Installing a large treadle powered grindstone

[@vmitchinson]

When I was a kid in 1950 or so I remember watching our old to me Butcher sharpening his knives on the same size stone. He had a 1 qt. can hanging by a wire above the wheel. It had a nail hole in it that dribbled water onto the stone. Under the wheel was a section of car tire that cot the water and kept the wheel wet. He sat on an extension of wood from the frame that held the wheel. He had two wood petals, one on each side of the wheel.

[@shortfuse43]

After I started watching Mr. Chickadee and subscribed, I have found that their videos are the most relaxing videos on youtube. No music, no narrative, no captioning....just beautiful work at a leisurely pace with beautiful results. In addition, very educational as well.

[@Doxymeister]

I don't remember much of my granddad (he passed when I was still young), but I do remember my own father, on visits home to grandmother, taking us out to granddad's shop in the barn, and showing us how things used to work before power tools were in general use. Your videos bring back such great memories, especially now that my Dad has passed away as well. Thank you for the wonderful reminders of a simpler, wonder-filled time in my life. You are special!

[@whirving]

I have an old treadle grinding wheel that has 2 pedals and sits on a rough cut sawhorse like frame. The seat is an old tractor seat and is moveable as it is bolted to a wedge shaped block of wood that sits in between the two beams that make up the horizontal support. The fittings are all wrought iron and the wheel is balanced with wooden wedges. I use the stone and just drip water on it. I can hone an axe or a machete with it to quite an edge, things get sharp once the water and stone form a slurry paste. It is a gift from my father in law.

[@BoB4jjjjs]

Excellent piece of work Mr Chickadee, I sometimes wish I was still in the countryside after seeing your videos. Takes me back to my childhood watching some of the old fellows plodding away doing odd jobs and never looking rushed but still getting the work done.

[@nickg5250]

you and Primitive Technology are the best on KZbin.

[@philedgerton7892]

Strong work as usual! I saw somewhere that you can install grease zerks into wooden bearings so you can keep them greased up. Makes the bearings last longer. Cool idea with the sandpaper. Makes me think I could make a big wheel out of wood and put sandpaper on it!

[@noahnipperus7320]

Brother, the wooden pillow blocks are game-changing for me, and make complete sense, switching up the grit is next level

[@noahnipperus7320]

I just bought an antique 19" treadle grinder and it's a little off-center. Is that intentional? (It seems to naturally stop with the treadles in a position to easily spin the stone) It spins pretty true laterally

[@MrChickadee]

most of the old timers just freehanded the tool on the wheel, so it being out of round or off center didnt matter.

[@barlotardy]

Last time I was this early, Mr. Chickadee was still living in his car. ....Which he'd carved out of maple.

[@Sea-Dog5496]

Hi There Mr. C. Nice video, I love to watch you using old school tools for your builds. To think this country was built with some of the simplest of tools is awe inspiring to see what can be accomplished. Just a thought for you, when mounting sandpaper to the stone wheel, where the two ends meet I would suggest you cut them at an angle about 45 degrees. I am sure you already knew that. It allows the axe, knife or what ever to step off and on to the paper and is less likely to catch your paper and rip it off. Sanding belts are always glued with a 45 deg. seam and not 90 deg. so less chance of catch.

[@MrChickadee]

Thanks for the tip Ed!

[@mycase04]

This reminds me to an old similar grindstone from my ancestors, that i have found in our barn. I think i will try to restore it, too. Your work is quite inspiring, thanks.

[@georgeschmitt8205]

Gotta say bud. Yours are some of the only videos I won't watch until I'm ready to sit through the whole thing. Convenient enough when I see a new one it turns out I'm ready to sit through a whole video.

[@paulorchard7960]

Just quietly cruising along , sharing a life of just being there! Thanks chickadee, love to be in your local and just being there!

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Great job Josh. That’s the slickest way to restore the cutting face of the stone that I have ever seen. Sure will add life to the stone too. Thanks for sharing with us.

