1. When running your final piece you need to maintain the same consistency throughout the batches. 

This is the finished piece.

After designing my piece I ran an additional piece that is slightly smaller to go underneath my molding so that I will have a thinner and lighter finished product 

Once I began carving the profile I started one the longest side. Once the profile was scribed in I could clearly see where to carve. 

The first step to designing a stone is to first draw the profile from every angle.

My classmate Daniella Helline carved half of the column and i carved the other. when we out them together they lined up to create the finished product.

When returning the profile around a corner the corner should be a straight line when you look at it straight on. As you can see  in this picture, where the line is no longer straight is where i have not carved the profile yet.

Tabby At Historic Fort Dorchester

after the first layer set, we took off the mold and reconstructed it on top to build the wall higher.

Once the tabby was mixed we poured it into a wooden mold we had built into the ground.

Tabby is built out of lime and oyster shells. the traditional way to go about retrieving the lime is to burn oyster shells. Tabby is not common today, there are only a handful of people who know how to do it. in this particular picture we are mixing the oysters shells, quick lime, and water. Quick lime can be dangerous because once it touches moisture it becomes extremely hot.

A cabin in the woods

My Father and I building our dream cabin by hand. Located in the Uwharrie National Forest.

finished the hand-dug foundation!

It's finally coming together!