Post #265165 by Paipo on Tue, Nov 7, 2006 10:10 PM

Finally something finished! GMAN, if you're reading this, you asked me way back if I carved any Taniwha. Well, this and most of my other hooks are based on fish/serpent type forms - on this one you can see the head, fin, spine and tail:

JohnnyP, as promised, here's some info on how I did some of the shaping on the hook.
The main hole at the bottom of the cut is just drilled with a round burr. Next I score the cut line on each side to a depth of about 2-3mm with a disc burr (seen here on left):

Now I go back and forth on each side with a V-wheel in my "point carver" - a grinder with a chuck on one end that will take a range of different tools. These is based on the foot-powered ancient Chinese jade caving machines. After a while this will break through and complete the cut, and at the same time give a nice bevel along the edges. Working the stone against the tool (as opposed to the other way like with a handpiece) is the key to getting those smooth "machined" lines.


Some of the other tools (1/4" shank)shown above are then used to clean up aalong the curves and lines, gradually decreasing the water supply so they sand instead of cut. Ditto with the handpiece. After that it's just some hand sanding and it's all done!