Grindstone

“ Whirr, whirr, whirr, sang the grindstone, now softly, now loudly––“this is an axe, an axe, an axe, and a strong arm that holds it!”
“You be goin’ to do a bit of forestry on your own, Master Carnaby, eh?” suggested the grinning owner of the grindstone.
278
“I am; a very particular bit, Jones!” replied the young master, lovingly feeling the edge of the tool, which was now nearly as fine as that of a razor.
“You be careful, sir, as you don’t chop off one of your own toes with that there axe,” said the man. “It be full heavy for one o’ your age. But there! you zailor-men be that handy! ”

“ Grindstone. “Of course, there’d be some trouble to get Mr. Grindstone into it. He’s sort o’ set in his ways, and thinks it a sin to light more than one gas burner in a room. But we might get over him, if there was only any excuse to give a party—any brides or explorers or great folks that we knew, coming to town, that had to be entertained.”
[82]
“That’s it,” said Miss Cornelia. “We are as dull as ditchwater in Sutphen—unless Annetta stirs us up,” she added, reluctantly. ”

“ Why you must turn grinder like me, to be sure," said the other; "you only want a grindstone; the rest will come of itself. Here is one that is but little the worse for wear: I would not ask more than the value of your goose for it:—will you buy?" "How can you ask?" said Hans; "I should be the happiest man in the world, if I could have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket: what could I want more? there's the goose." "Now," said the grinder, as he gave him a common rough stone that lay by his side, "this is a most capital stone ”

“ H., an importer and manufacturer of cornelian and other fancy goods, told me that grinding precious stones is very hard work. Men lie across wooden benches to apply the agate, cornelian, or whatever it may be, to the grindstone. There are eight grindstones, weighing twenty tons each, on one axle. The polishing is done by boys, who sit at small wooden wheels, some of which are covered with leather. ”

“ When using a grindstone, an ample flow of water is desirable in order to insure good cutting, and the objectionable spattering may be overcome by fastening a piece of leather to the grindstone frame so that its edge will bear lightly upon the stone just below the point where the work is held. ”

“ There are grindstones with frames too light. The competition to manufacture and sell a grindstone for [29] farm use at the cheapest possible price has resulted in turning out thousands of grindstone frames that possess very little stability.
Figure 35.—Grindstone. The speed of a grindstone varies with the diameter of the stone. It should turn just fast enough to keep a flow of water on the upper face surface. If the stone turns too slow the water will run down; if too fast, it will fly off. ”

“ But when Huathia saw it, there leaped into his mind the song that he had heard:
“The toad, our queen, lies hid unsought
Beneath the stone that men have wrought.”
It had meant little in the night, but in a flash he saw that the grindstone was a stone wrought by men. So fitting an arrow to his bow he handed the weapon to Suso, telling her to shoot whatever evil thing was discovered when he lifted the stone. ”

“ Cheetham refuses; and so, between them, that idiot works on a faulty stone. Will you use your influence with the grinder?”
“Well, Mr. Little, now, between ourselves don't you think it rather hard that the poor workman should have to hang and race the master's grindstone for nothing?”
“Why, they share the loss between them. The stone costs the master three pounds; and hanging it costs the workman only four or five shillings. Where's the grievance?”
“Hanging and racing a stone shortens the grinder's life; fills his lungs with grit. ”

“ Bobby and Betty stepped back. They were afraid of the grindstone.
[124]
“Any knives to grind?” asked the scissors-man when the scissors were ground.
“Yes,” answered Mother. “I wish you would grind this knife.”
Again the wheel went, “Whir-r-r, whir-r-r, whir-r-r.”
Again sparks flew from the grindstone.
Then the man gave Mother the knife, and she paid him for his work.
The scissors-grinder now swung his grindstone on his back. Again he rang his bell.
Bobby and Betty watched the scissors-grinder until he turned a street corner.
For study and play:
Have you any old knives to grind? ”

