Alabaster mounting rods

[Don Dougan <dondougan@xxxxxxxx>]

Gary;

stainless steel rods for mounting your carvings on bases

Try a local steel supply yard for stainless rod -- or if Athens doesn't
have one ask a local welding shop -- if they don't have it they can get
it for you.

Stainless rod usually comes in 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, and 1/2 inch
diameters (and larger) by 20 foot lengths, but they will usually chop it
into two or three pieces for free or for perhaps a minimal cutting
charge.  I usually keep a piece of all but the 5/16-inch diameter on
hand, though I probably use the 3/8 and 1/2-inch more than the small ones
for mounting.

Though you didn't ask for it, I will offer some tried-and-true tips on
the mounting process itself.   I don't mean to offend by providing too
much information that you might have already acquired, but the following
tips are also written for those on the list who are just beginning their
carving experience, so I hope it will be of use to others as well.

For the relatively small size carvings I saw on your website (less than
12" high and 10 - 20 lbs.)  I'd probably use 3/8-inch (10mm) diameter
stainless rod, or the next size larger if you're going to use the
aluminum rod.  The hole drilled up into the carving would best be at
least four inches (16cm) deep -- I've seen students use short rods only
up into the stone about one or two inches (2 to 4 cm), and the holes get
wallowed-out and sloppy in a very short time with almost any kind of
handling at all.

Smaller diameter rods will support the carvings if you have a flat
footprint on the underside of the carving, but if your footprint is very
small or nonexistent (such as on a spherical carving) then all the stress
is placed on the small area of rod between the carving and the base, so
you need the larger diameter for strength.  Make sure your bases are
either heavy enough to keep the center-of-gravity low for the assembled
elements, or creates a wide-enough footprint to achieve the same
stability.  If you are going to exhibit your work to the public you have
to assume that some little kid is likely to bump into it . . . and
anything precarious will be your liability.

If you don't want the carving to revolve or pivot on base, the simplest
solution for a carving with a flat footprint is to use two pins spaced as
far apart as possible in the footprint, while at the same time keeping
them in at least an inch or two from the outer edges of the footprint.
One pin should be the primary (support function), while the secondary one
(position locking function) can be shorter and perhaps also a smaller
diameter, depending on the design of the piece.  (note: two pins exactly
the same height makes assembly of the carving onto the base very
difficult if the carving weighs more than a kilogram or two)

If the carving either does not have a footprint, or the footprint is too
small for a two-pin method, then there are several other ways to keep it
 from pivoting.   If the work is small enough, the simplest solution is to
just epoxy the two elements together (this is not as permanent as it
sounds - if you want to remove it later dry-heating the stone to 250
degrees Fahrenheit or so in an oven will soften common clear
hardware-store epoxies and allow you to disassemble the work without any
damage to the stone).

Unless the carving and the base together are very small and easy to lift
(less than about 15 lbs or 6 kg. together), I usually don't permanently
join the two elements.  It is much easier to install an exhibit by
carrying two 70 lb. pieces of stone (carving and base) one at a time in
two trips than a single trip carrying a 140 lb. mounted sculpture - even
if you have some wheels.   Though the design of the particular carving
sometimes precludes it, I usually epoxy the mounting-rod into the base
more-or-less permanently and allow the carving to slip off for easier
packing and handling during transport.  Gravity takes care of keeping
everything in place during the exhibition.

Where the carving is significantly lighter in weight than the base
element, I sometimes will epoxy the rod into the carving and allow it to
fit through the hole in the base, and protruding into a recess carved or
drilled into the bottom of the (thick) base.  When I use this second
method, I will either thread the rod, or just use a piece of threaded rod
(or a bolt with the head cut off) and then attach a nut and washer to
fasten the two elements together.  For smaller carvings especially, this
last procedure makes the work a bit more secure (heavier) when exhibited
in a public place and you don't  know who is going to walk up and try to
carry it off . . . which unfortunately DOES happen sometimes!   When
using a nut and threaded-rod to fasten the two elements together, care
must be taken NOT to overtighten -- the stress might just make the make
the epoxy fail, or it might crack and split either of the two stone
elements (I have had both worst-case scenarios and hope you never do).

Two other methods I use for preventing the carving from pivoting on the
single pin holding it to the base is to either carve a recess in the base
to match the contour of the bottom of the carving element, or to affix a
small cross-bar to the pin near to where it protrudes from the epoxied-in
element and then cut a matching slot in the surface of the loose element
that the crossbar will fit in snugly.

Of these last two solutions, the first (carved) method works best if the
bottom of the carving has some jutting-out bits that work like a 'tenon'
fitting into the 'mortise' of the recess in the base element.   The
cross-bar method must be used when the bottom of the carving is smooth
and rounded, and the base surface is relatively flat -- i.e., like a
sphere appearing to rest on the surface of a rectangular block.
Sometimes a combination of the these last two methods will work better
than one or the other method used by itself.

Good Carving to You,

Don