April 2005 Newsletter - Montoya Sculpture & Supply

Issue 16
April 2005 - Newsletter

ROCK TALK
MONTOYA SCULPTURE & SUPPLY since 1973

Interesting stone sculpture related news, technical tips, special offers and other sculpture stuff.
By Jeff Halverson

Sculptor and Owner of Montoya Sculpture & Supply
www.MontoyaSculpture.com

Issue 16, April 19, 2005

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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Editor's Note
2. Tools- Something Imbued?
3. AIR TOOLS (Pneumatics)- THE BASICS
4 New Items –flap wheels, 8” fine file, 1500 grit paper
5 Current Sale
6 Upcoming Events
7 Please send sculpture quotes (maybe win $25 gift certificate)

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SCULPTURE QUOTE

I sometimes wonder if the hand is not more sensitive to the beauties of sculpture than the eye.

I should think the wonderful rhythmical flow of lines and curves could be more subtly felt than seen. Be this as it may, I know that I can feel the heart-throbs of the ancient Greeks in their marble gods and goddesses. - Helen Keller
Submitted by Ann Cunningham

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1. EDITOR’S NOTE
Last week we received a shipment of over 11 tons of fine sculpture stone. That includes soapstone, alabaster, wonderstone and marble. If you have not tried wonderstone you really should. They are as hard as alabaster and come in great consistent colors.
I sent out a sales flyer last Thursday so you should be getting it soon. If you do not get one you can call us or email us your address so you are sure to get the next one. The sale ends on May 5 so you have time to get in on it. I have included some of the sale items below in the Current Sale section.

Thanks to Ann Cunningham for submitting the selected sculpture related quote, we are sending her a $25 gift certificate. I appreciate you taking the time to submit it. Its interesting to see the different quotes submitted.

Please forward this issue to a friend that might be interested.

Thanks for reading. Remember to dream and create.
Jeff

PS: I still have customers ask if Ms. Montoya is still the owner. Simply put- NO. In June I will celebrate 5 years as the owner. I purchased the business in June of 2000. I am the sole owner. And let me tell you that doesn’t mean anything without good people like Shari, Lynette and Valerie (my mother) to make it all work.

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2. TOOLS- SOMETHING IMBUED?

This is about an odd experience I am not sure I can quite convey to you properly, but I wanted to share it. An elderly sculptor recently passed away and I was asked if I could sell her sculpture tools to raise a little money for her family. Some of the chisels were quite old and looked interesting to me. I picked out the older and worn ones and put them together on one of her dusty canvas pouches. My first thoughts were to wonder if perhaps she had children or grandchildren who would of been interested in them. These tools were a part of her life.

As I looked at the mushroomed tops of the chisels I wondered what stories they held. How many blows had they taken in the creation of her sculpture? How had she maneuvered the tools to remove stone here and there? As I looked down, I felt that somehow all these experiences were stored in the hammer and chisels on that canvas pouch. I know it’s somewhat mystical or spiritual, but I asked myself, don’t those tools have some kind of power stored in them because of their being used. If you have been reading the newsletter for some time you probably remember reading that Vince Ricci, who had worked with Malvina Hoffman (who studied with Rodin), had a chisel that Malvina had given him. It even had her “MH” stamped on the shaft. That tool meant something to Vince. It meant something to me to hold it. It seemed to hold some “power”, something special to the right people.

After you work with the stone, holding the tools this way and that, blow after blow after blow, doesn’t that tool somehow get something imbued? And sometimes, doesn’t it just seem that the tool becomes part of us, part of our hand, an extension of our arm. It flows with our mind. It curves and cuts just as we thought, somehow knowing where to go just as we thought it. All those hours in her hands in the creation of sculpture, of her vision for the stone. I believed, something was there, it had to be, and all those blows had to have forced something, some power, some creativity perhaps, into those tools. You can see some of it in the mushroomed top of the chisels, in the marks on the hammer.

