La pedra en sec. Materials, eines i tècniques tradicionals a les illes ...

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* **: 5 5.5 THE WORK
Definition
Todress the stone giving it a face and
a tail using a percussion or cutting
tool depending on the type of stone
and cutting it to an appropriate length
to facilitate laying and stability.
Description
Work on shaping the stone is begun
by hitting it with a mass or a stone
hammer, the choice of tool used
depending on the size of the stone
and the degree of dressing required.
Thus a mass and a large stone hammer
are used to give a face and tail to
bigger stones and a small stone hammer
is used to give a face and tail to
and to dress the exposed side of
smaller stones. A large hammer can
also be used for large stones with
projecting points. The tip of the hammer
is used for work requiring more
care on stones with smoother and
squarer faces, although over the
years other tools used by stone breakers
or miners have come into use
such as stonecutter's hammers,
stops and punches, the latter two
being hit with a small rammer. If the
dressing is intended to produce polygonal
stones for the terrace wall, a
bevel square is used to mark the
angles which the stones have to be
cut at so that they can be fitted together
polygonally
A stonecutter's hammer is used with
sandstone, loamy and clayey stone. A
swift blow with a rake gives sufficient
form to the faces of the stone as a
percussion tool would smash them.
Any remaining imperfections can be
worked on with the head edge of the
hammer.
Tools required
Large and small stone hammer, mass,
large hammer, cutting hammer, stonecutter's
hammer, stop, punch, small
rammer, bevel square.