Today I made the sink for my cottage. It is made of soapstone. Real sinks are also made from soapstone. I believe the French word for this type of sink is "evier" My design is generic, the size based on the area I want to put the sink combined with the piece of stone I had. It was already this thickness and was long and wide enough to do the job. I left the natural edge on the front. I like the fact that the sink tapers at one end, it says "I am made for the purpose from salvage materials". That is what my fisherman families would have done often when they needed a home improvement project over the centuries.
These types of stone sinks are typically shallow in depth. I created a small drainboard area. The sink and drainboard areas were milled out using diamond coated burrs. I mounted the burrs in a drill press. They don't have to run at high speeds when shaping soapstone. Soapstone is soft and turns into talcum powder.
If you have always wanted a stone sink for your dollhouse you will find it simple enough to make from real soapstone, you don't need to fake it. A fence and a stop block or two helps keep the edges of the recessed areas nice and straight. You do need a depth stop on your drill press to control how deep you cut.
The sink will drain out through the rectangular recess at the bottom into a channel that goes through the wall. You will see that detail in a few weeks.
Now I need to make the riser blocks that hold up the sink. No taps for this sink, my rustic old cottage does not have running water.
8 comments:
Thank you for the tip, Karin! I do love the stone sink which will be great for my tribal house. Will have to see what they use in India.
Very nice sink! And you're right the French word is "évier". But not all of them are made from soapstone. I personnally have two at home and they're made out of "pierre de Bourgogne". It depends on the location I think.
I love the sink! Lovely detail for the drainage grooves too and absolute beautiful colour.
Your stone sink is so realist! I remember in my childhood having seen stone sinks like that in old farms here in France. “évier” is the right word in french. Your timber framing wall's work is very impressive also!
Love it! Where would I get soapstone?
Thank you all for your positive comments. Indeed sinks are made from many types of stone. They are made from hard stones such as granite, from medium hard stone such as marble, from sandstone and also from the softer stones such as limestone and soapstone. Of all of those stones soapstone is the easiest to carve and shape. I do have limestone on hand but the color is rather neutral and uniform and I wanted something with a little dynamic movement in the surface coloration.
Soapstone comes in many colors from many areas in the world. You can often find small chunks of it in art supply stores where it is sold for sculpture.
Your sink is gorgeous! Wow. Everything you do amazes me!
Wow! That is a beautiful stone sink. I have always wanted one but we still can't find the time and budget for an installation of a new sink. Hopefully, next year we get to remodel the kitchen and purchase a natural stone sink. Great tips you have got here by the way. Really useful ones.
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