Stone Carving: Q&A + Gallery...

On 2007-06-03 18:13, timidtiki wrote:
NEWS ALERT - TIKI RESISTS CARVING, BITES CARVER

My right thumb lacerated by the stone (not the core drill) when the drill jammed in the stone and spun free - six stitches.

The bottom line - The tiki is fine. The thumb will heal. Ouch!

Yeeoowch! I'd heard the rumour, but there's the proof! Damn, sorry to hear and now see...

I dont do a lot of core drilling myself, & when I do it is usually 1" diameter or larger & done with large drillpress. Making core holes through slabs is simple enough as the slab is clamped to the drillpress bed. Many jade carvers use the handpiece core drill/burrs when working on smaller sculptural pieces like you are here, but it is injuries (like you also have here!) that prevent me from using those tools. -same with the 'disc-cutter' burrs out of interest...

Glad to hear the Tiki is ok! :lol:

Take care of yourself Timid!

Tama :)

ouch

i use both the hongia and the lopacki burrs. the higher grit lopackis are very nice and smooth. the hongias have a better quality diamond on them and bite deeper, if that makes sense. so far i've been very happy with the lopacki as a substitute for the hongia. i have been unable to find them anywhere else in the states or on the web. daniel is a very nice guy and easy to deal with.

Just found another place to purchase Abrasives. I have been looking for "Diamond Flex bands" and stuff for awhile and I found them here Way less than the NZ Diamond store.
http://www.fdjtool.com/store/showcat.asp?cat=364
Check out the abrasives here. They Also have what looks like good quality Diamond burs on Stainless steel shanks. They have the Cheepies too but a good selection on Better quality burs. AND they are in Lakeland Florida.
HappyHappyHappy

Benzart--Do you have any of these diamond sanding belts (drums) yet? I checked out the website and they look pretty useful.

JP

i'm really interested in these diamond stips, belts and drums. ben, can you explain how to use them a little, please?

On 2007-06-07 06:34, Benzart wrote:
Just found another place to purchase Abrasives. I have been looking for "Diamond Flex bands" and stuff for awhile and I found them here Way less than the NZ Diamond store.

Definitely much cheaper...I don't use a lot of different bits for finishing simply because they are so damn expensive. I'm a real tightass with my tools and abrasives and try and get as much mileage from them as I can for that reason. That NZ store that has the monopoly on many of the quality brands really overcharges for product, so I'm always interested in any alternatives you guys can come up with.

I don't have them yet, but they went out USPS yesterday, the company has VEry Fast service and is Very interested in getting new accounts and is looking to gear up for Wood carvers as well so anything you need, request it and they will probably offer it. I will get them a list together soon.
When I get these beauties, I'll post pix of them in action. The drums List Everywhere else for $10 to $12, They are a new 3-M product(the whole Flexible Diamond line) and this guy is cheaper by FAR!
The discs mount on a small rubber backed mandrel and they stick on it. You use it in your foredom, dremel or any other rotary hand piece you have. Water is recommended for cooling on all the flex diamonds.
The bands fit onto the same rubber mandrel as the regular sandpaper ones. The strips can be attached to a sanding stick, an electric sander or just for hand sanding.

when one is grinding pounamua is it normal for the sharp edges to flake off? does this mean the piece of jade is poor quality? yes, it is a high speed grind. should i do it slower?

bump

On 2007-06-18 21:53, pdrake wrote:
when one is grinding pounamua is it normal for the sharp edges to flake off? does this mean the piece of jade is poor quality? yes, it is a high speed grind. should i do it slower?

Sorry pdrake, I missed this.

A: Maybe to both. It could be that the flaws were inherant in the stone itself. By the way you say 'flake off', it sounds as though this could be the case. As long as a wheel is running true and has adequate water cooling the working face it shouldnt really matter what speed you are running at. But in reality there may be a microscopic wobble to your wheel and running at very high speed may be causing small vibrations to shatter the stone..?

If you are able to alter your running speed then by all means give it a go. Hope this helps.

