Most of the videos for wedge and feathers show the user tapping the wedges almost continuously. For best results use a hammer not exceeding three pounds, tap each wedge lightly once or twice the first strike then wait few minutes before striking again. Three to 15 minutes is optimum. This allows the tools to do their job as the strain placed on the rock builds. Each additional strike should be followed by a short wait. Striking quickly or with larger hammers only wears out the tools. Additionally, there is no benefit to drilling deeper than length of the wedge.
as somebody that splits granite for a living this is not the correct process for granite go to instagram and enter rockportcutgranite and see the way we split our stone
quarrymen used a 6-8lb hammer for striking wedges. Once a piece of granite is traced {you do know what a tracer is and how it is used } and drilled the process of striking the wedges whether continuously or very slowly will not change the split at all. I laugh when I read something like this I can only imagine a stone splitter at a quarry telling the foreman he is taking a break while waiting for split to happen, Have you ever actually quarried or did you read about it somewhere
I use the same equipment except for the feathers and wedges. I use 3/4". The holes drilled in the video seem excessive. I only drill the hole so that it's the same length as the feather. Water quenching is an excellent tip. I've added to the equipment you mentioned - a shop vac and a large flat head screwdriver. Since my drilled holes are shorter, stone dust accumulates at the bottom of the hole not allowing the feather to insert fully. Utilizing the shop vac and screwdriver (as a sort of rake) the stone dust is easily removed. I've gotten excellent results using a smaller hammer (a carpenter's hammer). The larger hammer I started with was causing blowouts at the top of the hole. Once the wedge is seated one tap on each wedge, in order, will split the stone. Once the stone is split I remove the feathers and wedges rather than hammer them all the way into the stone. Then I insert the flat head screwdriver blade into the crack and with a slight prying action the stone splits in half. This will keep the feathers from straightening out as the curved part of the feather never goes into the hole. Excellent video on a rare task.
nyjohn12 Excellent suggestions. My rocks were quite large basalt. With deeper holes I did not need to remove the dust. The deeper holes also helped control the split. Of course it is harder on your drills. That was the reason for the water dip. On the larger rocks I used a large cold chisel or if really large a 6 foot bar to separate the pieces. Some rocks were so large that I had to make several breaks to make the pieces small enough for me to man handle out of the way. If you want a complete dvd of my garden project-Mom’s Memory Garden-let me know your address and I will send you one. I would put it on TH-cam but it is over 2 hours long. Send your address to davidboneck@cs.com and ask for it. Thanks
That dress shirt was an old work shirt from my work on a grounds crew at a university. When I retired from there I kept some old shirts to do work around the house.
I have a Chinese made SDS rotary hammer drill 1500W - 950 rpm and am trying to do the same exercise with granite rocks. To drill 5/8" holes for the wedge and feathers I have been starting with a smaller drill like a 3/8" then gradually going larger. However my problem is having the tips of the bit mushroom from overheating. I drill for say 20 sec. remove and put in water and do another 20 sec. I use DeWalt or Bosch bits but always end up with mushroomed drill bits. At times I see sparks emited from the hole as if I hit rebar. Don't know what I am doing wrong but I am going through bits like crazy and that is just trying to drill a few holes 4" deep to place the wedges. Any suggestions?
If you hit rebar there isn't much hope for saving the drill bit. I would use only one drill for the correct size for the feathers rather than drilling to resize. Try a 5/8 inch bit for a 3/4" wedge. I have not drilled in granite but suspect that to be less dense than basalt which I drilled and split. The holes i drilled where as deep as 6 to 10" deep to control my split. I think you are drilling about the proper depth with granite about four or 5 inches. Make sure you blow out the dust in the hole frequently to keep the drill from bottoming out. That will also help in reducing the heat build up. When I first started drilling in basalt I had the same experience of going through a lot of bits. I then got me a five gallon bucket with water in it enough to cover the drill bit. After each hole I would remove the bit from the drill and drop it in the water for a couple of minutes to cool before drilling the next hole. Some say that this removes the temper from the drill but I did not find that to be the case. Although the bit finally gave out it lasted much much longer but it would have lasted even longer if I did not drill such a deep hole. I drilled basalt deeper because I wanted more control with the split in the stubborn basalt as I used the split rock for steps or other uses that required a flatter surface. I use a Bosch GBH2-28L-RT 8.5 Amp 1-1/8 in. SDS-Plus Bulldog Xtreme MAX Rotary Hammer. It gives me about 5100 beats per minute with variable speed up to 1300 rpm. I use the Bosch sds plus drills for most of the project and they served me well on my large landscape project. Love this Bosch drill and it is reasonably priced. The only trouble I had with it was a burned out switch which I replaced myself with out to much of a problem. It helps to keep the drill clean so I would blow out the dust using a air hose from my compressor. Hope this helps. Happy drilling.
