Mastercrafts part 6 of 6 - Stonemasonry

Under Monty Don's watchful eye, three hopefuls who are passionate about learning stonemasonry are put through their paces by the country's leading practitioners. It takes four to five years to train properly as a stonemason. During their six-week intensive course the rookies learn the foundations of the craft - everything from quarrying their own stone to intricate carving. Their mentor is Andy Oldfield, senior mason at Hardwick Hall with over 20 years of experience as a stonemason.

[@rowgler1]

Skills are hard to attain, there is time and pain involved in skill building. Sometimes a rest, given time can yield a quantum leap in the underlying principles and on another try learning is magnified.

[@jjefferyworboys8138]

Incredible skills still relevant today. I found the modern commercial approach equally interesting. Great series.

[@scorpioninpink]

LOL. The suggestion of Suzanne to Nigel would have been better than his original plan. Glad Suzanne won this one.

[@carolstrauchler8868]

Glad I found this. My Great great great grandfather was a master stonemason born in the Wirral.

[@johnbosco8209]

Let people learn like the team, i appreciate all of them

[@victorlucaslindbloom2450]

Go Susan! i knew you were the best. nobody lost.

[@shanea1314]

thankyou again for this,, im so happy Susan won..all did so so AWESOME..THANK YOU :)

[@sumantrawat5586]

Beautiful piece great job by Monty Don. Slow and steady (Suzanne) wins the race!

[@littlenemos1536]

I think at the end of the day, Suzanne is the one who will most likely be able to integrate stone masonry into her current work without seeing a salary drop to minimum wage as she's already an artist who works with stone. Either of the other contestants would be hard pressed to totally change their lives around to integrate traditional masonry.

[@maximk7816]

this is just incredible

[@shonaleroux9748]

Soooooo interesting such beautiful old stone buildings, amazing. Such a fanatic craft, ut should be treated with great respect.❤❤💎💎

[@amherst88]

Thanks very much for posting these -- fascinating and uplifting.

[@righteousred723]

Agreed. The overall story of the series was heartearming

[@mrrobbiezed]

I think they all did well but Nigel has a serious attitude problem. He's probably never wrong and thinks he's better than anyone else. I'm glad Suzanne won in the end,lovely piece of work. Well done.

[@Mendezfarriercompany306]

Where I come from that's called positive attitude for Nigel nothing wrong with being positive and happy with your work and I didn't see him poking fun on anybody else or anything like that so good for Nigel

[@KarleneE]

Nigel was aiming to win, not embracing learning. The point was for them to learn. Clearly he has skill, but there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.

[@29tashn]

I found this quite interesting, thanks for sharing with us🎨

[@seanmcguire7974]

Nigel is great at this. He should've done this when he was a kid. Never too late tho

[@JayJay-ki4mi]

Proof that slow and steady wins the race.

[@sgtboz9730]

Excellent display. Thank you from America...

[@kenmunoz8517]

This is a beautiful program... for what is life if not for art.

[@shanea1314]

thank you very much, for this awesome awesome class..:) i was looking for this sort of video, it was on my mind.. and BOOM,,, here you are.. :)

[@fourthaeon9418]

I can't relax because I wan't to be "good" I know this feeling, I wish there was a word for it.

[@Auriflamme]

There is: Perfectionism.

[@chalise73]

It's also called performance anxiety.

[@nnoffuture]

Choking

[@TheDublin47]

Yes he was right Suzanne was in my books the out right winner I would like to have that piece in my garden

[@persebra]

I LOVE videos about crafts and artisans. So many wonderful people have posted so many terrific videos. There was a multipart doc on the house of Chanel, A multipart doc on perfumes, Cartier put out short videos on their craftwork. I just finished watching a video about japanese carpentry where they dont use any nails, screw or bolts. In fact I might put together a playlist of it.

[@ailinieminen434]

We watched the series and loved every minute of learning.....

[@Mossyz.]

I once drawed round my hand on a stone and used a hammer and flat screw driver to carve a stone hand ......its actually still in my garden after 20 years ago :)

[@alexhopkins8439]

what about freemasonry ;) leighmossien2009

[@Joebunkyss1]

nothing to do with.....let it go.

[@madLphnt]

lol scott

[@artificialturf3973]

awesome video ,but one main issue with the stone that was not mentioned was the way the stone laid in the ground is the way it should be placed into the building. compression rates. but over all 8/10

[@jordanwalsh7952]

This is not always the case, depending in where it will go innthe building, it will either be laid naturally bedded or joint bedded, laying it face bedded will cause the beds to delaminate and the stone to structurally fail in years/decades rather than centuries.

