Talking about planning ahead I had intended to end this series in this issue with a final instalment, not so much about planning, rather covering a couple of bits missing from the first three installments, often of an analytical and theoretical nature, or tangents to them which did not seem to fit properly at the…
The Stone Trust Center in Dummerston, VT hosted its first workshop of the season on a beautiful spring day. Five participants from across New England arrived for a practice test in preparation for a Dry Stone Walling Association Level 1 or Level 2 certification test. A Test Prep workshop early in the season allows time…
In part one (Stonechat 26: Summer 2012) I suggested that “poor grading can become what is in effect a self-fuelled inevitability” . This was developed in part 2 when we looked at the tendency to place large stones alongside and on top of each other leading to grouping. This however does not just apply to…
There is probably no such thing as a perfect wall, it will almost inevitably be possible to at least theoretically improve on something. There are so many things that you are trying to achieve with each stone that something has to give. In a recent competition the winner, probably the best waller I have seen,…
Tracing is the practice of placing a stone with its longest axis running parallel to the face of the wall rather than into the wall. It is generally accepted that tracing is a poor practice as placing stones with their longest axis into the wall greatly reduces their potential to become displaced during settlement. It…
The content below was copied with the generous permission of the author Sean Adcock. This Master Class article originally appeared in the Autumn 2009 issue of Stonechat, produced by the North Wales Branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Brittan. This entire issue of Stonechat, and many more, are available at http://www.dswales.org.uk/Stonechat.html Thank…
