How to Cut Stone with Hand Tools | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House mason Mark McCullough demonstrates various techniques for cutting stone with hand tools. SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse 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. About This Old House TV: This Old House is America’s first and most trusted home improvement show. Each season, we renovate two different historic homes—one step at a time—featuring quality craftsmanship and the latest in modern technology. We demystify home improvement and provide ideas and information so, whether you are doing it yourself or hiring out contractors, you’ll know the right way to do things or the questions to ask. Our experts including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor give you the tools you need to protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home. Looking for more step by step guidance on how to complete projects around the house? Join This Old House INSIDER to stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: https://bit.ly/2GPiYbH Plus, download our FREE app for full-episode streaming to your connected TV, phone or tablet: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/st... Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter http://bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG http://bit.ly/AskTOHIG For more on This Old House and Ask This Old House, visit us at: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseWebsite How to Cut Stone with Hand Tools | Ask This Old House / thisoldhouse