I need to split some field stone in half...Is there a good way of doing this without buying all the expensive tools? Stones are not large, I tried using a maul but it's not very controlled( I'm not)...
Looking to get a better controlled split on the pieces I want.

I have heard that if you put them in a box , address it to yourself and take it to the post office, they will break them while getting them back to you. No idea how accurate they are. But they managed to split the atom that way. Don't believe the manhattan project hoax.

It depends on what type of fieldstone you have. Limestone is easy to split with a hammer and chisel and depending on the type of limestone, even with a straight hammer claw. I used to enjoy working with limestone. The house I grew up in had massive amounts of limestone. I built forts, ponds, a stream, raised garden beds, walls and a waterfall out of limestone. My friend Ralph is fantastic at working limestone. In his mid eighties, he could still build a monument or arbor out of limestone, using limestone he dug, in a weekend.

Granite can be split with a chisel and hammer if you go in the cracks or between layers, if it's layered.

I have never had much luck trying to split quartz. I have produced some impressive sparks trying to split quartz

Keith

Depends on what you consider expensive as far as tools go and what you consider large as far as stones are concerned.


A brick set chisel might help or you could look into a star drill along with feathers and wedges.

This guy is splitting a brick but it will work for some rock also.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er-MkuDVOl4

Make your own. Here's how, and how to use them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC0EjOjp3PI


Charlie

Thanks for the info....

Not sure what kinda stones I'm not good at identifying them...

Might try the masonry chisels...not badly priced at all...unless they are carbides...

Wedges look a lot easier but I see that getting costly for what I'm doing...

Take a grinder and score it with the wheel where you would like it to break

^^ good idea will try...

I'd spend the money and buy a diamond wheel. I've had abrasive wheels come unglued. They hurt!

Use your log splitter. But wear safety glasses.

That works. Notice the granite shelf? On a whim, the customer I built this for decided he wanted that but he didn't want to order a piece and wait for it to come in. I was a bit reluctant to try cutting and texturing expensive slabs of granite but decided to give it a go. I scored it with a diamond wheel and successfully snapped it off without destroying the slab. I spent half a day with a chisel giving it that rustic, textured edge.

field stone has a grain similar to wood and splits along this grain Stone fresh from the ground splits a lot better than stone that has laid for years on a pile a stone hammer is kinda shaped like a mall or a single bit axe but the working edge is about 3/4 in. wide and rounded

Years ago I seen a guy take a field stone and roll it around and around than take a cement hammer and hit the stone and it spit with out any real hard hits. He said he just read the grain in the stone.

Where's PCR when you need him?

i'm here,we use electricians chisels in the flagstone quarry.also a hand held scribe with a diamond point for scoring the stone when hand cutting.

field stone is a different bugger and you need to know how to read it like was said.i have a big recut saw and was gonna cut some fieldstone til the first piece literally exploded in my hands.i am still gonna do it but not till i have time to play with a bunch by hand.

Good info thanks...

Beautiful work Posco...

Now how do you figure the grain out on the stone?

Stopped by an Amish farm today that had a pile of stone in the pasture and they are free for the taking..
In that pile I found quite a few split stone with good faces...also a huge pudding stone in that pile boy I need a few strong Amish boys to get that in my truck...

It's called lines of cleavage. There is (are) natural weak lines in most minerals, from diamonds to limestone. All it takes is a rock or brick hammer or hammer and chisel. Once you identify these lines all it takes is a careful tap. These lines can be along just about any number of planes, but, your field stone is way more simple than most.

Just for reference can one tell me where the grain is in this stone? If I look at it I’d say the black lines in the stone but I’m guessing I’d be wrong.

I take back everything I said. If that igneous thing in your photo is what you call field stone; we ain't nearly on the same page.

I don't think you will get any kind of smooth parallel breaks on that thing, You will likely need some kind of abrasive saw.