ORDER XVII.—BUILDERS, BRICKLAYERS, STONE AND SLATE WORKERS, CONTRACTORS

Sub-order 1.—Builders, Bricklayers, Stone and Slate Workers; Contractors

575.—Stone Cutters and Dressers

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apprentice setter

see sett maker's apprentice.

blocking dresser

see quarry mason.

burnishing stone maker

see cutter, burnishing stone.

curling stone maker

cuts and smoothes stones, weighing about 3334. lbs. for the game of "curling," by hand, with chisels,, hammer, measuring gauges and calipers.

cutter, stone cutter

cuts to shape and size by hand with hammer and chisel, or by machine saw (cf. sawyer) various kinds of stone to make millstones, whetstones, tombstones, etc.; may also dress stone (cf. dresser).

cutter, burnishing stone ; burnishing stone maker

uses a lapidary machine, fitted with foot treadle, or handle, and with a saw, or "slitter," for cutting agate stone, also with a horizontal grinding wheel, usually platinum faced, for grinding surface of stone; holds stone against revolving wheel of machine; afterwards polishes stone by holding it against revolving buffing lathe fitted with wooden or hide buffer; often also cuts, grinds, and polishes agate stones for setting into brooches, rings, etc., by same methods.

cutter, hone, oilstone or whetstone ; honest one maker

sets gauges and controls levers of machine which cuts or saws sand-stone of different grades of fineness and hardness; may also smooth by rubbing on sand tables.

cutter, sett

see sett maker.

cutter, trough

cuts or works out cavity in a large block of stone to make drinking trough, using a special hammer, bead of which is pointed at both ends; gauges correct dimensions of cavity with various measuring instruments.

dresser, stone dresser

dresses, i.e., gives required form and surface to articles of stone, by hand, using chisel, punch and hammer and rubbing with abrasive block , sand and water, or by pneumatic chipping, planing and polishing machine, or by both.

dresser, chert or flint

cleans flint with a pick before breaking and classifies according to Quality.

dresser, flag or paving ; squarer, stone squarer

receives flag or paving stones, already cleft to approximately required thickness by stone cutter (q.v.); squares them and dresses their face, i.e., removes inequalities, using mallet or hammer and chisels, rule, set square, measuring guages [sic], etc.

dresser, kerb

roughly dresses granite, etc., for kerbs with chisel, punch and hand hammer (about 6 lbs.); batts down or finishes off surfaces required smooth with patent axe or pick; cf. kerbstone maker.

dresser, millstone

a dresser (q.v.) who also cuts grooves in grinding surfaces of millstones, and resharpens them when worn; cf. stoneman.

facer

see dresser.

floatsman (enamelled marble manufacture)

smooths marble, by holding it on revolving sanding table.

granite roll maker, granite roll truer

cuts with special hammer, mallet and chisels and dresses granite rollers for paint making, machine; trues up on polishing lathe.

grinder, stone grinder

(i) sets gauges and cutting or grinding edges of machine which grinds face of stone (e.g. lithographic stone); places slab on bed of machine and controls grinding by means of levers;

(ii) panman; throws or shovels broken stone into hopper or chute of grinding mills and removes pulverized stone.

grindstone maker

makes grindstone throughout, i.e., cuts, dresses, rounds, etc., with hand tools; nearly obsolete.

grindstone mounter

bores hole at centre, inserts and fixes, with cement or lead, steel axle in grindstone and mounts it in position for running.

grindstone rounder

dresses face of grindstone by hand with hammer, or mallet, and chisels; also cuts stone to required diameter and shape with hand tools, using template or mould, cf. grindstone turner.

grindstone turner

forms grindstones of required diameter, by means of lathe, and cutting tool.

hammerer

see sett maker.

honestone maker

see cutter, hone.

kerbstone maker

both cuts (see cutter) and dresses (see dresser) granite or sandstone for kerb stones.

knapper

(i) see sett maker;

(ii) cuts thin slabs of stone, such as paving stones, to required sizes with knapping hammer and chisel.

knob maker

see sett maker.

machinist, stone machinist ; stone machine man

operates stone working machines, sawing, dressing, planing, polishing etc., by operating treadle, moving lever, pressing button, shifting small driving belt, etc.; sets gauges, cutting edges or dressing surfaces; fixes stone on bed of machine; cf. machine mason (572).

marble chimney piece maker

general term for workers engaged in cutting with hammer, mallet and chisels, or, by machine, and dressing marble chimney pieces.

marble turner

-cuts marble in cylindrical form, etc., on. lathe; sometimes specifically designated, e.g., monumental marble turner.

millstone builder, millstone maker

(i) cuts rough pieces of natural French burrstone, by hand with hammer and chisels, into shaped blocks forming segments of a circle; places segments in position on a "base," on which are marked shape of circle and of segments, using an adjustable template; after mass has been bound with hoop iron by blacksmith, may dress or finish stone and cut furrows on its surfaces by hand with hammer and chisels, cf. dresser, millstone;

(ii) mixes, with shovel, crushed burrstone grit or emery grit with special cement and water; shovels mixture into a mould; removes mould when mixture has hardened; may also dress bound stone as in (i).

nidger ; sett finisher, settsman finisher

a sett dresser (q.v.) who finishes "setts" roughly blocked out by sett maker, by chipping them with a sharp-pointed hammer, producing a flat paving stone (not stone flags), different from ordinary sett.

