question about sandstone et al

[Richard Lawless]

Hello, first off, I just joined, I hope I'm doing this correctly. Part time sculptor, full time office jerk living in Missouri. My father was a sculptor in St. Louis but died when I was young and I'm finding that now, as I finally take it up, I'm missing a great deal of information that at one time, was right at hand.

I've got a question about sandstone. I suppose what I'm looking for is a good piece of resource material on stone in general. Our library does not have what I need and google hasn't been too helpful. I've got this piece of sandstone, very dark rust red. Very soft, almost like a powder pressed together.. I can shape it by scraping it along the sidewalk. I've made some small polyhedra using this method and a home made hand drill. Can anyone identify it for me? I'm using it for a piece I'm making for an upcoming show and would like to be accurate in the description. How bout limestone? Any good Limestone Bibles out there? I have a small variety but would like to call them by name, I guess.

Thanks, Cheers, Ciao,
Richard Lawless. Columbia MO

[don dougan]

Hi Richard,

Welcome to the list.

RE: "question about sandstone"

Where did you get the sandstone? If it is local then one of the members
that lives up that way may be able to help you identify it. If it isn't
local then it could be from a number of places. I know there is a red
Texas sandstone called Pecos red, but it sounds like your variety may be
a little bit softer than the Pecos red I have worked.

RE: "How bout limestone? Any good Limestone Bibles out there?"

Again, the question is where did you get it?
The Marble Institute of America publishes a pair of reference books with
8x10 color reproductions of stones (published also on CD I believe), but
it covers only commercially quarried stones. If your stone is from a
small private quarry it is not likely to be represented. The photos are
supplied by the quarriers themselves, so only those quarriers that have a
good production and want to be included are represented in the volumes.
Because the volumes are loose-leaf they can and do add new stones . . .
however when I bought my copy back in the mid-1990s the cost was
something over $200 for the two volumes, and though they kept me updated
for several years at no extra cost for the half-dozen stone reproduction
pages added per year, I have not heard from them for five or six years.
The volumes contain several plates of different cuts of domestic
limestone from Indiana and Alabama, as well as a number of
overseas-quarried limestones. My copy does not include any examples of
fairly common Texas limestones.
More information on several stone reference books (mostly about marble)
included in my library can be found on my website bibliography page:

http://dondougan.homestead.com/Bibliography.html

Good Carving to You,
Don


www.dondougan.com

[John Vancamp]

.

I've got a question about sandstone. Any good Limestone Bibles out
there?

Richard Lawless. Columbia MO

Richard,
Welcome to the group. Don mentioned the MIA. I would also refer you to
the Indiana Limestone Institute. Don also mentioned that the Pecos Red
Sandstone is a bit harder than what you describe. However, the western US
is covered with red sandstone, (Triassic Red Beds) so to actually identify
a particular sample, one would need to know where it was quarried. Pretty
much the same with the limestone, as it is a very common stone, and most
states have a limestone quarry or two. Indiana, Kansas, and Texas are some
of the bigger commersial producing states. Some sources of help in
identifing the stone can be local stone yards, landscaping companies or
masons. Also if there is a college nearby, a visit to the geology
department could help. Also most states have a state geologic survey, or
the USGS . Both have mountains of information about the stone formations
one finds throughout the country.

Good luck with the carving-- and please use a good repirator when working
that Sandstone. You don't want the silicate dust in your lungs.

JVC

[Rachman & Aminah Ulmer]

Greetings~
I've just completed carving a smallish block of the Pecos Red Sandstone and actually enjoyed how it worked. The graining on it
has fooled a couple of people into thinking it was some strange red wood. Local (San Antonio) supplier (San Jacinto Stone) is
selling the old supply from his stack at $25 a cube (not sawn, but rough) and said his price for the new quarried stone coming
in has gone up.

