Stone Cutting Manual Information required

[Guy Aerts <aerts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Great Site.... I have a few questions but first a
preamble to let you know where I am coming from. I have
a background in geology, I am looking at cutting some
rock on our property here in Nova Scotia. We have a
plethora of large boulders, mostly granite & gneiss The
stone will be used at first for construction and
landscaping. I hope as I become more proficent ... I
will try my hand at craving/sculpting.

My questions are in regard to cutting and shaping the
rock. Specifically in "cleaving" a rock using drilled
holes and utilizing pins pounded in to shear an even
face. What distances should be used between the drill
holes? How deep in relation to the size of the rock
should these holes be?

I have helped a friend renovate his 150+ year old barn
and noticed that the foundation rocks were cut in this
fashion. The rocks for the foundation were granite, with
a large grain structure. The cuts produced were realivly
flat and even. I would prefer to utilize old fashioned
techniques that do not depend on Pneumatic or hydraulic
equipment. does anyone have any experience in cutiing
rock in this manner? Could anyone give me some pointers
to avoid the long learning curve I am anticipating? Are
there any books on the subject?

Any assistance with any of these queries would be of
great help.

Thnx
Guy Aerts