roughing out

["Damon Ayer" <damonayer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

pitching tools are certainly one great method to remove large masses of
material. however they are not very effective without a flat surface to set
them against.

limestone is, relative to marble, granite, basalt, etc., very soft. it can
be actually cut, while much harder material, without saws, must be shattered
in order to remove it. with the harder stone shattering the stone with a
point or bush hammer works very well. but limestone can be cut readily with
sharp chisels. large amounts of material can be moved around this way. the
smaller the chisel size the greater the bits that can be leveraged off at a
time. investing in some good claw tools of various sizes and shapes is worth
it as they work on the principle of many very small chisel ends working
together.

essentially with limestone the idea is to either send shock waves through
the stone, with a pitcher or set, or to cut the material away. shattering
with a point is not as helpful. the other wonderful tool is a punch. this is
similar to a point except it has a very small chisel end instead.
experimenting with the stone one can remove large bits very quickly and
easily with a good hammer.

the other way is to drill and then use plugs and feathers. this is generally
for large bits, but can be used very effectively on either sawn stone or raw
quarried blocks. plugs and feathers are readily available from any masonry
supply company and require very little effort.

but also angle grinders for cutting, with a diamond wheel, or more creative
methods with a carborundum wheel.

much of this can be found in a variety of books. try "stonemasonry
detailing" by roy pepperell. lots of other interesting info in there as
well.

take care all.
damon