holding air hammers

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Hey Norman,
Got a question for you. What size is the air hammer you are using? Having
the right size hammer for the job and the kind of stone you are working on
makes a huge difference.
Based on your information that you are doing a very detailed piece on
Indiana Limestone , I'd think that a small 1\2 hammer would be more then
enough. The softness of Indiana Limestone  allows the chisel to dig in too
steep, so its hard to relax and let the chisel work freely.  I hope you can
find a chunk of scrap Italian, or any other of the harder marbles and use
the air hammer on them so you can feel the difference. Generally speaking,
the softer the stone, the more careful you have to be.

If your hammer is well lubricated with air tool oil, and not worn out, then
you should be able to cut the pressure way down and still have a free
hammering action. With the pressure very low, it is much easier to get
comfortable. When I'm doing very fine detail carving I can hold the hammer
and chisel together with one hand and not have it pop apart. The control of
the chisel is done with just my thumb and forefinger. Its a very relaxed
thing with no white knuckle tension.

I agree with the thought that 4 hours of carving is a lot, and you should
expect to be tired. Frankly, after 2 hours I'm ready for a coffee break.

A final thought is that if you turn the pressure way down , then you can be
much more aggressive with the chisel. You can push into the stone without
the hammer getting ahead of you and ripping out stone that you need. Hope
this makes sense!!

20 years ago I got a chance to use a pistol grip handled German manufactured
air hammer that my employer bought on a trip to Germany. It was easier to
hold but it didn't have the very light action needed for fragile raised
Georgia marble letters. But it was fine for everything else.

Keep you chisels sharp Norman, and let us know how you project comes along.
George.