How to make a dry stone wall

[Sitbon]

Hi

I assisting on a production of 'Calandar Girl's' and need advice to make a stacked drystone wall approx 3 feet high by 4 meters set in a rural setting. Thinking of using polystyrene carved with a blow torch but would like to know of other less messy methods. Wondering if paper mache is an option but given the height and size would prefer a quick method.

When working with polystyrene I was once advised to paint the darker colour first to ensure it gets into the gaps and overpaint in lighter colours. Interested to hear peoples experiences with polystyrene.

thanks

Andrew

[zmb]

Heat is the easist way to work polystyrene and I know people that insist on doing it, but don't do it. The fumes are noxious and probably not the best thing to inhale. It isn't messy because you're just evaporating out the material. Cutting polystryene does create a mess because the little shavings like to stick to everything and a vaccum doesn't always work. A Dremel Multi-Max works well to cut divots and channels in.

[techieman33]

Heat is the easist way to work polystyrene and I know people that insist on doing it, but don't do it. The fumes are noxious and probably not the best thing to inhale. It isn't messy because you're just evaporating out the material. Cutting polystryene does create a mess because the little shavings like to stick to everything and a vaccum doesn't always work. A Dremel Multi-Max works well to cut divots and channels in.

Working outdoors and/or wearing a proper respirator takes care of the fume problem.

[Van]

I only ever use heat as a finishing technique for foam. I prefer to attack rocks, trees, house cladding, bricks, with a physical technicque first. I have found that an electric carving knife, Sawzall < reciprocating saw> , a 4" 6" or 8" grinder with a flapper disc, to remove the bulk of the material works wonders. A 4" grinder with flapper disc, a palm sander with 60 or 40 grit paper works well for shaping areas as do different styles of 'cone' or cup wire wheels. Dremels are great for smal detaily stuff.
As previously mentioned foam dust < with eps> or beads < styrofoam> an an will get everywhere. I like to wrap either cheesecloth or an old t-shirt around the vents of any electrical tools I use. This will keep the styene dust from getting onto the commuter of the motor and gumming up the works. Keep the cloth/filter cleean though, so you don't wind up choking the motor for cooling air. I also havea particulate filter that I like to run in the shop when I'm carving. Make sure that whatever you use doesn't go through the vents and get wound up on the armature , that's a mess.

Whatever Method I use I usally finish with VSSSD rather than heat/flame and paint. The dope does a great job of smoothing features in a thick mix and can really help accentuate shap corners in a thinner mix.

[Sitbon]

Thanks Val. We use polystyrene here which is the same as your styrofoam I think. It breaks up into beads not dust and gets everywhere. I've actually just finished a production of '3 Days of Rain' I designed using it to carve bricks. You can see it here by visiting my site Wix.com Theatre Director - Designer created by andrewmcmillan based on Classic Portfolio | Wix.com

Can you tell me a bit more about the lmaterials used in the VSSSD mix. I'm not familiar with latex paint, caulk or the compound you refer to . Are these production you can source at a regular hardware store or specialty store. If you can give me a brand I can do some research.

thanks

Andrew

[chausman]

Can you tell me a bit more about the lmaterials used in the VSSSD mix. I'm not familiar with latex paint, caulk or the compound you refer to . Are these production you can source at a regular hardware store or specialty store. If you can give me a brand I can do some research.

If you click on any words that have a dotted underline, you can go to our Wiki, which has a good explanation of VSSSD.

[zmb]

Can you tell me a bit more about the lmaterials used in the VSSSD mix. I'm not familiar with latex paint, caulk or the compound you refer to . Are these production you can source at a regular hardware store or specialty store. If you can give me a brand I can do some research.

That is stuff you can find in any hardware store, at least in America. Latex paint is what your interior walls are painted with and caulk is the stuff around your bathtub and sink to stop water.

Styrofoam is the brand name of Dow Chemical Company for polystyrene, the chemical name for long chains of styrene molecules.