I would think turning Meerschaum would be very much like doing soap stone... it would be very brittle, turn like dust and blow up if you look at it crosseyed... of course that does not mean it can't be done... I have a real nice Baron I did in green Italian soapstone... but I am real nervous when someone handles it...
Dario, when I used to smoke a pipe, I had a couple of beautiful hand carved meerschaums... they don't only use it for a liner... of course you pay big bucks for a solid meerschaum...