The Captain Cook statue in Victoria, BC, was removed in November 2016, and brought to my studio where we began cleaning it.  This process revealed a damaged area and some steel coming out of the original fibreglass hand.  We ground out all of the existing original divider handle and found the steel ring and rod connected to some supporting rods in the arm.  

I cast a bronze piece which was fitted to the original steel.  Holes were drilled and tapped in the callipers to enable them to be bolted in place through the index finger and thumb.  The bronze callipers were completely welded to the steel ring.  The bolts were cut off flush, and then slotted and screwed into place.  The back half of the dividers were re-sculpted in cold cast bronze and cleaned up.  I matched the original sculpted texture and then a patina was applied to blend with the sculpture.

The statue was put back in place in January 2017.  Captain Cook looks refreshed and has his callipers in hand!

If you’re interested in my work, do take a look at my website, www.sculpturebynathanscott.com

Nathan Scott

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 14, volume 40, number 2 (2017).