Need creative idea....found stone fence post

[KDdid]

It's limestone. I "spalled" or "faced" truckloads of it for my father who was a brick mason. He built fireplaces from the stuff. Heck in Indiana it was probably illegal to use any other kind of stone!

 

[j-bird]

It's limestone. I "spalled" or "faced" truckloads of it for my father who was a brick mason. He built fireplaces from the stuff. Heck in Indiana it was probably illegal to use any other kind of stone!

I'm curious as to how the stone is worked to get it smooth like this and some idea of time frame on when a stone fence post would have been a more common practice.....can you or your dad shed any light on that? My internet digging says that the Egyptian pyramids are mostly limestone and that only the outer "shell" is granite. Apparently limestone is easier to work but not as hard and will weather over time. I know in my area many of the old headstones where limestone and over time they become difficult to read because of the weathering they see. This has just been an interesting little find.

 

[KDdid]

Men have been cutting limestone with metal edged tools since early recorded history- its pretty soft and easy to work. A lot of those old headstones are marble too, and they really wear down from the elements over time. The granite stones used today should outlast limestone /marble 2 to 1.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I'm curious as to how the stone is worked to get it smooth like this and some idea of time frame on when a stone fence post would have been a more common practice.....can you or your dad shed any light on that? My internet digging says that the Egyptian pyramids are mostly limestone and that only the outer "shell" is granite. Apparently limestone is easier to work but not as hard and will weather over time. I know in my area many of the old headstones where limestone and over time they become difficult to read because of the weathering they see. This has just been an interesting little find.

The old headstones are marble which is harder than limestone but still soft. The bases that old monuments typically are set atop of are made of limestone. Today monuments are made mostly of granite which is 7 times harder than marble.

 

[KDdid]

BTW, I once saw a garden bench made from an old marble headstone-gave off an "Addams Family " vibe!

 

[j-bird]

Well so far all the feedback from the county and state is that it's just a stone fence post......so now I have to figure out something cool to do with it......some time. It isn't going anywhere.

 

[Catscratch]

Lots of these get planted in front yards here with something carved in them. Usually it's a family name, or a K-State/KU logo.
They look really slick with some black paint in the carving... Buy ya a Dremel tool and get to work. :)

 

[j-bird]

Lots of these get planted in front yards here with something carved in them. Usually it's a family name, or a K-State/KU logo.
They look really slick with some black paint in the carving... Buy ya a Dremel tool and get to work. :)

Think I want to leave it pretty much "as is"...... I'm thinking of maybe taking the metal rod out and replacing it and hanging some sort of sign off of it. Maybe the family name or the like. I think if I engraved something into the one I have it would look more like a headstone.....not the look I'm going for!

 

[Catscratch]

Think I want to leave it pretty much "as is"...... I'm thinking of maybe taking the metal rod out and replacing it and hanging some sort of sign off of it. Maybe the family name or the like. I think if I engraved something into the one I have it would look more like a headstone.....not the look I'm going for!

Great idea! You could come up with some pretty sweet signs doing it like that. Maybe something that hung horizontally so that the sign it'self wouldn't cover a lot of the post. I'm picturing rebar or wrought iron... Keep us posted, I'm curious to see how this turns out (I love yard art).

 

[j-bird]

Great idea! You could come up with some pretty sweet signs doing it like that. Maybe something that hung horizontally so that the sign it'self wouldn't cover a lot of the post. I'm picturing rebar or wrought iron... Keep us posted, I'm curious to see how this turns out (I love yard art).

We are on the same wave length. I have some connections in the metal working circles (black smithing and the like). I'm thinking a horizontal bar going thru the stone post with a planter hanger on one side and then the family name on a sign or the like on the other. Once I have something nailed down I will share.

 

[northernpotter]

you could make a large storage like table and use the larger piece for a table top. For the post sized piece you could make a pole light or a welcome sign or address pole for your walk way into your house.