Thread: Mastro Livi's belts and wheels

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Great clip. Definitely pre dates whmis and msds's but love to watch the equipment run.
Would be awesome to try your hand at some of those old wheels and belts..
Before the days of guarding and HMIs when things were simpler. Not safer, but definitely simpler..

I don't think you would enjoy it as much as you think, Mike! Those old grinding wheels were rough-hewn sandstone, normally at least 4 feet in diameter. They were taken in at the back of the mill, and the grinder had to drill a hole in the middle and mount then on a stub axle.

Of course, they would not revolve evenly until dressed, so they were run dry and a length of steel was used that pressed into them, first knocking all the high spots off, then gradually forming them into the round. This would take over 30mins, all dry, and the whole mill would be filled with dust. Usually this was undertaken on a sunday so that only the grinders got the best of the dust conditions, and silicosis/grinders lung which invariably followed.

This process was repeated once a week to keep the wheel running true. During the course of dressing it was not unusual to reveal hidden faults and have the wheel fly apart, braining you in the process. but, hey - this could happen at any time - everyone loves surprises, don't they?

The belts powering the wheels hung from the ceiling, and at one time they seemed to loop around everywhere, just inviting you to trip, fall on one, and get well and truly mangled (they motive power was often water, and it takes a while to disengage the shaft from the input drive...

Regards,
Neil