our insurance have much to thank you for, as had it not been for the efforts of your Brigades, the remaining building of the block which contained a gum stock of £4,000 to £5,000, and about 60,000 gallons varnish, would most certainly have caught fire and nothing then would have saved them.

We therefore beg you to convey on our behalf our thanks to your fire committee and to each individual member of your brigades, for their efforts in putting out the fire last Wednesday.

Faithfully yours,

W. T. Bigsby & Son,
per J. A. Bigsby

Details of the fire were reported in the Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette – Saturday 24 June 1911:

MITCHAM VARNISH WORKS ABLAZE.
Workman Burnt to Death.

A fire with fatal results broke out at W. T. Bigsby Sons’ varnish works, Morden-road, Mitcham, on Wednesday afternoon. At about 1.30 a man named Ebenezer Symes, aged 49, years, who had worked at Bigsby’s 30 years, was pouring oil into one the varnish vats, to prevent boiling over, when the varnish overflowed upon him, setting his clothes in flames. Some comrades hastened to his assistance, and attempted to extinguish the flames by means of hand pumps.

Meanwhile the building had caught on fire, and alarms had been raised. The Fire Brigades of Mitcham, Morden, Merton, Carshalton, Sutton, and Wallington were all in attendance, but the building was practically gutted, the damage exceeding £2,000.

Symes, who was horribly burnt, was at first thought be dead, but he was, in fact, alive, and was conveyed to the Croydon Hospital. Here, the unfortunate man passed away on Thursday morning.

Minutes of meetings held by the Mitcham Borough Council are available on request from the Merton Heritage and Local Studies Centre at Morden Library.

WW1 – Varnish for aircraft wings suggested in 1911

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Flight Magazine 11th August, 1911

SOME NOTES ON FABRIC VARNISH

It is really strange that no one in England has yet invented a really satisfactory fabric varnish, for there would no doubt be a considerable market for a preparation that would render ordinary cotton material air proof, damp proof, and impervious to the rotting effect of the castor oil that habitually soaks those surfaces in the wake of the engine exhaust, that would reduce the skin friction of the fabric and have the effect of shrinking, and so tightening it when applied after the fabric is in position.

Quite noticeable was the difference in the condition of the fabric on the wings of Beaumont’s and Vedrines’ machines after their 1,000-mile arduous journey round Britain. On the wings of Beaumont’s monoplane the fabric had become stretched and baggy, so much so in fact that many would have deemed it inadvisable to have used the wings again before they had either been recovered or the fabric reapplied.

Although Bleriot uses undoubtedly one of the best of rubberised fabrics, this sagging can only be accounted for by the assertion that rubber, although excellent in some respects, is by no means the best proofing agent it is possible to use, as it is as susceptible, and probably more so, to extremes of atmospheric temperature and humidity as is the fabric itself.

Again, it is universally known that oil and grease have a deleterious effect on rubber, and one would have thought that for this reason, if for no other, constructors and others interested would have sought out a means of further protecting the fabric on those surfaces, to the rear of a machine, that are constantly receiving a shower of finely divided oil.

Vedrines’ wings were, on the other hand, in as good condition as the day they were made. The high-toned drum-like sound, when the fabric was snapped with the finger, indicated that all the adverse conditions of sun, wind and rain had not altered its character in the slightest. The tail planes too, although covered with a film of oil were, none the less, tightly stretched and by merely wiping them with a petrol-soaked rag all traces of castor oil could be effectively removed.

The varnish that is used to treat the Morane wings is colourless and transparent, and is applied after the fabric is stretched over the wing skeleton. Its application, in addition to shrinking the fabric, has the effect of embedding the rough weft and warp of the material, thus presenting a perfectly smooth surface, and consequently diminishing skin friction. The base of the varnish is singularly like celluloid as far as outward appearance is concerned, but it is hardly likely to be of this inflammable material.

It has occurred to the writer that in more than a few instances the cabri flying of a much used Farman could be traced to the oil- saturated condition of the tail planes. Would it not be a much better plan in such a case to treat the tail fabric so that the oil could be easily removed instead of adopting the usual expedient of increasing its angle of incidence, and so diminishing its efficiency ?

Both the Nieuport and the Deperdussin firms in the manufacture of their machines treat not only the supporting surfaces, but also the covered-in fuselages, with a preparation that is marketed in France under the style of “Emaillite,” which is in effect similar to the Morane composition, with the exception that instead of being colourless it is of a brownish tint.