2. Workshop

Sandstone Cam

A bit of a project I took on to see what carving in rock was like, and I'm sort of a fan now!
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As the piece developed, I had to make a few variations from a real Camalot, customizing my cam a bit while still keeping it close enough to be recognizable for what it is. The project developed over a number of sittings of several hours each, and finally started coming to a close when my bits were no longer long enough to reach into the inner details of the cam. Fortunately the stem of the cam turned out to be just the right length for that misjudgment on my part, which means the unfinished elements are all hidden from the casual observer.
8 / 10

As the piece developed, I had to make a few variations from a real Camalot, customizing my cam a bit while still keeping it close enough to be recognizable for what it is. The project developed over a number of sittings of several hours each, and finally started coming to a close when my bits were no longer long enough to reach into the inner details of the cam. Fortunately the stem of the cam turned out to be just the right length for that misjudgment on my part, which means the unfinished elements are all hidden from the casual observer.

  • I found my rock for this project in a dry wash alongside a road in Sedona, AZ, and brought it home to Alaska before starting this whole process. This sequence of photos shows the location I got it from, just for a bit of scenery.
  • I found my rock for this project in a dry wash alongside a road in Sedona, AZ, and brought it home to Alaska before starting this whole process. This sequence of photos shows the location I got it from, just for a bit of scenery.
  • I found my rock for this project in a dry wash alongside a road in Sedona, AZ, and brought it home to Alaska before starting this whole process. This sequence of photos shows the location I got it from, just for a bit of scenery.
  • My canvas for this project, raw and in its home environment. It took a few days of staring at this odd triangular piece before I came up with my idea for what to make of it.
  • Initially I had no idea what I wanted for this piece, so after a bit of time checking all the different aspects of it I settled on carving a piece of climbing gear placed in a crack in the rock. This photo shows the initial markings of the carving, which I started making with a pencil before quickly discovering that scratching with the hard steel of a file worked a lot better. Measurements were made with a micrometer to keep the scale close to accurate on the .5 BD Camalot I used as my model.
  • Somewhere between starting this project and making my first cuts in the rock, I stumbled across a nice set of dremel tools and bits at a garage sale that wound up being crucial to the whole job. I started my grinding with a rough layout of the crack sides, including some grinding of the edges to make them a little offset.
  • The cam begins to take shape inside the crack here, with its outermost piece formed delicately and measured for accuracy with the micrometer.
  • As the piece developed, I had to make a few variations from a real Camalot, customizing my cam a bit while still keeping it close enough to be recognizable for what it is. The project developed over a number of sittings of several hours each, and finally started coming to a close when my bits were no longer long enough to reach into the inner details of the cam. Fortunately the stem of the cam turned out to be just the right length for that misjudgment on my part, which means the unfinished elements are all hidden from the casual observer.
  • The final piece seen from a couple angles. One thing I never did get sorted out was how to age the sandstone in the freshly ground areas to make it blend better with the naturally weathered portions of the stone. It's a subtle issue though, and one I can live with. I'm super happy with the final piece.
  • The final piece seen from a couple angles. One thing I never did get sorted out was how to age the sandstone in the freshly ground areas to make it blend better with the naturally weathered portions of the stone. It's a subtle issue though, and one I can live with. I'm super happy with the final piece.
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