# Turning with new "PaperStone" material



## Czarcastic (Nov 11, 2006)

Turning With PaperStoneÂ®
Eco-friendly solid surface material

BACKGROUND

First, I am not affiliated with the company in any way.
I learned about Paperstone in a recent issue of Handy Magazine, and was curious to see if anyone had tried turning with the material.  After several inquiries went nowhere, I emailed Joel Klippert, VP/Founder KlipTech Composites & Resins Division of Paneltech International, LLC.  I asked Joel if he had ever heard of anyone using the product in turning.  His response â€“ within just a few minutes â€“ was â€œIt has been done a few times for lamps and table legs but not muchâ€.





So I thought I would give it a try.  It sounded like an interesting product, and had a great story if it turned well.  

I arranged to purchase a small amount of samples and had them within a few days.  

I received two blanks approximately 8â€ x 3â€ x Â¾â€, and two that were 12â€ x 12â€ x Â½â€.  My total cost, including shipping, was $29.00



THE PRODUCT
BACKGROUND: (FROM THE COMPANY WEBSITE)
Paperstone is a Forest Stewardship Council-certified material that DIYers can use for tabletops, countertops, floor tile and backsplashes. It is made of post-consumer recycled paper and a water-base resin with nonpetroleum-base phenols. When finished, it has no free formaldehyde, resists heat and stains and is easy to repair

PaperStone composite surface materials were first brought to market in September 2003. PaperStone is designed to give the beauty of stone, the strength of steel, with ease of workmanship. 





With thickness from 1/4" - 2", PaperStone has a water absorption of less than 1% with a compressive strength of 45,000 PSI.

Regular PaperStone, has a 50% post-consumer recycled content product.  PaperStone Certified is made of 100% post-consumer recycled content.  

PaperStone products come in a variety of colors with new additions coming soon. The current colors for PaperStone original are Slate Black, Leather Brown, Mocha Brown, Denim Blue and Forest Green. 

In PaperStone Certified there is Slate Black, Chocolate Brown, Straw Yellow and Concrete Grey. We expect to add 3 morecolors to the certified line and one more color to the original line in the very near future.

A 1" by 5' by 12' sheet of PaperStone Certified (versus a regular phenolic composite manufactured from virgin fiber and a regular, commercially available, solvent-based resin) saves:
â€¢	1233 gallons of water 
â€¢	2.03 million BTU's of energy 
â€¢	131 pounds of solid waste 
â€¢	254 pounds of greenhouse gases 
â€¢	55 pounds of petroleum-based phenol 
â€¢	22 pounds of natural gas-based methanol 
Regular PaperStone, with a 50% post-consumer recycled content product (versus 100% for PaperStone Certified), saves a similar amount of phenol and methanol but only 50% of the water, energy, solid waste and greenhouse gases listed above.
In either case, purchases of PaperStone products, versus the competitive products, have a surprisingly large impact on our environment.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Recycled paper and a water-base resin with nonpetroleum-base phenols, the product is very dense and heavy for its size.  It was heavier, but had a â€œsofterâ€ feel than other solid surface materials (like Corian). 

Although the color was not labeled, I will assume I was sent â€œSlate Black.â€ 

From a purely neophyte perspective, this material to me felt and looked like dyed, resin-stabilized MDF.


CUTTING AND MILLING


Paperstone is solid and dense, and has similar characteristics on the bandsaw to corian
or Diamondwood.  However, Paperstone does not have the odor that comes from either of the other two products and leaves a minimal amount of dust. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I cut a Â¾â€ thick piece from one of the 8x3x3/4 blocks with very little trouble and no real noticeable odor.  There were no burn marks or glossy areas, and the finished cut was consistent in look and feel to the outer surface, save for the lack of sanding or polishing. 

After sizing the blanks for the pen tubes (I was making a standard cigar pen), and marking for center, it was on to the drill press.




Using a 10mm brad point bit, the blanks milled very much like any dense wood.  I ran the drill press at a relatively slow 900 RPM. There was no drift and no smoking like you often see with Diamondwood or Corian.  There was a slight amount of â€œchip-outâ€ as the bit exited the blanks, but I had cut the blanks Â¼â€ long to compensate for that. 




The product takes CA very well, and the manufacturer recommended that I use CA to glue up any pieces.  I inserted the brass tubes with thick CA Glue and gave it a few minutes to cure.  I did not use accelerator.


TURNING PAPERSTONE

One word:  Sharp Skew!

OK.  So thatâ€™s two words.

I have to admit that I was a little bit worried at first when I started to rough out the blanks.    My newly-sharpened spindle roughing gouge was pulling off small â€œflakesâ€ of the product,
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and when I stopped the lathe to look at the results, it looked as though there were chunks coming off in flat sheets, like a weathered rock formation




I changed over to a 1â€ skew, and it seemed to work much better for me.  Within a few minutes, the blank was trued.  

