I was inspired by the quality of nineteenth-century British moulds. This is somewhat random as they were the type that was available for me to study. The excellent construction of the moulds deeply impressed me. But even moulds that are not made as well tend to be highly valued. My feeling is that moulds shouldn't be so well made that folks can't afford them, although there are some who may think I am guilty of that very thing! There is a need for well-made, serviceable moulds. And even the highest-quality moulds wear out. Someone needs to be able to replace them. There are a lot of skills that are necessary to construct a paper mould. Lately it seems to me that the least understood of these skills is the making of laid-wire facings. If you are interested in making paper moulds, the ability to make wire facings and backing will improve your product. One reason to consider using laid facings is that laid moulds are easier to sew than wove moulds. Sewing is done through long slots between the laid wires instead of through the tiny square holes of wove mesh. And even if you are making wove moulds, using laid backing makes them easier to sew, stronger, flatter, and lighter in weight than the large mesh screen which is the usual alternative. A view showing the completed facing and the parts of the twisting mechanism. A small "stop" has been taped in the left side of the trough to align the ends of the laid wires as the wires are slid in from the right. The spindle-drive weights and their cords are visible below the front edge. A pair of spring clips provide a place to keep a supply of laid wires at hand, ready to be added to the facing. This drawing shows a small section of the spindle drive mechanism. The wire trough has been removed to reveal the row of cylindrical plastic spindles that turn freely in vertical holes bored through the wooden spindle rack. Under the front edge, a narrow strip of Plexiglas has been attached, overlapping the flat bottom sides of the spindles slightly to align them and to keep them from dropping through. When in use, pairs of chain wire pass through the small holes drilled vertically through the spindles. Cranking the long spindle drive reel a half turn pulls on the upper ends of all of the weighted cords. The looped cords tighten on the spindles, causing them all to revolve a half turn at the same time. This is how the chain wires are twisted. All drawings by the author. Here the slotted wooden wire trough is in place, centered directly above the row of spindles. When in use, a pair of chain wires passes through each slot in the trough and down through the pair of holes in the spindle directly below. When the chain wires are raised the chain wires form inverted "Y"s. The arms of the "Y"s engage the sides of the narrow slots cut cross-wise in the trough, thus "locking" the spindles. When the spindle drive reel is released by cranking it a half turn back, the tension on the weighted cords is relaxed, allowing them to slip on the locked spindles as the weights return to their starting positions. This simple mechanism drives the spindles in one direction only, allowing one twist after another to bind successive laid wires in place. Much of the character of laid papers, old and new, comes from the moulds on which they were made. It would be interesting for someone to explore the ways that paper pulp interacts with the particular arrangement of wires during sheet formation. Laid wires can be "heavy" or "light" and at the same time closely or widely spaced. These variables as well as the spacing and size of the chain wires can be combined in an almost infinite number of ways. Laid wire facings can be made by hand or with the help of a loom. Being a tinkerer by nature I built a loom for the task. I have used my loom for almost thirty years, but it is a little quirky. For one thing it is too tall for many people. Recently I completed a new version of the loom that comes apart, loads in my car, can be set up almost anywhere, and is built to a more convenient height. You might consider designing and making your own loom. I own a book that has drawings of several old European mould maker's looms. It is quite a challenge to understand how they work just by looking at the drawings. Some of these looms are in museums and can be examined in person. Each design seems to In this cross-section of a mould maker's wire-twisting loom, a laid facing has just been started with three laid wires twisted into place. Only one pair of chain wires is shown here. Chain wires are draped over a steel rod (a). These form pairs that, after passing through small holes in the cylindrical spindles, are weighted at their bottom ends. Downward pressure on the foot treadle (not shown) raises the steel rod bringing with it the entire facing. This reveals the splayed, untwisted ends and engages them in narrow slots cut crosswise in the wooden wire trough. The spindle drive reel (b) is released a half turn by a hand crank (not shown) allowing the cord weights to fall to their starting positions. Between the untwisted laid wires in the bottom of the trough, a laid wire has been slid into place. When the foot treadle is released, the pairs of chain wires drop evenly to the lowered position, straddling the newly placed laid