pneumatic tools

[Martin <mpope@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

     With regards to the use of air tools I'd like to
put in my two penny worth.

Last week I was in Edinburgh on business and had a look
at the Scottish monument on Princes Street. This is
currently being refurbished and stone work replaced.
There is an area set up for people to watch the masons
at work. They are using air tools ( air chisels) to
remove the bulk of the unwanted stone and then diving in
with mallets and chisels for the finer stuff. This
method speeds up production but doesn't take away any of
the craft or skill involved in carving.

As a point of Geological interest the replacement stone
for the monument has come from the original quarry which
has been re opened especially for the project.

As far as "white finger" goes, this is caused by
excessive vibration through the palm of the hand. It's a
similar problem to one I suffered from when Mountain
bike racing. As ever , prevention is better than the
cure, so I would recommend using some Gel pad bike
gloves, the name of manufacture escapes me, but if you
pop into a local Mountain bike shop, they'll be able to
help.

Air tools are fine for shifting large amounts of "nosh"
before finishing of by hand, and I can't wait to save
enough pennies to buy one.

Until then, Keep chipping, Bye, Martin.