[@MrChickadee]

cuts sooooo much faster

[@thomasarussellsr]

@@MrChickadee and after cutting that 60 grit belt, you can use it to resharpen the scissors, if you want.

[@peterwhitejr.9374]

Your smithy is coming together quite nicely sir

[@gammon1183]

There's me thinking I was the only guy in the world who knows about the brace and screw driver bit magic 😀 Beauty build on the grindstone . Subscribed 😎

[@TheAnalogKid2]

Modern screws and nails and oh, sandpaper! Glad to see him evolved. Wait till this man gets a book on basic electricity.

[@thomasarussellsr]

Funny!

[@alastairmackay4589]

Two striking things: your precision, and working in silence. Quite hypnotic to watch.

[@TheOlsonOutfit]

My grindstone is on a flimsy metal base, with a seat much too small and close. I've been planning on building something more stout. I really like the simplicity of your design.

[@MrChickadee]

Sitting is hell on my back, and does take more space

[@Maxid1]

9:00 Now that's brilliant! adding the adhesive strip to your stone has effectively extended the life of the nearly irreplaceable stone to infinity.

[@atr8248]

Finally, someone is getting around selling their soul and bringing one to the building community. Keep up the fight brother and living for what's right.

[@RH-xr8ms]

I built a small (6"tallX12"wideX5"deep) jewelry box with lignum vitae with 3/8" box joints. WooooWeee, that stuff is almost like working with marble. Nice job on the wheel. Thanks for the great videos.

[@purpleom9649]

I have a hand cranked grind stone with a water trough but the grit means you are there for hours until a small chisel is even close to sharp. I now use cheap diamond plates dry, they cut far quicker dry than with lapping fluid because the filings can be brushed off and don't gum up the plate.......BTW love the smithy, I'm a bit envious, it certainly beats my anvil attached to my vice and my pile of bricks, charcoal, and a hot air gun :)

[@maodonimega]

Watching your work is very soothing. I like the precision you get with the hand tools. Alas...I'm a cordless power tool kinda woman, which suits my offgrid situation....until the sun packs up and I can't charge my batteries!

[@larryshaw6517]

Good idea with the sand paper. Easier than re grinding the wheel. Thanks

[@dr.skipkazarian5556]

Necessity is indeed the "Mother" of invention. Best wishes.

[@jakebendel5238]

a another innovated project completed with style. great work sir.

[@tolbaszy8067]

Clever idea to use sandpaper on the stone!

[@RedmarKerkhof]

Nicely done. The smithy is coming along great.

[@ryandavis7593]

The cat supervised the editing and posting, my cat supervised the watching and even tried to rewind for more LAP time. Missy is a big fan of Mr Chickadee and family.

[@RickRose]

Since you've discovered the natural stone to be less than ideal for sharpening, it opens the door for others to make their own wheels from cheap materials (cement) to supply the mass and then add paper for the abrasive qualities. Thanks for sharing.

[@james_robnett]

Wonderful. Just happened to look for a new video and voila. I've been looking for such a grinding wheel for quite some time, there fairly rare in this part of the country. Really nice.

[@yrimastr]

Not gonna lie, the sandpaper surprised me. But I like how it’s a mix of the old grinding stone and a modern belt grinder.

[@jayham1970]

Wood bearings (when greased and oiled up) will last forever. I do not know if you did it on yours, but I suggest drilling a third hole in the very top (about a 1/4" in diameter) to the crank. With that third hole, you can fill the hole with oil, and you will be with your Maker before the wood wears out. Great video. 👍🎖️💯❤️

[@McTroyd]

You could hook this up to your lathe as a flywheel. Give the lathe some momentum for larger pieces, maybe?

[@veteranironoutdoors8320]

Ted McFadden NOOOOO, you do not want to spin these old stones any faster than your foot can spin it. Grinding wheels breaking apart and killing/maiming the operator was not uncommon back in the day.

[@thomasarussellsr]

@@veteranironoutdoors8320 his lathe is treadle powered too.

[@tkjazzer]

@@veteranironoutdoors8320 thank you. Always looking out where danger might be. I didn't think of this.

