• Year review of 2019

    Latest projects, Ov1, Restoration
    2 comments

    250th blog post

    2019 was a great year! I've had all sorts of things in progress, among which a lot of ornaments for the Utrecht Cathedral and the Eusebius Church in Arnhem. Time for an annual review of 2019.

    Blue sodalite

    woman in blue stone

    Not everything I've done this year has been published on my blog. For instance, I carved a few things for other sculptors. One was a large sculpture in blue sodalite, of a stylized lady. I copy-sawed the plaster maquette into the new stone and then carved and polished it. This material is difficult to work in, but it has an overwhelming color. I'm sure once installed in the right place, it will make a big impression. Through all those vivid colors it becomes hard to see its shapes in my photo, but upright and under good lighting conditions (not under my roof with subdued light) it will be easier to recognize the shapes. Since it was made for another sculptor, I made no mention on this blog at the time. I have in one blog post show how I cut the block to size with a chainsaw.

    Holocaust Monument

    The painting in of the details in the crack

    One of those projects for another sculptor was a small job that I did last week for Gerard Overeem in granite: the carving of a crack in a Monument to the Holocaust. The crack represents the suffering caused by the persecution of the Jews that has left its traces. Read here↑ the corresponding newspaper article. In an earlier newspaper article more information about the monument. It is to be unveiled on 27 January 2020 in Barneveld.

    Thomas Aquinas

    copy of statue of Thomas Aquinas beside reconstructed original

    The copy of the statue of Thomas Aquinas was a project that almost took this entire year. In November 2018 I received the original sculpture in my yard and started with its reconstruction, in March 2019 I cut the block of Udelfanger sandstone to size and I started presawing. I also started enthusiastically on the rough carving of the two parts and fitting the pieces exactly together, but suddenly all kinds of commissions came and interfered before in October 2019 finally I was able to finish the statue.

    Pope Leo the Great

    presawing the upper body of Pope Leo in sandstone
    presawing the lower body of Pope Leo in sandstone

    After I had shipped this statue, I could skip ahead to the next statue for St. John's Cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch: Pope Leo the Great. At the time of writing this, the work on this statue is halted as well because of a trip to India, the above holocaust memorial and a commission for carving a Japanese Lantern. But I was able to presaw the two parts of the statue entirely, so I can expeditiously start carving them in the new year. This statue also stands on the north side of St John's Cathedral in Den Bosch, The Netherlands, that is, to the left from the statue of Thomas I mentioned above.

    A Japanese lantern

    Copying of granite Japanese lantern

    It may seem that I took a long time carving these two statues, but that's nothing compared to the last piece I worked on this year. For the Japanese Garden of Clingendael Estate in The Hague I made a quote in May 2017 already, and only now I get to carve it. I was asked to carve a reconstructed copy of a weathered Japanese lantern out of Bavarian granite. I'm already well on the way, but I still need to carve a lobed base and then sort out the details with the client. A blog post will follow soon!

    A marble birdbath

    a marble birdbath in the shape of a duck. Annual Review 2019

    Sometimes you get out-of-the-ordinary commissions. A client had modeled a bird bath in the shape of a duck as a boy and now he wanted it in his garden in marble. Of course that's possible. Unfortunately his clay model had disappeared, so I first had to reconstruct it. Alongside is a picture from halfway through the carving process.

    Pan in porphyry… already?

    Pan in porphyry: carved the legs

    At the end of October I was able to find two days for working on my sculpture of Pan in Red Porphyry. As you can read in my last post about it I had just started with rough carving when I had to put it aside. That was almost two years ago (March 2018).

    But I had to put the sculpture aside again quickly this time as well because I had to take on other projects first, such as Pope Leo. Yet I was able to roughly carve the hooves, the face, the hands and the flute. I hope I can find more time in the coming year and be able to finish the sculpture.

    A small head for the Eusebius Church in Arnhem

    a simple head in Udelfanger sandstone for Eusebiuskerk. Annual Review 2019

    The Eusebius Church contains various sculptural parts. The quality varies from very finely carved to fairly primitive, and dates from the construction time to present day. Somewhere in a side transept of the church, at the very top, a little man's head ↑ was missing out of a row of 9 rather primitively carved heads. Three of those were from the construction period of the church, and three of them dated from the 1960s. I was asked to carve a new head for the empty spot. It only had to look just as primitive as the others. That proved to be quite tricky! Someone told me that you'd best ask for a mason or a beginner to carve it, then you might find the right atmosphere. I just made it into a little man with a page's head.

