A mortar board is a flat platform, traditionally a wood square but often a plastic hawk or stand today, that holds a working supply of mixed mortar within easy reach of the mason as brick or stone is laid.
Keeping mortar on a board near the work, rather than mixing small scoops as needed, lets a mason keep a steady rhythm: load the trowel, spread the joint, butter the brick, set it, repeat. The board gets reloaded from the mixer or wheelbarrow as it runs low, and a good mason keeps just enough on it to stay ahead of the work without letting mortar sit long enough to start stiffening before it gets used.
Mortar on the board doesn't stay workable forever, and how fast it stiffens depends heavily on the weather. On a hot, dry summer day it can crust over in well under an hour; on a cold day it slows down but can start to lose strength if it gets too cold before it sets. Crews adjust batch size and pace to the day rather than mixing one big batch and working through it regardless of conditions.
More masonry vocabulary from the glossary.
The services where this term comes up.
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