oilstone maker

makes oilstone, used for tool sharpening, by holding a piece of slaty rock or fine siliceous stone against a circular saw, to cut to shape; then holds cut piece of rock or stone against a "spinner," a small revolving padded iron disc, to polish it.

oilstone maker, Turkey

see whetstone maker.

panman

see grinder.

paving cutter

(i) see sett maker;

(ii) a stone cutter (q.v.) shaping flagstones with hammer and chisels.

picker

see stone picker.

pitching maker ; rough stone breaker

(i) makes pointed stones for basement of new road; generally uses scabbling hammer, i.e., hammer with square ends, for dressing stone; cf. scabber (072);

(ii) makes rough rubble for pitching sides of embankments, culverts, etc.

polisher, stone polisher

uses various abrasive powders and smoothing machine (jenny hand or spinner) to give polish to stone, e.g., lithographic stone, marble, etc.; may also polish by hand on occasion; sometimes specifically designated, e.g., lithographic stone polisher, marble polisher.

polisher (enamelled marble) ; sander (enamelled marble)

polishes enamelled surface of marble, after stoving, by rubbing it by hand with rotten stone.

pulpstone maker

a cutter and dresser (q.v.) who makes with hammer, mallet and chisels large mill stones for grinding wood into pulp for paper making.

quarry mason ; blocking dresser

with hammer and chisels prepares stone to leave quarry, except such kinds as require dressing; works chiefly on beams or girder blocks, coping, quoins, and other kinds of stone used in engineering constructional work.

random maker

cuts pieces of rock with pneumatic hammer, or with pick, hammer, and wedges, and shapes them into rough paving stones, or "random" setts, to any convenient size.

rough stone breaker

see pitching maker.

rubbing stone maker, rubbing brick maker

prepares a mixture of grit, stone and binding material, and moulds it to shape and size required for use in smoothing or cleaning surface of stone or marble.

rubbingstone rubber

trues up rubbing stones, used for producing smooth surfaces on stone, marble, etc., usually by rubbing them together.

sander (enamelled marble)

see polisher (enamelled marble).

sander-at-saws

feeds with sand, and keeps wet with water to facilitate cutting, saw blades in stone cutting machine, usually while blades are working.

sawyer, stone sawyer

cuts stone with hand saw or operates machine saw.

sawyer (marble, enamelled marble)

cuts marble with iron blades fed with sand and driven by hand or machinery; wire saws seldom used.

sawyer, swadge

one of two men who push backwards and forwards a swadge saw suspended over the piece of stone to be sawn.

scythestone maker ; stone rubber

cuts and dresses, i.e., smooths and polishes, scythestones; in Flintshire chips stone by hand, and grinds it into shape by rubbing on hard slab; elsewhere, sometimes works by machine.

seg maker, segment maker

cuts with hammer and chisels segments out of gritstone for building up grindstones.

sett dresser

trims "setts" (stone paving blocks, generally of granite) to right size and shape for paving; generally done by street mason (579) (q.v.).

setter

see sett maker.

sett finisher, settsman finisher

see nidger.

sett maker ; block squarer, hammerer, knapper, knob maker, paving cutter, sett cutter, setter, settsman, squarer, stone squarer, wallstone dresser

cuts stone, granite, basalt, whinstone, into rough blocks with heavy hammer (mell, mash) and then trims them into "setts," i.e., small blocks, of specific dimensions, for road making, with scabbling hammer (8-10 lb.) or with other hand hammers (tiffler or reel); does not use machines, except for blocking out rough cubes or jacks; sorts out his work at end of day for weighing and removal; see also nidger; in a few quarries also does work of block cutter (072) (q.v.); cf. settsman (072).

sett maker's apprentice ; apprentice setter

assists sett maker (q.v.) generally and learns trade.

settsman

see sett maker.

slate filer

cleans and levels, by filing, surface of slabs of slate for use in switchboard making.

squarer, block

see sett maker.

squarer, stone squarer

(i) see sett maker;

(ii) see dresser, flag or paving, stone cleaver; drills holes with hand drill on edges of blocks of stone, marble, etc., and inserts, and drives home with hammer steel wedges, thus forcing material apart.

stone drafter ; stone marker

outlines from measurements, or with metal template or mould, shape of stone to be cut, using quarryman's black; usually done by foreman (561) (q.v.).

stone machine man

see machinist.

stoneman, miller's stoneman, stoneflagger

cuts furrows in grinding stones according to a formula with a "mill bill," a small tool like a hatchet; sometimes also assembles grinding stones, supervises their working, and makes any necessary adjustments in working.

stone marker

see stone drafter.

stone pestle and mortar maker

a cutter (q.v.) or stone machinist (q.v.), who, with hammer, mallet and chisels, or with sawing, dressing, planing, etc., machine, makes pestles and mortars from blocks of stone.

stone picker ; picker

separates, by hand, good from inferior stone; cf. picker (072).

stone planer

smooths surface of stone with plane, generally by coulter machine; see machinist.

stone rubber

see scythestone maker.

stone slate maker

cuts to required length and width, and, if necessary, splits to required thickness, slabs of stone, "roofing stones," used in place of tiles or slates for roofing.

stone turner

works lathe for turning stone columns, balustrades, etc.

wallstone dresser

see sett maker.

whetstone maker ; Turkey oilstone maker

a dresser (q.v.) who shapes and dresses whetstones with planing and smoothing machines after cutting.

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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.