Hot dog!!!! It appears Mr. Chickadee is starting another series on building a structure from foundation to finish. You’re the absolute best at these videos Mr. Chickadee. Can’t wait for the next videos showing the progress of the build.
Everything always seems so serene when you work. The sounds of nature combined with the sounds of simple hand tools is so relaxing. It is always a pleasure to watch and learn.
I find this so interesting. My brother was a bricklayer and he really enjoyed working with real stone. So much construction today is done with cultured stone as its roughly half the cost up here. So those few jobs he got that involved real stone were special, and they turned out beautiful. It caused me to admire what our ancestors achieved even more since they had none of our modern tools or machinery. I learn so much watching you that I really appreciate it when you post a new video. Your skill, methods, patience and the resulting projects are amazing.
I cannot properly express how much I find this such a great stress reliever, to listen to nature and you working while I slave away at my 9-5. You are living the dream! Thanks Mr Chickadee!
Great to see another episode! Every time I see a chickadee at my bird feeder, I think of you! Feathers and wedges are fun, but take a lot of patient work. First time I have seen them used on 2 sides of a cube-shaped rock. Stone weighs 4K-5K per cubic yard, so those are real groaners!
My sister grew up to be a very fine cook but cooks are made and their early attempts are not always successful. Dinner one night when I was a lad was a savory beef stew over split biscuits. My sister Pat made the biscuits which were handsome and browned just right - but hard as that stone you were working. I remember my dad attempting to split one trying to make it look effortless but it was clear his table knife was a frail tool for the job. He could have better have used your chisel and wedges - which fetched this recollection.. Pat tried to hold it in and I, cruel brother, for once kept my mouth shut as dad hewed away at his flint buscuit. The storm broke, Pat ran sobbing to her room with Mom following. Dad and I looked at each other stifling our giggles. Ever after, post holes, knotty firewood rounds, anything immune to cutting tools were "like Pat's biscuits" which was unfair because 60 years of subsequent biscuits were delectable and soft. Every family has events that become legend but this one had to be passed on out of Pat's hearing or face a sinkful of dirty dishes. Thank you, Josh, for bringing that to mind. Those aren't mere foundation piers; they rival the Sarsen Stones of Stonehenge. Just out of curiosity, what are you building? Two storeys, three? A water tower? How'd you get them home? In my younger days, I'd have dribbled them two at a time like so many basketballs but I suppose the puny modern generation has to employ more laborious methods.
Great story, I just cant help thinking, I can only imagine she neglected the baking powder? I used to make ships bisquits like that, basically just cracker recipe without any rising agent, good for breaking out teeth, but great travel food. The reality of these stones delivery is less than epic. I simply paid a neighbor who does "dirt work" to haul them and dump at my place. Spent way more in the hauling fee than the rock...they have laid in a roadside hollow for 30+ years, one had a small tree growing atop it. The old man was happy to get rid of them, for a tiny fee.
I will argue that the side wedges are probably not necessary but certainly don’t hurt anything by being there. Especially with such a narrow span to break open. Always enjoy your videos sir! Thank you!
This never gets old. Fantastic stone work Josh, Thanks for sharing with us. Your work is really great to watch. Stay safe and keep up the fun you all have. Fred.
Always a pleasure to watch a skilled craftsmen at his craft…or should I say multi-crafted…this man cannot do no wrong…he is a master at whatever he does…thank you 😎
I would probably have a stroke doing this but modern Tom Sawyer here makes me want to take a whack at those chisels like Hercules? Lol Truly a master craftsperson.
Good morning, Mr. Chickadee ! Always a pleasure to see you. There must be great satisfaction in seeing the beginning fissure in the rock. The sound that tells you that you can lay your hammer down very soon. Very much looking forward to your project. Best regards to you and your family.
Dear Mr. Chickadee. 👍👌👏 Oh WOW! Nice, nice, nice, a new video and a new building in progress (and that means more of those fantastic videos coming)! Very well done again and as always (video and work). Of course I'm eagerly looking forward to watch the next part. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health to all of you.
Fascinating. I've seen stone split using star drills (which make round holes) and wedges with drifts before, but this method of using a chisel to make slit-shaped holes and then using only wedges is a new one on me. I only wish there were subtitles or a narrative to give a little more information.
