Hand splitting and sculpting large plinth stones for timber frame foundation
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- Опубликовано: 19 апр 2022
- We found a great deal on some old RR bridge stones put in back in the WPA days under Roosevelt. These things are massive, weighing around 1Ton each, and needed to be broken up before being movable.
A cape chisel and wedges made the splits then a stone hammer and some chisels to clean them up and give a more natural shape.
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Hot dog!!!! It appears Mr. Chickadee is starting another series on building a structure from foundation to finish. You’re the absolute best at these videos Mr. Chickadee. Can’t wait for the next videos showing the progress of the build.
Hope so. Always enjoy his content.
There's something so satisfying hearing that note change as the rock splits. Lovely work as always.☺☺
Can you show us an update on your Hobbit cellar? is it working well and not leaking?
Second this request
Everything always seems so serene when you work. The sounds of nature combined with the sounds of simple hand tools is so relaxing. It is always a pleasure to watch and learn.
I'm interested to see what you build next. They're always real lookers :)
Me too!
We all are, Dorian. We all are.
Thanks Dorian!
Me three!
That's why I'm subscribed to you both!
I find this so interesting. My brother was a bricklayer and he really enjoyed working with real stone. So much construction today is done with cultured stone as its roughly half the cost up here. So those few jobs he got that involved real stone were special, and they turned out beautiful. It caused me to admire what our ancestors achieved even more since they had none of our modern tools or machinery. I learn so much watching you that I really appreciate it when you post a new video. Your skill, methods, patience and the resulting projects are amazing.
You'd make watching paint dry interesting... HA! Man, you have patience!!!
My sister grew up to be a very fine cook but cooks are made and their early attempts are not always successful. Dinner one night when I was a lad was a savory beef stew over split biscuits. My sister Pat made the biscuits which were handsome and browned just right - but hard as that stone you were working. I remember my dad attempting to split one trying to make it look effortless but it was clear his table knife was a frail tool for the job. He could have better have used your chisel and wedges - which fetched this recollection..
Pat tried to hold it in and I, cruel brother, for once kept my mouth shut as dad hewed away at his flint buscuit. The storm broke, Pat ran sobbing to her room with Mom following. Dad and I looked at each other stifling our giggles. Ever after, post holes, knotty firewood rounds, anything immune to cutting tools were "like Pat's biscuits" which was unfair because 60 years of subsequent biscuits were delectable and soft. Every family has events that become legend but this one had to be passed on out of Pat's hearing or face a sinkful of dirty dishes.
Thank you, Josh, for bringing that to mind.
Those aren't mere foundation piers; they rival the Sarsen Stones of Stonehenge. Just out of curiosity, what are you building? Two storeys, three? A water tower?
How'd you get them home? In my younger days, I'd have dribbled them two at a time like so many basketballs but I suppose the puny modern generation has to employ more laborious methods.
Great story, I just cant help thinking, I can only imagine she neglected the baking powder? I used to make ships bisquits like that, basically just cracker recipe without any rising agent, good for breaking out teeth, but great travel food.
The reality of these stones delivery is less than epic. I simply paid a neighbor who does "dirt work" to haul them and dump at my place. Spent way more in the hauling fee than the rock...they have laid in a roadside hollow for 30+ years, one had a small tree growing atop it. The old man was happy to get rid of them, for a tiny fee.
Great to see another episode! Every time I see a chickadee at my bird feeder, I think of you!
Feathers and wedges are fun, but take a lot of patient work. First time I have seen them used on 2 sides of a cube-shaped rock.
Stone weighs 4K-5K per cubic yard, so those are real groaners!
That's like 2.5 metric tons or so.
Just wedges used here no feathers. Feathers and wedges require a round drilled hole to be used.
@@dicksargent3582 Thats what I was going to say. What is the name of the knife-like chisel he was using to cut the slots for these wedges though?
Ah yes, the best gift I could get for my birthday today - A video from Mr Chickadee!
I would probably have a stroke doing this but modern Tom Sawyer here makes me want to take a whack at those chisels like Hercules? Lol Truly a master craftsperson.
I cannot properly express how much I find this such a great stress reliever, to listen to nature and you working while I slave away at my 9-5. You are living the dream!
Thanks Mr Chickadee!
