[Sca-cooks] Food and kitchen related stone and shell work
Daniel & Elizabeth Phelps
dephelps at embarqmail.com
Wed Jul 9 16:22:43 PDT 2008
Was asked:
>
> --How stones were split or smoothed to get flat surfaces for floors
Some stone naturally parts along bedding planes, some sand stones, often
called flag stones, are good example of such. To get an even flatter or
polished surface a stone slab would be polished on a flat surface covered
with cloth charged with grit. At right angle to the bedding planes such
stones were probably hammer drilled using fish tailed drills then split with
wedges.
> --How stones and shells were cut for mosaics
Non-powered lapidary work often depended on some of the very techniques used
in flint knapping that and grinding by hand on a flat cloth charged with
grit. Very labor intensive, very slow. A recent illustrated example of
this is shown in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption". Disk saws made of a
copper dish charged with grit worked as with a pole or bow lath will cut
stone as will a simple wire saw charged with grit. I've an early lapidary
book that describes such techniques.
>
> --Shell containers
As one might expect certain shells with matching sides can be formed into
containers rather easily. However I suspect that is not what is intended in
this case.
> --Shell handles
If you mean like mother of pearl forming the scales on the hilt of a knife
the rough pieces are slabbed to shape. Then they are drilled, perhaps with
a bow drill, for soft metal mounting pins. They are then attached by
peening the pins. The slabs are then ground and or polished down to final
shape.
and inlays
>
Don't know how inlays are done.
Daniel
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