WHEELBARROWS.
Wheelbarrows, which are important appliances of a brick yard, are usually of one of three different styles of construction ; one kind being for the purpose of. carrying the clay from the pug-mill or ring-pit to the moulding table, which variety is called a " clay-barrow; " another is for wheeling the green brick from the drying-sheds to the kiln, and this kind is termed a " brick-barrow ; " and the third is used for wheeling mould ing sand to and from the drying-floors ; this is called a " hopper" or "box-barrow." In the clay-barrows the back is made so as to throw the weight of the clay well over the centre of the wheel ; but in the brick-barrows the back is made so as to form right angles with the side bars, and the wheel protrudes through the back of the wheelbarrow about one-quarter its diameter.
The hopper or box-barrow has all its sides made on a slant of about 30°, being, of course, larger at the top of the hopper or box than at the bottom. A great many of these barrows were formerly made with wooden wheels, and had iron gud geons, which worked in wooden boxes on the under side of the handles ; but the majority of the brickyard barrows are now made with iron wheels, spindles and boxes..
Sometimes brickyard barrows are so constructed as to be easily folded up for transportation, or when not in use, and are employed and found useful for brickyard plants which require frequent changes, as for the construction of tunnels, culverts, . etc., on the lines of railways and for other purposes. Such a barrow is shown in Figs. 55, 56 and 57, and it consists in certain arrangements of parts, whereby a very strong and cheap wheel barrow is produced, which can easily be folded for economizing room in transportation, and thereafter be put into working order in a very little time.
When it is desired to employ this form of wheelbarrow for handling brick, the back bars F should form a right angle with the side bars A, and the wheel D should be moved forward and cleave the back and bottom about one-fourth of the diameter of the wheel, in order to relieve the weight upon the handles, as in Fig. 58.
Fig. 55 is a bottom view of a folding wheelbarrow. Fig. 56 is a side elevation. Fig. 57 is a side view when folded up.
When the wheelbarrow is not in use, and is either to be stowed away or packed for transportation, the nuts are removed from the wheel-bolt D', the bolt removed, and the wheel D taken off. The braces 11 are swung up until they meet on the inclined edge g', where they remain by means of friction. The back-board frame, with the back-board g, is now turned down upon the wheel-bars C, forming thereby an extension of the bottom B. The braces M are now disengaged from the bolts in, and folded together on the inclined edge l of the cross-bar L. Finally, the legs K are swung up between the side-bars A, and the folding up of the wheelbarrow is completed, as repre sented in Fig. 57.
To get the wheelbarrow in working condition again, the de scribed operation is reversed. The folded wheelbarrow requires very little room for stowing away, and may be utilized for many purposes for which it is particularly adapted on account of its large platform.
The barrow shown in Fig. 58 is for wheeling brick, and it has a large malleable iron wheel, which is an aid to the laborer. The barrow is thoroughly braced, and is built so as to combine great:strength with lightness of construction, and with ordinary care such a barrow should run and do good service for ten or twelve seasons.
The brick-truck shown in Fig. 59 is seldom used for handling hand-made bricks ; but is employed for carrying machine-made bricks, and is usually built of two sizes, with either an open platform, as shown in the cut, or of light boards. The open top is used for carrying brick in the moulds, while the close platform is used for carrying them, as made ready for hacking or for conveying tile.
Of course, the manner of picking the brick up from off the cars, barrows, or trucks, whether one in each hand or two in each hand, and tossing them to the setters, are details with which it would not be possible to deal, as local custom, nature of clay, and kind of bricks to be handled, must always govern.