Fulling the wool
Leafing through Tecnologia Tradicional: Pisões Portugueses, I thought it was a funny coincidence that the only photos of a fulling mill in action were those of Mr. Francisco's father, located at Pisão de Tabuadela, which I've already had the opportunity to visit.
This gentleman, whose name doesn't appear anywhere and whom I haven't had the chance to meet, is the reason why Mr. Francisco is holding firm to the idea of returning his father's fulling mill to working order.
In this book, the operation of this particular fulling mill is described:
"Before pouring the woolen cloth into the wooden tray, it is thoroughly washed of the dirt from the previous fullings. The mallets are moved away from the wooden tray and locked: one is locked because the top of its tail is against the top of the shaft that corresponds to it; the other is locked by crossing a stick in front of its pole, one end of which is stuck in a hole in the wall and the other end is passed behind the pole of the first mallet.
(...)
For the first two hours, the floor is continuously filled with cold water to wash the fabric. (...)
Next to the wooden tray is the boiler. (...) Below the boiler is a small fireplace, and next to it is the cot where the worker sleeps the night he stays in the fulling mill. The hot water is drawn from the boiler with a cup.
After the first two hours of treading, when only cold water has been used to wash the fabric, hot water is poured in. The hot water is poured every one and a half or two hours; if you're in a hurry, you pour the water more slowly.
The hot water is so that the cloth doesn't dry out, otherwise it will cut. Pouring hot water is called boiling.
From time to time, the fulling mill is stopped, the cloth is taken out of the wooden tray; it is pulled wide, and unfolded if there are any sticky sides, enclosing the cloth.
The cloth is then spread out again on the masseira, hot water is poured over it and the fulling mill is turned on again. And so it goes for the whole of the first day, the whole night and the next day, until the end. The rolling out and unfolding of the cloth is not repeated as often as the boiling. It is straightened about six times per warp, but hot water is poured between two straightenings.
The cloth is floored for 24 hours, and when the flooring is finished, the fulling is stopped, the cloth is stretched out and straightened, measured with a stick, rolled up again on the side table, the roll is placed upright inside the kneading trough and hot water is poured over it; it is then turned upside down and hot water is poured over it. Place the roll back on its side, exactly in front of one of the mallets, and start the fulling mill working again, but only on that mallet, because the roll of cloth only takes up half of the wooden tray. It works for 5 to 10 minutes, during which time the roll is closely watched so that it doesn't unravel. As the roller is beaten, the cloth rolls away, supported by the fulling mill worker's hands. This fulling is for shrinking, and above all for settling the cloth (making it straight). To finish, the fulling mill is stopped again, the roll is placed upright in the wooden tray, unrolled on the side table, and rolled up at the other end on a straight, round stick that had been wetted before, which is removed after the whole cloth has been rolled up; the roll is put down to drain on a shelf behind the wooden tray, and is left there for 4 or 5 hours to cool; if it is placed in the sun before it cools, the cloth will be wrinkled; and finally, it is spread out in the sun for several hours to dry.”
