Cutting Granite

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This is way off the subject of welding. I have six granite boulders, that is, I think they’re granite. About 4 ft in diameter, that weigh about 2.8 tons each. I can roll them with my tractor, much too heavy to lift. I’ve been trying to drill holes or cut groves in them without much success. The stone is harder than any tungsten carbide drill I have. I’ve tried a diamond saw blade too and nothing makes a dent. These boulders are the world’s largest diamonds or they’re from outer space. What have I over looked?
Reply:Cut/drill them to keep or cut drill them to break them up ??I spent a lot of hours on the back end of an air drill. Rotary impact is all you need. We used to drill with both the old swede bits or star bits. Drill, powder, cap and blow it to H and gone.
Reply:What sort of diamond blade? They make different diamond matrix's for different materials. A green concrete/asphalt blade will take forever to cut hard crete and vise versa. Tile blades don't work well on some brick or stone. You need to talk to someone who really knows diamond blades and what they are designed to cut. We have a guy near us who we use. Mostly we use green concrete blades or cured concrete blades ( and paint them different colors so the guys know whats what after they've been used.I've split granite steps with pins and wedges. All we did was drill holes with the big hilti gun and good bits and use the wedges to split the line we drilled.Big stones into little ones? Hydro hammer on a backhoe or track hoe or 90lb jackhammer. I dive with a guy who blasts basements, but we've never had to call him to bust up anything the trackhoe couldn't handle..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:http://www.dexpan.com/nonexplosivesb...tionagent.htmlI will take my consulting fee in cash pleaseVantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:I've heard of that stuff, but never used it..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Decades ago my father had a lot boulders the size of a tndem truck to split. Being the cheap person that he was he got a bunch of tires, I'm talking a couple of dozen and piled them around the rocks one rock at a time a set 'em afire. The next day they were still burning so her set up a 2" fire pump he had and since we lived in a cove off the ocean he layed the suction hose in the drink and fired 'er up. You had to be careful you weren't hit with the shrapnel when the rocks started exploding when he started to spray the boulders. Mind you you couldn't use that method now because of the environmental concerns but it was cool to watch at the time......Mike
Reply:I know about the Egyptians, cutting stone with Bronze tools, I have tungsten carbide bits, diamond and power tools and I can’t put a dent in the dame things, that’s why I’m puzzled. When diamond didn’t work, it didn’t make any since. Now I see even top quality masonry tools fall short when it comes to granite. Now when I look at drill bits and diamond blades it’s with the qualifier, granite or hard stone. I need a bigger hammer. ThanksLast edited by transit; 12-13-2009 at 08:59 AM.
Reply:Granite can be dam hard. I use to live were there had been an old granite quarry. Hit the stuff with a hammer and it would spark. But I always had luck using a hammer drill and drilling a series of holes and then splitting it with round tapered wedges. That's the way they use to quarry and work it. So drilling holes the holes and explosives as others have suggested?DaKK
Reply:Recently one of my workers brought a 900 lb. granite grave stone to work with him and asked me if I would use my excavator and hydraulic hammer to break off a piece of it for him.  It seems one of his neighbors asked him to get a piece off for her. It was her fathers grave stone. No Idea why she had the stone and it wasn't on the grave. I didn't ask!I asked him why he didn't just hit it with a sledge hammer and break off a piece. He said he tried that and it didn't even leave a mark.  I laughed and grabbed a big sledge hammer and strutted over to this stone and gave it a big swing and blow with the hammer.  It was like in the cartoons.  I felt like I was vibrating and it hurt like hell.  Then I said OK put the hammer on the excavator.   I dropped down on this stone and it took me at least five minutes to break off a relatively small chunk.  Hardest stone I ever encountered.
Reply:I  see you got the picture.
Reply:Originally Posted by transitI need a bigger hammer. Thanks
Reply:I wonder what an oxygen lance could do?
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepI wonder what an oxygen lance could do?
Reply:Originally Posted by transitWell, that would make a hot spot and a bucket of water would shatter the stone. With holes drilled, I can control the outcome. Good try.
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepTransit, I'll bet a lance would do a lot more than just make a hot spot.I've pierced concrete myself, and I once watched a big old smelting furnace get cut up, insulation, fire-brick liner, slag remains from melts, and all.I guess we'd have to know the melting temp of granite. Good Luck
Reply:I think a lance is in the 6000F to 8000F range.Burn that sucker!
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepI think a lance is in the 6000F to 8000F range.Burn that sucker!
