Best Tools for Soapstone?

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Yellow River Woodturning

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Joined
Nov 1, 2020
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Location
Spooner, WI
I found some nice soapstone carving blanks on Amazon, and am thinking about making a few pens out of them. But, I can't find any information on the best tools for the job. Will HSS tools work on soapstone? I don't have any carbide chisels, but I do have some Thompson lathe chisels made of 10% vanadium steel. Also, any tips on turning stone in general would be greatly appreciated!

Also, can I cut soapstone on a standard bandsaw?
 
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This is my story. Several years ago at CSUSA I purchased several pounds of soapstone thinking it would be a fun turning project. It cut with all my tools that I normally used for wood including the band saw. After the first piece I turned I looked like Casper the ghost. Myself and the entire shop were covered in fine dust, it was a mess to clean. I took all my remaining soapstone to my local club and gave it away. Just my opinion on soapstone, never again.
 
tomtedesco said:
This is my story. Several years ago at CSUSA I purchased several pounds of soapstone thinking it would be a fun turning project. It cut with all my tools that I normally used for wood including the band saw. After the first piece I turned I looked like Casper the ghost. Myself and the entire shop were covered in fine dust, it was a mess to clean. I took all my remaining soapstone to my local club and gave it away. Just my opinion on soapstone, never again.
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I still turn soapstone occasionally, as well as alabaster and pipestone. Soapstone is by far the worst, as it contains asbestos. You really need to be extremely careful when turning rock. Rock and moisture makes cement. I only turn it outside, with a full respirator and protective clothing. Anything you ca scratch with steel you can turn. You don't need special tools except safety equipment. You can cut it easily on a bandsaw. Any saw really. You don't need diamond blades or anything, just a normal old blade. A sawzall works good too.
 
I used HSS tools and it turned and finished great, when I went to assemble the pen the press fit of the kit cracked the stone since it was too soft. i would reduce the interference fit and use epoxy. It was the type used in labs and it looked great.
 
Soapstone turns with regular wood tools. I did a CA finish on the one I did to keep it from getting scratched. I would day dust extraction is important because the dust will make the floor very slippery.
 
I drench soapstone in ca glue while turning, LOTS of ca glue. My theory is it fills in all the micro cracks and keeps it from blowing out. I also use ca as a finish for it.

I made a pen for my doctor and it fell off his desk and exploded, from then on I use my ca method.
 
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