ORDER VI.—WORKERS IN CHEMICAL PROCESSES; MAKERS OF PAINTS, OILS, ETC.

Sub-order 2.—Makers of Paints, Oils (not Mineral), etc.

158.—Other Skilled Workers

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acidifier (candles)

attends to copper vessel into which he runs fatty acids combined with lime from autoclaves, cf. autoclave man (candles); also runs in measured quantities of sulphuric acid, opens valve admitting steam to steam coil thus boiling mixture, and stirs it mechanically; allows liquor to settle and runs off fatty acids, leaving sludge of lime salt (sulphate) to bo washed out.

acidifier (oil), acid man (oil)

see refiner, acid.

albumen maker ; blood refiner

pours blood of animals into shallow pans; skims off upper layer of pale yellow serum which rises to top on standing; filters it through silk gauze into store vessels; places these in drying room until serum becomes jellified, i.e., ready for use in special gum making.

autoclave man (candles)

in charge o-f an autoclave, or copper digester, placed underground, in which melted fat, as received from fat melter (159) q.v. , lime and water, are subjected to steam at high pressure; controls valve regulating flow of steam which hydrolyses fat, producing lime salts of stearic or other fatty acids and glycerol; allows liquor to stand and separate into two layers, glycerol water and fatty acids, and runs or pumps them off, glycerol water to glycerine plant, and fatty acids to acidifier (candles) q.v.

black maker

a colour mixer q.v. preparing black pigments or paints from charcoal, graphite, calcined ivory or horn, carbon black, drop black, etc.

bleacher, shellac

removes natural colouring matter from gum lac by stirring it up in lime and water; shovels gum lac into tank, runs in water and shovels in lime; stirs mixture mechanically till colour of gum lac is absorbed by liquor, when it is then run off; shovels out bleached product and leaves to dry in drying chamber..

blender, oil ; oil mixer

(i) mixes together oils in mixing tank, in varying proportions according to use for which oil is required; runs oil into tank and sets mechanical stirrer in motion; runs out finished product into storage tanks;

(ii) (varnish making) oiler (varnish ); pours boiled linseed oil from time to time to gum pot containing melted gum, quantity of oil added varying according to nature of varnish to be made; cf. runner, gum.

blue mould maker

see pressman, blue.

boiler, bone (size and glue)

see boiler, glue.

boiler, fish oil

controls valves regulating steam heating of pans into which he empties buckets of fish livers; draws off fish oil which exudes during process, and removes livers at end of operation by shovelling into trucks.

boiler, glue ; bone boiler, glue maker, glue vatman, vatman

controls temperature by means of valve of steam-heated tanks into which he runs water and tips degreased bones, or scraps of hides, leather, skins, etc.; continues boiling until a sample of liquor sets to a firm jelly on cooling; runs liquor off to another tank for clarifying, and boils up residue of scraps with fresh charge of water; also usually performs duties of size maker q.v.

boiler, oil ; oil oxidiser (linoleum)

attends to pot or tank into which fie pours, runs, or pumps, linseed or other oil, which he heats to boiling point over a furnace; stirs oil mechanically during process and sometimes adds nickel, cobalt, litharge, manganese, or other driers, to stimulate oxidation, for use in paint, varnish and linoleum making.

boiler, oil (corticine) ; corticine maker

an oil boiler q.v. who subjects linseed oil alone to prolonged boiling, causing it to polymerise, in making corticine.

boiler, printing ink varnish (or oil)

as for boiler, oil.

boiler, resin (paper, cardboard) ; size maker

empties powdered resin and solution of soda ash from containers into steam-heated boiling pan; turns valve cock to admit water and steam and stirs mixture by hand with wooden stirrer; draws off size and strains through sieve into storage vat.

boiler, sizing

see size maker.

boiler, varnish

tends gum pot into which he runs mixed melted gums and linseed oil, mixed by gum runner q.v. , over a furnace, keeping temperature fairly constant at about 500° Fahr.; continues boiling until samples withdrawn show that amalgamation of oil and gum is complete; removes pot from furnace to cool ready for thinning by varnish maker q.v.

boiler, varnish oil

as for boiler, oil.

candle maker

see moulder, candle.

child's light maker

see night light maker.

cod liver oil maker

a fish oil boiler q.v. who makes cod liver oil by heating cod livers in a steam-jacketted pan.

colour maker (ceramic)

shovels weighed quantities of metallic oxides and powdered china, etc., into hopper of grinding mill, and grinds them up together to mix them intimately; places powdered mixture into crucibles and sets crucibles by means of tongs into small furnace to fuse mixture; superintends firing of furnace, usually gas fired; draws out crucible of fused material whilst still hot, and pours out fused mass into water to break it up ready for next operation of wet grinding, in a ball or nan grinding mill into which he shovels it.