“ For synonyms, see Nanny-shop. [Grinding-tool = the penis.] [218]
Grinding-mill, subs. (common) .—The house of a tutor or Coach (q.v.) where students are prepared for an examination.
Grind-off (or Grindo) , subs. (common) .—A miller. [From a character in The Miller and his Men.]
Grindstone, subs. (common) .—1. A tutor; a coach (q.v.) .
2. (venery) .—The female pudendum.
To bring (hold, put, or keep) one’s nose to the grindstone, verb. phr. (colloquial) .—To oppress, harass, or punish; to treat harshly. To have one’s nose kept to the grindstone = to be held to a bargain, or at work. ”

“ Even Bilston gritstone, once prized for the making of grindstones, is under a cloud, and the old saying, that “a Dudley man and a Bilston grindstone may be found all the world over,” takes a new significance in the fact that the enterprising native, if he wishes scope for his enterprise, must go forth in the world to places as yet unexhausted. ”

“ In the Father’s Kingdom there is no evil. What appears so is only good in the making. When a lapidary is cutting a precious stone he applies part after part of the rough gem to the grindstone and at each application we may hear the loud screeching, as if in pain, from the stone. By degrees, however, as a consequence of the harsh grinding process, it will acquire a beautifully polished surface with numerous facets capable of receiving, reflecting and refracting the brilliant sunlight. ”

“ The grindstone sill, a fine grained yellowish sandstone, which on Aldstone moor, Coal cleugh, and Allenheads is the uppermost bed, and is found near the surface at Nent head and on the summit of Cross Fell. On Aldstone moor its thickness is about 4 fathoms. Grindstones, greatly inferior to those of Newcastle, are made of it for home consumption. ”

“ Here is a box of dried apples, and the two cross-cut saws. He will see about a grindstone. He thinks you might make that one last a bit longer."
"It was pretty well worn out when it was put up," the foreman grumbled. "It ain't fit to grind axes on. I told the boss the other day that it had cost him ten times its vally already, because the men couldn't keep a sharp edge on their tools with it."
"Well, you know, Ben, grindstones don't grow down in M'Kinney, and he has got to get them sent out from Missouri." ”

“ On the wall of the grinding-shop a tablet, set up at the cost of the men, preserves the name of a grinder, who by excellence of workmanship and long and faithful service, achieved merit for himself and the trade. At their work the men sit astride on a low seat in rows of four, one behind the other, leaning over their stones and wheels. For razors, the grindstones are small, so as to produce the hollow surface which favours fineness of edge. ”

“ But the chief disease is that produced by the occupation of the grinder, which is the most pernicious of any branch of manufacture in England. The inhalation of the dust of the grindstone and of the steel of the knife, or whatever he may be grinding, is so pernicious, that the life of a dry grinder scarcely averages thirty-five years, whilst that of a wet grinder is seldom prolonged to more than forty-five years. ”

“ All we have to turn out will be the blades they are grinding.”
Uncle Dick went forward from grindstone to grindstone, but only in one place was anything waiting to be ground, and that was a bundle of black-looking, newly-forged scythe blades, neatly tied up with bands of wire. ”

“ For instance, the master who should set a dry-grinder to a trough without a fan, or put his wet-grinders on a mud floor and no fire, or his file-cutters in a room without taps and basins, or who should be convicted of willfully buying a faulty grindstone, might be made subject to a severe penalty ”

“ One of the wonders of Sheffield is its Grinding Establishments. To aid [pg 414] the grinders, companies have erected very spacious buildings divided into small rooms, and provided the whole with steam engines. The rooms are then let out by the month to master grinders; and at properly adjusted grindstones in each room I saw every variety of grinding, sharpening, and polishing. The finest work is polished by hand, and in this slavery I saw the delicate hands of the superior sex solely employed. ”

