Hand Splitting a Step From a Larger Granite Block

[@infopubs]

So cool when the sound changed, and then it just sort of sighed and opened!

[@marciaboisvert9088]

Thank you very much. My great-grandfather was a “granite cutter” and you’ve given me a much better appreciation of the work.

[@JoeyBlogs007]

Fascinating. At 9:35 you can literally see the crack forming with each strike of the hammer.

[@lynnkhosla6277]

"Listening to the stone." I love that! Beautiful work, and a granite step to last for the ages.

[@esmeraldawetterwachs8655]

Wow! This was impressive, Albert! I love watching this 👏🏼😍

[@MrCybersnow]

The art of stonemasonry is such a hidden art! Thank you for showing such a cool craft!

[@sabbys7750]

That was so amazing to watch! It was so cool to see it just split by itself at the end. Great job!! Thank you for sharing!

[@meredithheath5272]

Very interesting video! Since I know nothing about rock splitting, I would have thought that the split happens as soon as you finish hammering, but that's not the case. You had to wait for the tension on the rock to be released! I was also surprised that you drilled first, but that's very much quicker than "carving out" the holes, then to place the wedges in after. And to use very thin drill bits, but you are trying to not make wider marks in the gorgeous stone. Well done! Every day's a school day!

[@jagriffin1]

Beautifully done!

[@piperleelee]

You are quite the stonemason. The house I grew up in had a granite stone foundation. I beleive the granite came out of the Quincy, MA quarry in the 19th century. The house was built in 1880.

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

I bought a painting at a fundraiser auction depicting a quarry in Quincy, MA

[@duster8100]

Been there and done that. We called the splitters Feathers and Wedges and they were a lot bigger. Drill the right size hole with an air drill, drop in the feathers and wedges and drive the wedges with a jack hammer splitting some very big slabs of sandstone.

[@ogieogie]

Thank you for documenting this. Such a satisfying piece of work!

[@briangodfrey7424]

I would love to see this step installed. It would kind of bring the story full circle.

[@crystalphillips696]

That was so cool to watch and it was such a perfect split. I love when you walked away and I heard this Stone split. That was so cool.

[@MrIrondog55]

That didn't need an outroi buddy! Was sure as heck satisfying to watch :)

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

Glad you liked it!

[@jeffffro7674]

That’s pretty cool there bud!!! I could definitely hear the tone change, two or three times even! So yes! Good mic! Great mind!!! People like you, I just wish I could touch you and transfer knowledge back and forth! You are a natural! The knowledge you have typically comes in a 70 year old package!!! Or more. I would say more vids but like me, I have so little time outside of what I love to do for thinking of and making videos, so I’m very grateful for the content we do get, THANK YOU!!!!

[@bellepfeiffer3630]

Wow - that was fascinating that it sits there and thinks about splitting like that. Thanks for filming that.

[@mdp4440]

very cool. It brought back memories. I used to get granite culls from the monument plants in Elberton GA, and I've built walls, patios and structures with the stone. I've cut so many slabs like this, but didn't use the feathers and wedges or drills. I certainly couldn't do it anymore. That was 45+ years ago.

[@nancywebb1845]

I wonder what the full amount of time was for it to split. What an interesting process. Nice to see how it's done. Keep 'em coming.

[@txann9273]

Pretty cool! Very textured stone…I think. But what do I know?!? 😀 Thanks for sharing.

[@katherinemclean7103]

Thanks for sharing your good work and methods. Interesting to hear the change in tone of the stone. Prayers for health and safety!🙏❤🙏

[@davidwolfson7060]

Great job. You made it look so easy.

[@mrm4400]

Wow!! I'm learning a lot from you today. Best wishes from Cape Town.♥️🇿🇦

[@claudiogadda5344]

Thanks for sharing this video. It is nice to see this skill is not lost and some people still master it. I would like to share with you a tip that was given to me long time ago by a old guy that did this all his life. They used water at a certain point when the crack was barely starting and live it overnight. The watet would penetrate the crack slowly, and the next morning the stone would be there in two halves. We used to split granit as well, but in northern Italy we use more a sort of gneiss stone called beola. We used the gray an the black one. Especially for creating flat stones of about 2 inches thickness, but also 1 an half. We use them for old houses on the mountains in the north west for building the roof on a wooden structure. Also the walls are completely in stones as this material was locally avalaible and was cheep. Of course it has some drawback but back in 1800 hundred there was no alternatives. The whole house was built with dry technique. No cement was used to bild the walls. The people back than, were quite skilled. Only very few master those skill nowadays.

