


(Also see: the Stone Carver “Tools & Equipment,” “From Quarry to Cemetery Monuments – Tools & Equipment Used in the Stone Shops & Mills (saws, hand tools, etc.),” and “Quarrying Methods” sections of our web site.)
Lynn Northrop and her husband, and Wayne Northrop are seeking information on the quarry drag saw in the photographs below. (Lynn and Wayne Northrop own and operate the Raymond Museum located at Raymond, Madera County, California. You can read more about the Raymond Museum on the online article, “Raymond Museum now an historical place of interest,” by Elizabeth Gabriel, May 30, 2008, on the Sierra Star web site.)
The stone saw shown in the photographs below was donated by Mark Ward, owner of Mark Ward Truckin; and it was recently moved and installed by local volunteers as a new exhibit at the Raymond Museum (August 2010).
If you have any knowledge of this saw, please contact Lynn and Wayne Northrop at the Raymond Museum. Below is Lynn’s brief history of the saw:
“It was possibly a marble cutting saw moved from San Francisco in the 1890s or early 1900s. It sat at a small quarry near Bates Station, an old Stagecoach stop near the Madera Quarry about 12 miles from Raymond. A man named Carl Taylor ran it in the 1930s and then walked away with the blade still stuck in a slab of granite. The iron cutting blades run vertically instead of horizontally and the screw system is still intact on top lowering the blades as the water and shot cut through the slabs. We are trying to date the saw style and find out where it may have come from and if there are others left around California or the country (USA).”
“‘Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.’” – Archimedes.
“Hiero, king of Syracuse, learning of Archimedes’ remark, is recorded in history as having requested a demonstration to illustrate his contention that a very great weight could be lifted by a small force. Archimedes, who had been experimenting with a crude form of block and tackle appeared before the king and performed the same experiment that first had caused him to give voice to his claim. Whether he lifted a great block of stone or a tree trunk, history is not clear, but the fact remains that Archimedes was the pioneer in the field of cranes and derricks. Previous to the time of Archimedes the lifting and moving of huge stones was chiefly a question of man power and greased ways. Archytias, a deciple (sic) of Pythagoras, invented the single pulley and it was through a multiplication of pulleys that Archimedes somewhat later demonstrated his theory of the weight lifting. It might be said, in passing, that it was Archimedes, who upon discovering that his body displaced water, ran from his bath crying out the news of his discovery. The Early Greeks and Romans were well acquainted with the block and tackle, while during the Middle Ages it was used extensively to lift heavy loads. Working sketches of hoists, blocks and tackle and derricks in many forms are contained in the sketchbooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the Florentine artist and architect, as well as engineer, who exercised such a pronounced influence upon the art and architecture of his time. But it was not until the age of steam that hoists and derricks really came into their own and began to be perfected in the form that we know them today. It was but a step to make them applicable to electric as well as steam power and it is with the latter that the stone industry is concerned, although quarries still use steam derricks to a great extent, due to the remoteness of many of their deposits from central electric energy plants. Thus from the first locomotive cranes built in England about 1850 or perhaps a little later, crane and derrick manufacturers have sought to meet the requirements of every industry. In small stone yards and mills hand cranes are still in use, but in the larger plants all stone is moved by means of the overhead electric traveling cranes, which are more than mere cranes, but rather suspension bridges of great lifting power and freedom of motion that make it possible to employ them in almost every conceivable manner for lifting and shifting of both the quarry blocks and the finished materials. They are as indispensable to the mill owner as are the pneumatic tools to the carver and the sculptor.”
The time period covered in this article is during the early 1800s.
Key words in article: Adamant Quarries, Montpelier, Vermont; block and tackle; boom derrick; clog chains; John Crouse of Syracuse, New York; Fayette Cutler, Barre, Vermont; double runner sleds; freight Tariffs; Joseph Glidden, Mark Glidden;granite quarries; granite sheds; horse sweep; Jones Brothers, Vermont; “New Hampshire Horses,” railroads; ramp, rollers; single-drum winch; skids; spur track; St. John the Devine Cathedral, New York City; Stanford Mausoleum; wagon pulled by horses and oxen teams, wagons.
