Splitting Granite with hand tools
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- Опубліковано 5 сер 2024
- A disaster video I ended up sharing anyway. Just to show that persistence is important, and one other thing.....
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Do you feel the urge to hit the dislike button, please leave a comment so I might learn something.
Thanks & Have a great day!
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Hello. Sorry for my bad English. Wanted to write a comment because I've done a lot of work splitting round stones. I would advise you to use a heavy hammer with a long handle weighing 5-6 kg for this work. This hammer should be sharp on one end, and should be similar to the hammer you used, but much heavier. When you start striking the stone with such a hammer, as if you were chopping wood, 4 to 7 hits will be enough for you and the stone will split into pieces. And even before working with a round stone, it is worth paying attention to the fact that such stones can often be seen with veins or fibers like wood, and if you strike with a hammer along the length, the stone splits much easier.
Great advice 👍 I’m taking notes.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
I have looked for a video on how to get smoother retaining wall face. You’ve answered my question. Thanks!
Glad you liked it 🙏
I used to work as a stone fabricator so I know the amount of work that takes. There's obviously easier ways to split it, but you did a great job showing how even with basic hand tools it's possible to split an incredibly hard piece of stone. Gives you an appreciation for the people who had to do it this way back in the day.
Thanks for viewing and commenting. You are are absolutely right about everything, there is way more efficient ways to go about it, maybe even successful ways, even though I do believe it was a “faulty” stone.
My videos are about my journey down the path of masonry, and like you said it gives you a greater appreciation to the men and women who did and still do this for a living.
@@workingstoned Observe and learn what you can from a "failed" piece, in time the fault lines in natural stone become more obvious and you will learn to work around it and/or incorporate that in your work. Not every piece of stone will work for what you want to do would be my biggest advice. Sometimes being able to see that before you start can save a lot of frustration and time.. but then again we all fucked up a few learning 😂 Just keep at it, takes time and patience
Yes! I admire the workers. Of course they knew nothing more effective or simpler.
I’ve never attempted to cut a lump of granite and this video showed me why I probably never will but hats off to you for the patience and persistence 👍🏻
Keep in mind, it not a demonstration of efficacy, it’s a reminder to always check your battery level 👍
Haha yeh not cutting rocks anytime soon
This is the first video of yours that I have seen, and this happens. Still, I was really noticing your persistence and patience. It was sublime. So, I'm happy!
Well it’s not the first time failing, it might be the first one camera 😀 Thanks for watching 🙏
It's so impressive how the shockwaves travel to the camera
Haha yeah both impressive and annoying at the same time 😀
Good observation
When a round object receives force, the pressure is distributed over its surface. Perfect example.
Great knowledge 👍 Through trial and error I’ve come to know that splitting rounder stones it’s more predictable drilling and using wedges. But it’s not impossible to split by hand, just easier with smaller stones.
Thanks for commenting 🙏
@@workingstoned The knights invented this after the Crusades. Therefore, towers have round walls in shape. Projectiles and cannonballs then bounce off.
That was the effort needed with modern hard and sharp steel chisels, and only to split the stone, not shape and finish it!
So now try to do it with a wooden mallet and a soft copper chisel. I don't see a rush to do it the "old" way!!!
And they try to tell us the Egyptians built the pyramids with copper chisels????
Well to be honest I used carbide tools, superior to steel tools, but you are right, makes you wonder how ancient buildings were made. But you are absolutely able to drill granite with copper tubes, and with holes you are able to split with wedges. Maybe that’s a possibility.
If you have a video of drilling granite with a copper tube, I would very much like to see it. Otherwise, please do a demonstration or refer me to any video you know of that’s out there already. Thank you much for the video. Take care. An old foundation driller.
instagram.com/tv/CRHfHoqprOc/?igsh=cmZ3M2Zjbmp0YzJx
Here is a video from a very talented mason who experimented with drilling with a copper tube.
Working Stoned alright! hehe... Took forever, forgot about things... Anyway, I enjoyed the video all the same gave it a thumbs up and binged on your other vids. Cheers Mate
Great spirit 🤙 Welcome to the channel and thanks for viewing.
I don’t think the pyramids were built in this manner. Nevertheless your work is excellent.
