CHISEL FLAGSTONE like a pro with these simple tips and insider knowledge!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- Chiselling and shaping basics for flagstone (bluestone) for stepping stones, pathways, patios and more.
Check out our online course covering flagstone here: hardscapecanad...
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I don't even work in stone, but videos like these make me want to learn!
Love it!
Super helpful. Quick, not a lot of blabber, and right to the point. Thanks for posting
My pleasure!
After watching flagstone videos for several days now, I've come to the conclusion that you're doing the best work I've seen (I've even seem some by people who have absolutely no idea what they're doing). I really do not like cutting stone with power tools, because hand-chiseled stone has an aesthetic that is, in my opinion, unparalleled. It also reflects a skill that seems to be disappearing, perhaps because it is more time-consuming (and thus costly) and requires one to really know what they're doing.
Thanks for these videos. They've been immensely more help to me than any others. Mad respect for your skill set.
Great video, I needed some of the finer points, and could not find a decent instructional video, that matches the quality of this one.
Thank you for posting !
Excellent video, quick, to the point and by obviously a very skilled stone mason !
Awesome glad you liked it and thank you!
My wife said you made that way to f’n easy 😄
Finally an actual stone mason.. so many hack landscaping company videos out there. People that don’t know about the trade accept ugly stone work with bad joint spacing. It’s a talent to put stone together and make it look natural.
Hey thank you very much!
Thanks!
Love the natural edges by using a chisel
I have been doing very similar work for 20 plus years, I love the consistency of your joints, which I also strive for. Great job.
Hey thank you and very good to connect with you Mark!
I'm doing repairs on my stone walkway and this video will help tremendously. Thank You and subscribed!!!
Glad to help!!
Excellent presentation.🪨🗿⚒️🇨🇦
Thank you I’m glad you enjoyed it!
@@HardscapeCanada
I am a Hardscaper for 35 years. You do good work. I come home from installing all day, today it was 89 Fahrenheit btw, and I find myself watching videos of others doing what I do all day.🤣✌️🇨🇦 Rock nerd👍
Exactly what I was looking for.
So glad to help!!
Thank you
I learn a lot, thank you so much. You are great...👋👏👏👏
As a carpenter,
Using a small THOR's hameer and chisel ,and good eye this trade would be a great trade.
Awesome video😊!!!
Absolutely! Thank you and so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi I am a gardener and landscaper from England. I have only just come across your channel. I am really impressed with your professionalism. Great work. Thank you and good luck.
Thank you very much and it’s great to connect with you!
Great video. Twenty years ago I mortar set 1200 sf of 1” bluestone and it was challenging using the hammer and chisel. I’m going back to correct some of the lines and so happy for this resource to help me understand the proper method. As a younger man I was impatient and rushed. I’ll take smaller swings this time.
Wow! You make it look so easy!
Gifted .
For me a hand grinder no problem I can always chip the edge to give it that natural nature look.
What a great video. Thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Hell yea! I'm a retired nurse. I think I could do that all day. Just need help standing up after all that kneeling down.
Nice! Yeah it is hard on the body a bit, but the satisfaction is worth it!
Great video dude!! Love how short and to the point!
Exactly what I needed to see thanks
I am so impressed. That is amazing work! Well done!
Thank you!
Nice:) I’ve built many flagstone patios using a 4” grinder to cut the flagstone and I’m really not a fan of all the dust it creates. I think I’ll build the next one using chisels. I think it would make for a more enjoyable experience. Look forward to more of your videos. Thanks
Love to see such meticulous work, looks incredible! I am going to try chiseling some extra Pennsylvania flagstone I have so I can use it as edging in my garden bed. Thank you for the inspiration.
My pleasure have fun!
I have done several Flagstone and stack stone wall projects. So I know a little about shaping and chiseling. But after watching your video I think I can do it better now. I think I will shop a higher quality chisel that I have been using. You almost make it look fun. Almost!
Awesome I hope you do indeed have fun!
Chris!
Your instructions are so spot on and make so much intuitive sense that I'm confident
I can now work with stones that were salvaged from a demo.
