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 