TTT :)

Hello, I am so glad to have found you! It wasn't that easy I can tell you that!
This is my introduction post to this group. I recently spent three plus months in New Zealand where I was lucky enough to hook up with a Greenstone carver in Hokitika. Steve was very generous... taught me to carve, and let me use his space to work in trade for doing some work for him, and helping him with his classes. The short version is that I haven't been so fascinated with a materialor process since I first fell into a bucket of clay 25yrs ago. But that's another story altogether. I recently returned to the states. I'm hooked, and can hardly wait to start making things here. This forum has helped me a great deal finding resources for burrs, tools, and equipment.

All the best..rock on!

Robin

p.s. The Big Sur Jade Festival is happening Oct. 5,6,7...anybody going?

Welcome Robin! Im guessing that it was Steve Gwaliasi who showed you the way..? Ive only met him briefly but understand he is a very nice & generous fella. I too know the appeal of clay - pure reductive carving is definately the greater challenge, especially in a bulletproof medium like jade. Be sure to post us some pics of your work!

Tama :)

Big WELCOME to TC Robin, glad you found us however difficult it was. Being in Florida will make it Very difficult for me to get to the Big Sur deal, but I sure would Love to be there. Anyway nose around here to your hearts content and ask away. I'm Totally jealous of you spending such quality time in NZ. BRAT!

Thank you both so much for the warm welcome. Yes, it was Steve Gwaliasi who showed me the way....unbelievably generous with his time. his studio, and his materials. And yep Tama...with Greenstone...when it's gone it's gone...purely reductive. Quite a challenge....it will take some time to adjust my vision, and coax the image from the stone. I'm a neophyte, but I will post some images soon.

Benz... Just happens to coincide with a visit to my family and the redwoods...and I was very very fortunate to spend the time I did in NZ...amazing country. The Greenstone itself was worth the visit....the scenery and the people, and the history and the amazing artwork were all bonuses. It looks like there might be some interesting stuff at the BSJF, I'll be sure to keep you posted as to what I find there. I've been reading the posts backwards and forwards...I'm about a third of the way to the middle. A lot of information here...and thanks for the open door on questions...very grateful.

Best
Robin

Thumb is all healed, carving again . . . now somethng twice as fishy:

An inanga pounamu PullMe/PushYou (after Dr. Doolittle) with star sapphire/ruby eyes (suspension cord not attached) -

It still needs a little cleanup around the fish mouths.

Hey Timid, Really glad your thumb is all healed, we need it working well for Coon Tiki. Don't let your guard down again when working on those guyz, they bite. This piece looks Cool. How are the eyes glued in, any special glue? can't wait to see the complete piece. Looks like a great job getting the whole piece smoothe and fair looking.

On 2007-07-04 18:38, Benzart wrote:
Hey Timid, Really glad your thumb is all healed, we need it working well for Coon Tiki.

I forgot you had a spot reserved at the Masters feet; better do as he says... :wink:

I see a theme emerging. Well done Timid! Do I spot small 'chatters' at the edge of the mouths..? These will disappear if you take a small bevel off the inside of the mouth, ie, round off that 90o edge. Love the eyes, I bet they look great as the piece is moved around.

So is TimidTiki too timid to attempt a Tiki?? Consider it a challenge... :wink:

TamaTheTerrible :D

Hi Ben - The adhesive I've been using for to attach gem stones (not-transparent) to almost any other object is called E6000, and is available at almost any craft store. It looks like it won't work but I've been using it for about 8 years now and never had a joint failure. It is slow to cure (1-2 days) and messy to handle. The stones in the PushMe-PullYou are highly polished on the back and still hold well. E6000 is not UV resistant and when it does fail (I've done this by forcing it) the failure is gradual so I don't think you would lose the stone. It is cheap to try and see if you like it. I'll bring a few stone to CoonTiki for you to play with.

