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Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 11 Jan 2022, 19:22
by Just4fun
Trevanion wrote:
CHJ wrote:That's a possibility, the video is dated 1971 but the footage seems much older than that.

I thought that, but I asked a German friend to look at it and he replied:

"although the method of producing the grinding wheel (Schleifstein) is hundreds of years old, the movie in fact was produced 1971."

If true, I find it amazing.

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 12 Jan 2022, 13:36
by Just4fun
Just4fun wrote:I asked a German friend to look at it and he replied:

"although the method of producing the grinding wheel (Schleifstein) is hundreds of years old, the movie in fact was produced 1971."

If true, I find it amazing.

My friend has done a bit of digging and he says the film was made in 1971 purely for documentation purposes. So this may not have been "real workers" doing "real work" but people (possibly people who did work like that in the past) demonstrating this method of working. That might make sense. It would also explain why everyone is relatively old, with no youngsters visible.

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 12 Jan 2022, 16:34
by AndyT
Thanks, that makes it even more remarkable. If they had been away from the work for some years, it must have been deeply embedded in their memories for them to be able to come back and do that amount of hard graft, so assuredly.

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 12 Jan 2022, 19:06
by CHJ
Been waiting for my son to get back to me on this, (he lives in Bavaria.)

Having listened to the narration, he says that he gathers the bulk of the quarries in this area were mechanise in the 1930's due to lack of workers (health:-silicosis and arthritis and conflicts) but a handful continued to work the old methods into the late 1960's finally being closed down due to health and safety because of silicosis risks.

They maintained the hand working business model because they were regarded as premium products and were able to cover the production costs of hand work.

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 13 Jan 2022, 17:17
by kirkpoore1
I am kind of amazed at how fast those tools, particularly the picks, were removing the stone. I presume the stone was granite due to the hardness needed for millstones. Not to mention the thousands or tens of thousands of swings those guys had to do in a day's worth of work.

Kirk

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 13 Jan 2022, 20:32
by CHJ
Another subject shown in this couple of films from the genera of ancient crafts:-

Glockengießen. Teil 1: Die Glockenform - YouTube

Glockengiessen. Teil 2: Der Guß - YouTube

At least some wood template forming and use in the content amongst the smoke and dust.

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 13 Jan 2022, 23:04
by CHJ
kirkpoore1 wrote: I presume the stone was granite due to the hardness needed for millstones....

Kirk
Gritstones are usually hard course grit sedimentary sandstones.

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 13 Jun 2022, 18:53
by Trevanion

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 13 Jun 2022, 22:53
by Cabinetman
That was truly mesmeric, like most I have seen millstones about 4ft across for grinding corn, small beer compared to these, but it never crossed my mind how they would have been made back in the day. I imagine these stones would have been used for grinding steel, possibly in Solingen? - the German Sheffield.
What were the trough like "boxes" used for pls. Ian

Re: Batch production

PostPosted: 13 Jun 2022, 23:11
by Cabinetman
I imagined that scrap steel all went back in the melting pot, so interesting that what looked like sections of anchor chain and later rebar remade to be used again, I suppose it’s much cheaper than buying fresh milled rod.