Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/440

 Smoothing Sidewalks by Machine

AN outfit for roughing stone sidewalks has been perfected and placed on the market by an Illinois company. It consists of an air-cooled air-compressor driven by a gasoline engine mounted on a light steel truck. The compressor is a vertical, air-cooled, oil-splash lubricated machine connected to the engine by a coupling. The compressor valves are of thin flexible sheet-steel and cannot be drawn into the cylinder.

The Tool Is Fitted with a Case-Hardened Steel Block with Sharpened Raised Points

The tool is an ordinary plug drill fitted with a case-hardened steel block with sharpened raised points which do the work. In chipping around cracks and posts set into the sidewalk a trimming tool is used. An unloading device furnished with the compressor keeps the air at the correct pressure for the most efficient work. The block has a wire handle which helps to guide the tool.

The entire outfit is operated by one man and the work is done expeditiously and thoroughly. The truck is made somewhat on the order of a boy's express wagon except for the fact that it is of steel. The machine is equally adapted to use on stone or cement walls or interiors wherever roughing is required, the pressure being uniform whatever the position or angle.

The Outfit Consists of an Air-Compressor Driven by a Gasoline Engine. In Chipping Around Cracks and Posts or Openings Set in the Sidewalk a Trimming Tool Is Used