These stone-splitting vids are breathtaking. If I didn’t like the sound of hammer on wedges so much I certainly would recommend “Time is on my Side” from the Stones for this one, just because it fit’s so well. But nit in your vids Josh. They’re extra beautiful because of the sound of handtools. Great work once again! Curious what this one turns out to become…
A fun method to experiment with is splitting using wood. You make a few holes along the split line, then pound in some bone dry softwood dowels (they should be as tight fitting as possible). Then soak them to make the wood expand, it takes 1-2 days but the wood will expand enough to split the rock. The Egyptians used this method for quarrying, but it works on smaller scales too. Not as fast as this method on smaller rocks, but it's certainly an interesting experiment.
Very cool. We have several large granite stones at our place from an old barn foundation, perhaps I’ll follow your technique. Did you forge those tools? Any specific steel type? It seems like they are all fully hardened.
Yes, home forged from old cold chisel, simple high carbon steel, water quenched and tempered to leave a hard edge and softer higher up. The wedges are just medium carbon steel, heat treated to be hard at the tip only not struck end
Great work...and before anyone says "see the Egyptians could have built the pyramids like this" remember that they were working with granite and supposedly only had copper tools. They also still had to move the 100+ tonne blocks sometimes miles from the quarry. They also did it with tolerances as tight as 1/1000th of an inch and surfaces finished so smooth they still reflect like mirrors many thousands of years later
Look at Mike Haduck's videos on how the Egyptians did it. Easier than you think even with hard stone. The pyramid blocks were mostly rough fill and the final stones on the slope were finished in place. You can still see unfinished blocks in the process of being shaped to slope. He shows you.
There is something very recognizable about the stone in the Appalachian mountains. Never been to this channel. Don't know who you are. I've lived on the west coast for more than 15 years. Those are stones from the Appalachian mountains if I ever did see them.
I find your method of splitting stone interesting. I've never tried using just wedges. That's the old way before the 1840s when they started using star drills, "feathers" and "wedges."
Cool, good video! This is just like the pyramids in Egypt, we know where the stone was harvested and we know where it ended up, but the mystery is how it was moved into place.
You make that look so easy. Most of the quarries here in Washington state produce granite or basalt. There is one quarry that produces sandstone (used to build the state capitol building). I recently built a stone retaining wall using local granite from the Columbia Granite Quarry in Ranier. Heavy stuff! I believe it is 160 lbs/ cubic ft. I tried both feathers/wedges and wedges only. Mixed results. Would have loved to get the sandstone but the quarry not in operation. I still enjoyed the work and the challenge.
Try using some large wooden wedges driven UNDER both sides of the stones to lift the weight up. Then you can balance it on a beam of timber, use gravity to assist. But nice work I admire your ethic. One can see a sizable new structure arising.
Bạn nên làm nhiều video về chặt cây,xẻ gỗ và chế tát công cụ làm mộc. Theo tôi nghĩ kênh của bạn sẽ phát triển hơn.Đó là ý kiến riêng của mình. Chúc sức khỏe bình an.
It's been a while since I saw one of your videos. I am still in awe over how you work. I do have a question. As you were tapping the wedges into the stone I seemed to hear a high pitch hit and every once in a while more of a thump sound. Is this due to the density of the stone area you are going through? Finally I want to wish you, your Dad, your family and friends continued health and happiness. May God continue to watch over all of you.
Im very interested in this form of foundation, what prevents frost heave from shifting the stones overtime since they are so shallowly buried? Thank you for the amazing content!
Can’t wait to see the build that’s coming up with this! I just love this channel. 2 questions, 1. those blocks will be the foundation for the structure, but what will they be sitting on? Just a few inches of gravel? Was it dug out, or what? And 2. The tools for splitting were home made, or did you buy them special?
Hot dog!!!! It appears Mr. Chickadee is starting another series on building a structure from foundation to finish. You’re the absolute best at these videos Mr. Chickadee. Can’t wait for the next videos showing the progress of the build.
Hope so. Always enjoy his content.
There's something so satisfying hearing that note change as the rock splits. Lovely work as always.☺☺
Everything always seems so serene when you work. The sounds of nature combined with the sounds of simple hand tools is so relaxing. It is always a pleasure to watch and learn.
