JohnRossitter Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Hi Everyone, I have never really gotten into inlay work, so please go easy on me. I was at a festival here in Shreveport, LA a few weeks ago and ran into a guy who turns bowls and such on the lathe. He had some sample works that blew me away. Anyway, some of the bowls had burl rot and holes. He had filled the holes with Turquoise powder. He explained to me that he would grind it into a powder and mix it with a glue of some sort. Has anyone here done this? Is there a website that better explains it? Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 I believe Drak did something similar to burl voids, but I can't recall which build it was or anything to search for it under! I would suspect you would use epoxy or CA but I've never successfully tackled this before other than filling gaps around inlays :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Drak mixed some blue sparkley stuff in epoxy and filled part of a Burl telecaster. It looked amazing and I want to know where he got the sparkley stuff, I may try that with grain filling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Well my thought is to use my dremmel and route some nice inlay designs on the fingerboard of a bass I'm working on. I would love to have it in Turquoise, but I just dont have any stone cutting tools. see http://arizonasilhouette.com/Crushed_Stone.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Well, stone cutting tools = $10 jewellers piercing saw, not a large investment i think you'll agree. The stuff you want, if you decide to go the 'fill the cavity' route is called Inlace and for this check out woodturner's suppliers, you should find it cheaper than the link you posted. Turners use this stuff, mixed with epoxy, a hell of a lot and i must admit i'm thinking of using it for grainfilling one day.....don't ask me why, it's one of those 3am 'great idea' things Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Cool, I just got off of the phone with these guys. http://www.turtlefeathers.com/text/inlace/inlace-main.html Should have the material next week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 I've experimented with similar and had good results, although I've only applied it to inlay dots , not anything intricate. I used brightly colored Dylon clothing dye, maple sawdust and CA glue. I mixed the dye with the maple sawdust until it formed a paste. After the paste has dried I crumbled it up then packed it into the inlay holes with successive layers of CA glue. Sand smooth and fill as necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 How did that hold up under playing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Holds up fine. I did the same on my last build (all maple tele) using gumwood dust and CA for the inlay dots, but its a moot point once the whole fretboard was covered in a few layers of poly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Holds up fine. I did the same on my last build (all maple tele) using gumwood dust and CA for the inlay dots, but its a moot point once the whole fretboard was covered in a few layers of poly. id expect that from a maple fretboard... what do you think if it were rosewood or ebony? somthing that doesnt have a finish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Yeah, that's kind of where I was going with my question. I only use linseed oil once my final sanding is done. I like the feel of wood [no laughing please] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooten2 Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Another option is to use some stuff called embossing powder. I found it at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking section. One of the colors is very close to turquoise. I made side dots using the turquoise powder, 60 minute epoxy, and an aluminum tube (Myka's cool trick). I colored the epoxy with the powder, packed the epoxy into the end of the aluminum tube, and stuck it into a pre-drilled hole for the side dot. Then cut off the tube. When it's dry sand it smooth and you have a turquoise side dot outlined by a thin ring of aluminum. Very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerb Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 I used crushed azurite from Arizona Silhouette, one of the sites mentioned above, for fretlines on my first bass (search "Concordis" to see how it looks). I'm using turquoise for the one I'm building at the moment (search "syzygy"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 i've used inlace and epoxy on turnings and other types of wood art and love it. what you're planning is definitely doable. just be sure to fill the voids a little proud (above the surface of the wood) and sand down to flush. if you have a few voids or bubble holes when you get it down flush just fill with the epoxy and sand again...and get plenty of sand paper..epoxy will load up you paper fairly quickly. watch carefully for swirly marks in your wood. when the epoxy sticks to your sandpaper it tends to leave sanding marks in the wood. once you've got it a smooth as possible with your sander hand sand the inlay and surrounding area with 600 grit or better. the inlay will look a bit dull but your finish will bring out the true color. have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 (edited) Last months thread on using solder for inlays brought up the subject of using Inlace powders. We have a very well stocked arts & crafts store nearby and I came across these small bottles of powdered pigment. The brand is Pearl Ex , the label reads "these pigments can be mixed into any slightly thick medium such as paint, varnish, glue or paste to produce a pearlescent or metallic luster" I tried a test on a piece of scrap maple with the white pearl. It came out better than I thought it would. -Vinny Edited November 12, 2006 by Vinny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Well I'm excited to try it out. I guess my only problem now is that I have pre-radiused the fingerboard I wanted to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 (edited) I have used a range of stuff to inlay that I have found in Craft stores. I have used those stick on dazzly silver sequins as fret markers and I also used brass /silver plated jewellery inlaid in the headstock. I have also discovered a 2 part clear epoxy called "Liquid Gloss" in the craft section of Spotlight stores we have in NZ. It is brilliant for inlay work as it files and sands easy and is crystal clear and dries hard. It seems to easily hide any imperfections in the routing as well. It could be used for grain filler as it fairly thin has a self levelling action. I have just inlaid pearl block markers cut from a sheet with tinsnips (works a treat) on a Rosewood radiused and slotted fingerboard and masked around the inlays with several layers of masking tape and and poured the epoxy so it was above the surface level and removed the tape once the epoxy started to set. I left it to cure for about four days then filed off the excess and sanded it flush with my radius sanding block using 100 , 240 grit and 0000 steel wool. Looks really nice and once I have fretted the neck it will be finished with Danish oil. It is easy to apply with a rag and dries quickly. I give it about three/four coats as it soaks in, looks beautiful and makes the grain and inlays really stand out. When the finger board needs a redo after a few years, its easy to sand it with 0000 steel wool and recoat it. Edited November 17, 2006 by Acousticraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 Well I got the Inlace product in and gave it a shot. I think for what it is it looks fantastic. I will post pics soon. I know it does not compare to the craft of true inlay, but it provides a striking result. Thanks for all of the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A different Brian. Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 John, I'm looking forward to the pictures. I have other uses for this and I'm very curious about your experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 Well I can tell you this. It was easy to use. I guess it all really depends on how intricate you want the inlay to be. You would only use this for monochromatic stuff, but if you can carve it, this will fill it. Be sure to work in a WELL ventelated area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 I made side dots using the turquoise powder, 60 minute epoxy, and an aluminum tube (Myka's cool trick). I colored the epoxy with the powder, packed the epoxy into the end of the aluminum tube, and stuck it into a pre-drilled hole for the side dot. Then cut off the tube. When it's dry sand it smooth and you have a turquoise side dot outlined by a thin ring of aluminum. Very nice. Sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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