I’m at the cottage now, closing it up for the year. Normally the routine is to cut the grass; clean up the leaves, board up the windows; remove the dock; winterize the mowers, saws, blowers; remove the water line from the lake and winterized the water system. This year I have some added fun. There’s some large rocks on our shoreline that the lake ice likes to push around each year. At our place the rocks always move to the west. This is the second time a large rock has migrated into the spot where I place my dock. About 5 years ago I had to move the big brother to this one.
I tried to move it with a 5ft long pry bar but couldn’t even make it move a bit. I decided the only way to move it was to break it up into smaller pieces and relocate those bits. To split the rock I used feathers and wedges. This is an age old method where to drill a line of holes in the rock, place the feathers and wedges in the holes then tap them in until the rock splits. It’s actually an amusing process. The hardest part is drilling the holes. The last time I did this I used 1” feathers and wedges. Such large holes were very difficult to drill. This time I bought a set of Amazon 5/8” wedges. I thought the 5/8” holes would be quite easy to drill. I bought a very good quality drill bit and chucked it into my rotary hammer drill. The drill has a 1-1/8” capacity so I figured 5/8” would be easy.
At first I thought splitting the rock into 3 pieces would be good enough. The first piece severed was way to heavy for my old bones, so I split it again. In the end, the rock turned into 8 manageable pieces. I’m guesstimating this rock must have weighed somewhere between 350-400 lbs. It’s no wonder I couldn’t budge it with the pry bar (it was also stuck in the sand of the lake).
Well it’s done now, pictures to follow.
I tried to move it with a 5ft long pry bar but couldn’t even make it move a bit. I decided the only way to move it was to break it up into smaller pieces and relocate those bits. To split the rock I used feathers and wedges. This is an age old method where to drill a line of holes in the rock, place the feathers and wedges in the holes then tap them in until the rock splits. It’s actually an amusing process. The hardest part is drilling the holes. The last time I did this I used 1” feathers and wedges. Such large holes were very difficult to drill. This time I bought a set of Amazon 5/8” wedges. I thought the 5/8” holes would be quite easy to drill. I bought a very good quality drill bit and chucked it into my rotary hammer drill. The drill has a 1-1/8” capacity so I figured 5/8” would be easy.
At first I thought splitting the rock into 3 pieces would be good enough. The first piece severed was way to heavy for my old bones, so I split it again. In the end, the rock turned into 8 manageable pieces. I’m guesstimating this rock must have weighed somewhere between 350-400 lbs. It’s no wonder I couldn’t budge it with the pry bar (it was also stuck in the sand of the lake).
Well it’s done now, pictures to follow.
