Question for you all

[Mike Powell]

Im thinking of giving a try to putting turquoise powder into cracks/holes in a blank.

Im curious as to what to mix the powder with? would I add it to resin like pearl Ex powder or do I mix with Thin Ca. I am assuming resin, and then I would need to put it in my pressure pot.

If this is the case, how much do I need to mix with the powder? I know I mix more than most when I use Pearl Ex. I would want this to look like the stone is embedded into the wood.

Sorry I dont know any better way to explain what I want to do.

 

[lorbay]

If it were me I would put the powder in dry and tamp it into place till its full then drizzle thin CA into it. That's how I do it on bowls or hollow forms.
Oh and buy the way I learned this from Stephen Hatcher when he did a work shop at my house.

Lin.

 

[mark james]

Others will have more experience. But, I have done a little bit of this. All with CA, thin and thick. I've used crushed coral, sand, and embossing powder.

Have FUN!


View in Gallery

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Hi Mike - Here's a link to a PDF by Stephen Hatcher that you might find useful. It's not the only way to do this. He's created some incredible inlay work. Google his name to see examples (beyond what's in the PDF) if you want to be inspired.

http://stephenhatcher.com/files/techniques/Basic_Stone_Inlay_(v1.0).pdf

An alternative would be to mix the stone (or more likely fake stone (aka resin) bits /dust with PR and inlay that. This would be a DIY inlace type thing.

Both methods stink (literally!! :biggrin. I like the CA method better myself. I seem to get a less granular result with that. A good gas mask is a great idea if you are going to be doing a lot of this or a really big inlay.

You could use epoxy instead of PR, but I've been burned by having epoxy cure inhibited by some exotic woods. Epoxy is great, but I won't use it anymore.

Just some thoughts.

Ed

 

[mark james]

If you use crushed stone or coral, etc., depending on how big the voids are and how big particles you want/need - use different strainers to sift the material. I use several kitchen sieves and a tea sieve to get different grain sizes. Just a suggestion.

 

[plantman]

Hi Mike; My method has also been to pack the area with the powder and than add thin CA at the side of the area and let it wick into the powder. If you put it directly on the powder, it may wash out your powder and you will have to refill again. This is a Cypress pen that had a rotten knot that I filled with crushed tourquoise. Jim S

 

[jsolie]

Years ago, the building at work was getting re-keyed. I asked the security manager if he could get me some of the brass filings from when the keys were cut. He looked at me like I was a crazy man, but did bring me a bag of brass shavings. I've used those over the year to fill in cracks in bowl blanks. I'll pack the void with the shavings then start drizzling CA over and into it. It turns away smooth since the CA and brass are softer than HSS.

 

[Mike Powell]

Thanks Guys! I was going to do it all wrong. This is the best place for info on the web!

 

[Mr Vic]

Plus 1,2 3 or more for packing and thin CA...Here's a link to a demo hand out by Larry Fox - http://www.foxywoodz.com/sites/default/files/7-step-process-for-inlaying.pdf

Granted he is inlaying on bowls but the technique is the same and I've learned a lot from his demos at our AAW Chapter meetings...

 

[Akula]

I do a void fill at least once a month, no matter the turquoise size, I use thin CA. IMO the powder is not as nice as bigger pieces. I pick out pieces that will fit in and use the powder to fill in the space around the pieces.

 

[mark james]

I do a void fill at least once a month, no matter the turquoise size, I use thin CA. IMO the powder is not as nice as bigger pieces. I pick out pieces that will fit in and use the powder to fill in the space around the pieces.

Once a month? .

Shoot, I fill a void at every meal....:embarrassed:

 

[nativewooder]

I would advise you to do the fill before getting to the finished size of your piece. The idea being to turn/sand the wood down to the stone/filler because the stone is much harder than the wood. I spent hours and days ruining carbide bits cutting down some crushed turquoise stone. No fun!:wink:

 

[bgio13]

I had a woman who wanted pens made from a piece of wood from a tree her kids played on when the were kids. The wood had voids from bugs, and was slightly spalted so I mixed up some black Testors paint with a little epoxy and filled the voids with that. Hope this helps,

Bill