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Posted

Where do you guys go to buy your inlay materials, and what are your personal favorites to use besides the common paua shell varieties?

I'm getting ready to start doing some inlay work, and I've found a few resources from the MIMF, most want you to buy in some decent quantity I've found.

It's like your going to have to gear up to do lots of inlay whether you like it or not :D

That blue atlantine is sweet, I've not run across it before, where can you buy it?

Resources, please!

Posted

My favorite place for materials is MASECRAFT supply.

They are a gun and knife company, and carry a ton of different handle materials.

They have all of the pearls, and laminate shell there is, as well as bone, tons of different plastics, (atlantine, as well as others) and recon stone too.

The plastics come in tons of colors. Recon stone is pretty much the real stone type material crushed and mixed with epoxy, it is sold in bricks that have to be cut and sanded before use. It's a little pricey when you consider it's $5.00 to cut a slice, not including the material by the ounce itself.

Still, it gives you fantastic color. It's also a little hard to work. It's brittle depending upon the type used.

I thickness sand it to .05-.06 first, before using it with shell. It comes only as thin as 1/4"

My favorite material is any one that matches the color of what I want at the time. Don't limit yourself to what others typically use, or traditionally use, otherwise your inlays will like like everyone elses, traditional and typical. That's fine if you want that, but you'll never break new ground that way!

This reef inlay is made of black plastic atlantine, black pearl, gold pearl, blue recon stone (the sponge) red plastics, pink freshwater mussel, white freshwater mussel, sugalite stone, silver dust, green gasparite recon stone, banded chrysocola recon stone, paua shell, red abalone heart abalam, aluminum tubing, green abalone, red abalone, white river pearl, brown lip pearl, fossil ivory, and a few other things. I then engraved the details over it with a graver and different colored inks. This photo is after leveling and just before engraving. It's also on a compound radius board, however the inlays were small enough to not have to worry about sanding through. I can post the close up if you want.

Thanks, Craig

Pacificreeffullview.jpg

Posted

I went to your site and had a good look-see at everything there. :D

It sure is nice to have you aboard here!

Thanks guys for the resource tips, I'm heading into deep waters, but really looking forward to it.

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