Sifter

Description

Funnel shaped hopper into which where sage was poured, and sieved into above movable board that allows sifted sage to fall into drawer. 11" from floor to base of drawer.

Notes

The sifting bench was located in the same second floor room in the machine shop and laundry as the ball mill. It was used to sift sage that had been ground by the ball mill. A rectangular wire screen sieve located directly under the top of the sifter was agitated back and forth by a drive rod that converted the rotary motion of a water-powered line shaft to a reciprocating horizontal motion. Sage was loaded in the hopper above the sieve and the rate at which it was sifted was controlled by a sliding gate. A large drawer below the sieve collected the sifted sage and a chute at the end opposite the hopper discharged the refuse. On an undated leaf in a notebook, John S. Williams, Sr., listed "Objects of Interest at Hancock." Among the items was a sketch of the sifting bench. In October 1948, he listed the "Sifting bench 20.00" as one of several items he "Purchased at Hancock from the Shakers," and on an undated list of "Shaker Items paid for & to be Removed from Hancock, Mass," he noted that the sifting bench was removed on March 15, 1949.