# Working with stone



## Kniggit (Apr 11, 2013)

How do you cut your stone? I lay quite a bit of this stuff, its fairly soft and a saw will cut it fairly quick. Can't have a sawn edge on the corners so I have to cut them with a hammer, occasionally using a toothed chisel to flatten tough spots...how do you hide the tool marks?









The other rock in the first post of my picture thread I also lay a lot of, it's a lot harder than the stuff above, takes a long time for the saw to get through it. Its a type of sandstone that has layers in it that like to break in spots they're not sposed to break in. Squaring up corners also leaves hammer marks. Is there some type of magic rock cutter that I am not aware of, that will chop a square corner that doesn't have a thousand hammer marks?


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

That stuff looks like it' would be easy to make corners out of. Do you have a carbide tracer?


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## bytor (Jan 23, 2010)

Yup... what CJKarl said... put down the saw and get yourself use a hammer and chisel.

Sharp blows from top and bottom which should, with that particular stone, cleave fairly decent size pieces from the stone, minimizing the need to work the 'face' of the stone.


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## 6stringmason (May 20, 2005)

I agree. Get a nice carbide tracer and you should be able to make nice corners.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

You would need a handset as well.


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

Basic stone tools. All carbide.

2"-3" set
2"-3" tracer
1" chisel
2-3 lb striking hammer


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

If you goto Trow and holden they have all kinds of videos on youtube how to use their chisels.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

but to answer your question, I usually keep a speed square or even a framing square around to make a nice corner. "set" the top and bottom and then walk the line to make the corner.


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## artisanstone (Nov 27, 2007)

This stone looks like a pretty soft limestone. If so, this is how I would approach it, assuming you needed to move at a production rate.

On a bigger wall, pick your corners out of the available stock, and cut your fill pieces next to them. If you're more comfortable with the saw to cut with, then you only need to beat up the outer arris of the cut to match.

On columns, or any tight place that isn't practical to treat as above, I would set the corner in place dry to mark by the string line. Take it down and chisel cut to length, then recut at 90 deg. in parallel with the original face. (Hopefully that made sense)

With a real soft stone like that, a steel chisel will do better than carbide. Follow the technique above, but if you are taking off 1/3 or more, it is faster to trace the face and the two beds, turn the stone over and whack it from the back with a hammer. It should break cleanly at your trace lines.

With real hard stones things are much different and most of this advice would not apply. You just have to get to know your stone. 

Sorry for the book.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

artisanstone said:


> With a real soft stone like that, a steel chisel will do better than carbide.


I agree. I like steel better for brittle stone as well but that may be a psychological thing since i don't put the same force into the swing as i do when using carbide. 

For the most part though the difference between steel and carbide is just sharpening. The sandstone I've been using lately is hell on steel. I need to sharpen multiple times daily if I'm using steel tools. The carbide hasn't had to be sharpened yet


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## Kniggit (Apr 11, 2013)

Thanks for the feedback guys, I will get a tracer and see if it helps. I do most of my work with the hammer end of a 24 oz brick hammer, using the chisel end sparingly so I don't have to resharpen. I guess mostly I was wondering if there was an easier way than swing a hammer a hundred thousand times a day, like a larger version of the old fashioned brick cutters. Similar to this only in a little bit smaller, portable type way.





That stone in the video looks exactly the stuff I am trying find an easier way to cut. The soft stuff isn't near as frustrating.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Pic your corners first like what was mentioned. Order square recs if at all possible. Get some pimp trow and holden chisels. http://www.mason-contractor.com/tool-review/trow-holden-handset-review/


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## Kniggit (Apr 11, 2013)

I understand that but almost every rock isn't going to be a perfect 90° corner. Seems like there is always a little nub here or there that needs tweaked, but when I do that it will leave tool marks where the adjustment was made, is there a way to get rid of that?


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

A carbide chisel wont leave a mark if you break it off the stone clean. It only leaves a mark if you are chipping away at the face. Find some trow and holden videos or watch the one on that page I linked.


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

Use a pneumatic bush hammer or 1 1/2" chisel.

I'd whip out the Milwaukee US1 for that.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

I just watched the block shear video, and next job I get where I cant order square recs im buying that lol.


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## bytor (Jan 23, 2010)

I bought one of those a few years back... doesn't see much action, to be honest. Just easier/more convenient to use a hammer and tracer.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

If you can see chisel marks you're hitting the wrong part of the stone. A carbide tool allows you to use a chisel without having to resharpen all the time, and really your tool shouldn't be sharp to begin with. Sharp edges get dull quick (they also break off and hurt your hand or even get in your eye, I've had chunks of steel fly off, bounce off my cheek and almost get in my eye even with glasses on). A medium to medium blunt edge will take a long time to get duller which is one reason why a hand set works so well. You aren't cutting so much as pushing material off.

In essence, don't use your brick hammer to cut stone, use it to cut brick. If you like using the hammer rather than a chisel get one of these
http://miconproducts.com/finishing_hammer.html.

Trow and holden sell similar products


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## yourfriend (Aug 16, 2013)

If you have the rarest job where you want to be super finicky about removing tool
marks, hydrochloric acid or acetic acid in the lowest concentration possibly effective
will often do that. It works wonders on limestones and not infrequently on some sandstones
with calcium carbonate content. It turns the trick rapidly in many cases and the acid dangers 
are manageable by an aware caution.

A hydrofluoric straight or a mixture of that acid with hydrochloric will do wonders with straight silica sandstones but hydrofluoric is no joke whatsoever to work with:
http://web.utk.edu/~ehss/training/has.pdf

Also, do any of you use nonferrous mallets instead of hardened hammers on your chisels? Although it only happened once, a piece of ballistic spall from the head of a deformed chisel struck by a hardened hammer cut me significantly...but fortunately in a non-vital place. At least, this makes for good counsel to keep your chisels from developing mushroom heads which make that event more of a possibility. I grind all deformed flanges off my chisel when that becomes noticeable.

When any temptation arises to use a hammer to drive a hammer, this is a page to look at:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/17562/reader-says-mythbusters-missed-on-hammer-strikes


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## Fundi (Jan 5, 2009)

very useful comments. thanks


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