Thanks, Tama, for the tip. I'll check it out, but I thin my other hammpied should give me a lcean 90 edge . . . at lease it did with the other fish. If that doesn't work, then I'll go with the taper as you suggest. And, YES I have met the challange and I am working on a tiki - the same petrified whalebone tiki that bit me a few weeks ago. But . . . I'm working verrry slowly and verrry carefully this time, and using my new carving machine.

Hi, again, Tama. You can probably figure out what I was talking about in my previous message, but for those who don't read messages typed with crossed fingers it should have read as follows:

Thanks, Tama, for the tip. I'll check it out, but I think my other handpiece should give me a clean 90 degree edge . . . at lease it did with the other fish. If that doesn't work, then I'll go with the taper as you suggest. And, YES I have met the challange and I am working on a tiki - the same petrified whalebone tiki that bit me a few weeks ago. But . . . I'm working verrry slowly and verrry carefully this time, and using my new carving machine.

I hope that is better!

PETRIFIED WHALEBONE INCENSE BURNER -

The pic below shows my petrified whalebone tiki incense burner at Stage 2. (Stage 1 appears earlier in this thread.) It is still somewhat dirty from the carving process but I would appreciate any input before I proceed to the final stage of carving. You will note that I was a bit careless in placing some of the drill holes representing the eyebrows, etc; and the drill bit drifted a bit in places. And, the nose needs a little more work. I will be adding teeth (a surprise) and a little appropriate enamel to reveal teh tiki's true character. The texture of the stone surface shows the individual cells within the whale bone. Yes . . . I checked it out and the smoke from the incense does come out of the eyes while burning.

Thanks for your input and help, Timid

Looks pretty HOT Timid, Can't wait to se that smoke billowing out of those eyeball sockets!

On 2007-07-05 11:37, timidtiki wrote:
PETRIFIED WHALEBONE INCENSE BURNER -
I will be adding teeth (a surprise) and a little appropriate enamel to reveal teh tiki's true character. The texture of the stone surface shows the individual cells within the whale bone. Yes . . . I checked it out and the smoke from the incense does come out of the eyes while burning.

*Thanks for decyphering that message TTiki, although I didnt see the translation until after Id spent the time figuring it out, haha.

Watch those teeth! If he can give such a nasty bite with just his gums... :wink:

Cant wait to see him all fired up!

Tama :)

Hi all...I finally got some pictures to post. Whew!

I have been reading and reading these posts and very much enjoying the work, the information...and the fun! Very nice. So there is a bit of a story to go along with these...

This is the first piece I made. This is where I learned my skills didn't match my vision, and the true meaning of reductive work. Actually I worked on two pieces at one time...the other one was worse. I had heard that you should wear your first piece, and then give it away...so I wore it and gave it to the Tasman Sea...no picture!

and the Tasman gave me these back. You can find pieces of Greenstone like this walking the beaches in Hokitika. Yippee!

Any way...I became obsessed, and backed way up and made Tokis...lots of Tokis for Steve....beautiful beautiful NZ jade. You can learn a lot making Tokis. And get to know the jade. I was really lucky.

Then I got to make these. The first one is my favorite. I believe this jade is called snowflake, and a nice piece of it will bring tears to your eyes...honest.

Front

This was a nice way to learn to put a cord through a stone when it mattered if the hole showed, or interfered with the stone or the design. Haven't had a chance to braid it yet.
Back

I tried using a small burr to etch or carve the surfaces after I polished the dark green ones. My photos don't do justice to this stone, or any of them really...it emanates dark green. It's hard to do...no matter how carefully or steadily I tried to hold my hand, I couldn't keep an even line. It seemed like the burr would sink sometimes.

I realize now after looking at this work, and the work on this site, that so far, I am a shaper, not a carver, but I'm getting there...I think.

My next attempt at actually sort of carving something. Koru...my understanding borrowed from the fiddle head of ferns, and represents new beginnings.

This one was a LOT more ambitious...but...I broke it...twice...caught it on a spindle polishing, fixed it sort of, and then threw it across the room using the buffer. This is what was left!
This jade has hard and soft spots in it....and it was difficult to get an even shape...most of the softer parts are gone.

