Making of dish SD-166
24 sequence photos from start to finish
serving dish • 16"x 12"x 1.2" • 6.3 lbs • blue dunes granite • original artwork by Gary DuBois
To inquire about this item, contact: stonetablestudio@gmail.com (859) 314-8407Embedded Files
Beauty from the Broken — hand crafted from re-purposed stone
1 The original slab is a scrap piece from the customer's own new countertop. Blue Dunes granite, which comes from India. I've marked out several possible places from which to cut the dish.
2 Settling on one, I cut out a rough 16"x12" silhouette.
3 Here I prepare to remove the fiberglass reinforcing backing.
Stone, with reinforcement fabric indicates fragility in some way — either in its general consistency or because the stone has natural fissures or faults. As I carve into such stone I take extra care.
4 With a symmetrical shape, like an oval, it is important to refine the exact silhouette and establish the center lines before continuing. All the other features will use these as their reference points throughout the project.
Now, after measuring in from the rim, I begin to excavate the "bowl" portion; first by hatching, then by grinding.
5 I shape and grind the bowl as deep as I can, to maximize the contours within the limited thickness I have to work with (3cm/1.2"). The bottom of this piece is about 1/4" thick.
6 "Leathering" is a process where a brush, containing diamond grit, scours the stone. The flexible bristles erode the softer stone faster than the harder stone, leaving weathered contours which follow the natural 'grain' of the stone.
This process must be done wet, using water to prevent friction heat from melting the brush bristles.
7 Next I begin to shape the broad rim, being careful not to accidentally mar the "leathering" of the bowl.
8 I can usually grind and shape the rim without water, but when I transition to polishing I use water to keep surfaces cool, to avoid heat damage.
9 Though the rim has not yet been fully polished, this photo captures some of the contrast between the smooth surface of the rim, and the knobbly, natural contours of the "leathered" bowl area.
10 Having smoothed and finalized the top of the dish, I now flip the dish over and plot the base. Once I'm happy with the size and symmetry of the base footprint, I carefully grind around its perimeter so that I don't lose the line as I start into the focused work of cutting away everything around it.
11 First I cut a deep groove all the way around the rim edge of the slab where the underside of the dish's rim will be. Next I cut at a shallow angle out from the base toward the rim, until the two cuts meet.
This is the stage where the "slab" becomes a "dish" — thin and fragile.
12 After the rough removal, I begin the careful process of thinning down the dish and shaping it to follow the contours of the top.
Because the stone is now becoming quite thin, I take it slow and careful, using a lighter touch.
13 A radiating groove pattern creates an extra-course texture on the underside of the dish, as requested by the customer.
14 With the cuts complete, I do some careful chipping at the end of each groove to taper that first little edge, so the jagged edge won't immediately lever into the table top and scratch it whenever the dish is set down or tilted.
15 The course texturing provides quite the rough and rugged look — downright Precambrian.
16 Before doing any more carving I decide to "stabilize" the stone with clear, thin epoxy. I do this as a precaution when there are natural fissures or faults in the stone which might have become unstable from all the heavy carving I've been doing.
If I'd been making a dish smooth all over, I'd have coated the entire dish. But with this one, the only area I can treat is the top rim area.
17 The epoxy I use is the thickness of honey (to seep into cracks and crevices) and takes a long time to set up (giving it as long as possible to penetrate).
In this close-up, you can see that the epoxy seems to have seeped down into one of the exotic, but potentially weak, veins in the stone. …Doing its job.
18 Once the epoxy is cured, I sand and polish it off the surface. Its only function is where it might have penetrated to help stabilize the stone.
19 I polish the top rim area up to a full gloss buff. The top of the dish is now complete.
20 Now to tidy up the rim for a nice clean "presentation edge". First impressions are lasting impressions, and with the jagged grooves running up to the edge, it makes the dish appear cluttered and unfinished. So, while preserving the rough tactile and ornamental features, a visually clean edge will give the dish a better overall aesthetic.
21 Carefully shaving the rim down to about 1/4 inch.
22 I "randomized" the ends of the ridges to make it look less "cut".
23 Finally it is done on the workbench.
Not shown was the last fabrication stage: shaping and polishing the outer edge of the rim.
24 The final stage happens on the finishing table, where stone sealer is applied.
Most stone is surprisingly porous, so it is always good to seal it, a protection against liquids and stains.
Tada!
The pencil is for scale.
— more "Making-Of" stories —
— more "Making-Of" stories —
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