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PREFACE. THE purpose of this book is twofold: (a) to supply reliable and unbiased information to those firms and individuals who contemplate making or buying bricks and artificial stones from non-plastic materials; (b) to assist manufacturers in solving the problems which occur in the course of their work, to enable them to remedy defects and to avoid other technical difficulties. The following pages embody the chief results of the author's own investigations and experiences, as well as that of a considerable number of manufacturers and others, and are arranged in such a manner as to enable readers to find the information they require, with the least possible amount of trouble. The author has too large a knowledge of clay bricks and terra-cotta to underrate their value, but the fact must not be overlooked that in various parts of the United Kingdom, and even more so in the British Colonies and Dependencies, there are large areas where no suitable clays are available and where the difficulty and cost of using the large quantities of coal needed to heat the kilns is prohibitive to the manufacture of plastic bricks and blocks. In some instances (see p. 135) the cost of the removal of overlying sand may be converted into a profit by making such sand into bricks. Moreover, the skill required in the burning of clay products is very great, and men of sufficient ability are not always obtainable where building materials are required. Hence, in such localities, in starting new collieries, town planning schemes, the construction of extensive works, and in tropical and Colonial work, the advantages and disadvantages of the use of non-plastic materials should always be considered, particularly where sand, clinker, or slag is abundant. This consideration must be careful and thorough, and it should only be undertaken by men competent for the work ; for ignorance, bias, and guesswork form some of the most prolific causes of failure in the production of non-plastic bricks. Many men particularly on the Continent and in the United States have bought machinery and started to make lime-sand bricks without any actual knowledge of what a really good brick should be, and often without knowledge of how to distinguish good bricks from bad ones. They have been told that they could make good bricks if they bought the right machinery, and are greatly surprised and disappointed when their product is not up to the standard demanded by architects and builders. Had such men relied more on competent and impartial expert advice and less on their own opinions and on the statements of unscrupulous people with "something to sell," most of their failures would have been avoided. Where reliable advice is not readily obtainable, it is hoped that the following pages will enable prospective manufacturers to avoid the chief pitfalls into which others have fallen and to find the best methods of procedure, suitable modifications being made to meet local needs and requirements. With the exception of an air-separator, and some of the machines used for concrete bricks and tiles, all the machinery is of British manufacture, as the author has found from experience that strength of construction, rather than ingenuity of design, is the chief requirement in machinery used in the manufacture of bricks and artificial stones. Moreover, this is essentially a British industry, and although the author has made an exceedingly thorough study of all the chief Continental machinery used for such bricks and stones as are here described, he has failed to find any important feature in which such foreign machinery is superior to that of British manufacture. Foreign machines have only been described when, so far as the author is aware, similar machines are not made in Great Britain. Many foreign machines, the advertisers of which publish flamboyant claims, have been found by the author, on careful examination, to be distinctly inferior to the corresponding machines made in Great Britain. It is scarcely necessary to point out that such claims, made without anything to substantiate them, should not be too readily accepted without further proof. For the readiness with which they have assisted him in the loan of illustrations and in other ways, the author is grateful to Mr. E. R. Sutcliffe (Messrs. Sutcliffe, Speakman & Co., Leigh, Lanes), to Mr. H. Alexander (Messrs. H. Alexander & Co. Ltd., Leeds), Messrs. Gebr. Pfeiffer (Kaiserslautern), and Mr. R. H. Baumgarten (Lewisham). The author also expresses his thanks to numerous business friends and clients for useful suggestions and to various members of his staff especially Mr. J. W. Merchant, and Mr. H. Lindop for assistance in preparing this book for the Press, and to Mr. E. R. Bradforth, for reading the proofs and preparing the Index. ALFRED B. SEARLE. THE WHITE BUILDING, SHEFFIELD. CONTENTS PREFACE Chapter I. KINDS OF BRICKS AND STONES Chapter II. THE RAW MATERIALS Chapter III. PREPARING THE MATERIALS Chapter IV. HISTORIC AND OBSOLETE METHODS Chapter V. MIXING THE MATERIALS Chapter VI. PRESSING THE BRICKS Chapter VII. HARDENING THE BRICKS Chapter VIII. CONCRETE BRICKS AND BLOCKS Chapter IX. ARTIFICIAL STONES Chapter X. THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF LIME-SAND BRICKS Chapter XI. THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE BRICKS AND^BLOCKS Chapter XII. DEFECTS Chapter XIII. THE COST OF MANUFACTURE Chapter XIV. USES OF BRICKS MADE OF SAND, SLAG OR CLINKER APPENDIX INDEX End of Preview.
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