[Artemisia] RE: Carving Soapstone

[Julia Jackman-Brink]

Michele Wolf wrote:

> Of course, this doesn't apply in the least to carving something like a bowl.
> A bucket of water is a very good thing for the bigger carvings.

And speaking as one who lives with several 35lb+ blocks of stone camping 
in our basement...no kidding, there is this lovely shop in Edmonton, AB, 
and US Customs has never asked us about the "ballast" in the back of our 
truck. ;)

Anyway...

If you do bigger pieces, you will want to let them completely DRY before 
using them. And in the case of lamps or cooking bowls you will also want 
to temper them before use.

It's simple. Place the finished in a cold oven and raise the temperature 
to moderate (300 degrees or so) and let it bake for a couple hours. Shut 
the heat off and allow the piece to cool. Note: if you want "polished" 
polish your piece first, it's really hard to do as an afterthought.

The heat contracts the natural asbestos in the rock and makes it more 
dense and hard. Which keeps your lamp from absorbing and leaking oil all 
over the place, and strengthens your bowl structure for regular use.

And if you make large objects...you get lots of waste chunks to cast or 
make whorls with!! A dual-joy project. :)

Juliana