I find this so interesting. My brother was a bricklayer and he really enjoyed working with real stone. So much construction today is done with cultured stone as its roughly half the cost up here. So those few jobs he got that involved real stone were special, and they turned out beautiful. It caused me to admire what our ancestors achieved even more since they had none of our modern tools or machinery. I learn so much watching you that I really appreciate it when you post a new video. Your skill, methods, patience and the resulting projects are amazing.
Can you show us an update on your Hobbit cellar? is it working well and not leaking?
Second this request
I cannot properly express how much I find this such a great stress reliever, to listen to nature and you working while I slave away at my 9-5. You are living the dream!
Thanks Mr Chickadee!
Thank you Mr. Chickadee for your contemplations.
Ahhhh, another temple to high quality construction being built. I already feel more inspired.
I’m convinced you’re primary skill set is not woodworking but or stonework, it’s patience and persistence.
You'd make watching paint dry interesting... HA! Man, you have patience!!!
Ah yes, the best gift I could get for my birthday today - A video from Mr Chickadee!
A new more advance and sophisticated Stonehenge. That is the new project.
Great to see another episode! Every time I see a chickadee at my bird feeder, I think of you!
Feathers and wedges are fun, but take a lot of patient work. First time I have seen them used on 2 sides of a cube-shaped rock.
Stone weighs 4K-5K per cubic yard, so those are real groaners!
That's like 2.5 metric tons or so.
Just wedges used here no feathers. Feathers and wedges require a round drilled hole to be used.
@@dicksargent3582 Thats what I was going to say. What is the name of the knife-like chisel he was using to cut the slots for these wedges though?
Nice to see another project take shape
My sister grew up to be a very fine cook but cooks are made and their early attempts are not always successful. Dinner one night when I was a lad was a savory beef stew over split biscuits. My sister Pat made the biscuits which were handsome and browned just right - but hard as that stone you were working. I remember my dad attempting to split one trying to make it look effortless but it was clear his table knife was a frail tool for the job. He could have better have used your chisel and wedges - which fetched this recollection..
Pat tried to hold it in and I, cruel brother, for once kept my mouth shut as dad hewed away at his flint buscuit. The storm broke, Pat ran sobbing to her room with Mom following. Dad and I looked at each other stifling our giggles. Ever after, post holes, knotty firewood rounds, anything immune to cutting tools were "like Pat's biscuits" which was unfair because 60 years of subsequent biscuits were delectable and soft. Every family has events that become legend but this one had to be passed on out of Pat's hearing or face a sinkful of dirty dishes.
Thank you, Josh, for bringing that to mind.
Those aren't mere foundation piers; they rival the Sarsen Stones of Stonehenge. Just out of curiosity, what are you building? Two storeys, three? A water tower?
How'd you get them home? In my younger days, I'd have dribbled them two at a time like so many basketballs but I suppose the puny modern generation has to employ more laborious methods.
Great story, I just cant help thinking, I can only imagine she neglected the baking powder? I used to make ships bisquits like that, basically just cracker recipe without any rising agent, good for breaking out teeth, but great travel food.
The reality of these stones delivery is less than epic. I simply paid a neighbor who does "dirt work" to haul them and dump at my place. Spent way more in the hauling fee than the rock...they have laid in a roadside hollow for 30+ years, one had a small tree growing atop it. The old man was happy to get rid of them, for a tiny fee.
I'm interested to see what you build next. They're always real lookers :)
Me too!
We all are, Dorian. We all are.
Thanks Dorian!
Me three!
That's why I'm subscribed to you both!
Love the giant square! Brings out my hillbilly ingenuity
so amazing, really shows the elegance and power of dedicated craftsmanship
I will argue that the side wedges are probably not necessary but certainly don’t hurt anything by being there. Especially with such a narrow span to break open. Always enjoy your videos sir! Thank you!
just trying to be careful, dont want a runaway crack to destroy these beauties.
I really admire how you repurpose those big stones, using only the most basic tools, and look forward to your future projects' videos.
Seeing the "split" starting is so satisfying to watch!
Thanks for this Video Mr. Chickadee!
Great job as always. It is great watching someone work so skillfully with hand tools.
Awesome!
I’m so happy to see you back cracking rock!
This never gets old. Fantastic stone work Josh, Thanks for sharing with us. Your work is really great to watch. Stay safe and keep up the fun you all have. Fred.
Another beautiful functional building in the making!
Glad to hear from you
Missed your work. Glad you're back
So satisfying when the wedges stop ringing. 💪
Always a pleasure to watch you work Mr C. Regards Jim UK.
