The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-11-29
MUSCLE AND JUDGMENT.
The Two Prime Requirements OF the Gold.
heaters Trade.

MOSCIC AMI OOO0m GNts
The Two Prime Requirements OF the Gold.
heaters Trade.
GOld-beating is trade of muscle and
judgment. There is judgment in know
ing how to strike the little package on
the stone. muscle in the hammers
clock-like rise and fall. The motion
is one of the wrist The workman's
elbow joint stiffens, the hammer falls
and rebounds nearly to its starting
point. SO. actually. it is not the
physical effort. it seems, even though
the hammers, one for each process,
weigh eighteen, twelve, and seven
pounds.
Each beater receives fifty penny
weight of gold. rolled from the bar into
the form of a crinkly ribbon seven
yards long and an inch in width. Cut
into $50 pieces these go into the
.'cutch. This consists of detached
leaves of vegetable fiber. between
each of which is placed piece of gold.
Slipped into tightly fitting pad, the
hammer falls again and again, the aim
being to drive the weight toward the
edges. From the ''cutch' the sheets,
then leaves, are picked out with
curious lockwood pincers. Handling
with the fingers. especially at the lat
ter stages. would be most likely to
break the leaf. Each leaf is then quar-
tered by a section of bamboo cane on q
little implement known as wagon"
but in reality tiny sled.
The second pad is the ''shoder." 1t
has 720 leaves and is Al inches square.
The force of the blows here is greater.
The leaves are beaten out to the very
edge. as they were not before. and the
gold oozes out. These particles are
carefully brushed off into an apron at
tached to the stone, for the workman
must account for every one of his fifty
pennyweights.
In the third pr Ocess there are three
''molds" of 900 leaves each and five
inches square. Each mold requires
some four hours work. The leaves
are now so thin that the slightest mis-
judgment will produce disastrous re-
suits. In spite of the heat generated
by the blows dampness creeps in be-
tween the edges. Dryness is positively
essential here; so. whenever necessary,
the mold is placed ir 2, press-not I'M
like an ordinary copying press-just
taken from an oven. A short pressure
liberates the moisture.
When sufficiently beaten the molds
go to girls. who with pincers and
wagon" make up books of twenty-five
leaves each, three and three-eighth
inches square. Each workman, from
his beating of three molds is to fill
eighty books. That is called tail"
For it he receives S.. The molds show
total number of 2, ZOO leaves. Eighty
books need but 1000. For every other
book he can fill, perfect leaves only
being used, 81 cents is paid. Thus, if
every leaf was perfect, he would make
$1.75 extra.
AS the wagon" cuts the leaves 81
inches square there is a continual
waste. This. with the imperfect
leaves, is put in with the shoder waste.
1t is all melted into a "button" and
weighed. This mus come to 80 penny
weights. For the 80 books II penny
weights is allowed, but they may weigh
whatever the workman can make them.
The thinner the leaf, so long as perfect,
the better. Whatever the waste weighs
over 80 pennyweights 81 a penny
weight is paid the workman. For ev-
cry pennyweight under 81, is deducted.
Thus, although the gold is used over
again, it takes so pennyweights to turn
out II. And, again, a man, even
though he turns out an over number of
books, may have such shortages in his
wastes as to bring his balance on the
wrong way.
Three beatings week is the average
number. The skilled workman can
make $40, and perhaps little more.
The actual number Of men employed is
small. there being only It's in this city.
Most are Englishmen. Collaborating
is done principally in the East Boston
and Philadelphia furnishing most of
the other workmen. 1t is in the latter
city that the largest shop in the United
States is located. A union regulates
wages and matters of the trade. The
fitting out OF gold-beaters' shop where
number of men are employed is
rather expensive matter. Each mans
personal outfit is worth some $3.50. the
molds alone costing $50 apiece. IN. Y.
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