June, 1921] Steel Molding Sand in Ohio 255 



Geauga Silica Sand Company. This plant is located at 

 Geauga Lake, on the Erie Railroad, in the northwest corner 

 of Portage County. A ledge of coarse Sharon sandstone 40 

 feet thick is worked and the superintendent of the plant claims 

 that 45 feet of good stone lies below the base of the present 

 quarry. The face of the quarry has a buff color, due to the 

 oxidation of the iron content. No pebbles were seen, but 

 they were reported to be present in places. 



The rock is broken in a gyratory crusher and then reduced 

 to sand in a disintegrator. It is neither screened nor washed 

 and only one grade is marketed. This is for steel molding and 

 the market extends from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. About two 

 cars of sand are produced per day during summer and one-half 

 as much during winter. It is proposed, however, to dis- 

 continue crushing the rock hereafter during winter and to 

 supply the trade during that season from the stock pile. The 

 plant was opened in 1911 or 1912. 



Bedford Silica Products Co. This plant is situated in the 

 northeast quarter of Northfield Township, Summit County, 

 where the company owns 20 acres and is now working a ledge 

 33 feet thick. It is about one mile east of the Pennsylvania 

 Railroad with which it has switch connection. The Sharon 

 conglomerate is covered with about 4 feet of mantle rock which 

 is removed by a wheel scraper drawn by a tractor. The rock 

 has the usual buff color, but in places has small black spots, 

 probably due to iron. Pebbles occur near the base of the 

 quarry and the largest measure about 13/^ inches in diameter. 

 A gasoline well-drilling outfit prepared the rock for shooting. 



The rock is loaded on cars by a steam shovel, drawn to the 

 mill by horse power and elevated by cable. It is broken in 

 a gyratory crusher, screened and the coarse material passed 

 through a disintegrator. The sand is not washed. The 

 product finds a market for steel castings and the coarse material 

 for furnace bottoms. Northeast Ohio and adjacent parts of 

 West Virginia and Pennsylvania provide a market. The 

 company also makes a specialty of sand for plaster, which finds 

 a ready sale at Cleveland. For this purpose a drying plant 

 is now being constructed. 



About 20 men are employed when the plant is operating to 

 capacity and the output is from 175 to 200 tons of sand per 

 day. Work continues throughout the year, except in the 



