Chippy question

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AndyM

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Sep 5, 2009
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Guernsey Channel Islands
Hey all.

I am fairly new here, so 1st off: A big hello.

I have been turning for about 6 months, and finally got around to pens. I love the wood aspect, haven't tired acrylic yet but some on order, but I have been playing arund with soapstone.

My question to you all is this:

I can cut, drill and mount the stone very easily, but it keeps cracking at the ends. Is this due to pressure being applied by the mandrel? If so, how can I combat this? I have been advised that I should wet the stone, see if the water seeps in anywhere then coat with CA glue. But I am not convinced that CA would hold.

I had managed to get 1 pen turned and put together (attached photo) but noticed after the ends of the stone had chipped. I imagine this is from the pressure of putting together? Again, same question: any way to combat this?

I love the effect the stone brings, and am determind to figure this out, but any helpful advice more than welcome..

Many thanks

Andy
 

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rjwolfe3

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First, welcome to the forum. I have never tried soapstone so I can't help you with your question but I know someone will be along to answer it. The pen looks great btw.
 

mickr

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Hi newbie..join the insanity..I do believe that soapstone is not a material that is appropriate for pens for the very reason you are having trouble..it's so soft, people carve by hand..don't know if there is such a thing as stabilized soapstone...try tru-stone..it is engineered from stone & makes glorious pens
 

skiprat

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Hiya Andy, welcome to IAP. :biggrin:

Philip Townsend has very successfully made soapstone pens before and I'm lucky to have one of them. Perhaps the issue is with the stretching of the tube when you press the parts in rather than from the mandrel. I would have thought that CA would stabilize the ends a bit though, but Phil is the guy to ask.

BTW, I love Guernsey:biggrin: I worked there for a couple of months when the electric cable was layed.
 

KenV

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Juneau, Alaska.
I have messed with soap stone some, and thin CA glue has very low viscosity and surface tension and will run and penetrate where water will not go easily. That may make it your best tool.

Woods and acrylics are much more flexible and handle distortions from the mandrels and the fittings with elasticity. Soap stone has almost no elasticity (for practical purposes none). Plan to set any fittings with a fitting compound such as loctite medium after releiving the tubes to allow a snug but loose fit.

The epoxy I have seen used in rock grouting (foundation anchors) is not clear and would change the patterns and colors of the soapstone, but I have only seen a few.

Have done some turnings where I needed to run a mandrel into the object and fastened it for shear with several layers of masking tape - you may want to do somthing similar instead of pressure on the end, or have the tubes over long and trim after turning (compression only on the brass tube and not on the stone).

Neat pen -- and nice effort to push the envelope further.

(plain ca finish may be appropriate too -- though the feel of soapstone is special).
 

NewLondon88

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Looks like the mandrel pressure is too much.

It also looks like you're using artistic soapstone, and I doubt you'd have much luck
in making a pen that would be usable. (but boy, it looks great!)

Artistic soapstone is used for marking pencils, sculptures, carving etc. It has a much
higher talc content than architectural soapstone ,which is a much more sturdy
material. Architectural soapstone is used for things like countertops, stoves, fireplace
boxes (it holds heat very well) floors, shower stalls etc.

The architectural stone is usually 60-70% talc with flecks and veins of quartz
running through it. Colors are usually blue/gray to green/gray when dry. It will
darken to a charcoal gray when wet or oiled. It can be frustrating stuff to turn,
as it can eat tools (even though it is relatively soft for a stone material) and it
can chip or crack if too much pressure is applied. Probably best turned with
files, or with a grinder at your elbow. Polishes nicely ,you can finish with mineral
oil, scratches easily (but sands out easily, too) or a CA finish will bring it to a
nice gloss.

I love the look of the material you're using, but I don't think I'd attempt a pen
with it ,as it would probably come apart during assembly .. and even then, I'd
never use it or let anyone handle it. I'd probably cry when it broke.

Pens from architectural soapstone are a bit sturdier, but still fragile. People who
have made pens form it both love it and hate it for that reason.

If you want, I've got some set aside.. drop me a line and I can get some out
to you.

And welcome!
 

Rollerbob

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Andy, welcome to the IAP. Another one who has no offering to stabalizing the soapstone. Admire you for trying so early in your pen making career, tho. Very nice!:cool:
 

bitshird

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Hi Andy, Although I've done Lapidary work for over 30 years I'v never worked with Soapstone, but I tend to agree with Ken V, when you are pressing the hardware in it expands the tubes slightly and since there is no room for expansion that could be your problem,also looking at the chips in the center band area also makes me think you may be tightening the mandrel a bit too much. I do agree, it makes a very nice looking pen, welcome aboard.
 

Mac

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Feb 15, 2008
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Bingen, Arkansas
I have never turned any soapstone, but on slimelines you can mill the ends after turning, if you mess up the ends ,as slimelines don't have to be a certain length. I have made several that are shorter at the bottom or shorter at the top. there is a lot of wiggle room to do this, and this process can save a very nice pen otherwise it would just go in the salvage bin. You can also turn off the messed up ends, then take off the mandrel and add a piece on the end to replace it put back on lathe and turn and wow you have a one of a kind pen.
this is just some things that I have done to try to save unique blanks that I have messed up over the years.
welcome to the IAP
 

AndyM

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Sep 5, 2009
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Location
Guernsey Channel Islands
Hey all.

Wow. bit taken aback by the replies.

1st: Thanks for the comlpliment on the "un-finished" pen.

I have been giving some thought to the dilema, and must agree that when the kits is put together, the lack of elasticity is probably my main issue. I did have the idea of maybe drilling 2mm at each end of the blank slightly bigger to allow for this, but, again I have no idea if it would work.

I had a go at cutting the soapstone blank a little shorter, and adding a piece of "neutral" wood to each end. It did work, to a degree. But I found the wood was too "small" and snapped in 2. Although, that could have been my tooling.

I will have a further read of all this, and try some ideas out. What can I say: I like a challenge. I started off with bowls on an old Sealey Sl1000 lathe, had no chuck, a non-hollow tailstock and couldnt buy parts for it. For some reason i feel like I have regressed to pens and stoppers, but they are just so much fun ;-)

Again, many thanks for the advice, greatly appreciated.

Andy
 

randyrls

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Feb 2, 2006
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Harrisburg, PA 17112
Andy; Welcome. Corian has the same non-elasticity issue as many stone materials. I expand the ends of the tub with a transfer punch until the fittings are a slip fit in the tube. drill the tube and glue with Polyurethane glue (Gorilla glue). It expands during the during process and may provide some give between the tube and material. After making the tubes, glue the fittings in with a little dab of medium CA. Put a small drop into the inside of the tube, and insert the fitting with a twisting motion.
Hope this helps...
 

wood-of-1kind

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Toronto, ON, Canada
.

I had a go at cutting the soapstone blank a little shorter, and adding a piece of "neutral" wood to each end. It did work, to a degree. But I found the wood was too "small" and snapped in 2. Although, that could have been my tooling.

Andy

I recently finished a 'soapstone' pen and added ANTLER 'bands' at both ends in order to avoid the chipping problem. Soapstone and antler are a good combo and work well together.
 
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