[@EndersLight]

Veteran Iron&Wood p

[@Mistraker]

@@veteranironoutdoors8320: Why would a powered lathe need a flywheel? Think through it, man. All his tools are hand tools, or treadle tools. Nothing is powered, including his lathe.

[@ukknightrider]

This channel is awesome. It’s like a session of meditation every time I watch 😍😊😊🙏✌️

[@kylelewis9377]

I came to say that it’s like the Mr. Rogers of KZbin. And I mean that as the greatest of compliments.

[@voneschenbachmusic]

I was a bit surprised by the taped sandpaper at the end but whatever works lol. Nice craftsmanship as always!

[@MrChickadee]

After you spend a few hours grinding one chisel with sandstone, you start thinking of improvements...;)

[@voneschenbachmusic]

@@MrChickadee I love how you use the old stuff but are willing to improve when needed! Carry on!

[@markmckeen262]

I see you have a very effective coping mechanism

[@tropifiori]

I don’t normally see such a lovely round stone. Nice project!

[@michaelwhiteoldtimer7648]

NICE TRICK PUTTING THE SANDPAPER ON THE GRINDSTONE

[@13bravoredleg18]

I have one made by the Cleveland Stone Company. It's the kind you sit on then pump the two pedals up and down. It's from the turn of the century and still works.

[@craigcrandall7831]

Love your hand tools, including your wooden vise.

[@OldNew45]

Great video as always. I always look forward to your stuff.

[@POPO-fy9hl]

I like your power drill / driver nice build

[@makeituseit6011]

Great job, always enjoy your videos

[@-Honeybee]

I have a similar grindstone. I love mine. It is unfortunate yours did not have extant bearings - they're beautiful things with so much character. Happy grinding, friend.

[@veteranironoutdoors8320]

Tyler Rodriguez he used a dense, oily hardwood. They are commonly used as bearing material for all sorts of uses

[@shakeme3290]

He upgraded. Bearings wear out

[@-Honeybee]

@@veteranironoutdoors8320 I'm not putting down his bearings at all - just stating it's a shame the original cast ones didn't last.

[@mikew5775]

Genius! You could totally do the same thing with a concrete disk and some bearing hardware. Thanks!

[@homemademedieval3935]

I did the same but with cement cast in an waste oil pan. You would be better off going larger than that because my wheel doesn't carry much inertia making it easy to bog down.

[@thomasarussellsr]

With it being treadle powered, you could make a wheel from three layers of wood, with pockets of lead/lead shot in the middle layer. Then tape on the sanding belt same as in this video. You just need weight to act as a flywheel so that inertia helps to keep it spinning.

[@igedebejamin6938]

Nice old style, i like it

[@dependancesbois9160]

Thanks a lot for your vidéo. They are some great inspiration. I use again machines to work wood but less and less and maybe soon no one. Excuse my bad english.

[@hyunsyu]

so relaxing to watch...

[@chriscaahbaugh2246]

Havent seen the vid yet but threw a 👍 up anyway.. Always reminds me of time i spent with granddad Keep it up

[@scruffy6151]

Me to

[@markdombrowski746]

Just found your site. SEMPER FI MARINE Mark

[@catharsus21]

our old gridstone was like this but you could also sit at the end of it and a old car tire was cut as to make a water tank for the whet stone … and had an attachment like on a lathe so you could set the angle to sharpen against

[@131dyana]

Great idea as always.

[@robertbrunston5406]

Very cool Mr. C, thank 3.

[@jesseherman2453]

Your wood brick floor is looking great ! Nice find on the wheel, a lot of times they have a portion that has been softened from sitting in water, is that a patent date of 1883 !?! Perfect addition to the smithy .

[@zfotoguy71]

Love the video! such a cool project. May I make a suggestion? Maybe true up the wheel. Then use something like double sided carpet tape to hold down the grit paper. Or maybe even industrial hook/loop on the stone and get hook/loop grit paper. Then you can change grits as needed.

