Hi and a Boulder splitting question

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Jeff,
I'll add a few thoughts to the excellent advice from Ted.
Wash your stone and really look for a visible grain. If you see horizontal
layering, then you've lucked out! Looking at a clean , wet stone may reveal
grain or a fracture/stress line that can you have to take into account. A
line that you are splitting will stop at an existing fracture,,,, or follow
the old fracture in a direction you don't want to go. If you have a grain,
try to use it to your advantage.
With no visible grain or fractures, drill as deep as possible. Drilling all
the way through is the best way to control where the break goes. Drilling
all the way around the boulder may not be possible, so go as deep as
possible.
Scoring with a splitting chisel or hammer on the back side of a stone
sometimes helps the break stay on plane.
I just reread your note, and if you can encircle the stone, get enough
feathers and wedges to do do the job and go for it.
Ted's advice was great, especially on how the center mass of the stone can
effect where the pressure goes. If the bulk of the boulder is below your
line, then the break may want to rise to the top instead of going straight
through. So you need to do a special boulder ceremony with lots of chanting
and loud praying around a bonfire, on a full moon to ensure that all goes
well!
There is no way to know exactly how it will turn out, so go for it and have
some fun while your at it.
Don't worry about splitting horizontally. The weight of the top half is not
going to make any difference to the pressure from the wedges.
Good luck
George Graham