Since I'm a newbie, I don't know if I've found something new or old.

I found I like working with the tufa the day after it's been packed. I'd rather deal with the broken pieces than something that requires a hammer and chisel.

Recently, I made my small bird of prey. The beak was going great until one wrong move and the whole thing broke off. It was in little crumbly bits and still wet enough that you could smush them into larger clumps.

I grabbed my cement fortifier and adhesive and poured some directly onto this bits and then painted the broken bird face. I mixed the bits together and was able to pack it back onto the face. I let it dry for ~12 hours and started carving again. The beak turned out fine. you can't tell where the break was.

If anyone knows if this incident shortened the life of the bird, please let me know.

Thanks!

-Allison