Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 127
R. Timmins and Sons of
Birmingham, engraved
c
.1820, showing an
itemised plate of
Mason's and Bricklayers
tools; with the large
brick axe. (Courtesy of
Richard Filmer)
the then common arrangement of cutting at a chopping block, away from the
banker upon which rests the rubbing stone and bedding slate.
The chopping blocks depicted are sturdy - not unlike a butcher's block -
unable to move or vibrate. Waste from brick cutting is shown at the cutter's
feet, both from the brick axe and the club hammer and bolster; seen in the
pictures. The cutter is using a wooden hafted tool, most likely a later form of
scotch, as discussed below, to chip the brick to shape, as it is securely hand-
held in a suitably shaped wooden seating or 'cutting block'.
The cutting block would be made of a hardwood, such as elm, to be robust
enough to endure the long-term abuse it would be subject to. In design it
could be an arrangement of two blocks, screwed to a base and fixed to support
a brick in an angular position. Alternatively, it could be a solid timber block
cut to an angle of between 45-60º to the vertical, to create a 90º seating to
the incline. Both allowed the brick to rest securely whilst being worked. They
could also be in two sizes, a smaller one for holding the brick lengthways, or
a larger version to hold the brick on end. This piece of equipment facilitated
greater precision, as it prevented the brick moving as cutting blows were struck
and thus prevented disfiguring chipping and rounding of the all-important
sharp arrises. This invariably occurs if bricks move during cutting and shaping
due to the abrasive action of the small particles of resultant waste that collect
and get under it.
Waudby's certificates and emblem paintings are also important as time
capsules, for they show a brick axe in the cutting-shed at a time when it was