This was next..managed not to break it.

A sort of banana necklace with just a touch of that snow.

And finally, not finished,I'm not sure how to string it yet.
. This one came from a thick slab..about 6X3X1/2 inch. I carved out the back so the light could come through. It's like a beautiful landscape...with silver flecks in it that don't show up in the photo.

So there is some of my stuff...thank you for the encouragement....maybe I'll get to make a Tiki someday.

So I've been back from NZ for two weeks now, and have accumulated some jade....ordered some bits...bought some tools, and thinking about buying some more...like a slab saw. I want to try and cut slabs like Tama does!

You guys are a great bunch of stoners.....

Petrified Whalebone Tiki Incense Burner - ALL DONE!!!

The petrified whalebone incense burner discussed earlier in this thread is finished, with color and teeth added - pics follow:

First, the tiki with a little blood left over from my thumb after tiki objected to the carving process -

Finally, the tiki incense burner is action -

Total cost to make this tiki:

Petrified whalebone - free, from California beach
Reject beaver teeth - $ 2.00
Paint (black/green) - $ 0.02
Six stiches in my
right thumb - $647.12

TOTAL - - - - - - - - $649.12

Cool Stuff timid, and I Love your Pricing breakdown, but you forgot to ad labor fees, so by the normal "Customers" calculation: 17 hours @$4.00 per hout = $23.50 that you for got to add. :):). I Love the Beavers tooth also. I'm not sure how much Tiki it looks, but that will come in time. Excellent work.

Robin, glad you were finally able to post some pictures. Looks to me like your NZ Education really paid off in terms of skills learned and Product knowledge aquired. Now I'm Double Jealous Brat, Brat! The nice flowing lines are there and the skill to clean them up will come in time. I Love the finish you are getting on your work, the Toki's are Excellent.

Thanks Ben...glad you like the finish. And my time in NZ was phenomenal...and the Pounamu part was better that that. I hope you get to go someday.

I always liked a softer sheen...even on my pots. It seems to suit jade as well....and it takes less time than high polish to boot! That's a bonus. I enjoyed using diamond sponges in varying grits, much like sanding wood, and equally as satisfying. Then 800 wet dry, then polishing compound, then a cotton buffing wheel with no compound. They were oiled too, which made the white in the grooves disappear for awhile, but it came back over time. I'd like it to disappear permanently.

Hey Timid...really nice smoke! Dramatic. Glad it worked out despite the thumb injury. The price breakdown was pretty funny. Looking forward to your next adventure.

Oh the ever present cost of labor...well it's rare that that equation ever works out in analysis. I look at like this...
'how long did it take?'
'my whole life.' Every piece is a culmination of learned skills and experiences. Can't put a price on it. It's the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic value. It is a great day though when people will hand you money for it.

Tama...Have read just about everything you posted. Your work is exquisite in every way.....can't say much more that that. And the information you have provided here is above and beyond. Would love to ask you some questions when you're available.

Paipo...almost all your posts too...really really fine work. I love the use of the natural stones. Seeing your forms with the absence of color, translucency, and surface pattern in the material let me look at them as pure sculpture. The play of light and dark was magical.

You Kiwi's really got it going on.

Robin

A STONE CARVER'S LAMENT - This little poem (haiku) came to me while cleaning up after a few hours of jade carving:

Dust from beauty torn

Now beneath my fingernail -

What remains of thee?

Wow, Ive been missing all the action here... Well done you guys!

Robin: What can I say? If your little ID didnt state you were From: USA, I would swear you WERE in/from Hokitika! :lol: The West Coast beaches & rivers are the recipients of many, many carvings gifted in this way. Id love to know just how many...
It appears you have entered the path in a very familiar way to me and I can see you have an urge to add your own touch to what you have learned so far. Im sure Steve gave you the best grounding in tools/processes & it sounds as if you know enough to throw yourself a workshop together. From here on its really just experimentation and hours at the bench that are going to improve your skills & allow you to find 'your' particular way/style, etc. Go for it! All power to you. :)

TimidT: Damn; that's one expensive 'lil burner! - you might be better off getting them produced in China! :lol:
'Reject' beaver teeth? What are the good ones used for..?? Unique touch by the way, kinda creepy.. Ditto the smokey eyes. Cool to see a carving that actually has a function as well as being an aethetic/art piece. Ive always liked a bit of a kinetic show too.

