Carving Soapstone Weights The original information came from Sandy Cline and is used with her permission. Daryl Hrdlicka Jeffers Petroglyphs Historic Site February 18, 2003       If you like using atlatl weights and are ready for something a little more challenging than smooth rocks, you can carve your own weights out of soapstone or other soft rock. Soapstone is not hard to carve or shape, but it can be hard to find. I bought some from Stoneman Distributing in Canada, but had to buy 25 pounds at a time (a little larger than a football). It was a good price, but still...that's a lot of weights! You may be able to find other sources.       For tools, all you'll need is a cutter (a hacksaw blade with one end covered in duct tape for a handle works well), a shaper (a file, abrading stone, or coarse sandpaper), and smoothers (240 and 600 grit sandpaper or equivalent smoothing stones).       There are three basic styles of simple carved weights. There's the long low weight, similar to the one found onthe Great Basin atlatl; the short low weight, which is just a shorter version with a different bunding method; and the high rounded weight, which has more mass in a smaller area. They are all carved in pretty much the same way. Long Low Weight Soapstone, 4" x 3/4" x 3/4" 1. Using the cutter, rough-shape the stone to this approximate shape, leaving the ends about 1/4" high. 2. Cut a shallow groove 1/2" from each end. 3. Using the file, abrading stone, or coarse sandpaper, round off all the edges. 4. Sand and Polish the weight. You don't need to polish the bottom. Short Low Weight Soapstone, 2" x 3/4" x 3/4" 1. Using the cutter, rough-shape the stone to this approximate shape, leaving the ends about 1/4" high. 2. Cut a shallow groove in the middle and running down both sides. 3. Using the file, abrading stone, or coarse sandpaper, round off all the edges. 4. Sand and Polish the weight. You don't need to polish the bottom. High Rounded Weight Soapstone, 3" x 1 1/2" x 1" 1. Using the cutter, rough-shape the stone to this approximate shape. 2. Cut a shallow groove in the middle and running down both sides. 3. Using the file, abrading stone, or coarse sandpaper, round off all the edges. 4. Sand and Polish the weight. You don't need to polish the bottom.