colour maker (paints and colours)

produces colour's, in dry state, from various chemical substances; usually makes solution of chemical by shovelling it into tank, and running in water, or other solvent; stirs mechanically to promote solution; runs this solution into tank containing solution of another chemical similarly prepared, stirs liquids mechanically to promote thorough mixing, allows precipitated colour to settle and runs off liquor remaining; washes precipitate by running in water, stilling up mechanically and allowing precipitate to settle, and running off washing liquor; repeats this till precipitate is purified; shovels out precipitate on to trays for drying.

colour man

(i) assists colour maker q.v.;

(ii) takes charge of dry colour room, serving out weighed amounts of colour to colour mixers q.v. in proper proportion.

colour worker (soap)

a processman who makes colouring solutions for soaps; mixes chemical constituents in grinding mill; shovels ground mixture into steam-jacketed tank and opens valve to admit water or weak acid; adds measured quantity of liquid or powdered dyebase; starts mechanical stirrer and admits steam; when prepared, runs solution to vats or direct to soap boiling vats.

colour worker (xylonite)

working from formula, weighs out, measures, and. dissolves in spirit, dry colour base required for colouring xylonite (celluloid); runs colour, in measured quantities, from tank into another tank containing nitro-cellulose.

composition maker (printer's roller)

softens broken up clarified glue in water, melts it with treacle in a steam jacketted tank, stirring mixture until all is dissolved; adds a little Paris white (whiting), and mixes them up again whilst still warm; pours mixture into wheeled tanks or casts into oblong blocks for despatch.

corticine maker

see boiler, oil (corticine).

degreaser, benzine degreaser, bone degreaser (benzine process)

see extractor, grease.

deodoriser

attends vessels in which extracted oil is steamed to make it odourless; controls valve regulating inflow of steam and runs off condensed steam from deodorised oil.

dip maker, dipper

dips and withdraws, by hand, one wick, or a number of wicks attached to a frame, into a steam-heated trough of molten wax. specially prepared for making thick altar candles; continues alternately dipping and withdrawing (by raising and lowering counterbalancing weight attached to frame over a pulley) until enough wax has adhered to wicks; hangs frames of dips on shelves to harden; obsolescent .

dope maker (aeroplane dope)

pours or runs constituents of aeroplane dope, acetone, benzol, cellulose acetate, and benzyl alcohol, etc., into large covered tank; sets in motion high speed stirring apparatus, and, when dope is thoroughly mixed, draws it off into wooden or metal drums.

enamel maker

as for colour maker (ceramic).

engine oil maker, engine oil man

an oil blender q.v. who blends or mixes lubricating oils.

extractor, grease; extractor man

(i) benzine degreaser, bone degreaser (benzine process), degreaser; extracts grease (or tallow) from kitchen stuff, or butchers' scraps, by dissolving fat in petrol or benzine in agitated pans; shovels kitchen stuff, etc., into pans, runs in solvent, and controls mechanism for agitating mixture, runs off solution formed, into steam-heated vessel from which he evaporates off solvent, leaving liquid grease in pan;

(ii) fills large perforated metal container with kitchen waste and butchers' scraps, and places it in covered machine in which it is made to rotate rapidly; opens valve admitting steam to container, thus causing fats to melt and to pass by centrifugal force through perforations of container, together with condensed steam, into outer jacket of machine; collects fat and water thus separated, cools and runs off water from solidified fats; empties residue from container for making into fertiliser.

extractor, oil (seed crushing)

fills extracting pans with crushed oil seeds, which may or may not have been pressed to extract majority of oil, runs in some solvent, usually petroleum spirit, allows to stand so that spirit can dissolve residual oil in seeds; runs off solution of oil in spirit to distilling plant, where solvent spirit is distilled off leaving oil; repeats process until most of oil has been dissolved out of seeds; attends valves, and distils off spirit.

extractor (woollen mill), oil extractor ; sud purifier

superintends recovery of wool fats and oils from spent wool-scouring liquors; passes those suds into a tank and runs in vitriol or nitre cake which causes fats to separate and rise in form of scum; runs off liquid through filters leaving grease on floor of tank to be shovelled out for purification.

flesher, gelatine ; glue preparer, glue stock preparer, liming man, skin man

shovels or tips skins and scraps of hides in brick lined pit of lime and allows them to soak to remove flesh adhering to them; removes them from lime pit, and, using scraping knife, detaches any flesh still loosely adhering; washes, in open tank, steeped scraps in dilute acid to remove lime, and then in water to remove acid; runs out water and removes skins by means of long poles or forks, ready for glue boiler q.v.

