Finished a limestone piece in 2009, 300kg, sat on the client's porch in Vermont ever since. Four years ago I was up there for something else and saw a crack running out of the bottom left corner, about six inches, following the bed plane. Nobody else noticed. I've thought about that crack maybe twice a month since.

Here's the part that bothers me. I knew that stone had a seam there when I blocked it out. I could feel it under the chisel, that slight give. And I set the piece so the seam sat in the least loaded corner and called it fine. It was fine. It's still fine. That's the problem. Nothing teaches me anything.

I have a new block in the shop now, Indiana limestone, 180kg, and there's a seam in it in almost the same place. I've been walking past it for three weeks. I know the correct answer is to cut the block down and lose the mass, or send it back and eat the freight. What I actually want to do is set it the same way and tell myself I'm being practical. I've done that before. So this is me saying out loud that I'm not going to do it. I'll report back when I've ruined a smaller piece instead.