Carving a lattice and acanthus pattern on an emu egg shell

Step 5 Cut in light outline, remove drawn on lines

Next, using a #171 bit in a high speed engraving tool, I lightly cut each line of the design that will need further attention later in the process. By doing this I am able to remove all the pencil marks before the egg shell becomes too fragile to be sanded or otherwise cleaned. The surface of the emu egg is not smooth, nor is it even in hardness, so be careful while marking the pattern so you dont end up with deep cuts. Another reason I pre-mark the design is the eggs can chip as the cutting bit is drawn through the shell. By making a first pass chipping is reduced.