Love the giant square! Brings out my hillbilly ingenuity
I’m convinced you’re primary skill set is not woodworking but or stonework, it’s patience and persistence.
so amazing, really shows the elegance and power of dedicated craftsmanship
A new more advance and sophisticated Stonehenge. That is the new project.
Ahhhh, another temple to high quality construction being built. I already feel more inspired.
I will argue that the side wedges are probably not necessary but certainly don’t hurt anything by being there. Especially with such a narrow span to break open. Always enjoy your videos sir! Thank you!
just trying to be careful, dont want a runaway crack to destroy these beauties.
Nice to see another project take shape
Seeing the "split" starting is so satisfying to watch!
You sir have the patience of Job.
I admire your patience. I would’ve been cursing to the heavens when working in that tight area between the two stones.
i was haha
This never gets old. Fantastic stone work Josh, Thanks for sharing with us. Your work is really great to watch. Stay safe and keep up the fun you all have. Fred.
That is some eminently workable stone.
Looks like a new house build coming up for us to watch. Maybe shown with the students he teaches?
Thanks for this Video Mr. Chickadee!
I'm stoked! Can't wait to see this one go up!
Nice to have you back.
You make this look way to easy, wish the done here worked that well.
He is a man on a mission!!❗❗
Thank you Mr. Chickadee for your contemplations.
Solid as rock brilliant work Josh
Always a pleasure to watch you work Mr C. Regards Jim UK.
Awesome!
I’m so happy to see you back cracking rock!
👍🏼 Thanks! Splitting rock with the proper hand tools is extremely satisfying! (Yet I'd hate to do it very often or very much!) 😎✌🏼
true
Patience, constance, and skills, you are awesome!
I really admire how you repurpose those big stones, using only the most basic tools, and look forward to your future projects' videos.
Another beautiful functional building in the making!
cool work. I'm very excited to see the whole project go up! Semper.
Missed your work. Glad you're back
Dear Mr. Chickadee.
👍👌👏 Oh WOW! Nice, nice, nice, a new video and a new building in progress (and that means more of those fantastic videos coming)! Very well done again and as always (video and work). Of course I'm eagerly looking forward to watch the next part.
Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing.
Best regards luck and health to all of you.
Thanks for the content!
Great job as always. It is great watching someone work so skillfully with hand tools.
Amazing, as always love your work
Great info!
We have quite a few rock homes and buildings in our county seat of Galena and what a great piece of history and craftsmanship .
So satisfying when the wedges stop ringing. 💪
I envy your hard work and patience!
I always look forward to your videos.
Looks like the start of another great build
Dear Sir,
Very interesting sound track. The blokes of Mogwai would like it!
Cheers from Brazil!
Always great videos! Fun to learn new things!
Enjoyed the show
Glad to hear from you
Oh my days. He's doing it again
Thank you so much !!!
That was awesome
Fascinating. I've seen stone split using star drills (which make round holes) and wedges with drifts before, but this method of using a chisel to make slit-shaped holes and then using only wedges is a new one on me. I only wish there were subtitles or a narrative to give a little more information.
New workshop?? Love it already 😤
Nice job man....as usual.
I thought that would take 48 years but you did it quick.
Looking forward to this unfolding!
Cant wait to see what it turns into
Good morning, Mr. Chickadee !
Always a pleasure to see you. There must be great satisfaction in seeing the beginning fissure in the rock. The sound that tells you that you can lay your hammer down very soon. Very much looking forward to your project.
Best regards to you and your family.
Always a pleasure to watch a skilled craftsmen at his craft…or should I say multi-crafted…this man cannot do no wrong…he is a master at whatever he does…thank you 😎
Great video! I love the hat!
There's actually tranquility from the sound of a hammer hitting steel out in the peaceful nature
Mr. Chickadee makes me want to go out and find a big rock to split!!!!!!!!
Bạn nên làm nhiều video về chặt cây,xẻ gỗ và chế tát công cụ làm mộc. Theo tôi nghĩ kênh của bạn sẽ phát triển hơn.Đó là ý kiến riêng của mình. Chúc sức khỏe bình an.
Смотрю на то, как этот парень трудится и у меня умиротворение. Спокойно без суеты и всё по делу!
Молодец. Дай ему Бог здоровья!
Pretty soft rock.
