160r - - - - - Presses for large moulds
Figure
Figure at right top margin
It is made of two sheets of iron, fasten with four small iron pillars, in such a way that the upper sheet is able to move and run freely along the pillars, while the lower one is fixed. A St André cross, made of iron, stops at the end of the pillars; there is a screw in the middle of the cross, which squeezes the sheets against the molds placed between them. For small molds, we make a frame; having put the mold between two metal sheets, we squeeze it in the frame with for small moulds, put the mould between two iron sheets, and squeeze it with wedges. Big wooden presses, with a screw, apart from being heavy to move to the furnace for casting, make it difficult to see when they squeeze too much, and they often break the molds.
The screw is fixed to these nuts which are nailed down the upper plate, this way it raises and presses the mould.
Sand to cast flowers
In casting with thick sand, flowers crumple; it squeezes them into a mass. For this reason, be sure to dilute your sand very thinly, and blow on it so the flowers are not entirely covered. When you dilute your sand, do not only stir it with the small shovel, but beat it as you would egg white.