Replies

1. 
   douglas2cats | Aug 31, 2006 06:39am | #1

   I only know about this place because my dad drug us all there on vacation when I was a kid. So I looked up Grindstone City, MI on the web and found this history webpage that has a very small bit about how they worked the grindstones. Dont know if this helps.

   http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/Grindstones.htm

    

    

   If you build it he will come.

1. 
   joinerswork | Aug 31, 2006 04:25pm | #2

   douglas,

   Interesting read.  Thanks for posting the link.

   Ray Pine

2. 
   treefarmer | Aug 31, 2006 07:55pm | #3

   Thanks for the link Douglas. The stone that I have may very well have come from that quarry. I don't need to do to much to this one to get it back into shape and it is so fine that I know it will sharpen well. I've decided to put it back onto a foot treadle. I'm going to look for some historically accurate plans to build it.

1. 
   chamfer | Aug 31, 2006 09:07pm | #4

   I am somewhat relieved to hear that you now plan to set this grindstone up as a treadle machine. Sandstones/grindstones can be motorized, but need to be geared appropriately, and there is always at least a slight chance of disintegration. Sheffield grinders habitually ran them very fast, and occasionally paid dearly for it.As to dressing the stone, this can be done with the end of a piece of iron (or soft steel?) gas pipe. Forget where I first read this, but have tried it and it works. I happened to have some 1 1/4" pipe available and believe the larger diameter was a plus. You will need to affix a temporary "tool rest" and experiment with the appropriate angle to address the perimeter of the sandstone wheel. It's been a while since I did this, but my memory is that it is best if the end of the pipe is approximately at a tangent to the surface (i.e. the longitudinal axis of the pipe approximates a radial line). The wheel I trued up was badly out of round, so the hardest part, for me, was to have the patience to let the tool do the work. I found that if I tried to force it, the tool simply followed/maintained the out-of-roundness. Even at that, it didn't really take very long.I believe this is best done wet, in the same manner as if the grindstone was being used to grind the bevel of a plane iron or chisel.Charles Holtzapffel, in the third volume of his _Turning & Mechanical Manipulation_ ("Abrasive and Miscellaneous Processes"), c. 1850, deals with grindstone usage and maintenance in some detail. I'd be happy to dig some of that information out, this evening, if anyone is interested.Don McConnell
   Eureka Springs, AR

1. 
   PeteBradley | Aug 31, 2006 11:48pm | #6

   I'm interested!Pete

2. 
   treefarmer | Sep 01, 2006 01:42am | #8

   Thanks Don, that sounds like the way to go. If I had motorized it I would have kept it slow. I decided to go to the foot treadle because it didn't seem right to motorize it. Not only will it look much nicer but probably be more enjoyable to use.

   The wheel is approx. 28" in diameter. I think I'll build the horse/treadle so that the frame will give me the tangent and a solid place to mount the pipe. An adjustable tool rest should finish it off.

   I did a quick model...something along these lines.

   
3. 
   philip | Sep 01, 2006 12:53pm | #10

   Don, just chiming in here, but if you can dig up pictures and other stuf f on Holtzapffel lathes I would enjoy this very much.... Holtzapffel and Fenn lathes....Philip Marcou

1. 
   dgreen | Sep 01, 2006 10:21pm | #11

   Not sure if these will interest you, Iknow I have seen better pictures with annotations, but I can't remember where I found them. I'm sure I saved them, when I get some time I'll dig through my image archives.

   http://www.orme.com/lynnwoodworkmuseum/
   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb

4. 
   QCInspector | Sep 01, 2006 11:08pm | #12

   "As to dressing the stone, this can be done with the end of a piece of iron (or soft steel?) gas pipe. Forget where I first read this, but have tried it and it works."I've also read this but don't have a wheel of this type, therefore have never tried it. The book I saw it in was:Swedish Carving Techniques
   By Wille Sundquvist. Translated by James Rudstrom
   Taunton Press
   printed in 1990There are 3 pictures and several paragraphs written on the procedure that basically match your description.

2. 
   douglas2cats | Aug 31, 2006 09:11pm | #5

   Glad to help. Looks like soaking the stone and finding your own blacksmith to make and sharpen your trueing tools are all that's required.:-)  Let us know how it turns out. Pics would be cool too.

    If you build it he will come.

2. 
   AdamCherubini | Sep 01, 2006 12:04am | #7

   Roubo has scaled drawings of a grinding stand. The trick is making the axle. I used lignum pillow blocks and an old mild steel axle. I made the crank from an offset box wrench. Truing the wheel was very difficult and after many hours it is still not round. Have fun!

   The paint is actually blue-green (the copper oxide color), not the army green we see in the picture. Never figured out the trick to capturing that color.

   Adam

   
1. 
   treefarmer | Sep 01, 2006 01:54am | #9

   Nice wheel....significantly different than what I had in mind but I like it. I should probably add a reservoir to the bottom of mine. I had thought of simply having a hose drip but I like the reservoir. My ignorance of old wheels is shown in the design I've done but I think I'd like to sit. Not sure about the length of the crank though...need to check that and see if it will work in that position.

   The axle on mine is actually the easiest. The original axle and crank are still in good shape and I found some wheelbarrow bearings that fit the axle perfectly. Mounting it will be easy.

1. 
   joinerswork | Sep 02, 2006 01:10am | #13

   Stone,

   Re: the reservoir; Conventional wisdom says  you should drain the reservoir after each use, as immersion of one side of the wheel for long periods will make the saturated stone softer than the dry side, causing that side to wear faster in use... I've seen a half a tire, suspended on ropes from hooks, to accomplish this (expedient, but admittedly not pretty).  The alternative is a coffee can with a "drip hole" in the bottom, suspended over the wheel, to be filled at each use. In practical terms, a small amount of water dropping onto the wheel might be less likely to give you a free shower than a reservoir, as you spin the wheel in use.

   Regards,

   Ray Pine