Soap stone

[Guest]

Going to try a little experimenting.
What is the meathod of choice for cutting soapstone?
I.E. bandsaw blade?
Will it be toast when its done?

 

[Old Griz]

I use my bandsaw when I cut soapstone blanks... but let me warn you that you need to do a full bodied pen or the soapstone will explode off the blanks... it is very brittle...
I use a skew to get close and sand the last 1/8" to size.. then coat with CA to try to harden it... it will cause it to change color (darken).. then I use MicroMesh to 12000 wet sanding it from 4000 to the 12000...
Good luck.. it is a real pain to work with and there will be dust everywhere so have a mask on and a suction system

 

[Guest]

Griz-
In my post I said I was going to experiment.
My thought was to turn center rings out of it.(for modified slimlines)
From your description I am looking at a rocket that will fizzle.
After hearing my intended purpose do you have any advice?

 

[Old Griz]

I honestly don't think it will make good centerbands... too soft and brittle... remember soapstone is nothing more really than compressed talc... in fact that is what it looks like when you turn it..

 

[Guest]

Too bad I don't use incense.They were just incense holders from the $1.00 store.
Thanks for the saving of the grief!

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

I gotta get me some soapstone!!!! Cool, thanks for the fact-filled post, DC.

 

[William Young]

Thanks DCBluesman for that information about soapstone. We have quaries here in the Rocky Mountains of BC where I live that contain some soapstone. It is nice to know the real facts like you have pointed out. [^] I may eventually try some for both pen blanks and centre bands. []
So many things to try. Not enough hours in the day.
W.Y.

 

[Old Griz]

Bill the facts I stated are from my experience using soapstone... I (and a lot of others I have read) found that it is a difficult material to make a pen out of, especially a slimline style.....it has a tendency to blow off the blanks if the cuts taken are not extremely light. The residue is dust.. it looks just like talc... and it get over everything...
I never stated that soapstone was porous... I said I used CA to harden the material and then sand it to 12000 with MM..
My reason for stating that I did not think it would make a good centerband is the fact that it breaks so easily... and the constant rubbing and pressure from opening and closing the pen might cause it to fracture, especially since on a floating centerband there is rarely a brass tube..
When finished as a pen... a hard bump or drop will most likely cause a chip to fly off, if the pen does not shatter completely...
So far I have made 5 soapstone pens that have survived the lathe unscathed (4 others did not)... of those 2 are still in one piece.. the others were accidentally dropped or otherwise chipped (one chipped on an edge while putting the top on)...
Soapstone also makes a heavy pen for it's size... something else to remember when choosing the kit you want to make... I would not want to carry a Cigar pen made from soapstone...