 Attempts were also made to manufacture soap, oil and cream in order to cover their activities, with attention being paid to the nature of the fat bought for these purposes in order to not contravene religious considerations.It was soon realised that the acid-making process was slow and various apparatus purchases were made in order to scale-up production.The revolutionaries also obtained ice from a restaurant to assist in the manufacture of guncotton using nitric and sulphuric acid.