    More for St. Eusebius's church: Two huge finials

    finial blocks for Eusebius Church ready for shipping

    By far the majority of the work of this year was spent on carving ornamental work for two large finials and surrounding ornamental work on the northern transept of the Eusebius Church. Stide, Jelle, and myself, partly with support by Serge, had months of work to carve all that. We carved ornaments in two types of red sandstone for this north aisle, in Udelfanger sandstone and in Massangis limestone. It was so much work that I was in for a joke at the end.

    Carving ornaments for the Utrecht Dom Cathedral twice

    Large crockets in weiberner tufa for the Utrecht Cathedral
    completed crocets in Volvic basaltic lava, wet by rain

    But the Eusebius Church was not the only church for which we made ornaments. After we closed last year with 29 tufa side crockets for the south chapel of the Dom Cathedral in Utrecht, we got more big crockets this summer, in Volvic Basaltlava this time. These twenty large crockets we have been sharing between the four of us (Serge, Stide, Jelle and I) and despite delays we were able to complete them just in time.

    Carving ornaments on the Utrecht Dom tower

    test crockets for Dom tower Utrecht

    Admittedly, it was but a small pilot project, and the main work on the Utrecht Dom Tower has yet to arrive. But at a time when the scaffolding around the tower was still not up, Jelle and I scrambled up all 465 steps of the Dom Tower with all our tools on two days, and carved a few test ornaments at the very top, so that the approach of the next part can be determined. Fortunately it was beautiful weather and we had a magnificent view.

    Coat of arms in Udelfanger sandstone

    small coat of arms in Udelfanger sandstone completed

    For the front façade of a farm in the east of the country I made this small relief with a family crest in October, in Udelfanger sandstone. In order to keep it lively, I chose a baroque shield shape, so it really stands out on the façade.

    Coat of arms in bluestone

    bluestone coat of arms with two falcons. Coat of Arms, coat of arms, relief with crest/coat of arms, family crests

    The coat of arms that I finished later in that same month of October was much larger: 41 x 66 cms wide. It will be inserted in a restored parsonage, on the outside, somewhere in Belgium. I had a lot of fun shaping the flowing undulations of the mantling and the tiny details of the helmet.

    Sculpture of The Night

    Sculpture The Night by Eduard van Kuilenburg- new copy in Muschelkalk limestone

    But it was not all ornamental carving work, I also had some sculptures in progress. For the west facade of the tower of St. Eusebius's Church I carved the large corbel with the sculpture of The Night out of new limestone: a naked lady with a nest of owls beside her. To accelerate the process, I cut it and its counterpart, The Day, at my presawing machine machine. It only just fitted: I had to cut away some corners, otherwise this lady couldn't even turn around inside the machine.

    Flying Buttress Figurines: Seven Sins

    Carving a copy of flying buttresses figurine Rage

    It was last year and the year before especially with carving flying buttress figurines as well. That was a bit less this year, because the ornaments demanded all of our attention. We only had one flying buttress to go, with the Seven Sins depicted on it. Jelle made the Vanity, the Gluttony and the Greed, Stide got Envy and Lust, and I made the last two.

    The Anger was a flying buttress statue of a man with a contorted face pulling a knife. He looked rather primitive, in his bearskin. As the only man among all the women, he actually had not much to complain, but he was clearly not happy with it.

    flying buttress figurine Laziness completed

    The Idleness on the other hand, ie the Sloth, didn't mind so much. She sat back a little, caressing her workhorse, in her provocative dress, and seemed more concerned with her own laziness.

    A boulder with house numbers

    boulder with house number- finished

    For a building in Amersfoort I carved a large boulder of red granite into a house number. Maybe I will be gilding the numerals one day for clarity.

    A tree with rocks

    For the same building I helped making a work of art for its residents: for each resident I made a stainless steel tree leaf with their own rock on it, which were all made into one big tree. It was a lot of work to cut everything out, bending the leaves, welding and glueing them, especially since I'm not equipped too well for metalworking. It was a lot of fun to make. Painter Sandra Nanning turned the staircase into a three-story encompassing tree.

    A spoonbill from Haarlem

    clay maquette and stone spoonbill

    Not all sculpture to be replaced has suffered from weathering. Sometimes sculpture disappears because of renovations and later on, residents want it back again on their building, and sometimes something is stolen. Such was the case with a buddha's head, a pelican and a spoonbill in Haarlem. Fortunately, the pelican was found again. I made a copy of the spoonbill after first reconstructing it, and Jelle accounted for the buddha head.

