Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
very prettily, and is the trueft way of Working; but then they muft take care, to Ax
the Brick off, with an Ax that is exactly ftreight on the edge, that the moulding
in the Brick be neither round nor hollow, from fide to fide of a Header, or from
end to end of a Stretcher.
The 'Float Stone' referred to is a small hand-held stone used for rubbing down
completed, surface-dried, work to finish; 'floating' over the face of the work
in a circular motion. It varies in size and shape, and the fineness of abrasive. If
used on circular work, such as a niche, it must be shaped to the curve. It is trad-
itionally made of York stone, though various grades of carborundum are also
employed today. Stonemason Piers Conway suggests craftsmen could have also
used a sandstone block carved to the negative, or reverse, profile of the mould-
ing being worked. This would then be used both within the cutting shed and
for finishing the set work, ensuring an accurate finish (Conway, 2002).
Moxon, in point 8, states that some dress their cut work with the brick axe,
while others use the 'float stone' to rub the moulding after they have 'axed' it
to answer (fit) to the templet. The latter, by the late seventeenth century, had
become, as in the manner of the Dutch, the preferred finishing technique.
The vast majority of the gauged work from this period is almost always rubbed
smooth, which could also account for the distinct shape of the engraved 'Float
stone' in Moxon's plate. It is flat on one face and, on the opposing side, shaped
to fit certain curved mouldings, and/or for the relatively standard sized niches.
Moxon stresses traditional hewing practice as '…leaving the ax ftroaks to be
feen on the Brick, which, if they be ftreight and parallel one to another, look
very prettily, and is the trueft way of Working…'. This again reveals how some
craftsmen liked to leave a 'worked' surface, finishing with a tooled surface simi-
lar to how a mason dresses stone - even after a face was rubbed - but which
only appeared neat if the tooling marks were both straight and parallel one to
the other. Moxon's remark that it is, 'the trueft way of Working' is not meant to
be disparaging about the then relatively 'new' fashion for smooth rubbed sur-
faces, only to emphasise the pre-eminence of the older 'axing' technique. An
interesting example of this is on the gauged dentilled entablature of the central
entrance doorway of 'Queen's Lodge', Wickham (Hampshire) that dates from
the late seventeenth century. The parallel diagonal axing marks, deliberately
laid with the axe stokes in opposing directions on each course, on the ashlared
rubbed bricks to the two engaged pilasters - complete with entasis and Ionic
cappings - are clearly intended to add aesthetic effect (Fig. 83).
Moxon concludes this point with sound advice to prospective 'hewers', irre-
spective of whether the cut-moulding is to be rubbed smooth or not. The brick
axe must be 'exactly ftreight on the edge'. In other words it could not have worn
or rounded edges across the length of the axe blade, or the resultant moulding
would cut either concave or convex across the width of the brick face.
