I saw Mr. Dan at our local fair demonstrating his art. He didn't use any tools. Just picked out rocks by weight and shape. I watched him do 3 and none fell down.

Hardware store frequently have displays of heavy things attached at awkward angles, to show off the strength of the glue that holds them together.
The similarity of appearance here is likely more than coincidental (i.e., I suspect glue is involved).

Wow, look at
It's Ronald Regan's face!
Maybe Mr. Dan should sell that rock on eBay.

John.

John., I get an error message when I click on that link.

I dunno; I tried it when I posted it and it work, and just tried it now and it still works for me.
What error message? A 404, or something else?

John.

"You don't have permission to access /images/exhibitions/face-0208cf.jpg on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Apache/1.3.32 Server at http://www.rock-on-rock-on.com Port 80"

No, that link doesn't work for me either. Seems like they have their server configured to prevent hotlinking directly to images.

The rock balancing is real, no tricks involved. A lot of people do it.

damn u need patience to do things like these, hey mr boese congrats for ur website its one of my favorites.

Hi, folks.
I'm the sponsor/designer/webmaster for Bill Dan's website. Yup, it's real; no glue, just skill. You can learn it, too -- I did, and that's why I do his site for free.
Yes, I've configured the server to prevent hotlinking; sorry if you find that offensive - it's defensive, really, but you don't want to know.
There are, indeed, many people practicing this art/craft/discipline, and I appreciate being informed about other balancers unknown to me. Neither Bill (nor I) claim dominion over the field, and I will even host webspace for images from balancers who have none. Click through the site, you'll see what I mean.

Okay, there is *one* image on the Rock On site I find very difficult to believe. It's the second on down on the left of the page linked.

There's a guy in San Diego who has a bunch of balanced rocks just like those sitting in his front yard. Every once in awhile he changes them. He lives in the neighborhood on the east side of Pomorado road between Poway road and Ted Williams Parkway. I stopped once for a closer look. They are definitly very real, and even more impressive in person.

When I go out to restaurants I shake all of the salt in the salt shaker to one side, & then stand the skaker on it's edge. My husband shakes salt on his coaster & says that he does that so the coaster won't stick...But I don't see the logic in that. Salt dissolves in water...water (condensation) deposits on the coaster. Sure salt changes the freezing/boiling temp of things...but the water on the coaster?

Sorry...didn't mean to get us off-topic! =o)

There's a guy that regularly balances rocks all along a one mile stretch of Coast Hwy 101 by Cardiff State Beach just north of Solana Beach, CA.

there is a guy in vancouver, bc that does similar work on the shore line in stanly park. we watched him work for about an hour.
i have lots of pics to show if anyone wants to see them. they are in a high resolution though...

td

;-P You can also Check Bill Dan out on [ http://www.balancecraft.com ]

I have watched Daryl Maddeaux (born in Fredericton, NB) balance rocks at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) He has been doing this artform since 1994. Have some photos, but his technique is interesting in that he uses a small rock (5 cm) a large rock (mayby 50 cm) then small etc. for an interesting - gravity defying effect. Once he picks up a stone, his rule is that he will not put it down until he balances it - sometimes going past closing hour.

Have I seen this guy at Seaport Village? Seems like he possibly "salts" the area he is "working" in with his own rocks. Seen lots of his pictures...surprising no one seems to notice the same shaped rocks over and over again in different formations. It even appears that a particular "smaller rock" is a favorite to use between two larger stones. It can be done, I have attempted and succeeded (some time involved with placing and moving the stones) after I was done I knocked it down and still"create" the same pile at any time I care to. Simple really no tricks, just thought the guy in seaport village was faking most of it.

I have seen these guys work. I have also done it in my own yard. My attempts are simplistic compared to the "pros" but I am amazed but what I could do. It seems to work better if you don't try hard. I have one stack of 5 rocks that have been standing for 3 weeks through rain and high winds. I don't have any idea why it works but it does.

I watched on the net Kent Avery on the west coast and then tried it here on the east coast.. more squarish jagged rock here but it really works..

There is no glue of any kind.. it could not dry that fast if there was ...go try it don't knock it.
it makes the viewer and the builder feel at peace - its all good..