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Wood and Stone

Stone Conversations : Archive 2 : Message 00242

From: "Charles Kibby" <chzmo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 18:48:33 -0800
Subject: Wood and Stone


From: "Anthony Marbella" <a.j.m.stone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <stone@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 9:29 AM
Subject: Wood and Stone

Quoted text begins.Are there any sculptors that do use both wood and stone in a single
sculpture?
End of quote.


I am assuming that you are seeking technical rather than aesthetic advice on
the combination of disparate materials such as wood and stone - in short, it
can and has been done. I've been laminating stone for over 15 years and
occasionally I have combined wood with stone with very pleasing results.

I have a table in my living room which I designed and fabricated about 15
years ago - the legs are laminated
wood and stone. Each is comprised of a center spine of 3/4" Rosso Levanto
sandwiched between outer 3/4" thick layers of Purple Heart wood (a
magnificent dark purple color when oiled and finished). The materials were
adhered with polyester resin, (rather than epoxy resin, which has a much
higher modulus of elasticity.......Translation: more flex). I fully
anticipated that by the age of 15 years there would have been some signs of
delamination, but so far the only deterioration has resulted from overly
active toddlers. No mechanical attachments were used in this fabrication
process.

I have completed a few other pieces combining Black Walnut and Tennesse Pink
or Tennessee Cedar- also at least 15 years
old with no signs of delamination. I suspect that some woods would be
totally inappropriate for this type of recombinant playground, so it seems
logical that the denser the wood, the less likely the problem of different
rates of expansion and contraction and hence more easily avoided. Also,
epoxy adhesives are much denser and less flexible than polyester and acrylic
adhesives, so choose your glue carefully........check the material data
before you use.

I have moved toward the use of threaded galvanized or stainless steel rods
in conjunction with the adhesive (polyester for interior use, epoxy for
exterior use because of the difference in moisture absorption) since stone
moves also and the mechanical attachment ensures that the piece will survive
its own self-destructive tendencies.

Anyway, I drone ........... wood and stone are both wonderful materials and as
basic as one can get ..... experiment and enjoy!

Charles Kibby

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