REVIEWS
The "light"
at the end of the tunnel . . . how others view Stoneworks products
and efforts. (PLANS and BOOKS have their reviews located within
those product pages.)
 August, 1999 pg 116 Product Reviews Marc Horovitz 
|
Stoneworks "This is an unusual review in that I'm examining a company and its concept as much as its products. Garden railroaders are always looking for building materials that are both realistic and weather resistant. Natural stone fills this bill admirably. Stone, by its very nature, has no inherent scale. It only takes on scale as it is cut and used for certain jobs. Stoneworks is a relatively new company. It introduced itself and its products at the 1998 Garden Railway convention in Santa Clara. The company is almost single-mindedly dedicated to the use of natural stone as a modeling medium. Toward that end, it has published a 20-page catalog primarily containing natural stone from quarries around the country, stone-working tools, and stone-working information for modelers (See their web site at: http://www.RRStoneworks.com). The catalog, in addition to being an interesting reference in its own right, offers complete kits, like stone foundations for Pola buildings (to be reviewed in a future issue), a stone, water-powered mill that contains its own 500 gph pump, cabins with stone foundations and chimneys, tunnel portals, slate sidewalks, and more. Also available are bulk packs of stone for random-course walls and foundations, and quarry stone of different varieties available in small sticks. These sticks are intended to be cut to shape by the modeler for his or her specific uses. Working with real stone is probably out of the experiential realm of most garden railroaders. To bridge this gap, Stoneworks offers an informational booklet series. Each booklet covers a specific topic, such as "How to cut and build with real stone" (#7001, $1.75); "Tunnel portals - stone and concrete" (#7011, $4.95); and "Post rock fence" (#7019, $.50). Each thoroughly covers its specific topic, discussing, where necessary, stone cutting, types of stone, placement, tools and their uses, molds and forms, use of cement, and more. It is unusual for a completely new material to be made available to modelers. Working with stone is not difficult (I've done some myself) and the resultant finished project will necessarily be unique. Stoneworks offers stone in a wide variety of colors, textures, and hardnesses and can offer advice on the most suitable stones for specific jobs. This forward-thinking company not only sells the product and the tools with which to work it, but it offers itself as a resource. I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more real-stone structures in the garden". -M.H. |
 June, 2000 pg 128 Product Reviews Marc Horovitz  |
Price: $4.95 "This monograph starts out with a discussion of
stone-arch bridges and the individual shapes of the different stones
used in their construction. It continues with general information
on two techniques for making arched panels. This is followed by four
pages of bibliographic notes and suggestions for places to find actual
stone bridges. After this is a good section on designing your bridge
and what tools and materials (in addition to the stone) you will need.
There is a section on estimating the stone you will neeed. Actually,
this section is how to estimate how much stone you'll need to buy
from Stoneworks. You can, of course, cut your own, but there you're
on your own when it comes to estimating how much you'll need. |
 October, 1999 pg 114 Product Reviews R. Schafer  |
Stone foundation kit for large-scale buildings Price: $19.95 +$6.00 s&h Kit to build real stone and concrete foundation for large scale, garden-railway structures; material included for a foundation up to 14" x 6 3/4" x 1/2"; instructions, forming material, stone, reinforcing mesh included; vinyl patch cement not included Pros: Yields a substantial foundation for buildings; good introduction to working withstone as a modeling medium; Stoneworks is a source for stone, plans, instructions, and tools for a fascinating medium Cons: Specialized tools needed (a problem only if hobbyist decided not to pursue working with stone modeling) "In the course of building my garden railway, I've had occasion to attempt working with stone to create specialized bits and pieces of a miniature world. Stoneworks #1200 Building Foundation Kit provides a reasonable method for one to check out this fascinating medium. To review the kit, I decided to build a stone foundation for a small RailRoad Avenue kit that I built a few months ago. Since my building was smaller that the form material included in the the kit, I cut the form down to size but otherwise followed the instruction sheet to complete my project. The process begins with making a form from the foam-insulation material provided. Then, it's necessary to cut the larger pieces of Wisconsin fieldstone to size (about 5/8" maximum height) using a brickset or cold chisel. I purchased a new brick set for the project, but later determined that I liked my old chisels better. After the stone has been cut, a tile nipper is used to refine the stone shapes and sizes. Then, it's time to mix some vinyl patch cement (available from your local builders' supply store). A thin layer is spread into the bottom of the form, reinforced, and another layer added. The instructions call for the small stone pieces to be placed into the form, leaning against the edges. More cement is "buttered" up against the back of the stones and then a layer is used to "strike off" the top of the foundation. The cement sets up overnight and can be removed from the form the next day. The result: a natural, stone-and-mortar foundation. Since I regarded this first try as a learning experience, I decided to try another option. I laid up two sides per the kit's instructions, but did the other half of the foundation by laying two coursed of stones flat on top of one anther. Otherwise, the procedure was identical. I like both styles, and hope to explore them in future projects." -R.S. |
COMMENTS:
|
". . . the rock work was fantastic and rather easy
to do. What a surprise." G.P.-Colorado |
|
"I am really impressed with your stuff." S.S.-
Arizona
|
|
"WOW. That's all I can say. . . . When the UPS
driver found out what was in the heavy box he made me open it. "
B.D. - Colorado
|
|
"Thanks for your advice and a high-quality product."
J.L.-Pennsylvania
|