This rockfish sculpture is fabricated from 304 stainless steel. The body was cut with a plasma cutter and fins were cut with a bandsaw. All welding was with stainless stick electrode (not TIG). As it is very difficult, if not impossible to maintain a perfectly polished surface with all the welding, I chose to 'texture' the surface with a rotary stone. This finish matches the flow of water and conceals irregularities in the stainless steel surface which otherwise would be conspicuous. The stone is a natural vesiculated basalt rock. I did a little shaping of the stone to make it more 'fish-shaped'.
The albacore is a prized gamefish that has delicious white flesh. It is VERY GOOD to EAT. It has been marketed by the Starkist Company as "Chicken of the Sea". Sport fishermen specialize in albacore fishing and look forward to the seasonal migrations of these tuna. During the 'off season', I look forward and anticipate the next opportunity to catch a tuna.
Please view the next image to see a close-up of the texture applied as a surface finish of the stainless steel. The volcanic basalt stone can be seen. I chose this stone for it's shape and dark color to contrast with the bright stainless.
In my opinion, stainless steel is a much more demanding material to work with compared to mild steel. Although it is about as hard as mild steel, the thicker sections, like the body, require cutting with a template and plasma torch. Substantial grinding is necessary to smooth the rough plasma cut edges. Everything which is done to the surface of the metal leaves a mark. Each weld is shaped, but the tool marks are very difficult to remove completely. Rather than 'fight' every scratch, I texture the surface with a pneumatic die-grinder with an abrasive stone tool. This hand-applied texture covers a myriad of flaws while imparting an artistic pattern.
Another new edition to the portfolio archive of rockfish sculptures is the yellowfin tuna based upon a vesicular basalt stone.
This tuna is based upon a 'fish-shaped' stone found while diving at San Clemente Island. The shape and texture of the stone has not been altered. The dark irregularities constrast with the geometric form of the tuna.
The cutting was done by plasma. Many of the edges of the components had a stainless steel dross which stuck to the edge of the cut form. This material was very difficult to grind away from the base metal. It was not brittle like the dross which mild steel gets in the cutting process.
Processing this material required a lot of grinding with subsequent scratching from the grinder. The processing results in parts which are difficult to get to a shiney surface. I chose to use a rotary stone to mask the grinding marks.
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