Obsidian

["Rob and Kat" <kreese@xxxxxxx>]

"Has anyone worked with obsidian, and have some ideas of
how to carve it etc"

I have fooled with it a bit. Conventional stone
sculpture tecniques are not applicable. It can be
knapped, after the manner of the arrowhead maker, a
procedure which cost me much blood to learn, or abraded,
lapidery fasion.

Either way, use eye protection. It must be sawed and
ground wet, do as much as you can on the diamond or mud
saw. I have heard of it being cut on a contractors tile
saw, never tried one but they are easy to rent. Small
smooth running grinders are good, again if you plan on
doing any breathing in your old age, lots of water or
other coolant is mandatory. Uneven heat will shatter it,
so back off frequently to prevent any hot spot. If you
drop it, you don't need to pick it up, just have a broom
handy. Sand with standard  abrasives, coarse to fine.
Polish means superfine abrasive, not some applied
finish, tin oxide is fine. I would suggest starting with
a cabachon, then going to a larger, simple face or
mirror before attempting in the round.

The Mayans did good sized step pyramids, human heads,
animals. The Russians (ie Faberge) turned out a few
impressive knick-knacks, as well. If you do invest in
equipment, I strongly advocate a fixed arbor over a
flexible shaft or Dremel sort of deal. If you decide to
give it a try, I will be glad to go into greater detail.

 Robert