A builder's mini pendulum saw 🪨⚙️ is a modern variation on Nicholas Blackwell's experiment with a possible Mycenaean stone saw. The published reconstruction used a straight copper blade with rounded corners, swinging from a pivot while loose quartz sand did the cutting and produced a groove resembling Mycenaean saw marks. The video's half-moon blade and compact waterwheel-driven frame are the presenter's miniature adaptation.
Video builds a miniature take on Blackwell's Mycenaean saw experiment
Key facts
- The video builds and tests a miniature pendulum saw inspired by Nicholas Blackwell and his father's reconstruction of a possible Mycenaean stone saw.
- The published reconstruction used a straight copper blade with rounded corners, swung from a pivot while quartz sand acted as the abrasive.
- A half-moon blade in the video is the presenter's variation; it should not be attributed to Blackwell's documented design.
- The blade uses a slotted pivot to control its depth, with the slot's travel setting the maximum cutting depth.
- At maximum depth, a larger block would require additional positioning or end cuts; a small block may fit within the blade's swing.
- Centering the blade on the pendulum beam can allow rising stone to strike the beam, so the video moves the blade inside the beam.
- The replica has a timber guide, adjustment holes and cross-braces, finished in red paint, with its axle running in a brass tube.
- A waterwheel drives a crank and welded steel yoke, and the assembly receives a marine finish.
Sources
Alum News: Bronze Age metallurgy and tool hoards of the ...brynmawr.edu
The article spotlights a fully-functional reconstruction of a Mycenaean pendulum saw Professor Blackwell built with his father, which together ...
(PDF) Experimenting on Mycenaean goldworking techniquesacademia.edu
Experimental reconstruction reveals Mycenaean goldworking techniques for 15th century BC granulated beads. Granules measured 0.4-0.5 mm wide, with approximately ...
The Production and Perception of Bronze in Mycenaean ...repositories.lib.utexas.edu
by C Winkley · 2020 · Cited by 1 — The matter of tin-bronze production in Mycenaean Greece is problematic, primarily due to the fact that there is a lack of evidence that such an industry was ...
Archaeologist Experiments With Possible Bronze Age Sawarchaeology.org
The experiment shows that the straight blade with rounded corners produced a cut resembling those found at Mycenaean sites. Blackwell said ...
Week 9 Lab Data: Bronze Age Saws222.arcn.sites.carleton.edu
This week we looked at saw markings from Bronze Age Greece. Our experiments involved testing out full scale, working models of pendulum saws ...
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