For the past week, Border Town had been relatively calm.
According to Iron Axe and Brian, the strength and number of demonic beasts would gradually increase with the continuation of the Months of the Demons.Taking advantage of the current defensive pressure, Roland once again sent a sloop full of ore to Willow Town.
With the introduction of the first steam engine in the North Slope Mine, the number of workers had decreased by half, but the output had steadily increased, and now it had returned to the level before the collapse. With the replacement of the machine, manpower had been greatly reduced.
At the same time, Roland carried out a preliminary reform of the mining area's production system, from the original fixed salary to a fluctuating salary. He asked Barov to calculate the average daily output for the past few years, and set it as a standard. Every increase in output would get an extra reward, and if a gem vein was discovered, there would be a special reward. This move effectively promoted the enthusiasm of the workers, and the whole mining area was in full swing.
With more ore in his hands, Roland naturally wanted to do something.
In addition to incorporating the second steam engine into the production plan, he also intended to manufacture a batch of manual machine tools.
Machine tools could be said to have a long history. Generally speaking, it was essentially a tool table used to process tools. Therefore, the anvil could be regarded as the most primitive machine tool – manual fixation, manual creation.
Manual creation was easy, but manual fixation was too inconvenient, so people added buckles or grooves on the table, used to fix the processed parts. For example, the barrels of the early matchlock and flintlock guns were manually hammered on the anvil with grooves.
Later, it was no longer possible to rely solely on manpower to hammer and mill, so the machine tools were divided. According to different purposes, different methods of fixation and processing tools were used. Manual and mechanical linkage effectively improved the shortcomings of pure manual output.
Roland considered the manual milling machine.
Although the milling machine had a wide variety of functions, its main purpose was to process involute gears. Therefore, its structure could be simplified accordingly. It only needed a pair of clamping grooves to fix the gear discs and a steel millstone that could rotate. With the help of Anna, a specially shaped millstone for cutting gears could be easily made. The top of the millstone would be polished into a trapezoid shape and heated to a red-hot state. Then, an imprint would be drawn on it with an iron bar, and the millstone would be dipped in water for a quenching process. Then, a custom-made millstone with high rigidity could be made.
After the key problem was solved, Roland immediately summoned Carter and asked him to hire two carpenters to build the base of the milling machine for him. Meanwhile, Anna continued to manufacture other metal parts in the castle's backyard.
Needless to say, with Anna around, metal processing became as easy as kneading mud, especially after she mastered the control of flames. Now, she used her hands to mold the rough shape of the small pieces. Roland couldn't help but sigh as he watched the other party melt the iron ingot into a viscous liquid and knead it back and forth.
If there were no witches, these plans in his mind might have been delayed for more than ten years.
Two days later, the first milling machine appeared in the backyard.
During this time, Roland didn't stay idle. Drawing gears could be regarded as his old profession. He designed a set of gears to be used to adjust the speed and stabilize the output of the steam engine. The corresponding tooth discs were already out of the mold, and after the milling machine was assembled, the grinding process could be carried out.
Gears weren't something new, most of the world's mines relied on animals to pull wooden gears and a capstan mechanism to drain water. This time, the Chief Knight finally felt satisfied – after running around for His Royal Highness so many times, he could finally understand what the other was planning to do.
Roland also asked him to bring three blacksmiths and their respective apprentices to learn how to use the milling machine in the yard. It was impossible for him to personally operate these machines every day, so it was necessary to train a group of professional workers.
After everyone respectfully saluted him, Roland began to demonstrate how to use the milling machine to process gears.
He didn't mind playing the role of a senior fitter in front of everyone. In fact, in this era, there were all kinds of princes, and they all had a variety of hobbies. In addition, he had a reputation of being irresponsible, so operating the machine was no pressure at all.
The Chief Knight was responsible for helping him pour the warm lard – in this era without oil lubrication, using lard as a substitute was a bit wasteful, but it was better than nothing. The lard poured over the millstone and fell into the porcelain basin below, which could be used repeatedly.
Roland first carved the tooth discs according to the designed angle, then erected the tooth discs and fixed them on the workbench. Then he pulled the millstone to the top of the tooth discs, aimed at the engraved lines, and stepped on the pedal. The pedal drove the wooden wheel, and through the belt, the power was transmitted to the rotating shaft of the millstone.
Then he used his hand to stabilize the millstone's handle and gently pulled it down. The rotating millstone slowly cut into the tooth discs at a 90-degree angle.
Because the material of the tooth discs was pig iron, and the millstone was quenched steel, it wasn't very difficult to cut out the tooth marks. The scene was filled with the fragrance of lard, which made the blacksmiths and apprentices, who hadn't tasted meat for a long time, swallow their saliva.
After the demonstration, it was time to sign the contract. Border Town's commerce was still in its infancy, and there was no industry to speak of. Whether it was the steam engine or the machine tool, it was impossible to have a situation where the shops would immediately scramble to buy them. In this era, most people didn't realize the great significance of these things, as well as the potential commercial value. So Roland could only take the initiative to promote the use of machinery.
He stipulated in the contract that the blacksmith shop using the milling machine had to process at least one set of gears a week, the required materials would be provided by the castle, and the processing fee would be 10 silver royals. At the same time, the blacksmith shop had to pay 2 silver royals for the use of the machine every week. Because this set of machine tools wasn't given to the blacksmith shop for free, it was more like a loan.
After entering the Months of the Demons, the blacksmith shop's business had declined a lot. At this time, there was an opportunity to make money, and it was an order personally given by His Royal Highness, so naturally no one had any objections. At the same time, Roland told them that this was only the first milling machine, and that there would be several more in the future, and if they were interested, they could apply to the City Hall.
"Your Royal Highness, why didn't you directly write on the contract that the processing fee would be 8 silver royals?" After the blacksmiths left, Carter asked puzzledly.
"Although the two numbers are the same, the meaning is not the same," Roland explained, "This is probably the first commercial rental contract in Border Town, so I need to establish an industry standard."
The Chief Knight wiped his forehead, His Royal Highness the 4th Prince seemed to be talking nonsense again, but he already had experience with this, so as long as he pretended to listen carefully, His Royal Highness would continue to explain.