Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Grindstone

Mack M. Jones, from "War Department Education Manual, EM 862," 1944 quoting text of 1898: "Different grades of iron and steel may be distinguished by the sparks produced when ground on a grinding wheel. The higher the carbon content of the steel, the brighter and more explosive are the sparks."

PHOTOGRAPHER'S JOURNAL: After being forged and tempered, plough blades and other farm tools needed to be sharpened, but a good grindstone was also needed to sharpen many of the tools the smith used to work the iron. No blacksmith could be without a good grindstone. In an age before electricity a farm blacksmith needed a large stone that could develop significant centrifugal momentum.

4 comments:

Ginnie Hart said...

I am loving these close-ups of old tools, Ted. They remind me of my dad's basement. Though a preacher, he was a good carpenter (appropriately?!) and always found tools to add to his collection...probably for free or for cheap. I have a feeling he went to second-hand shops all the time on the sly. :)

Emery Roth said...

So your dad was a preacher! You were a P.K.. I should have guessed from your thoughtful and caring approach to human relations. I spent yesterday photographing some the hardware around the farm that was made in this shop.

Trotter said...

Hi Ted! «The higher the carbon content of the steel, the brighter and more explosive are the sparks». Always learning...

Blogtrotter 2 has moved to the Cayman Islands. Enjoy and have a great weekend!!

Emery Roth said...

Thanks for the visit. Now I'm off to the Caymans.