How to Work With Onyx Stone

Select your piece of onyx. It should be several inches larger in all dimensions than the finished product you want to produce. Place it in a vice to hold it still throughout the working process. Depending on the size of your piece, several different sizes of vices may be necessary.

Don appropriate protective gear. This should include a respirator, glasses or goggles, and thick gloves. Some stones can contain asbestos or silica which can be released during sawing, chipping, and grinding, and are harmful if inhaled. Goggles will protect your face from flying chips and shards, and thick gloves will protect your hands from slices and punctures.

Carve a rough outline of your desired shape with steel points and chisels, the ends of which are struck with mallets. Pointed tools are used for defining the rough shape, while the toothed chisels are used to define curves. Use small straight chisels when you begin to define details.

Define details further with progressively smaller tools, with the use of abrasives (such as dremmel tools, rasps and sandpaper) to smooth edges and create a polished surface.

Polish your piece, if desired, with fine-grit sandpaper (progressing to 600 grit) and then using pastewax. Your finished piece will then be ready to be mounted in jewelry or displayed.