My first try at rock inlay

kalynzoo · Post by **kalynzoo** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 9:53 pm

This is my first attempt at inlaying rock into a project. I've often admired rock or metal inlay in work at various shows, so I decided to give it a try. The belt was purchased at NFR in Las Vegas, so I followed the eagle design. The outside wood is Myrtle and the eagle is Maple. The entire process was by far more difficult than I expected trying to get a uniform distribution of stone with CA glue.
[ATTACH]16713[/ATTACH]

judaspre1982 · Post by **judaspre1982** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:00 pm

=============================

mgdesigns · Post by **mgdesigns** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:19 pm

I used to do a lot of lapidary (gemstone cutting) and my choice for the glue has always been Hughes Laboratories Epoxy 330. It takes about a day to cure, but it is rock hard and can be ground and polished same as the gemstones. When it's done you cannot see the glue at all (if the inlays are cut tightly). Some folks use CA for Intarsia work, but I've never tried that yet.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:34 am

Another technique along those lines is to use stone powders/dust and glue it into cracks or defects in wood using CA glue or epoxy. I've used powdered turquoise and CA in the past to fill in the segmented void in walnut pith and though it made a nice contrast. Simply fill the void with the stone powder and then add thin CA sparingly and allow to dry naturally (without the accelerator).

Some years back I talked to a craftsperson at an Arts and Craft festival about the technique being used to fill the voids in rollings pins with stone powder and was told that CA was better because it didn't fall out like epoxy would if the rolling pin was repeatedly washed with water.

I used a small electric coffee bean grinder to pulverize the turquoise, which is soft enough to be done this way. Any stone that you can crush easily would likely work in the grinder. Or you could simply pulverize it with a small hammer and light tapping.

Gene Howe · Post by **Gene Howe** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 11:09 am

Like Pennview, I prefer stones crushed to near powder for the smaller inlays. However, yours looks just great. Your time and effort paid off. Good looking buckle!
I usually lay down a little CA in the void and then place the powder or shards, then dribble in more CA. I often add a little powdered "Fools Gold" to the shards. The process of laying in the shards on a bed of CA allows the Fools gold to sift into the spaces between the shards and the final application of CA stabilizes it all.