OPERATING THE PRESS

In order to make good consistently sized compressed blocks and tiles, enough mix must be loaded into the mold box to require a hard pull on the handle and once the correct amount is determined, it is best to have some convenient means of duplicating the correct amount for every block quickly and easily in order to increase the number of blocks that can be produced in any given span of time. In this manner a three-man crew works best and should be able to produce between 250 and 400 blocks in a days time.There are three basic operations in making blocks or tiles:

1. Loading the mold box.
2. Compressing the mix.
3. Ejecting the finished product.

DETAILED MOVEMENTS

1. Place the handle in the rest position and open the mold box by swinging the cover horizontally (hinge vertically with the Interlock Ram) until the stop is reached; then fill the mold box with the prepared mix.

2. Close the mold box, skimming off the excess soil mix, (use a piece of straight-edged wood or metal with the Interlock Ram) and bring the handle to the vertical position; then latch to the cover.

3. Pull down the handle until it is parallel with the baseboard. This applies the necessary pressure to form the block. If the mold box has been properly filled, this motion should require a "hard pull".