pink ivory/easy inlay options?

[emccarthy]

I'm going to be making a wall street II pen(I believe it's the same as the sierra kits) out of pink ivory for a gift, and was thinking of putting an inlay into it, but as I'm new to all of this was looking for an easy option.

My wife said she saw some liquid inlay in woodcraft(although I couldn't find it on the website) and was thinking that could be an option, if I could do a simulated mother of pearl. Does anyone know anything about this product, and how easy it is to work with?

Second, I understand that pink ivory has a tendency to crack if it heats up too much. So far, I have the habit of sanding quite a bit...when using micro mesh, should I only quickly run the mesh over the barrel, or is it ok to rub it for a bit before moving to the next grit?

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Can't help with the inlay part. Use water when sanding to keep the heat down and if it still gets hot take a break. The worst thing you can do is get in a hurry.

 

[emccarthy]

I assume I can use water with the micromesh 'paper'?

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Yes, also some sandpaper is waterproof in the finer grits.

 

[PaulDoug]

I've used epoxy colored with Testor paint for inlay. It worked good. Don't know how to simulate Mother of Pearl, but they probably have pearl colors.

 

[KenV]

Pink ivory is a hard dense wood - a joy to turn. Sands well, but use fresh paper and keep using fresh surfaces -- and worn out 150 is not the same as 220.

There are few options to nice abalone or mother of pearl inlays that are easy. Many start with dremel and colored epoxy followed by turning. Most of the "quick and easy" looks that way.

The rod builders have both shell materials available in thin sheets that can be cut and fit into a recess. To do it well involves a learning curve -- turn the pen to close to dimensions, cut the recesses with a bit of undercut at the edges. cut the shell materials to fit, cover with clear epoxy, polyester resin, or CA finish turn, finish and polish and do it again and again until you have the techniques honed.

 

[emccarthy]

hmm...thanks for the info. I'll have to do some thinking and see what I can accomplish within my skillset then, although I do like the idea of cutting a piece of shell and inlaying it into the barrel

 

[workinforwood]

http://masterscroller.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=4&Itemid=18

try that..click the winter 2009 article to get you started, then you can try some of the others as you advance. Very basic easy techniques with great results. Your only limit is your imagination.

 

[emccarthy]

Hey, thats a really neat technique, thanks for the link. I'll definitly have to give that one a try