2 granite carving sequences

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Hey Bill,
The sites you gave show very well how granite is carved. After you saw
drill, split, and diamond saw as close as you can, a hammer and point do
most of the clean up. After that comes the airhammer you questioned. I've
got an old Trow and Holden catalog that shows large hand held hammers. The
tool is locked in so the carver just has to worry about carving. It is
basically a small demolition jackhammer. If you look into construction tool
suppliers, such as Grainger's and others, you will find all kinds of
heavyduty carbide tools for pneumatic air hammers and drills.
Most of the heavy hand granite work is no longer being done here. Most of it
is being done where the skill is high and the labor is cheap. The tools you
refer to are still made, but not many of them are not being used here.
The hardness of granite, and its toughness, require a much heavier and
powerful set of tools . If these tool were used on soft stone like marble,
you would end up with stunned and fractured junk. Granite forces you to use
the right tools, which make the process about the same as carving a similar
sized block of marble using marble tools.
Hope this helps
George Graham

Bill said,