[Regia-NA] Re: [Regia] Grinding Wheels & Scrams

[yolli]

There is every reason to believe that you can wedge a grinding wheel on a
pole lathe. However, getting used to sharpening on an occilating stone must
take some getting used to...... Other examples have been unearthed in Hedeby
and show a square shaft hole - I think this is true of some of the York ones
as well ( Martin feel free to comment here please ).

Another subtlety is that they must run through a bath of water, or be
whetted ( no oil  at all ) and not used dry. If I recall correctly, the
grinder must be above the wheel in the case of a large one with the wheel
running away from him picking up water from the trough below pulling it up
and over the grinding surface. Hence nose to the grindstone.........etc,
etc.

As for their size, again I think we should not get too hung up over their
technology. I wouldn't be too surprised to find they used water to power
larger wheels. I witnessed the direct driven side shot mill replica at
Wexford - the same thing that was found at Tamworth. It's fair to say that
when they open the sluice gate the thing fair pissed round ( sorry for the
expletive, but I can't think of another word to describe the violence of
it ) - I don't wonder that they burnt down regularly if they ran out of
flour between their stones.

Roll.


----- Original Message -----
From: "martin williams" <postmaster@oswiu.u-net.com>
To: <regia@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2002 9:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Regia] Scrams


> Dave Pateman wrote:
> >
> > At this moment, I have neither the source nor the picture
> > itself to hand. I do however have a recollection of an
> > Anglo-Saxon manuscript that shows a man sitting on a wooden
> > framework with a large circular (grind?)wheel between his
> > legs. He appears to be holding a sword edge on to this wheel.
> >
> > If we commit the cardinal sin of scaling the wheel to the
> > height of the man from the illustration, the wheel would be
> > some 5 or so feet in diameter and almost a foot thick. I
> > seem to think that this was being powered by a hand crank
> > although I cannot be exactly sure.
> >
> > The size would make reasonable sense for a hand-cranked item
> > (assuming it were a reasonably permanent fixture) as once
> > the wheel had got moving, a reasonably fast speed could be
> > achieved at its edge.
> >
> > It would seem that this is being used for
> > grinding/sharpening. Given the speeds that could be
> > achieved and the variety of materials that it could indeed
> > be made from, it could also have been used for polishing.
> >
> > If I do come across the illustration, I'll post it or of
> > course if anyone else has the same one ...
> >
> > Dave
> > MAA
>
> The York fascicule AY 17/14: 'Finds from Anglo-Sacandinavian
> York' contains details of 29 rotary grindstones from 50-440mm
> in diameter from Coppergate: and notes one of 540mm diameter
> from Pavement (AY 17/3 pg. 76, find no. 378). Largely from
> Millstone Grit, of course...
>
> Pax
> oswiu