me, working on a fleur-de-lis with a die grinder. This is my current lazy pic, meaning I haven’t put together the effort yet to find another pic to use here 😬
updated 11/19/23 a LOT (with seo, formatting, a pic, some new info, and a video) when restored to ice sculpting secrets from the old files
quick tips on ice sculpting, the first archive
Before, in the old days, I had a page on ice carving secrets called “quick tips.” Basically, it was a page that listed various tips and techniques that didn’t warrant a whole blog post, but were still potentially useful. Also, I’d add them to the page whenever I came up with them, so they were kind of stream of consciousness.
Looking back, some of them suck 💩 and some have been overwhelmed by progress and/or new techniques. I’ve updated and added to the tips, so that they’re a little more relevant, whenever possible. Some probably can’t be helped though 🤷♂️ We’ll just say that those ones are here for posterity…
This is the first archive from the quick tips section. Each time ten tips have been added to the section, they’ll be archived to make room for more. There were six quick tip archives on the old site. Hopefully by the time you read this, I’ve restored them all.
protecting items from water while carving
When you carve outside the freezer, just about every power tool that you use sprays snow in some direction. Obviously, you have to be careful about what gets wet. Some items, however, like reference materials, need to be nearby and aren’t waterproof. If you can’t easily make a disposable copy, then you can seal it up in a ziploc bag.
There are all sorts of sizes of ziploc bags now, some that are as large as trash bags. It took a while to occur to me that I could use them while carving. And I like to hang them on a metal surface with a couple of strong neodymium magnets. (original tip: 9/9/07)
reference materials
When I’ve been asked to carve something that I don’t have an existing design for, my first stop for reference photos is usually Google Images (search on www.google.com and click the “images” link.) When I’m working on a logo sculpture, because I use Adobe Illustrator, which is primarily a vector program, I’ll often check www.brandsoftheworld.com for free, downloadable vector images. Dean Carlson first told me about brandsoftheworld, way back when.
Now in 2023, AI has come on strong and offers some intriguing possibilities for design generation. I’ll be writing about this more in the near future, for sure! (original tip: 9/9/07)
welding quick tip: delivering the water for freezing
At times, when you’re welding two pieces of ice together, you’ll have trouble getting cold water into all parts of the weld to strengthen it. A plastic syringe (without the needle) can help solve this problem by enabling you to shoot cold water into the tiny gap. Larger syringes can be obtained from veterinarians that work with horses or in the cookware section of Wal-Mart style stores. Look for a syringe used for injecting marinades into meat.
There are also options that look like modified air pumps. For a great cheap option, check out the summer pool toys section in big box stores for the pump-style water guns! See an example below; this tool also shows up in my very long post about my ice sculpting toolbox. You can also see me use the pump water gun in the video right below that. (original tip: 9/9/07)
aluminum welding
Are you seeing deep scratches appear on your weld surfaces that result from using the aluminum plate? These scratches come from burrs on the edges or corners of the plate. Dropping or otherwise damaging the plate makes these small imperfections that can significantly affect the appearance of your welds by leaving surprisingly deep scratch fractures in the ice. Simply find the burr and use a metal file to remove it, then check it on the ice. (8/31/07)
aluminum welding, again 🙄
Many carvers use irons to heat aluminum plate used for welding. The plate then becomes very hot in one spot and cooler in the rest. You can more evenly (and safely) heat your plate by simply running it under warm/hot water or even just leaving it in direct sunlight for a while if it’s warm out. A heated water bath at your carving station might be another option. (8/31/07)
tubing quick tip
For a tube luge (a luge in which the liquid travels through plastic tubing embedded in the sculpture,) clear vinyl tubing is a good choice. Home improvement stores stock it and it’s intended for drinking water applications. However, it still needs to be cleaned and sanitized prior to use in the sculpture. Also, any leftover water must be removed from the tubing or it could freeze during cold storage and block the luge.
