One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

The air brush is a spraying machine which atomizes the liquid finish and spreads it on a surface quickly and evenly. The machine consists of a tank, an air hose, and nozzles which spray the material in a fine mist. Various materials, such as varnish, shellac, and stain, may be applied with this machine.

Men who apply filler, stain, and putty need very little training. Their skill consists in doing the work rapidly without waste of material. The same may be said of men who use rubbing machines or hand blocks in rubbing down varnish.

A somewhat higher degree of skill must be possessed by the varnisher, whether he works with a common brush or an air brush. The brush hand must have considerable experience and know how to avoid brush marks, bubbles, and other evidences of poor work. The operator of the air brush acquires his skill by practice; experience with the common varnish brush is valuable but not altogether necessary. The same processes are used in finishing metal surfaces, and there is a demand for men in the automobile factories for experienced finishers.

A disabled man might find an opportunity here if he could do about the same kinds of work as the common laborer. If his previous training and experience had given him a knowledge of the use of different finishes, he could adapt himself to the use of the air brush quite easily even if he had only one working arm and hand. A good eye to judge the condition of surfaces is essential.

While training in a school is possible it is less necessary than in some skilled occupations where more tools are used and where a greater knowledge of processes is required. The handicaps which would interfere with success would be poor eyesight and the loss of both hands or arms. Experience in the employment itself would provide the best sort of training for a man who wants to re-enter the trade. A painter who is disqualified for outdoor work and for climbing could qualify for this work.

Men who have had one arm fitted with a working hook could handle furniture in the process of dipping, and could apply and remove the excess of stain and filler. With factory training they could advance to brush hands and varnishers without great difficulty, if the opportunity offered.

To handle a common brush or an air brush and to operate a rubbing machine requires one good hand, but disabilities of the feet and lower limbs can be overcome.

Men receive from 25 cents to 60 cents or more an hour, according to the work done and the skill required. The hours are usually the 54 hours a week of most factory trades.

There is some danger to health in handling wood alcohol, turpentine, or lead paints, but the use of any one of these materials is not constant enough to make the whole occupation dangerous. Those suffering from chest complaints should, however, avoid this trade.

The trade is quite stable and the demand for men fairly constant. Employment in this trade is fairly certain and apparently will continue to be so in the future. The demand for experienced men for air brush work will increase with the more general utilization of machines, which is almost inevitable. The use of the air brush and the drying room or kiln has greatly increased the output of the finishing room per man employed, but increase in the quantity of the articles finished has offset this increased efficiency so that unemployment has not resulted. Hand varnishing, however, will continue to be done and skill in this work will be a valuable asset to the workman, whether he uses a hand brush or a machine.