This carving was done with a 90 degree carbide V Bit. The bit I used is from ToolsToday and is the type that takes replaceable carbide inserts (this is my favourite bit by far, I use it for everything)
The marble is surprisingly easy to carve, there minimal dust and it appears to have little to no effect on the bit which was surprising, I assumed it’d become dulled quite quickly.
Once the cut was complete, I used a 2 part epoxy that I’d coloured black, to fill the design.
The resin was poured into the cut, allowing the resin to completely fill the design and slightly overfill the cut. I then used a wide scraper, to scrape away the excess resin, and to remove as much of the excess resin from the uncared peritonitis of the marble.
When the resin began to harden, I used a cloth with the appropriate solvent for that resin, to begin carefully wiping clean the ‘uncarved’ parts that had been covered in any excess resin.
HINT:
If the carved areas are overfilled, you’ll need sand down the resin and it’s virtually impossible to get it back to a nice shine.
However If you just scrape away the excess resin so the remaining resin is level with the surface of the stone, when it hardens, you’ll find that the surface is slightly concave and will have hardened to a nice high gloss.
Because you’ve now got a slightly concave surface to the resin in your design, if necessary, you can carefully sand the surface of the marble anywhere that needs cleaning up, without touching the glossy surface of the resin. Use really fine wet & dry paper [i used 1200 grit) with plenty of water, taking care to avoid sanding the surface of the resin (if you do sand it, you’ll lose that gloss finish)
Richard Price
David Westley
David Westley