french polish maker

see spirit varnish maker.

glue maker

see boiler, glue.

gold beater's skin maker

dips skin, prepared by gold beater's skin preparer q.v. , in alum, isinglass and white of egg, and when dry, cuts it into small squares ready for use by gold beaters (298) q.v.; secret processes are also in use.

gold beater's skin preparer

immerses outer coat of intestines of oxen in weak potash solution, allows it to soak, withdraws and scrapes with a knife, then beats it, soaks in water and finally stretches it before passing to gold beater's skin maker q.v.; secret processes are also in use.

grader, fat

by inspection grades fat, on its receipt at factory into edibles, i.e. , fats which can be purified sufficiently to be made into margarine, etc., and technicals; sorts fats into appropriate bins or heaps.

grease maker (lubricating)

tips, shovels, or runs fats, tallows, etc., into steam-jacketted tank, in which they melt; runs in solution of alkali in order to saponify them, and adds a specified quantity of mineral oil; stirs mixture by mechanical means until required blend is obtained; runs it off into kegs, barrels, etc., for despatch.

grinder, ink ; writing fluid grinder; in small factories

mixes, by grinding together ingredients used in making ink, either with pestle and mortar or, more usually, in a machine with rollers; using shovel, feeds and empties machine; starts and stops it by pulley lever; may also grind evaporated ink into ink powders.

grinder, printing ink

an ink grinder q.v. who feeds and attends a roller grinding machine, with porphyry or chilled steel rollers, for grinding ingredients of printers' ink; decides when process is complete.

grinder, writing fluid

see grinder, ink.

ink maker ; writing fluid maker

makes ink by adding proper proportions of water to mixed and ground ingredients; heats mixture, if heating is required, to proper temperature; sometimes specifically designated, e.g. , marking ink maker.

japan maker

makes a special kind of black or coloured varnish; melts asphaltum for black japan, or mineral colours for coloured japans, in a pot set in a furnace flue, and pours in and mixes hot linseed oil and a drier (red lead, copperas, or litharge); boils up mixture and mixes in turpentine to thin it ready for use; runs off into drums for export.

lacquer maker ; lacquer mixer

a spirit varnish maker q.v. who makes a lacquer, or transparent varnish, by dissolving shellac, or damar gum, coloured with aniline dyes, in methylated spirit, or wood alcohol.

lampblack maker

burns refuse oil in a brick chamber into which, by regulating valve, he admits only a limited supply of air, causing burning oil to give off smoke and soot; scrapes soot from off sides and roof of chamber; if required in manufacture of printing ink, places soot from chamber in a crucible and sets it in a furnace to drive off residual oils and tarry matter; withdraws crucible, allows to cool and removes lampblack.

liming man

see flesher, gelatine.

mastic maker

a resin maker q.v. who makes mastic, a special resin used in making pale-coloured spirit varnishes and for lithographic work; shovels weighed quantity of resin into a- tank, measures and pours in spirit; allows resin to dissolve and runs-off solution into bottles.

mixer and charger, blue

mixes, usually with a stirring apparatus in a pan, ingredients of washing blue, which have been measured out according to a precise recipe.

mixer

grinds, by machine, ingredients for making blacking, boot polish, dubbin, etc.; tips powdered material into mixing vessel, puts in wax or fat, or runs in oil according to nature of material to be made, opens valve admitting steam to steam jacket of vessel thus heating contents, and moves lever starting np mixing apparatus: runs out blacking, etc., into steam-jacketted hoppers of filling machines, or into tubs for export; sometimes specifically designated, e.g. blacking mixer, boot polish mixer, dubbin mixer, furniture polish mixer, harness blacking mixer, metal polish mixer, polish mixer.

mixer, colour

mixes dry pigments under direction of colour maker q.v.; pours pigments of different colours into mixing machine operated by hand or mechanically, consisting of a vessel provided with rotating metal arms; stops machine when mixture is homogeneous and colour uniform throughout; opens valve to run colour to storage tank; cf. colour mixer (152).

mixer, fat or oil (soap making) ; oil mixer

pours oil or shovels fat from barrels into mixing vats feeding steam-heated tanks and by opening valve admits steam to jacket or bubbles-in steam, thus heating and melting solid fats; controls stirring apparatus to ensure thorough mixing.

mixer, ink

weighs out according to formula and mixes ingredients of ink, either by hand, or more usually, in a special machine, with water or other solvent.