Very rarely do I encounter someone who can teach the intuitive skills required to work with materials by hand, and I am so very grateful you’ve given your instructions to the world.
WIth many many thanks,
Marykate
Very nice work!
Thank you!
Wow man, you do great work! I am going to pick up a chisel and mini sledge hammer this week, you make those nice tight lines between stones that make it look great! This is how it's done!
And yes, patience is key!!
Hey I really appreciate it and let me know how it goes!!
Very helpful I wish I had watched this before now. I’ve literally wasted the past two days fighting these stones.
Super helpful as I get into it. Thanks for the video!
Well explained. Thank you!
Thank you! Very useful 👍
Thanks so much , I’m starting a project today.
Awesome good luck!
Nicely done. I'm particularly impressed in light of the fact that I tried shaping some stones today for the first time and pretty much destroyed them. I should've searched TH-cam first. LOL. Thanks for the tips!
Love it! Sometimes you have to just go for it to learn what not to do as well!
Really great stuff mate. From UK
Thank you!
Excellent video!
Wow man thank you. I think it looks great!
You are so welcome!
That was awesome. Thank you.
great work
so awesome!
thank yo!
Awesome 👏
Beautyfull! 😊
REALLY nice work!
Great talent.
Wow. I went front wanting to do a project at my house to wanting to do this for a living!
THANK YOU
Love your work. You should make a gallery off all the patterns you create.
Thank you very much! Great idea 👍🏼
This is what I needed to start my patio project! Thought I needed to rent saws and stuff. Thx
A saw or grinder with a diamond wheel can certainly help speed up the process as well! Your success in chiselling will depend on the stone you have. I often do both to get the job done efficiently
@@HardscapeCanada Is it possible to chisel grantite flagstone? Say 2 inches thick.
And thank you. The video is very informative
Awesome!
Hey please leave me comment and let me know what you think! ~Kevin
A great video! 🙌🐿 Thanks
Nice. Like the chisel technique better than just a hammer.
mb thanks! Yeah you can cut much cleaner lines with a chisel. Nothing beats the carbide tip.
Hardscape Instructor- Kevin Wilson is there a particular make or model of tip that you recommend. My wife and I are going to sandstone both the front and backyard of the house. Any suggestions will be very welcome.
mb I like to use Rebit chisels from Micon stone tools in Vancouver. Trow and Holden has similar. A nice wide, pointed tip tracer is good for centre splitting, and a square edge pitching chisel for edge finishing.
Hardscape Instructor- Kevin Wilson Great. Thank you so much.
Great video. I watched another one where a guy did all his trimming with a power tool and all the stones had straight lines and sharp corners. Looked like trash. This is the way to do it.
Thanks for that feedback! Glad you like it!
Very nice!
I am looking at flagstone cutting videos as I am thinking about running G scale track through a flagstone patio already in place. The carbide tipped tracers are not cheap.
Nice, yeah you might be better off cutting through it with a cutoff saw
VeryNice
thank you!
Superb boss
Beautiful work! Thank you for the tips.
Beginner question: What's the material put in between the stones? Like the lighter lines at the end or the darker grey lines at the beginning.
Hey we use either a mortar grout (the lighter colour) or a charcoal tile grout depending on what our client is looking for.
Excellent video Kev.. I am new to this, but lucky enough to have a customer who isn't too picky. First jobs are like teaching tools. One question.. What do you put under the stone you are cutting ? ie.. Wood, or a sand base , or on another rock...? Looks like you frequently use a sand base , but thought I would confirm and ensure one method is better than others .. Thank you.
Hey yes that’s the best way to refine your skills! So the biggest thing is just to make sure the piece is steady, and when you are striking it, that it is rattling and moving other parts of the stone as this may cause it to crack. It doesn’t really matter what you have underneath it, as long as the piece is steady so the energy you are striking with it hitting just that portion of the stone
Very good job!!
Great video, looks like a sandstone. Most of the stone I work with is limestone and very layered. Can use the same technique but it needs to be a solid piece or it often splits on the layer.
Thanks Craig, cool I’d love to work with more limestone. I’ve only ever done full bed house facing with it, never a flagstone.
thanks
Nacie job perfect
Where to get these chisels? Can you provide link to source? sorry if I missed it and you've already provided.
