Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/257

 Popular Science Monthly

���This pneumatic chisel is installed in the

sculptor's studio, and greatly simplifies

his work

��The Sculptor's Use of a Pneumatic Chisel for Artistic Carving

SINCE the very beginning of sculp- ture, the greatest difficulty encoun- tered by the creator has been in the mat- ter of outlining the marble. The only method known, until quite recently, was the tedious process of carving with mal- let and chisel and this was not only laborious, but awkward as well, for only one hand was left free to guide the chisel, the other being required to hold the statuary in place. Naturally the result was often crude and imperfect because of the limited strength of the one hand.

Hans Schuler, the well-known Balti- more sculptor, was among the pioneers of those who broke away from this confining and hampering method. He installed in his studio what is known as a "pneumatic chisel" — literally a chisel operated by air. This is nothing more than the old chisel employed by the stone-cutter and carver. The device greatly simplifies the work and gives infinitely wider scope to the artist. It leaves both hands free.

The chisel, in shape and size exactly

��229

like that of any ordinary stone-cutter's, is driven by compressed air at a press- ure of seventy-seven pounds a square inch, operating through a long flexible tube, the air being compressed in a large tank by means of an electric motor. The chisel is pounded against the stone as if hit by a mallet, due to the air passing through the tube.

It is amazing that the application of this long-known invention did not occur to sculptors several decades ago, but the efficacy of its use is well illustrated when it is realized that such eminent sculptors as Lorado Taft, Hans Schuler, and Ed- ward Berge make use of it exclusively. Of course it can be employed only in the rough modeling and in large figures, all of the finer and finishing work having to be done by hand as before. The amount of labor saved, however, is in- estimable.

An Automobile Road Sign and a Map Combined

THE Automobile Club of Southern California has installed guide signs at dififerent points, which give a com- plete diagram of the good roads as well as the distances to the various towns and highways from that immediate dis- trict. The sign itself is complete and thus saves the motorist the trouble of consulting his own map, if he should have one with him. The point at which the sign is placed* is designated on the diagram by a three-quarter red disk.

Guides of this type are a great aid to the motoring public and save any amount of annoyances and inconveniences due to inaccurate directions so often picked iij) on the roadside.

���A sign post that is a boon to the motorist

�� �