Reply:Originally Posted by transitI know about the Egyptians, cutting stone with Bronze tools, I have tungsten carbide bits, diamond and power tools and I can’t put a dent in the dame things, that’s why I’m puzzled. When diamond didn’t work, it didn’t make any since. Now I see even top quality masonry tools fall short when it comes to granite. Now when I look at drill bits and diamond blades it’s with the qualifier, granite or hard stone. I need a bigger hammer. Thanks
Reply:Originally Posted by transitI know about the Egyptians, cutting stone with Bronze tools . . .
Reply:a stone mason told me that you had to split stones when they were first dug up. or keep them in water after digging them. once they dried,you could not use them.
Reply:Ooooomph"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Do you have a hoe on your tractor? Could just plant them  If the are nice stones call a big landscaping company they might take them.
Reply:Let's take a look at this from a different perspective.Asked my dad about this (40 years in the monument industry). He asked what type of granite. Color, natural design, etc. If you can take pics that would he great. Beyond that, here's what I can tell you already. An impact drill will help the drilling process. You will need an impact drill bit made for concrete. From there, depending on what your plan is, you can try a few different things. If you just want to break them up, try a steel rod and a sledge hammer. Or ampho if you can get it. The ampho is the easiest route, but probably too dangerous to attempt. What are your plans with the stones?
Reply:What I plan to do all depends on what I am able to do. If I can drill holes, than I can split them or set bolts. Plant them, more will grow. Were do you think they came from in the first place? Dig a hole and find more stones.
Reply:Originally Posted by transitWhat I plan to do all depends on what I am able to do. If I can drill holes, than I can split them or set bolts. Plant them, more will grow. Were do you think they came from in the first place? Dig a hole and find more stones.While we're waiting for the stone splitting solution, how about a quick sidebar?Does anyone know the scientific reason why rocks "grow" or more specifically why buried rocks keep working their way to the surface?I don't know the answer, I'm asking.Good Luck
Reply:My 1st thought on that is freeze thaw. I'd frequently see rocks looking like something out of monument valley after the sun came up in the winter. The mud over night would freeze and lift, then the ice would melt in the sun. The rock would shade the mud/ice under it and keep it solid and it would end up looking like a toad stool balanced on the small pinnacle of ice.The only other thought is erosion, but I assume you mean that the ground around it stays roughly the same..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Yes, I’ve seen rocks “grow” up out of the ground. As I understand, the thaw-freeze cycle jacks them up.
Reply:Amal nitrate. Lots of the stuff!And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:My wife comes from a little Town called Girvan in Scotland. Girvan over looks a large rock sticking out of the Firth of Clyde (SW Scotland) called Ailsa Craig. Now this Bread Bun looking lump is famous for making some of the best Curling stones in the world. The mother in Law has a few of the pieces of granite in her garden, with a 15"ish hole bored through it, Now that stuff IS hard.
Reply:At the risk of a small sidetrack on this thread...  The freeze/thaw cycle is what pushes them out/up, like DSW stated. This is why you do NOT want to free pour  (fill a rough hole in the ground) with concrete.  When you a putting in posts, columns, fencing, etc., you need to use some type of smooth sided form. It can be standard round cardboard "sona" tube, pipe, or wood (removed after pour). If the side is rough and the frozen ground can grip it, the frozen ground expands upward, lifting the concrete and post, the softer unfrozen ground fills in under it, sometimes with the help of rain.  If you don't use a form, the top of the hole is usually much wider, the wider it is the better for the frozen ground to push against. Think of trying to bury a plastic funnel (right side up)in ground flush at the top, now think of a smooth cylinder like a small bat. It's easy to imagine how the funnel would be push up, and also how the bat would take a better side load. If you think of the different fence posts, clothes line poles, sign posts, that you have seen pushed out of the ground I'll bet you will see the "funnel top" on most of them.Just my  opinion, not from a book, just from the road.Howes Welding Inc.www.howesweldinginc.com
Reply:That’s why building codes require all footings to be below the frost line. As a note, there is a funnel like device “big foot” that fits at the bottom of the sonotube to increase the footprint and anchor the footing.
Reply:only things that come to mind for me would be the fire method....build a big fire around them and then cool them, dont know if a garden hose would have enough volume or...do the opposite, drill some holes in with a hammer drill (i know these are hard but....there MUST be SOME way to drill into them) fill the holes with water and its winter right? so if its freezing it should expand and break....that or pack the holes full of thermite and see what that does