wire. The spindle drive reel is cranked counter-clockwise a half turn. As the weighted cords are reeled in they tighten around the spindles causing them to revolve a half turn also. All of the pairs of chain wires are thus twisted simultaneously. The newly added laid wire is now incorporated into the facing. Next, the foot treadle will be pressed down again, raising the wires. The spindle drive crank will be released, dropping the cord weights back to their starting places. To complete the cycle, the entire twisting mechanism shown here must be lowered the exact distance of the diameter of one laid wire plus the width of the space between each pair of laid wires. This is done by turning the indexing crank that sits on top of one of a pair of synchronized vertical lead screws which turn together, lowering both ends of the twisting mechanism the same, precise distance. A "counting wheel" (see photo on page 21) at the top of the other lead screw makes audible clicks which can be counted to turn the crank the required amount. At this point another laid wire is slid into place and the process begins again. Only a few seconds are needed to add each laid wire. LEFT: In this close detail of a newly started laid facing, there are three laid wires twisted into place. Lying in the bottom of the wooden trough is a fourth laid wire. The steel rod (a) that supports the laid facing has been lifted using the foot treadle. CENTER: The foot treadle has been released, lowering the chain wires onto the laid wire in the trough. RIGHT: The chain wires are twisted a half turn, and the laid facing now includes four laid wires. These steps are repeated over and over again. A 22 x 30- inch mould requires about 425 laid wires. have strengths and weaknesses. Some of them calibrate the spacing of the laid wires as they are added. Other looms depend on the skill of the weaver to space the wires evenly. Some designs allow adjustment in the spacing of the chain wires. Re-creating some of these old looms could provide even more variety in available laid facings. Phosphor bronze wire is the best for mould making. It can be purchased soft and pliable for making chain wires and for sewing facings to the ribs. It is also available stiff and springy for use as laid wires. It is the best copper alloy for taking a temper. (If you see a copper-colored spring, chances are it is made of phosphor bronze.). Brass becomes brittle with time; I know this from trying to fix old moulds and having the wires crumble. Copper and brass are not as tough as phosphor bronze and are much easier to break when using them as sewing wire. It is difficult to find wire for laid and chain wires. In my experience most of it must be special ordered. This can be expensive because the wire company will require a minimum order. A mould maker might have one or two sizes of soft (annealed) chain-wire stock for making backing wire and three, four, or more smaller sizes (also soft) for making chain wires for laid facings. These, combined with several sizes of straightened, spring-tempered laid wire would enable a mould maker to produce a wide array of facings and cover the normal range for Western-style moulds. A spool of chain wire will make many, many moulds—there are miles on a spool. A minimum order could keep several mould makers supplied for years. The straightened laid wires will be used up much faster since most of the wire in a facing is in the laid wires. Since the cost of wire can be an obstacle, sharing orders would help make wire more affordable. It is possible to straighten your own wire by using a straightening board. This is a wooden board with a series of metal pins through which the wire is pulled in a diminishing zig-zag pattern. I haven't had much luck with this so far. It could be less expensive since some standard gauges of tempered wire are available off the shelf. The wires do not have to be perfectly straight since each is held in place between its neighboring wires by the twisted chain wires. The slight variation of the wires may add "character" to the paper formed upon them. One person alone does not have to make all of the parts of a mould. One person might specialize in making wire facings and backings. Another could make the wooden frame and deckle. A third could sew the facings down. Watermarking is another specialty that could be pursued separately. Recently I have had some opportunities to share mould-making ideas and techniques with others. Each time I was surprised and delighted to learn of methods and skills that I had never thought of after all these years! Clearly there is much to learn and having more people working on moulds would be a plus for the field. I have not made more than a few sheets of paper in my life. My professional relationship with papermakers has been mostly from a distance. Working closely and collaboratively would be better but this is difficult with papermakers being so widely dispersed. Surely it would be better for papermakers if there were more mould makers in the field. There is a lot more room for research and development of the design and fabrication of papermaking moulds. If you are interested in mould making, I'd certainly like to do what I can to help.

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