As I stood there, waning sentimental, I wondered, how long had she sculpted, how many works had she done, who, if anyone, had taught her. What was her work that she most cherished. Perhaps one of those tools was given to her by her teacher, and that tool came to her with some “power” already forced into it. Perhaps… as she lay on her bed in her final days she thought of all the stone sculptures she still wanted to create, but never would. Maybe somehow, through some mystical power her tools were stored up with those creative thoughts. As we carve don’t we get flashes of further ideas, sometimes a flood of ideas, for our next sculpture? Hadn’t she been holding some of these tools as thoughts of her next sculptural creation was revealed to her? Maybe, just maybe they lay there on the canvas, calm, dusty and still, but packed with experience, ready to expend its power of experience through the hands of the right person, another stone sculptor.

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3. AIR TOOLS (Pneumatics)- THE BASICS

Lets look into the basics of setting up for and using air tools for stone carving. Its pretty simple and you will enjoy the ease and speed with which you will be able to remove stone. You need a compressor and some air tools..

COMPRESSOR

The Compressor- this part of your setup is used to compress the air to drive your air tools. A gas or electric motor is used to compress the air into the metal tank to be distributed through the hose to your tools. Most of the time its best to use an electric motor because you just plug it into the outlet. The electric motor compressor allows you to use this equipment in confined spaces like garages and sheds where you don’t want gas fumes from a gas motor to build up. Just in case- gas fumes contain CO2 (carbon dioxide) and prolonged exposure to carbon dioxide build up in confined spaces will kill. Of course larger electric units have different electrical needs and may need to be hard wired. Gas units can be handy if you are in an area that does not have electric readily available.

In selecting a compressor, it is important to select a large enough tank and motor. You can get into a lot of technical details here but in general you will need a 20 gallon air tank with a motor that can produce at least 3 CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute). Motors that can produce this can be as small as 1.5 hp (horse power). The 3 CFM should be produced at 90 psi (pounds per square inch) . The larger the motor the longer service life and higher psi. In general the higher the horse power the higher the cost of the unit. I like the portable wheel mounted units for ease of moving. Of course your compressor unit needs to include couplings and hose.

A few other items to be aware of;

-the metal tanks that store the compressed air will build up water due to the compression of the air. The tank needs to have a valve to drain the water.

-it’s a good idea if your motor has a oil sight glass so you can check on the oil level inside the motor.

-look for a unit with a good belt guard to protect against accidents.

-if you are going to be using your unit with a buddy using it at the same time, remember that higher operating pressures allow multiple operations simultaneously.

-there are many different types of connectors. I recommend the “M” or Industrial connector

AIR TOOLS

There are three main air tools you want to be able to use with the compressor: the air blower, the 1⁄4” pneumatic dia grinder and the pneumatic hammer. The air blower is an inexpensive little attachment used for blowing dust off of your cloths, out of your hair and out of tool housings.

The 1/4” pneumatic dia grinder is a rotary tool. The air entering the tool spins the inner turbine at between 12,000 and 35,000 RPMs (Revolutions per Minute). This is the tool your compressor is sized to fit. It has the highest air demand. It uses an average of 3 CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute). It eats up air fast. Be sure to select this tool with a lower or equal CFM rating than your compressor is capable of generating or else your motor will stay on all the time trying to compress the air while your tool is eating it up out the other end.

Select a dia grinder that is between 20,000 and 25,000 RPMs due to the safety ratings of most of the attachments available for these tools. Most have a lock–off trigger (you have to flip something to squeeze the trigger) and the trigger is variable speed (the harder you press the trigger the higher to the maximum rated RPMs you will go). You can also control the speed with the psi pressure valve. Generally they run at between 60 and 90 psi. These tools come in front and rear exhaust models. The front exhaust blows air over your work surface and the rear exhaust blow it to the back. Each has an advantage and oddly the rear exhaust seems to be most popular. This tool is rather easy to find at your local super mega hardware store starting as low as $15. A vaiant of this tool is one with the business end at a 90 degree angle from the tool. This would be a tool for a special application which you probably would not need in your initial tool set up. There are also long shaft versions which give you another 6”-8” of reach should you be carving deep into a stone. The pneumatic dia grinder has an advantage with the number of attachments available for it.

