Hand Splitting a Step From a Larger Granite Block 

Thanks for sharing this video. It is nice to see this skill is not lost and some people still master it. I would like to share with you a tip that was given to me long time ago by a old guy that did this all his life. They used water at a certain point when the crack was barely starting and live it overnight. The watet would penetrate the crack slowly, and the next morning the stone would be there in two halves. We used to split granit as well, but in northern Italy we use more a sort of gneiss stone called beola. We used the gray an the black one. Especially for creating flat stones of about 2 inches thickness, but also 1 an half. We use them for old houses on the mountains in the north west for building the roof on a wooden structure. Also the walls are completely in stones as this material was locally avalaible and was cheep. Of course it has some drawback but back in 1800 hundred there was no alternatives. The whole house was built with dry technique. No cement was used to bild the walls. The people back than, were quite skilled. Only very few master those skill nowadays.

Thank you very much. My great-grandfather was a “granite cutter” and you’ve given me a much better appreciation of the work.

That was so amazing to watch! It was so cool to see it just split by itself at the end. Great job!! Thank you for sharing!

The art of stonemasonry is such a hidden art! Thank you for showing such a cool craft!

Wow! This was impressive, Albert! I love watching this 👏🏼😍

"Listening to the stone." I love that! Beautiful work, and a granite step to last for the ages.

Fascinating. At 9:35 you can literally see the crack forming with each strike of the hammer.

Beautifully done!

So cool when the sound changed, and then it just sort of sighed and opened!

Thank you for documenting this. Such a satisfying piece of work!

You are quite the stonemason. The house I grew up in had a granite stone foundation. I beleive the granite came out of the Quincy, MA quarry in the 19th century. The house was built in 1880.

I would love to see this step installed. It would kind of bring the story full circle.

That didn't need an outroi buddy! Was sure as heck satisfying to watch :)

That was so cool to watch and it was such a perfect split. I love when you walked away and I heard this Stone split. That was so cool.

Wow - that was fascinating that it sits there and thinks about splitting like that. Thanks for filming that.

Great job. You made it look so easy.

That’s pretty cool there bud!!! I could definitely hear the tone change, two or three times even! So yes! Good mic! Great mind!!! People like you, I just wish I could touch you and transfer knowledge back and forth! You are a natural! The knowledge you have typically comes in a 70 year old package!!! Or more. I would say more vids but like me, I have so little time outside of what I love to do for thinking of and making videos, so I’m very grateful for the content we do get, THANK YOU!!!!

I like watching people doing something well.

This is all new to me. Thank You, Alfred.

Thank you for sharing your craft and your excellent craftsmanship, Albert! I love the little details you throw in like the dimples cut for the hooks to hold on so that the stone could be moved. Beautiful work, and great editing again!

Great video! Thanks for sharing and thank you for sharing your family background on Morgan’s live yesterday!

Loved this so much!!! Thanks

Thanks for sharing your good work and methods. Interesting to hear the change in tone of the stone. Prayers for health and safety!🙏❤🙏

Thanks for your post, Alfred! Hi from NJ!❤

Wow!! I'm learning a lot from you today. Best wishes from Cape Town.♥️🇿🇦

Pretty cool! Very textured stone…I think. But what do I know?!? 😀 Thanks for sharing.

I like how the stone split by itself when it was ready.

I was glad to discover your channel thru Gold Shaw Farms! I really enjoy watching talented people working in stone like yourself. Also, all creative approaches to other project both on this Channel & helping Morgan out. Keep up the interesting work!

Gotta say kinda fascinating watching the process. Thanks

Awesome vid! Great music choreography! Great split!

Sir, may I congratulate you on your ability to talk to the granite block, and in return, she talks to you in a manner which you can understand. Well done. and all the best in enjoying your wonderful work. I think it would be be wonderful to try and model the wavefront from those impulses you initiate in how they travel through the block to cause the stresses along the contour which you desire. Those impulses are not as innocent as they sound! Well done once again,

I wonder what the full amount of time was for it to split. What an interesting process. Nice to see how it's done. Keep 'em coming.

That is absolutely amazing!!!! Thank you for sharing, this totally made my day!

Thanks again Alfred .....👍

Fascinating. Thank you for sharing your passion and talent

Absolutely AWESOME!!!

gorgeous split.

Beautiful split, good job and great to watch!

Awesome! I´ve Never seen anything like this. Impressive

Amazing!

Your best video yet!

Very cool!

Много добра майсторска работа поздрави от България желая ви здраве

Great learning session -- I wonder if they make a drill attachment that will hammer the stone??

Reasonably close to how Egyptian stone masons did it minus the generator😊

You know what i would love to see? Alfred touring Machu Picchu and talking about those old stonewalls.... or him at the great pyramid of Giza. I would really like to hear his thoughts about the work those people did... or the old buildings/tempels in Rome or Athen

So cool

so interesting..ty

There is very little elastic energy stored in stone or steel wedges, so it is unlikely to spring apart. If the base the stone is on is uneven, the stone might fall over, but it won't jump apart.

Can I ask why you do not lay the stone with the cutting plane horizontal and put the feathers and wedges on all 4 sides rather than just 3? And... how do you mask the drilled holes for the finished stone?

wow amazing

I’ll say wow too

Where did you get that leatherman sheath?

So satisficing

Learned something from you bro. Is this drilling machine possible with the generator?

Wow!

How do you remove the drill half rounds?

Interesting

Have you tried pouring water into the holes? I did this once after driving the wedges in until they were tight, and you could hear the rock begin to crack, and it popped apart moments later with no additional pounding on the wedges. This was 40 years ago, and I don't remember the quality of the rock face, though. To us the quality of the cut was unimportant--we were moving boulders off of trails in Yosemite.

Good job. What size wedges and shims did you use?

Ye Ol feather and wedge

hav U watched mexicos pyrimids stone cut lines so precise and they dont know how they did it !!!! also in Egypt ,peru etc. ???

Do you sell 1 inch thick veneer? Looking for 400 sq ft for a fireplace/chimney?

Super informative video. What would something like that typically cost?

Did you find any “old” tools at the quarry?

Guess that slab of granite spit when it was darn good and ready. Will you polish the step for the customer or do they prefer the stone in its natural state? Know this is a labor intensive task, thanks for sharing.

how much does such raw block costs

What’s size sds bit are yo using?

Sure, it's easy with a generator and power tools.

Nicely done, music is crap though

I hope your wearing a mask please stay safe

ancient secret discoveries= stone cutting tehniques(how did they do it is unknown). check it out

Its not a hand split if you use an electric drill.

Are you masked up

Nice result! Have you ever used the Trow & Holden slab splitter? On stock that size, I'd set my score line with the slab splitter [across the top] and do what you did on the sides. Then my plug and feather(s) holes would be drilled equal distance spaced the width of the slab splitter edge. I'd give each plug a strike and then follow up with the slab splitter. As you know, patience is key. It seemed to me using that slab splitter in conjunction with the plugs/feathers not only sped up the process but nice clean splits [most of the time]. Anyhoo...were you effected by the recent flooding in Vermont? If so, I hope things are okay! Cheers...