    A lot of work for my colleagues

    Presawn Angel for St. John's Cathedral in Den Bosch

    As you might have understood, I work regularly with my colleagues Serge van Druten, Stide Vos and Jelle Steendam. They, like me, all three have their own independent businesses. Only Jelle works in my shop; Stide has his own workshop next to me and Serge 20 kilometers away. I like having my colleagues around and being able to share larger contracts.

    But I am the only one with his own presawing machine. That means that I regularly get the request to presaw something for the others too. Jelle also can properly handle the machine, so he'll be sawing for me sometimes and mainly for himself. But Jelle and I have also often enough presawn sculptures for Stide and Serge. I also usually keep track of the big picture, the tenders and the distribution of all joint projects, such as Eusebius Church and the Utrecht Cathedral.

    repairing a broken vase. Year review of 2019

    Jelle mainly operates under my supervision, but he also takes on his own work (have a look at his website). So I regularly pass on things to him that are too much for me to take on. Sometimes he would take a little longer than I would do, that's because I've obviously been doing this work for some time. Unfortunately, we do not have specific training as a restoration sculptor in the Netherlands, so the work itself is his training. This year for example Jelle restored some garden ornaments.

    New year: musicians and apostles

    weathered figurines of the musicians in storage

    What's coming up next year? The most important work coming up is all of the ornamental work that we are going to get from the restoration of the Dom Tower in Utrecht. Balustrade finials, gargoyles and various other ornaments.

    Next, we will be getting work from flying buttress no. 14 and 16 of St. Eusebius's Church in Arnhem. Flying buttress no. 14 consists of a group of 7 musicians and no. 16 contains a number of apostles. These are the last sculptures that sculptor Eduard van Kuilenburg made for the church, and in these we can see a transition to a somewhat more angular style. There were at the time of completion (round 1956) already alarmed questions from the church council about the "overcrowded flying buttresses’ that this led to, despite the fact that the block size was no larger than that of the previously made groups of statues around the choir. The apostles especially have massive fists and chunky heads. We're looking forward to copying them into new stone (if you want to know why these figuries are replaced: read this article about the Ettringer tuff ↑ of which they were made).

    Boxes full of debris and more sculpture to go

    crates with flying buttress figurines that are yet to be copied.

    So that adds up to fourteen sculptures for flying buttresses nos. 14 and 16, for which we expect to get the new stone blocks in early January. We have been reserving a spot for those. But there are still 12 boxes more in our storage and a group of loose sculptures outside in the yard, which will all have to be copied one day.

    Some of these other sculptures are heavily weathered because they started to shatter after the impregnation process and fell to pieces, and they're lying as a layer of debris at the bottom of the boxes. It will still be an interesting project to reconstruct them. If that happens at all, because people are currently considering an alternative way to fill the empty spaces. We sent in our estimate already anyway. :)

    All other blog posts from the past year

    fire Notre Dame

    I wish you all a very good, educational and creative New Year.
    Thank you all for following this blog!

  • Which diamond chainsaw for which job?

    background
    3 comments

    My diamond chainsaw

    I recently cut up a blue block of sodalite with my diamond chainsaw. Because it's quite an expensive material, I could save quite a large chunk by this method. If I'd made this sculpture in the normal way with the angle grinder, lump hammer and point chisel, I would have had some wheelbarrows full of expensive rubble for the dumpster. So in this case my chainsaw came in handy. But I actually rarely cut up or spalt large stone blocks. I actually bought this saw for removing blocks from historic buildings, or cutting loose heavily anchored statues from their foundation.

    The diamond saw I chose in 2015 was a Cardi Coccodrillo35. But what types are there actually, what kind of job do you use them for, and which one is the best for which job?

    Petrol engines

    rough block of stone for Aachen Cathedral. Made a piercing cut with the diamond chainsaw
    deep cuts in tight corners

    The first type diamond chain saw for stone and concrete was made by the American company ICS. The older types ran on an extra greasy oil mixture, were heavy and noisy, and often choked because of a wet air filter, caused by the water spray thrown up by the chain. I hope that they have solved this now. ICS has also developed the first diamond chain, and now makes it for a lot of other manufacturers as well. ICS has several petrol versions on offer and make different kinds of chains.

    Then also Husqvarna came with their own machine. They obviously have been making gasoline engines for chain saws and also for power cutters since a long time , so it fitted in well with their own range of machines. I know no further details. The price is around 3400 euros.

