Page 37 - BSAM 2016 Q4

type of etching he nds appropriate. A wider nozzle would cover a broader area than a narrow one which is more typically used to remove stone from a very speci c area.
Sakurai uses his sand blasting equipment to rough- en and make bottom cuts of stones look natural. He sometimes uses this technique to work freshly cut areas on the top portion of the stone to obtain a tex- ture close to the texture and roughness of the original surface. A third use of this equipment is for cleaning newly collected stones from rivers. Sakurai informed us that this was a common method for cleaning larger stones in the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, he had four for ve people each day bring stones they had collected in di erent rivers for him to clean by sand blasting. Many of the Seta River Tiger Striped stones that are occasionally seen in exhibition were cleaned in this manner. A er sandblasting, they were polished using ne sand paper and water. Today, many of the
owners of these stones are likely unaware that their stones were cleaned in this manner.
Sakurai also user smaller hand held power tools to make or modify stones to form suitable suiseki. Dif- ferent sized circular grinding tools allow him to make small to medium-sized alterations including smooth- ing over cuts in the stone. ese are used in the nal shaping of landscape stones. Variable speed tools al- low him to make more detailed changes that can only be obtained with a slower speed machine. High speed grinding can cause the rock to split into two pieces.
Another tool in his arsenal is a hand-held pneu- matic drill. is is used to remove small piece of stone to improve its overall shape. is piece of equipment is used to remove unwanted knobs, protrusions, and other similar parts. When a stone needs a major re- shaping, Sakurai would soak it for ten minutes in a hydrochloric acid solution to so en the stone mak- ing it easier to remove smaller pieces using the small
Top left and right; Sakurai’s large circular saw is capable of cutting both small and large stones quickly and e ciently. He can also make the
partial cuts needed to make mountain-shaped stones. The water cooled diamond bladed saw can cut through a stone in just a few minutes.
Middle left; His sandblasting equipment consists of a cone- shaped bin containing special etching material with a large air compressor beneath. The stone to be altered is placed inside the large box with a heavy duty plastic viewing cover. Hoses carrying high pressure air and sand are inserted through the arm hole ports on the front.
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