Carving a Bowl Out of Granite

Granite is a rough, granular rock that is worked mostly by grinding rather than carving.

Granite is a grainy igneous rock composted predominantly of quartz, mica, feldspar and other minerals. It is extremely hard, and stone workers may want to get some experience working with softer, smoother rock before attempting to work with granite. Because it is grainy rather than smooth, granite is crafted by grinding rather than by carving, although hand tools are used for removing excess stone.

Things You'll Need

• Carbide chisels/mallets
• Flex shaft hand tool
• Diamond grinding wheels/bits
• Diamond polishing grit
• Safety glasses
• Dust mask
• Pan of Water
• Sealant (optional)

Instructions

Making Your Bowl

1. Set your work area up before starting. Have a pan of water you can wet your stone in. (Wetting keeps stone from cracking due to friction.) Make sure you have a dust mask and safety glasses. Some minerals in the rock may be poisonous if inhaled, and rock chips can fly into your eyes while you work.

2. Draw the outline or pattern of the bowl on the top and sides of the rock so you can see where you need to remove material. Remove excess rock with a chisel and mallet. Tilt your chisel so you are only taking small amounts of material off the stone at a time. If you hit the stone at too deep of an angle, you can crack the stone.

3. Use a grinding wheel to shape the outside of the bowl. Wet the stone often to keep it from becoming hot from the friction and to control dust. Remove material from the inside of the bowl using grinding bits and wheels. Do not use a chisel on the inside of the bowl. Use coarse grinders for removing material. Grind material from the middle of the bowl and work toward the edge of the bowl. Grinding wheel cups work well for removing material near the surfaces where you need to shape curvature. Grind the bowl to the desired texture using progressively finer grinding bits.

4. Polish the bowl using diamond grit. Use progressively finer grit until you achieve the desired polish. If you want a highly polished bowl, you will need grits between 800 and 1,200 to achieve the shine. Granite is porous and absorbent, so it may stain. If your granite is light colored, you may want to seal it with a non-toxic sealer.

References

• Granidan
• Stone Shaper: How to Carve Marble, Limestone, Soapstone, and Alabaster Sculptures