Tools and Machinery of the Granite Industry, Part IV

The evolution of power sources to run the graniteworking tools and machinery was typical of an industry that depended on the latest technologies to remain competitive. At first, granite workers did most of the work by hand-drilling, splitting, lifting, surfacing, polishing, lettering, carving, and sculpting. Granite was quarried with hand tools such as the hand drill, drilling hammer, and wedge and shims. Granite was finished with hand tools such as the hand hammer and chisel. Granite was lifted and moved by such means as lever, hand-operated derrick, sledge and rollers. Granite quarrying and finishing was a slow and costly process and only relatively small granite pieces could be lifted and moved. Except for costal quarries where boat transport was available, granite markets were limited to areas close to the quarry, and the granite products were relatively simple-mostly stones for house foundations, hearths, steps, and window sills and lintels. Granite workers had some help from draft animals for heavy lifting with block and tackle and with sweep-operated derrick hoists, and for transport by sled or wagon. Quarry overburden and waste granite was removed by ox shovel and ox cart (Figure 33). Lifting of quarry blocks was done by horse sweep-powered derrick hoists and transport was accomplished by ox or horse-drawn wagon or, during winter, by sled-sometimes aided by block and tackle for very steep or muddy roads (see back cover). A horse could provide a continuous one-half horsepower, whereas a man could produce only about one-eighth continuous horsepower. The upkeep of a horse was about the same cost as the salary of a skilled worker.

The granite industry followed the factory system pioneered by the textile industry in the early 1800s in Waltham and Lowell, Massachusetts. This included the use of water and steam power, the integration of all manufacturing steps in one building, production by complex machinery, and distribution of power to machines located throughout the building via millworks. Prior to the use of steam engines, granite-finishing sheds were located at waterpower sites (at a rapids or waterfall) on streams and rivers for which the granite company had purchased the water rights or mill privilege. A millrace (or headrace) was used to channel water from a dam to a waterwheel (overshot, breast or undershot), which was connected via a millwork to the various granite-working machines such as gang saws, polishing machines, and lathes. A waterwheel had the virtue of simplicity; it had only a single moving part, could be made almost entirely of wood, and could be constructed by traditional craftsmen such as millwrights, carpenters, and blacksmiths. No precision parts, enclosure or flywheel were needed. Waterwheels rotate slowly-the larger the wheel, the slower the rotation. Wheels mostly range in diameter from eight to thirty feet with rotation speeds of twenty to five rpm, respectively. As a result, one of the tasks of the millworks was to increase the rotational speed (by belts, pulleys, and gears) to that needed by the powered machines.