The Westerly Granite Industry
Babcock-Smith House Museum
124 Granite Street
Westerly, RI 02891
401-596-5704
babcocksmithhouse@gmail.com
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The Westerly Granite Industry
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Babcock-Smith House Museum |
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Splitting the Stone |
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| Once the new face is exposed, the plug drill is used to drill holes about 6 inches deep and 6 inches apart. The feathers and wedges are set in place all along the line of drill holes (above). Once in place the quarryman gently hits one wedge after the other, gradually increasing the pressure along the entire line. Eventually the granite cracks apart. Plug drilling results in a less controlled break than deep holing and is appropriate to used only along the rift,the direction of the grain of the granite along which it is most easily split. |
© 2012 Babcock-Smith House Museum |