Once rounded, Paperstone turns very similarly to Diamondwood.  It is dense and requires quite a bit of patience.  It does not create curlies or long bands like acrylics, nor shavings like regular wood.  I did notice quite a bit of very fine black powdery dust as I was turning, so I hooked up my lathe shroud and dust collector. I would recommend that if you do not have such a set-up, wear a good dust mask or respirator when turning this product.



Once shaped, I sanded from 150 to 800 grit using stearated wet/dry paper and a damp shop towel.  Sanding created quite a bit of â€œslurryâ€ and the wet paper towel helped to keep it from building up and scratching the surface, and to keep the sandpaper from clogging.




After 800 grit, I polished two times with Hut Plastic Polish. There were several reasons for using this finishing method:  First, was that I did not want to put on a built-up 
finish (like CA or Lacquer).  The final-sanding produced a very smooth black pen blank, and a built up finish would make it look like a cheap piece of black plastic (in my opinion).  Second, I wanted to see how this material would take a shine.  It would do me no good to do a CA finish or spray it with lacquer if I wanted to see how well this product could stand up on its own.

So I opted for the plastic polish, reasoning that there were more than enough resins in the materials to do very well with that formula.  I have always had good luck using plastic polish on Diamondwood and on stabilized blanks, so I took a calculated gamble.




After polishing twice with plastic polish, I removed the mandrel, mounted my Beall Buff, and polished the blanks using all three wheels of the buffing system.  Yes, I know its almost the same stuff in the plastic polish, but I decided to Beall buff only after I had already used the plastic polish.  





Once assembled, I was very satisfied with the results.  The pen is fairly heavy, but has an excellent feel.  Although it is jet black and buffed to a shine, it does not look nor feel like â€œplastic.â€  It has a very warm and appealing characteristic.

Since the product is made for countertops, it is water resistant and meant for abuse, making it a perfect material for a pen that will be handled all the time.  A simple wipe with a rag is all it takes to bring back the luster and remove fingerprints and oils.






CONSLUSION

I have not tried turning Paperstone to make any other objects besides this one pen.  I have enough material to attempt several other â€œexperimentsâ€ with sanding and finishing techniques and look forward to trying them soon. I will most likely try some â€œglue upsâ€ for a small segmented piece or hollow form.  

If I were so inclined, I calculate that I could get roughly 25 to 30 pen blanks out of the samples that I received. Based on the price of $29 for my samples, that makes the cost of the material about $1.00 per pen.  Add that to a great â€œenviro-friendlyâ€ story, and you have a material that looks great, feels wonderful, turns nicely, and â€“ in my opinion â€“ will sell!



If you get the opportunity to try turning some Paperstone, I strongly recommend it.  You can find more information about Paperstone at http://www.kliptech.com/


-Steven Marlow
Czarcastic@yahoo.com

This article may be downloaded as a PDF doocument at the Florida West Coast Woodturners Website


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## tipusnr (Nov 11, 2006)

Thank you for a very thorough and easy reading product review on this material.  I hope Jeff sees this and finds a way to add it to the growing tutorial library for future turners.


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## Dario (Nov 11, 2006)

Steven,

Thank you very much for the review...looks promising.


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## wdcav1952 (Nov 11, 2006)

Steven,

Let me echo Tip and Dario and add my thanks for an excellent post.


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## gerryr (Nov 11, 2006)

Very well done and thorough.  And, much appreciated.  This could be quite interesting material.


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## jimbo 31751 (Nov 12, 2006)

Very well done,thanks for the info Steven.


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## Chuck B (Nov 12, 2006)

Steve,
Very well written thanks. Maybe you should send a pen to the company President. He may reward you with some free different colored products.[]


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## TBone (Nov 12, 2006)

Nice review on an interesting material.  Sending the Pres a pen is a good idea


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## SteveRoberts (Nov 13, 2006)

Great detailed post, does it come in anything but black?


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## pete00 (Nov 13, 2006)

thanks for taking the time to post this, very much appreiciated........may have to try it.............pete


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## Rojo22 (Nov 13, 2006)

Always cool to find an eco friendly choice for blanks...Thank you for taking the time to keep the rest of us informed on a new product.  Great job.


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## Czarcastic (Nov 13, 2006)

> _Originally posted by SteveRoberts_
> <br />Great detailed post, does it come in anything but black?


From the Company's website:
_"The current colors for PaperStone original are Slate Black, Leather Brown, Mocha Brown, Denim Blue and Forest Green. 
In PaperStone Certified there is Slate Black, Chocolate Brown, Straw Yellow and Concrete Grey"_


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## pete00 (Nov 13, 2006)

Just visited the web site, it might be me, but didnt see anything about 
"where to get it and how much it costs"

ill check again after my meds kick in ...[][]


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## johncrane (Nov 13, 2006)

Thanks Stev! you've done a topnotch job mate with great detail. looks like a great product thanks very much for sharing  with us.[]


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## Czarcastic (Nov 16, 2006)

> _Originally posted by pete00_
> <br />Just visited the web site, it might be me, but didnt see anything about
> "where to get it and how much it costs"
> ...[][]


Pete:
That's why I emailed Joel Klippert directly.  And he was very responsive and helpful.  I think his first reply came within 15 minutes of my email.


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