Is slate hard to work with…Where does one get slate???How do
you cut it and shape it etc…Thanks calgang
Is slate hard to work with..Where does one get slate???How do you cut it and shape it etc....Thanks calgang
G’day Calgang an’ all; You get slate in Welsh Wales, look you,
indeed to goodness, yes. Or pinch a bit off someone’s roof. Or
some ancient child’s writing board. Can’t think why you’d want
to make jewellery with it, but you’d cut it easily enough with an
angle grinder fitted with concrete cutting blade - any
do-it-yourself store would have such a blade. Don’t breathe the
dust - it killed lots of Welshmen. Another way is to score it
heavily, and snap it over a table edge, as you would glass. Slate
isn’t that hard, though it is rather brittle. At the slate
quarries they take a block and cleave it, as in the way you’d
chop kindling with a hand axe, finishing up with nice rectangles
about 12"x8"x1/4" ready for roofing. Stone-age stuff, but very
skilled just the same. You can even cut it with a hacksaw blade,
though the blade would not last very long. Otherwise tungsten
carbide or diamond tipped drills, etc, or if you want intricate
shapes you’d have to use a wire diamond-coated, like I used for
cutting the Hei Matau as seen in the Orchid gallery. But in the
case of slate, bits would doubtless keep flaking off. If you’re
thinking of using it instead of Scotch stone, it is too hard,
and would produce more scratches than it removed; 400 - 600
wet-and-dry papers work better. Is that enough to thoroughly turn
you off slate? Cheers,
/\
/ / John Burgess,
/ /
/ //\ @John_Burgess2
/ / \ \
/ (___) \
(_________)
I bought a square of slate at the local Home Depot supply store.
They cut it into strips for me at fifty cents a strip using a wet
diamond tile trim saw.
The square was 12x12x3/4 inch and a soft dark gray material. The
first strip cut was 3/16 wide so the piece is 3/36x3/4 x12 long.
I have not compared it to my Scotch stone shards yet but it sure
looks similar. Oppi says its slate.
Somewhere I have a German turn of the century text with all kinds
of formulas and definitions. Will check it if it can be found.
Investment so far has been under $4.00.
Bill
Ginkgo Designs
@WILLIAM_I_EISENBERG
Can't think why you'd want to make jewellery with it, but you'd cut it easily enough with an angle grinder fitted with concrete cutting blade - any do-it-yourself store would have such a blade. Don't breathe the dust - it killed lots of Welshmen.
hi john, last year at the tuscon show i walked up to a desgners
booth and saw some really nice geometric desgns with this black
stuff that looked like slate. i asked him ‘what is that black
stuff that looks like slate?’, i really chuckled when he replied
“slate”. he made pendants with a piece of slate, framed in
yellow gold with a diamond or other gem in the middle of the
slate. it looked like the gem was suspended on the black slate
backround. there’s one is every crowd. best regards, geo fox
hi john, last year at the tuscon show i walked up to a desgners booth and saw some really nice geometric desgns with this black stuff that looked like slate. i asked him 'what is that black stuff that looks like slate?', i really chuckled when he replied "slate". he made pendants with a piece of slate,
G’day, George Fox: I still don’t know why anyone would want to
use slate. A very hard material is argillite - black as a
gangster’s hat when polished to a brilliant shine, and so hard
that the Maoris used it to make tools and weapons before the
Pakeha got here and gave them guns. There are literally tons of
it on our local beach - I made yin-yang sterling rings and
pendants together with it and white quartz from the same source -
they were snapped up. But you couldn’t get cheaper raw material
than that, eh? Cheers,
Bill:
How did I miss this? You are using the slate like a Scotch
Stone? Please confirm. Won’t the Scottish invade over this, or
at least take back their Glenlivet?
Bill:
How did I miss this? You are using the slate like a Scotch
Stone? Please confirm. Won’t the Scottish invade over this, or
at least take back their Glenlivet?
G'day, George Fox: I still don't know why anyone would want to use slate. A very hard material is argillite - black as a gangster's hat when polished to a brilliant shine, and so hard that the Maoris used it to make tools and weapons before the Pakeha got here and gave them guns. There are literally tons of it on our local beach - I made yin-yang sterling rings and pendants together with it and white quartz from the same source - they were snapped up. But you couldn't get cheaper raw material than that, eh? Cheers,
hi john, the affect that this fellow achieved with slate was
really cool. it was dull and had a flat but ‘broken’ away
appearance. it contrasted well with the shiney gold and
sparkling gems. if one wants, one can find a jewelry use for a
lot of things that are not traditional jewelry items. believe
me, some of those ‘things’ leave me wondering too.
best regards,
geo fox
Is slate hard to work with..Where does one get slate???How do you cut it and shape it etc
Hi calgang,
Ask a roofer, its the kind you find up on houses. It is a very
soft material, you can shape it easily with saws, files, knives,
no need for new equipment.
regards, Markus
My drink has been confiscated. I am no longer a member of the
clan. Mel Gibson wants my Braveheart.
Alas…
Oppi said Scotch stones were slate. I bought a slate tile and had
the store diamond cut it for me into strips.
I scratched up some silver (no water was used) with a sliver and
the slate seems to conform to the surface like my old stones. Have
a set of pieces going through now, and if any need stoning, will
go with the slate and keep Orchid informed.
I use the Scotch stone on enamel and my repousse pieces in
particular to clean up hammer/ tool marks.