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Knighton Mill

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Est. 1858  ·  Ipsden, Oxfordshire

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Stonemasonry in 30 objects: A stone vacuum lifter

16 January 2026  ·  FAQ Main Contractors

Jul 13, 2023

Stonemasonry in 30 objects
Week 9/30: A stone vacuum lifter
Much of our work is with large contractors and with that scale of operation comes the need to move stone quickly through production at our workshops and into place on site with precision accuracy.

This workhorse of a lifter means we don’t have to use destructive techniques such as drilling holes for lewis pins and they can be fitted with varying pad sizes which means it can lift significant weights in relation to their size when required and are ideal for staircase installations.

The images here are from our workshops at Ipsden and also a large project in South Kensington, London as the treads of a cantilever stone staircase are moved into final position with the care and precision required; without a vacuum lift it would be a difficult and time-consuming process.

This is week 9/30 posts in this series.  The full series can be found on our LinkedIn profile – or use  #stonemasonry30

IMG_6807-1-scaled-e1689246290562    

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