British marbles are quarried in blocks and roughly scabbled to shape on the ground; they are then taken to the sawmills and sawn to the required sizes, either as slabs or scantlings. The saws generally used are long thin blades or strips of iron about lin. wide and 1/16 in. thick; these are fastened tightly in a frame by means of wedges and screws. The frame is then drawn backwards and forwards, either by manual labour or by steam power, the cut being fed with sharp flint sand. After the marble is taken from the saw it is worked to the required form by means of chisels and points of various sizes, either with the hammer or mallet. Saw kerfs and chisel marks are removed, and a smooth surface produced, by rubbing the surface of the stone with iron or other hard rubbers, and sharp sand and water. The rubbers are shaped to fit the several profiles and faces. The polishing is effected by rubbing with grit stones of varying degrees of fineness, finishing with a pad of felt sprinkled with putty powder (oxide of tin). Several machines are employed for working marble, the principal one being similar to that of an iron-planing machine; marble is also turned in the lathe, the cutters working automatically.

All steel tools used in working marble are tempered to a deep straw colour at the cutting edge.