Rock on Stoners!

Tama :)

On 2007-07-09 14:24, timidtiki wrote:
A STONE CARVER'S LAMENT - This little poem (haiku) came to me while cleaning up after a few hours of jade carving:

      Dust from beauty torn  

      Now beneath my fingernail -  

      What remains of thee?  

Beautiful words Timid. (I thought you had a cleaner) :wink: :lol:

bump for the stoners; I know you're out there. How's it going?

T3 :)

Question for Tama or Paipo, How does granite hold up in small carvings. Came across a good amount of good sized pieces from a kitchen counter manufacturer and could bring home Hundreds or Thousands of pounds from their dumpster if I wanted. Some very colorful stuff. Pictures tonight of some I did get.

hi folks, i've been lurking,reading all the stone carving posts for years now. i live in kansas-50 miles from the nearest rock, and 800 miles from the closest jade in wyoming. nonetheless i've actually tried my hand at some jade carving.
my wife has the tama 'stoner' tiki and i have the high bid so far on his big snow-splotched e-bay offering.
nice to meet tama- benz and paipo--so good of you to freely share your accumulated knowledge of tools and techniques.
benz- granite carving depends on crystal size for detail--since its composed of feldspar and quartz crystals there is some danger of popping out a crystal in the attempt to carve detail. i use the scrap to cover concrete steps.
the question about turquoise carving--i've carved alot and prefer unstabalized nuggets of a naturally hard variety like carico lake, smith, white mountain or some sleeping beauty. the stabalized varieties would depend on what stabalization method was used- but the majority of turquoise carvers prefer stabalized because it has a more even hardness.
robin- i was at the big sur jade festival this last fall too.-i was the huge hippie in tie-dye buying all the ocean-tumbled pebbles in sight and as many of matthew glasby's carvings as i could afford.
thanks again folks for this wonderful site and all your friendly advice.
i'll try to post more and dig up some pics.

Hey PJ...now I'm not the newest newbie anymore...whew. Welcome...this is a great place. I only read for about a day before I had to talk to these guys. They are the best! Fools rush in as it were... Nice to meet you! I haven't been to the Big Sur Jade Festival yet, going this year. I can't wait...I heard it had an old hippie flavor which suits me just fine. Did you find rocks there too?

Tama...how are you listed on ebay...found Paipo...can't find you.

This is what's happening with me!

Took pictures of some slabs, but they aren't very good so I'll have to redo. Waiting on my burs...and my grinding wheel, and my trim blade...impatiently.

Oh yeah...I don't know about that workshop idea, but I'd sure take one of yours...in a heartbeat!

Slabs from the new toy.

[ Edited by: Robin 2007-07-16 18:55 ]

hi robin, pleased to meet you. there is still jade to be found on that section of the big sur coast, but with so much traffic these years its rare to find much except after big winter storms expose new gravel. the mix at the jade festival is fun--surfers who can get to the isolated strands of beach, scuba divers who find jadfe offshore,
jade craftspeople, musicians,locals who have collected and mined since the early 70s there, and the kids from pacific grove school who benefit with wonderful senior trips. i have great big sur jade links-including aerial photos of all the legal collecting beaches.

ps i'd post tama's ebay url but you might outbid me.

is it cheating to cut my roughs out with a laser? does anyone have any experience using a laser?

Thanks PJ for that synopsis of the festival. It just keeps sounding better and better.
Found Tama haha! Not to worry...much as I'd love to outbid you, most of my expendable and non-expendable income for that matter is gone on tools an equipment just now. Another time for sure. Good luck.

Would love to see some of your carvings. You sound like you have quite a bit of experience with rocks.

