posted
When I was at my last sign job I carved a little plaque for my apt. # in slate. It came out cool. I was inspired by an old Signcraft article. I really like it & wan't to do some more.
I had just used some old wood chisel that was in the shop, sharpened it up a bit w/ grinder. I did the v-groove kind of thing.
I wan't to get a good chisel or chisels for doing some. Got me a big 'ol piece 'o slate & gonna make me a sign for my aunt.
What kind of chisel should I get? Do you carvers generally use a V-shaped type of chisel for inwardly beveled letters or just a regular one? The regular one worked surprisingly well for me.
I guess I could just go over to my Dad's & borrow one of his for now (he's a carpenter), but I wan't to get my own tools eventually. Carving signs (especially slate) is something I really wan't to get into.
Thanx in advance.
-------------------- Glenn S. Harris
....back in the sign trade full time. Posts: 293 | From: Baton Rouge, LA, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Were you wanting to use a creative form of typing or do you really not know that there is no apostrophe in the word want? (or wan't, as you put it)
Where's T-Buk when we need him? Now that was a guy who could do some creative contractualizationisms. Phonetic typing at it's finest!
Maybe you confused want with won't. I know it makes no sense visually why won't has one and want doesn't. Unless you meant the colloquial contraction of was not... but then your sentences wouldn't make as much sense if you substituted was not in place of wan't.
Just don't carve any WAN'TED posters in slate.
Anyways, if you really want some fun, try using a rotozip or a router to carve slate :-)
I've carved some slate floor tile on the router table and it was interesting. Occasionally the center of a letter wants to fly off into space or gets sucked up into the dust vacuum, never to be seen again.
-------------------- EmpY Mayo Pardo #138 South Elgin, IL. Posts: 436 | From: South Elgin, IL | Registered: Nov 1998
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I've been carving and sandblasting slate for about nine years now. The best place for proper carving chisels, that I have found thus far, is Alec Tiranti Limited in England. Check out www.tiranti.co.uk for the best selection of stone carving tools around.
If you are just starting out and want to practice, I suggest buying any piece of Chinese slate at Home Depot. The beauty of this stuff is that it is more like shale (very young slate) and carves like butter with ordinary wood chisels. The Chinese slate will run you about $3.00 for a 12" x 12" tile and must be sealed if you're planning on putting it outside. I don't use this stuff for anything but practice because it is not very durable. Good Luck!
-------------------- Mike Bromley SIGNS from Above Inc. 769 Hwy. #95, Wolfe Island, Ontario K0H 2Y0 Posts: 4 | From: Pickering Village (Ajax), Ontario | Registered: Dec 2002
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Thanks for the info Mike. I was actually looking at some of that stuff at Home Depot last weekend. I wasn't aware there were different "qualities" of slate.
I've got a couple pieces from a guy who cuts these crazy wall & floor mosaics with a giant water-jet machine. He's cut some metal letters for me before & has all this scrap slate laying around, some of it almost 2" thick!
I'm thinking the peices I have are the higher end stuff but I'm not sure how to tell. Would I have to seal this stuff for outdoor applications?
-------------------- Glenn S. Harris
....back in the sign trade full time. Posts: 293 | From: Baton Rouge, LA, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
It is generally true that the older the slate the harder it is. Something else that is true is that it is easier to carve a "fresh out of the ground" slate than one that has been sitting around for a few months. Slate that has been in the ground for 400-600 mllion years under pressure will, as a result, have a higher moisture content which helps reduce chipping and cracking when you carve it. After the slate is out of the ground for a few months the moisture evaporates from the stone and will never return even if you submerg it in water for years! For this reason I try to get the freshest slate I can and only inventory what I know I will use over 3 months.
I would select a fresh piece of hard slate over an old piece any day.
Softer slate needs to be sealed to reduce erosion of the carved areas. It's also a good idea to not carve too deeply as this softer stuff has a tendancy to crumble. Not sealing the Chinese slate can result in failure of the carved sign in 6 mos. - 5 yrs. depending on exposure to the elements.
The hardest slate in the world was called Peach Bottom Black and came from Pennsylvania. The quarries closed down almost a century ago. The next hardest was Newfoundland Purple but that quarry closed down for good almost 4 yrs ago. Seems it's getting harder and harder to get good hard slate..... But, what you should start carving is a soft to medium slate. Try the Chinese stuff in Home Depot, then Quebec black or Vermont green.
I know of a woman that offers a slate carving course from time to time out of Granville, New York. It's usually just a weekend and I'm told it is quit good and not too expensive.
-------------------- Mike Bromley SIGNS from Above Inc. 769 Hwy. #95, Wolfe Island, Ontario K0H 2Y0 Posts: 4 | From: Pickering Village (Ajax), Ontario | Registered: Dec 2002
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Wow, there's lots more to it than I thought. You seem to know your stuff Mike.
I did my initial carving while working for a guy who does lots of sandblasted signs. My boss was interested in how it would blast, I didn't think it would work out. We did redwood, HDU, cypress, spanish cedar, granite, & marble; but he'd never heard of using slate.
I'd love to see some photos of sandblasted slate signs.
-------------------- Glenn S. Harris
....back in the sign trade full time. Posts: 293 | From: Baton Rouge, LA, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
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