| Martin and Oliver Webb Fine Stone Miniatures. Museum quality handmade miniatures of stone carvings for the collector and connoisseur. | ||
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A Stonemason's Dictionary |
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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| Temper: The fire
hardening of a steel chisel’s cutting edge. The steel is heated until
cherry red, then dipped into water briefly at which point the temper colours
become visible, then when the desired colour reaches the cutting edge
(usually a blue or straw yellow) the tool is quenched and cooled. "If
it’s as blue as a raven’s wing, it’s fit for anything".
Stonemasonry shops nearly always had a forge and basic blacksmithing tools
for the making and maintenance of fire hardened chisels. The coming of
tungsten tipped chisels has rendered this almost entirely obsolete.
Timber Hitch: A very simple knot used when raising boards (such as scaffold boards) using a gin wheel and rope. Throat: A concave section worked into the underside of an overhanging moulding to create a drip mould and prevent rainwater running down the face of the wall. Toe Board: Vertical plank running along the outside edge of a scaffolding deck to prevent debris being kicked over the edge. Topping Out: The traditional ceremony to celebrate the fixing of the topmost stone of a tower, pinnacle, spire, etc, an event usually toasted with something a little more robust than tea…. Tracery: Free standing geometric stonework forming decorative designs in a window. Trammel: Stonemasons adjustable tool for applying lines parallel to an edge, similar to a carpenter’s gauge. Transepts: Located to the north and south of the choir. When viewed from the air the church forms the shape of the cross, the transepts form its arms. Transom: A horizontal division of a window opening. Triforium: The part of wall of a cathedral above the arcade and below the clerestory. Trimmer: A stooling left slightly proud of its final profile until the stone is fixed in the building in order to permit a certain amount of adjustment of its final position. The stooling is then trimmed to fit perfectly once its final position is fixed. Tungsten: A very hard and hard-wearing metal, brazed into the shaft of modern chisels to provide durable cutting edges. Although highly resistant to abrasion, the tips are prone to fracture if the tool is mistreated. Turret: A small tower, often containing stairs, hence Stair Turret. Tympanum: The part of a pediment enclosed by the raking mouldings. |
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