hand facer

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Bill,
I worked in a monument shop that had a lot of old equipment. Tucked back in
a corner was a monster called a surfacer. It was a air hammer that had
hardware attached to the body so it could be bolted to a rail . There were
wheels  involved so the hammer could be manually pushed up and down the
length of the rail, and not knock its self off. It took 4 point bush
chisels, with a 1" shank. The object was to position a rough block of
granite under the rail, which pivoted on a vertical post. Then adjust the
height of the rail so the chisel made contact, turn on the air all the way
and hang on for dear life! Its difficult to describe  how much noise and
dust this tool made as it bushed, beat and battered down the surface of a
stone. I used this for 2 days, and then told the boss the hammer was "worn
out" and we would have to use diamond blades to cut down surfaces. Aww, what
a shame!

Do your self a favor and use a sintered diamond blade in a grinder, cut
parallel lines, and break off the free standing stone until  you are very
close to the final surface you desire. After you have done as much as
possible with the diamond blade, use a 1" air hammer with 1/2" shank bushing
chisels to level off all you can, getting as close as possible to the
finished surface. If you want a smoother finish, go back to the grinder with
a sintered diamond flat grinding wheel,(course) and keep leveling and
cleaning up .

Take advantage of the modern tools we have today, they are easier and
faster. Don't make a hard job harder! There is a good reason why the
"monster" was in the corner, nobody could stand it for very long.
Good carving to you
George Graham