Hammering some slabs

[aml1014]

Over the last few years I've been carrying large flat pieces of granite down from my local mountains with the idea of some day carving them into slabs.
Well I had some extra money yesterday and had the random thought to get at it, so I bought a nice new rock hammer.
I have yet to do any more then hit the rocks a couple times to see how it works and boy does it work, but it is loud! The noise problem has me thinking I'll only be able to do it on my days off when I'm home in the middle of the day to make some noise.
I've got lots of stones bit these are the two I'm going to start with.
@sorce called me Andy Dufrain last night lol.
Who knows maybe this will be the start to a side hobby, I already know it's going to take some time to carve these.

Aaron

 

[Nwaite]

Is granite something that people use alot of the time for this ? Or is there better rocks that can be used?

 

[aml1014]

Is granite something that people use alot of the time for this ? Or is there better rocks that can be used?

I'm m not totally sure what most people use, it's just what's available to me for free when I go for hikes.
I'd say granite is as good as any considering it's density, so far I can tell this will be a slow process with these very hard pieces of rock.

Aaron

 

[GrimLore]

I'm m not totally sure what most people use, it's just what's available to me for free when I go for hikes.
I'd say granite is as good as any considering it's density, so far I can tell this will be a slow process with these very hard pieces of rock.

Aaron

Always cool to reclaim when possible. As you get older though I suspect you will be looking for lighter materials

Grimmy

 

[aml1014]

Always cool to reclaim when possible. As you get older though I suspect you will be looking for lighter materials

Grimmy

Believe me even at my young age it is not easy manuvering around the mountains here with a 50lb hunk of rock and a tree on your back lol

Aaron

 

[Alain]

I'm m not totally sure what most people use, it's just what's available to me for free when I go for hikes.
I'd say granite is as good as any considering it's density, so far I can tell this will be a slow process with these very hard pieces of rock.

Aaron

Well in fact this rock isn't a granite.
Hard to see exactly what it is based on the picture but I would say it's a pegmatite. Does it make dykes in the landscape?
Or a gneiss. It's a gneiss anyway as it has obviously been deformed.

Regarding the breaking down of it have you tried to use the pre-existing cleavage plans instead of hammering perpendicular to them?


To answer @Nwaite why not? I don't see why any kind of rock wouldn't be suitable to make a slab or a pot unless you are trying to use pitchblende (uranium ore) and even though you could end-up with a pretty sweet pot that glows in the night

 

[aml1014]

Well in fact this rock isn't a granite.
Hard to see exactly what it is based on the picture but I would say it's a pegmatite. Does it make dykes in the landscape?
Or a gneiss. It's a gneiss anyway as it has obviously been deformed.

Regarding the breaking down of it have you tried to use the pre-existing cleavage plans instead of hammering perpendicular to them?
View attachment 103968

To answer @Nwaite why not? I don't see why any kind of rock wouldn't be suitable to make a slab or a pot unless you are trying to do use pitchblende (uranium ore) and even though you could end-up with a pretty sweet pot that glows in the night

It's definition granite, it's what my local sandia mountains are made completely of.
Aaron

 

[sorce]

I was hammering some slabs this morning too!



Sorce

 

[Nwaite]

Well in fact this rock isn't a granite.
Hard to see exactly what it is based on the picture but I would say it's a pegmatite. Does it make dykes in the landscape?
Or a gneiss. It's a gneiss anyway as it has obviously been deformed.

Regarding the breaking down of it have you tried to use the pre-existing cleavage plans instead of hammering perpendicular to them?
View attachment 103968

To answer @Nwaite why not? I don't see why any kind of rock wouldn't be suitable to make a slab or a pot unless you are trying to use pitchblende (uranium ore) and even though you could end-up with a pretty sweet pot that glows in the night

God.its.sexy when you talk rocks...

Well I know that slat looks like it would be nice but at the same time it brakes easily. .. and granite is kinda heavy. . So I wasn't sure .

 

[Alain]

It's definition granite, it's what my local sandia mountains are made completely of.View attachment 103970
Aaron

Well it has been deformed as I said and as you could see with the foliation plans so, by definition, it's a gneiss.
However a gneiss could have been a granite prior to deformation, no problem with that, even if now it's a gneiss.

Now the Sandia mountain are comprise of precambrian crystaline basement rocks as you could see on the following map from the USGS:


In these precambrian crystaline basement you might very well have granite sensus stricto, as well as granodiorites, tonalites and so on.
Granite is a term use more or less everywhere to describe, let's say, 'rocks which aren't sedimentary rocks but aren't basalt neither', it's an exaggeration but not that much.

Anyway: did you try to use the foliation plans to break down your rock? It will eventually breaks along them anyway.

 

[Alain]

God.its.sexy when you talk rocks...

Well I know that slat looks like it would be nice but at the same time it brakes easily. .. and granite is kinda heavy. . So I wasn't sure .

Actually the density of granite is 2.7 which isn't 'heavy'
Heavy would be ultramaffic rocks (piece of mantle brought here by God, well may be not by Him directly but I'm pretty sure He participated) with a density of around 3 - 3.2

Some problems I could see with a granite as a pot or slab will be:

1) the grain size, if your granite (or assimilated) is coarse grained, like that:

then it might break down easily as the minerals will fall apart.

2) the degree of alteration.
Granite are easily altered so in this case the surface becomes soft and will have a tendency to gives you sand in no time.

Anyway you live in Maine, you might have this kind of gneisses all over the place no?

If so go for them!
Those will resist time and will split easily in slabs.

 

[aml1014]

Well it has been deformed as I said and as you could see with the foliation plans so, by definition, it's a gneiss.
However a gneiss could have been a granite prior to deformation, no problem with that, even if now it's a gneiss.

Now the Sandia mountain are comprise of precambrian crystaline basement rocks as you could see on the following map from the USGS:
View attachment 103972

In these precambrian crystaline basement you might very well have granite sensus stricto, as well as granodiorites, tonalites and so on.
Granite is a term use more or less everywhere to describe, let's say, 'rocks which aren't sedimentary rocks but aren't basalt neither', it's an exaggeration but not that much.

Anyway: did you try to use the foliation plans to break down your rock? It will eventually breaks along them anyway.

I won't be able to start on these guys until next Tuesday when I'm off, but I'll definitely take your advise on it.

Aaron

 

[Alain]

I won't be able to start on these guys until next Tuesday when I'm off, but I'll definitely take your advise on it.

Aaron

It's hard to see the 3D on you picture but if you use a chisel here:


Those chunk should go away.
Doing that you will basically do what Nature did on the other slab, the flat plan where you put your Eastwing. However I don't know what will be the final geometry as we can't see the whole rock on the picture.
Also take care because the rock will have a tendency to break along the big minerals grains (btw the big square ones are potassium feldspaths, the big 'grey and unformed' ones are quartz).

Otherwise something I did when I made my own pot with a rock is to saw a grid on the top face (the one where the tree will be) and then I broke the little squares with a chisel. The best for that will be to use an angle grinder. I didn't have one so used the rock saw from the university but it wasn't very good (not enough place between the saw blade and the table).
Also the grain size of my own rock was much smaller than yours (well, not even close in fact )