letters

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Norman,
a couple of weeks ago, the subject of monument builders manuals came up.
That sent me on a search for a copy I had made of a 100 year old manual that
was in the library of a company I worked for. Unfortunately, I can't find
it.  I suggest you ask the local monument shops in your area if they have a
manual you can look at.

The one I had gave very clear instructions on the angle of the chisel when
cutting into the stone, and how to approach the corners so as to avoid
breaking the stone out. I'm hoping the original copy is still available so I
can make another copy. The basic how-to rules of doing lettering are  the
same for any kind of stone sculpture.

1. you must have good sharp chisels.

2. v-sunk sunken letters are cut from the outside line , in toward the
center at a 45 degree angle. If you think the stone will break across the
top, and break out the other side, try cutting a straight down cut, down the
center of the letter, to stop any out of control chip.  A finished v-sunk
letter will have an accurate center line at the bottom of the V. Sharp
chisels give you a clean crisp letter. I use a 1.5 lb dummy hammer for this
kind of light carving, or a 1\2" air hammer. Square and round raised
lettering will make you very aware of the direction your chisel is cutting
into the stone.

1. after you have outlined the letter, and chopped away the background, you
always cut down and at an angle  towards the bottom .

2. Never cut towards a corner. Start at the corner and go along the side.

3.Never have your chisel cutting perpendicular across the body of the bar.
The raised stock will pop right off. Just do it once and you will know
exactly what I mean.

4. The bottom lines of raised letters are just as important and the top
lines. They define the letter from the background.

5.Getting the sides of a square raised letter truly square means that the
sides are a 90 degree angle from the background. Getting the sides and the
bottom lines perfect is when most of the breaking occurs. One of the best
tips ever given to me, was to leave the side angle a little more then 90
degrees. As long as you bottom lines are sharp and accurate, it will look
fine, and the chance of breaking something is greatly reduced. Go out to an
old section of any cemetery, and look at what was done. Do some practice
work. A fun thing to try is to write  a large example of your signature on
some marble, and then carve it into a v-sunk sample. In this way you won't
get hung up on perfect straight, parallel lines. As the width of the line
changes, the depth of the cut changes. All you have to do maintain the 45
degree angle, cut down from both sides and the center line will almost take
care of itself! This kind of carving is very fluid and graceful, and will
teach teach you skills that will help you in any kind of stone carving you
do.

Good Luck
George Graham