Patent ID: 6964272

Claim:
A splitting assembly for a block splitting machine, comprising: a block splitter defining a splitting line, the block splitter configured and positioned to engage a surface of a concrete workpiece and split the workpiece along the splitting line during a splitting operation to form at least one concrete block with an irregular front face; and a multiplicity of peaks that are positioned to engage a surface of the workpiece during the splitting operation and chip and roughen at least one edge of the at least one block generally along the front face of the block adjacent the splitting line, the multiplicity of peaks including peaks extending over a distance parallel to the splitting line and peaks extending over a distance away from the splitting line, the multiplicity of peaks having tips that lie generally on a plane that is at an angle that is greater than or equal to about 5 degrees and less than or equal to about 20 degrees relative to horizontal, the plane containing the tips of the peaks being further from the workpiece the further the plane is from the block splitter, and the peaks have a height that is greater than or equal to about 0.125 inch and less than or equal to about 0.375 inch.