I forgot to add that it sounds like you are using a regular type drill. The drill should be either a single blade carbon tipped or a cross blade carbon tip. The flukes of the drill are mainly to help remove the dust. The tip does all the cutting. The carbon tips come in single blade or cross blade that are fused to tip of the flukes. I have been satisfied to just use the single blade carbon tipped drill. You can see the types I use for my SDS plus drill at: www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/sds-plus-hammer-carbide-22573-c/
@@DavidBoneck Thanks for the response. I previously used a workshop cordless hammer drill to make holes for wedges and the only way I could drill was by starting with small bits and gradually using larger ones. The rock is extremely hard and hard on DeWalt chucks. Remember I have an empty lot for growing trees and plants and have over time encountered about 10 large submerged rocks that I had to break. You find these one by one so you optimistically predict that you will never find another so why invest in an upgraded drill. I finally upgraded to a Chinese rotary corded hammer drill (SDS) ($110) and tried the same technique as before; start small and gradually go larger and also had a bucket of water handy but noticed after no more than 20 secs the tip melted and mushroomed. The rocks are speckled with quartz and this is probably why I see sparks while drilling. Sometimes there is melted rock fused to the bits. I was amazed when I saw your video that you started with a larger bit and went through the rocks like butter. In my case as well I put a lot of force on the drill which after the fact I understand impedes the hammer action. I ran out of ammo (bits) and live in Central America so I am waiting for a delivery from Amzn to break what are hopefully the last two I ever touch. I will take your advice and apply less pressure and start with a larger bit. If that doesn't do it then I will purchase a drill like you have as it is far less expensive than a Hilti. It all proves that without the right tools drilling hard rock can cause a lot of brain damage. It is too bad that there are no variations of videos similar to yours comparing various drill brands/ models going trough tough rocks like basalt and granite and who makes the best bits for these job. Having the wrong tool for this job really sucks and wastes time.
@@DavidBoneck Thsnks again! I actually have some Bosch bits on order which will be delivered hopefully next week. I have two large rocks waiting for the bits to be tested. This experience has left me exasperated. and when my wife sees me bringing a lot of tools to the car her reply is "Oh no another rock." Your video has given me renewed hope.
I have never had a bit fracture using this method but I do not rule out this possibility. When working alone it would have been hard to use the steady stream of water and I would have needed a very long hose.
Jim Schowe Thanks for your question and suggestion. I will have to experiment with that. The rock I split is basalt. The deep holes help control the split as they help channel the split rather than leave it to chance. There is a crust around the basalt rock that often breaks off if it is a shallow hole. I suppose if the crust is thinner that a shallower hole would work fine but I will have to experiment to see how that will work. The rocks I had to split were fairly large and I was unsure if a shallower hole would work. When you have a failed split it makes it more difficult to get a straight split. A straight split also allowed a flat surface which helped when I used the split rock for a base of a stacked wall or for yard or garden decoration.
drilling the hole any deeper than the wedge is a waste of time. Rather than drilling deeper drill more normal depth holes and insert more wedges and you will get more splitting effect sds bits for the bulldog extreme only cost about $6.00 each on line. Cooling the bits in water are more likely to fracture the carbide than not.