The attachments available for the pneumatic dia grinder include;

-reduction collet (1/8”) allows you to use attachments with smaller shanks. Standard shank size for this tool is 1⁄4 inch.

-carbide burrs used to shape and bore
-mounted grinding wheels in different shapes and sizes
-cut-off wheels for shaping and cutting up to 2” into the stone. These are often diamond coated.
-rotary chisels are triangular shaped burrs in different sizes and shapes. When spinning at 25,000 RPMs they are like an aggressive chisel that digs into the stone and leaves a fairly smooth surface.
-flap wheels are small drums that have many small square sheets of sand paper attached to it. They come in different sand paper grits and are made to wear down as they spin to expose fresh grit. They are rated up to 25,000 RPMs and make fast work of sanding the stone surface..

-polishing attachments include cloth wheels and goblets which you use to polish and shine the surface of the stone. Spin the cloth wheel or goblet into an alabaster or marble compound and apply it to the surface to create a high polish.

PNUEMATIC HAMMER

This tool is probably the main reason you are looking at the purchase of a compressor set up. They are great tools with a simple operating system. They are basically a cylinder inside a container, and as the cylinder goes back and forth it hits the shaft of the chisel. Lets say you could hit your chisel with your hand held hammer about 30 times a minute, compare that to 350 times per minute with a pneumatic hammer and you get an idea of how fast you will be carving stone. And now assume you could keep up that rate with your hand held hammer, and you really understand how much stone you will move.

There are different sizes and shapes of pneumatic hammers. With a pneumatic hammer you do not so much push the hammer as GUIDE it. Air Hammers come in different sizes, weights, shapes and noise level, depending on manufacturer. They are all of high quality and are built to take a beating, Standard chisel shaft is 12mm (1/2”) and is interchangeable between makers. Use steel chisels on soapstone and alabaster and carbide tools on marble and granite. In selecting the tool you will want to consider the type of work you are doing, and how long you will be holding the tool. The larger the tool the heavier it will be. In the Cuturi line the “V” hammer is a favorite and weighs 1.54lb (.7kg), the larger is a “T” and it weighs 3.3lb (1.5kg). This tool, depending on size, will consume less than 1.5 CFM, compared to 3 CFM for the dia grinder.

A few other things related to air hammers. Always operate within the recommended pressures (60 to 90 psi). Start your session and end it with a few drops of air tool oil. A few drops during the work session is a good idea. Failure to oil the tool will result in damage and if not oiled at the end of the session can lead to seizing and possible formation of rust if there is moisture in the tank or air line. Keep the connectors at the intake of the air hammer and hose clean because this is the easiest way to introduce sand and dust into the tool. Sand and dust in the tool is bad. This can cause the tool to seize up.

Between the air hammer connector and the air hose you can add some handy attachments. One attachment is the in-line blower which makes it easy and fast to blow off your working surface with out having to disconnect the air hammer and connect a separate blower. You just reach back along your hose and press the little button and instant blower air. Another attachment is a small in-line pressure regulating valve making it easy to adjust air flow. Another attachment is a swivel. The swivel allows the hose to drop down so that the angle of the air tool is not holding the hose up. This takes some of the pressure off while guiding the tool. These attachments can be added separately or all together. They generally will all fit within about an 8” length depending on the manufacturer of the attachment.

Always wear safety equipment, particularly eye and ear protection. Damage to human ears begins at 85 db and the air hammer usually runs below this threshold. But air dia grinders run in above 85 db and its so simple to protect your ears by reducing the db level with a set of rubber/plastic ear plugs. After a few hours of guiding the air hammer around the stone (time flies when you are having fun) your hands may feel tingly from the vibration. Vibration absorbing gloves will help reduce this. For more on safety read Technical Bulletin #6 “Safety for the Stone Carver”.