[@peterlundskow4061]

I was glad to discover your channel thru Gold Shaw Farms! I really enjoy watching talented people working in stone like yourself. Also, all creative approaches to other project both on this Channel & helping Morgan out. Keep up the interesting work!

[@LpoolDogLover]

Great video! Thanks for sharing and thank you for sharing your family background on Morgan’s live yesterday!

[@carolynnr.6409]

I like watching people doing something well.

[@flautalee3090]

Thanks for your post, Alfred! Hi from NJ!❤

[@FloridaJack]

This is all new to me. Thank You, Alfred.

[@jonathanleonard1152]

I like how the stone split by itself when it was ready.

[@IIIJ0KIEIII]

Great decision mate! The very structure of that rock has not had any pressure changes since it broke loose last time 😊 we do the same when splitting oak logs here at Sandefjord, Norway 👌

[@carmelpule8493]

Sir, may I congratulate you on your ability to talk to the granite block, and in return, she talks to you in a manner which you can understand. Well done. and all the best in enjoying your wonderful work. I think it would be be wonderful to try and model the wavefront from those impulses you initiate in how they travel through the block to cause the stresses along the contour which you desire. Those impulses are not as innocent as they sound! Well done once again,

[@delsurf71]

Gotta say kinda fascinating watching the process. Thanks

[@mfhthenycflyguy7085]

Awesome vid! Great music choreography! Great split!

[@Martin-jc6or]

Fascinating. Thank you for sharing your passion and talent

[@rogiste1]

Great learning session -- I wonder if they make a drill attachment that will hammer the stone??

[@dimitarangelov5758]

Много добра майсторска работа поздрави от България желая ви здраве

[@jenfountain9804]

That is absolutely amazing!!!! Thank you for sharing, this totally made my day!

[@workingstoned]

Beautiful split, good job and great to watch!

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

Thank you very much!

[@terryhale9006]

There is very little elastic energy stored in stone or steel wedges, so it is unlikely to spring apart. If the base the stone is on is uneven, the stone might fall over, but it won't jump apart.

[@julieoneil9216]

Your best video yet!

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

Wow, thanks!

[@DreaMeRHoLic]

You know what i would love to see? Alfred touring Machu Picchu and talking about those old stonewalls.... or him at the great pyramid of Giza. I would really like to hear his thoughts about the work those people did... or the old buildings/tempels in Rome or Athen

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

I'm headed to the UK soon, hoping to make some of these videos

[@Hardwarebeer]

@@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062 ​ Hadrian's wall perhaps?

[@gratitude7397]

Yess! I'm dying to know his thoughts on the pyramids...How they did it

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Thanks again Alfred .....👍

[@atruefreethinker1944]

gorgeous split.

[@Felix-oy2jg]

Awesome! I´ve Never seen anything like this. Impressive

[@stevenschuster]

Loved this so much!!! Thanks

[@carylfontaine3640]

Absolutely AWESOME!!!

[@phyl692]

I could hear it!

[@ed6837]

very nice!!

[@rickkeegan9389]

Super informative video. What would something like that typically cost?

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

$50/sq.ft. for steps and caps.

[@mattshaffer5935]

Very cool!

[@kimmer2799]

Amazing!

[@oliverkhams4429]

Learned something from you bro. Is this drilling machine possible with the generator?

[@elvenking62]

Reasonably close to how Egyptian stone masons did it minus the generator😊

[@martinwinlow]

Can I ask why you do not lay the stone with the cutting plane horizontal and put the feathers and wedges on all 4 sides rather than just 3? And... how do you mask the drilled holes for the finished stone?

[@micahpaul20]

Where did you get that leatherman sheath?

[@markmayer2029]

How do you remove the drill half rounds?

[@NightRanger1982]

I came here to learn how pyramids were built. I think with enough guys like you on the job, yall could probably build a pyramid

[@teresadasilva4777]

so interesting..ty

[@quietkate]

Guess that slab of granite spit when it was darn good and ready. Will you polish the step for the customer or do they prefer the stone in its natural state? Know this is a labor intensive task, thanks for sharing.

