PRESSING.
When the brick have remained on the floor a sufficiently long time to allow them to become hard enough to handle without marking them, they should be carefully taken from off the floor and placed in a cool location and covered over with canvas or sacking and allowed to " Sammy," or in other words to come to an even state of stiffness which will require about ten or twelve hours.
The brick can be pressed in any of the approved forms of lever fire-brick presses in common use in the United States, or in the power press made especially for this purpose by the Frey Sheckler Co.
In England the screw press is commonly employed for pressing the brick.
Whatever form of press is used, care must be exercised that the press-box, cap and plunger are very accurately fitted, in order that the corners and the arrises of the brick will be per fectly formed and not have the slightest fringe on them.
The brick when in proper condition for burning are carried to the presses usually twenty at a time ; ten brick being placed on each of the two boards which form the top of the wheel barrow, which barrow is provided with springs which prevent jar and injury to the brick. The brick are taken from the boards and placed on the table adjoining the press. Here a man takes each brick and rubs the palm of his hand gently over the -face of the brick which is to be enameled, so as to free it from all particles of clay and grit. This man then gives the same face of the brick a light tap with a dresser, and next makes the face of the brick even and smooth by using a palette knife, commonly ten inches in length.
The man who is to press the brick takes it up with both of his hands and adjusts the brick on the press, keeping the face of the brick, which has been carefully prepared as above de scribed, always towards him.
In order that the face of the brick which is to be enameled may not come in contact with the side of the mold-box, as the lower plunger descends, the presser should be careful to crowd the brick far back on the plunger plate. When the brick has been properly pressed, every corner and arris should be sharp and clean and perfectly formed.
After the brick have been pressed they are carried on a flat top spring barrow above described, to a drying room which there are series of racks arranged in rows on each side of the walk, about five feet in width left between the two rows of racks. These racks which are built of wood are fitted with board shelves placed one over the other, eight high, with six inch spaces between. This arrangement of rack and pallets is pro vided to receive the brick in order that they may properly dry after they have been enameled.
The boards forming the shelves should be one inch thick by eleven inches wide, and the racks can be any length which will suit the room. The racks should be divided into sections to hold fifteen brick on edge. In order to prevent the marking of the brick on the back as they are made to slide on the boards, the top surfaces of the boards should be dressed.