MOULDING THE CLAY.
The moulder is the head of each moulding gang; all com plaints against him, his wheeler, or his off-bearer are made to him, and he sees that any imperfections in the brick are rem edied.
It is the duty of each moulder to get the moulding sand from the sand-pile and spread it out in the sun to dry ; the off-bearer rakes the dried sand into a pile, and sieves it into a half-barrel, called " the tub ;" after it is sieved, he wheels it into the brick shed and covers it, so that no water can get into it.
The wheeler gathers the stones and hard lumps of clay that have been thrown out by the moulder, and wheels them to some out-of-the-way place.
It is always the custom for the moulder to get the " table, stool, and water bowl" in readiness before the first day's make of brick is produced, in the commencement of the season, on which day none of the hands in the yard do more than one-half the usual task ; twenty rows of brick are made, instead of forty; but all hands are allowed and paid for a full day's work.
It is the duty of the moulder to take entire care of fifteen rows of the brick made by him, and laid out on the floor by the off-bearer ; the wheeler is also charged with the care of fifteen rows, and the off-bearer with the remaining ten rows, and the fraction of a row, and the task of no member of the moulding gang is completed until the day's make of brick is safely placed in the drying-shed ; and if portions are lost through exposure, from the negligence of any member of the gang, the value of such loss is charged to him, and deducted from his pay.
In addition to other work, the moulding gangs are required to keep the moulding-floors, gutters, and the bottom of the drying-shed in good condition.
The moulding is conducted in different ways ; sometimes four, five, and even six brick are moulded at one time ; but the usual method employed in the Eastern States and also in the Middle States is to mould one brick at a time. Light, cast iron moulds are commonly employed in which to shape the brick. The size of the mould to be employed depends largely upon the nature of the clay used. Strong clays, because of their shrinkage, require larger moulds than weaker clays which do not shrink so much. The average dimensions of the Haver straw moulds are 40 inches wide, inches long, and 20 deep. Before the operation or moulding commences, the laborer, called a "wheeler," brings the tempered clay to the moulder and piles it upon a wooden stand in front of him. A boy, called an " off-bearer," takes the cast-iron mould, and after sanding the interior, hands it to the moulder, who, with both hands, pulls down a portion of the clay from the stand or table, and after throwing a handful of moulding sand over the clay, works the mass into a peculiar form, called a " waulk," and he then dashes the " waulk" with great force into the mould, the bottom of which rests upon the cast-iron moulding cleat, as is shown in Fig. I. The clay is dashed into the mould by the
two hands of the moulder, and the excess of clay is then struck off with a "plane," which is a tool resembling the trowel used by plasterers, and is shown in Fig. 2, with which he strikes off the clay piled above the top of the mould. The boy or "off bearer" next takes the mould containing the brick, and after carrying it to the " drying-floor" he spreads it out, the brick being relieved from the mould by a gentle shock, and as the "off-bearer" returns to the moulding-bench, he cleanses the inside of the mould and especially the corners by scraping them with knife which is carried suspended by a string from the boy's side. The mould is then thrown into a tub containing sand placed convenient to the moulder, who, during the time which has been required for the boy to carry the brick to the drying-floor and return, has moulded another brick, and the " off-bearer" takes this one and spreads it alongside of the other, and thus the work continues until the day's task has been accomplished. The brick are generally spread out until they number 58 in each row, and 4o of these rows and a frac tion of one row containing 13 brick, the whole comprising 2,333 brick, usually constitute a day's work for each mould ing day. A moulding gang consists of one laborer called the " moulder," and one able-bodied man called the " wheeler," and one boy called the " off-bearer." If there is a deficiency in any of the respects in which a good brick is made, the owner's eye should be able to detect it and his brain apply the proper remedy. For instance, a moulder makes a " bible face ; " a bend down in the centre will usually correct the error. If a new hand makes a perfect brick, it invariably dries crooked. It will probably be found that he " palms" his brick heavily in the centre only. Direct that he thereafter "palm" both heads, it does not matter which head first. Another man may cut a " raw face ;" see that his plane is worked level instead of on edge, or possibly his water-bowl is kept too nearly empty.
Watch the off-bearing boys ; see that brick are properly " bobbed" (corners and edges settled with a retouch of the mould) ; that they learn to line or match their brick both ways on the floor ; and make any advance in wages depend on the faithful execution of these details.
It happens many times that the interests of the proprietor force him to notice points that are new to the owner of the old est pair of hands that yet "drove a waulk." A pug•mill will temper sufficient clay for three of these gangs, and the day's work of each gang consists in moulding and wheeling to the drying shed and there hacking 2,333 brick.