From:
"Patrick McAfee" <mcafee@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date:
Wed, 6 Dec 2000 21:31:55 -0000
Subject:
How old masons kept their tools sharp ...
How did they keep their tools in good working condition ? etc.
From my own experience the following may be of help.
Tools like pitchers, punches, points and chisels were made from high carbon
steel. Often other tools or parts of farm machinery etc. were used. Lengths
of hexagonal high carbon steel was also imported from Sheffield, England to
Ireland for this purpose. This was cut in 8 inch lengths to make punches.
A stonemason working on a simple forge would first heat the high carbon
steel so that it could be worked to shape on an anvil. The tool, for
instance a punch, was then put back in the fire, heated and withdrawn. Very
quickly about 1 inch of the cutting end of the tool was cleaned on a piece
of sandstone until it sparkled.
About 1 inch of the tool was then dipped in cold water and withdrawn
quickly. Standing in a dark place the colours running from the residual heat
in the remainder of the tool were now watched as they ran into the cool
cutting end. The colours always ran in the same pattern. The colour straw is
preferred but hard to see. Straw runs just ahead of purple which is easier
to see and is a good indicator where to find straw.
When straw reaches the tip of the punch it is quickly dipped in water to fix
it at straw. The punch is then stood vertically in a shallow trough of water
(cut from stone) and allowed cool.
The hardness of the stone and the pace of the work determined how long the
punch would last, maybe only twenty minutes on hard granite. When about a
quarter of an inch of the punch was worn away it was time to restart the
procedure.
Too much time at the forge was resented by employers and for that reason
stonemasons/stonecutters sometimes had a smithy or forge attached to their
house so as to do this work in their own time. Most would not let a
blacksmith near their tools. Today most of us work with carbide tipped tools
but they can feel stiff and not as sweet as the old ones.
Patrick McAfee, stonemason
http://homepage.eircom.net/~mcafee/
- References
- message 00717: How old masons kept their tools sharp ... - Pwwhitley (05 Dec 2000)
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