AusBonsai

Magnificent work Dave.

Be careful about breathing in coal dust, it causes silicosis. A disease that many thousands of coal miners have died from over the years. One of my grandfathers died from it after working most of his life in coal mines in South Wales (where I come from).

It looks like an interesting medium to work with. I have a scale model of a Morris Minor van that's carved out of coal and mounted on a wooden base:

That's magnificent!

My father gave me a revving about not wearing a mask when i saw him today, I will definitely be wearing a particle mask from now on.

It is quite an usual stone to work with, it is hard to the touch however fairly brittle and can separate easily if dropped.