How Do You Select Rasps For Stone And Wood Carving?
Rasps are steel tools with rows of sharp teeth used in both wood and stone carving. The purpose of a rasp is to smooth the wood or stone after the main shape of the sculpture has been defined. As you use this tool, the marks made by chisels and previous carving tools will disappear. Some files that have smoothing surfaces on both ends are also called riffler rasps. Most brands of rasps are numbered from 1 to 15, going from coarser to finer grain. Select a coarse rasp to begin your smoothing. Wood carvers usually start with a finer grade than those carving in stone due to the softer texture of wood. Progress to finer-tooth rasps as you need to erase tooth marks from previous rasps and other tools. Select the size of rasp according to the size of your project. This means the length of the tool and blade and does not necessarily refer to the coarseness of the grade. For example, smoothing a small sculpture made of delicate alabaster will be much more effective with a small, thin rasp. Tes
