1.14 : 石の採石

Quarrying involves the meticulous extraction of stone from a quarry by either using controlled explosions or precision cutting techniques to remove the desired material.

In cutting, for instance, blocks around 50 feet long and 12 feet high are separated vertically from the quarry using a diamond belt saw.

Then, drilling occurs at the base of the block, followed by the inflation of rubber airbags within the vertical saw cut, causing it to topple onto a layer of stone chips that cushion its fall.

Later, steel wedges are hammered into shallow drilled holes to separate the cut stone into distinct blocks.

Quarrying is also carried out by the intense flame of a jet burner, which develops thermal stress in the rock, whereby the surface cracks or flakes off.

By methodically moving the flame over the same area, a deep, slender channel is carved, which helps to detach each block from the main bedrock.

Lastly, rough stone blocks are moved to the mill, cut into slabs, divided into smaller sections, and shaped, smoothed, or lathe-rotated for cylindrical shaping.