If you have the space for a compressor you will really enjoy having the option of using air tools. Air tools are simple to use and save time. When using air tools it’s a good idea to have a plan of attack for your stone and mark cut and shave lines on the stone. Air tools make fairly fast work of the stone. You need to be aware of where you are going when using your air tools because you are going to get there fast.

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4 NEW ITEMS– New for April –

8” knife edge fine file- This is a very fine knife shaped file that is very handy and time saving when you have to smooth and file between stones. Let’s say between the body and arm of a stone sculpture, or between flat. Its also great for bringing fine edges to corners of stone particularly marble (works well on alabaster and wonderstone also). It narrows down to about 1/16” at the bottom (which does have file teeth on that surface). The 7/8”sides of the file also have teeth and at the top of the file its about 3/16” wide (no teeth on that side). Of course since its teeth are so fine you will have to clean it out often but you will get the smooth finish you want in those tight spots. $8.50 only have ten of these to try them out.

1500 grit Wet/Dry Silicone Carbide paper- Since I have had a number of clients ask about this I have added it to our offerings. We carry this type of wet/dry paper in the following grits: 150, 220, 320, 400, 600, and 1200 (Open screen back in 80 and 120 to prevent loading with dust). We have now added 1500 grit for that really fine finish on marble and even alabaster. As you know alabaster will produce a very fine finish at 600 and 1200 grit. So it will depend on the alabaster as to needing 1500 grit. All of our Silicone Carbide wet/dry paper is 9”x11” and features silicone carbide grains, resin on resin bond with high quality latex-backed paper. That means sharp cut, fine finish, it resists heat (from rubbing so much), and it has long life and resists moisture. It can be used dry but its best when used with lubricants (like water for stone). In case you care, besides being ideal for stone and marble the manufacturer’s literature also states its ideal for metal, plastics, glass, and body fillers. $.79 a sheet

80 grit & 240 grit flap wheel for pneumatic or electric dia grinder- 1⁄4” shank fits standard collets for the pneumatic and electric dia grinders (Foredom and Mekita). We already carry these flap wheels in 120 and 180 grits. And of course they are all rated to 25,000 rpms. Your dia grinder is probably rated for a maximum of 23,000 to 25,000 rpms, but check it so you are safe. They are

1 “ in width and 1-3/4” in diameter. We had customers asking about other grits so here they are. In case you have not tried them these are great little add-ons for your dia grinders. They make fast work of sanding (and they make plenty of dust as a result). They are designed to wear down with use to expose fresh grit to the working surface. They are rather inexpensive and when you consider the time saved they are well worth it.

80 grit flapwheel, regularly $4.78 Until May 5, $3.10 (save 35%)

240 grit flapwheel, regularly $4.78 Until May 5, $3.10(save 35%)

Set of four grits (80, 120, 180, 240) would be $19.12, Special till May 5 $11.47 (save 40%)

From March- a clarification

After Issue 15 was sent out some of the readers asked about a picture of this tool. It has been posted on the website in the online catalog under Tools, Power tools

4” & 5” BRAZED CUP WHEELS- This is an item I have actually been using a while as an evaluation and I can tell you I am very pleased. This item has my highest approval. So far I have personally used a single 4” size on my variable speed angle grinder for over 120 hours on marble, limestone, onyx, wonderstone, and alabaster. The paint of course is worn off but it’s as good as the day I started using it. It’s a flat wheel that screws directly onto a 5/8” arbor of the variable speed angle grinder. It does not require a locking set screw or any other tool to place it. It is 4” in diameter (or 5”) and it is about 3/16” thick. Now the interesting thing about this tool is the working face (which is covered by raised irregular metal distortions) of the wheel extends to and over the outer diameter of the wheel and back onto the other side about 1⁄4”. This means you can not only grind with it, but you can cut with it. So you do not have to change blades. Of course you will be making a lot of dust and some noise so you need all of your safety equipment (read Technical Bulletin 6). Point is you can make real progress on marble by cutting into areas to be removed by cutting in like piano keys and either knocking the keys off or cutting them off and grinding the remnants down. In the studio I can demonstrate its effectiveness and I have sold eight of them. Everyone has been very happy with them and so I am making them available more widely, at an introductory price until Wednesday, March 16. This really is a great tool.

