Before a full dandy roll cover is impressed with the watermark design, a small sized patch is pressed on either the test dandy roll cover or on a piece that will encircle the roll like a band. If bands of the brass wire mesh fabric are used, they will be attached together by soldering and then pulled onto the dandy roll's framework.

   The dandy roll's framework consists of a series of parallel 'ribs' held in place by a large mesh fabric. This structure can be seen in the photograph to the right of a view of the roll's interior.

 

   To the right is a photograph of a dandy roll covered with a test cover. Note the four bands of fabric which have been attached together to form the full cover. Also notice the individual watermark designs pressed into the bands.{The band shown as the second from the left is completely covered with the watermark impression, hence its overall dark color.}

 

 

 

 

 

   The purpose of the patch, whether as a small window or a fully encircling band, is to produce a limited amount of paper containing the watermark so that its quality can be determined, and changes made, if necessary.

   The photograph to the right shows two patches, which have been pressed into a band that makes up part of the test dandy roll cover. This patch band has been closed on itself and then attached to the two adjacent bands by seaming.

 

   The process of seaming consists of soldering together the individual wire threads along the edges of two pieces of the brass wire mesh fabric. Seaming a small window patch into a dandy roll cover consists of cutting a window out of the brass wire mesh fabric cover to exactly match the size of the patch piece of fabric, and then soldering together the individual wire threads along the edges of the patch and window. Seaming patch bands together to form a dandy roll cover consists of aligning and then soldering together the loose thread ends of two cut bands. The photograph above shows, as white lines running around the circumference of the roll, the edges of adjacent bands which have been seamed, and a darker line, running along the length of the roll, the seamed edges of the individual band.