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55/428
[nb-NO]Description[nb-NO]
This stonemason's fork chisel belonged to Mr Herbert King, a Reading stonemason who died in 1955. It is for use on soft stone, such as the Bath stone used in Reading. It would have been used with a hammer. A fork chisel is used after a working chisel, punch or point to work the surface down from a rough surface to a level plane. They come in various sizes, with teeth of varying coarseness to suit the texture of the stone.
[nb-NO]Physical description[nb-NO]
1 stonemason's fork chisel: metal
[nb-NO]Archival history[nb-NO]
MERL ‘Associated information’ form – ‘The tools belonged to Mr Herbert King, a stonemason of 67 years who died in January 1955. (He was deaf & almost dumb). He was apprenticed to J. M. Jones, Builders, Reading. The tools are those used in Bath stone building – a fairly soft stone which can easily carved, e.g. Royal Berks [Berkshire] Hospital, King’s Rd [Road] etc. This Bath stone was brought into Reading by canal from c. 1750 to 1850. There is no local stone available & the majority of Reading buildings are brick, apart from those from Bath stone. // Saws for sawing such things as windows and other pointed stone work. Bath stone is soft and saws can be used if moistened with water. For harder stones, saws have to be moistened with sand and water before they will work. // Hammers used with chisel.’
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