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Fine Sharp Sand: Dug from a River Bank, Burnt in Balls and Hair-Sifted (Tomlinson, 1854)
Fine quartz sand the way the Sheffield cutlers prepared Trent sand: sharp river-bank sand made into balls, burnt in the fire for a few hours, then crushed and passed through a fine hair sieve; burnt sand was held to cut faster than raw.
Beginner
A day
Instructions
1
1
Read the Cyclopaedia
Read the Cyclopaedia
"Trent sand is a fine and sharp sand, collected from the banks of the Trent."
2
2
Choose and dig
Choose and dig
Take river or pit sand rather than sea sand: it is sharper, while sea sand has been rounded. Pale sand is purest (colour comes mostly from iron oxide).
Materials for this step:
Sand1 pieceTools needed:
Shovel
20-Liter Bucket3
3
Burn it
Burn it
Make the sand into balls and put them in the fire for a few hours.
Materials for this step:
Sand1 piece
Water1 pieceTools needed:
Fire Pit4
4
Crush and sift
Crush and sift
When cold, crush the balls and pass the sand through a fine hair sieve.
Tools needed:
Stone Mortar and Pestle
Fine Sieve5
5
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Sand troubleshooting.
Flow
Loading...
6
6
History and honest limits
History and honest limits
From Charles Tomlinson (ed.), **Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts** (1854), vol. II, "Sand", pp. 576-577 (checked on the archive.org scan cyclopdiaofuse02tomlrich). He gives no fire heat or ball size; the dust warning is ours.
Tools Required
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