[@MrChickadee]

never heard of hook/loop tape, would that work with a carbide belt material?

[@MrChickadee]

ah, like velcro, hmmm, nice idea thanks!

[@zfotoguy71]

@@MrChickadee Yeah! Velcro. That's just a name brand. I got a bunch from Grizzly for my dual drum sander, but I think it could be applied to this wheel or other tools too. Thanks for all the videos, been enjoying them.

[@NguyenduyTon]

Quá hay anh ạ, rất sáng tạo.👍👍👍

[@pauln2661]

Nice! I am jealous of your shop! I am trapped in the city.

[@tinkermouse-scottrussell3738]

Enjoyed watching this project all come together thanks for taking the time to share it with us. Play Safe From Elliot Lake Ontario Canada.

[@scruffy6151]

Played on one at my grandpa farm when I was a kid.

[@nilobalodo997]

Thats a real cordless drill

[@onegreenev]

I saw some wobble in the support structure. Looked like it would not hold up for a super long time. Might be good to actually bolt the frame to the wall instead of the 4 nails for added support and strength.

[@MrChickadee]

I guess that can be done if it needs it later...

[@LhajBELAAIDWorkshop]

Perfect work bro good luck 👌👌👌🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@younglee4666]

I love to watch and learn your awesome craftsmanship! how about putting extra studs for supporting on the wall side

[@clayguy1]

Where do you get the plans for all these projects.. Love it.. I remember Granddad's Grind Wheel he had in the tool shed.. I loved making it spin.. till gramps said stop that

[@Mtbambeno]

I have an old beat up one on my front patio, the grandkids love playing with it. My good one in the shop is off limits to them for now.

[@johnmarkhatfield]

When you have seen enough builds you can design anything. Draw a rough sketch of what your mind imagined and then make your own.

[@forest487]

why did you use the vertical hand drill for drilling the holes but then use the horizontal moving one for putting in the screws?

[@demammoet]

I've seen the same thing in a video of pre-war Rotterdam in my country. The wheel was powered the same way, but it seemed quite a bit heavier getting some good momentum I'm sure.The knife sharpener was a profession.

[@robmckennie4203]

at the hardware store: "hi yes do you have a torx driver that will fit in an old-timey brace-and-bit?"

[@jameskniskern2261]

Actually, they already make adapters.... :) I added the entire bitset to my braces a couple of years ago. Interchangeable bits. :)

[@tkjazzer]

Was this how he made the ratchet?

[@OldSneelock]

Hex bits are gripped in the standard 1900 two jawed chuck on a brace. They can be found in infinite varieties of diameter, length, and tip configuration. 😆😎

[@tephradem]

@@jameskniskern2261 Mind my asking where you picked up your adapter(s)?

[@littleforest]

You can find them at fine-tools.com for about 5€ a piece.

[@peternorthe1912]

Nice collection of cordless tools! Zero charging time, unless you count meals and sleep. I've often wondered though... with all of the healthy basic lifestyle of yesteryear and virtually no processed foods like we have now, why was the life expectancy so short? The average LE of a male in North America is in the late seventies I believe. Correct me if I wrong. but the LE of males in the 19th century was only to their mid-fifties or sixties. Granted, there were different mortality factors back then than we have now.

[@tkjazzer]

Would love to see a traditional top drip sandstone wheel set up instead of a bath or the more modern sandpaper on top of a sandstone wheel. Maybe a project so students can see the speed difference between natural Stone and man made paper. Will you sharpen the Anglo American style scythe on that too? I just got season 3 and 4 from inter-library loan, so maybe St Roy has an episode in making a traditional top drip wheel

[@MrChickadee]

These are ok for light polishing, serious stock removal is just rediculous

[@tomkelly1037]

@@MrChickadee Maybe have a functional grinding wheel in the black smith shop and a polishing one in the timber-frame garden shed that is more traditional with drip water from above.

