where to buy feathers and wedges

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

HI all,
I looked at the boulder splitting pictures and thought that the quality of
the break was due to the deep holes that were all drilled on the same plane.
The old rule of thumb is that the deeper the holes, the more accurate the
break.
I've always liked to encourage the break by scoring a line between the shims
and wedges with my hand tracer and a 3lb hammer, and then tighten up the
wedges. Then you can rescore the line while you give the wedges some time to
do their work.
For small breaks I like to put a steel bar under the stone to focus the
pressure , its the same idea as the upside down angel iron.
If you can roll the stone over and score the line across the bottom first ,
then when you roll the stone back for drilling , you can position a bar
under the stone, in the scored line.
I consider scoring the line with hammer and chisel to be comparable to
girdling the stone with a deep saw cut.  Either way, it improves the break.
Whenever I've split a block or slab that had a good flat bottom I always put
3 2x4's underneath. The middle board goes under the break, and the outside
boards were moved close to the ends. Then I would pick up one end enough to
put a one inch hand point under the break , between the stone and the board,
one for each side. I did not need a bar going all the way under , just the
chisels to put the pressure at each end of the break. Then when the stone is
broken you have the pieces held off the floor to avoid chips and scratches,
and it easy to get a strap under the stone to pick it up.
When working with very reliable slabs of Barre granite, which splits easily
if you are working with the grain, ( god help you if the grain is against
you ) I'm used this method to split 12" sawed slabs with out drilling. I
used the hand tracer and a 3lb hammer. The great weight of the stone puts so
much pressure on the chisels underneath, that by the third time across, it
falls. I used to get paid to do this stuff, but I'd do just for the fun of
it if I could!
Good breaking to all,
George Graham
http://www.grahamsculpturestudio.com