“The electric channeling machine runs on a movable track which is placed on the floor of the quarry. By continual pounding on the marble, this machine sinks a narrow groove to a depth of several feet, making it possible to take out blocks of uniform shape and size. The cutting is done by five chisel-pointed drills, clamped together in a row and attached to the end of a steel bar.”
This article describes the need to mass produce the Civil War headstones rather than by individual stone carvers. Contracts for the headstones and bases were given out to several different quarries and companies in Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Tennessee. The need for large numbers of markers also increased the use of the sandblasting process to speed up carving the names on the stones. Both mass production the sandblasting process caused great changes in the work of the stone carvers, which led to demands by the stone workers’ unions, such as the eight-hour work day.)
“The work is all done by a small, whirling disk which is moved about over the watered surface of the stone. The first plate used is coated with carborundum, the second with aloxite, and the third with hone. To complete the process, the plat is covered with felt and applied in conjunction with polishing putty.”
This book fully covers the United States stone quarry industry up through 1939. There is also a chapter on “Foreign Building and Ornamental Stones.” Below is a listing of the information covered in the chapters. (Many photographs of quarries, etc., are included in this book.)
Part I. General Features of the Stone Industries
Chapter I. Extent and Subdivision. Extent of the Industry – Major Divisions of the Industry – Varieties of Stone Used
Chapter II. Minerals and Rocks. Distinction between Rock and Stone – Relationship of Rocks to Minerals – Rock-forming Minerals – Classification of Rocks – General Distribution of Rocks in the United States.
Chapter III. Factors Governing Rock Utilization. Rock Qualities on Which Use Depends – Importance of Other factors than Quality – Available Markets; Diversification of Products Transportation Facilities – Production Code
Chapter IV. Prospecting and Developing. Prospecting – Stripping – General Methods of Operation – Bibliography
Part II. Dimension Stone
Chapter V. General Features of Dimension-Stone Industries. Definition of Dimension Stone – Principal Uses Requisite Qualities of Dimension Stone – Adaptations of Raw Materials to Use – Complexities in Marketing – Royalties
Chapter VI. Limestone. Definition – Origin – Physical Properties – Varieties – Qualities on Which Use Depends – Uses – Industry by States – Occurrences of Travertine – Quarry Methods – Milling Methods – Limestone Products – Cost of Quarrying and Manufacture – Waste in Quarrying and Manufacture – Utilization of Waste – Limestone Marketing – Bibliography
Chapter VII. Sandstone. Varieties – Composition – Size and Shape of Grains – Cementation – Color – Porosity – Uses – Production – Industry by States – Quarry Methods – Quarry Processes – Yard Service – Sandstone Sawmills and Finishing Plants – The Bluestone Industry – Waste in Sandstone Quarrying and Manufacture – Bibliography
Chapter VIII. Granite. General Character – Mineral Composition – Chemical Composition – Physical Properties Varieties – Related Rocks – Structural Features – Uses – Distribution of deposits – Industry by States – Quarry Methods and Equipment – Milling Methods and Equipment – Market Range – Imports, Exports, and Tariffs – Prices – Bibliography
Chapter IX. Marble. History – Definition – Composition – Origin and Varieties – Physical Properties – Jointing or Unsoundness – Chief Impurities of Marble – Uses – Distribution of Deposits – Production – Industry by States – Quarry Methods and Equipment – Transportation; Equipment and Operation in Mills and Shops – Waste in Quarrying and Manufacture – Marketing Marble – Imports and Exports – Tariff – Prices – Bibliography
