360 
the preparation of the mixture. In this case, owing to the 
fact that the piece is to be modeled, no stone should be used. 
The mixture should be composed of two parts of good clean 
sand, not too coarse, and one part of Portland cement. 
Mix the sand and cement together thoroughly while dry 
until a good uniform color is obtained throughout. Now 
Cut holes about 
42 deep insides 
lor handles 
i orearea. 
Drainage hole. 
Fig. 1—Detailed drawing of cement vase 
add enough water to this so as to make it of the consistency 
of putty or fairly stiff dough. Work it up well so as to 
procure a uniform consistency through the whole mass. Now 
place this mixture, in its plastic state, in the mold, ramming 
or tamping it down lightly as you place it in. Fill the mold 
flush with its sides, and level it off as shown at “A” in Fig. 2. 
Do not disturb the mold, which is now filled with the mix- 
ture, for at least two or three hours. After having set for 
the above length of time the concrete will be hard enough to 
allow of the removal of the outer mold, and the sharp cor- 
ners of the concrete, shown at ‘‘A”’ in Fig. 4, can be roughly 
cut off by means of a sharp tool such as the edge of a good 
strong knife or a mason’s trowel. ‘The next thing to do is to 
make a template, or former, with which to model or shape 
the vase. This is done as follows: First procure a piece of 
fairly heavy sheet tin or zinc and draw on it an exact outline 
of the bottom half of the finished vase, as indicated at “B” in 
Fig. 4. Now cut a piece of one-inch-thick wood, as shown, 
and nail to this the tin template, as indicated. Hold the 
bottom part of this template firmly to the working-board and 
against the side of the concrete cast, as shown in Fig. 4, and 
by gradually working it back and forth around the piece the 
superfluous cement, which is still in a soft state, will be cut 
or scraped off of the cast and a good uniform outline will 
be produced around its entire surface. Now remove the 
plug ‘‘a” by means of gently twisting and pulling. Then 
place another working-board on top of the cast, as shown in 
Fig. 5, at “A,” and then lift the piece up, at the same time 
firmly holding the two working-boards against it, as shown, 
and reverse the whole into the position indicated by ‘“‘B” in 
32"+Lap 
| 
Dis A 
Poe 
j 
Fig. 2—Method of making outside mold and core 
Fig. 5. Remove the board which is now on'top, as well as 
the cardboard disk which formed the bottom of the mold, 
and proceed to model the upper part of the cast in the same 
manner as was explained for modeling or forming the bot- 
tom of the piece. A detailed drawing of the template to 
use in modeling the top is shown at “A” in Fig. 6. It will 
be noticed that the distance from the bottom to the top of 
this template is one inch shorter than the template used for 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
September, 1909 
forming the bottom of the vase. This is to allow for the 
depth of the ring around the top of the vase, as shown in 
Fig. 6. The shaded portion in Fig. 5 represents the su- 
perfluous cement which is to be cut away from the top of 
the cast before starting to use the template to form the fin- 
ished outline of the vase. The square edges which will be 
left on the ring by the template, as indicated at “a” in Fig. 6, 
Pill slush 
Fig. 3—Mld assembled ready to receive concrete 
can be rounded off by hand, with a pointing tool or knife, 
as shown at “b.” The body of the vase is now complete, 
and it can be set aside to harden. Do not attempt to remove 
it from the working-board for at least eight to twelve hours. 
for, as yet, it is in a soft state and must be handled carefully. 
The next step is to cast the ears or handles. To do this a 
model must be made as follows: First procure a piece of 
wood and cut it into a triangle, as shown at “A” in Fig. 7. 
Make the two sides marked ‘‘1” and ‘‘2” seven inches long. 
Now lay out the outline of the handle on this piece of wood, 
as shown by the unshaded part at “B,” closely following the 
[ lemplate in 20 sition 
Fig. 4—Method of forming 
or modelling bottom 
of vase 
dimensions given. The dotted lines on the two ends of the 
handle show a projection of about three-eighths of an inch. 
This length is added to the handle in order to insert it into 
niches or holes which are later to be cut in the sides of the 
vase for this purpose. A piece of wood should now be cut 
out to conform to the outline of the shaded portion shown 
in Fig. 7 at “B.” ‘This should be made of wood two inches 
thick or should be built 
up of two one-inch 
boards, as it forms the 
inner part of the mold 
for the handles, which 
are to be two inches wide. 
Secure this piece, by 
nails, in position on the 
triangular piece of wood, 
as shown at “C” in Fig. 
7, and then nail lightly 
to the outside of the tri- 
angle strips of wood as 
shown. Be sure to have them lap as indicated. ‘The tops 
of these strips should also be on a level with the top of the 
solid block ‘‘a,”’ or a distance of two inches from the inside 
bottom of the triangular piece, as shown in the cross-section 
at ‘“D” in Fig. 7. Shellac and oil the inside of the mold 
well to prevent the concrete from sticking. 
Now secure four pieces of steel wire one-eighth to three- 
sixteenths of an inch in diameter and from thirteen inches 
to fourteen inches long, and bend them to the shape shown 
Fig. 5—Showing method of 
reversing cast 
by the heavy dark line in the plan drawing at “B,” Fig. 7. 