Thanks for the response. I have had the bit tips fracture more often when I did not cool them. They have lasted longer when cooled in water. Basalt is difficult to split and when you use the split rock for other purposes you need as clean a break as you can get. The rocks that I split are usually pretty large. A lot of times when basalt cools in its formation there is a softer shell around the rock and it is difficult to split clean through if you drill a shallow hole. Where is your source for $6.00 bits? I usually buy the 5/8 x 12" at Lowes and get a 10% veterans discount. Last ones I bought were over a year ago and I think were about $18-$20 each. Thanks
@@DavidBoneck David we split rockport granite that we quarry never use bits larger than 5/8 The splitting effect of the wedges is only as deep as the wedges and half rounds No offense we hate the term feathers because they are shaped as a half round and not like a feather we will dill 40 -50 holes at one time without stopping or changing or sharpening bit, bits are usually purchased on ebay and buy 100 at a time last purchase was at a cost of less than $3.00/bit 1/2 size we only work with granite so our process is based on that . go to rockportcutgranite on instagram to see how we quarry and split our stone
Thanks for your good information. I wish basalt split as easy as granite. I am just a back yard project type guy and only bought a few bits at a time. My back yard terraces have all been completed. As they were on city land, which has now been sold, others have the benefit of my terraces. I probably won't be doing much rock splitting again. I could however help a neighbor out.
You are right. I did use a dolly on some of the other large rocks I was working with. You have to be careful when getting the rock on the lip of the dolly. I learned that the hard way as when you drop it on the lip make sure that the lip is flat on the ground or you could get slapped by the handle if it flips forward from the sudden drop of the rock on the lip.
Carbide is supposed to be air cooled. The water quenching can cause stress fractures and shatter. The idea is to have multiple bits to allow time for a normalizing cool down.
Bryan Rutan Thanks Bryan. Good point. When I didn’t use the water I went through a lot of bits. After using the water for cool down my bits lasted much longer. They probably would last longer using air cool down and several bits to get the maximum life out of the bits. Thanks for your suggestion.
Most of the videos for wedge and feathers show the user tapping the wedges almost continuously. For best results use a hammer not exceeding three pounds, tap each wedge lightly once or twice the first strike then wait few minutes before striking again. Three to 15 minutes is optimum. This allows the tools to do their job as the strain placed on the rock builds. Each additional strike should be followed by a short wait. Striking quickly or with larger hammers only wears out the tools. Additionally, there is no benefit to drilling deeper than length of the wedge.
as somebody that splits granite for a living this is not the correct process for granite go to instagram and enter rockportcutgranite and see the way we split our stone
quarrymen used a 6-8lb hammer for striking wedges. Once a piece of granite is traced {you do know what a tracer is and how it is used } and drilled the process of striking the wedges whether continuously or very slowly will not change the split at all. I laugh when I read something like this I can only imagine a stone splitter at a quarry telling the foreman he is taking a break while waiting for split to happen, Have you ever actually quarried or did you read about it somewhere
I use the same equipment except for the feathers and wedges. I use 3/4". The holes drilled in the video seem excessive. I only drill the hole so that it's the same length as the feather. Water quenching is an excellent tip. I've added to the equipment you mentioned - a shop vac and a large flat head screwdriver. Since my drilled holes are shorter, stone dust accumulates at the bottom of the hole not allowing the feather to insert fully. Utilizing the shop vac and screwdriver (as a sort of rake) the stone dust is easily removed. I've gotten excellent results using a smaller hammer (a carpenter's hammer). The larger hammer I started with was causing blowouts at the top of the hole. Once the wedge is seated one tap on each wedge, in order, will split the stone. Once the stone is split I remove the feathers and wedges rather than hammer them all the way into the stone. Then I insert the flat head screwdriver blade into the crack and with a slight prying action the stone splits in half. This will keep the feathers from straightening out as the curved part of the feather never goes into the hole. Excellent video on a rare task.
nyjohn12 Excellent suggestions. My rocks were quite large basalt. With deeper holes I did not need to remove the dust. The deeper holes also helped control the split. Of course it is harder on your drills. That was the reason for the water dip. On the larger rocks I used a large cold chisel or if really large a 6 foot bar to separate the pieces. Some rocks were so large that I had to make several breaks to make the pieces small enough for me to man handle out of the way. If you want a complete dvd of my garden project-Mom’s Memory Garden-let me know your address and I will send you one. I would put it on TH-cam but it is over 2 hours long. Send your address to davidboneck@cs.com and ask for it. Thanks
Very good suggestions. Thanks for your input.
Basalt is really tough, so not easy to split. Congrats.
I'm just sitting here on TH-cam waiting for that day I'm so good I can spilt rock in a dress shirt and slacks.
That dress shirt was an old work shirt from my work on a grounds crew at a university. When I retired from there I kept some old shirts to do work around the house.
