Page 49 - BSAM 2016 Q4

1! e marks on the cotton tips show the depth 1! variations for the bottom of this stone.
When all the cotton tips are depth marked, place the Perspex over the top of the timber for the daiza and line it up accurately with the stone outline previously marked. I use double-sided carpet tape to stick the Perspex rmly to the wood.
1@ Now, using a drill press with the same thin drill 1@ bit as previously, and starting with cotton tip No. 1 transfer the depth of the marker to the drill bit with
a piece of thin masking tape, and then drill through
hole No. 1 into the wood until the masking tape grazes the Perspex surface. en proceed to cotton tip No. 2 and do the same thing. You can keep reusing the piece of masking tape for as long as it holds up to the task.
With this process you are accurately drilling down to the base line of the stone, according to each original depth marking you plotted.
1# When all the depth markers are drilled you then don’t have to think too much about the internal shape of the daiza. You just carve away everything down to the depth of each drilled hole. I use the heaviest carv- ing tool that the wood will reasonably take until I get down near the base of the holes then switch to a ner tool. I leave at least the full thickness of the ink outline of the stone at this stage, re ning gradually for the nal tting.
1$ Having nished all this, you can now proceed to shape the outer parts of the daiza—feet and sides—to your desired design.
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Detail above; Leave at least the full thickness of the ink outline of the stone at this stage, re ning gradually for the nal tting.
Bottom right; This stone is from the Mary River in Queensland and the nished daiza is Tasmanian Myrtle.
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October/November/December 2016 | BCI | 47