Hewing stone is when you intend to create a rough look for your walls, adding a stone veneer to your existing floor as well as to create sculptures. The hewing stone technique helps you customize the size and shape of your stone. Although cutting stone is hard work, but if it is done properly, the process is simple and you would be able to do it just by using a few tools such as a chisel and hammer. There are three types of chisel commonly used for hewing stone that are the flat-blade, point and tooth. The flat-blade chisel is a wide flat end that looks like a flathead screwdriver while the point tip chisel is designed with a four-sided point that shaped like a four-sided pyramid. As for the tooth chisel, it features a square surface that has four or more small points arranged on it where each chisel is capable of creating different effects. For beginners who just learn to hew stone, it is recommended that you use a flat-blade.
To hew a new stone, you need:
- Table
- Work gloves
- Safety glasses
- Dust mask
- Chisel
- Hammer
- Rubber mallet
- Straightedge or square
- Tape measure
- Pencil or duct tape
- Wet or dry saw
Hewing a New Stone
How to Hew a New Stone
- The first thing that you need to do is to lay the stone on an even and sturdy surface
- Make sure that the side of the stone that you want to work is facing up.
- Make sure that the side of the stone that you want to work is facing up.
Whenever you are cutting stone, you must always wear safety goggles for protection to your eyes. Besides that, you should also cut the stone away from your body in order to avoid slipping and accidentally cutting your skin.
- Always make sure before you do any work, you need to put on your
- Working hand gloves, safety goggles and also your dust mask.
- Whenever you start to hew stone, the stone dust will get into the air which is bad when you inhaled them and also hazardous to your eyes.
- Working hand gloves, safety goggles and also your dust mask.
- The next step is for you to set the flat end of your chisel alongside the outer edge of your stone
- The chisel has to be setup at a 90- or 45-degree angle depending on the shape that you want to make.
- The chisel has to be setup at a 90- or 45-degree angle depending on the shape that you want to make.
- Then, you need to hit the top of the chisel gently using a hammer. Avoid hitting it too hard as the stone might get crack open.
- Sandstone which is consider as a softer stones require a gentle touch when you are hewing it.
- As for harder stone like granite, you need to use full force.
- Always remember to start hitting the stone with lighter touch before increasing the momentum gradually when the need arises.
- Sandstone which is consider as a softer stones require a gentle touch when you are hewing it.
- After that, you need to move along the stone in a horizontal line and striking the chisel as you move.
- Once you have reached the opposite side, continue to do the same method by setting the chisel below the first row in order to make another row of strikes.
- You can do some experiments on the angle and positioning of the strikes that you like until you obtain the look that appeals to you more.
- Once you have reached the opposite side, continue to do the same method by setting the chisel below the first row in order to make another row of strikes.
- To keep the surface reasonably level, you should be placing your right-angle ruler against the stone periodically.
- If you find that one area is much higher that the rest of the surface, you need to mark it with ink and make use of the ruler as your main guideline.
- Once finished, place the ruler away and then, hew the area until you notice that the ink has gone. Make sure to check again by using your ruler.
- If you find that one area is much higher that the rest of the surface, you need to mark it with ink and make use of the ruler as your main guideline.
- Next, you should continue striking away at the face of your stone right until the stone is covered with chisel marks and you are able to remove all the necessary stone that you like.
- If you decide to make the stone look smaller in size, you have to continue striking away the stone on the carpet grass right until you reach the appropriate size that you want.
Always remember that whenever you want to hew a new stone
- Do not cut the stone too quickly as it can break in the wrong area or shatter and ruin the stone. If this happen, you will only be wasting your time and could also cause injury to yourself.
- Working slow on the stone is for you to avoid any sudden slip of your saw blade as well as the blade of your chisel.
- You should avoid wearing loose clothes so that your saw or chisel blade does not get caught in them and cause injury to your body.
- If you still want to cut your stone in a quick manner, you should be using a wet and dry saw and set its blade so that it would be able to go deeper into the stone. Though it will take you longer time to cut the stone, it will help you save time and energy during your chiseling process.
- Before you start to apply any mortar onto the stone, you need fit the stone in place and ensure that it is thoroughly dry.
- To draw the line on your tile, you need to use a pencil compass that you have to slide along the baseboard. As for cutting of small pieces of the tile, you need to use stone nippers instead of chisel because it will create lesser flying shrapnel, which also can cause injury.
- If you decide to make the stone look smaller in size, you have to continue striking away the stone on the carpet grass right until you reach the appropriate size that you want.