I have a Chinese made SDS rotary hammer drill 1500W - 950 rpm and am trying to do the same exercise with granite rocks. To drill 5/8" holes for the wedge and feathers I have been starting with a
smaller drill like a 3/8" then gradually going larger. However my problem is having the tips of the bit mushroom from overheating. I drill for say 20 sec. remove and put in water and do another 20 sec. I use DeWalt or Bosch bits but always end up with mushroomed drill bits. At times I see sparks emited from the hole as if I hit rebar. Don't know what I am doing wrong but I am going through bits like crazy and that is just trying to drill a few holes 4" deep to place the wedges. Any suggestions?
If you hit rebar there isn't much hope for saving the drill bit. I would use only one drill for the correct size for the feathers rather than drilling to resize. Try a 5/8 inch bit for a 3/4" wedge. I have not drilled in granite but suspect that to be less dense than basalt which I drilled and split. The holes i drilled where as deep as 6 to 10" deep to control my split. I think you are drilling about the proper depth with granite about four or 5 inches. Make sure you blow out the dust in the hole frequently to keep the drill from bottoming out. That will also help in reducing the heat build up. When I first started drilling in basalt I had the same experience of going through a lot of bits. I then got me a five gallon bucket with water in it enough to cover the drill bit. After each hole I would remove the bit from the drill and drop it in the water for a couple of minutes to cool before drilling the next hole. Some say that this removes the temper from the drill but I did not find that to be the case. Although the bit finally gave out it lasted much much longer but it would have lasted even longer if I did not drill such a deep hole. I drilled basalt deeper because I wanted more control with the split in the stubborn basalt as I used the split rock for steps or other uses that required a flatter surface. I use a Bosch GBH2-28L-RT 8.5 Amp 1-1/8 in. SDS-Plus Bulldog Xtreme MAX Rotary Hammer. It gives me about 5100 beats per minute with variable speed up to 1300 rpm. I use the Bosch sds plus drills for most of the project and they served me well on my large landscape project. Love this Bosch drill and it is reasonably priced. The only trouble I had with it was a burned out switch which I replaced myself with out to much of a problem. It helps to keep the drill clean so I would blow out the dust using a air hose from my compressor. Hope this helps. Happy drilling.
I forgot to add that it sounds like you are using a regular type drill. The drill should be either a single blade carbon tipped or a cross blade carbon tip. The flukes of the drill are mainly to help remove the dust. The tip does all the cutting. The carbon tips come in single blade or cross blade that are fused to tip of the flukes. I have been satisfied to just use the single blade carbon tipped drill. You can see the types I use for my SDS plus drill at: www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/sds-plus-hammer-carbide-22573-c/
@@DavidBoneck Thanks for the response. I previously used a workshop cordless hammer drill to make holes for wedges and the only way I could drill was by starting with small bits and gradually using larger ones. The rock is extremely hard and hard on DeWalt chucks. Remember I have an empty lot for growing trees and plants and have over time encountered about 10 large submerged rocks that I had to break. You find these one by one so you optimistically predict that you will never find another so why invest in an upgraded drill.
I finally upgraded to a Chinese rotary corded hammer drill (SDS) ($110) and tried the same technique as before; start small and gradually go larger and also had a bucket of water handy but noticed after no more than 20 secs the tip melted and mushroomed. The rocks are speckled with quartz and this is probably why I see sparks while drilling. Sometimes there is melted rock fused to the bits.
I was amazed when I saw your video that you started with a larger bit and went through the rocks like butter. In my case as well I put a lot of force on the drill which after the fact I understand impedes the hammer action.
I ran out of ammo (bits) and live in Central America so I am waiting for a delivery from Amzn to break what are hopefully the last two I ever touch.
I will take your advice and apply less pressure and start with a larger bit.
If that doesn't do it then I will purchase a drill like you have as it is far less expensive than a Hilti. It all proves that without the right tools drilling hard rock can cause a lot of brain damage.
It is too bad that there are no variations of videos similar to yours comparing various drill brands/ models going trough tough rocks like basalt and granite and who makes the best bits for these job.
Having the wrong tool for this job really sucks and wastes time.
@@DavidBoneck Thsnks again! I actually have some Bosch bits on order which will be delivered hopefully next week. I have two large rocks waiting for the bits to be tested.