If you have a variable speed angle grinder (read about the advantages of the variable speed angle grinder in Technical Bulletin 5) you will enjoy this tool. And yes you can use this on a single speed angle grinder. Get one for the next few days at an introductory price:

4” Brazed cup wheel, SKU 77051 $ 129.98

5” Brazed cup wheel, SKU 77057 $ 149.98

It’s not on the website yet so email or call (1-800-682-8665) us if you would like to order.

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5. CURRENT SALE

Super Special-till May 5, 2005
RASPS & FILES—Lowest Price EVER at 30% off, Great for alabaster, soapstone, & wonderstone.
15023 Bracelet Rasp was 38.95now $ 27.27
Good for those concave areas.
15024 Killer Rasp was 39.95 now $27.27
curved at both ends, 8” long, two textures
14053 Course Rasp 12” reg 19.95 sale $10.95 (overstock)
My very favorite, aggressive but leaves a smooth finish
15020 Vixen Flat 12” was 20.95 now $ 14.65
15025 Vixen half round 8” was 18.95
now $13.27
ASK FOR CARBIDE TOOLS FOR USE ON MARBLES—to many to list 15% off
12102– 8 pc Carbide Riffler set in pouch
Reg 134.99 on sale $100.
POLYESTER ADHESIVES –Save 30%
Easy to use to repair, join and mount stone. Color to match needs.
63002-Qt. Transparent flowing now 20.99
63006-Qt. Transparent knife grade now 20.99
63008-Qt. White knife grade now 20.99
All come with a tube of hardener.
We carry all the tints needed to color these Adhesives to the color you need.
If you need some guidance on using these ask for Technical Bulletin #3
Sculpture Bases– 40% off
Black marble bases, some with small imperfections (not damage), unusual shapes, or already drilled. In stock only. Over 75 bases to choose from. Call for availability 1-800-682-8665. While selection is best.
Other mounting accessories take 15% off
Mounting rods (stainless and brass)
Italian brass turning pins (4 sizes)
Heavy duty ballbearing swivels
Felt padding
Italian Craftsman Polish
Wonderstones on Sale
Purple Wave- deep rich plum purple with tan and yellow areas$1.99 sale $1.60
Yellow Wave– looks like wood, yellow, light and dark brown $2.10 sale $1.70 can look goldish
Salmon– rich red salmony color $2.20 sale $1.80
Peach - soft peachy color, not veined but patterned $1.99 sale $1.60
Red shades– dark brick and softer reds $1.99 sale $1.60
Charcoal- solid color charcoal; throughout $3.49 sale $ 3.00 awesome to sculpt.

These discounts are not available on-line at the website. Call us toll free at 1- 800-682-8665

GIFT CERTIFICATES – Easy to buy, mail, and use.

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6. UPCOMING EVENTS

Now preparing next seasons workshop line-up

Check out my new Blog at http://www.MontoyaSculpture.blogspot.com to see what participants have said about our workshops

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7. PLEASE SEND SCULPTURE QUOTES (maybe win $25 gift certificate)

I have included a sculpture related quote at the top of this issue. I hope it is inspiring and interesting. If you have an interesting sculpture related quote please send it to me. Please include the name of the person who said it. All of the quotes that are received are being compiled into a list of quotes related to sculpture. The first batch of quotes from the first six issues has been posted to MontoyaSculpture.com. I would appreciate your help in building this list of quotes directly related to sculpture. Quotes can be from recognized sculptors of the past or from a teacher or friend. Send me your sculpture related quote, and if it is selected I will send you a Montoya Sculpture & Supply $25 gift certificate and put the quote in the next issue.

Email me at Jeff@MontoyaSculpture.com Thanks

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(c)Copyright 2005 Jeff Halverson

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