Haha yeah if that was the case they would still be building it now. Thanks for watching 🙏
You're correct. Wasn't granite, perhaps sandstone.
How do you utilize those two pieces once split. Are the flat sides to be faced outward when building a wall or are they faced inward so the round part is showing?
Usually, when I split using hand tracer I usually go for the flat side to show or be the face. When splitting with feathers and wedges is tend to hide the drill marks by having the face “inwards”.
That's a Chonky piece!
I've been looking for a large piece of granite to use as an anvil stone for knapping, but no luck yet.
Love these videos, by the way. There's something soothing about hearing stone being worked. 🤙
Haha yes, my lawn is full of them, the entire region of were I’m from is known for being “polluted” with rocks and boulders, to the degree it drove old farmers crazy clearing the fields. But we are left with a tradition to build dry stone walls and they got very good at it.
Are you going to use the stone as the anvil or just the base for it?
Thanks for your viewing my videos and your comment. Have a great day 👍
@@workingstoned Yeah, my Garden is full of Basalt cobbles and big pieces of slate. The Basalt cobbles were added by the previous tenants though. The land my house is on used to be an old Gypsum/Chalk quarry I think.
And as an Anvil for breaking preforms off of Obsidian or Chert for knapping. Basalt works, but the one I'm using is pretty small. Granite would be much better.
I have a creek full of stones. Trying to learn how to cut so I can use in my landscape and garden.
Great starting material 👍
One easy way to get into the craft is to get a sledgehammer and wack the stones, most stones have a sweet spot or if you see a weak spot. If you are willing to invest a little, you can get a set of tools, a hand tracer and a hammer will go a very long way 👍
I hope my videos are able to inspire you to try it out and explore the wonderful world of stones.
do you use downward pressure whit your holding hand while striking or just line it up, I'm not having luck.
No pressure, you need to hold it steady, It feels like hands and wrists absorb to much of the striking force if you grip it to tight.
All stones are not created equal, but you should be able to split most of them. Sometimes it just seems like an impossible task. There is a reason for every comment I get, where ppl are telling me to drill holes and split it with wedges. Splitting with a tracer is time consuming and not always successful.
But once it splits, buddy, that feeling is priceless 👍
Try to trace a line around to stone (if possible) and just work that SOB.
Thanks for commenting and viewing!
@@workingstoned I can say that getting a nice line where you dont crumble up the surounding surface area is key, you want the narrowest trouff posible so you get more wedging force.
You are absolutely right 👍
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been wondering how that technique would work with a large granite rock.
I was hesitant, but didn’t want the experiment to go to waste. I’m glad you found it useful anyway 🙏
Seems like it took far longer than I would hope to invest. How long did it take to finally break it?
First off, this is not the fastest most efficient way to split stone, If I would have used feather and wedges it would have taken approx 1 min per hole, my guess I would have drilled 3-4 holes so a total of around 10 minutes in total with prep work and all. In this case the stone split just when the camera died so around 15-18 minutes. I want to demonstrate that you are able to split quite big boulder with only the force of your hands and arms. But like I said if you want efficient work, drill and use wedges. Thanks for watching!
It took fifteen minutes to split, but that stone will be there for three-hundred years...
Facts!
I'm at home right now trying the same thing on a rock half this size, and I'm struggling to keep swinging the hammer. This guy is Flippin herculean in his stamina and dexterity.
Just keep hammering 👍 Thanks for watching
I started out years ago as an apprentice tin Smith, nowadays we're called "sheet metal mechanics", but the first few weeks of swinging a hammer every day was rough, couple mornings I woke up and couldn't even open my hand.
But after years of doing it you build up the endurance and the muscles and you can go for days swinging. Just takes time, patience, practice. You won't build those muscles at the gym, either.
@@leeknivek You do build up endurance over time, finding a hammer/mallet that fits you is another great way to keep up. Great story and thanks for viewing and commenting.
How much time did it take overall?
If you drink a little pickle juice, that helps with the after effects. Learned that from a friend, who learned it from his Mom. Take care.
1056 hammer blows or a few rounds with tracer chisel and 4 ish drilled holes for feather and wedges?
This is not about speed or efficiency. It’s a simple demo of what you are able to accomplish without electric tools.
Happy new Year :) this one is me going on expedition too haha
Sounds awesome 👏 Happy new year to you.