“ Steady turning is what the grinders like, and any boy who turns steadily, so as to give an even motion to the stone, will be much praised, and will be in demand. I advise any boy who desires to do this sort of work to turn steadily. If he does it by jerks and in a fitful manner, the "hired men" will be very apt to dispense with his services and turn the grindstone for each other. ”

“ No person who has read Elliott's description of the reckless race of grinders, or the account of them in the Report of the Commissioners to inquire, in 1841, into the condition of the people in mines and factories, can see these places without a lively interest. At this deadly trade, the workmen sit at work astride of rounded blocks of wood, which they call grinding-horses, in front of their grindstones, which are fixed on axles or spindles turned by the steam or water ”

“ Others polish the articles ground, by holding them to the edges of small wooden wheels covered with leather.
Grinders never live long; but the dry-grinders perish soonest, because the particles of sandstone are driven in whole clouds from the grindstones, and fill the whole air and the grinder's lungs. ”

“ Should one side of the grindstone be lighter, this irregularity can be equalized by affixing pieces of lead, so as to obtain a uniform motion of the stone. It is essential that the stone should be firm on the axis and not move to and fro in the bearings. ”

“ For the wet-grinders they might supply fires in every wheel, abolish mud floors, and pave with a proper fall and drain.
“To prevent the breaking of heavy grinding-stones, fit them with the large strong circular steel plate—of which I subjoin a drawing—instead of with wedges or insufficient plates. They might have an eye to life, as well as capital, in buying heavy grindstones. I have traced the death of one grinder to the master's avarice: he went to the quarry and bought a stone for thirty-five shillings the quarry-master had set aside as imperfect ”

“ We are kept keen on the grindstone of pain and necessity, and, it seemed to me, that here was that hateful grindstone broken at last! ”

“ The stone, in an upright position, works like a wheel round a pole placed in the centre of the basin; this pole revolves, turning in a socket at its lower extremity, and in another above, attached to the overhanging beam. To the centre of the grindstone a long handle is fixed, men and women, pushing and pulling at this, run round and round the basin, and making the stone roll in the trough, which is lined with flat slabs; it crushes the olives which are placed in its way. It is about a foot in thickness, with the edge slightly bevelled, to cause it to roll easily. ”

“ If the insides are dealt with on fitting slips, which may be easily adapted to the purpose by application to a grindstone, the outsides are not [62] so difficult to manage, so that grooved stones may be dispensed with. ”

“ It crops out on Byker Hill, Whickham Banks, and Gateshead Fell, where it is about 11 fathoms thick. It is quarried for the well known Newcastle grindstones, and from its softer parts filtering stones are made. In many places the upper part of this bed is abundantly impregnated with yellow ochre, which is sold under the name of die-sand.
Fire-stone resembles the grindstone in colour and fracture, but is soft when first worked. The best is quarried at Burradon near Killingworth: glass-house furnaces are constructed with it.
White post is a fine-grained sandstone, tolerably hard. ”

“ To smooth it up and round off the corners rub it on a whetstone, that is any kind of a coarse stone on which you have poured a little water. A better way is to grind it on a grindstone if you have one. ”

“ This is illustrated in the case of the method practised in Oberstein, Germany. The workman has his feet firmly braced against a support, and, resting upon his chest, presses the crystal against the revolving grindstone. It is unnecessary to add that the practice is219 extremely unwholesome and develops early consumption among the workers. A constant stream of water is kept flowing over the stone so that the crystal shall always be moist, as the friction would otherwise hurt it, and the subsequent addition of water would be liable to cause a fracture. ”

“ They might drink less and wash their bodies with a small part of the money so saved: the price of a gill of gin and a hot bath are exactly the same; only the bath is health to a dry-grinder, or tile-cutter; the gin is worse poison to him than to healthy men.
“3d. The small wet-grinders, who have to buy their grindstones, might buy sound ones, instead of making bargains at the quarry, which prove double bad bargains when the stone breaks, since then a new stone is required, and sometimes a new man, too.
“4th. They might be more careful not to leave the grindstone in water. ”