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Stone Carving Tips: Selecting the
Right Stone
By Steve Walker
I have run my own stone and marble workshop for over
twenty five years and it became a regular occurrence to
have visitors looking to buy a piece of stone or marble
to try out stone carving. I have a soft spot for all
wannabee artists so I would never charge for the stone,
asking instead that they bring back their piece of work
so that I could see how they got on.
In all those years no-one ever came back!
Now I know that most people are really decent and would
have come back to show me their efforts, so I have put
this lack of response down to the fact that most of
these novice carvers simply chose the wrong type of
materials to start with and therefore never actually
managed to finish the piece of work.
Most of the hopefuls I saw over the years wanted to
carve marble and so, in spite of my advice to try a
softer stone, they trolled off happily with a nice piece
of white Carrara or Italian Botticino Fiorito never to
be seen again. (by me anyway!)
The simple fact is that stone and especially marble
carving is hard work. Unless you choose a soft and
relatively easy to work type of stone to start with and
you select the right tools, you will easily become
discouraged and give up long before you are able to
develop the practical skills necessary to work the
harder stones and marble.
To help would be stone carvers choose the right type of
stone, I have tried to create a kind of Mohs Scale of
hardness of the kinds of stone that you are likely to
find in your local stone yards.
This is not a scientific scale, it is based not only on
hardness but also on the practical workability of the
stone. I have assumed that you will be working with hand
tools not power tools.
The scale is numbered 1-10. 1 being the softest stone
and 10 being the hardest.
1: Cotswold Stone.
Tools: Hardened steel chisels with wooden handles
similar to wood chisels used with a Wooden mallet. Steel
chisels with steel bulb end, for use with lead mallet or
"dummy". Can be sawn with a hand saw just like a timber
saw.
Advantages: Very soft to work. all types of chisel will
work. Can be cut to size with a hand saw, excellent for
practising hammer and chisel technique.
Disadvantages: : Finished carvings will have poorly
defined detail, the stone is too coarse to give a sharp
finish. Risk of exposing hard shell in the course of
work this may spoil the look of the finished job. Too
weak to easily make thin panel carvings for example
house signs or decorative plaques.
Conclusion: : May be the right material for larger
sculptural pieces.
2: Bath Stone.
Tools: Hardened steel chisels with wooden handles
similar to wood chisels. Wooden mallet. Steel chisels
with steel bulb end, for use with lead mallet or
"dummy".
Can be sawn with a hand saw just like a timber saw.
Advantages: : Soft to work. all types of chisel will
work. Can be cut to size with a hand saw, excellent for
practising hammer and chisel technique.
Disadvantages: : Risk of exposing hard shell in the
course of work this may spoil the look of the finished
job. Too weak to easily make thin panel carvings for
example house signs or decorative plaques.
Conclusion: : Finer grain than Cotswold etc. Better
definition of carving. Good choice for first project.
3: Portland Stone.
Tools: Hardened Steel chisels with steel bulb end, used
with wooden masons mallet. Fine tungsten carvers chisels
used with small steel club hammer.
Advantages: : Memorial grade is a very high quality
stone, fine grained good definition of detail. Strong
enough to make thin panel carvings for example house
signs or number plaques.
Disadvantages: : Availability of finer grade material.
Some risk of exposing hard shell in the course of work
this may spoil the look of the finished job.
Conclusion: : Finer grain than Cotswold or Bath stone
etc. Better definition of carving. Good choice for first
project but harder to work than bath stone.
4: Portuguese limestone.
Tools: Hardened Steel chisels used with steel hammer.
Fine tungsten carvers chisels used with small steel club
hammer.
Advantages: : High quality stone, fine grained very good
definition of detail. Strong enough to make thin panel
carvings, for example house signs or number plaques.
Readily available from fireplace manufacturers .
Disadvantages: : Not often available in sizes thicker
than 30mm.
Conclusion: : Finer grain than any of the previous
stones. Better definition for carving. Good choice for
first project but harder to work than bath stone.
5: Italian Black Slate.
Tools: Fine steel chisels, tungsten carvers chisels used
with small steel club hammer.
Advantages: : Very fine grained very good definition of
detail. Strong enough to make thin panel carvings, for
example house signs or number plaques.
Disadvantages: : Hard to work, will chip easily while
carving. Not for exterior use.
Conclusion: : Good start if you want to carve slate.
6: York Stone.
Tools: Tungsten chisels only, tungsten carvers chisels
used with small steel club hammer.
Advantages: : High quality stone, fine grained very good
definition of detail. Strong enough to make thin panel
carvings, for example house signs or number plaques.
Readily available from garden centres.
Disadvantages: : Very hard to work. steel tools will
blunt very quickly, Dust is hazardous so wear a mask!
Conclusion: : Not a good choice for novice carvers.
7: Welsh Grey Slate.
Tools: Fine steel chisels, tungsten carvers chisels used
with small steel club hammer.
Advantages: : Very fine grained excellent definition of
detail. Strong enough to make thin panel carvings, for
example house signs or number plaques. Very strong.
Readily available. Ideal for exterior use.
Disadvantages: : Hard to work, will chip easily while
carving.
Conclusion: : Super quality slate but not for novices.
8: Westmoreland or Cumberland Green Slate.
Tools: Tungsten chisels, tungsten carvers chisels used
with small steel club hammer.
Advantages: : Very fine grained excellent definition of
detail. Strong enough to make thin panel carvings, for
example house signs or number plaques. Very strong.
Disadvantages: : Very hard to work, tends to chip easily
while carving. Ideal for exterior use.
Conclusion: : Super quality slate but not for novices.
9: Marble.
Tools: Tungsten chisels only, tungsten carvers chisels
used with small steel club hammer.
Advantages: Very fine grained excellent definition of
detail. Strong enough to make thin panel carvings, for
example house signs or number plaques.
Disadvantages: : Very hard to work.
Conclusion: : Try softer materials first, if you must
try marble look for a paper white marble from Turkey,
take the advice of your local mason!
10: Granite.
Tools: Nuclear powered laser cutters only!
Advantages: :Super Hard.
Disadvantages: : Ridiculously hard to work by hand.
Conclusion: :Try bashing your own kneecaps with a
hammer, it will hurt less!
That concludes "Walkers Scale of Hardness". I have
almost certainly forgotten some stones and as the scale
is based on my experiences over the years other people
may have differing opinions. If you are a stonemason or
carver and have a different view, or you have a local
stone you think should be included on the list please
contact me and I will consider editing or adding to this
article accordingly. |