OMY! So after the camera stopped how long did this take? Kinda left me hanging 👍🏽
Just a few minutes 😱 Sorry for disappointing you, thanks for watching
@@workingstonedI’ll get over it
Hi what's that tool called? The one that is not a hummer
Hi! that would be a Hand tracer, the hammer version of that tool, also used in the video usually go by stone buster.
How do you fight hands pain then?
Don’t fight it, embrace it 🤙
Great video
I have a small piece from a countertop 1.5 inch thick.
It's small 40x20 cm
I wan to break it in half so it it's two separate pieces and am not concerned about the cut being straight.
For now I only have a small hammer, can I do it?
Will it break in half only using the hammer?
The hammer has a round side, and the other side is flat and mildly sharp like this emoji 🔨
Hi!
this is a real tough question to answer. If you are looking for a “sharp” cut in half I would actually go with an angle grinder and a diamond disc, and after you can chisel a live edge to it.
@@workingstoned
Am in no way concerned about the final shape, I just want it to be smaller so I can use it a punch board for my leather craft projects
If it’s granite I would trace a line down the middle of the stone a few times with a chisel, then flip the stone over and wack it where you traced the line with a hammer/mallet.
where can i get tools like that
Depending on where you live, I think the 3 places I recommend do ship internationally you might want to keep it domestic due to the weight of the tools.
US trowandholden.com
EU rockandtools.com/en/
Sweden www.stenverktyg.se
Hopefully you’ll find everything you need 👍
can you do the samething with only bronze or copper tools? i enjoyed the video, thanx man
I haven’t tried copper tools, and I don’t have access to them. But I’ve seen a mason who drilled holes “by hand” with a copper pipe, that looked really interesting. I’ll research it and see if I can get my hand on some tools 👍
So you are making this man suffer with soft copper tools, lol just kidding
Prbly wouldn't take so long if you had rolled the stone over and continued the hammering
Probably, but not 100% sure in this case 👍
думаю, для инструмента износ неоправданный, легче использовать клинья, а chisel для уже расколотых камней для придания им формы
Might be true. I wouldn’t do this with steel tools, but since I got carbide tip, I felt the urge to try their limit. It worked, yes, would I do this again, probably not. But you learn as you go.
is it possible to make such round pieces into square like bricks ?
Hi! It’s not impossible, with some planning and a stone that is willing to play along it quite possible. The stone in this video would be a pain since it split very wonky.
Thank for watching 🙏
@@workingstoned Okay that's interesting. I am asking because where I am from there are no granit quarries where you could source locally big blocks of something like granite and I see people mostly working with such material on youtube, which I can't get. But it's possible to source plenty of fieldstones about the size as in video or larger so was wondering how workable are round stones. Thanks for answer
If you start out with a big enough stone you should be able to cut it into a square type shape, you will end up with a bit of “junk pieces” but you can utilize those to for other purposes. Check out my newer videos, there you can see me cut a big boulder into slices that I later cut into squares.
I have a lot full of submerged basalt boulders. Can't imagine using this technique to split them. Here is a man with a lot of time on his hands.
My days are as long as anyone else’s, but I’m not hanging around youtube wasting it, I’m splitting rocks when I do have time to do so. So get off you behind and get to work. Plus I’m not sure basalt act like granite therefore this technique might not work. Good luck!
I went out and bought a Bosch heavy duty hammer drill so while you are splitting rocks the old fashioned way I am done and relaxing.@@workingstoned
Good for you 👍
Feel like I'm watching an episode of the Flinstones@@workingstoned
Cut it is one thing, id like to see you doing a sculpture with hand tools
I’ve carved a little bit, but masons who sculptures Is a different breed, I’ve got huge respect for the craft, it looks tough even with pneumatic tools. I got a short video preview of a heart I carved for a tombstone I made for a pet.
Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh ! At least we got to see the end result.
I’m still fuming 😤
watching this is better than watching porn
I bet it is 👍
You're referring to......rocks?
You're so mad? Not as mad as me.
Yeah it’s a trigger, I should put up a warning. Sorry for the minutes you won’t ever get back 🙏
Have you thought about a heavy stroke pnuematic hammer? I work with field stone retaining walls and it makes the work a joy. Takes 2 mins to split a stone about that size. Much bigger than it's best to go with feather and wedge.
