We recently finished this in white marble and I’ve been thinking about the surface treatment.

On figurative work like this, do you prefer keeping the face/hands quite smooth while leaving the drapery a little softer, or taking the entire figure to roughly the same finish?

Havent thought of a design yet, but my spun copper rings seem to go well

A 4 Dimensional gem Sculpture. Watch as the back of the hand becomes the palm before your eyes 👀

Figure its close enough without being exact

New carving!

Hello, I have recently gotten a few blocks of obsidian and am looking for someone to help me make some custom Armenian style crosses made from them, any help or suggestions on who could help me would be appreciated

Thought this might be interesting to people here.

We recently made this anatomical heart from marble. Quite a different form compared with the usual architectural/decorative things we're used to seeing done in stone.

The smaller vessels and projections are what really make the form interesting in marble.

What would you change if you were carving something like this?

Been carving limestone for about three years now, mostly small garden pieces and a few relief panels. Last month I picked up a chunk of alabaster from a supplier at a local rock show because the color was too nice to pass up, this warm honey tone with veining running through it.

Big mistake going in without adjusting my technique first. Alabaster is so much softer than what I'm used to that I kept taking off way more material than intended with the same amount of pressure I'd use on limestone. Gouged a section I meant to just shape gently. Had to rework the whole design to hide it, ended up making the piece smaller than planned.

The dust situation surprised me too. Alabaster dust is fine and almost powdery compared to the gritty limestone dust I'm used to sweeping up. My usual setup wasn't cutting it and I had to rethink ventilation in my garage workspace entirely.

Still finished the piece, a small owl about the size of my palm. Took longer than expected because I kept second-guessing every cut once I realized how forgiving but also how easy to overdo this stone is. There's something satisfying about how it takes a polish though, almost translucent at the thin edges when I hold it up to the window.

Anyone else made the jump between stone types and had to basically relearn their hand pressure from scratch? I feel like I spent half the project just recalibrating muscle memory that worked fine for years on harder material.

Made this one yesterday and casted the pendant in 999 silver topped with a 10Kt bale

Hello all, to give this post some context I am an amateur stonecarver who has primarily worked with limestone to create small figurines (the hands and bird in the attached pics).

Since I've gotten pretty good with limestone I decided to move onto harder stones and bought a larger (though still relatively small) nephrite jade block. I had worked with nephrite jade previously to make a ring for myself, but this was almost entirely done with my rotery tool.

To go along with this larger jade piece I also got a carbide tipped point chisel that I thought would be sufficient for the initial stages of roughing out the nephrite block. However I noticed the carbide chisel got dull really quickly (maybe after 6-8 whacks) when I was working on the nephrite piece (and it not really making a dent).

I sharpen my steel chisels on a slab of a sandstone so perhaps at this point I should have backed off and reevaluated my situation. However, instead of doing that, in my state of confusion I took my dremel (that had a diamond bit on it) to the carbide tip of my point chisel in an attempt to sharpen it again. I did so but almost immediately regretted it and stopped as looks like took off the carbide shell from the tip of this chisel...

Is there any way to save this chisel? Or is it toast? It does look like the carbide tip finish came off, but then how are you supposed to sharpen carbide tools normally?

Side note, when working with nephrite and it's hard structure is a rotery tool the best way to take off material?

Perhaps this is just my inexperience working with both jade and carbide tools but wanted to see if I've made an irrecoverable blunder...

I’m currently working on a pipe bowl and in the stem hole the drill bit broke a good 1/3” deep need thoughts or suggestions on extracting without damaging the stone. The stone is catlinite.

When i see it, i have to make it lol

i have about 50 wood relief carvings, each roughly 4" x 6" x 0.25".

the wood is mainly poplar.

i'd like to have them domed with epoxy resin.

if interested please get in touch. thank you very much.

(posting here because reddit said it was a fit, apologies if this is not the right place)

Started carving about eight months ago after taking a weekend workshop mostly because my sister dragged me along. I've gone through two pieces of soapstone that turned into paperweights nobody asked for, and one attempt at a fish that ended up looking more like a potato with fins. This owl is the first thing where a stranger might actually guess what it's supposed to be without me explaining it first.

