The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1901-04-04
MAKE FINE BRICK.
The 0skaloosa Company Puts In
New Machinery.


was ever placed upon western mar
ket. The fact was demonstrated
some time time ago that the company
has a comparatively inexhaustible
vein of clay that would be suitable for
the manufacture of fine building brick
and experiments were made and the
clay was thoroughly tested. The
opinions of experts in building ma
terial were secured. Samples of the
finished product were sent into the
market on basis of competition and
the Oskaloosa brick won the ex-
pressed preference over many COM
petitors. The company was given
every encouragement to go ahead
with the work and to place their man
ufactured product on the market.
There is the assurance that there will
be big demand for the brick and at
prices commanded by superior pro-
duct.
The company went into the market
and purchased the best machinery
for the manufacture of pressed brick
that could be found. They secured
a machine known as "The 81 Boyd"
a powerful presser. 1t has been in
stalled at the brick works east of the
city and was started upon its first
work Thursday. The machine is a
powerful engine of labor. 1t does not
occupy great amount of space but
it weighs about eighteen thousand
pounds. The placing of the machin-
cry ready for use and the necessary
changes in the plant represent an in
come of So, 900 or more.
The new brick are :'dry pressed"
that is the clay is taken from the
pit and pulverized under powerful
crushers, run through a sieve or
screen to obtain the desired fineness
of the grain, and then it goes to the
pressing machine. No water is used
to mix the clay as is done in the
manufacture of other brick but the
dirt is taken to the machine in
comparatively dry state, having less
water in it than when it comes from
the bank. The dirt is filled into steel
dies and the powerful arms of the
machine come down and press it into
compact, solid mass, SO hard that
it is next to impossible to break one
of the bricks by hand as it comes
from the press. The unburned brick
are handled carefully to prevent
scratching or possible damage to the
edges and are placed Immediately in
the kiln ready for burning. No dry
ing is necessary. The burned pro-
duct comes from the kiln as smooth
and perfect building brick as there
is to be found in the market. 1t will
compete with any brick made in the
country today, st. Louis and Mil
waukee brick have been discounted.
The burned brick may be made any
desired color. There is "dappled"
buff aud red brick that will undoubt-
eddy be a favorite. Its "mottled"
wall. Dark or light shades of this
brick can be made to order as the
color is obtained in the mixing and
working of the clay. If the deep red
pressed brick are desired they can
be made with the same ease and
readiness that other grades are pro-
duced. The company will also in the
near future manufacture Roman
brick" which are something of a
novelty and are considered desirable
for ornamental work by builders.
They are longer and much narrower
than the standard size brick.
The company will not slight their
paving brick in any way but will con-
tinue to place on the market an ar
ticle that will hold it's place as the
best made in the state. Two grades
of PAYERS are made and in addition to
this the company turns out building
brick that has no superior in the mar
ket.
The company is also turning its at
tention to the manufacturesof floor
tile of very high class. i Experts in
the business say that the tile has no
superior in the country and that the
company will have great demand
for their output. q The work of the
manufacture of these tile has now
passed the experimental stage and the
coming summer will see the company
| equipped for the manufacture of this
product on large scale. The tiles
are made in various shapes and col
ors and there willibe almost no limit
to the designs that may be worked
out. A sample of the tiles are at this
office and may be seen by any one.
The clay for the manufacture of the
thing is of different sort than that
from which the brick are made and is
differently treated. There is great
vein of the clay that will furnish the
raw material for years to come. John
Hiatt has hall floor of the tiling laid
in his new residence on North Third
street, and he is greatly pleased with
| it.
Mr.. Simon Dewhirst, an English
man, is the expert clay worker in the
employe of the company and his en-