stone turning

[Todd Lord]

It's been a couple of years since the last thread on soapstone and alabaster turning.
Is anyone turning stone but me?

[Mark Burge]

I'm not turning stone now, but show us some pictures and inspire us!

[Ron Ainge]

Hi Todd

I have turned both alabester and soapstone and as soon as I cleaned up the mess I moved that type of turning our of my shop. As one person told me they are both great to turn on someones elses lathe. I have a lathe that I can move outside and when I turn rock I do it outside and I blow off the motor of my lathe quite often. I did not take pictures of the items that I turned out of stone and so I cannot post any right now but if I do some in the future I will make sure to take on pics and get them on here.

[Paul Williams]

I have turned pipestone. It comes off in little chunks but leaves a smooth finish. No photos, they were gifts a few years ago.

[Paul Atkins]

A few years ago you might have gotten a bigger response if the title was stoned turning------sorry.

[Glenn Weathington]

It's been a couple of years since the last thread on soapstone and alabaster turning.
Is anyone turning stone but me?


Hey Todd,

I'm a fellow stone turner as well. :cool: It has been a while since I posted a finished piece. When I've completed another, I'll post some pics.

[Don Doyle]

I just started turning stone. Yes, it is a bit messy but IMO not as bad as turning Corian.

Here is a picture of my first successful stoneturning. It is 6" X 2" Raspberry Alabaster.

Hopefully, this will revive this thread.

Don

[Jim Burr]

Oooo...that's nice Don! I have a good source and several pieces laying around. I have incorporated it into stoppers and such, nothing solo yet...gonna have to try it!.

[Allan Ferguson]

Interesting and a pretty turning.

[Glenn Weathington]

Don, that's a good first piece.
I've got a piece of Italian alabaster that I need to finish. It's fairly translucent with some interesting beige inclusions. Hopefully I'll get to it before New Year's.

[Eric Gourieux]

Where does one find stone for turning. I'm intrigued.

[Jim Underwood]

Max Krimmel's tutorials on turning Alabaster is a good resource if you want to turn stone:
http://www.maxkrimmel.com/Alabaster/AlabasterMain.html

[Jim Underwood]

As for whether it's better than Corian? Corian might be messy, but it's not abrasive and it won't screw up your lathe...

[Glenn Weathington]

Where does one find stone for turning. I'm intrigued.. Eric, Ive found a few places on the web through google search- Colorado Alabaster Supply, Stone Sculptors Supplies, 2Scupt and others. Shipping can get pricey if you're after larger pieces, though.

[Jim Burr]

Also...make sure either of them, soapstone or alabaster are asbestos free!!! If you aren't using heavy duty filtration when turning or cust cutting this stuff, you have no one to blame but yourself.

[John Keeton]

A fellow KY Guild member, Ron Cooper, does exclusively stone work. His website is here (http://www.cooperstoneworks.com/Products/Products.php). Ron buys stone by the ton. He is a nice fellow and might be able to provide some sources for those interested, and just viewing his work might be a good inspiration for others as he does some segmentation and other interesting applications.