Hand-Cut, Vintage Granite: Cliff Whitney Carves Out Business From Pre-Cut Stone That's Over 100 Years Old.

As businesses go, you could say Cliff Whitney's Hiram-based operation is set in stone.

After years of accumulating acres of granite from old homesteads while doing masonry work, Whitney took up the craft of hand-cutting granite. He exclusively works with pre-cut stone that is more than 100 years old, saying his clients seek dated-looking pieces.

Whitney transforms the salvaged granite into variety of items, including benches, steps, rock walls, hitching posts and the like, affixing them with metal hardware accents that are hand- forged by an area blacksmith.

In a world filled with designers, Whitney sees himself as more of an illusionist than an artist, saying the jobs he does call for stone additions that are intended to look like they've always been part of the landscape, especially granite with moss growing on it, which is highly prized in this business. Such pieces are carefully stored in shady locales on this property to preserve the moss.

"I supplied the granite for the Joshua Chamberlain grave plot in Brunswick," said Whitney. "When the architect called me, he said he wanted the granite to look like it was put in the ground the same time Joshua was. It was my luck I had exactly what he wanted, granite taken from a cemetery and all covered with moss and lichen."

The cemetery plot features four granite block posts, with matching slabs enclosing the space and is in keeping with Chamberlain's wishes to keep the site simple. "He didn't want any great monuments to himself," said Whitney.

"The way I cut is the way they cut 100 years ago," said Whitney, age 57, who drills holes along the grain of the stone, using feathers and wedges or slabs and a hammer and chisel to tap in a series along the piece to form a crack to run through the granite to split the rock. He said that working with previously cut stone allows him the advantage of viewing the original cutter's work, determining any flaws in the grain and how best to re-cut it. He said he's successful in the process nearly 100 percent of the time.

Whitney hand cuts orders every day, using a large New Holland Skid steer tractor for heavy lifting jobs and an industrial dolly to navigate tight delivery space on landscaped property.

He is on site every Saturday for customers who want to come and look over his stock of granite, which comes in a variety of shapes and colors from grays to pinks.

Though a few benches, birdbaths and mailbox posts are made in advance, most of the work done here is custom, as each cut into a stone has a cost.

"I don't do lots of advance work, because once I cut a piece, the options I can do with it are gone," said Whitney.

News Assistant Deborah Sayer can be reached at 282-8228 or e- mail

dsayer@pressherald.com

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ABOUT THE BUSINESS

NAME: Cliff Whitney Handcut Granite

OWNER: Cliff Whitney

EMPLOYEES: one

ADDRESS: 692 Durgintown Road, Hiram

E-MAIL: cliff@handcutgranite.com

TELEPHONE: 625-8241

WEB SITE: www.handcutgranite.com

HOURS: from sunup to 4 p.m. Saturdays from April through Dec. 25 or by chance.

WHAT ELSE: Granite cutter Cliff Whitney creates fenceposts, mailboxes, gateways, stone benches, birdbaths and a variety of other landscaping pieces from vintage granite. Some pieces are premade and available for purchase but most of the work is custom. The biggest bird bath he ever made was 9 1/2' by 5' and held 35 gallons of water. Folks can view his craft each fall during demonstrations at the Cumberland County Fair.

(c) 2007 Portland Press Herald. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.