Part 22 (1/2)
”What is turning?” asked Theo
”Surely you have seen a turning-lathe, Theo,” asserted Mr Marwood ”Here is a turner just opposite us You will notice he has a lathe that goes by steahly for mould over which a sheet of clay has been pressed and quickly shaped After such a piece has been dried to a leather hardness the turner takes it in its crude and unco his lathe over it planes down the surface to a smooth, even thickness So-tools are used to cut designs around the neck or base of the article The rough edges are then sponged and before the piece is thoroughly dried handles are put on if desired Here in Aenerally eermen”
”And now about holloare--how do they make that?”
”Holloare is pressed by hand,” answered Mr Marwood ”The process is used for pieces that cannot successfully be s, for exae covered dishes The idea is to press the clay over or into moulds so it will be the exact shape required Of course this necessitates theof pieces in sections The two sides of a vase are moulded separately, for instance; also the bottoether and held in place by strings or thongs of leather until securely joined Afterward the base is inserted in its proper place The inside seaed away, and theroom Later it is returned; the outside seams moistened and smoothed; the moulded handles put on; and the piece is ready to be decorated and fired It is a difficult ware tothe clay an even pressure it is liable to be thicker in some places than others Soly united the article will crack It de, even touch Remember that holloare is pressed from the outside; and that flat ware is just the opposite, and is pressed fros as plates, platters and trays are thus for shaped by hand or by a jolly, which we shall see presently”
Mr Marwood passed on through the crowded room until he suddenly paused beside a workman at another er There are twothe cheaper wares: one is a jigger, a device of this type; and the other a jolly, an invention very si a tool attached that forms the outside, or bottom of the piece, the inside of which has previously been shaped by the jigger You er; and told you how a revolving mould was inserted into it, and how afterward a sheet of clay was laid on the outside of this mould and rapidly shaped The jolly, on the other hand, is used for s as covers, the top surface of which has already been moulded The profile set in the jolly-lever et the base of our plates For certain articles the jigger is preferred; for certain others the jolly; but the aim of both is the saerer or jolly it is dried and carried to the turning-lathe to have its surface smoothed and finished”
”And does it take all thesefigures that hurried to and fro
”An organized group of men is employed at each machine,” answered Mr Marwood ”First there is the _clay-carrier_, whothe material to the workmen; then there is a second man called the _batter-out_ who takes from the carrier the piece of clay cut into the proper size, and after laying this on a block gives it a strong bloith a plaster-of-Paris bat to flatten it for the jiggerive the article quite a start even with one stroke You can see that soermen can handle the h?” demanded Theo, instantly interested
”About fifteen pounds It is not very heavy, but the batter wields it with considerable force After the article has thus been approxierman has completed it, a mould-runner must carry the freshly modeled piece to the stove-roo with him two other articles that are already dry These he takes off the o to the finisher, and the mould to the batter-out The fourth man in the teah edges of each article with a dae, or a tool of flat steel After this process is coh with its part of the work and the goods go to the greenroom to be counted, and if perfect accepted by the foreermen hire their own helpers, as it is simpler for theers as cups, plates, bowls, etc But now oval, as well as round dishes, can be h elliptical wares are not turned out this way to any very great extent, other processes of shaping being preferred for objects of this type”
”You spoke, Mr Marwood, of casting some wares,” reoodIt is an independent process, and shapes of great variety can be fashi+oned as well as ornaarticles of uniform thickness We can even make very thin objects by this means But the process is destructive of moulds, and therefore has its flaws The success of the plan is entirely dependent on the mould's absorption of thecould not be applied to potteries or porcelains As the clay is compressed the water is squeezed out of it, and this the mould must take up, or the clay would never dry and retain its shape You can understand that, I think”
”Yes, sir”
”The last of the processes of which I wish to tell you is die-pressing Here we take a very finely ground clay dust; moisten it a little; and fill a die, or steel mould, with it This die we then put into a screw, or hydraulic press, and squeeze it under an intense pressure with the result that the piece is shaped very solidly We use this process forsmall, complicated objects such as those employed for electrical purposes They are brittle and delicate and have to besupplies made this way?”
”No, indeed! Sanitary pieces are too large to be turned out in such a fashi+on They arefirst built up inside enormous moulds We can eoods are difficult to reat deal of clay, and therefore were it to be daed we should lose much expensive material” Mr Marwood took out his watch ”Now, there you have all the various ways of shaping clay ware! Its decoration and firing is another story, and far too long a one for us to attack to-day We must be back at the conservatory at one o'clock for luncheon Evidently Mr Croyden got too deeply snowed under to join us, so we shall have to hunt hiry”
Theo's eyes twinkled
”I believe I could eat soed,” he admitted
”So could I,” rejoined Mr Marwood heartily ”I aht away It has been a good , hasn't it, Theo?”
”Certainly I've enjoyed it,” exclaireed the older man
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XVII
THE DECORATION OF CHINA