Another Jam Stone

  The third jam stone is in place and the fourth is on its way from the shop, where Dan and Joel have been working on it. I really like this second shot, with the afternoon sun shining in. It gives me some indication of what things will be like for the owners when they are finally moved in--winter sunshine on the rocks, a fire crackling in the fireplace, those ocean views. I wonder if they'll mind if I stay.

First Stones Going Up On The Fireplace

  Last week we dismantled the fireplace at Dan's shop and transported it all down to the jobsite in Boothbay, where we rolled them up long ramps on PVC rollers and into the house. It was daunting, due to some of the stones' rather large size and awkward shapes, and at times I suspected the twenty foot aluminum ramp was going to collapse beneath the weight, but the process went smoothly and free of catastrophe.

  The first stones really started to go into place yesterday. We set up staging on either side of the chimney and ran a ten foot I-beam, from which we hung the chain-fall. Dan picked up a handy little set of "dogs" that you actually insert into 4" x 5/8" holes drilled at 45% angles in the top of the stone--the chain pulling up on these two simultaneously enables us to pick the rock up and move it around without any fear of it falling. I marvel at the simple genius of it all day long.

J.C. Stone

Damon and I stopped at J.C. Stone on our way out to Dan Ucci's yesterday morning. J.C. is our major source of stone in the mid-coast region and they have been for many years now. Specializing these days in the cutting and fabricating of truly incredible sculptural pieces for homes, businesses, and monuments; there is hardly anything in the way of rock they cannot provide. We stopped into the saw shop and I am always struck by the sheer magnitude of the diamond blade on the CNC (computer numerical control) machine they use to slice through granite blacks the size of large automobiles. It must be a fourteen-foot blade. The air inside is thick with moisture and noise and a pasty gray film of wet stone dust covers everything. It is impressive and intimidating at the same time. This is the other end of what I do, the other side of stonework, the technical side; and J.C. Stone does it well.

Dan Ucci Splitting Granite