Alabaster Vase

[Glmphoto]

A few years ago my very good friend got married to a wonderful woman. As I have with other friends of mine I set out to give them a wedding gift that was from the heart. Something more than just store bought. I finally decided to try my hand at an alabaster vase. The following is a Pictorial record of how I went about it. I should say up front that the people who have mastered this can cut a very thin wall. What you have to remember is within alabaster lies various sized pieces of quarts. The alabaster cuts very easily but when you hit quarts there is no cutting it. That's where things get dicey. If your piece is thick you will here it and stop, dig out the offending crystal and continue. If you have spent a lot of time going thinner and thinner and then you hit quarts, whammo, a pile of rubble and call the supplier for another piece. That said I chose to keep a fairly thick wall on this vase. I did in fact hit a pea size crystal at nearly finish diameter. I was able to dig it out and continue. I lucked out and never hit one on the inside bore.
I hope everyone enjoys these photos as much as I enjoyed making the piece.



I have no idea how to order the photos once uploaded here so for now they are all mixed as far as there order of progression.

 

[David]

Excellent craftsmanship! Now that's a gift that any friend should be proud to receive!

Well done, please share more projects if you like!

David

 

[DMS]

Beautiful work there. I'm curious how much a chunk like that costs, and where do you go about finding one?

 

[Glmphoto]

Beautiful work there. I'm curious how much a chunk like that costs, and where do you go about finding one?

DMS..... I think I paid around 30 dollars plus shipping for the alabaster block. I can look up the receipt if you need the exact amount and date purchased. Let me know.
I got it from Colorado Alabaster Supply located in ,,,you guessed it,,,Colorado. http://www.coloradoalabaster.com It was a good buying experience for me as I recall.

Thank You

 

[richl]

thats a first rate quality job! the cleanup!

rich

 

[DMS]

Hmm, that's a lot less than I expected. It's beautiful material.

 

[Privateer]

How did you bond the wood to the alabaster?

Terry

 

[Glmphoto]

thats a first rate quality job! the cleanup!

rich

Richl
When you cut the stuff it turns to powder, literally talc. it was a total mess and required a thorough cleaning. I think next time a old cheap lathe out in the smithy will do the work and keep the mess out of the shop. If there is a next time. LOL

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How did you bond the wood to the alabaster?

Terry

Terry,
I used a glue called Weldbond. It goes on white and dries clear. I used it for everything on the project. That is the wood to wood as well as the wood to stone. It held and I had no problems with it. I would try it again.

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A comment I did omit........ While on the lathe I used finer and finer grits of sand paper to get it as smooth as possible. When it was smooth I applied several coats of Johnsons Paste wax while it was spinning. Buffing between coats with a cloth. One other comment would be never put water in or on Alabaster. It dissolves.

Thank you

 

[LJP]

Very nice job!

 

[churchjw]

Wonderful project. How did the carbide do with the cutting. What feed rate and speed did you use and how much depth? This would be cool for the CNC router to do.

Jeff