Pretty impressive work, dude! Just fantastic! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Ένα μεγάλο ευχαριστώ για την γνώση που μας προσφέρεις!
Turning big rocks into small rocks!
I’ve been obsessed with splitting stone. We have some land on the South Elkhorn creek here in Ky that has a lot of nice limestone.
Beautifully done!...I'm in New England, wish granite could be worked like that
In researching this splitting technique with cape chisel, I found documents from your area showing granite worked in this same way, albeit slower.
@@MrChickadee Interesting, living on Cape Ann, most old cut granite shows signs of star drill with feathers and wedges. Thanks for the reply
You make that look so easy. Most of the quarries here in Washington state produce granite or basalt. There is one quarry that produces sandstone (used to build the state capitol building). I recently built a stone retaining wall using local granite from the Columbia Granite Quarry in Ranier. Heavy stuff! I believe it is 160 lbs/ cubic ft. I tried both feathers/wedges and wedges only. Mixed results. Would have loved to get the sandstone but the quarry not in operation. I still enjoyed the work and the challenge.
Can't wait to see what this build will be!! Curious, how did you move the stones to their foundation points?
Been to long the vet bro, I've been trying to work on getting my rabbets 90 today n love watching n listening to ya as I work, stay safe brother
That sandstone really cracks nicely.
Excellente 🥳🥳🥳
These stone-splitting vids are breathtaking. If I didn’t like the sound of hammer on wedges so much I certainly would recommend “Time is on my Side” from the Stones for this one, just because it fit’s so well. But nit in your vids Josh. They’re extra beautiful because of the sound of handtools. Great work once again! Curious what this one turns out to become…
You rock...
As always, love the videos and craftsmanship! Wonder if you'd show how you move those stones with such precision?!
I hope we get to see the frame go up as well.
There is something very recognizable about the stone in the Appalachian mountains. Never been to this channel. Don't know who you are. I've lived on the west coast for more than 15 years. Those are stones from the Appalachian mountains if I ever did see them.
Great video as always. I wish you'd included the closed caption explanations this time though.
Seeing all the plinths lined up immediately made me think, "Sandstone Henge".
Strange. I was just researching WPA projects earlier this morning. Everything really is connected.
That was some ancient stones, pillars..
Great work...and before anyone says "see the Egyptians could have built the pyramids like this" remember that they were working with granite and supposedly only had copper tools. They also still had to move the 100+ tonne blocks sometimes miles from the quarry.
They also did it with tolerances as tight as 1/1000th of an inch and surfaces finished so smooth they still reflect like mirrors many thousands of years later
Look at Mike Haduck's videos on how the Egyptians did it. Easier than you think even with hard stone. The pyramid blocks were mostly rough fill and the final stones on the slope were finished in place. You can still see unfinished blocks in the process of being shaped to slope. He shows you.
Rock on, cheers from da ROCK!
A fun method to experiment with is splitting using wood. You make a few holes along the split line, then pound in some bone dry softwood dowels (they should be as tight fitting as possible). Then soak them to make the wood expand, it takes 1-2 days but the wood will expand enough to split the rock. The Egyptians used this method for quarrying, but it works on smaller scales too. Not as fast as this method on smaller rocks, but it's certainly an interesting experiment.
I find your method of splitting stone interesting. I've never tried using just wedges. That's the old way before the 1840s when they started using star drills, "feathers" and "wedges."
oh lord hes building again!
Iron feathers will significantly reduce wear on your wedges and make splitting go faster.
this method uses no feathers
Thanks for the tip, hakujin!
JIM
Cool, good video! This is just like the pyramids in Egypt, we know where the stone was harvested and we know where it ended up, but the mystery is how it was moved into place.
Oh look, an ancient alien at work!
great news
It's been a while since I saw one of your videos. I am still in awe over how you work. I do have a question. As you were tapping the wedges into the stone I seemed to hear a high pitch hit and every once in a while more of a thump sound. Is this due to the density of the stone area you are going through? Finally I want to wish you, your Dad, your family and friends continued health and happiness. May God continue to watch over all of you.
Try using some large wooden wedges driven UNDER both sides of the stones to lift the weight up. Then you can balance it on a beam of timber, use gravity to assist. But nice work I admire your ethic. One can see a sizable new structure arising.