Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: Goldfinger on January 15, 2012, 12:53
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Is there such a way to cut paving slabs with out a petrol saw / grinder??
I haven't got a generator + grinder or a sthil saw to do it when at the plot, so was wondering, is there a way to just roughly cut slabs to finish off the ends of paths etc?
As long as it's straight across the slab I'm not bothered, it an allotment not a patio :lol: ;)
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With a bolster chisel and a club hammer, section by section along your line of cut.
You can be unlucky from time to time, and you get an odd one that goes off at an angle, but it works for Mr Sunny most of the time ;)
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You might get away with chiselling a straight line with a bolster in order to cause a break, but it will be a bit luck of the draw how the slabs break.
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That sounds a bit like an echo. :)
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That sounds a bit like an echo. :)
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
But a good idea ;)
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True. ;)
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Make sure you wear safety goggles :ohmy:
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Make sure you wear safety goggles :ohmy:
Sorry, I should have said that really. Thanks for this Yorkie :)
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My father taught me how to do this. Mark the cutting line on both sides, Place the slab on a soft surface (we used to use sand, but soil would be OK) Make sure it cannot rock and is firm underneath the cutting line.
Using a bolster chisel, place it on the line and hit it once firmly with a lump hammer. Move along the line=hit it once...etc. Turn the slab over and repeat. Be patient, you may have to turn the slab over again.
Even today with cutting disks I just cut a groove and do the rest with a chisel. Sometimes they can shear of at an angle, but very rarely shatter.
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All sorts of cuts can be done with a hammer and bolster.
When I moved into my first house I had no patio or anything outside my back door, just mud, I also had no money it being my first house.
My dad worked in the paving and tarmacing business at the time and they had just lifted a load of thick Paving slabs from BBC TV centre, these were transported to my house and one of the pavers came to lay them for me.
I watched him lay them, he did every single cut with a hammer and bolster, even ones where he had to cut a corner out. I watched as I couldn't help as they were big heavy slabs that I couldn't even lift.
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Cheers all!!! :D
I've heard of people using a hammer and bolster chisel somehow, but didn't know the technique :(
I've got some of the 'older' thicker and heavier :blink: 3' x 2' slabs to lay, so I think I'll invest in a good bolster chisel. :happy:
Oh, and I've got some safety glasses already. ;)
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Hope it all goes well -- remember the soft surface, as Ivor said. Important!
Mr Sunny has reminded me that his fist slab just cracked as the soil he was resting on had a biggish stone in it.
He used our allotment towel folded up after that