ORDER XI.—WORKERS IN SKINS AND LEATHER AND MAKERS Of LEATHER OR LEATHER SUBSTITUTE GOODS (NOT BOOTS OR SHOES)

Sub-order 1.—Furriers, Skinners, Tanners and Leather Dressers

331.—Foremen and Overlookers (including Head Warehousemen and Chief Sorters)

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chamber master

an outworker or middleman who obtains fur skins from wholesale manufacturers and makes them up at home or on own premises, frequently employing other labour.

chief drum man ; drum house ganger

in charge of process of leathering hides and skins in drum tumblers, i.e., revolving cylinders; supervises drum stuffers (334) and drum labourers (339) (q.v.), filling and emptying drum tumblers; responsible for output; usually also directs labourers who boil various greases to make stuffing mixture used in leathering process.

chief pumper and liquor blender (leather)

responsible for correct mixing of lime, bate and tanning liquors, see liquor blender (335); also in charge of pumps circulating liquor in pits, see pumper (339).

chief rounder

supervises work of rounders (338) (q.v.) engaged in cutting up raw hides and skins or leather into specified sections; when dealing with hides and skins sometimes also supervises classers, sorters and measurers (388) (q.v.); checks output and keeps record of attendance and time keeping; responsible for engagement and discharge of rounders.

chief sorter ; head warehouseman

(i) receives daily list of orders from office; responsible for despatch of correct quantities and qualities of leather; must know various grades of leather and their uses in different trades;

(ii) supervises sorters (338) (q.v.) and warehousemen (940) engaged in sorting and grading leather; checks output; may also supervise rounders (338) (q.v.).

chief splitter

supervises work of splitters (338) (q.v.)

drum house ganger

see chief drum man.

foreman mill hand ; millman, mill room foreman (fur skins)

supervises greasers (332), millmen (334), and drum stuffers (334) (q.v.) in mill room; knows correct duration of process for each class of skins; examines skins on arrival and gives directions as required for damping, liquoring or pickling of furs; responsible for engaging and discharging of mill hands.

lime foreman

in charge of lime pits; responsible for operations of soaking and liming hides and skins; instructs labourers filling pits with lime, regulating water supply to pits, putting hides and skins in pits; sometimes also supervises fleshers (338), unhairers (338) and baters (333) (q.v.).

millman, mill room foreman (fur skins)

see foreman mill hand.

shed foreman

in charge of drying sheds in which hides and skins are dried after tanning process, and directs and supervises labourers employed therein; is responsible for maintaining correct temperature in sheds; keeps records of quantities of skins or hides received into and passing from sheds; sometimes also responsible for workers engaged in oiling certain classes of leather.

soak-hearth, foreman

supervises receipt of raw hides into tan yard; prepares list of hides received showing weight for use of office; reports shortages in number or weight; supervises soak men (233), stockmen, oil leather millmen (334) (q.v.); sometimes also acts as hide sorter (338) (q.v.).

stove foreman

attends to drying of skins in heated room and to regulation of temperature.

tanyard foreman ; yard foreman (tannery)

in general charge of tanning process, watches progress of hides or skins until completion; works under general supervision of tanyard manager.

warehouseman, head

see chief sorter.

yard foreman (tannery)

see tanyard foreman.

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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.