UPDATED: 11/11/10

    Other ice sculptors and aspiring ones often ask me what kinds of tools that I use for my ice sculpting. I can totally relate to this, because I’ll do the same thing and I’ve even been guilty of taking pics of a carver’s tool set up when they’re at a competition. So it seemed to make sense to put together this entry. I’m not sure why I didn’t quite a while back, actually.

    I can’t remember a time when all of my tools have been in the same box, not even when I’ve been traveling for a competition. (Think of the overweight charge some airline would have hit me with for that box!) So “my toolbox” is more of a virtual toolbox than an actual one. I’m going to work on this entry a little at a time, so it’ll take a little while for me to finish. It might also change if I happen to find some really interesting new tool. So keep checking back!

Ice tongs

    You can’t do much ice sculpting if you can’t move your ice blocks around and you’ll need tongs at some point. I’ve had my ice tongs longer than I’ve had any tool in my “toolbox.” I’ve lost them a few times, but luckily always found them again. I have NEVER sharpened them in over 20 years but they hold better than any other tongs that I ever remember using. I think that your tongs can be too sharp, and therefore bite too deeply into the ice. Obviously, though, they have to be sharp enough to grab and hold the ice firmly. I also think, like many other tools, that you have to get used to a pair of ice tongs and you certainly have to trust them, unless you don’t care too much about your toes and feet. Mine are the Boston-style tongs, similar to these.

    (Note: I NEVER let the tips hit anything but wood or ice and I remember yelling loudly at a friend who tossed them across a cement floor, thinking they were the ice house’s beat up ice tongs!)

Nailboard

    This is a vital tool that I use all the time, usually for every sculpture. It’s fantastic for quickly flattening a surface, which can then be perfected with aluminum plate (see later in the list). A while back, I posted an entry on nailboards and mine is a Brice nailboard which I got here.

Small nailboard

    I don’t use this tool a whole lot, but it’s great for clearing off a little snow from a sculpture during set up. (I’ll sometimes freeze a thin layer of snow over snowfilled pieces to protect them during transport to the event.) I haven’t used it for very long, but I like it enough that I expect that I’ll use it more in the future. Get one here.

Electric chainsaw: long bar

    I used to primarily use only one saw, but I’ve recently started switching between two. My current long bar saw is a Craftsman with an 18 inch bar, but this is a temporary fix as I had a saw go down recently. Later, I’ll switch back to a Stihl, either a MSE-220, an old E20, or I’ll put a long bar on a MSE-140. I’ll use this saw for splitting blocks, for making snow (while I’m splitting blocks, usually), and for making long straight cuts. I try not to cut through templates with this saw, as the template paper gets into the snow that I’ll need it to make. (Incidentally, I don’t use chainsaw snow when it needs to be really “clean” snow, like for luges or food sculptures.) I use little oil on this saw (gets in the snow) and I leave the chain a little loose because I don’t need it to cut curved surfaces. A loose chain will cut more aggressively, but it will also come off the bar more often if the chain is pushed laterally during turning cuts.

Electric chainsaw: short bar

    Currently, I’m using a 5012B Makita saw for my short bar saw and I like it because it’s so light and short bodied. Great for demos and speed carving because you don’t have to move the saw as far to reposition it for a cut.. But I also love Stihls and my favorite saw is the Stihl MSE-140 and old E14. I keep the chain on this saw tighter than on the long bar saw because I use if for a lot more turning cuts, which have a tendency to knock the chain off when it’s too loose.

Makita GE0600 die grinder

    This might the most widespread tool among ice sculptors. Lightweight, generally reliable, and surprisingly powerful, many ice sculptors have more than one of these. I have about five or six. (I say “about” because one or two of them aren’t working.) Unfortunately, Makita has decided to discontinue them, so if you want one, get it now! Below, I’ve listed the bits that I typically use for ice sculpting in my die grinders.

7 degree cone endmill (on GE0600)

    The 7 degree cone endmill is featured in the YouTube video below. Get one here.

