OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

271423 Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> 2020‑07‑06 Re: Hand-Cranked Grinders [WAS: tapered plane irons ]
> On Jul 5, 2020, at 10:16 PM, John Ruth  wrote:
> 
> If I had indoor space, I’d like have one of the big foot-pedal water trough
grinders with a large Beria, Ohio, sandstone wheel.  You’d be hard-pressed to
burn an edge with one of those!

John

That’s my home town, and it’s Berea, Ohio.  We were so small we had a town
triangle because we couldn't afford a town square:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/50082577321/in/dateposted-public/

Berea was called the sandstone capitol of America, and many of the houses haad
some sort of sandstone feature on them.  Growing up in the 50’s, the sandstone
factories had closed, but we could still goof around on the sites amid the piles
of broken grinding wheels.  Here is a postcard from the time:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/50081997263/in/dateposted-
public/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/50081997263/in/dateposted-
public/ <https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/50081997263/in
/dateposted-public/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/50081997263/in
/dateposted-public/>

The main quarry closed in the 20’s and was full of water, and one of my dad’s
best friends drowned in it when they were kids - he always warned us not to swim
in it.  There was supposed to be a small steam train aat the bottom that was
left there when it was flooded.

From a fellow galoot, I acquired a Beres whetstonenew in an orange box - looked
like 40-50’s. They must have been trading on the name because there is not hard
black stone anywhere near Berea.

In the early 00’s, Don McConnel came up from his home in south central Ohio for
a walk down Rock River through the area where the factories were and we found a
few pieces of grinding stone.  Great afternoon listening to Don’s stories.

Ed Minch

Recent Bios FAQ