    So their competitor Stihl could of course not lag behind. They have also developed their own version, plus their own chain with twice as many diamond bits on it.

    Hydraulically driven

    Now a gasoline engine makes a lot of noise and stench, and the torque at low revs is not great. That's why ICS soon developed a hydraulically powered version when he, in three types. Hydraulic power is supplied by a separate hydraulic drive. This hydrostation of course also needs power supply, and this may be either via a gasoline engine (yet again noise and stench) or with an electric motor on 400 Volts (and then you'll need a 400 Volt power supply). The oil pressure goes to the chainsaw through two thick heavy hydraulic ducts. These are quite rigid and make the operation very difficult because they continually work against the operator.

    Electric chainsaws

    Then since the last few years there are also electric diamond chainsaws. I happen to own the machine shown above, the Cardi Coccodrillo35, by the Italian brand that also makes diamond drills and wall saws. It works on 230 volts at 3420 Watt.

    But the German brand Dr. Schulze (if it says Herr Doktor in front of it, then it must be good!) has created a competitor to it that runs on both 230 Volt and on 400 volt. For the latter, you'll need a separate frequency converter, but then it suddenly consumes 6500 Watt, so it's a lot stronger on 3-phase power. Dr. Schulze uses the same motor for both their cutter and their ring saw as well. It is striking that this machine also has a kind of quick-release button and a handle that can be adjusted to various positions. Electric diamond chainsaws are a lot quieter, but not necessarily lighter than gasoline versions.

    Pneumatic concrete chainsaw

    For applications where sparks are absolutely undesirable because of fire hazard, an air powered version is also available. ICS provides one of those, for use in places where for example many utility lines are running.

    For- disadvantages of the various types

    Strong and light

    sculptor Koen van Velzen cutting the statue of Moses from Lambertus church in Veghel with a concrete chainsaw / diamond chainsaw
    cutting statues free with the chainsaw

    I do not pretend that I know all about the different types of diamond chainsaw. I worked in the past with hydraulic chainsaws from ICS, with older petrol versions from ICS which kept choking and were very noisy and smelly, and now with my own 230Volt saw. But in short: gasoline saws are very flexible to use because they only require a water supply. This can already be done with a tank and a pump, though the pump will need to be powered by a generator or gasoline motor. It gets a lot easier if a water supply is simply available. Drawback therefore is their noise and stench. For the latter, you can adjust the fuel, that makes a bit of a difference already. But if, just a when I was working in Nijmegen at the Stevens Church, you need to cut for hours on end in a densely populated area, then it just wouldn't be right to start chainsawing right in the middle of city centre. Stihl would be my choice if I ever wanted a gasoline powered saw, because I've worked a lot with Stihl (chainsaw for wood, hedge trimmers and brushcutters), and was impressed by their quality. In addition, it's also fairly lightweight.

    Much power and deep cutting

    The hydraulic version is already a lot quieter. You can hear it clearly, but it's not deafening. The hydraulic power unit on gasoline makes a bit more noise. This machine is actually particularly suited to work in a well-organized construction site. You can cut very deep with the hydraulic version and have a lot of torque, but with that big power pack for the oil pressure it's just not as easy to move. Especially if you work on 3-phase power. I've always hated these machines because those heavy hydraulic hoses make using them so exhausting. I was always searching for places that I could hang them up on with a length of rope or I had them slung over my shoulder. But it's a very reliable machine; not much to get damaged on it. It can take a beating and can even do its work under water just fine.

    No sparks

    I'm not familiar with the pneumatic version of the diamond chainsaw, but judging from all air powered equipment, it seems to me that these don't have much torque left at low rpms. Added to that, a large air consumption always leads to a cooling effect, So I wonder how this would work at lower ambient temperatures. Maybe then you'll need to have an air dryer as well. Plus, you'll need to rent a large diesel compressor. I expect this one would also make a pretty loud howling noise.

    No odor and flexible

    My electric version was the solution for me. It's obviously not silent, but generates much less noise than a petrol engine. You can't cut as fast as some gasoline- and hydraulic saws, because you've got less power. The version of Dr. Schulze promises several options for chains and sword. However, an electric motor of 3500 Watts is no light thing, so it is as heavy or heavier than a gasoline engine.

