Legiuna

Cresciano

Maggia

Iragna

Lodrino

Verzasca

Castione

Onsernone

Arzo

Peccia

Frame-sawed

Diamond-sawed

Dressed

Bush-hammered

Flame-cut

Polished

Dressing "tones down" and attenuates the colour. Polishing intensifies the colour. These two operations are called "shaving" processes. However, it is indispensable to dress an object of natural stone before polishing it. If it is a hard material ("Gneiss-Granite") it is necessary to rough-hew the protruding parts with bits, chisels and diamond wheels. Then comes the progressive smoothing process with abrasives. The dressed surface in the end must be free of even the smallest scratches or marks. The body must not only be completely smooth but also, when looked at against the light, free of all, even the smallest, deformations and shadows. Today slabs are dressed by machining processes and they are rough-hewn with the help of diamond wheels. Hand polishing is slow and tedious but the process is dependable and must be used for certain shapes.

Bush-hammering is used to obtain a regular shape, whether it is a countertop, a concave or a convex form. This processing is obtained by applying compressed-air machines with cylindrical or square rammers terminating in various diamond bits. This work used to be done by hand.

This type of processing is also called "heat splitting" and consists of passing over the surface or element to be processed with a flame of over 800°C (oxygen and acetylene). Beyond this temperature, the crystals "explode" due to the heat, thus creating a "soft" surface. It substitutes bush-hammering, though it is not recommended for all types of jobs. It is performed on volcanic rock such as granite, porphyry and basalt, or on metamorphic rocks such as gneiss.

Bit-and-chisel processing is the oldest of stone working techniques. It is done entirely by hand. With three tools (bit-hammer-chisel) the stonemason must do all kinds of jobs: (e.g. make holes, cinctures, countertops, ribs, etc.). Using the bit and chisel requires a good knowledge of the trade.