Well I know there is pneumatic hammers and other heavy equipment for breaking up stones/boulders and I sure do know it would be the easy route to use feather and wedges But! That’s not what I’m going for. I do this as a hobby, to learn the craft and find peace of mind, my form of relaxing. Plus I’m going for a certain look, drill holes/marks also take time to remove, if you want, some like the drill marks.
But thanks for the heads up and If you got any other tip I’m all ears.
Have a nice day!
@@workingstoned Got ya boss. If it's for chillin' then why have all the noise of a compressor when you you could play some tunes.
I would like to try it out, but it’s not an investment I’m willing to make, since I don’t do it for a living.
What the hell? “My camera died.” Get another rock dummy and charge your battery.
hahaha
Hello, can you please send me the size of your chisel?
That’s a 2” (~51mm) blade
I always used 16 and 12 lb. stone hammers for large stones. 😊
Yeah you do benefit from a larger hammer 👍
you should've turn the rock around and chiseled the other side.would've taken half the time and a cleaner cut
You might be right, but there were some faults in the stone that made it more crackle than split clean so not completely sure it would have made that big of a difference.
This reminds me how theres no way the ancient egyptians and ancient ppl of india couldnt have possibly used hand tools
So what do you suggest?
The Egyptians inherited and worshiped those sites, not unlike our civilization has.
Expensive toys but it looks fun
Don’t need to be expensive. Just grab a hammer and wack a stone and see what happens.
@@workingstoned I might try to make a chisel from some garage steel I have. I want to smash some flat faces on rocks and figure out how to make then sit together decent
Do It! I would love to be able to craft my own tools. Like I said, you don’t need fancy carbide chisels, steel tools work great, they just need maintenance more often.
A few moments later...
Haha 😆
This video is like porn you don’t pay for, it’s just a tease…
Yeah sorry for that.
❤
You're kidding me right?
I want my 18 minutes back!
where's the
#moneyshotnot
Sorry, no refund. I’ll put a trigger warning on the next failed split.
Красивый камень . Может Вас заинтересует видео как "понять" камень для колки.
Автор сравнивает камни с цветом волос и характером женщин. Интересно. You may be interested in a video on how to "understand" a stone for chopping.
The author compares the stones with the hair color and character of women. Interesting.
ua-cam.com/video/yJd5jodMhtw/v-deo.html Как читать камень часть 1.
ua-cam.com/video/Wfe4Nrgch2Q/v-deo.html Читать камень часть 2.
Amazing videos, well spent time 🙏
You know it’s wake & bake for me when iv jus sat thru a whole video about a guy playing with a rock😂🙄
You damn right buddy 👍
@@workingstoned 🤷🏼♂️ 😬
I spent a good 45 minutes watching a man teaching me how to use a string the right way, well spent 45 min i my opinion, high or not 🙏
@@workingstoned the little things in life huh
Y si metes tres punchotes?
That would have been a faster way, not sure if the results would have been better since the stone had faults.
the position of your body is critical, you never seem to be straight above the stone or directly inline with the cut, its very hard to get a true connection with your chisel if you're not in the right position and you chisel or splitting hammer is rarely at 90* to the stone, look how the splitting hammer is not hit squarely, its burs are all on 1 side, this is 1 reason you didnt get a clean cut, another is you didn't roll the stone over and cut from the other side,
better luck next time :)
Great lesson, thank you 🙏
You are right about the tracing around the stone, but in this case I’m not completely sure it would have helped, because the stone split in a few pieces instead of just split in half, so it had some “imperfections”.
I’m so glad I skipped 95% of this video.
Me to 👍
thanks for wasting everyone's time - camera went out.😢
you’re very welcome 🙏
Wtf?
WTF!
that sound was way too annoying
Wow first time i’ve heard that
Ancient Aliens had a bettet technique
Dude, modern Aliens got even better techniques
Disappointed
Yeah, same here
@@workingstoned Are you sure?
@@jatwangismyname900 Sure am, from now on I’ve learned to always check the battery before I start 🤦🏻♂️
Terrible ,why this video was uploaded....nobody knows...
Why you commented…. nobody knows….
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Don’t worry about it, I am.
@@workingstoned haha all good my man