[@tipthetube3219]

Ooo HEIGHTS.....noooo,going dizzy just watching this. Shame, what a skill to command.

[@scorpioninpink]

That workshop who uses modern tools needs to have a better ventilation system. That is just too polluted.

[@KarleneE]

I thought the same. Where's the negative air machines or water filtration or something?

[@sadeghjabbari541]

شما کارتون عالیه وهر کدام تان یک حرفه ای هستید You are a great cartoonist and each of you is a professional

[@mitchio86]

They all did very well

[@ailinieminen434]

just completed the series.....very, very thought-provoking....and fun!

[@markuslebt]

every time he say trainees work, i hear "chinese work" LOL

[@chrismalcomson7640]

Interesting skill to learn but a tough job which would probably leave you with lung problems later in life with all that dust. Like many crafts its about 5% artistry and 95% graft...

[@jonathanthorne9980]

Take a look at the Scouts memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum

[@hectorguzman28]

Amazing craft

[@walkingturtlejones9239]

Brilliant!

[@cyrusgraham9842]

They had a worker's union during the times of the Building of King Solomons Temple.

[@howlinsg1968]

No such thing existed.

[@JohnSmith-wx4ts]

@@howlinsg1968 hate to break it to you, but builders used to run the world. And we're on our way back to it

[@boblove6574]

thanks for ur input. what a nasty passive aggressive NOB glad he didn't win. never STOP loving xx

[@GroberWeisenstein]

once you reach that meditative state of competence speed arrives.

[@Norfolk250]

She’s “learned a huge amount of knowledge”

[@edsemaj]

very NICE !

[@schlirf]

Oh man oh man, so much as been lost in this "new" age.

[@ArtisanDommy]

I just wonder how much salary craftman can earn in one month working in stonemasonry. This work seems very hard .

[@miguelmarquez4192]

Im most interested in trimming stone for building blocks. Where i live in colorado theyre primarily rectangular with a slight bulge to the face in buildings built in the 1800s and very early 1900s. Suggestions any and all?

[@taipeikartman]

Reminder to self: Buy an 8 axis CNC stone and wood cutter.

[@ericunderwood6728]

StinkyTofu Tuesday Farted! she's my Dog!

[@craxd1]

Trivia: What movie made Hardwick Hall famous everywhere, even though they added steep spires on top to hide the stonework with the initials ES? Who supposedly lived at this manor in the movies?

[@Freekniggers]

It would have been so epic if he had've knocked one of Elizabeth's initials out.

[@AlmanoftheyearFilms]

I've been interested in stonemasonry for a while but can't find any schools or programs where I live (Washington, DC), it seems the only extensive training programs I can find are outside of the U.S. Anyone know of any senior masons or apprenticeship programs/workshops in the Washington. DC area where I can learn this trade?

[@jackobrien7148]

Head over to the National cathedral and speak to the stone masons in the little shed behind the church. They'll point you in the right direction.

[@Norfolk250]

My hands as a knitter. Yup. I get it

[@geeznogoodname]

Does anyone know what the mallets are made out of? Looks like white plastic.

[@jerrylong381]

I think the mallets are made of Celcon, also known as Delrin. It's very dense and almost unbreakable.

[@geeznogoodname]

Thanks!

[@jordanwalsh7952]

They are made out of nylon

[@Joebunkyss1]

its a very satisfiying trade but no much call for old school stone wrk just walls and repairs.

[@Freekniggers]

I'm glad I watched this even though I didn't learn the details. They were not presented to me btw.

[@maineoutdoorsman677]

Let's look at it this way the first man used stone on stone then with the Bronze Age started using tools then the progressed into modern hand tools .its the natural progression into power tools.it all seems Natural an it will progress to something easier logically.

[@adamisaninja3743]

suesanne is my friends mum xD

[@milliegreenwelljones5494]

adamisaninja Suzanne**

[@maximk7816]

what kind of stone this is?

[@godfrey_of_america]

What is the name of the host?

[@TheGraniteFlaneur]

Monty Don, a UK gardener/ tv presenter.

[@milliegreenwelljones5494]

22:00

[@ramairgto72]

Anyone know the end credit music?

[@andrewwilson9048]

Bold Prediction by Paul Mottram

[@Tailss1]

Is that sandstone they are working with?

