The information in this book covers free-form carving as it applies to jewelry. Most of the information also applies to other forms of carving although the tools used may be very different. For example, if you want to carve something the size of Mt. Rushmore, you will need a lot of dynamite. I think a common misconception of hard rock carving is that it is difficult to do. If you take nothing else from this book I hope to at least dispel that idea. Carving does require patience, however, it is not difficult. Arguably, it is easier than carving soapstone, as the work is done with power tools, not elbow grease. I usually tell beginners to expect six to ten hours per square inch on your early carvings. This will vary some depending on the complexity of the carving and your experience, never the less, it does give a rough time scale to start with. The information in this book is sufficient to allow a beginner to complete simple carvings and gain enough confidence to go on to more complex work. Hopefully, the ideas presented here will give experienced carvers additional approaches, as well as, answer some nagging questions. Look for the companion DVD "Beginning Gemstone and Jewelry Carving Using Hard Rubber Wheels" for more information on carving.