duckkisser Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 seen a few people turn soapstone on there lathe and thought it was prity cool. a friend of mine gave me a block that i plan on turning into a bowl or some kind of box. i tried finding a list of soap stone or carving stone quaries in the united states and i cant realy find any. the only companies i found are in carolina's or virginia, south american, canada. does anyone know of any quarries in the midwest like illinois, indiana, minasota ect....... would like to see if i can get strait from the quarry then i can see about picking through there off cut pieces and get some stuff that would be perfect for finials and knobs. if nothing more then i would like to put together a list of quarries and where there located around the world for other soap stone users. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarton22 Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 I don't believe the midwest is made up of soapstone. We are more of a limestone and granite zone. I'm no geologist. However, you should look into your local counter top manufacturers. If any of them can do a soap stone counter, they will have cutoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted December 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 i thought of that but im leary about gluing them up for turning and it might take away the lovelyness of the stone. the biger blocks are anywhere from 11-33 dollers was hoping to cut out all the midle men like i do for my lumber. can limestone or granite be turned :)here is a few things made of stone. http://www.google.co...,r:56,s:0,i:261 http://www.trussel.com/f_art.htm http://www.google.co...:41,s:100,i:127 http://www.custommad...nathanwilliams/ to be helpfull i will also post a link about how to turn stone. http://maxkrimmel.com/Alabaster/HowToPart1/HowTo1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarton22 Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 I can't imagine being able to turn granite with your standard tools. You can make building foundations with the stuff. Michelangelo used a chisel and hammer...I'm not thinking your basic HSS gouge is going to cut it. Limestone I would also think won't work. Sandstone might be something that could work. It is quite soft. I'm not saying the other stones couldn't work, but probably not with anything in my shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nben Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 Sandstone would likely blow apart on a lathe. The sedimentary nature leads to inconsistent bonding of layers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted December 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 ya thats what i was thinking about the sandstone remember i had some on a bord and my brother took my rock collection as a kid and put it in his rock tumbler jerk still hate him for that.... it just crumbled too pieces. .i guess i can also do alabaster, and calcite wonder where i can find that. alabaster is all over the south west areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 I think they quarry soapstone in Vermont. Vermont soapstone wood stoves. We have turned small pieces of Alabaster but it was years ago. Go slow ,too much pressure and chunks will fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Some places sell soapstone countertops . Try to find a local fabricator and ask for scraps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Proctor Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Sandstone would likely blow apart on a lathe. The sedimentary nature leads to inconsistent bonding of layers You can turn soapstone with no problem but you will have to fill any cracks with a thin CA glue. Scrapers work better than gouges and wear a good dust mask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted December 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 ya from a few videos chris the dust is just all over the place there is no cuting its just scraping it down so a mask is a must. cant wait till i can get my lathe out and try that stone you gave me i think ill combine it with wood to do a segmented box. then im going to carve a lid that i will carve flowers and butterflies in a pattern around the top that is open to the inside. probably be till spring till i can do something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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