Machines for stone processing

Some stone sculptors would never reach for any tool other than a chisel and a mason's hammer, others like FLEX or pneumatic hammer you won't be able to put down. Whether you work with the machine or by hand is – at least for stone sculptors who are not in the trade – a question of attitude, taste and sometimes necessity. Which suits you best? What do you enjoy more? Or can your project only be realised one way or the other at all? All steps of natural stone processing from splitting the material to polishing a finished stone sculpture can be carried out or supported by you with appropriate machines.

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However, those who have never held a machine in their hands and believe that everything works almost by itself may be surprised: Handling machine-operated stone-working tools requires just as much practice! It doesn't take long to make a wrong cut or grind a deep groove and the shape has to be reworked from scratch. Some experience in stone sculpting with hand tools is helpful before you venture into machine stone working!

Cutting, shaping & grinding with the angle grinder

Some sculptors have several angle grinders with different cutting discs, roughing discs and grinding wheels ready to hand so that they don't have to change the tool attachment for every step of the work. But you can also make excellent progress with just one angle grinder.

Shaping & Separating

The basic shape is created by cutting narrow strips into the stone with the cutting disc , which are then chipped away with a chisel and a mason's hammer. For smaller jobs, an angle grinder for cut-off wheels up to a maximum size of 125 mm is sufficient for this purpose (in the past, this type of angle grinder was called a one-handed angle grinder, but it is definitely operated with both hands!). For larger jobs where a lot of material is to be removed, a large angle grinder for cut-off wheels up to 230 mm is recommended.

Smoothing & Grinding

With the roughing wheel the surface is levelled, whereby still some material can be removed. Using flaring cup wheels, diamond grinding discs and paper , the surface of the stone is further smoothed, the shape perfected and the stone ground to the desired degree. You will need a variable speed angle grinder for these steps. bildhau offers stone working machines and grinding wheels for both dry grinding and wet grinding.

Recording details with milling machines

To bring out small details and get into the last nooks and crannies of the stone work, differently shaped milling machines from FLEX or PROXXON with appropriate milling heads made of silicon carbide, steel, carbide or diamond can be very useful. You can also increase the mobility for fine work with a flex shank from FOREDOM or as a drill or angle grinder attachment, e.g. from HASPA.

Almost like an air tool, but quieter & handier: PICCHIO

Those who do not want to go straight for the air tool with compressor and pneumatic hammer, a classic of mechanical stone working, can opt for the PICCHIO electric pressure hammer . The tools can be used for both systems, but the PICCHIO is much quieter, takes up less space and is easier to handle than a large compressor. With the electric pressure hammer, you can not only operate chisels, but also, for example, bush hammering chisel surfaces.

Diamond chainsaw & drill

While in the quarry large stone blocks and slabs are cut with wire saws, in the studio smaller and larger stone blocks can be cut with the diamond chainsaw or split by hand with the help of driving wedges. To set the driving wedges, holes must first be drilled in the stone, for which large hammer drills for use with the hammer drill are needed.

bildhau also has drill bits for very different applications, e.g. rasp drill bits, diamond hollow drill bits, universal drill bits and carbide drill bits for the drilling machine.

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