Stonemasonry:

Competition Overview

Stonemasons create practical stone items that can last for centuries, they need to be skilled in creating stone items using traditional tools. Stonemasons work from sawn blocks of stone to shape everything from cladding for a new office block to intricate and important carvings for famous historic buildings, working with materials such as slate, sandstone and limestone. They use templates and drawings as a guide and often copy decayed or broken stones to create identical replacements. Stonemasonry is one of the oldest professions within the construction industry.

This competition has been designed to reflect the role of a Stonemason and the standards that are expected within the construction industry. Competitors will have to demonstrate the following skills;

·  Produce full size setting out from a working drawing using the appropriate geometrical techniques

·  Produce templets in both plastic and zinc from a full size setting out (fully marked up)

·  Apply templets to a stone for transference of relevant information

·  Apply templets in a way that minimises defects and faults

·  Mason chamfers, checks and fillets

·  Mason concave and convex mouldings

·  Mason straight and curved runs of mouldings

·  Produce internal and external mitres

·  Produce Ashlar stops

·  Mason flat and curved surfaces

·  Check stones for true and square and correct if necessary

·  Select correct tools for the work to be carried out

·  Knowledge of geometrical processes is an important aspect

·  Health and safety is an important element and competitors will be assessed throughout the competition to ensure compliance with safe working practices.

General Information

1.  At the regional heats 6 hours is allowed for the competition piece

2.  At the SkillBuild National Final 19 hours is allowed to complete the competition piece

  1. SkillBuild Final senior stonemasonry competitors can progress onto Worldskills competitions if they are age eligible