[Sca-cooks] Soapstone (was RE: Bread machine revisited)

[Stefan li Rous]

Niccolo asked me:
 >>>
Stefan, where do you get your soapstone?  I need a source for carvable
stone.  What have been finding needs a jackhammer to cut, so you
loose fine detailing.
<<<

If you are talking about soapstone, it sounds like the stuff you have  
found is the soapstone scraps left from making countertops. This  
stuff has been heat-treated, and while it can be carved it is  
considerably harder and more difficult.

There are some merchants of soapstone given in this file in the  
CRAFTS section of the Florilegium:
soapstone-msg     (25K)  7/23/04    Use of Soapstone in period.  
Modern sources.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/CRAFTS/soapstone-msg.html

I'm not sure if it is listed in there, but I get my soapstone out of  
Canada. This is from my class notes:
 >>>
Roy Torney
The Livingstone Quarry
Post Office Box 277
Coe Hill, Ontario, Canada K0L 1P0
ph: 613-337-5837

This address and phone number have recently changed. So this
supercedes any previous info. The website has also changed: http:// 
www.softstones.com/

The quality is good and Roy has been cordial and went out of his way
to make sure I had the stone in time for my Gulf Wars class.

My pewter now comes from:
Hallmark Metal Co (hallmark.metal at juno.com) 1-888-467-8000
http://www.hallmarkmetalscorp.com/

MPK is a Tin/Copper/Bismuth/Silver alloy melts 5-600 degrees f $4.25 lb.
928 is a Tin/Antimony/Copper alloy / melts 550-650 degrees f $3.75 lb.

Call before ordering as this material is a commodity and varies from  
day to day.

The pewter comes in 7 pound bars, which are notched for cutting into  
three pieces. If you ask, they will cut them at the factory.
<<<

When I ordered more pewter a few months ago, the price was up about  
75 cents/lb from the price given above.

I've been thinking about doing my hands-on pewter class again at this  
coming Gulf Wars, but I keep forgetting to check the site. I suspect  
that it is too late to get on the published class schedule now.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****