Millwright
The word "millwright" has long been used to describe the man who was
marked by everything ingenious and skillful. For several centuries in
England and Scotland the millwright was recognized as a man with a
knowledge of carpentry, blacksmithing and lathe work in addition to
the fitter and erector. He was the recognized representative of
mechanical arts and was looked upon as the authority in all
applications of winds and water, under whatever conditions they were
to be used, as a motive power for the purpose of manufacture. In other
words, as the above definition would indicate, he was the area
engineer, a kind of jack of all trades who was equally comfortable at
the lathe, the anvil or the carpenter's bench. Thus, the millwright of
the last several centuries was an itinerant engineer and mechanic of
high reputation and recognized abilities. He could handle the axe, the
hammer and the plane with equal skill and precision. He could turn,
bore or forge with the ease and ability of one brought up in those
trades. He could set and cut in the furrows of a millstone with an
accuracy equal to or superior to that of the miller himself. In most
instances, the millwright was a fair arithmetician, knew something of
geometry, leveling and measurements, and often possessed a very
competent knowledge of practical mathematics. He could calculate the
velocities, strength and power of machines; could draw in plans,
construct buildings, conduits or watercources, in all the forms and
under all the conditions required in his professional practice. He
could build bridges, cut canals and perform a variety of work now done
by civil engineers. In the early days of North America millwrights
designed and constructed the mills where flour and grist were ground
by water power. Water was directed over hand-constructed wooden mill
wheels to turn big wooden gears and generate power. Millwrights
executed every type of engineering operation in the construction of
these mills. The introduction of the steam engine, and the rapidity
with which it created new trades, proved a heavy blow to the
distinctive position of the millwrights, by bringing into the field a
new class of competitors in the form of turners, fitters, machine
makers, and mechanical engineers. Although there was an extension of
the demand for millwork, it nevertheless lowered the profession of the
millwright, and leveled it to a great degree with that of the ordinary
mechanic. It was originally the custom for the millwrights to have
meetings for themselves in every shop. These meetings usually included
long discussions of practical science and the principles of
construction which more often than not ended in a quarrel. One benefit
of these meetings was the imparting of knowledge, as young aspirants
would frequently become excited by the illustrations and chalk
diagrams by which each side sup****ted their arguments.
Millwright Ron
www.unionmillwright.com
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