If you would like to try carving your own stone house sign and you have no previous experience, you may find some of the tips below will help.
First choose a suitable stone, unless you are experienced at carving, select a soft stone such as Bath stone.
You will need at least one good chisel, a quarter inch steel splitter will do the job.
A steel club hammer, as small as possible,a straight edge or square and a scriber, a sharpened masonry nail will do, and a Riffle file would also be very handy.
A riffle file is a small metal rasp with two shaped heads.
If you don't have a riffle, use a small fine rasp.
Tips: Search in your local street market for second hand tools, it may save you money.
If you find a small club hammer with a short handle and a hollow worn into the side of the head, rejoice, you have found an original stone carvers hammer! Cut down the handle ofan ordinary club hammer to about six inches, this will make it much easier to handle and control.
When using the hammer with a chisel, strike with the side of the head, this will help you keep greater control of the both the hammer and the chisel, use the thumb pressed against the head or handle to help keep the hammer steady.
To hold the chisel correctly first lay the chisel across the bottom joints of the fingers and fold the fingers over to grip the chisel, do not clench your fist, the thumb rests on the shaft of the chisel to help with control.
Keep both your elbows tight into your side and not waiving around in space, this will help with control, and also prevent shoulder ache.
If you find this difficult, try to hold a pencil under your armpit while working! To make a small scriber or point try using a sharpened Oboe masonry nail.
I suggest trying to carve out a sign in relief, that is where the carving stands proud of the background,rather like a cameo.
Leave a raised border around the edge to reduce the amount of work.
Choose a style of font that suits your house or design of house sign.
However, I suggest not to use a font with thin or narrow sections, as these can be fragile when carving.
You could include a motif , for instance a flower or leaf pattern but do keep it simple for your first effort.
Mark out the layout of your house sign or number in pencil.
When you are happy about the design use the scriber and straight edge to scribe in deeply all of the straight lines in the design, even the straight lines on the lettering or numbers, then pencil in the scribed lines.
When you are carving you will find the edge of the chisel can be lodged into the scribed lines for greater accuracy.
One of the most difficult problems to overcome is how to hold the piece of work steady while carving.
To solve this problem fix the sign to a larger slab of stone or paving slab with plaster of Paris.
When the job is done simply tap a chisel into joint between the sign and the backing, it will just pop off! The first task with all stone work is to remove the waste material.
Keep away from the lettering or border, remove as much of the waste as possible before tackling the important bits.
Approach the edges of the letters gradually, don't try to do too much too quickly.
Carving stone is really a process of shaving off layers until the required shape is achieved.
To finish off, sand down with a coarse grit wet and dry abrasive paper, used dry not wet.
Good luck, and please let me know how you get on, you can contact me through my website
First choose a suitable stone, unless you are experienced at carving, select a soft stone such as Bath stone.
You will need at least one good chisel, a quarter inch steel splitter will do the job.
A steel club hammer, as small as possible,a straight edge or square and a scriber, a sharpened masonry nail will do, and a Riffle file would also be very handy.
A riffle file is a small metal rasp with two shaped heads.
If you don't have a riffle, use a small fine rasp.
Tips: Search in your local street market for second hand tools, it may save you money.
If you find a small club hammer with a short handle and a hollow worn into the side of the head, rejoice, you have found an original stone carvers hammer! Cut down the handle ofan ordinary club hammer to about six inches, this will make it much easier to handle and control.
When using the hammer with a chisel, strike with the side of the head, this will help you keep greater control of the both the hammer and the chisel, use the thumb pressed against the head or handle to help keep the hammer steady.
To hold the chisel correctly first lay the chisel across the bottom joints of the fingers and fold the fingers over to grip the chisel, do not clench your fist, the thumb rests on the shaft of the chisel to help with control.
Keep both your elbows tight into your side and not waiving around in space, this will help with control, and also prevent shoulder ache.
If you find this difficult, try to hold a pencil under your armpit while working! To make a small scriber or point try using a sharpened Oboe masonry nail.
I suggest trying to carve out a sign in relief, that is where the carving stands proud of the background,rather like a cameo.
Leave a raised border around the edge to reduce the amount of work.
Choose a style of font that suits your house or design of house sign.
However, I suggest not to use a font with thin or narrow sections, as these can be fragile when carving.
You could include a motif , for instance a flower or leaf pattern but do keep it simple for your first effort.
Mark out the layout of your house sign or number in pencil.
When you are happy about the design use the scriber and straight edge to scribe in deeply all of the straight lines in the design, even the straight lines on the lettering or numbers, then pencil in the scribed lines.
When you are carving you will find the edge of the chisel can be lodged into the scribed lines for greater accuracy.
One of the most difficult problems to overcome is how to hold the piece of work steady while carving.
To solve this problem fix the sign to a larger slab of stone or paving slab with plaster of Paris.
When the job is done simply tap a chisel into joint between the sign and the backing, it will just pop off! The first task with all stone work is to remove the waste material.
Keep away from the lettering or border, remove as much of the waste as possible before tackling the important bits.
Approach the edges of the letters gradually, don't try to do too much too quickly.
Carving stone is really a process of shaving off layers until the required shape is achieved.
To finish off, sand down with a coarse grit wet and dry abrasive paper, used dry not wet.
Good luck, and please let me know how you get on, you can contact me through my website
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