mixer, lacquer

see lacquer maker.

mixer, oil

(i) see blender, oil;

(ii) see mixer, fat or oil.

mixer, printing ink

weighs out or measures quantities of ingredients of printers' ink (lampblack, varnish and pigments); tips them into pan, and stirs by band or mechanically to ensure thorough mixing; runs out printers' ink into drums for export; in printing works, changes consistency of printing ink, as required, by adding proportions of one or more of ingredients and mixing up together; usually done by manager, or machine minder (529) q.v.

moulder, candle moulder ; candle maker

pours melted candle wax into hot water jacketted moulds, through centre of which wick passes; cools moulds by running off hot water to hot water tank and replacing it by cold water, thus solidifying wax; raises candles out of moulds into frames by means of lever and cuts wicks; removes frames of candles; replenishes spools of cotton candle wick as used up by candle moulding machine.

moulder, night light

as for moulder, except that night light has no wick when moulded, see wicker.

night light maker ; child's light maker

general term for any person engaged in making night lights, including night light melter (159), night light moulder, night light refiner, and wicker.

oil blower

runs oil into tank, opens valve admitting steam to coil which heats oil, and also opens valve which blows compressed air through heated oil; continues operation until oil has become viscous by oxidation and suitable for use as lubricating oil.

oiler (varnish)

see blender, oil (varnish).

oxidiser, oil (linoleum)

(i) see boiler, oil;

(ii) oxidises linseed oil by running it into steam-jacketted vessel and opening valve admitting steam to steam jacket, thus beating oil; raises temperature as oxidation proceeds; stirs oil during heating process by control of mechanical agitator;

(iii) tips boiled linseed oil over scrim (cotton cloth), hung in festoons, continues pouring oil at intervals (usually of a day) until sheets of oxidised (solidified) oil are about ½ to ¾ inch thick; cuts down skins of solid oil read) for subsequent processes in oilcloth manufacture.

petrifying liquid (paint) maker

a paint mixer (152) q.v. who mixes ingredients, largely; silicate of soda, to form a liquid paint which is applied to stone surface as a preservative, preparer, glue; glue stock

preparer, glue; glue stock preparer

see flesher, gelatine.

presser, blue; blue pressman, pressman (blue) ; blue mould maker

shovels or tips powdered laundry blue as received from blue mixer and charger q.v. into hopper of press which automatically presses blue into cakes; removes cakes ready for wrapping.

printers' varnish maker

shovels or tips a mixture of raw gums into large cast iron gum pot, and tends furnace which heats pot; stirs, by hand, continuously to ensure equal heating and to melt gums; pours in hot linseed oil gradually; removes pot from furnace and allows contents to cool somewhat, then pours in turpentine, stirring to ensure complete homogeneity; runs out varnish into cooling tanks and therefrom into drums for export.

printing ink maker

general term for any worker engaged in any process in printing ink manufacture; includes printing ink grinder, printing ink mixer.

processman (soap)

in charge of one or more processes in soap manufacture under direction of chemist; directs work of soap boiler, caustic and spent lye hand, checker, cleanser, cooler, crutcher, frame filler, barring machineman, slabbing machineman, miller, pan man, fat purifier, trimmer (159) q.v.

process worker, glue

a general term for one in charge of glue making processes, and able to carry out all operations; includes glue boiler, glue dryer (159), glue moulder (159) q.v.

process worker (oil cake)

general term for workers engaged in extracting or expressing oil from seeds and in compressing residual seeds into oil cake; is in charge of a process or series of processes and is responsible for smooth running of plant under his control; includes oil extractor, cotton oil refiner, pressman (159) q.v.

purifier, oil

see refiner, oil.

purifier, sud

see extractor (woollen mill).

putty maker

tips ground whiting, and a little white lead into a tank, pours in linseed oil, and stirs mixture mechanically to work it up into a stiff paste, i.e. putty; removes paste by means of scoop or shovel and packs it in casks.

putty powder maker

(i) melts metallic tin in heated pot; skims tin oxide from off surface of metal; sometimes adds white lead powder to tin, oxide so obtained and mixes them together;

(ii) heats metallic tin with strong nitric acid, to form tin oxide, decants off liquid and washes oxide with water, dries oxide in oven, and mixes it with a little white lead powder.

refiner, acid (oil) ; acidifier, acid man (oil)

runs seed oil into lead-lined tank, and adds small measured volume of sulphuric acid, opens valve admitting compressed air to tank thus stirring mixture by bubbling air through; opens valve admitting steam to steam coil in tank to warm up mixture, then allows liquids to settle, runs off lower layer of impure acid; runs in and stirs up little caustic soda solution to neutralise acid left, runs out partly neutralised caustic solution, then runs in water and stirs again for final purification; allows to settle, and runs out water leaving oil pure ready for packing; cf. acid refiner (143).

