Tag: Grindstone

Unless tools are well and keenly sharpened, satisfactory work is impossible. Much of the difference between professional and amateur work arises from the bluntness of the tools of the latter. No mortised and tenoned joint can be made to fit closely if the work is not cleanly cut by a sharp chisel; and planed surfaces, if badly done, are more unsightly than if left rough from the saw.

Various contrivances for holding a tool securely during the operation of grinding have been devised, and I may notice the undeniable fact that I never saw them in use among workmen. It is indeed a mistake to rely upon what are, at best, questionable devices, when, by patient practice, we can gain that skill which will not fail us in the time of need. A simple toolrest—a mere bar of iron parallel to the face of the stone, may be a help in steadying a tool; but even this is seldom to be seen in the carpenter’s shop, its absence proving that it is not a necessity.
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Berea, Ohio is a town of 3500 inhabitants, situated on the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad, and the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad, twelve miles southwest of Cleveland, and six miles from the shore of Lake Erie. It has long been favorably known as the location of the Baldwin University, the German Wallace College, and the extensive and valuable stone quarries.

Either of these interests is sufficient to give the town a position of some importance in Northern Ohio, but its grindstones make it known in business circles as the great emporium of sharpening material. The quarries are situated along the bed and banks of Rocky River, a small stream, and a smaller creek falling into the river about the centre of town. They are now open for three miles on the river, and one mile on the creek.

The quality of the stone was discovered in 1830, by John Baldwin, a name of many eccentricities but some most excellent qualities. In 1830 and 1831, he employed two Irishmen to cut two tons of grindstones in his cellar. These were mostly sent to Canada for a market. In 1832, Mr. Baldwin invented the present method of turning stone, and commenced operations, the whole season’s work amounting to about twenty tons—a sufficient quantity to stock the market. These first efforts produced very indifferent stone, but success finally crowned the effort. The business has increased until it now employs, in all its departments, about a thousand men, and over $1,000,000 capital.
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