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  Category: Articles » Sports & Recreation » Hobbies » Article
 

Carving a Stone House Sign




By Steve Walker

If you would like to have a go at carving your own stone house sign I hope 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 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:
Look in your local street market for second hand tools.
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 off the handle of the club hammer to about six inches, this will make it much easier to handle and control.
When using said hammer, use the side of the head, this will help with control, use the thumb pressed against the head or handle to help 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, not waiving around in space, this will help with control and 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 an 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. As you are carving you will find the chisel can be lodged into the scribed lines for greater accuracy.

Now, one of the most difficult problems to overcome is how to hold the piece of work steady while carving. 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.

Finish off with a coarse grit wet and dry abrasive, used dry.

Well good luck and please let me know how you get on, you can contact me through my website.
 
 
About the Author
Steve Walker has been a craftsman in stone and marble for 40 years and in his long career have practised as a stone mason, letter cutter, restoration carver, marble mason and carver, fireplace designer and manufacturer.
He is now the sole owner, and craftsman of
StoneEngravings House signs – http://www.stoneengravings.co.uk

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  Some other articles by Steve Walker
House Signs - The Case for New Legislation
This document makes the case for the introduction of New legislation to set minimum requirements of standards for house signs across the UK. Clearly such legislation is currently in the ...

House Signs Fixing, Methods For Stone Signs
Screw Fixing your house sign: This is the most common method of fixing a house sign or house number and it is probably the simplest, but there are one or two things you will ...

The Traditional Way Of Hand Polishing Marble
Forty years ago when I started out my career all marble edge polishing was done by hand. Today such work ...

Restoring Re- Gilding An Old House Sign
Does your house sign or number need restoration. Are the letters and numbers faded and scruffy? Was it a good quality house sign in its heyday? If so consider re-furbishing ...

Yorkstone, The Ideal Stone for Engraved House Signs and Commemorative Plaques
Yorkstone is one of those quintessential English stones that everyone has heard about but how many people actually know what a very special stone Yorkstone really is? Of all the natural stones quarried in ...

Carving Your Own House Sign: Stonecarvers Tools
If ever you fancy a try at stone carving your own house sign or even a stab at sculpture, it might be of some help to understand the various tools and their uses. There are ...

  
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