I'd be grateful if you'd post your links to the festival.

Thanks

Robin

On 2007-07-16 19:02, pdrake wrote:
is it cheating to cut my roughs out with a laser? does anyone have any experience using a laser?

1. Yes*
2. No
   Is it attached to a shark's head? That would be cool...

• I guess it's OK. Is using industrial diamond burrs instead of hand knapped quartz points cheating? Is it poor sportsmanship to use a computerised controller and micromotor handpiece instead of a cord drill made from some sticks, stones and flax?
  If you got 'em, use 'em. Just make sure you take some pics!

PS those are some tasty looking slabs up there...

PPS: Benz, Tama has carved some nice granite sculptures (think they are in the first page or two of this thread) and I've used a little myself, mainly for bases. The one we use is fairly uniform grey/black without the sparkly bits - an Indian stone we get from the monumental mason. It takes a good finish from matt to mirror and carves like butter. As prairie jade mentioned, some varieties have quite large inclusions of varying colour and structure - I'd probably avoid these for carving. I have a whole pile of samples from a benchtop factory too, where my cousin runs the CNC plant. Wish I'd taken my camera - the machines there were incredible.
If I can find a sample with a label that matches the good stuff, I'll let you know what it's called.

PPPS: Welcome to our newest stoner Prairie Jade!

Kia ora Stoners/Jadis.. Im glad this thread is getting a bit of use.

BenZ: your questions re granite seem to have been answered. I think a quick test-grind would soon tell you if it is going to cut the mustard. Your main problem would be the structure simply rattling apart..
The small desk-sculpts I made in the past..


..are going to be dusted off & polished up for the upcoming show. Not this particular piece but the ones above and another 'group' of similar style.

This fruity looking number is also (half)carved of the same granite.

Welcome Prairie Jade! (aka Numbakulla? Good luck & thanks for your bids!* :wink: ) You certainly seem to know your stones. I have been greatly influenced by the huge hippies Ive met in the past & will probably be one myself one day. I feel I know you already.. :lol:
Do you have any pics of your stone carving? Could we see?

Not-so-new-member Robin: Great looking saw; very masculine :wink: - and better than Ive got..sniff
Very nice looking jade too. Im assuming this is the BC you had coming. Looks incredibly similar to our Sth Westland jade. Plenty of nice patterning and potential, have fun! (and show us your results - do you think you have a TIKI in you..?) :D

*Did I mention a few bonus-bitties for any successful TC member, ahem..

Pdrake: a light-saber! its the traditional tool of the Jadi.. :lol:

Rock on.

Tama :)

thanks tama-i found this site through my studies of jade carvers-i decided you were the carver best developing the tiki motif and your work led me here.maori culture in general has been a large influence on how i choose to live.my house is covered in brightly painted wooden sculptures. yes i am numbakulla and about 200 other personnaes i adopt during my various art endevors. i feel guilty masquerading as a carver when i'm such a newbie. i spent 40 years so far making jewelry, and have shown over 2000 of my paintings. i've collected rocks for over 50 years. since i live in limestone i've collected, stacked and carved over 2 million pounds-organized into gardens waterfalls and ponds. i need to photograph my feeble attempts at hard stone carving - but here are some pics of my limestone carvings

WOW, Go away a day and Look at all the stuff I Miss.
Thanks for all the Granite guidelines from Everyone, Tama Nice looking granite nuts and balls and stuff. ( :) )

Robin, Nice slabs, how thick are you making them? Beautiful Jade. Still in Awe of that Saw, I'm a tool junkie and your having that big saw makes me Jealous again. ----

Prairie Jade, Another welcome to TC, happy you found your way here. Awesome stuff starting with the whale Skull, now How many people can say they have one of THOSE by their front door. Excellent carvings too, what you have shown only makes me want to drive right out there to see the rest as I KNOW you have stuff stashed everywhere that will never be seen y most peeps.

Perry, Remember my motto: What ever removes the wood (stone) fastest is the tool to use. Go for it, but you gotta Show us the thing.

