Point—A tool made of a bar of steel whose end is ground to a point. It is used in the intermediate stage of dressing an irregular surface which has already been roughly trued up with a face hammer or an ax. For rough masonry, this maybe the finishing tool. For higher-grade masonry, such work will be followed by bush-hammering, crandalling, e tc.
Pointing—A term applied to the process of scraping out the mortar for a depth of an inch or more on the face of a wall after the wall is complete and is sup posed to have become compressed to its final form; the joints are then filled with a very rich mortar-:- say equal parts of cement and sand. Although ordinary brickwork is usually laid by finishing the joints as the work proceeds, it is impossible to prevent some settling of the masonry, which usually squeezes out some of the mortar and leaves it in a cracked condition so that rain can readily penetrate through the cracks into the wall. By scraping out the mortar, which may be done with a hook before it has become thoroughly hard, the joint may be filled with a high grade of mortar which will render it practically impervious to rain water. The pointing may be done with a masons' trowel, although, for architectural effect, such work is frequently finished off with specially formed tools which will mould the outer face of the mortar into some desired form.
Quarry-Faced Stone—Stone laid in the wall as it comes from the quarry. The term usually applies to stones which have such regular cleavage planes that even the quarry faces are sufficiently regular for use without dressing.
Quoin—A stone placed in the corner of a wall so that it forms a header for one face and a stretcher for the other.
Random—The converse of Coursed Masonry; masonry which is not laid in courses.
Range—Masonry in which each course has the same thickness throughout, but the different courses vary in thickness.
Rip-Rap—Consists of rough stone just as it comes from the quarry, which is placed on the surface of an earth embankment.
Rough-Pointing—Dressing the face of a stone by means of a pick, or perhaps a point, until the surface is approximately plane. This may be the first stage preliminary to finer dressing of the stones.
Rubble—Masonry composed of stones as they come from the quarry without any dressing other than knocking off any objection able protruding points. The thickness may be quite variable, and therefore the joints are usually very thick in places.
Slope-Wall Masonry—A wall, usually of dry rubble, which is built on a sloping bank of earth and .supported by it, the object of the wall being chiefly to protect the embankment against scour.
Spalls—Small stones and chips, selected according to their approximate fitness, which are placed between the larger, irregular stones in rubble masonry in order to avoid in places an excessive thickness of the mortar joint. Specifications sometimes definitely forbid their use.
Squared-Stone Masonry—Masonry in which the stones are roughly dressed so that at the joints "the distance between the general planes of the surface of adjoining stones is one-half inch or more." Stretcher—A stone which is placed in the wall so that its greatest dimension is parallel with the wall.
String-Course—A course of stone or brick running horizon tally around a building, whose sole purpose is architectural effect (see Belt-Course).
Template—A wooden form used as a guide in dressing stones to some definite shape (see Figs. 33 and 34).
Two-Men Stone—A rather indefinite term applied to a size and weight of stone which cannot be handled except by two men. The term has a significance in planning the masonry work.
Water-Table—A course of stone which projects slightly from the face of the wall and which is usually la-id at the top of the foundation wall. Its function is chiefly architectural, although, as its name implies, it is supposed to divert the water which might drain down the wall of a building, and to prevent -it from following the face of the foundation wall.
Wooden Brick—A block of wood placed in a wall in a situation where it will later be convenient to drive nails or screws. Such a block is considered preferable to the plan of subsequently drilling a hole and inserting a plug of wood into which the screws or nails may be driven, since such a plug may act as a powerful wedge and crack the masonry.