Iowa Freemasonry is a personal journal of a Freemason in central Iowa. This blog documents my Masonic research interests, experiences, and reflections. Welcome!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Operative stone carving at Operative Lodge in Polk City



The Freemasons at Operative Lodge #308 met for their stated meeting Monday evening, March 11, and were treated to an informative presentation by Brother Ben Mayer, a visitor from Acanthus Lodge. Brother Ben is a working stone carver and he brought some of his working tools as well as his work with him. A few pictures are below.

Brother Ben’s talk included explanations of both traditional and modern tools used by masons. The several common gavels and hammers he had are still used today, but the pneumatic chisel, which operates at over 3000 cycles per minute, has replaced much of the manual work. Even a modern pneumatic chisel requires a considerable degree of skill; Brother Ben spoke of how he must both listen to the tone of the sound produced from chiseling as well as be attentive to the feel of the tool as it moves lest the work be ruined.

Thank you Brother Ben Mayer for your interesting and enlightening presentation!