green stone

["Tom Blatt" <tbsculpturemusic@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Norman

On the issue of green marble..I believe most of the green marbles on the
market are not marble at all but a hard limestone and very hard at that. I
have done several pieces in so called green marble with out much detail,
kind of smooth forms and was not real pleased with the results. It is very
hard, alabaster might be your best alternative although I have seen and have
a piece of green granite that is quite beautiful. Alabaster is soft but it
is strong, there is a green onyx that is beautiful from China or Iran but it
does not take detail well and works best by grinding. Diamond burrs are
wonderful but expensive. On marble and soft stones they can be used dry but
will last longer if used wet just experiment with the amount of water
needed. A more cost efficient alternative would be silicon carbide burrs,
they work almost as well as diamond on marble and softer stones but don't
last as long, on the plus side you could have many sizes and shapes for the
price of one diamond burr.

If you are not able to find any let me know and I could help. I am
interested in green stones too so let me know if your search is successful.
Oh by the way...serpentine, have not used it but???

tom blatt