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

I will leave it with the split face. I don't have the facilities for polishing, and polished steps would be dangerous when wet

[@elliecrew]

So cool

[@ibstryder4736]

I’ll say wow too

[@trelewicz]

So satisficing

[@hollecolle380]

wow amazing

[@maniacalmonster2293]

That sir, is cheating. Using a drill. 😂

[@thormatteson7141]

Have you tried pouring water into the holes? I did this once after driving the wedges in until they were tight, and you could hear the rock begin to crack, and it popped apart moments later with no additional pounding on the wedges. This was 40 years ago, and I don't remember the quality of the rock face, though. To us the quality of the cut was unimportant--we were moving boulders off of trails in Yosemite.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

What function would the water serve?

[@thormatteson7141]

@@joewoodchuck3824 Potentially makes it so you could split rock with fewer sets of plugs and feathers. I'd love to hear from someone with more experience. I'm curious as to the effect on cut quality. If you're asking what the water does within the rock crystals to help the splitting, I would guess it works into micro-cracks and reduces adhesion (?) between crystals.

[@victoriafisher6934]

hav U watched mexicos pyrimids stone cut lines so precise and they dont know how they did it !!!! also in Egypt ,peru etc. ???

[@fredhead9802]

Do you sell 1 inch thick veneer? Looking for 400 sq ft for a fireplace/chimney?

[@mfhthenycflyguy7085]

Did you find any “old” tools at the quarry?

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

I do keep finding little artifacts

[@dd-oe8zv]

how much does such raw block costs

[@Lynne2106]

Wow!

[@ronaldlucas5360]

Interesting

[@blueplasma5589]

5:08 can,t see your wedge device, your hands are covering it!

[@jamesc37]

He is covering it because the Illuminati and aliens demand it

[@victoriafisher6934]

ancient secret discoveries= stone cutting tehniques(how did they do it is unknown). check it out

[@Jonathan-mk1ju]

What’s size sds bit are yo using?

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

1/2", but I burn through them pretty quickly.

[@Dd-sunshine68]

I hope your wearing a mask please stay safe

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

Yup

[@memememe2674]

He is in the open air you can see the dust falling not rising. I suppose you would want the guy wearing a hard hat and hi vis vest.

[@Zoecatsplants]

@@memememe2674maybe sunshine learn the hard way and now is paying the price. You never know where someone is coming from!

[@ohsweetmystery]

😂😂😂 You probably are breathing in more crap everyday than he does in a week.

[@grayjappe562]

Nicely done, music is crap though

[@JohnJohnson-bx6li]

Ye Ol feather and wedge

[@brianbassett4379]

Sure, it's easy with a generator and power tools.

[@marielg9143]

Are you masked up

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

Yup

[@carlaworden6566]

[@jesusistheopendoor]

Its not a hand split if you use an electric drill.

[@josephstratti52]

Loose the bloody music

[@ross6343]

Nice result! Have you ever used the Trow & Holden slab splitter? On stock that size, I'd set my score line with the slab splitter [across the top] and do what you did on the sides. Then my plug and feather(s) holes would be drilled equal distance spaced the width of the slab splitter edge. I'd give each plug a strike and then follow up with the slab splitter. As you know, patience is key. It seemed to me using that slab splitter in conjunction with the plugs/feathers not only sped up the process but nice clean splits [most of the time]. Anyhoo...were you effected by the recent flooding in Vermont? If so, I hope things are okay! Cheers...

[@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062]

I do not have a slab splitter. I do have a quarry buster, but it is hard for me to swing an 8lb hammer into the back of that and keep a tidy line, so I use the tracer. Additionally, the quarry buster doesn't have a very keen edge on it anymore. I like the sounds of your approach, and may try to pick up a slab splitter at some point at try it out. Thanks!

[@ross6343]

@@vermontheritagegranitecomp2062 That quarry buster has a specific use as does the slab splitter - ones for 'roughing work' [quarry buster] and one for 'finish work' [slab splitter]. you referenced the one drawback of both tools - both require two people working together. Oh...the other MAJOR difference between the quarry buster and slab splitter is the amount of strike force needed. The QB uses more brute force - the SS uses about the same amount of strike force used with a tracer chisel or plugs/feathers. The Trow & Holden slab splitter ain't cheap, but well worth the money spent if you be splitting steps, lentels, arch stones/keystones or fancy set pieces for wall work on a regular basis. Like all tools, there's a learning curve with the slab splitter, but once you get the hang of using it, you can knock out some really interesting pieces real fast. On a different note, I just watched your quarry road video. Crazy what water can do! Cheers...