Splitting a large boulder with pegs - GIF

[Crusty]

Those are commonly called wedges and feathers (at least if you're looking to buy some).

[jimfols]

Enjoying the satisfaction feeling of a job well done.

[Ralphxyz]

That is the way it was done back in the good days.

[mwmkravchenko]

Nice to see that people still remember how to work stone without all the fancy equipment used in quarries today.

[clavius]

makes perfect sense.....I'm amazed at the flatness of the break. I would have thought it would be more.....jagged.

It is amazing. I have a friend who owns a small granite quarry and have seen them do stuff like this when a customer specified the stone to be cut with wedges to get the look.

He gave me a few pieces of granit for a little garden project I was doing. The pieces were maybe 12"x12"X 5' long. I needed to cut them to some shorter lengths. So he loaned me what he called a "tracer chisel" which was just what looked like an overly fat chisel with a carbide edge about 2" wide. You just take the chisel, and trace a line on 3 sides of the stone by hitting the chisel with a 3LB hammer. It makes only a very shallow score. Then you turn the un-scribed side up and just bang with the hammer on the face of the stone opposite the scribe. Three or so strikes and the stone just breaks off right along the scribe line. The break is quite straight and flat.

I would never have believed it could be that simple had it not been demonstrated to me. It's like magic. Those guys are true artisans.