Making a pen from "Bluestone"

[mbroberg]

I had a gentleman contact me after viewing my website and asked if I could make him a pen out off Bluestone. He told me that it is kind of like sandstone, but finer. He was using it for a project of his and thought of having a pen made out of the excess. He said it cuts fairly easily and sands to a very smooth finish. It can be drilled, according to him. I told him I was willing to try and he is sending me some.

Have any of you ever worked with this material? Can a pen be made from it?

 

[Rick P]

"Bluestone" no.....soap and pipe stone yes. Bugger to drill and in a word DUSTY!!!!!!

Bluestone is a feldspathic sandstone and it will be much harder on tools than pipe stone or soap stone. Sandstones can be found in your shop......on the bench grinder. That has been one of several uses for the material for centuries. Feldspar is fairly stout at a moh rating of 6, by comparison pipe stone is rated at 4 at it was very hard on my tools. I have crushed harder materials for inlay like turquoise and its a pain.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.....but if it were me I'd use my least favorite set of tools on it or a carbide that you can replace the tip on.

 

[PenMan1]

Mike :
Blue Stone can actually be two different things, depending on where your customer is from. It can be either soapstone or limestone. If its soapstone, it's easy peazy. If its limestone, it's the same stone that Stonehenge is made from....GOOD LUCK, there!

If it's the soapstone (or sandstone variety) the only issue is drilling. A mosonry bit drills it just like 3000 psi concrete.....very dusty. If you can drill it (I recommend a CA bandaid), it cuts easier than concrete(carbide tools with plenty of water).

 

[Rick P]

Soapstone is a form of talc not feldspar and has a moh rating of 2 or 3 depending on where it is from. Soapstone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Bluestone" is a blanket term for several types of rock......most commonly here in the US it is a feldspathic sandstone. Bluestone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and yes the stone used to make Stonehenge is referred to as "Bluestone"

Aint mineralogy fun! The same rock can have a dozen diferent names depending on where ya live......

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I took a bit of geology in university, before I found my calling as a philosopher and Roman historian! :biggrin:

Feldspathic is just a big ol' word for 'contains feldspar'. Regardless of what kind of sandstone or limestone it is, it's still a sedimentary rock, and thus not as hard as granite or most other igneous or metamorphic rocks. (albeit not by a whole lot - feldspar is a very hard sedimentary rock, I do believe)

The only way to find out how hard it is would be to get a sample and do a 'scratch test'. I.e. see what common items (nail, penny ,etc.) are harder or less hard than the sample....

Regardless, carbide is at about 9 on the Moh's scale, so it's definitely harder than feldspar...whereas granite is at least 7 or 8 I think (lots of quartz in granite)...I haven't looked at a Moh's chart in a while, however...

 

[terryf]

Mike :
Blue Stone can actually be two different things, depending on where your customer is from. It can be either soapstone or limestone. If its soapstone, it's easy peazy. If its limestone, it's the same stone that Stonehenge is made from....GOOD LUCK, there!

If it's the soapstone (or sandstone variety) the only issue is drilling. A mosonry bit drills it just like 3000 psi concrete.....very dusty. If you can drill it (I recommend a CA bandaid), it cuts easier than concrete(carbide tools with plenty of water).

Stone henge is made from Diabase (dolerite) which isn't limestone (dolomite).

Where I'm from bluestone can mean one of three things;
Lapis Lazuli, soapstone or granite (diabase)

 

[PenMan1]

Lol!
Calling a "rock" blue stone is about as accurate as calling a dog a canine. It does depend on where you are from "Bluestone" could be a poodle or a pit bull, depending on whether you live in Paris or Alabama.

Bluestone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My observation is that "bluestone is in the eye of the beholder".

 

[ed4copies]

All that translated:

Better charge a pretty penny!! You will have tools to replace.

 

[chrisk]

Unless the job is done with an angle grinder :biggrin:

 

[terryf]

Lol!
Calling a "rock" blue stone is about as accurate as calling a dog a canine. It does depend on where you are from "Bluestone" could be a poodle or a pit bull, depending on whether you live in Paris or Alabama.

Bluestone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My observation is that "bluestone is in the eye of the beholder".

The same could be said for limestone; however, the big difference between the two is that when you whack limestone with a hammer it leaves an indentation in the rock, when you do the same to bluestone it bounces off the rock and leaves an indentation on your forehead!!

 

[Rick P]

Unless your in a spot that calls somethin else all together bluestone.......


LOL I hardly thing all this has been helpful for poor Mike! Just goes to show you that names are geographically dependant. Learned that the hard way bouncing around the country! Example in Michigan a soda is a pop..........poor Gunther thouhgt his Grandmother had turned ugly when she said "Gun would you like a pop"!

 

[Wood Butcher]

I say, go for it. Just be sure to report here what worked and what didn't so the rest of us can give it a go.
WB

 

[mbroberg]

:biggrin:

Well, we'll find out. I told him up front that there were no guarantees that I could `git-er-done` but I'll try anything once!:wink:

 

[PTsideshow]

If it is any of the talcy varieties, or some of the soapstones. Sculptors have found that even the material that is supposed to be asbestos free is not! Not to mention the silica content if it is in the other stones. Mandatory mask and vacuum up the dust later!
:clown:

 

[mbroberg]

Well, for those of you who wanted to know how this worked out I can report that this officially, "Ain't Happening". :frown: This must be the Stonehedge variety of Bluestone, more limestone than soapstone. More Pit Bull than Poodle, etc. Oh well, it was worth a try! :wink:

 

[thewishman]

Nothing ventured...

It sounded worth a try.