The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1885-09-16

| workman places 1t upon the block, and
"bats" Il out as thin as he desires Il, then
places this into one Of the moulds, for the
side, and then by means Of sponge,
presses it firmly into the mould, aud cuts
off the superaous parts; he then forms the
other side the same way, and then straps
tho two firmly together, and the edges
being moistened, adhere. Tho bottom is
moulded in the same way, and then placed
in position, and the whole fastened to-
| gother, after which the workman carefully
smooths tho inside Of the toa pot, with his
sponge, efaciug all marks Of tho seams
The lid, handle, knob and spout are
formed after the same mnnner-and all
parts are set aside TO dry for q time When
the parts are sufficiently dry, they are taken
from the moulds, affixed to their proper
places, by moistening the plncos Of attach
ment and the teOpot is ready for finishing
Jiggering-A jigger is a machine with q
revolving, vertical SPINDLE carrying a
block or mould, upon which oarthen vessels
are shaped by rapid motion Cups,
plates, saucors, ETC., nre formed on q jig
ger The clay is battod out by boy,
called "clOy-wedgor, =" into a thin sheet,
and passed to the 'jollyman," " who presses
it upon the moulds, sets the wheel in
motion, and then by means of a knife,
shaped to the exterior form Of the plate, or
saucer, and pressed to the revolving mass,
scrapes the surface into the desired form.
In the case Of the cup, it is different; the
mould shapes the exterior, and q tool,
called the "pull-down," carrying knife,
shaped to the interior, is brought down
upon the mass, and the interior is formed.
Throwing-A lump of the plastic clay is
placed upon the "potters' wheel, ," which is
a revolving horizontal disk, and the thumb
placed in the center of the lump, pressed
downward; a hollow is thus formed, which
is widened, or the walls continued vertically,
according to the shapes of the vessels to be
made. The constant revolution Of the
wheel easily allows the moulder obtaining
a perfectly cylindrical form. BY thus
humOring the clay, olongating the vessel,
again depressing or widening it, and by
continual manipulation in this manner, the
most exquisite forms are produced. To
form the ridges, or sharp edges of the
vessel q small strip Of iron, horn or word,
termed "bridge," is used The perfectly
formed vessel is cut from the wheel, by a
brass wire.
FINISHING.
The moulds form the exterior of many
articles very roughly, in which case, aftel
they are dried sufficiently, they arc taken
to the turner, who trims tho exterior into
proper shape This is done by means of a
lathe, trompod usually by girl, who turns
it, at first, toward the turner, when he cuts
of the suporhuOus portions, and then ro.
versos it, while the turner polishes the
article, with polishing instrument.
After the ware has dried sufficiently, It is
carefully smoothed, both inside and out,
side. In the case Of jiggored ware, this is
done by 'fettlers," who finish several
pieces at one time. A fottler will take a
half-dOzen plates, place them upon a revol,
wing disk, and with tool, adapted to the
purpose, smooth the edges, which are al,
ways more OF less rough, and then, with a
dampened sponge, smooth them in an in.
credibly short time. Pressed ware is
usually finished by the maker.
GREEN ROOM.
When finished, the ware is carried on the
drying boards to tho "green ROOM" AT
the entrance stands the foreman of this
department, who counts the pieces, and
credits the workmen with their proper
amounts, and then hands the results to the
bOok-keeper, to make out the payroll.
The "green" ware is placed upon racks,
whore it remains until the kiln men are
ready for it. The workmen are paid so
much per dozen pieces, payday coming on
Saturday, once in two weeks, when the en-
ployees arc paid for the work done up to
the previous Thursday evening,
FIRING.
The next step is the firing or baking Of
the ware. In order to protect It from ashes
and smoke, Il is carefully enclosed in fire.
clay vessels, called "seggars," which re-
semble O huge band-bOE, without lid.
These seggars are placed one upon another
in columns, called "bungs," one seggar
forming Lid to the one below, a rope OF
plastic fire clay being placed between, to
thoroughly seal in the ware. When plac.
ing the ware within, the bottom of the
seggar being covered with sand, to prsven,
sticking, it is placed fat or in 'nests, " to
prevent warping but no stills are used in
the first firing
The kiln or oven is large circular rover,
beratOry furnace, with five fires around the
outside When the kiln is filed the en-.
trance, which is about thirty inches by
seven feet, is closed with fre-brioks and
clay, and heat applied, gradually at first
but As finally carried to a strong red. This
high temperature is maintained for seven.
teen or eighteen hours, when the kiln ir
opened, and allowed to cool gradually fol
three or four days. Tho seggars are ther
removed, and the ware taken out.
This ware, which is called 'bisuue war,
or buiscuit," Is now carried into the bisqu,
warehouse, and carefully cleaned, aud theE