I had a lot of Sandstone monoliths 2-5 ton range and 90% burried. Some of these were 24-30″ thick & 5’x10′ . I took peoples advice here & got a 1″ Bulldog SDS Plus. & Bosch good 3/4 x 10″ bits. That combination really socks holes in the sandstone. Then got stone splitting shims & wedges (3/4″ x4″ from Trow & Holden website. Putting holes every 6″ across this stone will split stuff I would never have believed.
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I use a lot of trow and holden feathers and wedges been
saving up my spare change to buy a set of rhino carbide
tools, been eyeballin a nice deposit of limestone ledges
the last few weeks just havnt had the time to get my
chicks in a row yet.
plus Santa is bringing a digital camera to the ole homestead
this year maybe I can post some quarriyng/ stone dressing
pics later on.if the signs are right.
Dewayne..you still up for a trip to here in KY? Just south of Lexington.
It'll be inside rock work. Warm, buddy, warm.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
check your email- keemosobee?
Will do.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Never tried to split sandstone but all the sandstone I have seen here in the West is so soft, you can gouge it with a stick. I took an old Milwaukee big honker roto hammer down a river on a raft trip one time to mount a plaque on a rock many years ago. The roto hammer was 100v but we had an 80 v battery pak that would drive the drill better than ac. All the rock in the area was sandstone and turns out we didn't need the big heavy roto cause the sandstone was so soft. We recessed the plaque so as to try to avoid someone getting a tool behind it and prying it out. The recess we made was done with a plain old screwdriver, just scraping it out. Last we knew it was still there after many years.
Ya, I've seen some of that soft sandstone but this stuff here in Oklahoma is as hard as the hardest limestone when dry. 200 million years old and keeps this bluff standing streight up like limestone.
I'll try to get some pix of the next big one I split.
Those are nice tools. I've used the same ones. For the really big rocks (vw beetle and up), you can get wedges and feathers where the wedge fits in a pnuematic jackhammer. I think we used wedges and feathers for a 1 1/2" hole. That really goes fast. The hard part is getting the jackhammer up to the wedge.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
i have carved a bit of limestone.... really easy to work and carve... regular cheap harbor freight wood working tools do a nice job.... plus it's kinda fun... print out what you want on our printer... use one of those patern markers for sewing... (steel toothed wheel) run it over your paper patern on the rock... and it's just connect the dots after that...
p