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Marble Carving Tools

Shaping marble began during the Bronze Age when mankind first discovered how to manipulate metal. Over time the art of shaping marble became more sophisticated. One of the main reasons for the popularity of marble with sculptures, beyond its beauty, is the fact that it is soft enough to carve, yet grows harder over time. This mean that any sculpture created from it can withstand the test of time, as sculptures surviving from 400 B.C. can attest. Marble carving tools have not changed much through the centuries.

  1. Point Chisel

    • A point chisel is a good tool for beginning to carve marble. The point chisel, which resembles a rod with a pointed end, works well for roughing out the beginning of the sculpture, giving it its rough shape. This is used in conjunction with a hammer.

    Tooth Chisel

    • Once you have the general shape of your marble sculpture established, you can follow the point chisel with the tooth chisel. The tooth chisel looks similar to a dandelion fork, a shaft with two blunt teeth on the end. Use this tool in conjunction with a hammer to begin refining your marble sculpture.

    Drill

    • The drill is useful to refine the sculpture even more because its fine point helps to remove small portions of marble rather than the larger chunks of the two chisels.

    Rasp

    • A rasp resembles a long, large flat file with lots of tiny teeth. The teeth of the rasp help smooth the surface of the marble sculpture, giving it a sleek appearance.

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Sculpture

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