In traditional and artisanal papermaking, this is the lead artisan who forms the actual sheet. The worker dips a wire-mesh mould into a vat of dilute furnish, lifts it out, and shakes it precisely to interlock the fibers as the water drains. The uniformity, basis weight, and formation of the final sheet depend entirely on the physical technique and timing used during this step.
Tell the beaterman to slow down, the vatman is struggling to keep up with this heavy furnish.
The characteristic shake applied by this worker dictates the grain and look-through of the paper, making it nearly impossible for two different people to produce identical batches.
Related terms
Furnish
The recipe of pulps, fillers, dyes and chemicals that make up a paper grade's stock.
Couch
Suction roll at the end of the forming section where the wet web is dewatered and leaves the wire.
Formation
How evenly fibers are spread through a paper sheet, judged by small-scale variation in mass.
Handsheet
Laboratory-made paper sheet formed from a pulp sample under standard conditions for testing.