Mina gazed at him fixedly for a few minutes, during which my own heart beat like a
trip hammer, for I felt that some crisis was at hand.
As the news of the Collins-made axe spread, demand soared and in 1828 they installed water-powered
trip hammers and huge grinding wheels said to be 6 feet in diameter and a foot thick.
The final step of the Cancheamento phase is the crushing of the leaves and stem in a machine that is best described as similar to a series of
trip hammers that pound the product into a powder.
In addition to grinding grain for bread and malt for beer, mills powered by water and wind drove
trip hammers that pounded special salts into woolen textiles, making them pliable and soft, in a process known as fulling.
The museum collection includes three restored
trip hammers, mechanized pieces of equipment more efficient than a hammer and anvil for heavy work.
Upon further research, I discovered that the Chinese had
trip hammers in 200 B.C.
Fazendin retained only Little Giant
trip hammers and the foundry, which produced plumbing fittings, castings and supplies.
"There was less dependence on horses," Chip says, "and at the same time,
trip hammers and steam hammers replaced anvils in industrial use."