Abstract: A machine for dressing externally viewable surfaces of a building block. The machine includes transport section and a block modifying section. The transport section engages a building block and the block modifying section dresses the viewable surfaces of the block. The transport section and the block modifying section are moved in a linear direction, relative to each other. The block modifying section is able to dress an entire viewable surface of a block or selected portions of a block. The block modifying section includes block modifier units that have different operational characteristics and motions. One block modifier unit operates in a reciprocating fashion and another block modifier unit operates in a rotary fashion. The different block modifier units are used on different viewable surfaces of a block and may be used alone or in conjunction with each other to produce building blocks having differently dressed viewable surfaces.