A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921.
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ORDER XVI.—MAKERS OF AND WORKERS IN PAPER; PRINTERS, BOOKBINDERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, ETC.

Sub-order 1.—Makers of Paper, Pulp, Straw and Card Board

512.—Vatmen and Machine Men


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beaterman ; rag beater
in charge of a number of beating engines which disintegrate and soften materials, i.e., asbestos, esparto grass, rags, wood logs, etc., used in manufacture of paper, strawboard, millboards, etc., and reduce them to pulp; has expert knowledge of textures or qualities of pulp required in making various papers, etc., controls power-drive of engines; instructs helpers as to quantities of water to be let into engines and amount of china clay, size, resin and (for coloured paper) dye to be added; after pulping is completed, takes small sample of pulp and passes it to chemist for analysis.
beaterman (asbestos)
a beaterman q.v. in charge of a beating engine, which opens short asbestos fibres and adds binding ingredients thereto, for use in manufacture of millboards.
beaterman (cardboard and pasteboard)
as for beaterman.
beaterman, spare
a learner who acts as assistant to beaterman q.v. and takes charge of pulping operations in case of emergency or in absence of regular beaterman.
beater, rag
see beaterman.
board maker
dips a frame or mould by hand, in pulp vat; judges when frame contains sufficient pulp and removes it from vat; passes frame to coucher q.v.; cf. vatman.
coucher, coucherman
receives mould from vatman q.v.; turns it over, and, by a skilful movement, deposits sheet of water-leaf in a perfectly flat condition on a wet felt slightly larger than the sheet; piles papers and felts alternately, one above another, ready to be pressed in a hydraulic press.
layer
strips sheets of paper from felts after removal from hydraulic press and lays them one on another so as to form another pile ready for repressing, without felts, to remove moisture and eliminate felt marks.
machine man
receives pulp from bleacherman (518) q.v.; instructs assistants as to quantities of pulp required, and supervises loading; of pulp into input end of machine; regulates pumping of water to pulp and of resulting fluid to machine by means of cocks; adjusts gauges on machine which determine thickness and width of paper; observes speed indicators and regulates speed of machine by means of levers; supervises work of dryerman (518) q.v. and of boys who oil machine.
machine man (asbestos)
turns cocks or valves admitting fluid pulp and water to asbestos millboard machine; (this machine builds millboard from short asbestos fibre to which binding ingredients have been added by beaterman q.v. ); cuts sheets of pulp, as it accumulates on cylinder, by pulling a string, at intervals indicated by a groove in cylinder; piles sheets in a hydraulic press, interleaving them with calico sheets; sets press in motion by mean of lever, thus squeezing out superfluous water from sheets.
machineman, presse pate ; presse pate man
switches on and off power driving machine in which esparto grass is cleansed of roots or impurities in preparation for beating process; opens and closes valves which admit grass to machine and remove it therefrom; sees that machine is working properly.
machineman, spare
a learner who assists machineman q.v. generally and takes charge of paper malting machine in case of emergency or in absence of regular machineman.
mouldman
see vatmen.
presse pate man
see machineman, presse pate.
vatman ; mouldman
fits deckle (a wooden frame) on top of mould, i.e., a frame on which is stretched a finely meshed wire cloth; dips whole into vat of pulp which is kept constantly stirred; gauges, by experience, amount of pulp to be picked up, according to thickness of sheet of paper required after drawing mould from vat, intertwines fibres of pulp by a shake or lateral movement of mould, meanwhile draining away water through gauze; when sheet is formed, lifts off deckle and passes mould to coucher q.v.

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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.