January 20, 20179 yr Popular Post At the yard where I picked up some mesquite was a shop where the yard owner's work was displayed. Thought you might enjoy seeing some of it.
January 20, 20179 yr Author 5 hours ago, Stick486 said: Whew!!! how do you suppose the jade inlay was done... It's crushed turquoise and two part epoxy, Stick. Had a nice conversation with him. Turns out that we both use the same process to fill mesquite's natural occurring cracks and voids. We call them "design opportunities". Only, mine's in flat work.
January 20, 20179 yr 1 hour ago, Gene Howe said: Turns out that we both use the same process can you elaborate...
January 20, 20179 yr Author Popular Post 3 hours ago, Stick486 said: can you elaborate... Sure thing. First, clean the void. Second, crush the turquoise. Third, depending on the depth of the void, I may fill it halfway with epoxy then the turquoise, then some more epoxy. I like it to be slightly proud. Then, use a belt sander to bring it level. Turquoise is soft. You can throw in other materials before it sets up. I like brass key filings. Kinda sparkles like gold. Finish off with sanding up to 320 or so. Then, apply the finish that you like. The method for crushing is very high tech. I have an 8" round steel plate on which I set a 4" length of 6" steel well casing. Then, I use a 8" long piece of well drilling rod to pound the stones. I found a grease splatter shield in a kitchen store that works well to seperate the powder from the chunks. Very fine screen on that splatter shield. Another method for leveling is to fill all the voids before cutting the board to length. Then use a router planer set up with a bowl bit to level it. That way you can miter the ends for a box and the filled voids will match at the corners.
January 20, 20179 yr 1 hour ago, Gene Howe said: Sure thing. thanks... now how do the turners do it???
January 20, 20179 yr Author 1 hour ago, Stick486 said: thanks... now how do the turners do it??? Well Stick, not being a turner, I don't know.
January 20, 20179 yr 4 minutes ago, Gene Howe said: Well Stick, not being a turner, I don't know. so is there a turner here that will enlighten us...
January 21, 20179 yr Popular Post Stick when turning the easy way is to use an epoxy turquoise mixture called Inlace. You can get it in many colors and I prefer Turquoise. It comes in a can and you add hardner (about 20 drops per ounce) then it is placed in the void. For a crack thru and thru you would have to close one side , I use painters tape. Then when this sets up you can turn on the lathe. With the stone it is done just as Gene told you , but we would use turning tools to cut off the excess (rough on tools). Note that using Inlace like this one there is a thicking agent to help it stay in place when done in the complete round.
January 21, 20179 yr Author 12 hours ago, Gerald said: Stick when turning the easy way is to use an epoxy turquoise mixture called Inlace. Inlace seems to be a bit harder than the turquoise I use. The medium or the epoxy?? But, it's probably easier to manipulate for round applications. The epoxy / turquoise solution is a bit runny. If you just want color, acrylic artist's paints mix easily with two part epoxy. Black with the brass filings is rich looking. Crimson is nice, too...in small doses, as an accent to a black border on a lid or, even a table top.
January 22, 20179 yr 12 hours ago, Gene Howe said: Inlace seems to be a bit harder than the turquoise I use. The medium or the epoxy?? But, it's probably easier to manipulate for round applications. The epoxy / turquoise solution is a bit runny. If you just want color, acrylic artist's paints mix easily with two part epoxy. Black with the brass filings is rich looking. Crimson is nice, too...in small doses, as an accent to a black border on a lid or, even a table top. Gene I have used shoe dye, analine dye and even minwax stain mixed in epoxy. My wife just likes the turquoise so I would rather use the Inlace as it is easier to cut, You just have to think ahead of time how you are going to keep it in the void. Oh by the way sometime the fill does not cover the entire void so you can add more to fill it.
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