Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2019 8:50 pm
Thinking about having a go.
Any experiences, advice, recommendations to share?
Thanks
Any experiences, advice, recommendations to share?
Thanks
Carving what, though? Figures? Architectural pieces? Headstones?
I used to do a bit of lettering. My ex brother-in-law's father-in-law (if you can follow that!) was a monumental mason and I always admired the lettering when it was hand cut. Most of it is done on a CNC machine nowadays, and can appear completely soulless, but I prefer the rustic charm of hand cut letters.
There's a lot of interest in figure carving. Lovell Stone Group, who own the Portland Limestone quarries, provide quite a bit of both moral and financial support to up-and-coming figure carvers by means of funding competitions, providing stone, running workshops and the like. Their MD used to post here when he was with his previous business, and I know he still does drop in occasionally, but it's a good few years since he last posted anything.
First thing to do is work out what stone you'll work with and then get yourself the appropriate chisels. They ain't cheap!