Stonemasonry is an ancient art, and the word can bring to mind the image of people in a quarry once upon a time, working to delicately craft stone blocks with hand tools, and clearly, the image is of an ancient art that is no longer used today.
That image would be wrong.
Stonemasonry is still an incredibly relevant skill, and stonemasons still walk the streets every day. In fact, there are quite a few types of stonemasons, each with a specific set of skills, and modern technology has only allowed them to refine their craft even further than they did in the past. Settle in while we explain exactly what it is people in our profession do.
The Journey Only Starts At A Quarry
In the quarry, a quarryman works to extract rough chunks of stone from sheetrock by splitting it down the vein. These professionals, were they once used hand tools and somewhat complex pulley systems, today rely entirely on intricate machines and electric power. If only the quarrymen of the past could see us now; imagine the wonders they could create with this technology.
Diamond Cuts Rock
Next, a sawyer mason is tasked with shaping these stone chunks into their required shapes using a diamond-tipped sawblade, which is the first step towards preparing this rock for its final destination in life. These saws are used to create rough slightly smoother edges, and can be used to further refine the size of the stone.
Bring It To The Shop
Once the stone has begun to take a rough shape, it's chiselled into a more final form by a banker mason. These stonemasons toil away in a workshop to make sure each chunk of stone is the right shape and size for the building design, to a degree of perfection that far outpaces the previous two masons. In most cases, this is the final step of refinement in terms of size and shape for the stone.
Bring Art Into Your Life
The patterns seen on stone blocks used in buildings and statues are not naturally appearing, and need to be placed there by a human being. These stonemasons are called carver masons, and they're able to utilise their artistic skills to create any sort of design, figure, or pattern as required.
Finally, Put It In Place
Stone blocks are not light pieces of equipment, and they require a significantly skilled individual to put them into their final position. Such a professional is called a fixer mason, and they're skilled at working at high altitudes, with heavy pieces of stone, to incredibly precise tolerances. These people are professionals. Whenever you need any stonework completed, you should reach out to the best group of stonemasons available, the RJC Group. We've spent decades working as the city's preferred team of stonemasonry professionals, and we've got hundreds of projects to our name. For all stonemasonry in Sydney, contact our team on (02) 8322 1832.