Ask This Old House mason Mark McCullough demonstrates various techniques for cutting stone with hand tools.
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Mark demonstrates various techniques for cutting stone with hand tools.
Mark demonstrated a variety of stone cutting tools, including feather and wedges, a hand tracer, and a hand point. These can all be found at home centers and masonry supply stores.
Cost: $10 and up
Skill Level: Moderate
Tools:
Masonry drill [https://amzn.to/33EIibP]
Masonry hammer [https://amzn.to/2UfeIqq]
Feather and wedges [https://amzn.to/33HMAit]
Hand tracer [https://amzn.to/2UzYrLo]
Hand point [https://amzn.to/2WCwvcp]
Shopping List:
Stones
Steps:
1. Mark first demonstrated how to cut stone using a feather and wedge system:
a. Start by drilling holes in the stone along the line you want to cut.
b. Place the feathers on the outside of the hole and the wedge in between them.
c. Gently tap on the wedges using a hammer. Listen carefully and pay close attention to the vibrations in the hammer to ensure the rock is splitting slowly and carefully. This step should take some time.
d. Keep tapping on the wedges as needed until the stone splits.
2. Mark then demonstrated how to cut stone using a hand tracer:
a. Identify the line for the desired cut.
b. Place the hand tracer straight down on the line and tap the end of it with the hammer.
c. Slide the hand tracer along the line, tapping it with the hammer as you go. The goal is to create a channel for the tracer to eventually slide into.
d. Continue to slide the tracer and hit it with the hammer along this line until the stone splits.
3. Finally, Mark explained how to smooth out edges and cuts using a hand point:
a. Point the hand point along the bottom edge of any bumps.
b. Gently tap the hand point with a hammer and try to get underneath the bump.
c. Continue this process slowly and carefully until the bump separates from the stone.
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How to Cut Stone with Hand Tools | Ask This Old House
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21 Comments
thank you for the tutorial sir. I would like to cut hard stones with a chisel held in a vice. I have a collection of hard stones like quartz, jasper, agate, nephrite, but i have not invested in a vice yet . Is it possible to chisel these stones ? i want to shape them too so delicate work. I dont want to use power tools like grinders and bench saws i want to do it the old school way but i am not sure if these mohs scale 7 or higher stones like corundum can be chiseled to shape? thank you
5:02 alright I think it’s startin to PAWP.
Precious
If you had scored a line with a grinder would the break have followed the score rather than the grain of the stone?
I noticed in all these videos they never show or mention hearing protection. But, you should always protect your hearing, eyes, and breathing passages if harmful dust is involved. Safety first is a high standard in my experience
We gonna need this guy after the apocalypse
Where do you get high quality tools for this trade?
I prefer the Light Sabre technique ———————— An elegant -weapon / tool – from a more civilized time – 😎
Granted its a demonstration but a demo saw would be a lot quicker. Also work from the outside in when taking off little knobby bits rather than the way he did, less likely to destroy the piece
That shouldn’t be so hard is it
Every jerk can drill. The art is splitting without drilling
Very cool
That 2nd rock was not a perfect cut Lmaoo
He cheated by most probably using a rotary hammer to drill the initial holes.
This guy obviously does not really understand stone , a stone mason would have marked to stone all way round gradually getting deeper avoiding splitting.
Trying to find out for a friend
Touching something that hasn't seen the light of day in millions of years!
I used an angle grinder but I feel like it's a slower method after watching this.
Is there an ancient method like when Hannibal crossed the Alps? Perhaps start with the 2nd method and as soon as you get a troph pour a chemical in that will make the stone come apart very easy?
I’ve always felt masonry work is an art form and is hard work, but the finished product when done correctly is worth it. I would’ve liked to have seen how he makes various degree angle cuts to these same stones using the hand tools . Also, can these same principles be applied when making say 45 degree notch cut like for a corner.
Been landscaping for over a year now but just got put on my first stone job. Sandstone cladding on block pillars. So glad I fond this vid, doing it the hammer/chisel way. My hand's never hurt so much but I'm so glad I'm learning this skill! If done well the results are amazing