Roughing out the face of Theodore Roosevelt. The strong chin and the mouth are already visible. The mass of stone at the top will be carved away to form the mustache.
The work of fitting the figures into the cracked granite upthrust called Mt. Rushmore has been a constant struggle between composition and finding solid stone for each of the four heads.
Close-up of Lincoln. Note the shafts of granite in the eyes of Lincoln. The light reflected by these shafts gives the eyes their lifelike glint when seen from a distance.
In the first design Jefferson was placed at the right of Washington and Lincoln on his left, and Theodore Roosevelt occupied the position now occupied by Lincoln. However serious flaws developed in the stone on this side of Washington; and it therefore became necessary to change our design and place Jefferson to Washington’s left. This made it necessary to place Theodore Roosevelt between Jefferson and Lincoln, and the stone had to be removed to a depth of approximately 120 feet from the original surface to get back far enough for the Roosevelt face. The heads were finally relegated to their approximate position (being moved several times as new conditions of the stone developed), that is they were tilted or dropped or made to look more to the right or left as the case might have been, to meet the composition or avoid flaws in the stone. This movement being made simply by moving the respective heads on the model and cutting the stone accordingly. It was not possible to fit the heads so that they would be entirely free from fissures, but it was possible to place them so that none of these fissures would be unsupported from below and that removes the danger of some vital part dropping off. As each head was started its center was located, and at this center point on the top of the head a plate was located. This was graduated in degrees 0 to 360 degrees, and at its center a horizontal arm was located that traversed this horizontal are. This arm was about 30 feet long, in effect a giant protractor laid on top of the head. The arm was graduated in feet and inches so that at any point we could drop a plumb bob from this arm, and by measuring the vertical distance on this plumb line determine exactly the amount of stone to be removed. After determining this master center point on the mountain, we set a smaller arc and arm on our model in the same relative position. With this small device we would make all our measurements on our model and then enlarge them twelve times and transfer them to the large measuring device on the mountain. Thru this system every face had a measurement made every six inches both vertically and horizontally. These measurements were then painted on the stone and it was thru this means that men totally unfamiliar with sculptural form were able to do this undertaking. In fact all the men employed on the work were local men trained by the sculptor.
Pneumatic drills are used for drilling and the compressed air is provided by large compressors located on the ground and driven by electricity. The air is forced or conveyed to the top of the mountain by a 3″ pipe and then by the use of smaller pipes and rubber hoses is conveyed to the drills.
Over 400,000 tons of granite have been removed from the mountain in carving the figures, at a total expense of slightly more than $900,000. This includes all building, stairways and machinery.
Workmen putting the finishing touches on the strong face of the Rough-rider President.
The men are let down over the face of the stone in leather swings similar to bos’n chairs used on ships. These swings are fastened on to ⅜″ steel cables which are in turn fastened on to winches located on the top of the heads. These winches are operated by hand. There are about seven winches on the top of each head. The men are lowered to their place of work by these winches, taking with them their jackhammers or pneumatic tools and other necessary equipment. One man is located in a position where he can see all the men at work, and is “The Callboy,” and has a microphone with a loud speaker at each of the winches and when any of the men working in the swings wants to be raised or lowered they signal this call-boy and he relays the message thru the loud speakers to the winchman. He also keeps the workmen supplied with new drills as they need them, by relaying their requests to the steelman who carries the steel to the men in the swings as it is needed. This steel is used over and over again; as it is dulled it is taken to the blacksmith shop on the ground via the cable car, heated, sharpened, re-heated and tempered and sent back to the mountain again. About 400 of these drills are dulled each day. They drill on an average about four feet before being sharpened. In some places the stone is so hard they will only last or drill about six inches and in other places they will last seven or eight feet before being re-sharpened.