Making blanks with stone dust etc - any info?

[MrJoshua]

I've seen some really nice blanks for sale in all sorts of weird & wonderful colours & patterns where they're made using resin and various stone dusts etc, and had an idea I want to try myself but not sure how.

Basically, I'd like to try making something like this using dust of local slate (and possibly other stone, depending what's around and relatively easy to work with).

Do any of you guys make your own stone blanks like this, or know about how I'd need to go about it? I'd need a mold of course (easy enough), and supply of the suitable powder/dust/flakes or whatever, but I have no idea what sort of resin you might use for this. I've got supplies of polyester and epoxy resin but I'd guess it's something else required.

Anyway, just interested if people on here make their own stone powdered blanks at all if they've any tips on that, I'd be grateful.

Cheers!
Jim

 

[rayf6604]

Wouldn't you need to be able to pulverize the stone to a fine powder? I would think that the effort required would outweigh buying them ready made.

 

[daveygee]

Hi Jim

If you check this link you will see that I can do a special price on these without you having the hassle of trying to make them.

http://www.penturners.co.uk/buy-sell/10296-yunstone-acrylic-blanks-sale.html

A number of the guys have bought these and been very happy.
If I can be of help please pm me quantity and type you require and I will confirm stock availability.

Cheers
Daveygee

 

[paulm]

I have made insets from local agate stone. I turned the wood then cut into it with the parting tool to make a groove. I then filled the groove with the small parts and applied super thin ca. I kept adding it and rotating the blank until it was full. A bit of a bitch to turn after but a lovely job and they sell well. I don't know if you'd be able to use the same method on a complete blank because its so hard to turn but casting it might make it easier to turn.

Heres one I made a long time ago

 

[Penpal]

Good luck mate like diving in the deep end full of experience.

Peter.

 

[Woody]

If you want stone powder buy a tin of talcum powder and mix it with resin and colours or buy a lump of talc stone and turn it it comes of in a powder form but dont ask me an about resins because I haven't got a clue

 

[MrJoshua]

Thanks chaps but I think the point has been missed in that I want to be able to make pens that are from blanks made from Manx Slate for instance, local stuff due to the fact it's from here - it'll have significance for many so at this point I'm not really interested in others' products although I have seen some fantastic looking ones all that aside.
I was wondering about visiting one of the local quarries or stonemasons to see if they have 'dusty/powdery' byproduct that they don't want and I can buy cheap rather than smashing up old roof slates or stones from the beach with a lump hammer!!

It's more in terms of the medium you use for binding it and the kind of ratio/thickness of stone vs resin (or whatever is actually used), that I'm trying to find something out.

Thanks anyway though

 

[MrJoshua]

By the way Paul that's really nice how you've included small bits in a band around that pen - nice idea - I like it.

 

[Woody]

I have ground up coal into a dust and mixed it with epoxy resin in the past and I dont see why slate powder wouldn't work but I should think there are some better resins out there for the job so good luck with it and I for one woul be interested in how you get on with it turners retreat sell resin for pen blanks that may be a good place to start

 

[Tephy]

Hi Jim the technical sheets of the polyester and epoxy resin will give a max filler percentage, just don't go beyond this as adhesion is liable to break down. I used aquatic sand to make a pen ( pic on here somewhere ) and had to make a colbalt turning tool due to the hardness of the sand. I would of thought the slate would be quite soft unless it has some flint in it, so pretty straight forwards really.

 

[MrJoshua]

Thanka guys - that's really useful. I'll just have to experiment once I can get sufficient powder, but yes, I'd expect the slate to be relatively forgiving as these things go at least.

 

[paulm]

Thanks chaps but I think the point has been missed in that I want to be able to make pens that are from blanks made from Manx Slate for instance, local stuff due to the fact it's from here - it'll have significance for many so at this point I'm not really interested in others' products although I have seen some fantastic looking ones all that aside.
I was wondering about visiting one of the local quarries or stonemasons to see if they have 'dusty/powdery' byproduct that they don't want and I can buy cheap rather than smashing up old roof slates or stones from the beach with a lump hammer!!

It's more in terms of the medium you use for binding it and the kind of ratio/thickness of stone vs resin (or whatever is actually used), that I'm trying to find something out.

Thanks anyway though

I just got a brick and lump hammer and just tapped the stone until it was the size I wanted. I didn't want dust and the stone broke up fairly easily as would slate. I would try to get larger than dust if you could so that its got some texture. Alternatively drill a hole through some slate and turn it. I would cast it in resin to make a complete blank.

 

[Penpal]

Jim mr joshua also on Treeline USA they sell Turquoise Dust? for your own projects may be of interest to you.

Peter. I noted may be artificial or real Turquoise.

Peter.

 

[MrJoshua]

Thanks guys. Might try things like turquoise in future but just at the minute I'm just interested in slate for now. I want to try this first because it's pretty soft.

Yeah I guess you could actually drill through a piece and make a blank out of it and I might do that as it 'seems' like an easy option, but I like the idea of a composite. Specifically I was thinking of adding a sprinkle of brass powder into the mixture as I think it'd look really nice with the blue grey slate tones.

I've looked around and one of the 'starter kits' for casting your own blanks where you add in colours and dusts etc is polyester resin & mekp catalyst, and I've got a load of that here from boat repairs. It's possible they have a difference to the resin so it's less brittle maybe - not sure.
The favourite 'stone' blanks seem to be the "Tru-Stone" brand which I 'think' I also saw were polyester, and claim to be 85% stone content, so I'd guess it's a very very thin polyester compared with normal stuff, to allow it to mix better with more stone content.

I will try once I have mashed up slate to make something. Might be a complete failure but no harm in trying.

 

[AndyC65]

This may be of interest - proving that it is generally mixed with Resin.

Slate Powder - Resin/Casting Filler 1Kg | eBay

cheers,

Andy C

 

[MrJoshua]

Thanks for the heads up Andy.
I think for me the unknown factor currently is how much I can add or how easily I can mix it with the kind of polyester I have already. I can buy other stuff if need be, but much better if I can use stuff I already have.
I've no idea if there is such a thing as 'thinners' for polyester resin, ie so it is less viscous but still goes off the same way.

Oddly enough I was speaking to my ma earlier and she said there's a load of slate at hers that is crumbling away with big handfuls of the dust underneath so might be a trundle round there on sunday....

 

[wm460]

I made some pens from termite mounds they small stones etc in them, word of warning they wore down HSS tools and carbide tips very quickly.