Thanks! Great work, nice vids. Good vocals and editing. Keep 'em coming!
Hey my pleasure thank you! Here you go: miconproducts.com/pitching_tools.html
I love it, thank you. Where do you buy your hammers and chisels from?
Hey here you go: www.miconproducts.com
Badass
Great information, thanks! What weight sledge hammer should we use?
A 2lb club hammer/mini sledge is a good place to start, but it really depends on your strength. If it’s hurting your elbow then it’s okay to size down. You’ll be swinging it a LOT so make sure you aren’t hurting yourself!
Thanks for sharing these tips on shaping flagstones. Are the seams in this sample filled with cement or other bonding/sealing material?
You can use mortar for the joints, or an epoxy based jointing compound for open graded base (permeable) patios, or if its set on concrete/in mortar you can use a fast setting tile grout as well.
On my current project, which is a whopping 1,300 sf, I am using a mixture of decomposed granite and Quickcrete for bonding. Looks more natural than concrete.
Thanks bro🤗
I noticed you don't cut a straight line when you split the stones in the first example. Is this for aestetics, or does it help the stone break where you want?
Hey it’s for aesthetics, although it is easier to cut a relatively straight line opposed to a drastic curve
great tutorial! Can you use this method for 4" thick flagstone stepper? where can you find the chisels you are using?
Yes you can chisel the edge away like this for a thicker piece, you may have to flip it upside down to get both sides chiseled nicely. I get mine from www.miconproducts.com/pitching_tools.html
Hey there! Love your videos. What was the chisel you used to get that edge? It looked like an offset chisel. Thanks!
Hey thank you very much! Yes you could call it an offset chisel or a pitching tool. I get mine from www.miconproducts.com/pitching_tools.html
Anyone have suggestions for a set of chisels to be used for one project? I’m making a flagstone walkway about 25 feet long 3 feet wide. Thanks
Hi Kevin - Your work looks great! Thanks for putting together a nice shaping video. Quick question. I am starting my first flagging patio project and I am trying to estimate the amount of square feet / day for a flat patio. No stairs or anything. How many square feet do you try to complete a day by yourself? And what would be a good goal as a beginner. Thanks!
Hey awesome I’m glad you are going to try it out!! It definitely depends on both the style you are trying to achieve, as well as the type of stone etc. I’d shoot for laying out roughly 100 sq ft really nicely in a day. And then about half a day to lay it in gravel/sand a full day to lay it in mortar.
@@HardscapeCanada Thank you! I'm giving it a go. I let you know how it turns out.
Looks great bro......you ever worked with Oklahoma flagstone......just wondering that stone you used on chiseling looked soft? Or is it your Carbide chisels that make it look soft?Thanks 👍
Hey thanks! I have not had the pleasure to work with Oklahoma flag, the stone you see in the video is Pennsylvania bluestone, and it’s a sandstone so it is quite soft compared to others! The carbide chisels do help a ton though regardless .
Would this be as easy as it you make it look with granite?
I have the same problem with a mixed pallet of the more solid green stone, and the rust colored stone that separates when I attempt to cut it. What do you think of using an air chisel? Will that just explode the rock?
Hey I’d imagine an air chisel would be a little too aggressive for flagstone like this!
It appears many of my bluestone pieces are layered. When following your instructions, the first layer will break off, then the 2nd then I'm left with a 3rd layer.
How do you deal with this?
One time, the whole piece split the layers into 2, now I have a 1/3 and 2/3 layer. Arrrgh.
Hey yeah it depends on the pallet of stone that you get! But if you are finding they consistently want to split in half or thirds, then I would try to cut more with a saw or grinder then chisel in that case. Whatever it takes to get it done!
Hi all,
Would this work with slate? About three to four inches thick?
Tia
Hey if it’s a slate and has defined horizontal layers then you will have to do some saw cutting as well as use some of these chiselling techniques. Saw cut for majority and hammer and chisel for edge shaping and finishing
I live in Victoria BC. It doesn't freeze here much, only about a few weeks in february. Am I able to use mortar in between the joints to lock in all in place, or will it break in the freezing cycle? Thanks in advance.