[@cattleNhay]

My man, in the area of Switzerland where I live there are still houses, shops and barns from the 1600 /1700’s standing. If you want some close ups of the woodworking they did all freehand let me know. They also had some special tricks with when to harvest, how to cover/ let rain/ recover so the wood became mold resistant and rock hard. We tried screwing in fat 12 mm screws and they broke off in the 300 year old pine beams! Just say da word if you want some old school, massive woodwork/ joinery ideas/ examples.

[@3vanguardofthephoenix335]

We need this more now than ever! I'd be totally interested!!! Charring wood is the only method I know of to prevent bugs, and mold from degrading wood, besides stabilizing it in boiled linseed oil! The more methods you have to accomplish something, the better ^.^

[@Granddad92]

Looks great.

[@yourinomyzine2615]

Nice job

[@joaquinperez7567]

Muy buen trabajo. Gracias

[@Dadywarcrimss]

You might think it cheating, but the Yankee screwdriver is quite a handy tool. I find them less awkward than driving with a brace.

[@MrChickadee]

True, but not enough torque in this case

[@laundrysauce234]

I was thinking of building myself on these but with a bar above it so i can set angles. I have a belt grinder rn but something about grindstones man i like em better than belts

[@donaldtrabeaux1305]

Absolutely awesome 👍😎👍

[@faramund9865]

When you take the flange away, is the hole in your stone square? Can the flange move inside the stone for adjustment when the bolt is loosened?

[@robertr2731]

Very impressive

[@Great.Milenko]

ahh just as i was about to go to bed you upload this which will help me sleep :) your framesaw seems to be having a hard time there. its a shame you needed to add sandpaper to this build, but youre right that it would take days to grind a fresh edge onto an axe or knife with a natural grindstone like that.

[@MrChickadee]

Its lignum vitae, hardest wood in the world, more like sawing through swirly grain metal

[@Great.Milenko]

@@MrChickadeeyes, self lubricating too, which makes it ideal as a bearing material when used against steel.

[@bufordtjustice4362]

Fun fact. It was used as shaft bearings for the first wave of nuclear submarines.

[@lancer2204]

@@MrChickadee Sorry bud, Lignum Vitae comes is at number 4. The hardest currently tested is Australian Buloke with a Janka Hardness test of 5,060 lbf (22,500 N). Lignum Vitae comes in at 4,500 lbf (20,000 N)

[@thomasarussellsr]

@@lancer2204 Good to know. Is it an especially oily wood? Where can somebody get there hands on some of that "Bull-oak" without traveling to Aussie-land? The oily nature of Lignin, along with its hardness, is what makes it a good bearing/bearing surface. If the Aussie wood is hard but dry, then you'll have to lube it constantly or risk wearing on your metal shaft.

[@cretudavid8622]

Where do you buy that sandpaper?

[@bigbraincontent]

1:36 the absolute size of that cutting unit

[@themikeshow]

We call it a "saw" on this part of the planet.

[@jonq8714]

@@themikeshow I'd sign the petition to change the nomenclature from 'saw' to 'cutting unit' though. While we're at it, let's switch from Imperial to Metric too.

[@thomasarussellsr]

@@jonq8714 nah, it would cost a bloody fortune to retool all of the factories, restock all of the stores/hardware stores, and replace all of the school supplies and books. This nation is in enough debt to just willy-nilly go and cost the country billions of dollars to switch its standard of measure. Not to mention, our homes and businesses are built on the Imperial system. If we switch to metric no contractors will be able to figure out which screw, bolt, board, glass, or replacement part to use for repairs.

[@NathanWantsFreedom]

@@thomasarussellsr i beg to differ i use the metric system, so id have to say your statement is only 11/64's correct ;)

[@dougcaseltine2462]

pretty cool , I like it.

[@MikeAG333]

I hope, dear viewers, that you all appreciate Mr Chickadee planing in the wrong direction with the work in the vice simply so that he doesn't obscure our view. Phillips screws? I hope you take them all out and put in some slot headed screws in their place. And some hand forged nails in place of those galvanised wire nails. It's a pity the stone is too fine, because using sandpaper will drive you nuts. It gives up so quickly. And I reckon a quick diagonal brace back to the wall will take that sideways wobble out of the frame very quickly. Anyway, another nice video, and a lovely antidote to all the shouty "makers" who pollute KZbin.

