This is a mixture of clay and sand that we use to make bricks...very similar to the mixture used for the bricks in the historic homes in Nauvoo.
This is the pug machine - pug is the name of the clay, sand and water mixture used to make bricks. The machine extrudes sausage shaped plugs of pug that we use for the brick molds.
We put the plugs of pug into the molds and press it in a press.
This is what the bricks look like in the mold.
This is the press.
After we take the bricks out of the mold we stack them on forms and cover them with damp rags to slow down the drying time and reduce cracking. If you notice the sign says "Please Hack"...hacking is simply turning the brick over after they dry overnight so they can dry evenly.
Bricks after they have been hacked. We "sand" them with a wet rag to remove defects and then stack them in the kiln.
A kiln load of 900 bricks ready to fire.
Finished bricks!
Today we made about 100 bricks during our six hours shift. I'm a little tired tonight! Different muscles than I use making rope.
This is the press.
Comments
Post a Comment