In the 2006 book Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend, historian Scott Reynolds Nelson detailed his discovering documentation of a 19-year-old African-American man alternately referred to as John Henry, John W. Talcott holds a yearly festival named for Henry, and a statue and memorial plaque have been placed in John Henry Historical Park at the eastern end of the tunnel. Johns of the C&O Railroad regarding Big Bend Tunnel, Johns replied that "no steam drills were ever used in this tunnel." When asked about documentation from the period, Johns replied that "all such papers have been destroyed by fire." Miller's reputation, and they all said, "If Neal Miller said anything happened, it happened." I made a sketch of it and later when I looked up pictures of the early steam drills, I found his description correct. Miller described the steam drill in detail. The test went on all day and part of the next day. "Well, they decided to hold a test to get an idea of how practical the steam drill was. He took a lot of pride in his work and he hated to see a machine take the work of men like him. Miller, "John Henry wanted to drive against it. "When the agent for the steam drill company brought the drill here," said Mr. This man, known as Neal Miller, told me in plain words how he had come to the tunnel with his father at 17, how he carried water and drills for the steel drivers, how he saw John Henry every day, and, finally, all about the contest between John Henry and the steam drill. & O." In 1927, Johnson visited the area and found one man who said he had seen it. Some versions of the song refer to the location of John Henry's death as "The Big Bend Tunnel on the C. That tunnel was built near Talcott, West Virginia, from 1870 to 1872 (according to Johnson's dating), and named for the big bend in the Greenbrier River nearby. He concluded that John Henry might have worked on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's (C&O Railway) Big Bend Tunnel but that "one can make out a case either for or against" it. Johnson investigated the legend of John Henry in the late 1920s. Several locations have been put forth for the tunnel on which John Henry died. According to researcher Scott Reynolds Nelson, the actual John Henry was born in 1848 in New Jersey and died of silicosis and not due to exhaustion of work. The historical accuracy of many of the aspects of the John Henry legend are subject to debate. The steam drill machine could drill but it could not shake the chippings away, so its bit could not drill further and frequently broke down. Then the shaker would begin rocking and rolling: wiggling and rotating the drill to optimize its bite. The contest involved John Henry as the hammerman working in partnership with a shaker, who would hold a chisel-like drill against mountain rock, while the hammerman struck a blow with a hammer. Various locations, including Big Bend Tunnel in West Virginia, Lewis Tunnel in Virginia, and Coosa Mountain Tunnel in Alabama, have been suggested as the site of the contest. Straightening blows are just hard enough to bring the blade back to straight and flat.Plaque celebrating the legend of John Henry ( Talcott, West Virginia)Īccording to legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel driver was measured in a race against a steam-powered rock drilling machine, a race that he won only to die in victory with a hammer in hand as his heart gave out from stress. NOTE: Remember that straightening blows are much lighter than forging blows. We want the entire blade in the concavity of the jig. Rarely will it take one heat and one hit. This will take one to several heats and hits depending on how hot the bar is and how hard you hit it. With the round hammer face strike the bar in the center. Fullers, on the other hand, which are also shaping tools, are convex. Swages (sometimes called ‘swedges’) are concave in shape. NOTE: Blacksmiths will refer to shaping tools like this railroad spike jig as a swage. The next blow will force it completely into the concavity of the railroad spike jig. The blade is almost resting at the bottom of the jig. Note the “air” between the billet and the spike. Place the bar on its spine, with the choil and cutting edge looking up and the point at the groove. Place the blade bar in the forge at the most convenient position for extraction and quick placement on the jig. Place the counter-bending jig in the hardy hole or vise. Bending With The Railroad Spike Counter-Bending Jig
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |