CURVED RIDGES & SHAPED TIPS

Complex carving with curved ridges and shaped tips can be daunting. Making these bird wings or angel wings is worth the e ort when you see the nished product. is guide, complete with the tools you need to make it, can serve as a how-to and inspiration.

GETTING STARTED

I started with a teardrop preform that was over 3.5-inches tall. e material that I used was milky chalcedony which had a small natural circle on the top. I positioned the circle in the circular portion of the teardrop shape. I sketched the location of the ridges with a small felt tip pen. Using a small V-shaped diamond bur, I followed the sketched lines so I would have a path for the larger V bur to follow. Using a ¾-inch diamond V bur, I ground the grooves to their

nal depth.

MAKING THE CURVES

I had to go back to the small V bur to make the tight curves for the top of the larger curves. I started making the shape of the rounded stripes with a silicon carbide sanding block that was modified with a cylindrical diamond bur. The shape was made to conform to the rounded edge of the tops of the stripes. I rounded all of the stripes with this tool.

I used a knife edge medium grit Cratex wheel to sand to the bottom of the grooves. Next, I shaped and sanded the inside of the grooves with a Cratex wheel shaped into an inverted cone by holding it against a diamond T-bar wheel dresser. The final sanding steps were done with shaped wood wheels and 400 grit tumbling grit. One wheel had an inverted cone shape and the last one was a wood wheel shaped with an inside curve.

FINISHING UP

e nal polishing steps were done with a specially shaped wood wheel and cerium oxide polish. I was especially pleased with how this project turned out. It did take many hours to complete, but was worth it and makes a great project for the holidays.