Wednesday 22 January 2014

Splitting bases

I have pulled out a block of marble from the field to split up for the two largest sculptures fro the John Martin Exhibition in March. The Matbro slithered its way into the field and made a bit of a mess. Still the spring will be here soon and everything will soon grow back. The photo shows me drilling a series of deep holes in a straight line across the block. Into these holes are then introduced long teardrop shaped pieces of steel that have been cut in half vertically. The two half tears are then lowered into the hole and a steel wedge is driven between them forcing the two halves apart and the stone to split. The closer the holes are together the more likely the stone will split where you want it to. This is a process I love. The sound of the wedges ringing before the block gives way is wonderful.

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