A Tamper or Rammer—This is made of wood with handles nailed to it, as shown in [Fig. 2]. The measurement is 4 inches by 2 inches by 2 feet 6 inches.
A Garden Spade.
A Sand Screen, made by nailing a piece of ¼-inch mesh wire screen, 2½ feet by 5 feet in size, to a frame made of 2-inch by 4-inch scantling.
In addition to the above tools you will require a Mixing Board. This is simply a water-tight platform. It should be (for a two batch mixture and for two men to work on) about 10 feet square. Make it out of 1-inch boards 10 feet long, surfaced on one side, using 5 cleats to hold the boards together. The cleats should measure 2 inches by 4 inches by 9 feet. If 1-inch by 6-inch tongued and grooved roofers can be obtained, these will answer very nicely, provided they are fairly free from knots. The object of having surfaced boards is to make the shoveling or turning easy. The boards should be so laid as to enable the shoveling to be done with and not against the cracks between the boards. The boards must be drawn up close in nailing, so that no cement “grout” will run through while mixing.
For a larger job, a slightly larger mixing board will be needed.
In setting up your mixing board, choose a place giving plenty of room near the storage piles of sand and stone. Block up your concrete board level, so that the cement grout will not run off on one side, and so that the board will not sag in the middle under the weight of the concrete.
Wheelbarrow “Runs”
You will also have to make wheelbarrow “runs” leading from your mixing board to the spot where the concrete is to be placed. Do not use, for these runs, any old boards that are handy. Make a good run—smooth, and, if much above the ground, at least 20 inches wide. This one feature will lighten and quicken the work to a remarkable extent.
How to Mix Concrete
Having selected the proper materials and arranged the mixing board and runs, the next step is the actual process of mixing.