How does Mark Newman Cut and keys supersculpy?

[anbarestani]

AS most of us might know, Mark Newman sculpts his Side show "court of the dead" stuff and other Pop culture work in one piece. meaning the piece is not made to be separated in pieces.
In one his interviews he said he cut and keys his supersculpy statue himself and the sends it off for molding.
So my question is how do you cut and key a one piece baked super sculpy statue?

[monomaster1]

A saw and wood blocks for the keys.

[anbarestani]

Originally Posted by monomaster1

A saw and wood blocks for the keys.

Yea, but sawing a baked super sculpy damages the edges, also how do you drill the super sculpy to be the shape of the cubic wooden key. also what would you do with the aluminium wire in the middle? do you drill that too for the slot? So many question!

[monomaster1]

you cut back the parts and use Aves for the finishing.

[anbarestani]

Originally Posted by monomaster1

you cut back the parts and use Aves for the finishing.

still what would you do with the aluminium wire in the middle?
how do you drill a hole into it? and make it cubic?
Sorry, I'm a newbie and have never cut and keyed any of my work before.

[monomaster1]

Most people don't use a 'filler' (aluminum wire or foil) with SS. Because when you bake it, it gets too hot and may explode the piece.

[anbarestani]

Originally Posted by monomaster1

Most people don't use a 'filler' (aluminum wire or foil) with SS. Because when you bake it, it gets too hot and may explode the piece.

What? Of course they do. I use it myself and never had my sculpture "explode"
If you dont use filler, your clay is not gonna sit firmly on the armature and is gonna keep wobbling around.
Here are some photos that Mark Newman Uploaded as a tutorial on his Facebook page.
So What I wanna know is how does he cut and key a one piece, baked supersculpy statue on an armature like that?

[monomaster1]

Why don't you ask Mark Newman directly? However, the exploding issue is real. This piece was done in SS and has no armature. It was done by Tom Snyder of Joy & Tom Studios. I own this piece.

Also, I found a quote on a sculpting site. "The thing about Sculpey is that it's usually a hit-and-miss thing when you're baking it. It can crack if the pieces are too thin and explode if the pieces are too thick. (Trust me, don't try going over a 1/2'' thick or it'll blow up.) You have to wait once you take it out because it dries as it cools off. Sculpey also shrinks a little bit once it's hardened. You can fix the cracks by using Liquid Sculpey; just stick it back in the oven for a little bit and it's fine."

[anbarestani]

Originally Posted by monomaster1

Why don't you ask Mark Newman directly? However, the exploding issue is real. This piece was done in SS and has no armature. It was done by Tom Snyder of Joy & Tom Studios. I own this piece.

Also, I found a quote on a sculpting site. "The thing about Sculpey is that it's usually a hit-and-miss thing when you're baking it. It can crack if the pieces are too thin and explode if the pieces are too thick. (Trust me, don't try going over a 1/2'' thick or it'll blow up.) You have to wait once you take it out because it dries as it cools off. Sculpey also shrinks a little bit once it's hardened. You can fix the cracks by using Liquid Sculpey; just stick it back in the oven for a little bit and it's fine."

I have tried a few times he hasn't replied. And I can imagine its probably because he quiet busy.
that's a nice piece.

Interesting to read that, Ive had cracks but never seen it burst/explode.

[monomaster1]

Thanks! The reason I know it's SS and doesn't have an armature is because it cracked and broke into several pieces after a while.