Done it many times with both a chisel and a masonry hammer which has a
chisel on one side of the head, also a 3 pound hammer will do it, but not so
neat. You carefully tap along the line where you want to cut the block on
both sides, you will note that it has a ringing sound when you hit it, you
keep going over the line rotating sides, until the ringing sound turns flat
as the crack grows, once more over the block and it should part. It sounds
like you are trying to cut it too hard by hitting it too hard, it really
doesn't take much tapping once you get the feel for it. If you find that you
cannot successfully cut a block, most concrete block plants make half blocks
that you could use.

wrote in message
oups.com...
What's the trick to cutting concrete blocks in half?

I am blocking up some old foundation windows using 8 x 8 x 16 concrete
blocks and I need some partial (half) blocks to complete the run. I
have a masonry blade, a 3-inch stone chisel and a 3-lb hammer. I've
been scoring the block in the middle, then using the chisel to crack
it.

I can't get the block to split cleanly in the middle -- one end ends up
crumbled. I do get 1 decent half block for my effort, but waste the
other half.

Can this be done?