posted
Those who were at the Nanaimo Splash will know what I speak about. I warned all who might try the carved concrete work I love so much.
I did another major day of concrete work today after the job I did on Saturday at the meet...
The train station/electrical building is starting to look like a real building instead of this see through steel sculpture the neighbors have been wondering about.
A mud day involves troweling on the concrete mix and then as it sets up we carve the detail into it with hand tools. I use a small pointing tool and soft brush to smooth things over after I'm done.
The trouble starts here. I wear rubber gloves to put on the concrete, as its corrosive and abrasive too. Smart thing to do without a doubt.
But when it comes time to carve I just have to take off the gloves. I can carve twice as fast and with way more control without them. My hands don't cramp up as much either without the gloves binding them up. My crew calls it carving nekid. They all wear gloves without fail. Smart folks!
But for that finicky detail the fingers are the very best tool made. And they work well too... for the first half hour or so.
I start to feel the tingling of the finger tips about then... the abrasive sand and the corrosiveness of the cement are making the tips of my fingers kinda thin. The obvious solution is to switch fingers, huh?
Yeah, right. As I sit here and type tonight five out of my 10 fingers are bleeding at the tips. Seems I wore holes right though the skin. Trouble is that that's where the nerve endings are. No trouble though unless I touch something.
So tomorrow and the next few days I will wear finger tip bandaids to ease the pain a little. Good thing we heal so quick!
And I'm happy to report it was worth it. The Carving turned out fabulous!
I'll post some pics tomorrow, as it was getting too dark to take them when we finished toinight.
-dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8767 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Dan... And I Thought only my father-out-law didthose kind of things. Well, I'm glad to hear the nut here is not alone.
Sorry Danny, I had to.
The Living NextDOOR to the Out-laws side of the Moon
-------------------- The Moon aka: Stefenie Harris Moonlight Designs Pollock Pines, CA learnin' somethin' new every day! stefenie@comcast.net Posts: 550 | From: Pollock Pines, CA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Dan, being a messy, sloppy, hands on person myself I have a tip for you. Sounds ridiculous but massage some mayonaise into your hands tonight and leave it on for a while. You will be amazed at the difference.
-------------------- Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist. Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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