Tools Needed for Ostrich Egg Carving
Ostrich eggs are the largest eggs in the world and are very sturdy as well. This makes ostrich eggs the perfect medium for carving beautiful and intricate designs onto. Many professional artists design ostrich eggs to sell and display, but it is an art that any hobbyist can participate in with just a few tools. After perfecting carving ostrich eggs, you can move on to smaller, more delicate eggs such as goose eggs.
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Air Carving Turbine
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This is a popular tool to use for egg carving because of its level of power, and it can also be used for other small projects like circuit boards or clay. The tool uses high-speed air to spin a metal tip that moves at a few hundred thousand revolutions per minute. An air carving turbine can usually be held easily in your hand to help with the precision of your design. The air helps blow away the dust from the carvings as well, although some come equipped with more specialized features like water mist for this purpose.
Stencils
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A stencil on an egg makes carving your design much easier. This is especially true when carving out pieces of egg shell, so that you don't accidentally remove a piece of shell that you wanted to keep. Stencils can be made by simply freehand drawing an image onto the egg that you will carve. You could also use rubber stamps or pre-made stencils designed for wood or egg carvings.
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Dust Vacuum
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If you do much ostrich egg carving, you will quickly realize that its important to clean the air and remove the egg dust that will be flying around. There are many air purifiers that will work for regular dust as well as egg dust, and there are also dust vacuums made specifically for cleaning the air of materials like saw dust that will work perfectly well for your egg carving studio. You can also use a dust box, which is a box that you place your hands in while carving to keep your dust contained.
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References
- Photo Credit Ostrich Chick in the nature image by Eric Isselée from Fotolia.com
