wedges

["wayne" <sleblanc@xxxxxxxx>]

One thing you have to remember about splitting stone is the "rift", all stone has a grain or direction to it, it is called the rift,  the easiest way to split is  with the grain, then across the grain, the hardest is against or with the rift, I forget.  If  you caress  or stroke a stone ( especially galicial till) you can actually "feel" the grain.  Also all stone freshly quarried , should be allowed to weather or season,  I let my blocks sit a year before shipping,  Some say this lets the moisture leave the rock??? I believe it relieves the internal stresses,  some stones cannot be worked unless they sit for a year, If not it actually developes cracks on its own. I find this to be true in young rocks (intrusives several million years old from the Whiteshell area of E Man and NW Ont. . thanks  wayne.