[@anthonywall5227]

Thank you

[@Mark-xl8gg]

Looks great was the grit of the wheel unsuitable or did you want a specific grade Will you add a water trough later Looks like the forge is almost complete :0)

[@mr.chaosvicious5968]

My guess was that him doing that might have been his attempt at NOT wearing the stone down and eventually rendering it basically useless through regular use.

[@MrChickadee]

both correct answers

[@dadawesome784]

Wonder if the swing arm were longer off the pitman arm if you could get the stone to spin faster.

[@ironcladranchandforge7292]

@@mr.chaosvicious5968 -- A stone that large in diameter would take forever to wear down, unless it was used on an industrial scale.

[@Banjo-lm2wl]

Wow brilliant

[@ronlanway6667]

I would add some lateral bracing to it though. I noticed some movement side to side that may increase over time . Good use of lignin vitae though. Thumbs up

[@LordLlurch]

I would love to make you a couple of bronze bearings for those wooden blocks. Please tell me the diameter of the axle and the width of the bearings.

[@veteranironoutdoors8320]

LordLlurch It dosent need them. The wood he used was a dense, oily hardwood, commonly used as bearing material in industry.

[@thomasarussellsr]

That's a nice offer, but the wood used has more longevity than bronze.

[@bunyipdan]

Nice work on the grinding wheel, might need a gusset or two on the frame? Can't believe how hard that bearing block looked like to cut. With metal parts have you tried soaking them in a molasses and water mix to help restore original finish? 1-2 week soak works great.

[@MrChickadee]

Lignum Vitae is TOUGH stuff!

[@JustanOldfart01]

I'm suprised you didnt drill holes in the tops of the saddles for oil holes. A drop or two of oil before each use.

[@hawkbluff1228]

Josh, I think you should make forge a big spoon carving twca cam and sharpen it on your new wheel.

[@MrMrblackcreek]

Is the lignum dense enough not to have a bearing? I was expecting a piece o copper pipe or something inset into the hub for the axil to ride on. Gotta think greased copper would wear longer than any wood.

[@MrChickadee]

Worked for submarine bearings, I guess it will be fine

[@jimf1964]

Looks like you got yourself some Canadian Robertson screws.....welcome to the civilized world. 🙂 I saw a big stone like that last summer for sale, but I have no way to get it home. I was really bummed.

[@daveweber1331]

Nope - even more modern - Torx-head screws!

[@joshuarachaelrichards9037]

Do you have plans for this to build? Where could I buy something like this?

[@jaredlariscey713]

Awesome man!

[@nosaltiesandrooshere7488]

Dear Mr. Chickadee! My announced questions: 1) Why do you wrap the grindstone with emery paper tape? 2) Doesn't a sandstone grindstone normally run in a wooden water tub below? Greetings from Austria!

[@MrChickadee]

They were used with water, tub or drip can, but I found it to be stupidly slow, hence the paper

[@nosaltiesandrooshere7488]

@@MrChickadee 👍 Thank you for your quick answer, yes it is plausible that the sandstone grinds very slowly

[@thornhedge9639]

I actually have one of these grinding wheels here in Germany. It has about a 3/8 inch deep chip out of the grinding surface. Would you happen to know if the stone itself can be carved down to eliminate the damaged area? as it stands it's not usable.

[@MrChickadee]

A chip like that should not effect the use, chipped or out of round stones were very common in the past, people just free handed the tool and it works fine. If you want it removed, it can be done by keeping the stone wet, and using a steel pipe thrust into the stone as it turns at 90 degrees. Keep turning the pipe as it dulls.

[@thornhedge9639]

@@MrChickadee Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Your channel is really wonderful and a great aid to all of us who CAN learn just by watching the techniques of others. You're inspiring! So again; Thank you!

[@draven3838]

I have an old stone wheel like that that I need to get mounted on a stand