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Greetings!
How does one "cut" stone?
You've heard of "diamond tools", but have you ever wondered what about the tools is diamond and how does it work?
Can you split a stone?
How difficult is it anyway?
Should I try it?
What about protective gear?
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Splitting a 5 ton stone with feather and wedges. Even with the weight of the stone on top, it split nicely. We used twenty seven 3/4" F&W sets going around the stone. You can see the split line right along the line we traced.
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Long ago, stone used to be the tool to shape stone.
We
have come a long way from then and
now have special metals and diamond impregnated alloys that help us shape stone a lot more efficiently. The principles that we exploit to make the stone do what we want it to do is the same, but we can do it a lot faster.
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Our 9' saw blade. The silver/gray alloy on the tip of the blade is embedded with diamond chunks. The diamonds are what actually cut the stone.
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At this event day, we will go over the basic concept of shaping stone.
We will go over hand tools, different types and what they do. Then we will take a look at all sorts of diamond tools, from cutting blades, grinding disks, to polishing systems.
After the show-and-tell session, we will see how one splits stone. We will have a demonstration on how the feathers-and-wedge system works. And also, we will do a demonstration on how to split a stone using a very traditional Japanese tool called "tobi-ya" ("Jumping-arrows". You will find out why they are called "jumping".)
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300 ton splitter. The top and bottom row of "teeth" bite down on stone and put pressure on it until it splits.
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Then, we will see the machines in action.
There is
something
mesmerizing about a 9' blade spraying water and spinning dizzily
fast cutting stone. It is something you have to see to believe.
When the 300 ton splitter bites into a stone and breaks it, the ground shakes. Another experience you have to go through to appreciate its power.
We will also see a wire saw, a polisher, and the flaming process. (Yes, we take a torch to a stone!)
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Taking an oxy/propane torch to stone. The sparks of light you see coming out of the stone is super heated shards of stone.
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Also, Kentaro will be showing a series of images of an entire process of coming up with a stone sculpture. He will start with a raw stone and take you step by step on how the sculpture was carved, culminating in the installation!
Don't miss it.
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