Chapter X. Slate. Definition – Origin – Mineralogical Composition – Chemical Composition – Physical Properties – Structural Features – Imperfections – Uses – History of Industry – General Distribution – Production – Industry by States – General Plan of Quarrying – Quarry Operations – Quarry Methods – Yard Transportation – Manufacture of Roofing Slate – Storage of Roofing Slate – The Art of Roofing with Slate – Manufacture of School slates – Manufacture of Mill Stock – Slate Floors – Walks, and Walls – Crushed and Pulverized Slate Products – Waste in Quarrying and Manufacturing – Tests and Specifications – Marketing – Imports and Exports – Tariff – Prices – Bibliography
Chapter XI. Soapstone. Composition and Properties – History – Uses – Origin and Occurrence – Quarry Methods – Milling Processes – Marketing – Rocks Related to Soapstone – Bibliography
Chapter XII. Boulders as Building Materials. Origin and Nature of Boulders – Stone Fences – The Use of Boulders in Buildings
Chapter XIII. Foreign Building and Ornamental Stones. Scope of Discussion – Imports of Stone – Foreign Limestones – Foreign Sandstones – Foreign Granites – Foreign Marbles – Foreign Slates – Bibliography
Chapter XIV. Miscellaneous Rocks and Minerals Used for Building and Ornamental Purposes. Agalmatolite – Alabaster – Amazonite – Catlinite – Clay – Diatomite – Tripoli and Pumice – Fluorite – Jade – Labradorite – Lapis-lazuli – Malachite and Azurite – Meerschaum – Mica Schist – Porphyry – Quartz; Snow and Ice – Sodalite – Bibliography
Chapter XV. Deterioration, Preservation, and Cleaning of Stonework. Deterioration of Stone – Preservation of Stone – Cleaning Stone – Bibliography
Part III. Crushed and Broken Stone
Chapter XVI. General Features of the Crushed-Stone Industries. History – Types and Values of Stone Used – Crushed Stone and Dimension Stone Contrasted – Uses of Crushed Stone – Competition – Markets – Transportation – Prices – Royalties – Capital Required
Chapter XVII. Crushed and Broken Limestone. Types of Stone Included – Extent of Industry – Uses of Crushed and Broken Limestone – Uses for Which Physical Properties are Most Important – Uses for Which Chemical Properties are Most Important – Uses of Dolomite and High-magnesian Limestone – Industry by States – Quarry Methods and Equipment; Bibliography
Chapter XVIII. Crushed and Broken Stone Other Than Limestone. General Features – Uses – General Distribution and Value – Industries by States – Quarry Method and Equipment – Marketing – Bibliography
“The rubbing bed is a large, horizontal, castiron disk, made to revolve in a frame and so constructed as to allow sand and water to play over its surface. After the mills have reduced the marble to the required size, it is placed on the rubbing beds, where it is held in a fixed position until the corners are perfect and the surfaces smooth.”
“The modern marble mill is constructed of steel and is divided up into stalls or compartments, any one of which will accommodate a large quarry block. The sawing is done by smooth iron bands, set in a moving horizontal frame and acting in conjunction with sand and water. While the soft strips of iron are being dragged to and fro across the marble, the water is pouring down over the top of block, bringing the particles of sand which are to serve as teeth for saws.”
Part I. Vol. 59, No. 2, June 2006. (“Introduction: This article, the first in a series of four on granite working, deals with granite as a material, an industry, and a product and begins the description of the granite quarrying process.”)
Part II. Vol. 59, No. 3, September 2006. (“Introduction: This article, the second in a series of four on granite working, completes the description of the quarrying process....”)
Part III. Vol. 59, No. 4, December 2006. (“Granite Finishing: A small number of basic finished dimension stones made up the great majority of granite shed production. For gravestones and private....”)
Part IV. Vol. 60, No. 1, March 2007. (“This article is the last in a series of four on the tools and machinery of granite working....”)
“The underground marble quarries at West Rutland are 2,000 feet long and have a maximum width of 700 feet. An electric road which operates on the floor of the quarry is 300 feet below the surface and stretches for 800 feet out into the tunnel. Connecting with this electric railway and leading up to the ground level is a cable track which is 500 feet long and rises at an angle of forty-five degrees.”
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