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I
use diamond discs and an angle grinder because it is a method that
is quick, minimises damage to the fragile areas in the stone, and
allows me to see how the stone will finish while shaping. However
the grinder and diamond discs create a lot of dust.
The cotton boiler suit, towel headscarf, and mask, are essential,
but the clouds of dust spread everywhere.
So the green suit is PVC, and the grinder is water-fed producing
a paste of stone dust and water. The choking dust has gone, but
the grinder is now spraying water everywhere, the jets hit my visor
and vision is never very good, the rubber gauntlets hinder the handling,
and the stone, as well as everything else in the vicinity, is covered
in slurry. Clumsy handling, slippery footing, poor vision, and miserably
wet.
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My solution (2004) obvious really
is to work in the quarry. Out here
in the open air everything takes
on a new perspective, scale is
different, and the stone is in it's
own time
Working in the quarry not
only allows access to an
infinite collection of stone, but
frees me from worry about who
else might be suffering from
the dust I'm producing.
Up here stone rules.
I'm still using angle grinders
and diamond discs, as well
as chisels, and still get
covered in dust, so wearing
dust mask, goggles and
ear defenders is not optional.
But now I feel more at one
both with the tools I'm using,
and with my surroundings.
It's a great place to be.
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