Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-06-12
Wardwell's Stone ChanneIins am d
Quarrying Machine.

nellng and quarrying machines. " Their
mandatory is located at convenient
point on West street, where, dnrina the
winter, most of the machines are built,
the summer months being principally de-
voted to taking them out to points for
which they are ordered, and setting them
up. The company is strong one, en-
bracing men of mechanical talents, bust
ness capacity and capital. 1t is differed
as follows
President. w. Cramton.
Treasurer-GeOrge E. Royce.
Secretary-CharlesC Clark.
Superintendent-George j. Wardwell.
The latter gentleman is the inventor
and the original patentee of themachine
He.is a native.of Maine, but has resided
in Rutland some eight years, having pre-
viously lived short time in Poultney.
Tte other gentlemen are all well-known
residents of Rutland
A short. sketch of the history of the.
invention of the machine, and descrip-
ton of it as it stands to-day, in its per-
fected condition, is all that can be done
in newspaper article. It's almost in
credible what an amount of toll and
trouble the inventor has had to sustain
in bringing his invention to practicable
working machine and to introduce it to
the favorable notice of owners of mar
BILE quarries. But it has been done sue
cessfully, Notwithstanding numerous Oh
stacles, many of which would have de-
tered and discouraged less courageous
man and less determined company, and
the business of stone quarrying has been,
so to speak, reyolutionized
Mr. Wardwell first came toVermont in
1857, for the purpose of making expert
ments. in machines for saving marble,
after it had been brought from the
quarries. During his stay at Rutland,
pursuing his investigations at the old
mill of Sheldon 4 Slason, he was struck
with the slowness and tediousness of the
process of quarrying, by hand, which
consisted in drilling long longitudinal
channels at right angles to the dip of the
statifed rock, with others similar, run
ming across the first, and then forcing up
the blocks by a process of ''gadding,
which is done by driving wooden pegs
in the channels cut by the drillers To
do away with the long rows of men
drilling slowly, day in and day out, was
the obipctof Mr.. Wardwell OF course,
on account of the nature of the rock, the
channelling process had tbbe continued,
and the use of the drills could
not be dispensed with. But
how to make steam power throw
the drills and cut the channels, was the
question. The process of hand quarry
inc was attended both with danger and
difficulty, and it was as slow as it vas
expensive.
Mr. Wardwell gave the subject careful
attention for two years before he was
able to devise any plan of a machine,
He was unacquaiuted with the rock, and
had to learn its. nature, properties and
formation, geological and chemical AT
last IN the summer of 1859, the first
working model was constructed, and
| letters patent were obtained upon it, dat
/ ed January 10th, 1860, and the following
summer a large machine was construct
/ ed This was to be driven by
| stationary power, was to cut one channel
/ would cut in one direction only, and had
to be gigged back like the carriage OF a
sswmill where the log is placed, TO be-
ein over again. This machine carried a
Gang of cutters, composed of heavy
steel chisels belted together. The point
of each drill extended a little. lower than
! the one preceding it, making sort OF
stepped arrangement,in thepoints, The
gang ran in standard at the forward
part of the machine, midway between
the rails on which it moved. But this
construction proved to be imperfect, as
the machine would sway little, the
drills would bind and it was inCOnven-
lent to reach thsm and remedy their de.
fects. The points of the bars themselves
would also glance in one direction or an
other at each blow, and the weaker one
would invariably break. This machine
proved altogether unsatisfactory and was
thrown aside
In the spring of 1851 a small machine,
to be worked by hand, was constructed
on different principles from the preVi.
Gus, and put to work in the Sutherland
Falls marble quarry
+ The cutting apparatus was fitted Will
new feature, blunt bars of steel alter
mating with the cutting points But
the ends of these bars clampeC
M with marble dust and the
sharp chisel ends could mo-
reach the rock surface. A change
was then. made, the blunt bars being
taken out and others with two and three
points attached substituted, but The
space between the faces would pacl
with marble dust, and the weaker pro
} lection would. be broken off. After thi
heavy. bars, with but a single point
were used and little or no breaking oc
Cured. The machine was afterward run
| by steam. DuL was oOOu dOdudobSN'
No further experiments were made
till the winter of 1923, when model
carrying the standard and cutting ap
paratus outside the rails, was construct
r ed. This machine was far superior t
, the other, having MANY improvements
A and being made to cut both ways, goinI
forward and coming back, or it could b.
2 arranged for cutting but one way, t
! suit the operator. On this modela larg
machine was constructed and set t
work June 25, 1868, and kept at worl
+ until cold weather set in. Mr.. Wardwel
remained and operated the machine TO
some time after it was started, and trle
many experiments which resulted !
improvements in machines subsequent
: built. A patent was granted ON TIL