Compacting gravel without a vibrating plate

There are many possibilities.

The very simple and formerly usual method was to turn a spade upside down and use the handle to firmly tamp down gravel/sand etc. Houses were built this way that still stand today, or maybe not ;)

Well, construction was done before 1950 too - but there were no vibratory plates yet

Wacker produced the first electric vibratory plates and tampers in 1930. Just a small piece of information.

A little tip from me. If you have an electric demolition hammer, there is an attachment with a small plate at the bottom. So instead of the chisel, of course.



Just plug it in and you can get started. Costs a hundred euros on EBAY

On the right side of this terrace, about 80 cm down to the lawn, a small staircase with 4 steps is needed. It will be made of granite slabs and will be quite a massive block, which will probably only be moved as a whole. A layer of gravel will be placed underneath as a base.

Back to the actual problem... are we talking about the trenches for the palisades here? For that, the small vibrating plates are usually too big, and only the trench or hand tamper will do.

Wacker produced the first electric vibrating plates and tampers in 1930. Just a little info.

I love such smart alecks... Yes, it was invented by Wacker. But that doesn’t mean it was standard in 1930 or 1935 or 1940. The vibrating plate only became standard with the use of an internal combustion engine in the early 50s. It also doesn’t mean that heat pump heating was common in the 50s. The 1850s. That’s when it was invented. Or the electric ground source heat pump from the early 1900s. Between 1930 and 1950, construction was still very conventional = old-fashioned.

are we talking here about the trenches for the palisades?

Palisades?

a small staircase with 4 steps. It will be built from granite pillars and a rather massive block... A layer of gravel will be placed underneath as a base.

I want to put the gravel - about 10 centimeters deep - as the bottom layer under the whole block... If possible, so that water that accumulates in it can drain or seep away "forward" - that is, away from the terrace. 80 cm deep trenches against frost are too much work for me. It won't be a disaster if the whole thing moves a few centimeters over the years... and I don't expect more than that (who knows? o_O) I appreciate all your thoughts on this, which will help me organize my own.