The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1911-07-26
TOOLS NEEDED IN
ROAD BUILDING
Cheap and Practical Machinery
Within Reach Of All.
A GOVERNMENT REPORT,

Anything Else Is Done.
Road building is now occupying the
attention of the people to a greater
degree than ever before. Building by
the old fashioned way is expensive.
Tools that reduce the cost are within
the reach of every county, and on this
subject a government report says:
"In addition to the shovels, picks
and other ordinary implements a con-
siderable outlay for machinery is nec-
essary. In these days of high paid la
Dor and short working hours one rare
ly hears in this country Of macadam
stone being broken by hand.
There are many kinds of stone
crushers on the market. Except for
city use and in cases where q large
amount of macadam work Is done
every year within comparatively
small area, large stationary plants are
undesirable There are several kinds
of portable plants which may be
bought at prices ranging from $1,000
u C-.DOO WDlCu are aNoPN
ed for country use. These plants in
clude the stone crusher, engine and
boiler, portab bins. revolving screen
and an elevator to lift the stone after
it is broken and to discharge it into
the screen.
1.-THE outfits are mounted on wheels
and may be moved from place to place
at a comparatively small cost. Under
ordinary conditions from"%S50 to 500
will pay the expense of shifting such
a plant from its old location to a new
one several miles distant.
"Stone crushers are variable in their
output They all need much repair
work from time to time on account of
the severe usage to which they are
subjected With an outfit such as has
been mentioned from eighty to hun
dred tons tSixty to eighty cubic yards
of broken stone per day may be ex
pected If the plant Is kept in good
condition Such an output is usually
satisfactory. since Il single steam road
roller will not often roll more than
this amount in day The crusher
will take stones which measure up TO
approximately by II inches in cross
section; larger stones require hauling
before they can be placed In the re-
ceiving orilicc
I'm some places it may be found
more economical to have the stone
shipped in from some permanent crush
ing plant than to purchase a crushing
outfit. and il is well to consider this
feature carefully. 1t should also be
stated that. while the first cost of the
road is important the costs of future
maintenance must also be taken into
account. II is sometimes economical,
even mt greater initial cost, to i'm
port stone from a distance If thereby
a more durable road may be had than
is possible by the use of local stone.
The crusher should be set up as
nearly as practicable in the center of
The section to be built; but, since much
water is needed for the boiler, for the
roller and for the watering cart. the
site is often governed by the location
of the water supply.
IF possible the crusher should be
set low enough so that platform
may be built at the level of the open
ing which receives the stone. This
platform should be sufficiently strong
to bear the weight of the carts loaded
with stone for the crusher With this
arrangement the large stones may be
dumped upon the platform and fed
into the cruSher without further lift.
ing.
THE workmen who set up the plant
should have had experience in this
work. Much depends OH the proper
alignment of the several parts. and
many petty annoyances in operation
will be avoided IL the work Is done
properly in the first instance.
THE steam road roller is now used
TO so great an extent that a discussion
of its advantages over the horse roller
is unnecessary. Macadam roads may.
of course. be built with rollers drawn
by horses. They may also be built
without any rolling except by the
wheels OF moving vehicles But expert
ence has demonstrated that quicker
anu ucllcT WOTk can De zone Win tDc
steam roller and usually at a less cost
A so called ten ton roller is sufficient
ly heavy for country roads. Most OF
the culverts and many Of the bridges
are too weak TO sustain with safety the
heavier rollers There are several ex
cellent makes OF such rollers. which
may be had at prices ranging from 81
500 to $500
Since water Is always needed IN
rolling the macadam watering cart
or sprinkler should be provided. The
road official cannot often afford 10 wait
for rain. Most OF these carts are pro
vided with extremely broad tires, so
that the cart assists I'm consolidating
the stone instead of rutting IT, Many
communities are provided with one or
more watering carts. so that II Is often
unnecessary TO purchase new one for
road building.
'In macadam work, as In all othel
construction worn. there should be a