I admire your patience. I would’ve been cursing to the heavens when working in that tight area between the two stones.
i was haha
That sandstone really cracks nicely.
Always a pleasure to watch a skilled craftsmen at his craft…or should I say multi-crafted…this man cannot do no wrong…he is a master at whatever he does…thank you 😎
I would probably have a stroke doing this but modern Tom Sawyer here makes me want to take a whack at those chisels like Hercules? Lol Truly a master craftsperson.
Solid as rock brilliant work Josh
Good morning, Mr. Chickadee !
Always a pleasure to see you. There must be great satisfaction in seeing the beginning fissure in the rock. The sound that tells you that you can lay your hammer down very soon. Very much looking forward to your project.
Best regards to you and your family.
Looks like a new house build coming up for us to watch. Maybe shown with the students he teaches?
He is a man on a mission!!❗❗
You sir have the patience of Job.
You make this look way to easy, wish the done here worked that well.
Dear Mr. Chickadee.
👍👌👏 Oh WOW! Nice, nice, nice, a new video and a new building in progress (and that means more of those fantastic videos coming)! Very well done again and as always (video and work). Of course I'm eagerly looking forward to watch the next part.
Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing.
Best regards luck and health to all of you.
We have quite a few rock homes and buildings in our county seat of Galena and what a great piece of history and craftsmanship .
Looks like the start of another great build
That is some eminently workable stone.
👍🏼 Thanks! Splitting rock with the proper hand tools is extremely satisfying! (Yet I'd hate to do it very often or very much!) 😎✌🏼
true
Nice to have you back.
Смотрю на то, как этот парень трудится и у меня умиротворение. Спокойно без суеты и всё по делу!
Молодец. Дай ему Бог здоровья!
I'm stoked! Can't wait to see this one go up!
Patience, constance, and skills, you are awesome!
cool work. I'm very excited to see the whole project go up! Semper.
Thank you so much !!!
Fascinating. I've seen stone split using star drills (which make round holes) and wedges with drifts before, but this method of using a chisel to make slit-shaped holes and then using only wedges is a new one on me. I only wish there were subtitles or a narrative to give a little more information.
Turning big rocks into small rocks!
I envy your hard work and patience!
I always look forward to your videos.
Oh my days. He's doing it again
Looking forward to this unfolding!
Dear Sir,
Very interesting sound track. The blokes of Mogwai would like it!
Cheers from Brazil!
I thought that would take 48 years but you did it quick.
There's actually tranquility from the sound of a hammer hitting steel out in the peaceful nature
Cant wait to see what it turns into
Can't wait to see what this build will be!! Curious, how did you move the stones to their foundation points?
Iron feathers will significantly reduce wear on your wedges and make splitting go faster.
this method uses no feathers
Thanks for the tip, hakujin!
JIM
Pretty soft rock.
I hope we get to see the frame go up as well.
Been to long the vet bro, I've been trying to work on getting my rabbets 90 today n love watching n listening to ya as I work, stay safe brother
Thanks for the content!
Enjoyed the show
These stone-splitting vids are breathtaking. If I didn’t like the sound of hammer on wedges so much I certainly would recommend “Time is on my Side” from the Stones for this one, just because it fit’s so well. But nit in your vids Josh. They’re extra beautiful because of the sound of handtools. Great work once again! Curious what this one turns out to become…
A fun method to experiment with is splitting using wood. You make a few holes along the split line, then pound in some bone dry softwood dowels (they should be as tight fitting as possible). Then soak them to make the wood expand, it takes 1-2 days but the wood will expand enough to split the rock. The Egyptians used this method for quarrying, but it works on smaller scales too. Not as fast as this method on smaller rocks, but it's certainly an interesting experiment.
Great video as always. I wish you'd included the closed caption explanations this time though.
I’ve been obsessed with splitting stone. We have some land on the South Elkhorn creek here in Ky that has a lot of nice limestone.
Very cool. We have several large granite stones at our place from an old barn foundation, perhaps I’ll follow your technique. Did you forge those tools? Any specific steel type? It seems like they are all fully hardened.
