Hammerhead Stoneworks

I just picked up my first T-shirts. They are white Gildan brand with this design on the chest. I have a few extra so if you are interested in acquiring one, send me a note and please include your size. Gildan brand tend to run large. I’m going to sell them for 15USD, shipping included to the continental United States. Shipping elsewhere will cost more. We can swap shirts too, if you’ve got something cool. Drop me a line at marc (at) hammerheadstoneworks (dot) com

These two benches were cut from the same slab of Tennessee sandstone. The first was built as a free-standing structure in a Chapel Hill neighborhood to celebrate the life of one of their most beloved members, Grandpa Tony. The bench is mortared and features an adjacent boulder with a small plaque. I call this type a castle block bench, named after the material used for the base stones. The second bench is in Asheville, adjacent to a sidewalk. The sitting stone, seatback and arm rests were all cut from same stone as Grandpa Tony’s bench. It is a drystone structure and built directly into the retaining wall.
Next spring I will be leading a hands-on class at the Arboretum on making a stone bench. We’ll be building a castle block bench together that day. The official class date hasn’t been announced, but let me know if you’d like to be updated when the class registry opens.

Benches abound in my work right now, which is good timing. I’m documenting the process in great detail preparing for my first bench-making class next spring at the Arboretum.

Up to this point, every time I’ve cut a stone using feathers and wedges, I have done so in a straight line. I decided to trying cutting a S shape out of this particular slab of sandstone paving because it was just too large for the walkway under construction; it would unbalance the whole composition. I wanted a sinuous line to accent the rolling shape of the path and to avoid creating a uniform, tiled feeling with long straight lines and square stones.

I drew the line over a few times, trying to get the right shape. I wanted a subtle curve, figuring it would be easier to accomplish. The X’s indicate where the drill holes be, evenly spaced. This is the back of the stone, so my scribbles and drill marks will be unseen.

I drilled six holes. Why six? Because that’s how many complete sets of feathers and wedges I had at the time. More would have been better. The holes are fairly shallow, about two inches. The stone itself is only three inches thick. I was careful to not punch the drill bit through the stone, as it would have created ugly knockouts.

I placed the wedges so that they turned along the line. This ensures that the force applied pushed the stone apart along the desired line. They look like soldiers marching.

Ah, so close. The actual split wandered from the desired line at the very bottom of the stone. Looking at it now, it’s clear that the split followed the path of least resistance. Another wedge even closer to the edge might have helped this, as would have reorienting the line so that the desired line followed the path of least resistance. Tracing the desired line with a chisel might also have been helpful.
There’s a lot of surface flaking where the feathers are set. I believe the wedges are a fraction to big for the drill holes so that they bind at the top and cause the stone to pop like this. This was a secondhand set of wedges that I have since replaced. Another reason to do this on the bottom of the stone.

Here are the cut stones in the pathway. The two big, rust-colored stones to the left side of the image are the cut stones flipped and set. Note the ‘dog paw’ pebbling just above the gray stone, to honor Dixie, a regular visitor to my lunches during the project.

The second issue of the Hammerhead newsletter The Daily Sledge is now available. This issue focuses on dry stone patios and pathways. I created it specifically for my DIY flagstone classes at the Arboretum.

On Saturday, I led the first DIY Flagstone class of the season at the NC Arboretum. Ten people took part in the workshop which started at 9 and lasted until 4. In the morning we looked at several samples in a slideshow and discussed the stones, tools and structural elements of a good drystone patio. Just before lunch, we reviewed the safety concerns we might encounter working together. After lunch we headed outside to the ‘Stone Classroom’, a corner of the Arboretum grounds where they have built a gigantic sandbox for paving projects. After a couple of demos, people worked in teams of two to build their own section of flagstone patio. People had fun and did some great, creative work.
There’s a second section of the Do-It-Yourself Flagstone Paths and Patios workshop now registering via the North Carolina Arboretum’s website. The next class take place on Friday, September 4th. Come join me for a fun day of learning and playing with stone.

This photograph showing how to cut a stone is being used on the Wikipedia page devoted to feathers and wedges.

There are two new sections of the Do-It-Yourself Flagstone Paths and Patios workshop now registering via the North Carolina Arboretum’s website. The classes take place on Saturday, August 22nd and Friday, September 4th. They begin at 9:00 a.m. and run until 4:00 p.m. After a morning slideshow and discussion, the class moves outside. The Arboretum built a stone classroom in a clearing in the woods with a gigantic sandbox just for us. After some brief demonstrations of basic safety, stone-moving, and shaping techniques everyone gets to work applying what they’ve learned. Please contact me: marc (at) hammerheadstoneworks (dot) com with any questions or if you need help registering.

Yesterday I took part in the Mt. Green Sustainability Conference at Warren Wilson College. I led a session on Sustainability in Stonework, in which I introduced the Green Target tool I recently created. I talked about the four elements and what they mean: Function, Energy, Lifespan and Culture. We reviewed the cabin case study and then did a case study together on another project. You can see the images I used on the right side of the board in this picture.

This is the graphic I used to explain the Green Target. It was a brief session, so my explanation was shorter than I would have liked, but the case study really seemed to bring it together for people. After the class a few people stopped to talk to me about the tool. During my talk I spoke about the subjective, values driven nature of the tool. Maybe someday it could be empirical, but I’m not sure that’s necessary or helpful. I want to promote dialogue and discovery. There are plenty of certification programs out there and more emerging everyday. I wanted to create a way for everyone else to talk about all this stuff.

This is the first edition of the Daily Sledge, my company newsletter. I published it as the companion to a presentation I did.
Download The Daily Sledge: June 2009 (500K)

In April I led a class on creating do-it-yourself flagstone paths and patios at the North Carolina Arboretum. It was a perfect day for it. We started with a classroom presentation that covered the basics of setting flagstone as well as aesthetic choices and safety issues. after lunch we went outside to the Arboretum’s Stone Classroom and played with some Tennessee sandstone. Flat and easily worked, sandstone is a good starter stone for DIYers. People worked in teams of two and laid small areas of flagging.

In this picture I am apparently demonstrating the proper technique for making sure your stones don’t float away while you are working them.

Photo credit: Mac Franklin of the NC Arboretum. Mac and his crew built the classroom, including the gigantic sandbox I used for the class.

We have scheduled two more classes for August and early September. The dates will announced to Arboretum members soon. If you are interested, e-mail me for details: marc (at) hammerheadstoneworks (dot) com.