The large pieces of rough, such as agate, are slit by means of a wheel, which revolves vertically, its edge being covered by a paste of ground boart and oil. The stone is held in both hands and pressed against the wheel, the work thus being somewhat arduous. Shaping is done in a like manner, a large sandstone wheel being used. The old custom, which still prevails in a few mills, is for the workman to lie on his stomach over a specially shaped wooden stool, pressing the stone against the wheel which revolves in water. Water is sprayed in all directions, and the position assumed by the workman is far from comfortable, although he is able to exert considerable pressure with the stone against the wheel. Every few minutes he must rest, and after a short period, he changes to another wheel and works at slitting or polishing.
The work is laborious and unhealthy, quite a number falling victims to silicosis or to what is known locally as “cutters’ disease.” These men seldom live beyond middle age. But the erection of small factories with electrically driven machinery in the last few years is now almost universal, and these old mills with their huge sandstone wheels lying along the river’s edge are already almost a thing of the past. The Idar stream, the river Nahe, and the neighboring streams once furnished the source of most of the power used in the cutting of the cheaper stones, yet in 1923 there were only 62 establishments using water power. Some 1,151 were using electricity, and 3 were run by steam power.