Been reading through the posts on soapstone here on BT… lots of good info. I am planning some soapstone counters, planning to order from M. Teixeira at www.soapstones.com. I was curious whether anyone had tried cutting their own sink tray/drainboard? If so, can you describe your approach?
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Replies
I have not done it, but if I were to, I'd make a tapered router sled and groove with a spiral carbide straight cutter in light passes. Being talc, it is soft and naturally lubricious, and mills like butter..dusty, dusty butter.
You do mean a slanted drain board intergal with the top yes? With raised ribs or such?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"We strive for conversion,we get lost in conversation, and wallow in consternation. "
Me.
"I'd make a tapered router sled and groove with a spiral carbide straight cutter in light passes."
The way I've seen it done is like that, but using a core box bit, with a groove around the drain area and parallel grooves in the area, sloped to the sink. So it's only the grooves that slope, not the counter.
Dusty, dusty, EXPENSIVE butter. ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
That makes sense, I'm sure I'da grabbed a corebox bit if I was actually pondering it. (G)
I was just typing out loud as I thunk it over.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"We strive for conversion,we get lost in conversation, and wallow in consternation. "Me.
" mills like butter..dusty, dusty butter"I have never seen dusty butter????.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
you should probably mention too that unless he has a pneumatic router the router will most likely be toast at the end. Fine talc like dust will get into he motor housing, bearings, etc. I think of the time we trashed a circular saw loaded with a masonry blade. saw was done for at the end of the job.
You should know that talc is non abrasive before you go telling me what I should have said.
If you trashed a saw with a masonry blade, it was you're own damm stupidity. Don't lay that out on me.
You also never cut soap stone I gather, cuz your experiance is singular.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"We strive for conversion,we get lost in conversation, and wallow in consternation. "Me.
okay, now that you've all answered the question and the thread reduced to ... I feel a little better 'bout high jacking it. This fall I'ld like to make a farm sink from some slate I salvaged from a pool table, it's 2 1/4 inch thick, something like 32 X 84. How would you join the pieces once cut? The sections were doweled in the pool table .. I know it's got to be sealed ..
thanks in advance
Wane
"This is not a step"
Wane, i've heard that you can use a biscuit joiner on soapstone and use nickels instead of biscuits. Epoxy to fill the joint. Don't know if it would be the same for slate, but I'd guess so.
Pete
pardon. No need to get hostile. I didn't now talc was non abrasive. thank you for your clarification.
I've done it several ways:1) Just routing out several sloped channels, and I did that using Sphere's description of a sloped router tray method. It's the easiest to fabricate, but I dislike the effectiveness of that method as a true drain board.2) I've also routed out an entire sloped area and left it as is, and 2a) then routed out additional channels within that sloped area.3) I've routed out an entire sloped area, then routed out grooves and set brass and stainless rods into those grooves. The sloped rods hold the pots off the sloped stone by about 1/4".4) I've routed out and entire sloped area, then routed out grooves, then set brass or stainless inserts into the grooves, but the tops of the inserts were flush with the top of the unrouted countertop. This way the pots/pans or whatever you set on the drainboard sit flat and don't roll down or slide down the drainboard.Many ways, and they are all best done not in the kitchen!
Thanks - good tips. I'll be ordering the stone on Monday.
Pete
Last year I did about 80' of 1/4" round over on our soapstone kitchen and so far my PC 690 is still going strong. I'm still looking for an excuse to buy another router though, just in case.
I've done it with maple, but not with soapstone. Pretty much what the other guys said. First I made tapered rails and a router sled, and used a straight bit to create drainage planes. Then used a core-box bit to make grooves.
I've never milled it. I had a chunk of it that i played around with and it cuts really nice, but I've never tried milling it. They are a great company and their installations are very good.
Good replies - kindof what I thought, yeah, but it gives me more confidence to go ahead. Thing about the cost of the raw soapstone slaps vs. the fully manufactured sink cut-out and drain tray - I can screw up 2 full slabs and finally succeed on the 3rd one for the price of one manufactured piece.
<Small bump> ... Has anyone else done this - soap stone, sink drain, slanted router sled for the parallel grooves that drain to the sink? I was thinking of just cutting the grooves, not slanting the whole plane. Would I do the cut-out first, or do it last to avoid break-out from the slanted grooves? Any more advice before I plunge in? Thanks...
another thing is that the water doesn't really drain very well. unless you have a lot of water, the droplets just kind of sit on there. It's a nice look though. And keep a dust collector near by to help with all the dust you'll make.
To control dust we use an old router and run a wet spray from a small pump-up garden sprayer on it as we run the router. We also do the same with the skill saw when we cut it. I've gotten to where I can run the spray and the saw with out a helper but it works best to use a helper for the spray until you get things adjusted. You want a thin line of water like the dentist would use for drilling your teeth. (that's why we don't use a hose) Cuts the dust to zero and I think it makes the bits last longer.
m
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