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


Worksheets: How to Build A Stone Arch Bridge

Price: $4.95

Twelve-page guidelines on how to build a model of a stone-arch bridge from actual stone.

Pros: Interesting insight into stone bridge construction, both model and full-size; photos of completed model stone bridges; bibliography of books relating to stone bridges; clear set of guidelines for building a model stone-arch bridge
Cons: Reproduction quality is variable; information could have been organized a little better; stone-working techniques are not discussed here (but are available in other publications from this company.)

"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.
 The booklet finishes up with an illustrated, step-by-step guide to making a stone bridge. The pictures are clear and the sequence easy enough to follow that anyone with an interest should be able to build an arched bridge from real stone. On the last page are some unusual prototype conditions with suggestions on how to model them. I found the pamphlet to be both interesting and informative, a valuable reference for an unusual type of modeling".-M.H.


Garden Railways,
August, 2004
 pg 122

 Product Reviews
Marc Horovitz
Modeling Views:Glade Creek Grist Mill, WV & Belpre Depot, KS (Santa Fe RR)

Price: $5.95 ea

Reveiw Garden Railways Magazine 8/04 pg 122 – "Stoneworks has come up with a new wrinkle in modeling aids – the ModelViews series. These 11"x17" sheets, containing up to eight color photos of a specific structure, are not intended to supply a modeler with compelete information regarding a building, but just to help out with details – things like, "What's the back side look like?" or "What color is it really?" or "How might it be weathered?" or "What does it look like in its natural setting?"
    We were supplied with two review samples: Glade Creek Mill in West Virginia (#7601) and Belpre Depot in Kansas (#7605).If I was modeling either of the structures, I would find lots of detail information in the supplied photos. The color and contrast are good and details are easy to see.
    The photos are laid out attractively and the ModelViews would make interesting wall ornaments or place mats in addition to their intended functions." – M.H.
   

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
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