[@jordanwalsh7952]

I believe it is, majority of stones worked in the north of England are sandstone, in the south is mainly limestone like Bath and Portland stones

[@kc2823]

Nigel's design was bombastic in his approach and not sympathetic to the environment. Arrogant.

[@Rya_N33]

I wouldn’t let them keep my sundial

[@chrismiller8384]

Try it on an airstream helmet and mask.

[@sharonmacdonaldwilliams1070]

As a Journeyman Stonemason (4years, mostly carving) I found this to be a really interesting piece. However, I totally disagree with the winning sundial. This was about STONEmasonry not a hybrid stone, metal,water (and what apeared to be a plastic insert) sundial. She should have been required to demonsrate her skills in stone and stone alone. yes indeed, Suzanne is an "Artist" but then, since the first stonemason cut and laid one stone upon another through UR, Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece the Medieval period and the Renaissence through to today all of us have always been "ARTISTS"!!!!

[@suzannejones7268]

I hand carved the whole piece! It’s metal the insert, and that was hand shaven, sanded and planed too. You need to understand the work that went into it before you judge. Thank you for your time. My time was hard graft STONE MASONRY FOR A WEEK!!!!!!!! No machines! Suzanne - the outright winner 😅

[@billie-jobenway8658]

Nitpicky as hell, but I cringe every time a Brit refers to a king, queen, other nobility, or rich person having built a structure. They paid for it, had it built, in a few cases even took part in the actual planning and architecture but they didn't carve or lift one stone or cut on piece of wood.

[@Fly0High]

Much like american presidents pay for elections and companies pay to get "their" products made in China and Bangladesh. It's a matter of perspective.

[@brikkijim]

I would call these people stone fabricators not necessarily Masons. I'd be surprised to see them actually install these pieces into the wall.

[@steffanholt6273]

didn't see the senior mason demonstrate is skills in masonry, why wasnt the master mason teaching them instead.

[@scorpioninpink]

That is also my issue with this episode. In the weaving and stained glass episode, master of their crafts tought the students.

[@gee3883]

Interesting on many levels. Those guys working/slaving in that workshop with those grinders won't be able to breath in later life, shame on that company they should be reported.

[@luke_fabis]

Well, this thoroughly disabused me of any romantic ideas about handwork. It’s a job, difficult and unpleasant as any other. Makes me wonder why restorative stonemasons haven’t switched to multi-axis CNC milling. Take a 3D scan, clean up the data in CAD, then have a machine carve it to a greater degree of precision and repeatability than any human hand could accomplish. A robot could do in a few hours what would take a master mason several days. For that matter, I have to wonder why stones aren’t coated with some kind of water repellent treatment for longevity’s sake. We know many types of stone dissolve over time, and all stones will gradually erode. Might as well arrest or at least retard the process. Material science has come a long way since the medieval era.

[@Fly0High]

Most stone work is there for a reason, it's not just about the shape of the material but the look and feel of it. It was pretty well illustrated, machinery is used to replace the dull and tedious work, especially the removal of unwanted patched of stone and getting a perfectly flat surface. If you're doing restoration work though, the contractor is looking for a restoration. That includes the imperfections and personality that comes with hand chisel. Some finishes of stone can only be achieved satisfactorily by hand. Same goes if you're ordering an artistic piece. It is one of a kind and so only a certain amount of mechanic tools can be used. For general purpose stone though, tiles, counter tops, grave stones, etc, it's perfectly standard to use mechanised cutting machines because you're doing a lot of Standard objects in batches. It makes economic sense to invest in an expensive machine and maintenance contract. As far as the treatment of stone, it really depends on weather you're working with soft stones like sandstone or limes or if you're working with hard stones like granites. The contractors that are picking soft stones are going after the look and feel of natural stone. Covering it up with a resin defeats the purpose. You might as well do the thing in plastic or resin from the start.

[@luke_fabis]

@@Fly0High No reason it has to be something like a thick resin coating. Just something to repel water effectively. A layer of silica can do plenty, provided it has the appropriate microstructure.

[@scottyee707]

so they end this with an art competition... I came here to learn how building were made and sculpted not garden art.

[@freshwaterwi]

The point of this program was never going to be about how a building is made. You learned about how stone is worked for use in a building.

[@ResilientEnergy]

tedious leftwing video production that doesn't focus on skill or teaching

[@freshwaterwi]

Are you sure you are commenting on the right video??? #wow

[@juliajs1752]

you missed the point that this is entertainment, not a how-to tutorial.