stone shaping equipment

raane wrote:
It's tricky but I will try to describe what I'm doing so that you'll
have a better idea what will work. I started out making jewelry and
that evolved into embellishing natural stones. Using silver, mesh,
various coloring agents, etc., etc., I try to work with the natural
characteristics of rocks to create small art works. The reason for
asking about a shaping tool is that, for example, there may be a
natural crevice in a stone, and if only it were a little bit deeper, I
could use it as a pocket for a particular embellishment. Or the stone
has just a small corner jutting out that needs rounding off; or I may
want to make several small holes to set other stones in; or there is a
thin place and I would like to grind a circular hole all the way
through. See what I mean? I want to shape - nudge nature just a
little bit. Flex shaft sounds good. I'm not sure what kind of tips to
use specificaly for stone and also have concerns about the safety of
using water with something that is not made specifically to be used
with water.

Hope that helps. Thank you again (in advance)!
Christine

It helps to some extent. But I still get the impression that you have a
huge set of unspecified goals that change with the individual stones and
projects. Sounds like you will be getting some original and creative
results. Congratulations on that.

There's a big difference in the tools you'd use to drill a circular hole
through a stone, especially a large stone, and simply enlarging a
crevice, or knocking off a corner. And, you made no mention of polishing
as a goal this time. Polishing is a whole technique in itself.

The secret to any success is in asking the right questions. Certainly
questions about tools is one right question. But please consider asking
yourself questions about processes and techniques. These are the more
important, and fundamental questions. And the answers to these questions
will take more pages than anybody can write here in a newsgroup.

This would be like somebody coming into this jewelry making forum and
asking what tools they need to start making jewelry -- with no knowledge
of how to use any of the tools once they get a list. Maybe you could
look for some books on lapidary work, gemstone carving, stone sculpture,
monument making, etc. Along the way, you might find that making a
circular hole through a stone the size of a shoebox, or and egg, is
perhaps best done with a core drill, which will probably require a drill
press, at a minimum. And if you want to do it on the cheap, then, yes, a
piece of pipe in a hand drill and some abrasive will do the job. But --
you have to know HOW to do all of that.

If you do a search on "diamond tools," you'll come across a lot of tools
used in making monuments, and these might be just what you need. As you
discover lapidary techniques, you will learn how and when you can use
these techniques and tools for some of what you want.

I want to encourage you to continue this creative approach to art, and
rather than giving you a list of tools, I'm suggesting that you start
doing a lot of research into *techniques and processes.* At the library,
bookstores, etc., not just on the web. Get the *knowledge* first. Then
think about tools. Have a question about one specific tool, then yes,
that's easier to answer here. And, for what it's worth, go out and visit
a place that makes monuments and gravestones.

It might be that sandblasting will do 80 percent of what you want, and
some monument places will let you use their equipment for an hourly rate
-- which is a lot better than investing in all those tools. You won't be
able to polish the results easily, but it's a cool way to make shallow
holes, even freeform shaped holes. And you can enlarge a crevice in
seconds. Since you're not locked into the mindsets of lapidary/jewelry,
sculpture, etc., then this would be a great place to start, and you can
talk to a real person about it. You could at least see the techniques in
action. RIP :-)

"raane" wrote in news:0vguu0d1iu1h6k8amk79tdr6o5mq7t7hdr@
4ax.com:

Hi Ted,

Do you know what it is called, or what it includes? It seems that with
the internet, nothing is ever so far away that it can't be tracked
down.

Thanks!

Chrisitne


http://www.dadsrockshop.com/products.html
http://www.cyberrockhound.com/index.htm
http://gemstoneworld.com/hardware/laphard.htm
http://tinyurl.com/67bfz

Try not to salivate on the keyboard.:-)
--
Saint Séimí mac Liam
Carriagemaker to the court of Queen Maeve
Prophet of The Great Tagger
Canonized December '99

http://www.dadsrockshop.com/products.html
http://www.cyberrockhound.com/index.htm
http://gemstoneworld.com/hardware/laphard.htm
http://tinyurl.com/67bfz
Lots and LOTS of wonderful things....thank you!

Christine