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Extraction and sawing
The heavy slabs are cut across the grain into set sizes which
are a little larger than the finished face size, using a saw
that dates to early 1900, when electricity first came to the
mine. The material is so hard, that a blade lasts only 200 hours
of cutting.
Docking
Docking the slate is the original process of dividing the large,
sawn pieces (clogs) to a thickness of four slates (about 32mm)
ready to be rived. This cutting is achieved with the use of
a small chisel and a mallet, cutting with the grain.
Riving
and dressing
Once docked, the slate can be rived - splitting the sections,
again by hand, with mallet and broad bladed chisel into four
slices each of the finished thickness for use.
Riving is carried out along the grain.Having made the slates
the correct thickness, dressing is the process that cuts them
into the precise shape required.
A series of blades revolve and chop off the edges and corners
of the material, leaving a completed slate, ready for use.
After inspection, the slates are stacked in size order, ready
for packing into shipping crates and dispatch to their final
destination, which may be anywhere in the world.
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