Does anyone know where in Texas this quarry is and a contact number or name? They are very tight mouthed about where they get
their rox... I'd like to take a trip out to a quarry that is pulling this sandstone from the ground.
Rachman

[Luba Gudz]

Hello,

Relatively new here, have been reading and learning much from the list,
hoping that I'm following"list etiquette" correctly. My work is is mostly
small relief in sandstone, marble and limestone, with majority in a variety
of sandstone, using power tools generating large amounts of dust. Question
about sandstone - from reading the list archives and many posts, I am now
very cautious working with sandstone (favorite stone). My respirator has a 1
micron filter, but I work in a 24 x 24 ft garage attached to house. I
imagine that all those unseen silicate particles are still hanging out after
I'm done carving, and every time someone walks through or picks something
up, the unseen (and seen) particles get stirred up and are a problem. Trying
to figure out a reasonable and safe set up here. It seems that a dust
collection system with a 1 micron canister filter would be the thing to do,
with a hood pointed directly at my work station, and to work with the garage
door closed (preferable, because garage is only 50 ft from the sidewalk on a
small suburban street, facing the street) I've also seen an air filter that
can be mounted to the ceiling which can be left on for a few hrs after work
is completed to pick up those stragglers. This combination of things,
respirator, dust collector, air filter - is this this a good set up or not
enough? When it comes to safety I'd rather be too careful and I appreciate
any advice on this, thanks. - Luba

[C.R.Schiefer]

Hay Luba how can we see your work list web site, Sorry but work with
limestone and cant respond to your question about sandstone - cr

[d***@public.gmane.org]

". . . respirator, dust collector, air filter -
is this this a good set up or not enough?" Luba
Hi Luba,

Welcome to the list. Sounds like you've got
a little bit of experience under your belt.
Any pictures of your work posted online?
As far as your safety concerns I think you
are doing the right thing. I also live
residential neighborhood close to downtown,
and have very small lot with my studio
about 50 feet from road (twenty feet
from nearest neighbor). Most of my dust
is non-toxic marble or limestone, but I
stll need to be careful and considerate
of my neighbors.

After the dust has settled out of the air
it is no threat . . . until you try to clean
it up by sweeping or vacuuming.
Working with hand-tools doesn't create too
much dust in the air -- but sweeping it up
with a broom or trying to vacuum it with a
standard ShopVac just puts it back in the air.
Using sweeping compound (like you would get
from an industrial janitorial supply
company) will help keep the dust down while
sweeping, but also use your respirator and
dust collector during help both when
carving and cleaning-up.

Good Carving to you,
Don

Don Dougan
www.dondougan.com

[Luba Gudz]

Thanks very much for the helpful information, I'm ready to proceed with
plans to better my work space. Am anxious to get back to carving, and am
STILL in the process of posting a portfolio of work on my website which is
under construction ("website-creation"-challenged individual here), but
thanks for your interest and I look forward to enlightening critique once I
get the stuff out there. - Luba

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Post by d***@public.gmane.org
Any pictures of your work posted online?

[John Vancamp]

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Post by Rachman & Aminah Ulmer
Does anyone know where in Texas this quarry is and a contact
number or name? They are very tight mouthed about where they
get their rox... I'd like to take a trip out to a quarry that
is pulling this sandstone from the ground.

Rachman,

You are right about how good the finished stone looks. The quarry
currently is a mess, but I do know the people pulling the stone out right
now. Also know of a few "boneyards" where you can probably find some
chunks. Got rid of most that I had. Would also point out that along I40in
the Santa Rosa area of New Mexico (Pecos River Valley) the same stone can
be found in abundance, although I haven't searched out any old quarry
operations up there. My experience with the stone is in restoration work
for many of the historical Texas Courthouses where it was used extensively
for the ornamentation. Give me a private email or a call, and I'll hook
you up with the right people.

JVC

[Robin Antar]

If you are carving sandstone, you must be very careful about breathing in
the dust.

Robin Antar