Hey I’m in Victoria as well! You can but usually mortared joints are paired with mortared stone onto a concrete pad. If your flagstone is set on gravel or in sand then I’d recommend checking out Romex products from Site One supply on keating. They have some great jointing compounds for your application
Wow. How do you decide where to split the stone?
Really just doing whatever you can to fit pieces nicely together, so often choosing good shapes first and foremost and then hopefully just trimming the edges
Great video, I'm doing a small DiY project with Yorkstone flags/slabs. Complete beginner question but what kind of hammer is that? Is there any cheaper alternative to the carbide tracer chisel for splitting? They look great but are expensive.
Also if you were needing to split off a corner or smaller chunk, say 1/3rd of the slab would you use the tracer? or pitcher to chip away? Many thanks if you can help :)
Hey I’m not familiar with that particular type of stone, however you can certainly use a standard cold/steel chisel in tandem with a grinder or small cutoff saw to shape the stones to your liking. It’ll involve creating more dust (MUST wear a mask) but you can achieve the same results. The hammer is just a small 2.5lb mini sledge. You can use any smaller hammer that is comfortable for you to wield. If there’s enough of the stone there ie 1/3rd then you could try to split it right on your line with the tracer as opposed to chipping it back. Some stone types don’t take to splitting very well so definitely be prepared to cut and shape with a grinder as well!
Can you recommend a place to find these carbide tipped chisels?
Absolutely! www.miconproducts.com
What are the widths of the two chisels you use here?
The pitching tool is 1-5/8” wide, and the tracer is 2”
Hard to hear in the audio ...... What are the names of the chisels you used ?
Hey here’s a link to them. I use the tracers for splitting flagstone. www.miconproducts.com/pitching_tools.html
I notice that the chisel wa thick and blunt can you comment on that
They are carbide tipped chisels, you can check them out at Micon Tools. One has a point for splitting and the other is squared for chiselling the edge of the stone
Great job! What kind of chiesels are they?
TheWinwin4all thanks! They are Rebit chisels from Micon tools in Vancouver
@@HardscapeCanada Oh snap, you're local, that's so cool. I went to micon and bookmarked their site. Thanks a ton.
@@shaidyn8278 hey you’re very welcome! You won’t be disappointed in those chisels!
Would this chiseling work with Granite flagstone?
Yeah you may have to play with it a bit but it absolutely should. Try to work in from the outer edges when possible for fitting
@@HardscapeCanada Thank you. I love the content. I went to the website you suggested - Micron out of Vancouver I believe. Too many options! Can you recommend and a mallet and chisel for a beginning - primarily working with granite. Cost is not an issue
My stone is brown or rust colored and doesn't brake like this, if I try that technique with my tracer, the other side will crack in a different spot, why is that? I wish you could work with me for 10 min, I'm lost and I have 20 tons of this done on my lawn.. wife is going to kill me
Hey Dan, do you know what type of stone it is that you have? You may want to start cutting with a grinder or cutoff saw as well as chiseling. That will speed it right up for you. If it’s going to be laid with grass in between then you can get away with larger 3-4” gaps and won’t need to work the stone as much as just fit shapes.
@@HardscapeCanada i meant to say 20 tons of stone in my grass. Haha. Ok, I'll try that, a friend let me use a 900 saw. Maybe that's what I need to do. Thanks. I don't know what kind of stone this is.
What type of stone is this?
Hey this is Pennsylvania Bluestone. They ship it all over North America
PLEASE forgive me for calling you Chris. So very sorry to misname you. I was, ahem, distracted when writing, but very enthusiastic.
Must remember that these things don't go together, especially when cutting anything. Mk
Hey no worries at all! I’m so glad that you got some good, usable info from my video!
Eyeball🤣🤣🤣 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️. You put the first stone over the other one. Perfect match. Come ooooon 🤦🏻♂️. All these hobby stone masons please keep your own tricks to yourself. Dubbel tapp has become a trend. There is no such thing 🙄🙄🤦🏻♂️🤣🤣🤣. 😘❤️😉
Thanks for your comment
Awesome!
Thank you