    Chains and quick release

    At Stihl they have developed their own sword and chain, though I do hear that a chain with diamonds on each link is not always convenient: sometimes the chain itself wears out faster than the diamonds do, so that would unecessarily raise the costs. For example if you're cutting sandstone or brick. That is why ICS is sporting various different chains, for example, for brick, fresh concrete, hard concrete, granite and an economic version.

    Now a diamond chain stretches out really fast. While cutting, you're continually checking to ensure that the tension is still right. A too tight chain pulls the blade sideways and thus gets stuck in the kerf, and a too loose chain get unrailed and starts to 'wander about’ inside the kerf. It should hang loosely so that the links at the bottom of the blade just clear the rails. Once the engine starts pulling it will be just right. Tensioning is a tedious job: you always keep unscrewing the two nuts again that you just tightened up, then tightening a difficult to reach nut behind the chain and finally tightening the two lock nuts again . At Mito they have since found a solution: a quick tensioner on top of the diamond chainsaw. This machine is by Chicago Diamond Supply and works on hydraulics, but I think there will be many more to follow suit soon.

    Dr. Schulze has also something like that, as I think I noticed. Unfortunately no videos of how this thing works.

    Applications for the diamond chainsaw

    I use my diamond chain for cutting loose statues and stone blocks, in case I want to cut any deeper than the 7 cm from my angle grinder. In recent times I've done for example deep cuts in stone finials, cutting smaller some old tufa side flowers, cutting behind the back of Noah, and cutting Moses and Aaron free from their walls, and removing a pedestal.

    In restoration these machines are used for removing large blocks from a facade with minimal damage to the surroundings. In construction they use it for all kinds of modifications to existing buildings, though large circular saws and wire saws are much in use there as well.

    Table

    Table of diamond chainsaws
    Download PDF bestand

    Deep cutting with a diamond chainsaw still remains a very expensive stone cutting method. If you know of a different method you should definitely try that. Certainly during cutting abrasive material it only takes a few hours to use up a chain of € 300,- completely. The chains are still made by ICS, but a very big advantage is that the modern chains stretch much less. So you'd spend much less time tensioning your chain.

    Update 2 april 2019: Apparently it's all a lot cheaper if you go shopping in Germany (for example, the Cardi Coccodrillo costs € 1988,45 there, incl VAT, And you get an extra chain!)

    Update 2 February 2025: I recently tested my chainsaw for a few hours again, this time on a gigantic block of black granite. With some patience it cut through quite well, and now I also understand better how the thing wants to cut. But when it suddenly jammed, a small nut of the chain tensioner broke inside. That would be easy to replace, but it just takes almost a month before you can continue. Pffft.

    The WEKA-TK40 ANNA Machine

    I have noticed that the German firm Ströbel Diamant is still the cheapest site for this type of tool over here, as far as I know at least. But the Coccodrillo, plus 1 extra chain still almost costs 2200 euros.

    The electric chainsaw from Dr. Schulze is now for sale there as the WEKA tk40 Anna. You'll need an inverter to go with it, but then you can cut at both 240 Volts as well as 400 Volt 3-phase power. The engine is water-cooled and the inverter as well. All in all an expensive set of almost € 6.000,-. If you have enough work for it's definitely worth it, because it's got a super easy quick-tensioner and it cuts over 40 cms deep. I have also seen the same machine with other brand names and with other colours, but it's always the same machine that can cut at both 3700 Watts by 240 Volts and at 6500 Watts by 400 Volts. Especially if you see that inverter there, then you'll know it's the same machine.

    At Ströbel they have two variants of the "Weka Kettensäge’ for sale, the difference is in the hardness of the chain. There are chains for abrasive stone, for universal and for hard stone. I assume most people would just want a universal chain. Just do a quick search on their website.

    That inverter can also be used for Weka's other tools with the same electric motor, such as the ring saw and the cutter.

    I hope you'll benefit from these tips. Good luck with your new purchase!

    UPDATE 20 FEBRUARY 2025:

    I just discovered that Husqvarna also makes an electric diamond chainsaw on both 1 and 3 phase current (240 and 400 Volts and I think also for 110 Volts).

    These K7000 Chain can, just like the WEKA machine mentioned above, can run on both normal power and on three phase current, But in this case as well, you'll need a separate inverter, the PP70. The whole package looks very solid, but it all amounts to almost 9.000 euros!

    There is also of this machine a flush cut version, which means that you can cut tightly along a floor or wall with it. Only for the real professionals, I would say. Husqvarna also still makes their petrol version.

No more messages to show.

No more messages to show.