From:
Walter Arnold <sculptor@xxxxxxx>
Date:
Fri, 11 Sep 1998 08:33:28 -0500
Subject:
pneumatic tools
At 07:27 AM 9/11/98 +0100, Paul Crabtree wrote:
Quoted text begins.Pneumatic stone carving tools are noisy!
They create dust which permeates every possible place.
End of quote.
They are noisier and dustier than working with a mallet,
and that can, in some workshops, require some
adjustments in the workplace to accomodate those issues.
I have my workshop in the back half of the building, the
office in the middle, and the showroom/gallery up front,
and I do have to dust and clean the showroom each week,
and sweep the workshop each day; and I do have a nice
dust collector since I'm not in a location where I can
use an exhaust fan. Those are minor inconveniences.
Quoted text begins.They speed up production - but change the quality of work produced.
End of quote.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. As one sculptor I
knew in Italy, Padre Thomas McGlynn, put it, "if
Michaelangelo had the pneumatic hammer he would have
left twice as much work unfinished". The pneumantic
hammer has been around for over 110 years. In the right
hands it can be used for work as fine as any done
without it. The chisel is the same, it's just what is on
the back end striking it, and for some delicate work the
air hammer can be extremely delicate and precise. Look
at my site; I always have a mallet on the work bench,
but 90% of the time I'm working with air. When I switch
to the mallet I still use the same chisels.
Quoted text begins.They can cause 'white finger', an illness of the
circulatory system in the hands - resulting in
sensitivity to cold, pins & needles and loss of feeling.
It is untreatable!
End of quote.
That is mainly a problem in the first 5 or 10 years of
using it, until you learn to hold it right. Then it
generally pretty much goes away. (minor residual
problems- I'll get back to that). I have a copy of a
1916 U.S. government study of white finters (mani morto
we called it in Italy). They studied hundreds of stone
cutters and carvers (If I recall, they interviewed 700
men). The determination was that the extent of the
problem is just what you see in the symptoms; i.e. the
symptoms are not an indication of any deeper damage; and
that problems lessen after a number of years, when you
learn not to fight the tool. The problems were most
severe in people with less experience, and much rarer in
people who'd used the hammer for 10 years or more. You
need to hold the tool lightly, guide it, not push it or
squeeze it. Let the tool do the work, and the vibration
transfers into the cutting edge of the chisel and not
into your hands. Drop your elbow, don't crunch your
elbow up to the ear, stand relaxed.
Lower the air pressure as it comes out of the air
compressor, not just when it reaches the hammer. I
normally run around 45 psi. Most people run at twice
that. The higher pressure builds up tension and
vibration in the air line. Hang the air line from above,
so you aren't carrying the weight of the hose. Just
cradle the hammer gently in your hand, and hold the
chisel loosely.
In the winter (and we get severe winters in Chicago,
often below 0 farenheit with strong winds) if I don't
wear good gloves or if I'm driving for a long time
gripping the wheel I'll still get a mild case of white
fingers, which dissipates after 15 minutes or so. This
may occur a half dozen times a winter. IMHO, it's really
trivial. I've been using air hammers extensively for
almost 25 years.
Back in 1916 they found that if the air compressor
broke, the carvers and cutters (a stone cutter is what
in England is called a banker mason) would go home
rather than work with the mallet. Those were men who
were trained with the mallet and didn't come to the air
tools until they were already experienced. They had no
romantic attachment to the mallet- they just felt the
air hammer was the preferred tool to such a degree that
they wouldn't go back.
To me it's like a fountain pen- smooth, flowing, suited
for detail and broad strokes.
As to choice of hammer, there are a number of good
brands. Culturi is generally preferred, but for certain
work I also use Trow & Holden and some others. It
depends on the type of work and the type of stone you're
using. I could go into that in more detail if anyone is
interested. Oil the hammer every day.
Quoted text begins.Why do you need to use them?
End of quote.
Because I need to get my work done, and done accurately
and quickly. I produce a large volume of carving and
need to maintain a very high standard of quality. Look
at my site (URL in my signature) and judge whether my
work has been hurt by my choice of tools. Go to Italy
and go to any of the fine carving studios around
Pietrasanta, and see what tools they are using, and look
at the results.
Regards,
Walter S. Arnold * sculptor@xxxxxxx
- References
- message 00006: pneumatic tools - Paul Crabtree (11 Sep 1998)
- Previous by Thread: message 00006: pneumatic tools - Paul Crabtree (11 Sep 1998)
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