Power Tools Used in Carving Stone Pet Memorial Gifts

Carving stone pet memorial gifts at the primary level is about using a point chisel and a hammer. However, as with any job, the more advanced one gets, the more they need. A quality sculpture will demand that you work with other tools. The types of devices will also vary based on the kind of stone you are working with. Below are standard power tools used in carving:

Grinder

Most sculptors use mini grinders with a 4 ½'' blade. Softer stones will need inexpensive masonry tipped with carbide. Other masons use abrasive discs. Other grinders have diamond blades for handling hard rocks such as granite. One needs a mount adapter to increase the versatility of the grinder. However, such grinders will demand using without safety guards. Stones like alabaster and soapstone use die grinders.

Hammer drill

Sometimes when making stone pet memorial gifts, one needs the action of a hammer drill. A regular drill is likely to spin without cutting. Here, the drill must be diamond-tipped. One must be careful when they near the sides as a hammer drill can spoil the intricate designs.

Polisher

When finishing off pet memorial gifts, attention is mostly given to the details. The idea here is to highlight the features of the carving that make it different. Most sculptors will polish by hand using sandpaper. With more massive sculptures, one can use pneumatic center water feed polishers. A pneumatic polisher will have a slot for adding diamond pads with different frits. Water helps to remove dust particles as the diamonds grind away.

Sculpting needs safety equipment. Most sculptors will wear safety glasses as they work. Others will add a respirator to protect them from stone dust. Some stones have toxic material like silica, and these too demand the use of item-specific protection.