Resources needed

[William_Allen]

I am looking to cut a square hole into stone aprox. 1" wide x 1/8" tall x 2"-3" deep.

Looking for resources on tools and techniques.

Thanks in advance :)

[jwebb]

That's pretty small and precise. As a carver of stone sculptures I have never attempted that. I'd be tempted to drill I/8 " holes in a one inch line and connect them and square up the corners with a chisel. However, a tombstone maker might have a quick, mechanical, more precise way of doing it. I'd contact one and seek advice. When you find out the answer, please let me know what it is.

[sculptor]

creative problem solving 101......bucky style....giant step backward to

The purpose of the square hole----which seems to be of the catagory "slot"

(insert tab A into slot B)

What is the purpose of the slot?

[William_Allen]

I should have mentioned this purpose in the first post. :rolleyes:

What I am creating is a 3' long, branch-like armature which "floats" horizontally above a stone base 1.25"H x 6"W x 14"L. They will be attached by a "U" shaped piece of rectangular steel, say 1/8" x 1.25" x 20" which should be inserted into the end of both the base and the stone.

The steel, which will be nickel plated so I'll have to account for the additional size when cutting my holes, should fit seamlessly into the ends of both the armature and the stone - ideally.

The stone is nothing special, picked up from the local stone/landscaping yard. It's a softer stone, larger grained, grayish in color with obvious reflective/sparkle bits throughout.

The wood part I can handle, but I haven't worked with stone yet and would appreciate any insights this community might share.

[sculptor]

OK

jwebb seems to've hit it well------a series of holes the diameter of the thickness of your rectangular stock then use a (tuck)pointing skew type chisel to clean out the remaining stone in the slot--- after the series, you might try drilling at an angle to the series to cross over from one hole to the next...etc.---work a little at a time so you don't bind---depending on your torque/weight, you might want to
epoxy the steel in the hole

good luck
rod

[cote]

What I am creating is a 3' long, branch-like armature which "floats" horizontally above a stone base 1.25"H x 6"W x 14"L. They will be attached by a "U" shaped piece of rectangular steel, say 1/8" x 1.25" x 20" which should be inserted into the end of both the base and the stone.
I guess I'd need to see a picture, :confused: but it really isn't of any consequence.
The best way (IMHO) to accomplish what you want is to use dowel pins. 1/8 inch is very thin material and I would suggest that you consider using something at least a quarter of an inch thick or larger. Basically you need to drill and ream to size for a press fit of two dowel pins in the end of the steel bar. Then drill two corresponding holes in the stone piece. The depth of all four holes should be twice the diameter of the dowel pins being used. Epoxy glue the dowel pins in the stone.

The steel, which will be nickel plated so I'll have to account for the additional size when cutting my holes, should fit seamlessly into the ends of both the armature and the stone - ideally. Plating will only be a few thousands's (0.001") and really too small to worry about. But I think that you would be much better off using stainless steel.

[steponmebbbboom]

(quote)"What I am creating is a 3' long, branch-like armature which "floats" horizontally above a stone base 1.25"H x 6"W x 14"L. They will be attached by a "U" shaped piece of rectangular steel, say 1/8" x 1.25" x 20" which should be inserted into the end of both the base and the stone."

I am guessing you mean the rectangular base, made of stone, will sit on the ground, then you will have the armature dangling in the air above the base, parallel to it, and this "U" shaped bracket will attach to the side of the stone base, sticking out of it, going straight upward and then back the other way to attach to the end of the armature to suspend it over the stone. Correct?

If this is so, you need to be damn sure you have adequate mass of stone around this hole to support the weight of the armature PLUS any stress due to vandals jumping on the armature, high winds, snow loads etc. assuming it will be an outdoor piece, or someone accidentally falling on it if it's indoor. Since the stone has no ductility (flex) to it, any stress beyond what the stone can handle will result in breakage so the deeper this hole is the better, and you will probably want to coat the bracket with urethane or silicone to absorb stress so the edge of the hole doesn't crack. How heavy is this wood armature?

May I suggest using round tubing or bar stock instead? This would allow you to core the stone with a rock drill rather than having to chisel out a square hole. Add a leg to the bracket and drill another hole to prevent twisting if you need to. Depending on how heavy the armature is you may need to check for fissures in the stone to find the most solid attachment point. Hope this helps.