Once a length of tubing has been cleaned, you can take one end and twirl it above your head. The resulting centrifugal force will push any leftover water out of the tube as long as both ends of the tube are open. Finally, one added benefit of the cleaning process is that warm or hot water will make the tubing more flexible and easier to insert into the sculpture. Check out more tubing tips here. (8/29/07)
still another quick tip on welding ice with aluminum 🤦♂️
(Note: this tip should be used only by those comfortable with the technique of welding ice with aluminum) For logos and and various other carvings, a slab of ice (about 40”x20” and 4-5” thick) often has to be attached to a base (about 20”x10” and 4-5” thick.) Generally, the base is placed on a surface and the upright slab is welded on. Sometimes, however, it’s tricky to get the upright slab welded on so that it’s standing straight up. Often, it’s slightly tilted to the back or front.
If you turn this process on its head, it’s easier to get the slab to be more vertical, especially if you can carve in the freezer. First, with the slab standing upright, nailboard the top edge of the slab, making sure that the surface you create is level. Then, use aluminum to prepare the slab weld surface and attach the base piece (that you previously prepared.)
As the weld begins to grab, melt the already attached base piece a little with the aluminum or a warm (not too hot) iron, as you slightly tilt the assembly from side to side. This allows cold water to flow into the weld and complete it. At this point, from the edge side, your ice should look like a “T”.
Finally, after the weld has completely frozen, make sure that the top (soon to be the bottom) is level and flat, then turn the welded slab and base over so that it stands as it should (like an upside-down “T”.) I’ve found this method to be quicker and less awkward than the normal method and works well if your welding skills are solid and you can work in a freezer or with cold ice. Later, I’ll try to include pictures to help illustrate. (8/28/07)
moving slabs of ice
Carvers often have to move slabs of ice (often about 40”x20” and 4-5” thick) around from place to place after they’ve been cut from a block (40”x20”x10”). Using a handtruck or cart is frequently the safest way to move a slab without breaking it, but there’s often a temptation to slide the slab on the floor, especially if it doesn’t have to be moved very far.
When a slab is being slid while upright (the part of the slab touching the floor is 5”x20”,) the bottom can easily slide out of control and the slab will fall to the floor. If you push the slab by the narrow edge (5”x40”) and keep a foot on either side of the slab, your odds of breaking it are much less. If the bottom slides a bit, one of your feet is there to keep it from sliding very far. Later, I’ll try to add a picture to help illustrate. (8/28/07)
template quick tip: the paper makes a difference
Using newsprint type paper for templates can keep your template in place on melting ice. Heavier weight paper (banner paper, standard inkjet paper) has a tendency to get blown off tempered ice while carving. According to Aaron Costic, however, using the lighter newsprint paper largely avoids this as the paper sticks to the ice better while cutting through it.
I myself have had little opportunity to experiment with it, but the idea makes a lot of sense. The newsprint weight paper is available in rolls and is best used for hand-drawn templates. (8/22/07) P. Palazzo commented on this tip in the General Comments section.
die grinder safety
When using a die grinder, keep a scrap chunk of ice around to stop the spinning bit after you’ve stopped carving and turned the grinder off. You can also stop the bit on a part of the carving that you’re certain will be removed. Adopting this practice makes carving safer and also helps keep your grinder bits sharper because they have less opportunity to hit something after you’ve set it down. If I recall correctly, I learned this tip from Peter Slavin of Fear No Ice while carving with him in Belfast in 2000. (8/14/07)
links and stuff
If you liked this post, I have several other archived quick tip entries on the site (which I’ll be linking to soon): quick tips 2, quick tips 3, quick tips 4, quick tips 5, and quick tips 6.
You could also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets Instagram account or the facebook page. ice sculpting secrets is also on TikTok, although videos there aren’t really tied to posts as much. You can comment on IG and fb as well as below. And if it won’t LET you comment below, then definitely comment on fb and/or IG. Thanks!
