THE PROCESS
As a stone supplier of natural grey yorkstone products we are proud to extract and manufacture our products onsite at our own quarry in West Yorkshire. It is important to understand the process of manufacturing natural stone. At Ashlar Stone Products we take you through the steps, from quarrying the raw material to supplying the final products to the customer. This same process is applied for all types of products and allows you to gain insight into the time, effort and skills required to produce quality beautiful natural stone, from yorkstone cobbles and paving to heads, cills and monumental.
QUARRYING STONE
The process of extracting raw Yorkshire sandstone blocks is achieved using a 72 tonne Case excavator at Branshaw Quarry. We want to keep the blocks as big as possible and so every natural block is removed individually from the ground. This reduces waste and allows us to be able to produce and meet customers individual requirements. If the blocks are too big to be processed on the primary saw, they require further working which involves drilling and using plugs and feathers to split the block into smaller pieces manually.
PRIMARY SAW
The primary saw is the first stage in processing the sandstone blocks. We use a GMM Quadra Block Cutter, a Pellegrini Wire Saw and a Bidese Wire Saw. The saws can operate in an automatic mode to increase the productivity and reduce delivery time to the customer. The saws cut the blocks into slabs of different thicknesses depending on the type of product required.
When the stone is cut into slabs it can then be selected for specific jobs, depending on the finish of the stone. It also allows us to see any flaws within the stone which will then be avoided in the secondary saw process.
SECONDARY SAW
The secondary saw process uses the slabs from the primary saw and cuts them into finished sizes as per customer requirements. This is know as sawn six sides. The Gregori bridge saw is the ideal saw to be able to efficiently and accurately produce a variety of products. At this stage the stone is either ready for collection or further masonry work may be required.
MASONRY AND HAND CARVING
Depending on the product, masonry work to the stone is required which involves hand carving. This is a traditional method which involves highly skilled masons to shape and work the stone using a variety of hand and power tools.
QUALITY CONTROL
All our stone is checked during each stage of the process, to make sure we supply the best products to our customers. During the sawing process flaws and cracks are checked for and the final stage involves polishing the stone, to give the best finish whether it be internal or external use.
