Ever turned cultured marble?

[underdog]

Ever turned cultured marble?

I wonder a couple things... what's available in a semi-white marbled stone look for turning, (similar to alabaster or marble) and where can I get it? And what's the least expensive route? Is it possible to get it locally here in Georgia? (Near Athens preferably)

I don't want to invest a fortune in two 6x"6"x8" blanks...

 

[dgscott]

Some of the TruStones look pretty close. Check out exoticblanks.com and/or arizonasilhouette.com for starters.
Doug

 

[randyrls]

Ever turned cultured marble?

I would not use real marble.... Too soft and prone to cracking. Too porous and prone to pickup oils from handling/using. If you do go that route, expand the brass tubes ends so the fittings are a slip fit into the tubes. When assembling, put a drop of medium superglue on the inside of the tube and insert the fitting with a twisting motion. Be sure to leave the pen open for a few days to allow the CA to out-gas. The out-gas can crate a kind of fog on the fittings (not good).

Get some White Turquoise (Marble) or Wild Horse Jasper Trustone. MUCH EASIER!

Check out http://www.randbcrafts.com/tru_stone.html

If you have not worked with this material, the different families have different harnesses ranging from - easy to work with standard tools - TO - carbide required to make a dent -!

The White isn't extremely hard. Sharp standard lathe tools will handle the task.

 

[Seer]

Look for a blank called Crushed Mud I attached a pic for you to see.

 

[underdog]

I guess I wasn't very clear....

I want a BIG blank. I'm turning a pen for a giant.:wink: I don't really want to glue up a bunch of small blanks to get a big one. I need a blank about 6 inch square by 8 inches long...or thereabouts.... give or take a few... Can I get that size blank from any suppliers you know of? Or do they all just sell pen sized blanks?

As for cultured marble.... Cultured marble is not like real marble. It's actually a cast product using a polyester resin (somewhat like acrylic I imagine) and powdered marble. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultured_marble
So I know there are a couple places in town that make cultured marble counter tops. I figure I might catch 'em when they're doing a pour and get some cheap. So that's why I was wondering if any of you had tried the cultured marble, because you all seem to be familiar with the casting process and turning similar materials... And I just wonder if it could be had at a reasonable price....

If you can't tell, I'm fishing for ideas on where to get stone or stone-like products for cheap!

Is acrylic resin product reasonably priced, or is it kinda spendy?

I'm willing to make my own mold for this project...

Seer,
That's about the texture I'm looking for. Maybe a bit less yellow/red in the color- more toward the grey/tan/white I'm thinking...

Do some folks make custom castings as big as I'm looking for?

 

[ctubbs]

I believe your best bet is to visit your local shop that does cultured marble and talk with them. They can give you all the info on their product that you need.
Charles

 

[PaulDoug]

I've had a good look at cultured marble lately because I'm having it as a shower base and a vanity counter. Looks to me like it would be very much like working with corian, maybe easier. Go to a place that sells it, they could probably make any size blank you want and if you got something that they are pouring for someone else, it could be pretty cheap.