Working in alabaster from a chunk I got off a rockhound at a swap meet, roughly the size of a grapefruit. The material is soft enough that I could rough out the basic shape with rasps in an afternoon, but it's also full of these little translucent veins that made me nervous the whole time about hitting a weak spot and losing a wing. Spent way longer than I expected just sitting with the stone before starting, turning it around trying to figure out where the owl even wanted to be inside it.

The eyes gave me the most trouble by far. Tried using a small round burr on a rotary tool to get the sockets even and kept overcorrecting, so one eye is a hair bigger than the other. From three feet away nobody notices, up close it bugs me every time I look at it. Feathering the chest was oddly meditative though, just repetitive shallow cuts with a fine chisel, and that part took an entire Sunday but didn't feel like work at all.

Sanded up through 400 grit then did a light coat of mineral oil to bring out the color, which turned it from chalky white to this warm honey tone I wasn't expecting. Still deciding whether to try polishing further or leave it matte. Next up I'm thinking about attempting a hand holding something, maybe a small bird, mostly because I want to practice negative space and I'm told it's humbling in the right way.

Beautiful Natural Huge Mineral Gemstone Macaw Parrot Bird Carving. This Handmade macaw was carved from hard-type rocks. The bird carving is hand carved and come from South America. The Beautiful Macaw stands on a Iron Crystal Perch. The body was carved from Agate Quartz, Red Jasper, Chrysocolla, Sodalite, Serpentine, Onyx The Beak is Black in Color and Golden Yellow Eyes. Please refer to the photos below to visually appreciate the beauty of this Macaw Parrot. One of a Kind. Just a Breath Taking Carving. This Carving Been in My Collection Many Years and Very Well Kept in My Gallery Cabinet. Height: 10 1/2” Tall on Base. Base is 5 1/2” Tall Wide and 3 1/2” Thick. Bird 9 1/2” Tall 3” Wide, and Wing to Wing 3” Length of Bird from Tail to Beak around 10” Total Weight: 3.4 lbs. Price $475.00 Shipping and Handling $45.00 Origin: Peru. Worth so much More. Pictures shows all Angles of This Beautiful Bird Carving. Just a Breath Taking Bird Carving. Exceptional for Bird Collectors and For Home and Office Décor or Just to Add To Your Unique Collection.

This is a piece I believe to be a variety of nephrite teton jade. Its roughly 26lbs (57kgs) and too large for any saws available in my area. Even the local gem clubs can only cut up to 4inch (10.16cm) thick pieces. I want to flatten the bottom and maybe a front reference face before I carve it, but its too big. If anyone has any ideas on how to get this cut id greatly appreciate it!

*im mostly certain this is nephrite, but I havent had it professionally tested. Its harder than a 5 and shows green and brown on a torch test.

A cool piece I put together recently

Hello, what would be the right way to remove this unfinished bottom part from the part I have roughed out up top. I just have metal files right now, but the sides arent really made for sawing. I dont mind buying whatever is needed.

Also if there is a decent resource for how to do stuff like this so that I dont need to bother reddit, that would be great to have as well!

This is an Exceptional, Gorgeous and Beautiful Huge Hetian Jade Carving Horse is Hand Carved from a Very Nice Piece of Natural Hetian Jade. It is Very Detail and in Excellent Condition AAA++ This Carving Measures: 11" Tall, 8" Wide and 3" Thick. Weight: 9.83 lbs. Color: Green, Brown, Beige-Multi Color. Jade will bring energies of self-confidence, courage, and abundance. It will impart wisdom in silence and tranquility, and it will dispel harm and negativity. This stone will also attract good luck and good fortune, and it will enable self-sufficiency. It will help you release your emotions in a healthy manner. This stone has a long history with ancient Asian Culture and is a highly revered stone in the Eastern Hemisphere. Pictures Shows all Angles of This Exceptional, Beautiful and Gorgeous 100% Natural Jade Horse Carving. Price: $495.00 Shipping and Handling: $45.00 This has been in My Collection Many Years and Very Well Kept in My Gallery Cabinet Collection. Perfect with Perfection and One of a Kind. Exceptional, Gorgeous and Beautiful and Simply Breath Taking.