Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-08-31
STONE CUTTING
One Of Most Important Branches of
Construction Of Buildings.
Stone Work Oilers Greatest Scope Fur Powers
0i tho Architect.

VI
! Here amid the thunder and boom of
massive conveyorA. the Speech OF saws.
| the th,d of .:ledses and the tap of NAL
| lets. are carried ON operations that are
| unexcelled in delicacy and tineness
| The stoneWork of a building has al
! ways an interest for the observer thar
is lacking to the other branches of con-
structiun. such as brick masonry aud
carpentry, for it 50 largely .ictrrnin-
IS the character and beauty OF the
whole. and to offer 50 much more scopa
for the expression of the art and GEN
us Of the architects.
At the head of the art of building
stands the architect He il is VINO
srasps the idea of his employer, devils
rs the external and internal effects and
sets them forth in plans and specifica-
tons that for detail and vigorous ex-
actnesS leaves nothing to be assumed
/ Or desired. The builder acts minister
tally. and endeaNors to embody i'm
stone. steel and wood the architects
conceptions. The architect must De.
thoroughly acquainted with the. quail
ties and defects of the material en-
ployed. His specification must be ex-
plicit with regard to every detail of
this nature.
In the matter Of stone alone what the
architect has To look for is a stone that
will withstand the ravages of time, sus-
| tain great weights and be of a color
that will briEgout to the best advantage
the architectural features of his design
and harmonic viii the locality and
surroundings in which it is placed
He must consider that city buildings
are subjected 10 the disintegrating in
iiucnce Of smoke, which releases great
quantities OF sulphuric acid. than
which there is nothing worse for stone
He mast choose his stone accordingly.
FOR some stones resist better than
others. The lower parts of buildings
require material that will resist great
er crushing tests than that used in the
upper stories These things and many
more must be constantly in the archi-
tect's thought
once he has decided upon and COM
pleted his specifications. they are given
10 the ston- worker. who proceeds to
carry them ont implicitly. The first
:tep taken is To- get what stone is re-
luired. In. this particular he has a
vide field from which to choose
The uuarries of fhe United States arr.
the richest in the world in the variety
and beauty of their output Sandstone
is found in large quantities in Connec-
ticut and New Jersey. Granite is
shipped from New Hampshire. Maine
and Rhode Island Massachusetts has
fine quarrie' OF granite that is much
in demand.
The marbles Of Tennessee ana Geor-
''gia are fam.nEs. while very good
quality is uuarri-d in New York and
Vermont. Limestone. which gives
such charming effects. is found album
dainty in Pennsylvania and Indiana
though nearly all states have more or
less Of ii.
The cost of transportation is a very
large item III the bill of the StoneWork-
er and has much influence in the en-
ployment of certain stone, such as
Ohio sandstone, which cannot compete
in the east with the cheaper Connect
cut produce. But what kind Of stone
shall h. used is decided by the archi-
tect's specifications
Quarrying is perhaps one Of the
most picturesque operations of the
stone trade. 1t differs little from min
ing. except that the latter is essentially
an underground operation. 70 under
stand the work of the quarrymen. il
is necessary to bear in mind that rocks
belong to one or the other Of tWo
great classes-the stratiiied and un-
Stratitied. The former are Sedinen-
tary rocks. and are found in parallel
beds or strata this formation permits
the quarryman to diSengage blocks
with the use of but it'll. energy
Sandstone and limestone belong To this
class. y
Unstratitied rocks being to the igne
Gus class of which granite and green
stone are the principal members in us.
as building material. The formation o,
this rock renders the task of the quar-
rymen far more difficult than in tn,
case Of the former class. by reason o
the superior hardness and the absenc,
of regular lines of cleavage.
Before the invention of gunpowdei
rocks could only be separated from tn,
native bed by the use of hammer an,
wedges. by the freezing of water. and
occasionally by the use of fire. Even
today, blasting powder is not very eX-
t-nsively used. particularly to separate
rock to BE- used for building purposes
Its effects upon stone are very destruc-
tive and the waste is enormous. The
inventors have devised ingenious air
and electric machines. such as the
channeling machine so important in
| the limestone quarries of Indiana.
whereby the use of powder is all but
done away with.
Where small pieces are required for
walls or for paving stones. powder is
used, but in general it may be said
that the hammer and wedge is the
chief agency in separating rock. No
other method could be used with any
degree Of satisfaction. for large blocks.
like columns. Obelisks and tombstones.
Everywhere the manner of procedure
Is the same The quarryman makes a
number Of small holes with a drill
along a certain line of the bed rock.
Steel wedges, formed of three parts.
so shaped as to distribute the force of
the hammer evenly. are driven into
the holes and after a succession of