P L A
309
PL A
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kirns e [p 0 u P on which a dexterous plasterer much piques
P^tert,. , Cornic es are to be charged with ornaments, thela "'hich t? !lVes cei 't aln indentions, or sinkings, in the mould,‘"atle j, , le casts are laid. These ornaments were formerlytl0 'v t], ^ la >id, by artists called ornament-plasterers ; buts - ( k<] tl, a |. ai , e cas ‘ ’ n plaster of Paris, which has almost super-Vv|| o rem . branch of art ; at least, the few professors of itj l,lc l formj^”* are limited in their labours to the modellingl n Poster n f Sf niot *lds to cast from. Ornaments , to be casts ?s '8n. qy, ^ ar ’ s > are previously modelled in clay from theSo,ll e dew,. * en *l ,e day model is finished, and has acquiredJ ' v Oo« le ; °®' firmness from the action of the atmosphere,eto ticlie,] lame is adapted to it, and after it has been
a 11 *’Wbj ( !| an ^ finished, the frame is filled up with meltedof' Vn > drops 'll 1611 cool, on the mould being turned upside-file pA, ctf, and presents an exact cameo, or counterpart,q,' 0| igl,t e ’ ' n which the most enriched and curiously-0 „' es e W(l ° u 'dings maybe cast by the common plasterer.. dle orn„ Inof l e l s are contrived to cast about a foot in length
bi
such lengths being most easily got
u rest plasT Uarneo ‘ -H |e casts are made of the finest andui' n 8 oilgj 61 " op Paris, saturated with water; the wax mouldfl r etl froip P rev ’ously to its being poured in. When firstip 111 ’ but af 16 niou bl> tl le casts, or intaglios, are not verySi. orw, tlle y have been suffered to dry a little, eitherra Ped A ? illr or ’ - - ‘ -
1 j‘ 7 11 and i ' ,n an oven, they become hard, and areOp) '''-Zes and , Cane( l U P for the workmen,a i y ‘ke Wa “ !lS80 ' r clievos are executed in a similar manner,a °k 8 r ou X , tnou l < l is so contrived that the cast may have
to the" U P' aster ; a t least half an inch thick : this isfile!!! 69 fiieir 0 -- 1 '' 11116111 ’ or fig ure > so fi iat strengthens and
§ e ner'u P^”P 01 'tions, at the same time that it promotes
tr 0i, is th 6ffect -
•C filey ^process different for capitals to columns, exceptofij^ke a 4 Ulre a number of moulds to complete them.b e || 16 aiodei) °°^ m ould, however, requires the utmost skilltv ;> a, „■ -Ihe Corinthian capital requires a shaft, or
n 8e dn i made > on which are afterwards to be fixedh! S * r eQni,. ( v °l ut es ; all which, as well as the otherC foi ''£ e d ' sUnct ^eos.
l he r 8, die ph, s f° ln ’ ces tl* at are 1° be charged with orna-
*0 timing ^ e,er ‘ a kes care to have proper projections in
Se cu r ft Coi 'nic e °- ’ 80 as t0 lc av e a groove or indention
Pl !lst e 'l in j( s \ ln ‘° which the cast ornament is laid, and
fp). j 8r °f P ar jg ace ! spreading a small quantity of liquid
bop . 'be corn' ° n . *‘ s back. Friezes, likewise, are prepared
iO Hie i.,* Ce .’ n a similar manner, by leaving a projec-- ‘ y ' PJ
mould, at the part where they are
otl
«nu UlC 11ACU 111 IIJCU jj
p'* er Pari „ , e ‘ a ched ornaments, designed for a ceiling.as t ’ "'her
’ n p'iec 1616 n ° lunn ' n g mould has been employed,'Hop, ‘ e Ceilifj 68 ’ corres ponding with the design, and fixedr C Un «er tb!’ &C -> wi ‘ h white-lead, or the compositionplaster; 6 name °f * ron cement.
