::: Soapstone Beads :::
::: Introduction

I got myself that piece of soapstone to make some sculpture or something. But forcing too much pressure onto the stone while sawing it I broke it to pieces...aaargh bummer!!!

What to do now?

In my recent tutorial "Bone Necklace" I told you that I do not know how to make beads out of stone. Now I DO - and I am going to tell YOU!

!!!WARNING!!!
Several sources indicate that soapstone can contain asbestos. Asbestos is known to cause cancer. For your own safety buy only soapstone that is known to contain none or only small amounts of asbestos. Always wear safety gear like a mask to protect your lungs and work in a place with good ventilation. Try NOT to enhale the dust!
 
::: Material and tools needed
 

Material:

- Soapstone

Tools:

- a saw like in the picture (the thinner the blade the better, as it will cause less dust.
- a vice (yea Mr. Vice is back!)
- a manual drill and a drill (small diameter)
- a grinding machine (VERY practical here. Grinds beads in minutes. And your fingernails if you are not cautious! :) Creates as good as no dust when used with water. I love it - it rocks!)


      
Click to enlarge images
::: From cubes to spheres with holes
 

To make grinding easier first saw the soapstone chunks into 1cm thick boards and then into 1cm wide sticks. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of this process.

Then mount those sticks into the vice. Try not to fasten the vice too much as this stone will break easily. Use the manual drill to make a hole through the length of the stick.

Now you can either start grinding off the edges of the sticks to make them round and then cut off 1cm diameter cylinders, or cutting them first into cubes and then begin grinding.

The size of the cubes depends on how big the beads shall become. I recommend a side-length of about 1cm so you can still hold them with you fingers when grinding on the machine.
Use the stone disc not the rough metal one meant to grind metal. Also use it with water so that there is no dust when grinding and it works faster.
 
::: Finishing up
 

Click to enlarge
You may smoothen the surface of the beads with emery paper. I read people are using oil to make the surface of their soapstone sculptures more shiny. For this there is a special oil available but some people say cooking oil is sufficient. Anyway your skin will do the job again here if you use the beads on a necklace like I did.

Congrats on your piece of work!