Daily Republican., 1880-04-03
hJxFS BRICRs AMINUTE.
Tho Chambers Machine at BeGKs
Brick Yard.

4
Brick Yard.
Messrs. Cham bers, Bro. & Company
of Philadelphia, have within q shor
time past erected one of their brick ma
chimes for Mr.. James II. Beggs at hi!
brick yard in the Ninth ward and 1t IL
In active operation. The machine is
the most successful of its class ever in.
vented and its action is as interesting
az its work is satisfactory. The ma.
chine alone has increased the capacity
Of Mr.. Begg's yard from 1000 to co.
900 tricks per day. II has been put up
by Mr.. Sanford w. Lasor. a thorough
mechanic, who is an employee of the
Messrs. Chambers.
The operation OF the different fea-
lures are continuous with each other,
and one can stand beside the machine
and see the clay pass through all the
different stages-starting at the bank
where the men are digging the clay and
ending where they clay, dug a few min
utes before, comes from the machine
and is cut into finely formed bricks.
= The clay upon being thrown into the
carts, is hauled upon platform erected
Immediately above the machine, and
dumped. The quantity Of water
required to the clay is mixed with it
and 1t is shovelled into funnel or
hopper and carried into the machine.
The clay enters what Is called the
"tempering case" This term is Greek
to one who knows nothing of brick max
ing. Clay before it can be made into
bricks-either by hand or machine
must be- tempered by being wet and
kneaded into a dough-like substance.
A set Of revolving knives, spirally ar
ranged, performs this and not only rem
ders the clay fine but gradually propels
II toward one end Of the cage. On the
end Of the tempering shaft is a comical
screw which revolves rapidly and for
ces the clay forward into what is known
as forming die. This is of peculiar
construction, being Of the proper
breadth and thickness for a brick.
Through this clay is forced and comes
GU! an endless ribbon Of clay, and pas
sing under the cutoff, is divided into
bricks Of the proper length. This cut
off consists Of thin blade Of steel, Sc
cured to the periphery Of drum, in
the form Of spiral, the distance be-
tween the blades Of which is that re-
quired for the length of q brick, and
the projection Of which gradually in
creases from nothing at its first end to
the full width Of the widest brick to be
cut. This spiral knife runs perpen.
dicularly in openings in the links
Of an endless chain, supported upon
rollers, the chain being SO formed as
to support the bar Of clay from the bot
tom and one edge; SO that the spiral
blade, in passing through the clay, is
fully supported, while being cut
of with long drawing cut.
The cutoff is most ingenious inven-
ton in itself. The speed Of the spiral
blade is controlled by the flow of clay
and 1t will run in accordance with this
no matter whether six or sixty
bricks are made In a minute, even
though the machine runs at its usual
speed.
The bricks as they come from the ma
chine are sanded and run out upon a
belt-like arrangement which carries
them away. When stone in the clay
becomes fastened in the die and thus
prevents the flow, the machine oan be
stopped in minutes time and the OBJ
stfuotion removed.
The speed OF the machine Is s., 900
TO 10000 bricks in ten hours. On
Thursday the number made in % hours
was 80, ,42O and these were all "hacked"
under the shed. But this can easily
be beaten. Eight men are required to
keep it going-four at the bank, two
feeding, one at the engine and one at
the cutoff. The machine in every re-
spect gives satisfaction.