craftmanship question

[Don Dougan <dondougan@xxxxxxxx>]

Andrei:

"... piece of marble which has a crack in it in an area I would like
to bring down to a polished surface ... I can't use power tools because
the surface in question is surrounded by a high rim and there's no space
to move about."

Three methods come to mind -- the first two are ver labor intensive and
tedious, but they will work if you have enough patience.  The third
method involves power tools -- a specific modification or specialty tool
which will work even in your awkward access situation.

1)  Using a very-sharp chisel scrape the surface away by hand (no hammer
strikes at all), or use the end of  a long extra-coarse (24 or 36-grit)
rubbing stone.

2)  The old-time shoemakers used a rasp-like tool called a Float.  Floats
have relatively large broad  'teeth' -- like an extremely coarse (but
very sharp) single-cut file.  In use It serves as a cutting tool
somewhere between a plane and a file.  Floats were also used by other
trades (Gunsmiths and Tortoiseshell Comb Makers come to mind), but the
Shoemaker's Peg Float was unusual in that the cutting surface was very
short (about 1 to 2 inches long by 1 inch wide, or about 4 centimeters
long by 2 centimeters wide).  It also is mounted on the end of a long
handle (up to 24" or about 40cm) so the Shoemaker could get the business
end of the tool down into the toe-end of the sole inside the shoe or boot
being made, and 'rasp-off'  the protruding wooden pegs that held the sole
together.  The Shoemaker's Float comes in both fixed-head and
swiveling-head versions -- the fixed-head sometimes being set
perpendicular to the handle shaft (for working on the heel-end of the
sole) or set about 45 degrees (for working in the toe-end).  The
swiveling-head version pivoted back and forth on a pin and allowes the
cutting head to follow the contour of the sole from heel to toe, but
because of the pivoting less cutting force can be applied in a single
stroke compared to the fixed-head varieties.

Finding an antique Shoemaker's Float is not going to be an easy chore
(not too many shoes still being made with pegged soles!), but I have made
one out of a piece of steel rod for the handle, and by cutting a section
of a "4-in-hand-file" (a short handleless file/rasp with four working
surfaces:  very coarse flat rasp, coarse flat double-cut file, very
coarse half-round rasp, coarse half-round double-cut file), and welding
it to the end of the rod handle.  NOTE: When welding I used an electric
arc-welder with a small electrode rod and kept the business-side of the
rasp cool in a damp rag so as not to burn the hardness or temper out of
the cutting teeth.

3) Using a specialty or a modified power tool:  Some die grinders made
especially for the aircraft and related industries have an extended shank
for reaching into narrow confined areas (got a couple hundred dollars?).
 They can be used with the green silicon-carbide mounted stones to reach
the surface of your area enclosed by the rim.  A flat or slightly curved
disc-shaped  stone would probably be my first choice by your description.

 A regular variable-speed electric drill could also be used (though more
awkwardly in an already awkward situation) by adding an extension.  The
6-inch and 12-inch extensions made for the flat 'spade' or 'paddle' drill
bits for wood will accept 1/4" or 6mm shanks of the mounted stones, fixed
with a setscrew.  After the coarse abrasive work is completed, small
diameter sanding discs can also be attached to the extension.
NOTE: If using an extension don't use the highest-speed setting -- if the
chuck were to loosen at high-speeds the stone on the end of the
attachment becomes a potent and potentially deadly "blunt instrument."

There is always another way to skin the cat . . .

Good Carving to You -- Don