Carnelian Agate carving

[Russ_B]

Latest carving. The colour of the agate turned out. Using the flash shows that I still need some practice with sanding techniques.

[Bob M]

I like it a lot, Russ - fine carving and very nice stone choice.

 

I've just joined the forum, and enjoy gem carving.

 

Best regards - Bob

[Debbie K]

Russ:

 

Very nice carving and presentation. I like the translucency of the beak. Your carnelian is prettier that what I have.

 

Regarding the sanding/finishing, have you tried stones? I've found them very useful in getting a smoother pre-finish surface. Donn Salt, the Jade Master, (my designation) mentioned them on a tutorial and I purchased some from Gesswein. They really can make a world of difference. You can shape them to get into small areas. He mentioned the moldmakers stones (these only go up to 400 grit), but the moldmaker plus stones go up to 800 grit. I've even used wood-backed sandpaper or sandpaper wrapped on metal rods to get into small areas. Ditto diamond impregnated rubber wheels, sanding wheels, and anything else I can think of.

 

The one thing that I've found is that there really aren't any shortcuts to getting a good finish; all approaches seem to take a long time. Fortunately, since I primarily carve faces, a very high polish is often inappropriate for them, and I get to stop at a satin finish, as opposed to high-gloss. But even then, it's important to get smooth surfaces and the stones really help me get them.

 

Debbie K

[Russ_B]

Thanks for the nice comments.

 

I will take a look at gesswien for the sanding stones, even on this little piece I spent 4 times more on sanding then I did for carving. For example 2 hours to carve and 8 hours to sand then polish was again 2 hours.

 

I tried to increase this size of the bit to remove the burr marks, I used Danny lopaki's softwood and diamond to polish which worked very well.

 

Russ

[Shane]

Thanks for the nice comments.

 

I will take a look at gesswien for the sanding stones, even on this little piece I spent 4 times more on sanding then I did for carving. For example 2 hours to carve and 8 hours to sand then polish was again 2 hours.

 

I tried to increase this size of the bit to remove the burr marks, I used Danny lopaki's softwood and diamond to polish which worked very well.

 

Russ

 

 

nice lookin eagle head russ!

id like emphasize on what debbie said about the silicon carbide sticks. i just attended donn salts jade workshop and learned alot about them. putting them into use, they work incredible well at giving you very nice lines and a smooth organic look that you really cant get with just sandpaper and tools. the sticks will shape to what your working on as you use them. as soon as you get some i bet you will be super excited about the results you will get!

 

heres another website too, that might be of interest

 

http://www.granitecitytool.com/node/17183

[Russ_B]

Thanks for the reference to the SiC sticks. They just arrived at noon today. I was a little worried about how fast they wear so I added another step while working with them. I made a small hard wood bit for the foredom once I had a good coating of grit I use the hard wood to sand. I am using the sticks dry what happens if I use them wet?

Russ

[Benzart]

Latest carving. The colour of the agate turned out. Using the flash shows that I still need some practice with sanding techniques.

 

Greetings Russ B.

Not to Worry as we are All just learning and every piece is just Practice for the next.

Your Carnelian Eagle is a Proud carving and the finish does not take away the beauty of the stone. Details are well done and the whole image is very good.

for my pieces, the Flash and the Macro settings are my worst enemies, showing every little spot I didn't finish.

Thanks for posting.

Ben

[Russ_B]

Thanks Ben.

 

I am just about to post my next couple of pieces using the techniques from Debbie and Daniel Lopaki. I am much happier with the finish using the moldmaker sticks from Gesswein.

[yloh]

wounderful!

[Shane]

Thanks for the reference to the SiC sticks. They just arrived at noon today. I was a little worried about how fast they wear so I added another step while working with them. I made a small hard wood bit for the foredom once I had a good coating of grit I use the hard wood to sand. I am using the sticks dry what happens if I use them wet?

Russ

 

 

hey russ. i use the sticks wet. the ones i have dont wear rediculously fast but running them wet makes a nice slurry on the piece that just keeps working it. but use the stick itself to do the abrading. cut little pieces into anyshape you need cuz when you rub them on your piece they will start to shape to the surface you are rubbing on and really help things out

[Russ_B]

hey russ. i use the sticks wet. the ones i have dont wear rediculously fast but running them wet makes a nice slurry on the piece that just keeps working it. but use the stick itself to do the abrading. cut little pieces into anyshape you need cuz when you rub them on your piece they will start to shape to the surface you are rubbing on and really help things out

Thanks for the info

 

Russ