Yes, home forged from old cold chisel, simple high carbon steel, water quenched and tempered to leave a hard edge and softer higher up. The wedges are just medium carbon steel, heat treated to be hard at the tip only not struck end
Amazing, as always love your work
Great work...and before anyone says "see the Egyptians could have built the pyramids like this" remember that they were working with granite and supposedly only had copper tools. They also still had to move the 100+ tonne blocks sometimes miles from the quarry.
They also did it with tolerances as tight as 1/1000th of an inch and surfaces finished so smooth they still reflect like mirrors many thousands of years later
Look at Mike Haduck's videos on how the Egyptians did it. Easier than you think even with hard stone. The pyramid blocks were mostly rough fill and the final stones on the slope were finished in place. You can still see unfinished blocks in the process of being shaped to slope. He shows you.
There is something very recognizable about the stone in the Appalachian mountains. Never been to this channel. Don't know who you are. I've lived on the west coast for more than 15 years. Those are stones from the Appalachian mountains if I ever did see them.
I find your method of splitting stone interesting. I've never tried using just wedges. That's the old way before the 1840s when they started using star drills, "feathers" and "wedges."
Cool, good video! This is just like the pyramids in Egypt, we know where the stone was harvested and we know where it ended up, but the mystery is how it was moved into place.
Beautifully done!...I'm in New England, wish granite could be worked like that
In researching this splitting technique with cape chisel, I found documents from your area showing granite worked in this same way, albeit slower.
@@MrChickadee Interesting, living on Cape Ann, most old cut granite shows signs of star drill with feathers and wedges. Thanks for the reply
You make that look so easy. Most of the quarries here in Washington state produce granite or basalt. There is one quarry that produces sandstone (used to build the state capitol building). I recently built a stone retaining wall using local granite from the Columbia Granite Quarry in Ranier. Heavy stuff! I believe it is 160 lbs/ cubic ft. I tried both feathers/wedges and wedges only. Mixed results. Would have loved to get the sandstone but the quarry not in operation. I still enjoyed the work and the challenge.
Great info!
As always, love the videos and craftsmanship! Wonder if you'd show how you move those stones with such precision?!
That was some ancient stones, pillars..
Pretty impressive work, dude! Just fantastic! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Try using some large wooden wedges driven UNDER both sides of the stones to lift the weight up. Then you can balance it on a beam of timber, use gravity to assist. But nice work I admire your ethic. One can see a sizable new structure arising.
Strange. I was just researching WPA projects earlier this morning. Everything really is connected.
Bạn nên làm nhiều video về chặt cây,xẻ gỗ và chế tát công cụ làm mộc. Theo tôi nghĩ kênh của bạn sẽ phát triển hơn.Đó là ý kiến riêng của mình. Chúc sức khỏe bình an.
Great video! I love the hat!
Ένα μεγάλο ευχαριστώ για την γνώση που μας προσφέρεις!
That was awesome
Have you ever come across Audel's Carpenters' and Builders' Guide books? They've got all kinds of stuff. I have a set from 1923.
I have seen those great stuff
Always great videos! Fun to learn new things!
It's been a while since I saw one of your videos. I am still in awe over how you work. I do have a question. As you were tapping the wedges into the stone I seemed to hear a high pitch hit and every once in a while more of a thump sound. Is this due to the density of the stone area you are going through? Finally I want to wish you, your Dad, your family and friends continued health and happiness. May God continue to watch over all of you.
Wish you could take us through the procedure of sharpening and hardening that cape chisel.
1. This video was insanely satisfying to watch. 2. what is the use of the plumb bomb? Is it just positioning the stone correctly?
yes
Have you ever tried wetting dry wooden pegs in holes in the stone? I'm sure I read once that the expansion of the wood can cause the stone to crack.
didnt work for me
Well if you couldn't get it to work, I won't bother trying :D
Mr. Chickadee makes me want to go out and find a big rock to split!!!!!!!!
Wonderful. Thank you. What kind of stone? Stay well.
Im very interested in this form of foundation, what prevents frost heave from shifting the stones overtime since they are so shallowly buried?
Thank you for the amazing content!
drainage, design...never an issue
oh lord hes building again!
Can’t wait to see the build that’s coming up with this! I just love this channel.
2 questions, 1. those blocks will be the foundation for the structure, but what will they be sitting on? Just a few inches of gravel? Was it dug out, or what?
And 2. The tools for splitting were home made, or did you buy them special?
Check our other videos for stone setting details. The chisel and wedges are home made.