10 degree cone endmill (on GE0600)

    The 10 degree cone endmill is featured in the YouTube video below. Get one here.

1/2 inch straight endmill

1/4 inch straight endmill

Makita GD0800 die grinder

    This is kind of a heavy duty version of the GE0600 mentioned above. As ice sculpting tools get more aggressive, the additional power that this tool offers is more often required. I primarily use a bullet burr on mine (see below). Get one here.

bullet burr

DeWalt angle grinder

burr grinder disc

Dremel tool with ice needle

    The Dremel tool with ice needle is featured in the YouTube video above (near the end). Get a Dremel tool here and an ice needle here. You’ll want to get this set up if you don’t already have it because the ice needle is fantastic for doing small engraving. It’s like a very small endmill bit with a sharp tip at the end. It’s easy to break the tip off, unfortunately, but this usually doesn’t affect the bit’s cutting ability much. I will frequently take my Dremel and ice needle with me to set ups, just in case something needs to be touched up somehow. (I have a frequent waking nightmare that I will have somehow engraved the wrong names or monogram into a sculpture, so the Dremel and ice needle are kind of my security blanket during set ups. At least I might be able to fix it if actually happened someday. So far it never has; knock on wood!)

flat chisels

    I prefer Japanese made Misono or Hiryu chisels and I’ve collected a number of them over the years. However, I’m not very good at sharpening them, so I’ll sometimes send them away to Michael Pizzuto for sharpening and fine tuning. (Ice Crafters sells a number of flat chisels; take a look at some Hiryu chisels here.) I’m slowly working on my sharpening set up and skills though; I’ll detail my progress in an upcoming entry.

Small flat chisels

    These are simple narrow wood chisels that you can get at any hardware store and are used to clear out small sections of ice while doing white-on-ice engraving or removing small amounts of ice from three dimensional pieces.

Junichi saw
    Check the link for an entry featuring this useful tool. I have several of these because I’m always using them. Get a small keyhole saw that can be converted into a Junichi saw here.

Ice pick
    Check the link for an entry featuring this useful tool. Get lots here.

six prong ice pick

layout jig or something similar

Medium aluminum plate (listed as a large aluminum plate at Icecrafters.com)
    Check the link for an entry featuring this useful tool. Get one here.

Small aluminum plate
    Check the link for an entry featuring this useful tool. Get one here.

Makita electric blower

    Check the link for an entry featuring this useful tool. Get one here.

Alaskan mill

foam

handsaw

propane torch

Magic marker

    Markers are only useful when you’re cutting in the freezer because they won’t really write on melting ice. I use them to mark cut lines, designate certain blocks for certain sculptures, and even write reminder notes to myself to keep me from making mistakes. For example, I might write “Don’t cut this!” at a crucial support spot. Or I might use different colored markers for different cut depths. Not all markers write well on ice, however, so it’s important to pick the right ones. Office supply stores might have markers that are specially designed for use in the cold, but sometimes you can tell by the way they’re generally marked. Often, they’ll be marked with lines on the barrel of the marker. (I’ll add a picture later so you can see what I’m talking about.) But if you don’t want to go through the hassle of trying to find the right kind, then just get a special Japanese marker here. (In this case, you can get any color you want, as long as it’s red.)

butane

brushes

Syringes

    These are larger syringes than the ones that are used, say, when you get a shot at the doctor. Some of the larger ones look more like air pumps than syringes actually. But they’re primarily used during welding to direct the flow of water. Especially when your ice is colder than about 15 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s very important to control the amount and direction of your weld water. Excess water (and therefore heat) can cause thermal fractures on cold ice, and using a syringe to lessen the amount of weld water that you need can help to prevent this. A syringe can also help you get water to all parts of a weld and is also useful when you’re freezing snow into engraved ice. Get a smaller syringe at Walmart in the kitchen tools section or get a larger version here.

Exotic die grinder bits:

Brice bubble bits (large and medium)

    Check the link for an entry featuring these innovative bits. Get them here.