Heidi L Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Hi everyone, I have never carved stone before, but I do have experience using a flex shaft for carving wax and metal. I would like to eventually become skilled at carving stone focal beads (especially jade). I was wondering if it might be best to practice using a less expensive stone that I won't feel bad making mistakes with. Does anyone have any pointers on what stone out there might be good starting point to practice with? Or is it best to jump in with the stone you want to carve, and learn that way? Thank you so much! Heidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Hi my 2 cents: I just recently discovered the wonders of carving stone and making beads. My first beads were actually bone but now that I have carved some jade and agate I can say that the process (for me) was nearly the same except I have to carve the stone beads wet using slightly different tools. if you only wanna carve stone but dont wanna buy jades yet you can start practicing drilling pebbles or whatever you can locally collect. I think drilling a good hole is essential and if you dont have a drill press it does need practice to keep a good angle on a flex shaft. You can start cutting pebbles up just to see how it goes and work on the technique to practice the shaping of beads use quality material cuz like I tried practicing with some serpentine stone I collected and while it looks great polished it was just too soft and all the pieces broke. but with nephrite even pieces that were a bit cracked stayed intact at the end. If you have to buy something but the right one. I think you can get some california jades mine run cheap or Ive seen some washington jades for a very good price maybe do a search and get some sample packs. or if you're interested in other materials you can get different types of quartz. for example I actually just found some rough quartzite in my garden in a pile of rocks yesterday , doesn't really worth anything but should be fun mess around with Id say that each type of stone is a bit different because of the hardness and the inclusions but the overall approach is the same and the best way to find practice material is to go out on a field trip and collect stuff. Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi L Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Hi Peter! Thank you so much for your ideas. It definitely makes sense to just go with what I am looking to learn. After some poking around I realized that there are rough chunks of jade out there that are not as high of quality that seem to be perfect for learning with. And I definitely don't have a shortage of rocks out here at the foothills of the mountains, so I will have to get out once the snow melts and see what types of stones I can find around here too. I like that idea a lot! Thank you again and have a great day, Heidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yloh Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Jades (jadeite, nephrite) are the best. Go to your local gem show, for carving practice, they are not very expensive, but you will have a piece of jade carving when you done practice. Good luck. Yloh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi L Posted March 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Hi Yloh, thank you for the input to just go ahead and start with the jade. I do have a local rock shop that I called yesterday, and they said they carry rough jade from time to time and to check out what they have. Soon I will post what I come up with! Kindest, Heidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim K Jordan Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Jade can be tough to get a good polish on. Serpentine is very jade like but softer and takes a nice finish easily. Works easily with files and sandpaper. Harder than soapstone, but also has an association with asbestos, so wear a respirator and or work it wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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