After machining, I'll have to come around with a chisel to trim leftover, fuzzy material, or parts that the machine couldn't get to, and make it a clean, precise dovetail track.
Despite this 1905 film of Rodin, he never carved with a hammer and chisel, but rather, primarily modelled in clay, for others to carve in marble or cast into bronze.
Preparators used an angle grinder to chunk away excess stone, with sparks and stone chips flying, as well as hammers, chisels, and dental tools for more delicate work. Another essential tool: an eye for the unexpected.
After a few more turns of the lathe he removed his foot from the pedal, wiped his chisel, dropped it into a leather pouch attached to the lathe, and, approaching the table, summoned his daughter.
He said sometimes he is thinking about the old workers while using similar hand tools like a mallet and chisel to cut " basically the same joint 900 years ago."
Michelangelo would start by what is called roughing out, taking the bulk of the weight off with a point chisel and a large mallet, for getting it down to the general shape of the sculpture.