![\"Mosaikhammer](\"https:\/\/www.mused-mosaik.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Mosaic_hammer_Tricks_Tipps_1.jpg\")
Some time ago I was asked to post a few tips for working with the mosaic hammer. Although I have only been attending the school for a few months and wouldn’t claim to be an expert yet, I would like to pass on to you the essentials regarding the use of this wonderful tool. The first points on posture and breathing may seem a little odd. But I realize very often how much they do matter if I don’t pay attention to them.<\/p>\n
Some of the suggestions below are things teached here at school, some are based on personal experience. However, I believe that every mosaicista has his tricks. And that’s fine, because we clearly are not robots. So try out things yourself and pay attention to little changes while using different angles, materials and positions.<\/p>\n
By the way: Making mosaic has become a kind of mood barometer for me. If I’m in bad temper, nothing works. Maybe this will happen to you, too. So if everything goes on strike: Just take a walk around the block or go and have a coffee break.<\/p>\n
Really underestimated: A straight posture. As a potato sack, it is really hard to make a decent cut and your back will hurt in the long run. So rather make a long back, keep the upper arm to the upper torso and work only with the forearm.<\/p>\n
If you prefer to keep your eyes safe from glass or stone splinters, remember to always wear safety glasses!\u00a0You don’t like the plastic models from the construction market? Ask your optician to put normal glass in a frame you like and fits you well.<\/p>\n
Who is tense tends to hold one’s breath. Then nothing works well. So just try to breathe calmly and let the hammer fall when you exhale. Can have great effects.<\/p>\n
Might seem trivial, but is really important: If you are too far away from the wooden stump, the hammer can not hit the hardie at the right angle. Furthermore, the cutting surface of the hammer needs to have the same orientation as the surface of the hardie. They just have to fit together, a bit like your upper and lower jaw when your mouth is closed.<\/p>\n
Even if some stones require a harder hitting and thus mean more effort for you: Do not use the hammer with too much force. On the contrary: Always try to use only the weight of the hammer for cutting first. So let the hammer fall rather than strike. Otherwise you risk that the widia of the hammer is ruined.<\/p>\n
Produce little waste Create a prototype Cut many useful sides Triangles<\/strong> Pentagons<\/strong> Cubes or pyramids?
\n<\/strong>In the beginning, you tend to start cutting before asking yourself how to organize your mosaic and reflect on the material, producing more waste than necessary. So don’t forget to check these points before starting: How big is my mosaic? How do I divide it into approximately equal parts? Of what size is my raw material? And how can I benefit from its size to create little waste? (If you work with smalts measuring 1 cm x 2 cm, you could work with pieces measuring 1 cm x 1 cm on average, 0.5 cm x 1 cm , etc.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Sometimes you lose track on how big or high you wanted the pieces to be and tend to cut smaller and smaller. To avoid that, it is helpful to prepare some “prototypes” you can compare to now and then.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The more proper your pieces are, the more effective you will be in the implementation of the mosaic. Try, therefore, to cut pieces with many clean sides so that you can use each piece in different orientations. This is of course less valid for modern techniques or spontaneous work, but more for traditional mosaics and those in which repeated forms are used.<\/p>\n7. Create proper geometric shapes<\/h3>\n
\n![\"Mosaik_dreiecke_schlagen\"](\"http:\/\/www.mused-mosaik.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Mosaik_dreiecke_schlagen.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong>To cut triangles, first form a cuboid. Then cut two triangles by dividing it diagonally into two equal parts (see right figure). I know you will say: How am I supposed to cut two triangles out of a cuboid without having the corners look crippled ? It works! It is important that the surface of the cuboid is as flat as possible, though, and that you strike as horizontally as possible with the surface of the hammer. If you need an isosceles triangle, just cut off another corner.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nTo cut pentagons, (see figure at right) of a cuboid cut off three corners in the angles you need. Like this, you should receive at least two clean sides. Do not despair: To cut proper pentagons is really tricky.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Depending on which mosaic technique you use, you will need pieces whose top and bottom are shaped in the same way or those that taper towards the (adhesive) bottom side like pyramids.<\/p>\n