When it comes to creating sculpture it is not only the tools that carve the stone, but the ones necessary for safety that contribute to a skilled piece. As marble is carved tiny particles of dust get into the air that make it unsafe to breathe in great quantities. Therefore, it is essential that marble sculptors wear goggles to protect their eyes and a respirator to filter the air they breathe. Sculptors should also wear ear protection, like insulated headphones, when working with electronic tools, as the noise they generate can be damaging to the delicate interior of the ears. Finally, shock-resistant gloves protect a sculptor's hands from the vibrations of electronic tools and from sharp rock shards that may hit him as they are being carved out of the marble.
Hand tools are comprised of chisels, hammers, handsets, sandpaper, rasps and rifflers. All of these tools have their use for a different necessity in the quantity of stone that needs to be removed. Sculptors use hammers to pound on top of chisels to facilitate the stone being carved. Different-sized hammers, with different weights, dictate what the carve will look like. Heavier hammers with blunt heads remove more stone in bigger lines, while smaller hammers with a curved head are more precise.
What is true for hammers is largely true for chisels. Sculptors use small, thin chisels for fine lines, while larger heavier chisels remove wider lines of stone. A hand set looks like a very large chisel and is used to remove large chunks of stone, rather than carve in artistic lines. These are used in the beginning stages.
Final shaping is done with rasps and rifflers, which are essentially different-sized metal files. Again, the bigger and coarser the grooves on the file, the more stone is removed and shaped.
These tools are generally referred to as pneumatic tools. They are driven by compressed air. There is a piston that is attached to the compressor. Hammers are attached to the piston, while chisels are attached to the hammer. Chisels are rounded at the end to fit into the hammer. Different sizes work in similar ways to hand tools. Bushing tools are attachments that are cut into specific pointed patterns. The frosting tool is specifically used to texture marble.
Power tools are similar to the power tools used in home repairs. There is a handheld, portable device that is plugged into a power source, and chisels, sanders and drills come as attachments. Power tools are largely used for stones like alabaster or granite, less so for marble.