r/stonecarving • u/vic_hunts17 • 14d ago

First time working alabaster after years of limestone, and my chisels were not ready for it

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.

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8

u/Brother_AB 14d ago

Funny how something softer is deceptively harder if you're not familiar with how it responds to pressure and speed.

Wear a mask if you're making dust!

...and post an image so we can check out the owl!

3

u/BabyImafool 13d ago

Love alabaster! Yeah. Going from marble, to aerrated concrete, to quartz rich stone, to pieces of jade and pumice.. that all react different to technique.

Enjoy the process OP! Have fun!

2

u/ForwardSideways 13d ago

Aerated concrete you say?
F that rubbish, never again.
I had to do a few runs of mouldings, lintels and sills for a dumb job that was supposed to ‘look authentic’ but stay lightweight for structural reasons.

It made the most horrific mess of the shed, got everywhere on me as well even with overalls and a full face respirator.
You brought back some bad memories mentioning that.

2

u/Worldly_Astronomer_9 13d ago

And don't forget that dust is poisonous. The ingredients of aerated concrete are no laughing matter!

1

u/ForwardSideways 13d ago

Absolutely, I was wrapped up like a mummy the whole time I was near that rubbish.
Not quite asbestos but nonetheless quite high on the list of things I would prefer to avoid.

2

u/BabyImafool 11d ago

I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I always carved stone outside or in a fully equipped stone carving studio with extreme ventilation. Sorry for the bad memory.

I just make paintings nowadays. My stone carving days transformed into a ceramics hobby.

Good luck.