refiner, blood

see albumen maker.

refiner, night light; child's light refiner

refines paraffin wax for use in making night lights; places cakes of wax in large steam-jacketted tank, opens valve admitting steam to jacket thus melting wax, runs in dilute acid or other purifying agent, and stirs liquids vigorously by mechanical stirrer; allows liquids to separate, and runs off purified wax.

refiner, oil ; oil purifier

refines oil expressed from seeds, or extracted from fish or kitchen waste, by running it through special oil filter to remove any solid impurities, and/or, by boiling it with water, caustic soda solution, acid or other special chemical mixture in tank containing steam coil, allowing liquors to separate and running off purifying solution; or by distillation, cf. distiller (142); supervises plant, makes periodic examination of thermometers for temperature, draws off samples for test by chemist, and directs operations of men employed in the refinery; sometimes specifically designated, e.g. cod liver oil refiner, cotton oil refiner, engine oil refiner, medicinal oil refiner, rape oil refiner.

refiner, spermaceti

refines spermaceti, made by spermaceti maker I q.v. by melting it with water in steam jacketted tank, stirring up liquids and allowing spermaceti to cool and solidify; opens valve to run off water with impurities, and passes waxy solid to sperm presser (159) q.v.

resin maker, rosin maker

sorts out resin in various qualities, as imported, and picks impurities therefrom; shovels sorted resin into a coke-heated metal pot to melt, and, opening valve, runs liquid resin into moulds to set.

runner, gum (varnish)

charges gums into covered gum pot, and attends to careful heating of pot by coke or gas furnace; stirs gum continuously during heating process, by mechanical stirrer, and mixes in boiled linseed oil from time to time, as added by oil blender (varnish) q.v.; when of right consistency, runs varnish into cooling tank.

size maker

(i) sizing boiler; boils up residues of leather, etc., scrap, left after making glue, in steam-heated pans of water; regulates temperature of pan by valve controlling flow of steam; runs off size through sieve into tubs, etc., to cool and solidify to a jelly; usually done by glue boiler q.v.;

(ii) (paper, cardboard), see boiler, resin.

skin man

see flesher, gelatine.

spermaceti maker, spermaceti man

runs sperm oil into tank, and cools it by opening valve passing cooled brine through cooling coil or in cooling jacket of tank, thus causing spermaceti to crystallise out; runs off residual sperm oil, and shovels out solid residue, spermaceti, into harrows etc., for conveyance to spermaceti refiner q.v.

spirit varnish maker ; french polish maker

tends apparatus for dissolving gum shellac in alcohol in making spirit varnishes; shovels weighed quantity of gum shellac into alcohol in a drum which revolves and oscillates automatically, to assist solution of shellac; runs out liquor, when all shellac is dissolved, into drums or bottles for export.

sponge cleaner

bleaches sponges by dipping them, by hand, in a string bag successively in solution of permanganate of potash, hydrochloric acid, and lime water; washes bleached sponges to cleanse them from chemicals.

sponge cutter

see sponge trimmer.

sponge dresser

combines duties of sponge cleaner and sponge trimmer q.v.

sponge trimmer ; sponge cutter

trims imported sponges by cutting off uneven edges with scissors.

stamper, stamping machine attendant

feeds slabs or tablets of soap to hand operated, or power stamping machine, which, by means of dies, stamps impressions and wording on them.

varnish maker

opening a valve, runs linseed oil into steam heated tank and adds known quantity of gum; regulates steam valve to maintain required temperature; adds turpentine to this mixture, by hand, a little at a time and starts mechanical stirrer to ensure thorough mixing; when correct proportion of turpentine has been added, and mixture well stirred, allows it to stand in large tanks to cool.

vatman, glue vatman

see boiler, glue.

wicker

cuts off short piece of prepared night light wick, and passes it through piece of perforated tin in centre of cardboard bottom of night light; slips moulded night light, in which a hole has been left during moulding, over wick.

wick preparer

attends wick making machine, which plaits cotton threads loosely into wick; soaks wick in solution of borax and sulphate of ammonia and leaves it to dry; replaces empty cotton spools on wick-making machine with full ones.

wood stain maker

a varnish maker q.v. who makes a varnish, which dries dull or flat when applied, by adding tung oil during stirring and mixing of ingredients, according to formula.

writing fluid maker

see ink maker.

Back to List of Occupational Codes

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From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016.   This text is in the Public Domain.