This experience has left me exasperated. and when my wife sees me bringing a lot of tools to the car her reply is "Oh no another rock."
Your video has given me renewed hope.
A site that does a good job of more in depth use of drill bits is: th-cam.com/video/gEhx1ehRkGg/w-d-xo.html
thanks, that was very informative
Adding a steady stream of water while hammer/drilling, will preserve the bit for hundreds of holes.
wrong the sudden change in temp will fracture the carbide water when drilling is ok but do not put hot bit in cold water
I have never had a bit fracture using this method but I do not rule out this possibility. When working alone it would have been hard to use the steady stream of water and I would have needed a very long hose.
Your bulldog Roto hammer is only 8 Amp. A 16 gauge power cord would be more than enough.
Why do you drill such a deep hole? I usually only drill 1 inch deeper than the wedges an have had no problems. Would make it easier on your drills.
Jim Schowe Thanks for your question and suggestion. I will have to experiment with that. The rock I split is basalt. The deep holes help control the split as they help channel the split rather than leave it to chance. There is a crust around the basalt rock that often breaks off if it is a shallow hole. I suppose if the crust is thinner that a shallower hole would work fine but I will have to experiment to see how that will work. The rocks I had to split were fairly large and I was unsure if a shallower hole would work. When you have a failed split it makes it more difficult to get a straight split. A straight split also allowed a flat surface which helped when I used the split rock for a base of a stacked wall or for yard or garden decoration.
drilling the hole any deeper than the wedge is a waste of time. Rather than drilling deeper drill more normal depth holes and insert more wedges and you will get more splitting effect sds bits for the bulldog extreme only cost about $6.00 each on line. Cooling the bits in water are more likely to fracture the carbide than not.
Thanks for the response. I have had the bit tips fracture more often when I did not cool them. They have lasted longer when cooled in water. Basalt is difficult to split and when you use the split rock for other purposes you need as clean a break as you can get. The rocks that I split are usually pretty large. A lot of times when basalt cools in its formation there is a softer shell around the rock and it is difficult to split clean through if you drill a shallow hole. Where is your source for $6.00 bits? I usually buy the 5/8 x 12" at Lowes and get a 10% veterans discount. Last ones I bought were over a year ago and I think were about $18-$20 each. Thanks
@@DavidBoneck David we split rockport granite that we quarry never use bits larger than 5/8 The splitting effect of the wedges is only as deep as the wedges and half rounds No offense we hate the term feathers because they are shaped as a half round and not like a feather we will dill 40 -50 holes at one time without stopping or changing or sharpening bit, bits are usually purchased on ebay and buy 100 at a time last purchase was at a cost of less than $3.00/bit 1/2 size we only work with granite so our process is based on that . go to rockportcutgranite on instagram to see how we quarry and split our stone
Thanks for your good information. I wish basalt split as easy as granite. I am just a back yard project type guy and only bought a few bits at a time. My back yard terraces have all been completed. As they were on city land, which has now been sold, others have the benefit of my terraces. I probably won't be doing much rock splitting again. I could however help a neighbor out.
What would save time and toes is to get a proper tool to move the rock: a dolly.
You are right. I did use a dolly on some of the other large rocks I was working with. You have to be careful when getting the rock on the lip of the dolly. I learned that the hard way as when you drop it on the lip make sure that the lip is flat on the ground or you could get slapped by the handle if it flips forward from the sudden drop of the rock on the lip.
I pray for your lungs sir
Thanks for the heads up.
Carbide is supposed to be air cooled. The water quenching can cause stress fractures and shatter. The idea is to have multiple bits to allow time for a normalizing cool down.
Bryan Rutan Thanks Bryan. Good point. When I didn’t use the water I went through a lot of bits. After using the water for cool down my bits lasted much longer. They probably would last longer using air cool down and several bits to get the maximum life out of the bits. Thanks for your suggestion.
If you are real Amerikan, should use Milwakee or deWalt... or BlackandDekker///
The Bosch was recommended by the sales person I spoke with but I am sure there are others that would work just as well.
@@DavidBoneck Hm-hm...
@@СергейРяшкин I agree, though. American is the best way to go.
@@DavidBoneck D'you have wattzup, pal?
I suspect you mean Whats Up Application. I do not have that. I use messenger.