Stone Carving: the jump to power tools

[Norman Watts <Norman_Watts@zzzzzzz>]

Hi Ad,

Your situation sounds a bit like mine has been; carving is not the
day job, and the setup at home is all wrong for carving. Until
recently I rented single rooms in the (unfortunately) expensive
neighborhoods near where I work. With no commute I had a fair amount
of spare time but I had no place to work, so I worked out of my truck
in city parks and on the grounds of the institution where I'm
employed. That meant small pieces, hand tools only, curious looks and
police. Now I have a place of my own with acres of space, but I have
a commute and old-home owner chores, so I actually have less time,
money and energy for carving than I did before. I'd like a workshop
but the place doesn't even have a mud room, let alone a garage, and
right now I can't afford to build one. The work around (I wouldn't
call it a solution) is to do small stuff like lettering in an
insulated garden shed and doing anything else outside when weather
allows. That means setup/take down hassles. In the end I wonder if it
doesn't come down to something quasi-philosophical. You can improve
the situation tool wise, workshop wise, etc, but in the end you are
really putting more and more of your time and life into paying for,
establishing, and maintaining the setup rather than the carving. I
used to have more time, peace and contemplation carving an 80 pound
block of stone on a park bench on a quiet afternoon. If I got shooed
off I got shooed off. Some of my happiest times have been when life
was lightest. Its like rock climbing, 90% of the experience can be
had with a pair of climbing shoes and some good boulders. But if you
want to do big walls or mountaineering the attendant hassles are
enormous. Its relatively easy to say yes to something, but be aware
of the long train of things that come with it. Its been one of those
'introspective' mornings...

n