tips for newcomers on pneumatic tools

[mike williams <sculptorman@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wow I never expected to stir up such a hornets nest on
this subject, I only really expected a few tips on
'white knuckle' and the like -

Walter - I agree with you quite a lot, the fundamental
tactile experience of the stone both by weight ,
hardness, mass, phenomena etc I found fundamental - the
image of unloading the five ton block off the ox cart
strikes a real chord for me as so often I rely on
'field' stone as my source material and available
friends as my delivery method.

Kevin - i also empathise a lot with the fact that
nothing, again nothing can replace the fundamental
rhythmic pace of hand work with stone ( I work mostly in
yorkshire millstone grit, hard, abrasive and
challengingly individual in each block) when I teach I
make the analogy for my begginners of their heartbeat -
toc, toc -

pause-  toc, toc. Pneumatic tools  for me introduce the
frenzy of industry (I use a Bon Accord hammer Appx 3/4
inch of travel) - the need to earn a living and pay the
rent on my workshop drives - but - this new experience
of 'peeling the onion' of the block as some one once put
it, this is new - at the same time exciting, yet -
distancing from the process - does this seem familiar to
any one?

Sculptorman

PS - I can only work 1 hour max with the pneumatic
before cramp sets in -yet do a full day with hand tools
- am I too set in my ways?