Wedges

[Tomas Lipps <tmlipps@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

a variation or two on Richard's technique:  (using leaf
spring wedges must be one of those ideas in the air, like
the typewriter which was supposedly invented simultaneously
in different parts of the world) I like to use a worm-drive
skil-saw with a seven and a half inch blade (with the
guide/guard plate removed), just drop it into the stone at
intervals on the line along which you want the stone to
split (be careful, if it binds it might jump out at you).
all around the stone, as Richard says, is best.  then hammer
in the wedges (mine have a silhouette like an ax blade,
hammered to a taper).

the deeper, wider saw cut gives you more (metal and stone)
to work with.  splitting a stone in half is more likely to
to be successful than splitting off an end.  shocking the
stone along the line between the saw cuts with a tracer
(wide chisel) can help.  a really savvy quarry gent told me
once that it's best to go slow when splitting a large stone;
that is to say, not to keep hammering until the stone
splits. he said he'd hammer the plugs into the feathers in
at the end of the day, get a nice even, high tone, then go
home.  when he'd come to work the next morning, the stone
would be split.

keep well and keep up the good work,

Tomas