To get started at this type of artwork you will need the following. Stone, I recommend using Alabaster or Soapstone to begin with. They are two of the softer types of stone and carve easier than the harder types. Alabaster can be breath taking when finished. A banker, or work bench, should be strong enough to hold the weight of the stone and be stable enough to take the abuse of the pushing and pounding of stone carving.  Sand bags can be made from the cut off legs of an old pair of jeans, filled with sand, and tied off. Sand bags hold your work in place while you are carving and polishing. Chisels and a hammer to remove larger amounts of stone and to shape the stone. Files and or rasps with which you will be filing and smoothing the stone. The use of rasps provide a more natural, flowing finish. Dremal (optional) to do fine detailed work. Sandpaper (wet & dry Silicon Carbide sandpaper , or a compound such as tin oxide or aluminum oxide) with which you will do the sanding (to remove scratches) to a fine finish. Sanding paper grits run from coarse (40-80 grit), medium (150,220,320 grit), to fine (400, 600, 800, 1500 grit). You will need to apply water over the stone when sanding to remove the dust particles. Marble begins to show a polish at about 600 grit. Granite doesn't polish until 3000 grit. Wax or sealant with which to apply to the stone and seal it keeping it’s color alive, and to bring it to a glossy shine if desired. * Important* you will need a dust mask to prevent you from inhaling the dust particles while working on your project and is absolutely required when  working with stones containing silica (like granite) or other toxic materials. (The dust from stone can do some real and permanent damage to your lungs). Eye protection, also extremely important. You only have one set of eyes. Flying chips from the rock can change the way you see things forever if you don’t where safety glasses. Ear protection if you are going to work with tools like pneumatic tools Some shock resistant gloves protect the hands from the vibration and abrasions from sharp stone chips.

 

Stone has been carved for a long time without much equipment being necessary. Softer stones are, of course, easier to work with. To start with, you can buy a lump of soapstone (steatite, or talc) small enough to hold in your hand and a short bladed knife. It comes in lots of colors, and is the softest stone that will hold together well enough to be worth carving. Some safety considerations: Be careful not to cut yourself. Restaurant supply outlets carry butcher's gloves that will protect somewhat against a slicing wound, which are common among those who carve using the hand as a vise. Whenever using electricity and water together, make sure to run the power through a ground-fault interrupter, which cuts off the power when it senses a short. Pipestone, or Catlinite, is another easily worked stone that lends itself to carving with steel tools-Native Americans carved it without them to make their famous calumet "peace" pipes. Steel files will work on this material for smoothing out, as will any sandpaper. You can also use rotary files, burs, and mounted stones if you have any of these- but they aren't necessary. You'll save time if you start by roughing out the shape with a saw, or you can just start whittling. Don't expect it to go to a very high polish, but it can be made shiny by taking it to 600 grit and then using paste wax. Larger pieces of stone, mostly marble and limestone (although granite and even harder stones are still sometimes carved this way as well) are traditionally carved using a succession of steel points and chisels. These tools are struck with a hammer, which can cause metal chips to fly as well as stone: be sure to wear adequate eye protection. The points are used first for roughing out, then toothed chisels are used to remove the faceting left by the points, and to determine the compound curves. Fine details can be added with progressively smaller chisels, or abrasives can be used to create a smooth or a polished surface. Nowadays sculptors often use reciprocating pneumatic tools to hold the chisels, and electric or pneumatic grinders instead of patient hand-rubbing, but the process is much the same. For softer stones like sandstone, a rotary hammer (basically a drill that incorporates reciprocation) can be handy for roughing out too. Although it is slower than using chisels or power tools, carving can be also be done with hand abrasive techniques. This goes quicker with soft materials, but hard stones can be carved this way if one has a lot of patience. Amber, soapstone, alabaster, and the calcites can also be worked with steel riffler files- the ones with odd-shaped ends- then smoothed out with successive grits of silicon carbide sandpaper. For harder stones, you can get diamond files and rifflers to do the roughing out. A bow-drill can be handy for making holes in beads. These were used originally as fire-starters, but were soon equipped with stone points and became the first "power" tools. Mounted horizontally and powered by foot, they evolved into the first lapidary arbors. Attach a Jacobs chuck and a drip-feed to one, and you can use it the same way as a flex-shaft tool, with the added advantage of being able to hold the work with both hands. Of course, you can also use an electric motor and a modern pulley-powered lapidary arbor to accomplish this. If you are faced with carving a larger, harder stone, I find that a right-angle grinder, preferably with a water-feed running through the central shaft, has a lot to be said for it. First attack the stone with a 41/2" diamond saw blade, make parallel cuts and break out the waste, then use a diamond cup wheel for rough grinding. After that there are Velcro-backed diamond sanding pads that will take large simple and compound curves all the way to polish. Smaller bits with diamond grit plated onto their surfaces have come down considerably in price of late, and can help get into small places. To polish in these complicated areas, maple or phenolic plastic rods are turned to appropriate shapes, then charged with diamond compound and some grease; olive oil paste is best, but petroleum jelly works. A few drops of mineral oil help keep heat from building up. Dremel tools have a very limited usefulness. Flexible shaft (Foredom, etc.) tools are better, but are still mostly used for very small (fist-size and smaller) work. They are excellent for gemstone carving. But diamond is the way to go- silicon carbide is distinctly second-best.

Inuit Stone Carving

The carver chooses the stone and looks at the hidden creation in its
shape. He begins by sawing the stone into a block. With the
introduction of more modern tools, electric saws are also used. The
rough image is then hacked out by hand tools.

Using a large file, defining details are delineated. Reindeer antler is
often affixed to the handle of the file for comfort. A smaller file is used
for the finer details. Electrical tools, such as flexible shafts, are also
used. To smooth the carving, the carver uses a strip of sandpaper
which he pulls under his thumb giving both control and consistency to
the movement and quality of sanding.

The carving is then put into water, ready for further sanding with wet
and dry sandpaper, commencing with a rough grade to a very fine
grade. The carver can tell by feel when the carving is ready for
polishing. This final stage varies with carvers, some preferring a high
polish, others preferring to leave the carving in unpolished form.
A well known Sisimiut artist often used to polish the carving with candle wax
to give the carving a deep dark finish.

Personally I like to use pure bee's wax to polish  my carvings.

I think you will find carving in stone to be a very satisfying and rewarding experience. Please feel free to contact me to ask questions about my art work or to share your own experiences. I would love to hear from you.  The Hobby Rock

Click above picture for a better look at my humble work stations.

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