Where to buy materials for this class

Local Vendors

The SUNY Oneonta college store sells most of the supplies needed for this class, and you can use "Dragon Dollars" to purchase them. Materials include:

• Stone for carving
  a collection of small (30-50 lbs.), soft stones like alabaster, soap stone, and marble.
• Stone carving chisel sets
• Sand paper
• Algiform for making body molds
• Plaster gauses
• Aluminum wire for armatures
• Small carving chisels for plaster carving

I include here a list of other local or national stores that sell most of the supplies.

STONE VENDORS

Our SUNY College store has everything you need to carve stone for this class, including a good collection of small, soft stones.

I did some research on the internet and I found 2 companies that sell stone and stone carving equipment over the internet. I include them here along with the experience we had with their service.

Stone Sculptors Supplies has an online order catalogue and a variety of tools and stones. We have had no problems with orders from this vendor.
The Compleat Sculptor
Their web site has an online catalogue and it sells anything that has to do with sculpture, including a variety of carving stones, tools, and molding materials.

Good stones for carving are:
Marble (medium-hard, great finish)
Calcite (soft - britle)
Soapstone (Soft, fine finish)
Alabaster (Soft, fine finish)
Sandstone (soft, easy to break)
Limestone (Soft, easy to break)
Granite (very hard, great finish)

A 10 to 20 lbs stone should be sufficient to keep you occupied for half the semester.

Another solution would be to contact one of the local monument companies and to buy a piece of large marble. It is more expensive so it would be a good idea for several students to pool together in buying one and splitting it.

METAL VENDORS

Pacemaker Steel
(1800 833-3525)
This is the best place to order steel from for our sculpture class.
They Deliver every Thursday to SUNY, and they have the best prices. There is a minimum order though, so find a classmate to order together.

Make sure to tell them to deliver to the Sculpture loading dock (they have been known to leave our steel at the Theater department's dock).

Sheet Metal sizes:
11 gauge = ~1/8" Thick
Good thickness to work with. Large sculpture might become to heavy and cumbersome though.
14 gauge
16 gauge = ~1/16" Thick
(16 gage is good thickness to work with)
18 gauge
20 gauge
22 gauge = ~1/32" Thick
(20 or 22 gauge might be too thin for welding)

18 gage and up is easier to weld.
Mild Steel (softer) is preferable to hardened steel because it has better welding characteristics. Rust on the metal surface when you buy it is not usualy a problem ulness it has penetrated deep into the steel body (pitting).

Airgas (Welding Supply store)
1800-666-6523
Various welding supplies, safety gear, grinding wheels, and the such.

WOOD

Wightman's Woods
Tel 607-286-9201
Students can buy good quality wood for carving or constructing.

Common wood varieties that are good for carving include:
Ash (White, hard-good finish)
Birch (light brown, hard)
Cedar (red, soft)
Mahogany (red, hard, good carving and finishing)
Maple (brown-red, hard)
Pine (white, soft)
Oak (brown-white, hard)
Walnut (brown, hard, good finish)

GENERAL ART SUPPLIES

Artware (On main street)
Tel 607-432-0679
Students can buy general art supplies.

Other Vendors

Alec Tiranti Ltd
Catalogue of sculptor's tools, materials and studio equipment.
Brodhead Garrett
Online catalogue for teaching supplies. Tools and resources for every kind of school shop and classroom.
CISA
Metal casting Industry Suppliers Links
Cyber Woodworking Depot
Woodworking power tools and ifno
Eastern Marble and Granite Supply
Stone working supplies with some information on available supplies and current (?) price list.
Grainger
Online searchable catalogue.
Great resource for tools even if a bit pricey.
Lincoln Electric
Welding machines and accessories
Miller
Wellding machines and accessories.
MSC
The best resource for tools and accessories, with just about the best prices. The Big Book is online, but I will keep calling the 800 number because their support is unparallel.
PermaFlex
Rubber Mold supplies
Polytek
Liquid Rubber for molds.
Plymuth State College list of Suppliers
Comprehensive list of suppliers of all kinds with contact information.
Sax Arts and Crafts
Online catalogue for general art supplies
Sculpture House Casting
Online Catalogue on casting supplies and services.
Sculpture Supplies
A list of suppliers of tools and materials
The compleat sculptor
Sculpture supplies, with conversion tables and technical information on a variety of media.
Torchmate & Hypertherm
Plasma cutter and CNC shape cutting machine.