The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1895-05-30
A Flsurishing Plant Near
Marietta.
THE KENNtsAW MARBLE WORKS,
A description Of Its Process of Con.
verting Rough Marble into
Polished Articles.

Aoout TWO mlies noEtn OF marietta, be-
tween the Western and Atlantic, and the
Marietta and North Georgia Railroads, at
the foot OF Kennesaw Mountain.
The plant is operated by stock compa
ny with capital of $4,000. It has been
incorporated about eight years. Mr.. G. F.
Newell. the general superintendent, when
asked about the Marble works said: The
demand for Georgia marble, and the pros.
poets of the plant are better than they
have ever been, and it will be only short
time until Georgia marble will be the prin>
cipal marble used.
The company uses Two kinds Of marble;
Italian and Georgia. The Georgia Marble
is quarried at Tate, and sent to the Kenne-
saw Marble Works in blocks, generally
four by Eve by six feet. The cars are run
in on track which belongs to the COM
pany; the blocks are lifted from the cars,
by means of derrick fifty feet high, and
placed on small cars on the outside of the
building
After the marble has been placed on
these cars, it is run into the saving room,
under the gang saws, which are twelve in
number. The gang saws are simply the
holders for the saws that cut the marble !;
any number OF saws being put in these
gang saws. The saws are made of steel
and have no teeth, sand and water cons
bihed with the rubbiug OF saws cutting the
marble. The sand helps cut the marble
because sand is made of quartz, which is
harder than the marble. These saws run
day and night, except Sunday, cutting
about one inch an hour, the time of cutting
varying according to the quality of the
sand. The sand is procured about fifteen
miles north of Marietta.
After the marble is sawed into smaller
pieces, it is sent 10 the cutting and polish>
ing room, in one end of which you see
men cutting the marble in various forms.
In another place are three large circular
polishing beds, twelve feet in diameter,
made Of cast iron; these are continually
revolving with sand and water pouring
over them. Pieces OF marble are placed
on these to be ground to the proper size,
the larger pieces being lifted by small der
ricks.
In this room are also five turning lathes,
which work on the same principle as lath>
es for turning wood. There is a steam
drill used for drilling holes in the ends OF
the marble so it may be fastened in the
lathe, which revolves, while the drill that
cuts the marble is stationary.
There is also machine for shaping the
marble into moulding. This works on the
same principle for making wood mould~
ing.
There is another machine in this room
used for counter>sinking the surfaces of
small slabs, (that is, making one part of
the surface lower than the other). This
machine works the same as drill, except,
instead of the straight drill, there are three
small wheels that set slanting. which re-
volving cut the marble. There are two
more of these machines, one with focr
slanting wheels, another with six. The
ElaHble is fastened to another slab by
means Of plaster of paris, which prevents
the breaking of the slab TO be cut. The
operator Of the machine, when asked the
name of it, said II call it TIE. Nancy
Hanks, but the correct name is the 'coun.
ter-sinker." This man cuts. in one day Of
ten hours forty slabs of marble. This
machine is the only one capable Of cutting
as many slabs in one day.
After the marble las been cut in these
different shapes, it lie sent to the polishing
room. The smaller and more particular
pieces are polished by hand The marble,
which has been t1rned, is replaced in the
turning lathe, and the "polisher substituted
for the drill but the quickest and best
way of polishing fat slabs is with asbestos.
A slab Of marble is placed on a truck
which moves back and forth; the asbestos
is placed on the rubbing block, which
move back and forth, in the 9th.
er direction, SO that the whole surface Of
the slab may be polished without a man
having to move it.
When the marble is polished it is ready
for shipment, and is sent to the shipping
department, where ten rnea are ENGAGED
in making boxes and crates for the mar
BILE. The marble to be shipped ON either
railroad may be loaded at the Marble
Works.
The Marble Company does strictly
Wholesale business, and ships marble all
over the United States. During. the