WOW. SO Much happening here and so little time. I'm off to my Baking garage to try to do some work........

Kia ora Stoners.

I am really loving the saw. It is quite masculine isn't it? :lol: It kind of fell into my hands like so much other stuff these days.

Tama the Wonderful: Yes it is the BC Jade. I'm glad you think it looks o.k. It's kind of yellowish in the pictures...it's more green in real life. There are some really pretty deep tourquoise looking dots in one of them I really like. Only one stone had an occlusion in it which was nice, and there's enough on either side that can pretty much avoid it. About the Tiki...I think there may be one taking form....I can feel it in my belly. I'm only just beginning to grasp the breadth of that form...study it a bit. Your desk sculptures are lovely....as is the fruity number coming along. They'll soothe the soul of the most angst ridden executive.

Hey Benz....I'm trying for 3/8 or a little better...a couple at a 1/4 just because I'm learning the saw....the first cut is difficult to get even, so some are a little thinner than 3/8 on one edge...the second and so on are perfect. It's really fun...stop by any time and use it, I could practically throw slabs to you from here. Good luck with the granite. Baking away with you in the Sunshine State...although it just started to hail!

Paipo....good idea about the sharks head!

PJ...hope you don't mind me shortening your handle.... LOVE the skull...and the rundown on the rock movement is pretty impressive as are the rest of the pics. Looking forward to more. Nice T-shirt! You look very familiar to me.

Thanks for your input and encouragement. Got my burs today!

On 2007-07-17 07:59, prairie jade wrote:
...i spent 40 years so far making jewelry, and have shown over 2000 of my paintings. i've collected rocks for over 50 years. since i live in limestone i've collected, stacked and carved over 2 million pounds-organized into gardens waterfalls and ponds. i need to photograph my feeble attempts at hard stone carving - but here are some pics of my limestone carvings

Man, I thought that whale skull was a limestone carving for a moment; I bet there'd be a few tikis in those lower jaws... :o

You've got quite a history with stones all right. They all have their uses/attributes/limitations, etc. Ive done a little limestone carving; maybe a dozen pieces. The commonly used limestone here is named after its place of origin 'Oamaru' stone', but is pretty crumbly/unstable. We have another occurance of a more compact type in Mt Somers but Ive never tried it - much harder and seems to take a semi-polish. Some of the slabs you show seems very compact and workable, and allow quite fine detail. Nice.

Im a big fan of Meso-American art and also like the altered riverstone - there's something really special about working with a natural stone and doing your thing whilst deliberately retaining something of the original form. The Chinese jade boulder carvings are clever examples of this.

40years jewellery making & 2000 paintings?? Thats pretty impressive - but how many Tikis?? Thats what we go on around here.. :lol: :wink:

Actually I see a couple; your friend seems very happy with her one!heehee

TTT :)

OK, Heres a piece of stone I got from eBay. Label said Jade, but it doesn't act like any jade I've carved yet (not that I've carved that much!)SO, What is it. It is a very rich looking green and has yellow specs in it as well as other colors.
It polishes up very nicely.






Thanks in advance.

Rubbing sticks

• I was asked about these in another thread. Used for tight corners or deep cuts that are hard to get into when sanding and finishing, or if you're just trying to get the last few tool marks out. Especially good where very fine detail might be erased by sanding with rotary tools.
  The block is a double sided sharpening stone with two grits. These are cheap and easy to find. Otherwise, you can use old wheels from a grinder...any form of silicon carbide or aluminium oxide (not as durable) "stone" will do. Try and get about 3-4 different grades if you can. Cut the sticks to the shape and size you require using a trimsaw, then hone them on another stone or a diamond grinding wheel so they fit the specific area you are working in. I have a selection of blade, chisel and point shapes that are designed around my carving style. Use enough water to make a slurry and away you go....

Thanks so much Paipo for taking the time to post this and the detailed explanation. What a great idea, and a very useful tool. I think I'm going to like these.

R.

Ahhhhh - that is what 'rubbing sticks' are!

Thanks Paipo! :)