ultimate tools advice

[Erik Stainsby <stainsby@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello David,

If you are working on soapstone only and of the size you
describe, pneumatic tools would be like opening an egg with a
steam-shovel. Enormous over-kill.  Soapstone is a
knife-file-hand chisel softness.  In my opinion even a hammer
and steel chisel are overkill, but on larger pieces would
certainly speed the roughing stage. But then even there you run
the risk of shocking the loose fibrous structure and having the
block split.  Soapstone is for cutting edges.

As to the tools, I have recently acquired a Cuturi and have had
the chance to compare it to a T&H and to an older Chicago of
similar size and bore, and to try an Atlas Rebit (larger) at a
symposium I am participating in. We are working limestone which
is quite a bit harder than soapstone, roughly the same hardness
as a soft marble or a tough alabaster.

What I find, and this will probably vary with the number of
opinions you receive (everyone has their biases) is that the
Cuturi is unrefined and jumps hard against the hand.  It is
punishing to the body to use. I would not buy it today, though I
have only had it six months.

The Chicago, although it is probably not available today, is a
nice tool, well balanced and deep-voiced, meaning it has a
slower stroke and resonance, so it is not so hard on the hand
holding it.

The Atlas is a fine tool, but is of a larger size (1 inch
piston) and is meant for heavier work so the comparison is not
clean. I like it, and it seems well made, but demanding of the
compressor mostly because of the size.

My preference from near side-by-side use is the Trow & Holden.
It weighs slightly more than the Cuturi, but the rhythm is
-=much=- sweeter, and it does not yank the hand about so
cruelly.  For the difference in cost I believe you get a much
better tool.  It purrs in the palm.

For anything less than granite or basalt, carbide tipped tools
are a luxury.  They will last longer, but the expense is
generally unnecessary.  Steel tip tools are fine for the
majority of "carving" work.   Never use carbide with a
hand-hammer.  The force is too great, the hand-stroke is uneven,
and the carbide is brittle. Pneumatics deliver a rapid, even and
comparatively light-forced blow.

Your mileage may vary, but there are my opinions, fairly won.

Good health, and good carving,
Erik Stainsby