Stone Inlay

Hi Ralph: When I inlay turquoise, I power sand after a few minutes, usually starting with 100 or 120 grit. It is helpful as a first step to bring dow the high spots using a Power-Lock type disc sander, then switching to a foam backed disc as you progress to lower grits. It's doubtful that the time before sanding effects how hard it is to smooth the stone inlay. Hope this helps

Kip Powers Rogers, AR

Ralph, I have found that attempting to turn after filling a gap with real stone results in tearout of the stone because it is so hard. If you wait for 24 hours, why hit it with accelator, it should already be at maximum hardness? I use a dremel tool with a small drum sander to get down almost to the level of the original surface. Then with careful hand sanding, and a small piece of paper, work the surface down to base level while avoiding a bump or a hollow spot. Then, sand to finish the whole piece. I usually sand to about 180 or 220 grit before filling the void and then apply sanding sealer to the area surrounding the void to prevent the CA from penetrating the area around the void and darkening it. Using Inlace granules instead of real stone will allow you to cut the high spot down with a turning tool and save some time but will not look as authentic as the "real thing". Joe Keeler-Cincinnati

Joe/Kip,

Thanks for your suggestions. I have tried the method Kip suggests, power lock sanding discs, but was not too successful, maybe I am just too impatient. Haven't tried using the dremel drum sander, will try that as I do have a dremel. Joe, do you use the dremel with the bowl turning or stopped?

Ralph, The piece is out of the lathe and hand held when I use the Dremel to flatten the inlay. Joe K.

"Ralph J. Ramirez" wrote in message news:...

Ralph,

I don't wait at all when using CA glue and stone. I fill the crack with stone, saturate it with thin CA glue, spray on accelerant, and don't wait at all to keep working. (If the crack is deep, I may do the filling in a couple of layers, to be sure that the glue gets all the way down.) HOWEVER, I have learned a couple of tricks that make the whole process work better. First, I wait until I'm almost at the final sanding stage -- after I've used 150 grit or even 180 or 220 -- before I fill the cracks. Second, instead of inlaying the stone until it's even with or proud of the surface of the wood, I stop short of the surface so that there's a SLIGHT dip. I then fill that dip with thick CA glue, raising the fill above the surface of the wood. That way when you sand, you're not actually hitting stone and there's no danger of chipping; it looks, however, like you've filled with stone right to the surface. I then either hand sand most of the excess off or use a Dremel or other rotary sander if the excess is thick. When I get near the surface, I turn the lathe on to finish sanding to the surface using around a 180 grit and finish off with whatever progression of grits I would ordinarily use to finish -- usually to 320?400 for me. This gives me a smooth finish on the stone with no waiting around. I do the same with using epoxy with stone -- except, of course, you do have to wait for epoxy to cure. Hope this helps . . .

Lynne

Oh, yeah . . . I forgot to mention that I apply paste wax to the surrounding wood before filling the crack and using the CA to prevent the CA from staining the wood . . . The paste wax is sanded off in the finishing, so there's no inconsistency in the appearance of the wood. Lynne

Lynne,

Thank you so much for the information on your technique. It sure sounds like a good way to go. I will give it a try when I attempt my next inlay. Right now I am getting ready for an open studio tour and busy getting pieces completed and ready for sale.