' a vii^ s to regn'i^ - Is known by its exquisite appearance,1’lir n ° cra c ;.„ arit y. an d correctness, and its solid effect,l|| »e ai!i kii ltr \ ’ ? or indications of them, visible,f^liits oecn,?- Wor king of stucco has, for a considerableV "s, and ?' ed ‘be
Ni;»C d plas “
attention of chemists, physicians,
ii . -m 1 ’ b ut the only beneficial result has
’ °Ur cli In . lt S1Ve knowledge of the materials used in it:
/‘Hs '° u Sbt to 6 ’ ^ 10In ’ ts g reat moisture, prevents its
in 1118 Hr C ° tn Positi 0 SUpeidat ' ve P el 'i e ction, though, among the
ttaa r 6 Co, tii)n-_.. ns ,‘b at have been proposed and tried,- -
excellent. The common stucco nowWork, is known, among plasterers, by the4 K
name of Bailey's compo ; it consists of Thames sand cleanlywashed, and ground Dorking lime, mixed dry, in the propor-tion of three of the latter to one of the former, which, whenwell incorporated together, should be secured from the air ingood tight casks, till the moment it is wanted for use. Wallsintended to be covered with this composition, must be firstprepared, by raking the mortar from the joints, and pickingthe bricks, or stones, till the whole wall is properly indented.The part must then be clean brushed of all dust and otherextraneous matter, and well soaked with clean water. Thestucco is then to be supersaturated with water, till it bearsthe appearance and consistence of ordinary whitewash : inwhich state it is to be rubbed over the wall with a flat brushof hogs’ bristles, and then left to become tolerably dry andhard, which is ascertained by its becoming more white andtransparent than when at first laid on. This process is calledroughing in. Screeds are next to be formed upon the wall,with fresh stucco from the cask, tempered with water to aproper consistency, and spread on the upper part of the wallabout eight or nine inches wide, and against the two ends,beginning at the top, and proceeding downwards to thebottom. In this operation, two workmen are required; oneto supply the stucco, the other to use and try the plumb-ruleand straight-edge. When these are truly formed, otherscreeds must be made, vertically, about four or five feet apart,unless apertures in the wall should prevent it, in which casethey must be formed as near together as possible. Whenthe screeding is all done, more compo must be prepared, andin larger quantities than was done for the former process ;and, when ready, both the workmen begin to spread it withtheir trowels over the wall in the space left between eachpair of screeds that are nearest together. When this is done,the straight-edge is to be applied across both, and draggedfrom the top to the bottom, so as to remove whatever super-fluous stucco may project above the screeds. Should anyhollow places appear, fresh stucco must be applied, and thestraight-edge again drawn over the spot, till the compo isbrought even to the face of the screeds, and the whole islevel with the edge of the rule. The workmen then fill upanother interval ; and thus they proceed, till the whole ofthe wall is covered. The wall is then to be finished, byfloating, or hardening the surface, by rubbing it with thecommon wood float, and sprinkling it with water, an opera-tion that is performed, as above directed, for troweled stucco;always remembering to begin the floating on the part firstfilled up.
This kind of compo, or stucco, is frequently used by plas-terers for cornices and mouldings, in the same manner thathas already been described in common plastering. But liere,the workman finds it requisite to add a small portion of plas-ter of Paris, to make it fix better while running or workingthe mould. Such addition, however, is not calculated togive strength to the stucco ; and is only made through thenecessity of having a quick set.
Some years ago, the patent stucco of Dr. B. Higgins, wasin great repute, and employed by the founders of the Adelphi,in the Strand, with considerable success. It consistedof 141b. or 151b. of good stone lime, 141b. of bone-ashes,finely powdered, and 98 lb. of clean sand, coarse or fine,according to the intended nature of the building : these weremixed up into mortar as quicky as possible with lime-water,and used as soon as made.
The various suggestions and modes of forming the samematerials into stucco, amount to about forty in number, onlyvarying the proportions ; but few of them have been foundto remain tolerably entire in this climate for thirty yearstogether. In 1796, Mr. Parker obtained *a patent for