Stone carving

Stone Carving The reduction of a block of stone to a finished state using a variety of tools is to be considered carving. Prodedures of carving processes can be used to create masonry for construction or for decorative purposes or both combined. Stone Carving has evolved slowly, many of the same techniques have been used for millenia. The recent trend to modernization of tools, the use of airguns, computer controlled cutters etc., cannot yet improve upon works finished by hand. Anyone able to swing a hammer and and hold a chisel at the same time can attempt to carve. The tools required to start are relatively inexpensive and few, and yet to obtain a complete array of tools to run a full size workshop would cost several hundreds of dollars.

The stone used is a wide in variety, from igneous to sedimentary, hard to exceptionally soft. The most common stones carved are granite, sandstone, marble, and limestone. Others such as basalt, soapstone, alabaster are also occasionally carved. With certain stone care must be taken not to breath the resulting dust, especially sandstone and granite which releases silicates that destroy lung tissue. Other stones may contain other dangerous minerals such as asbestos, for example Tigers Eye.

The choice of stone is predicated upon the necessity of durabilty, weatherability, color, availabilty, cost and ease of carving.

The most basic tools required are a hammer and chisel. Hammers come in a veriety of shapes weights and sizes and are generally described in units of ounces. The masons hammer has a rectangular flat faced head and a relatively short shaft compared to a framing hammer used in common carpentry. Mallets are another variety of hammer that are a specialized group that have larger heads that are made out of wood or synthetics. There are too basic styles of mallet, French and English. The French mallet consists of a round drum which the shaft passes through the center of the diameter of the drums altitude. The English mallet is the drum is perpindicular to the shaft.

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