Hebel sculpture

Greetings and welcome!

I've been making Hebel  sculptures now for two years and am happy to pass on the little I know.

Do wear a mask over nose and mouth! I use surgical masks mainly because they fit me better, but as long as they keep out the very fine dust most dust-masks will do.

 I use cheep wood-chisels for the major carving ($10 for a set of 4) using the largest (20 mm) in the main. A round file for smaller cavities and a half round rasp with a flat side can do some major shaping in a very short time.

A set of riffler files is good for some minor detail work, try and get the longer ones, so you can reach out of the way places.

 A rubber mallet comes in handy at times when chiseling away some major portions and a bow-saw can be used to cut whole blocks or take out some piece.

Sandpaper is best bought in a roll, as used on orbital sanders and I prefer a rough paper which will render Hebel-block quite smooth.

Due to the nature of aerated concrete, and that is basically what a Hebel-block is, it does not lend itself to very fine work which you may achieve in wood or stone. Make things too thin and the likelihood is that the first knock will brake it :-(.

To achieve finer detail you may have to cover the figure you carved with cement or some other material and work on the detail with that.

When a piece is completed you do well to get as much of the dust out of the pores, else it will create a hassle each time you move it. Once dusted I use Bond Crete mixed with water 1 : 10 to seal the work. This does not change the appearance but if a figure stands outside this coating will prevent it from weathering. Bond Crete may also be used as a glue with Hebel-blocks.

For outside figures I quite like the moss to grow over part of it and help this process with a bit of moss and natural yogurt mixed, which can be brushed on. The occasional watering will do the rest.

If you work in a cool climate, be aware that Hebel-render will not set well if the temperatures are less then 12 degrees Centigrate. Better to render work in summer when it dries in a day.

For a larger Hebel sculpture you may need to use flat bed adhesive (a concrete like substance) to glue the pieces together.  Your hebel supplier will stock this together with hebel render to cover the joints. Beware that the adhesive is harder than the hebel block so you do well to clean up around the cracks before it has hardened.

Cheers and thanks for dropping by.

Hebel sculpture gallery this way please 

Wooden sculpter gallery the other way