How to Carve a Cabochon

Make artistic pieces by carving cabochon pieces.

A cabochon also known as a cab is a gemstone of any color and type that is cut into a smooth, convex shape with a smooth 45-degree edge around the perimeter, making it easier for jewelers to set it in a jewelry mount. Even though cabs are already cut smooth, you can still carve interesting designs into the convex stone face.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Fine-tipped felt marker
• Grease pencil
• 1 set small stone carving tool set (3 to 5 differently sized chisels, 3 to 5 grooved chisels, hammer,
• metal files)
• 200-grit diamond-ingrained sandpaper
• 600-grit diamond-ingrained sandpaper

1. Find a large cabochon of agate, jasper or jade. These are softer stones and allow for a hand-carved technique. Obtain a stone that is at least 1 inch long. A longer stone gives you a little more carving space on the stone.

2. Draw the size and shape of the stone on a piece of paper. You can trace over the stone to get a better idea of the size. Design and draw a pattern inside the drawn stone shape. Avoid making the design too intricate as there are limits as to what can and can't be done to lapidary stones. Once you have the design the way you want it, redraw the final design on the stone using a fine-point felt marker or grease pencil.

3. Locate small stone chisels and hammers that will work for your carving. There are very few lapidary carving tools, so you may need to improvise with household tools, hammers and other stone chisels. Try using your tools on any other type of stone, one you don't mind damaging, before you carve the cabochon. This way you can see what each chisel does.

4. File concave or raised edges to get a curved finish with a small metal file. Use chisels with grooves in areas of the design you want to stand out and have a slight texture.

5. Sand the cabochon with extremely fine sand paper when you finish the carving. Start with 200 grit sandpaper to eliminate scratches and finish with 600 grit sandpaper to finish. As you progressively sand, wet the sand paper to get a finer finish. Continue sanding until you get a high gloss finish on the cabochon.

References

• Gram Cabbing: What Is a Cabochon
• International Gem Society: Fundamentals of Lapidary Part 1
• The Techniques of Gem Carving: Modern Gem Cutting Techniques, Geometric Shapes, Special Conceits

Resources

• The Complete Sculptor: Stone Carving Sets