A section is selected, and the grooves carefully double calked with chips, from the plowing, to prevent the water running in. For this purpose a calking bar is used. Ice saws are now brought into requisition, and the grooves at the ends of the section are sawed through to the back. The groove at the back is now struck into at several points with one or another of the barring off tools provided for this work. A section called a float, and containing one hundred to one thousand or more cakes, is readily split off. The tools used for this work vary with the thickness of the ice and the size of the floats. The fork bars are the most often used, the two-prong bar being the favorite on heavy ice. If the first cuts with the saws are so made that the ice cut away is a little wider on the bottom than on the top, and the sides parallel, it will facilitate getting out the first float cut away. By sinking the float a little all pinching or binding at the sides is prevented.
FIG. 17. BEST CAST STEEL ICE SAWS.
FIG. 18. TWO-PRONG FORK BAR.
FIG. 19. THREE-PRONG FORK BAR.
FIG. 20. FOUR-PRONG FORK BAR.
